Avengers 149

Titled "The Gods and the Gang", Avengers 149 begins with Thor and Moondragon (the Gods) joining the rest of the Avengers (the Gang).  Moondragon is trying to convince Thor that he is "slumming" by hanging with the Avengers.  The rest of the Avengers are attacked by troopers from the Roxxon Oil army. 

The evil Hugh Jones uses the serpent lords power to go across the dimension to the other Earth and communicate with the exposed President Rockefeller who tells him that the Avengers had defeated his world's Squadron Supreme (last two issues).  He then decides that he must use the "Final Weapon" which the Serpent Crown provided.

The Avengers are mopping up the troopers when all of a sudden a giant blue arm P-VAMMs all six Avengers in one blow.  Captain Baxter plans to kill the Avengers in the most painful way when Thor BLAMs down the wall with his hammer.  Baxter calls in Weapon One who turns out to be ORKA - the human killer whale.  No, I am no making this up.  Thor throws his hammer at Orka which just FOOMs off and Thor discovers that Orka has been changed and made more powerful.  Moondragon attacks Orka's mind and talks some smack which Thor finds insufferable and lets Moondragon know that he will blackball her if she tries to become an Avenger.  Orka realizes that since he has very little brain, the pain from Moondragon's brain blast is not so bad and he whacks her with his blue arm.  Thor gets really angry and K-RAMs Orka through the building.

In the meantime, Baxter has the rest of the Avengers hooked up to an "Electro-Incinerogram" which with "one flick of a switch, and these...people...won't even leave any ashes."

Thor's hammer blows are having little impact on Orka other than to knock him out of the building.  Once Thor joins him outside he summons a huge thunderstorm and ZOTs a lighting bolt at Orka which knocks Orka out.

We rejoin Baxter and the other Avengers where Baxter is ready to incinerate them especially his ex-wife Hellcat.  At that moment Hellcat escapes her bond and attacks Baxter.

Thor turns to find that Moondragon was not completely unconscious and is happy that Thor has proved that he is more powerful than the rest of the Avengers combined.

Hugh Jones figures that this is the time to fry the rest of the Avengers and he calls Baxter to do it.  Baxter, of course, has met his match with Hellcat and when Hugh goes to find out why Baxter is not responding, he runs into all the freed Avengers.

There is no record of a NM- or higher sale of this issue.  There are three sales recorded - an 8.5 sold in 2009 for $25, a 7.5 sold in 2004 for $16, and a 3.5 sold in 2003 for $10.  You will have to use sales of other high grade Avengers as a guide if one ever shows up at auction.

The CGC census shows a total of eleven graded with four 9.4s, a single 9.2, and two 8.5s as the highest graded.