Avengers 153 to 157 (including Avengers Annual 6)

Avengers 153 to 157; Avengers Annual 6

 

Conway edits himself.

Generals, warlords, monarchs

all can't be trusted.

 

Beast; Henry "Hank" McCoy
Captain America; Steve Rogers
Iron Man; Tony Stark
Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Vision
Wasp; Janet Van Dyne
Yellowjacket; Henry "Hank" Pym

Featured Allies/Enemies
"Black Knight" (petrified body only)
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
Daredevil; Matt Murdock
Doctor Strange; Stephen Strange
Hercules; Heracles
Hulk; Bruce Banner
Namor; Namor McKenzie
Valkyrie; Barbara Norriss
Wonder Man; Simon Williams

     Gerry Conway's tenure as writer/editor on Avengers was fairly short, only from issue 151 to 157, and he needed a little help to finish a couple of those issues. He was contributing to several other series at this time, so it's no surprise he needed some assistance. He will not make a return to Avengers later, and he soon jumped to DC Comics by mid-1977. His career continued to flourish, and he also made the move to writing animation episodes for shows like Transformers and GI Joe and feature films like Conan the Destroyer with fellow Avengers scribe Roy Thomas. In 1990, he began working for network television and produced and wrote episodes of Father Dowling Mysteries and several other series, including more than one of the Law & Order franchise.
    This time period also saw a crossover with the Super-Villain Team-Up series. This series had typically featured Doctor Doom and Namor, and they figure directly into these Avengers issues as well and lead Captain America to be in several later issues of Super-Villain Team-Up as well. The seeds of the Serpent Crown and Wonder Man's return continued from Englehart's run, and Conway continues to Wonder Man with the team in action and explore the reactions to his return. The team shows a little Christmas cheer in a short Holiday Grab-Bag story before Christmas Eve is soured in their own series by an unprovoked attack.

Avengers 153

Home is the Hero!

November, 1976

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Petra Goldberg 

Scarlet Witch goes by herself to investigate the whereabouts of the Serpent Crown after their previous battle at the Brand Corporation. She encounters the Living Laser there, who is after the Crown and retrieves it for himself. When Brand security attacks them, Living Laser disappears with the Crown. Back at the Mansion, the rest of the team returns with a comatose, but strengthening Wonder Man. Bob Frank, the Whizzer, is waiting to see Vision. As they talk, a light beam flashes in Whizzer's eye, making him go berserk and attack Vision. Other Avengers come running, but Whizzer also attacks them. From his comments, he believes he's fighting villains from his past, not the Avengers. Wasp and Yellowjacket are able to attack him by surprise, knocking him out. When they take Whizzer to the Lab, the Avengers find that Wonder Man had wrecked the lab and fled the mansion. Back at the Brand Corporation, Scarlet Witch engages the security team and is shot in the shoulder, so she retreats. In New York, Wonder Man begins to speak coherently. We see that he had been summoned by the Living Laser. The Laser admits to causing Whizzer's trance earlier, and he uses the Serpent Crown to take control of Wonder Man's mind.
 

Beast: "Since when was I elected donkey for this troop?"

Vision: "In many ways, you are our strongest member, Hank McCoy--and thus, you may sometimes be unduly burdened."

Scarlet Witch, thinking: "It isn't possible! After all the villains I've fought--I've been shot by a two-bit thug!"

• In the upper left corner box, rather than the Vision standing, he is now passing through "A" in the title.
• Scarlet Witch does not typically fly with her powers. It is revealed later she was using "an experimental flying belt," though it's not visible. A footnote in issue 164 was supposed to explain this, but that issue went to the printers without footnotes by mistake, so it was finally cleared up in the 168 letter column over a year after the fact.
• The explanation as to why the Serpent Crown is still in the ruins at Brand Corporation is they simply forgot about it and left it there.
• Living Laser was last a main villain in Avengers with issue 79. John Buscema was the regular artist back when that issue came out.
• The public thought that Living Laser is dead after a battle in Captain Marvel (1968) 35, but it turns out that was an android duplicate.
• When Brand Security attacks the Living Laser, they think he's with the Avengers. Silly goons.
• None of the team had seen Whizzer since the wedding of Quicksilver in Fantastic Four (1961) 150. They had feared he was dead.
• The Living Laser may take control of Wonder Man, but he mentions that he has no idea how Wonder Man came back to life.
• The story is said to continue in "Giant-Size Avengers" 6, but no such publication is printed. Instead it is Avengers Annual 6.

