Enough of Iron Fist mania and back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Avengers 148 opens with the Squadron Supreme meeting up in their rocket central in space over the other-earth planning their attack on the Avengers who are on the other-earth and possess President Rockefeller's Serpent Crown. The Squadron Supreme uses their eye in the sky to find the Avengers and the battle is on.
Here is the order of battle.
The Beast is telling Hellcat that he calls her Patsy because he knows that she is Patsy Walker. Cap'n Hawk attacks and goes after Hellcat. It doesn't say much about Cap'n Hawk's manhood or smarts that he would attack Patsy rather than the Beast in a surprise attack, but he WHAM!s her and he misses.
The Beast WOP!s Cap'n Hawk but then gets ZAK!ed by Tom Thumb.
Then Amphibian tries to sneak up on Hellfire but he gives her the opportunity to surrender becauses it is not his habit to harm the weaker sex. Hellfire TOK!s him and Amphibian KRASH!s into a storefront.
Page 7 contains comic book buy and sell advertising from Comic Sales Company, Black Gold Comics, International Comics Exchange, and Max Seeley. Also, on this page you can mail a coupon and 10 cents to Charles Atlas and get his book on how to build an Atlas Body in 7 Days.
Tom Thumb sneaks his micromodule behind Hellfire and SPLOOD!s (covers) her with paste. Yes, I know that doesn't read real well - Tom Thumb using his micromodule to cover Hellfire with paste. Where is Fred Werthem when you need him?
The Beast then KBAM!s Tom Thumb's micromodule and BONK!s Tom Thumb on the head.
Page 12 is advertising for Comic Book Savers which is a notebook to hold 12 Titanic Titles. It came with a full page of comic book character stickers. If anyone has one of these, particularly with stickers and a box, let me know. This would be a really cool thing to store a few variants in.
Then the Beast K-RASHS! Cap'n Hawk.
A short break in the battle teases us with Thor flying over the Avengers homeworld being questioned by Moondragon as to why Thor remains an Avenger. Thor tells her "Silence Woman!" and we are told that we will learn more next month.
The Whizzer WHOOM!s Captain America and Iron Man by streaking past them.
Then Dr. Spectrum KLANG!s Iron Man and the Whizzer POW!s Captain America.
Then the Whizzer runs circles around Captain America and creates some kind of super vortex that causes Cap to CHUNK! to the ground.
Captain America gets up and throws his shield at the Whizzer but the Whizzer vibrates at superspeed and the shield passes harmless through him. The Whizzer BAM!s Cap on the chest but then is surprised when Cap's shield boomerangs and FWAM!s him on the back of the head.
Page 18 is the Mighty Marvel Checklist and all the pictured issues are the regular issues rather than variant ones.
Page 19 is the Avengers Assemble letters page with four fan letters. One is from Peter Sanderson, a student at Columbia University. Another is from Jo Duffy, a student at Wellesley.
Page 20 is an advertising page and includes buy and sell comic advertising from Robert Bell, Pacific Comics, Richard Alf, Comic Kingdom, Grand Book, Inc.
When we rejoin the story, Dr. Spectrum notices that Cap has taken the Whiz (sorry, couldn't resist) and inadvertantly loosens his grip on Iron Man which allows Iorn Man to wriggle free and activate the "ultra-violet beam which nullifies Dr. Spectrum's gem by going beyond the range of its spectrum." No, I am not making this stuff up and this happened before inIron Man 64.
After dispatching the Squadron Supreme, the Avengers meet up and decide they must escape the Other-World but not before they do what they can to save it.
Meanwhile, back on earth Mrs. Pym and Yellowjacket are getting released from the hospital. Dr. Horrigan pronounces them "fit as fiddles," but Yellowjacket is unsure if he will join the Wasp who is going back to the Avengers.
Page 23 is another advertising page with comic advertising from David Belmont, Jack Hunt, Passaic Book Center and some unnamed person in Santee CA.
The Squadron Supreme meets up with President Rockefeller at the White House to tell them that they have failed. President Rockefeller confesses that he and the other corporate and conglomerate executives have taken over control of the county which disturbs the Squadron Supreme until they realize that President Rockefeller is really the Beast in disguise. The Beast escapes after telling them the truth and the Golden Archer shoots an arrow at the Beast which THUNK!s into the ground.
The Beast escapes to another room in the White House where the rest of the Avengers have President Rockefeller tied upin a bondage panel in just his boxers and sock garters. I'll leave that one to your imagination or you can read it yourself.
Page 28 is the Mavel BullPen Bulletins page which include Stan Lee's Soapbox where Stan the Man is pitching the Marvel-Con at NYs Hotel Commodore on April 23, 24, and 25th. I didn't make that one. Also on this page, the bullpen explains what "those little boxes in the left-hand corner of all our mags on sale this month are...The box is called "The Universal Product Code" (U.P.C for short), and this has been put on everything from comics to containers, from magazines to matchboxes, in order to sell the product in all stores. Fact is, you've probably already seen this on all other comics, and now Marvel has it too." Yes, this is the first month that the U.P.C. was printed on the cover, and apparently for once, Marvel conceded that it was second to DC.
The Squadron Supreme rush the Avengers but the Scarlet Witch steps forward and casts a spell which creates some gigantic plant that entangles all of the Squadron. The Avengers have deduced that the President must have a portal to Earth inside the White House and they find the portal and escape through it.
The Squadron Supreme escape the plant and just as they are about to chase the Avengers through the portal they see President Rockefeller in bondage and begin to wonder if what the Beast told them was true. They decide to stay on their planet and we are ready for the Grand Finale in Issue 149.
The only NM- issues that have come up in the last couple of years have been two sales of CGC 9.2s for $75 in 2008 and $125 in 2009. The CGC census shows one 9.8, two 9.6s, and three 9.4s.
