It's The Return Of The Lethal Legion! (it says here)

 
October of 1977 saw the Avengers sandwiched between two high points in writer Jim Shooter's handling of the team: the return of Ultron, who schemed (with the unwitting assistance of, of all people, Ant-Man) to use the life force of Janet Van Dyne to animate a robot bride for himself... and a life-or-death battle with Korvac, an alien from the future who sought to remake our reality, a struggle which nearly wiped out the entire team (along with Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and the Guardians of the Galaxy). Compared to those challenges, seeing the Avengers go up against losers like the refurbished Lethal Legion may not seem like much of a page-turner at first glance--but you may be surprised.

Get a good look at Whirlwind's exclamation on that cover--in this entire story, this trio will only be referred to as "the Lethal Legion" through narrative, and sparingly at that.  (And what's Whirlwind going on about, anyway? Your old group was the Masters of Evil, bub!)

As long as we're stretching the concept of another Lethal Legion being back in business, there's the matter of a new ringleader to take the Grim Reaper's place--a classic villain who has hit the skids since taking part in an abortive scheme that cost the life of an X-Man, but now seeks to remedy his standing by once again employing underlings to do his bidding.  Only this time, he'll be making use of them far more extensively than they can know.

Once Power Man breaks Whirlwind and the Laser out of prison*, Nefaria puts the three of them to work purloining the funds he'll need to carry out his plan. As to what that plan is, Nefaria isn't entirely forthcoming with his lackeys; as was the case with Power Man, he's only told them that he's going to make them even more powerful than they presently are, which is true to a point.

*You have to wonder why facilities that specialize in imprisoning those with super-powers aren't prepared for dealing with super-powered individuals who turn up to carry out a prison break.

But given the title of this comic, Power Man and his fledgling team also have to worry about running into a more established team, though one member of the latter group sees room for improvement.

Soon after the three have returned to the lab with their haul, we see that the funds have been put to good use by Nefaria--recalling the scientists who once worked for him on something called "Project N," while Power Man, Whirlwind, and the Laser have begun the "treatments" which Nefaria promised will enhance their powers. But if we're to believe Nefaria, the steps he's taken with them are a means to an end--something only those working on this project are aware of.

For now, however, a deal's a deal--and with their treatment complete, Power Man and the others are released, now possessing twice their normal power (and that's saying something), and decide (or are sent, we don't know which) to attack the Avengers. Not surprisingly, they feel confident enough to pay a call on Avengers Mansion to get things started--admittedly a vulnerable enough building (with apparently no perimeter alarms) that doesn't exactly keep super-villains up at night wondering how to breach it.

With two Avengers out of this fight (three, it you count Wonder Man in his current state), it looks like the odds are favoring Power Man's group... sorry, the Lethal Legion. Little do they know, however, that the clock is ticking on their enhanced power--and with the remaining Avengers still in the fight, the window is closing on the likelihood of their attack proving successful. We could argue, of course, that they would still remain a threat, even if their powers for some reason fell back to their original levels--that is, if those powers weren't already allocated to a new threat waiting in the wings.

Well, now we know why they call Hank McCoy "the bouncing Beast"--kayoed by Power Man (and more than likely out cold, if not dead) and sent soaring over Manhattan, presumably toward an impact with either a building or the pavement (or both) which would shatter every bone in his body... and he hops over the mansion's wall as if he's nursing a few bruises.

As for Nefaria, he wades into the Avengers at 100 times the strength level of his three pawns--clobbering the Beast, the Black Panther, and even Wonder Man, who's back in the game and giving Nefaria his best. But the Avengers face a powerhouse here, one who can topple skyscrapers as casually as you or I might flip over a coffee table.

Were I a bystander witnessing the scene (hopefully from a vantage point well out of harm's way), I'd be hard-pressed to rebuff Nefaria's exclamation of the Avengers' fate--assuming I could stop slowly shaking my head in shock.

In the aftermath of this chaos, Bob Frank, the Golden Age hero known as the Whizzer (and initially thought to be the father of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch), confronts Nefaria in an attempt to save a random woman he'd seized from the street. No match for Nefaria due to both his age and his foe's much greater power, it's Frank's sobering words which make more of an impact on Nefaria, sending him on a hunt which will have him crossing swords once again with the Avengers.

Of course, if Nefaria has need of the Avengers for whatever reason, he apparently hasn't stopped to consider that he'll first have to bring them back from the dead. Fortunately, as Iron Man arrives on the scene and fears the worst, it appears the team has survived Nefaria's killing strike, thanks to Wonder Man.

When the team returns to their mansion, tense words are exchanged with Iron Man, who asserts his role as Chairman and insists on taking on Nefaria solo and avoid endangering the others whom he feels are too battle-weary to sustain another engagement with their foe. Almost on cue, Nefaria, doubtful that he'd actually succeeded in slaying them earlier, shows up and demands that they summon Thor to face him.

As you might imagine, no one is in the mood to have a conversation with Nefaria, much less grant his demand, and another battle erupts almost immediately--this time with Iron Man leaping into the fray before anyone else. Yet, while the other Avengers swiftly move in when things go against their leader, it seems only a matter of time before they're overwhelmed once more by the incredible force that Nefaria is able to use against them.

Though perhaps even Nefaria should be careful what he wishes for.

NEXT:
The battle that even New York City may not survive!

Gosh, it almost sounds as if Nefaria is walking away from this one!