When Dies The Universe!

 

There probably isn't a comics reader alive who hasn't come across a story where a character appears to have or actually has returned from the dead--but isn't this taking things a bit too far?

And guest-starring Death itself (uh, herself), as well?

Having already taken a look at the various lineups of the Legion of the Unliving, the PPC now throws a spotlight on the 1987 Avengers Annual, which concludes a two-part tale begun in the West Coast Avengers annual of the same year by Steve Englehart that played out in Death's realm and now culminates with a threat to the entire universe. As we can see, the Grandmaster has found a way to cheat Death after being consigned to that realm following the events of the Contest of Champions limited series five years prior--as we learned that even Death was unprepared for the wily strategy employed by this Elder of the Universe.

So, having essentially conquered Death, where does the Grandmaster go from here with his obsession with contests? Unfortunately, there is only one arena, and one prize, now worthy of his interest--and he makes use of the realm of Death to supply his game pieces.

For this annual, Tom DeFalco takes over as scripter--but in an interesting deviation from the WCA tale, aside from the five Avengers teams that form to tackle the threat there are also artist "teams" assigned to this story's various chapters which offer a rare opportunity to see a number of different penciler/inker combinations, a development we owe to either a last-minute shuffle to meet a deadline or (presumably) a decision from the book's editor, Mark Gruenwald. In all but one chapter, you'll likely see more of the influence of the inker, given that the penciler limits himself to breakdowns--while bookending the tale features the work of Bob Hall and Tom Palmer.

As for the Legion of the Unliving, it's easy enough to accept the malicious instincts of those villains who are present in this particular lineup--but what throws off the concept is that, as with previous incarnations, there is no reluctance whatsoever on the part of Nighthawk, the Swordsman, Captain Marvel, Bucky, and the Golden Age Black Knight in falling in with the rest and being just as out for blood as their fellow corpses. Even the Executioner, who nobly sacrificed himself and ended his life with honor, is given a cobbled-together reason for going after Thor with a murderous vengeance--while Bucky apparently harbors resentment toward Captain America for failing to protect him from the explosion which caused his death. As for the Legion's opponents, you can expect many pairings to make sense from a commercial standpoint, though there are a few which will be unexpected and fresh to the eye.

So let's break it all down.

Chapter One
Heroes: Thor, Hawkeye, Doctor Pym
Legionaries: Executioner, Swordsman, Nighthawk
Artists: John Romita Jr. (breakdowns), Bill Sienkiewicz

Since the Grandmaster has scattered his life-bombs to five distant corners of the universe, the fact that the battleground for this chapter happens to be Pluto's realm of Hades suggests that he's intentionally targeted such sub-dimensions of our own universe* in order to wipe out all possible remnants of it. And things start out rather gruesomely with the death of Doctor Pym at Nighthawk's hands--but while Hawkeye survives by outfoxing the Swordsman, Thor has no option but to sacrifice himself in an effort to contain the detonation of the life-bomb following his battle with the Executioner.

*If that's what we're calling the location of Hades--frankly I have no idea how to categorize places like Olympus, Asgard, etc. Asgard's location, for instance, has been described a number of ways, though it's also proven to be reachable by people and ships traveling through outer space.

Chapter Two
Heroes: Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Tigra
Legionaries: Captain Marvel, Destroyer, Green Goblin, Death Adder
Artists: Keith Pollard (breakdowns), Al Williamson

The character of Death Adder, a member of the criminal Serpent Society, is a little out of left field in terms of deceased villains chosen to battle Avengers. All things considered, he's an acceptable opponent for Tigra--and though neither she nor any of her team would survive the assaults against them, Captain Marvel manages to destroy the life-bomb before she succumbs to the three-pronged assault of her namesake, the Goblin, and the Destroyer.

(Come on--the Destroyer, who has decimated planetoids and ripped asunder entire stars, claiming to be considerably weaker than She-Hulk? Try again, Mr. DeFalco.)

Chapter Three
Hero: Silver Surfer
Legionary: Korvac
Artists: Marshall Rogers, Bob Layton

Korvac, of course, has more than held his own against all of the Avengers; nevertheless, things start out on a hopeful note for the Silver Surfer, whose power, like Korvac's, stems from the so-called power cosmic (i.e., "cosmic power" without the scripted flourish).

However, both combatants perish (not that Korvac had a life to lose here) when the villain dissolves the Surfer's protective sheath and renders him vulnerable to the void of space--even as his board hurtles the two of them into the life-bomb, destroying it.

Chapter Four
Heroes: Iron Man, Dr. Druid, Black Knight, Mockingbird
Legionaries: Terrax, Dracula, Black Knight, Red Guardian
Artists: Jackson Guice (breakdowns), Kevin Nowlan

No survivors in Iron Man's group, either, though some of the scenes involving Dracula are riveting--an insidious enemy, to be sure. This is the only chapter which sees one of the life-bombs fulfill its goal.

Chapter Five
Heroes: Wasp, Captain America, Wonder Man
Legionaries: Bucky, Baron Blood, Hyperion
Artists: Ron Frenz (breakdowns), Bob Wiacek

Baron Blood didn't fare as well in this match as Dracula--but things didn't go well for the heroes, either, as only Captain America would make it out alive in a series of attacks where both Hyperion and Bucky showed their opponents no mercy.

So--with only one of the life-bombs having detonated, the result of this "game" of the Grandmaster's would seem to be inconclusive. A pity the Grandmaster doesn't see it that way, in a grim meeting that for both Cap and Hawkeye is a fair indication that it may be only a matter of time before they're doomed to eventually join the Legion of the Unliving along with their deceased comrades.

But in an unfortunate "stop me if you've heard this one before" conclusion to this story, DeFalco takes a page from 1975's Giant-Size Defenders #3, with Hawkeye in the role of Daredevil this time and the Grandmaster, despite his declaration at the outset of this story to not allow his fascination with skill and chance to affect his judgment and overwhelm his desire for victory, succumbing yet again to a gambit which resorts to a clever bit of cheating to save the day (not to mention the universe).

As for Death, she exhibits what we might call gratitude by returning Cap and Hawkeye to Earth, where they find the Avengers they lost have been restored to life. (Minus the Swordsman, who now probably has another reason to go after the Avengers if called upon to do so.) The Grandmaster also finds himself among the living, having been "exiled" from Death's realm and thus condemned to eternal life--which should be nothing new to him, since all the Elders are virtually immortal.

And the decimated area that had comprised one-fifth of the universe? Well, I'm not about to make a point of asking Death about that--are you?