Avengers Annual 6

No Final Victory!

November, 1976

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by George Pérez, Mike Esposito, John Tartaglione, and Duffy Vohland

Lettered by Joe Rosen

Colored by Petra Goldberg 

Scarlet Witch returns to the mansion and warns the team about the Serpent Crown before she passes out. Vision takes her to the hospital, and Beast goes out into the street to look for Wonder Man, while the rest of the team tends to the recovering Whizzer. Iron Man tracks the Serpent Crown's energy emissions and detects it heading to California, so Iron Man and Captain America fly after it. Whizzer tells Yellowjacket and Wasp his story since he last met the team. He had hit rock bottom, drunkenly wandering the Bowery when a vision of his late wife caused him to recover. He had been seeking answers about his son Nuklo from the American government and discovered his son was being held prisoner in California. He then sought the Scarlet Witch and Vision for assistance. Outside, Beast is attacked by the hypnotized Wonder Man, but Beast is able to knock him out after a brief tussle. Iron Man and Captain America track the readings to a Pacific Palisades compound that is occupied by a heavily armed United States Army unit. The Army won't respond to radio communications and eventually fires on the Quinjet with a tank. The heroes engage the soldiers and their tanks, but the Living Laser appears on the scene wearing the Serpent Crown and defeats the Avengers with a surprise laser blast. We discover that Nuklo is at the compound as well. General Pollock was in charge of his treatment, but chose to go renegade and sell him to the Living Laser, who has upgraded his powers since his last appearance. After these discoveries, the rest of the Avengers and Wonder Man, tipped off by Whizzer as to Nuklo's location, appear and battle the troops. Vision gets the Serpent Crown off the Living Laser's head. Pollock releases Nuklo to assist, and Nuklo goes wild, attacking everyone, knocking out the Living Laser and General Pollack. Nuklo continues to grow in size and seems on the verge of exploding. Whizzer, who had been left behind in New York, appears on the scene at high speed and contains the blast. After the air clears, Nuklo and Whizzer are both alive, but injured.

Wasp: "Hank...the Vision's changed. We've all changed since you and I left the Avengers. It frightens me--even more than the Serpent Crown. I feel--lost."

Captain America: "...we should also say a prayer--for a man with the courage of Abraham, a father willing to make the greatest sacrifice of all--his son!"

• What happened to Annuals 1 through 5? The numbering is a continuation of the Avengers Specials, but the name has been changed to Annuals. Special 5 came out way back in 1972. It's a coincidence that next issue of Giant-Size Avengers would have also been issue 6.
• Jack Kirby does the cover for this Annual, much as he had been doing the covers for the regular series.
• Beast is the only Avenger to seek out Wonder Man. This foreshadows their strong friendship.
• Whizzer reveals he saw the villains Isbisa, Future Man, and Madame Death in his hallucination. Iron Man was Madame Death since no female Avengers were handy. He didn't see Wasp, after all.
• Beast ends up carrying Wonder Man back to the mansion over his shoulder. This is the third story in a row the poor guy is lugging unconscious foes around.
• The Living Laser learned about the Serpent Crown from a book in his prison library about the ancient continent of Lemuria written by a Dr. M.C. Higgins.
• General Pollock is next seen in Marvel Two-in-One 51, trying to invade the SHIELD Helicarrier. In that issue, Nick Fury mentions that Pollock had been out of the country since his defeat here.

Night Vision!

