Avengers: The Crossing
#1:
Review
Sep 1995
Terry Kavanagh,
Mike Deodato Jr.
Story Name:
The Crossing
Synopsis / Summary / Plot
This is the first official issue of the Crossing crossover, but it continues from preludes in FORCE WORKS #15 and WAR MACHINE #19.
Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara) is travelling back home in time to the late 20th Century, returning from serving with Guardians of the Galaxy in the 31st Century.
But she falls short and sees a future she doesn't recognise, where the US has an (unnamed) Empress, and the last two Avengers alive, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are being hunted. As Hawkeye is killed and Black Widow captured, the Widow sees Yellowjacket and warns her to stay away from Avengers Mansion (when she completes her journey to the past), because 'it' all started when she went there. A mystery girl also recognises Rita from long ago, and swears to stop (another) 'it' from happening.
Then Rita is pulled back into the timestream, and reappears earlier where she sees a different-looking Thor. Another involuntary time-jump backwards brings her to Avengers Mansion and shows her Iron Man and a newspaper that calls Captain America a traitor. The next jump shows a strange-looking Wasp with Century, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Crystal and Jarvis the butler trying to break into Avengers Mansion.
The last jump dumps Yellowjacket outside Avengers Mansion in the present in the early morning. The mystery girl from the future appears to her and warns Rita to leave. She also says "If he finds out I'm here he'll kill me.".
Rita knocks on the door to tell the Avengers all she has seen. She recognises who answers the door as a friend. But this 'friend' already knows what she is going to say, and kills her. Crystal and Quicksilver's little daughter Luna witnesses the murder from her bedroom.
That day many Avengers are gathered at the mansion at the invitation of Tony Stark to celebrate the anniversary of the Avengers' founding. As well as the current roster (Black Widow, Crystal, Deathcry, Giant-Man, Hercules and Quicksilver) along with Jarvis, Luna and her nanny Marilla, there are Iron Man, Scarlet Witch and U.S.Agent representing Force Works, plus Beast, Hawkeye (uninvited, straight from War Machine #19) and Janet Van Dyne, currently retired from being Wasp since she left the West Coast team in AWC#74.
Tony Stark reminisces about his life as a young man in the mansion, before his parents died and he donated it to the Avengers. Tony's first girlfriend, in his reminiscences, is Meredith McCall, who reappeared in his life in Iron Man v1 #28. She will pop up again in the Avengers: Timeslide 1-shot.
When Tony meets Wanda he apologises for the recent friction at Force Works, and they reconcile. He comments on Scarlet Witch's new costume. This is a continuity glitch, as he had already done so in Iron Man #319. But strangely no-one mentions the new costume in Force Works.
The mystery girl appears to Hercules on his way to the party, more insubstantial than when she met Rita. He feels he should recognise her. She plays the cryptic message game. "When the oldest among you is near death" Hercules will meet the twins, who an equally-mysterious 'she' has trained. But because she doesn't fully materialise, Hercules can't remember her intervention. But the girl has transferred some information into his brain, which will play a part in Avengers: Timeslide.
Black Widow and Giant-Man show Wasp the unopenable door in the mansion basement, which was discovered after the mansion was recreated by a Watcher. Black Widow says they can't scan beyond the door. Giant-Man says the mansion computer/electrical systems were 'a bit off' when the mansion first appeared, but now they are fully functional. Beast joins them, saying he has just found a lost baseball card in his old room. As far as he is concerned this is their old mansion returned to them. Black Widow is content that the door is under constant computer surveillance. Giant-Man doesn't mention he thinks he hears a faint tapping from beyond the door.
Luna is distraught over what she witnessed, but won't tell anyone what's wrong.
Jan says she's been in Europe studying to be a chef, but most of the guests are wary of her food.
Half the Avengers start a poker game.
Hawkeye is angry at Stark over the death of his wife Mockingbird.
The basement door disrupts its surveillance.
Vision unexpectedly joins the party. He tells his ex-wife Wanda he has regained his emotions.
The party is disrupted when a bunch of plasma bolt-wielding flying baddies attack a man on a nearby rooftop. The Avengers beat them off (suspiciously easily?), and discover the attackee is ex-Avenger (in Avengers #299-310) Eternal Gilgamesh, unaccountably aged near to death. Hercules now remembers the cryptic warning about 'when the oldest among you is near death', but not who told it to him. It is notable that Iron Man is one of the Avengers who doesn't help in the fight (Deathcry is with little Luna, Jan is with Jarvis in the kitchen).
The insubstantial mystery girl appears again, and fails to open the door to Luna's bedroom, where Marilla and Deathcry are trying to comfort her. Marilla goes to fetch Luna's favourite toy, which for some reason is in the basement near the unopenable door. She sees the door open and a figure in front of it, who kills her. It is Iron Man, and he admits to killing Yellowjacket too.
It is revealed in Avengers #391 that Iron Man incinerated the bodies of Rita and Marilla.
The Crossing continues in FORCE WORKS #16.
Preview PagesClick sample interior pages to enlarge them:
Terry Kavanagh
Mike Deodato Jr.
Deodato Studios
Electric Crayon
Mike Deodato Jr. (Cover Penciler)
Mike Deodato Jr. (Cover Inker)

Listed in Alphabetical Order.
Plus: Anachronauts, Giant-Man (
Scott Lang), Space Phantoms.