Avengers #64: Review

Apr 2003

Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis

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Story Name:

Sight unseen

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #64 Review by Rob Johnson (February 13, 2021)

It's Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne on the lettering again.

As I've mentioned before we'll discover that Dell Rusk = Red Skull. I figure RS is mentioned here to jog some readers into spotting the anagram, or at least to make the eventual reveal not so out of left field.

Gyrich mentions trying to avert a possible war with Asgard. This will be because of Thor's increasingly aggressive actions since becoming Lord Of Asgard. These obviously include the Asgardian invasion of Slokovia in the Standoff trilogy in Thor #58, Iron Man #64 and last issue. They may also include further actions in Thor #59-66. (#67-79 take place in an alternate timeline split off from here.)

Obviously Falcon and Gyrich are conspiring to feed Rusk false information.

Gyrich will be back in #66 but Falcon won't be seen again until #68.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #64 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

This issue solely concerns Falcon and Henry Peter Gyrich.

In #61 Captain America asked Falcon to keep their UN liaison Henry Gyrich under surveillance. Late Sam Wilson observed via his falcon Redwing when US Defence Secretary Dell Rusk tried to bribe Gyrich to spy on the UN-affiliated Avengers for the US Government. When Henry refused Rusk threatened him and said (untruthfully) that he was acting on the President's orders.

Now we see Falcon flying over New York and remembering some of his past:- His parents were devout Bible-reading Christians but when as a teenager he turned away from the Church they surprised him by giving him the sacred books of other religions hoping he could find faith somewhere. But then they were both killed by street violence, and all Sam Wilson took from the Bible was 'an eye for an eye' which led him into a life of juvenile delinquency. Then Steve Rogers turned him around.

Now he swoops down on Gyrich out jogging in Central Park. Henry isn't happy about his busy schedule being interrupted, and he's currently irritated about the lovers Wasp and Yellowjacket leaving him a note to say they'd nipped of for a vacation in Las Vegas. He mentions the tension between Sam and himself ever since (way back in #181 of the original series) he dragooned Falcon onto the team to satisfy a Government equal-opportunity requirement. Sam punches him when Henry advises him to "get over it, boy".

Gyrich is heading home to a meeting with his landlord and his neighbour to settle a dispute about the neighbour and her 2 noisy young girls keeping him awake. Falcon tags along. Gyrich uses the walk to express some more of his frustrations. He has to talk the UN out of going to war with Asgard, and persuade them not to worry about Jack Of Hearts (see last issue for that 1).

Sam tells him that Cap advised him to give Henry a 2nd chance. So he asks Gyrich if there's anything in particular that he needs to get off his conscience. Henry's response is to remind Falcon about other murky parts of *his* past:- He worked for the Red Skull who gave him his wings and the power to mentally communicate with Redwing, all so he could kill Captain America. Sam points out that he broke free of Skull's brainwashing and became a hero alongside Cap. And anyway these particular wings were made by Black Panther.

Sam repeats that he's only here to *help* Henry. Gyrich is about to tell him about the problems caused by the Avengers transferring their allegiance from the US to the UN. But they are interrupted by a commotion with his neighbour's voice at the centre.

It turns out that her daughters have been kidnapped by the criminal Scarecrow who's escaped from a mental institution. He drove off with them in a pickup full of hay. Mrs Batts turns to Gyrich for help but he says this problem is too small for the Avengers to deal with. Falcon disagrees. He's improved his bird-telepathy so now he can communicate with other birds too. He uses that to scan the area for the villain's truck and the girls. And as he flies away he tells Henry if he wants to talk they should meet at Avengers Embassy at 9 tonight.

Scarecrow has broken into a scrapyard, killing the security guard with his pitchfork. Now he menaces the 2 tied-up teen girls to feed their fear, so that *he* can feed off that. But some birds locate him and then Falcon arrives amidst a large flock. The villain fights back with a gun and then leaps onto Falcon's back in midair. The birds mob him and Redwing pulls off his headmask. Shocked Scarecrow falls to land on a wrecked car. The police arrive to take the villain away and take the girls home. And Falcon leaves for his date with Gyrich.

Henry is a quarter of an hour late but he turns up, and Sam smiles in greeting.

Later still Gyrich meets with Rusk who comments that Henry's been stalling him for weeks. Gyrich hands over a disc with Avengers codes, passwords and security details. He's not happy about this but Rusk tells him it's just politics.

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