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Avengers #316

Apr 1990
John Byrne, Paul Ryan

Avengers #316 cover

Story Name:

Spiders and Stars


Synopsis

Avengers #316 synopsis by T Vernon
Rating: 4 stars
Following up on the interrupted call from Starfox, Avengers Iron Man and Vision fly a Quinjet into space, tracking his signal. Flying over the moon, they encounter a massive mothership (“about as big as all of Manhattan” as IM notes). Shellhead straps on additional equipment to help him go out into space, he misses the good old days when such gear was built into his armor. And Vision, like Cap in issue #314, wonders why Iron Man claims to be a new recruit in the armor while clearly exhibiting knowledge only Tony Stark would have. The two cross to the other ship, identify an air lock door and IM plugs into the system so that his micro-computers can find the access code….

Inside, Nebula’s chief henchman Gunthar is questioning the captive Starfox to learn how much he knows about Nebula’s plans. He also berates Starfox for failing to support Nebula who is family. Starfox defies him, vowing to stop any scheme Nebula is involved in. And when Starfox points out that the Avengers have won their encounter with her, Gunthar backhands him across the face. Gunthar dashes off to see if his Bosslady is okay, Starfox chuckling that the slap loosened the electrodes on the Neural Neutralizer helmet they’ve put on him to dampen his powers. Gunthar’s instruments detect the weird event but the duration was so brief he concludes it was of no importance….

Meanwhile, back at the PolyDyne building, starting a few seconds earlier than we left off last issue, the Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Sersi plus Jarvis and the visiting Spider-Man) take stock of the situation and decide everything is okay now. While they are distracted, Nebula contacts Gunther and has him teleport her back to the ship. When they notice she has escaped, Cap points out that, since practically no time has elapsed, Iron Man and Vision are still on their way to her ship and they can deal with her. Cap uses his wrist-communicator to contact Avengers HQ and John Jameson answers, informing them that a room is gone from the building. Cap arranges for a Quinjet to pick them up at PolyDyne and he thanks Spider-Man for lending a hand; Spidey volunteers to see how it all turns out and joins them….

Nebula explains to Gunthar that she lost the power that she was hoping for but now they must go to Plan B; Gunthar balks at that and she rebukes him, saying that they were able to steal IT from HIM and that’s that. She boasts of her scheme to Starfox, noting that she has found the Stones of Halkor. Starfox is skeptical, claiming the Stones are a myth; when she threatens him he mocks her empty bluster and she hits him in the face. She threatens to kill him with her wrist blasters but his scheme has worked. The two blows to the head have damaged the Neural Neutralizer helmet so he is able to wield his power and dissuade Nebula from killing him….

Iron Man and Vision enter the ship, Vision having overpowered three guards while Iron Man is surprised at how different (long-winded) Vizh is after having been reassembled. But a short distance away they are spotted by more guards and a battle begins, with the two Avengers exchanging comments about indiscriminate killing. And reinforcements keep showing up, nearly overwhelming the heroes. But the other Avengers (Cap, Thor, Sersi, Spider-Man) arrive, just in time to face the next wave of guards. Cap notes that Spidey works especially well in a group situation. The guards appear to retreat but it is only so a gigantic axe-wielding warrior called Gron can move against the heroes. Cap and Spidey take him on while Spidey asks whether Cap’s uniform violates contempt-of-flag legislation; Cap responds that it isn’t the flag itself but what it represents that counts. As Spidey is not faring well against Gron, Sersi steps in and transforms the big guy into a pig. The guards finally retreat and the Avengers break through onto the bridge to find that Starfox has captured the bad guys (Nebula, Gunthar, two guards) by overloading the pleasure centers of their brains, sending them into blissful sleep. Cap asks Spidey if he would like to join the Avengers, as he handles himself well in a crisis and his boisterousness boosts team spirit and morale. Spidey agrees. And then they feel a series of heavy vibrations and the Stranger bursts through onto the bridge….


 

Review / Commentaries


Avengers #316 Review by (October 27, 2024)
Comments: Part three of five parts. Spider-Man joins the Avengers in this issue, though he’s out by issue #318. Bulky baddie Gron is not the same fellow who appeared in NOVA (2013) #12 though Marvel Database lists this issue as one of his appearances. Thor’s jokes, “Take one sacred hammer and bother not to call me on the morrow” is a play on a comical version of a doctor’s advice, “Take two aspirins and call me in the morning.” Iron Man mentions “Hallmark commercials,” advertising for a series of sentimental greeting cards.  

Review: And the story arc continues despite the massive event that began the arc being dealt with last issue. It’s hard to top the universe attempting to reboot multiple times so we throw our heroes at an overwhelming number of bad guys and see how they keep from being overwhelmed. So there’s Iron Man and Vision wondering about each other while breaking into the ship and Spidey and even Thor cracking jokes in combat but the big surprise is how Starfox mopped up the baddies himself; he is not usually thought of as a fighter—and he isn’t one here either. It was an audacious scheme to have the entire issue be action oriented when there is no clear overriding threat to deal with. Don’t worry, one comes along soon enough.



> Avengers comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Paul Ryan
Tom Palmer
Christie Scheele
Paul Ryan (Cover Penciler)
Tom Palmer (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Bill Oakley.
Editor: Howard Mackie.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Captain America
Captain America

(Steven Rogers)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Jarvis
Jarvis

(Edwin Jarvis)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man

(Peter Parker)
Starfox
Starfox

(Eros)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)

Plus: John Jameson.

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