November, 1976

Written by Scott Edelman

Art by Herb Trimpe

Lettered by Irving Watanabe

Colored by Irene Vartanoff
 

Vision drifts through the city in his intangible state, lost in thought. He unfortunately stops and becomes solid in the middle of a city street. A milk truck smashes into him, but the driver leaps clear and avoids injury. The police arrive and try to calm the driver, but they take Vision to the station for causing the accident. Coincidentally Whirlwhind is being held prisoner at that station, and he stages a breakout while Vision is there. Whirlwind manages to get outside, but Vision pursues him and is able to recapture him. Vision claims he has wasted enough time, so he reassures the driver that Tony Stark will reimburse him for the loss of his truck and flies away.

Whirlwind: "He who fights and whirls away--will whirl and win another day. Good day, Vision!"

• This is a short eight-page story after the main tale.
• This and Avengers 145 are the only Avengers stories that Scott Edelman has written.
• This is the first time Herb Trimpe will do art for Avengers. He inks his own work for this story.
• A police officer mentions to Vision that the common citizens do tend to get upset when their property is destroyed by superheroes.
• Whirlwhind was defeated in Avengers 139 and has been in jail since. He is being kept in a regular jail cell with no extra security measures for a super criminal.

Avengers 154
When Strikes Attuma?

December, 1976

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Don Warfield
 

While dropping the Serpent Crown into the depths of the Pacific Ocean, Vision is attacked by a submersible. He investigates and finds Lord Arno and his warriors inside, and the Atlanteans manage to subdue Vision with a sonic rifle. After the Whizzer is taken to the hospital for his injuries, Triton, the Inhuman, arrives at the Mansion looking for help. Arno reveals that his master is Attuma, whose plan is to blackmail the Avengers into attacking Namor at Hydrobase. Back at the Mansion, Triton betrays himself to be a disguised Atlantean when he lacks knowledge of Quicksilver's current affairs. Tyrak is not a typical Atlantean and shows off his increased strength and handy weaponry by beating Scarlet Witch, Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, and Yellowjacket by himself. Only Beast is left standing, and he escapes through the window rather than be captured. Two more Atlanteans exit the craft that brought Tyrak to the mansion, and the unconscious Avengers are collected for transport.

Attuma: "To me, you are symbolic, Vision. You represent heroic humanity--in a way most ironic! And because you do, you must be broken completely--and subject to total humiliation!"

• This is the first Avengers to feature inker Pablo Marcos.
• The front page still refers to the Annual as "Giant-Size Avengers" 6. They really miss that title.
• The Avengers' plan to get rid of the Serpent Crown is to drop it in the Pacific Ocean. This seems very shortsighted since the Crown originally resurfaced after being under the ocean. More Serpent Crown mind control at work?
• This issue introduces several new Atlanteans--Mako, Gort, Lord Arno, and Tyrak, all who work for Attuma.
• The Vision thinks that all Atlanteans should be in a state of suspended animation. This happened in Sub-Mariner (1968) 68 when the city of Atlantis was poisoned by nerve gas and the entire city was so afflicted. They are eventually revived by, of all people, Doctor Doom in Super-Villain Team-Up 13.
• While Vision is unconscious, Attuma takes Vision's cape and begins to wear it.
• Wonder Man states that he has been comatose for 10 years. He hopes to bond with Captain America, who went through similar circumstances when he was frozen at the end of World War II.
• Jarvis shows his action-hero side when he brandishes a large energy rifle at "Triton's" craft. Scarlet Witch has to calm down the nervous butler. He later jumps on Tyrak's back as well.
• Tyrak says the Atlanteans have been watching the Avengers for weeks in preparation of this plan.
• Tyrak bursts forth from his Triton exoskeleton disguise in full Tyrak costume. I'm still trying to figure out how he got his helmet in that normal-sized head space. Also, Tyrak is seven feet tall, and Triton is only 6'2". I guess Atlanteans are used to crushing pressures.

Tyrak                               Triton

 

Super-Villain Team-Up 9
Pawns of Attuma!

December, 1976

Written by Bill Mantlo

Art by Jim Shooter and Sal Trapani

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Hugh Paley
 

The Captured Avengers are fitted with Attuma's slave collars that force their compliance and sent to Hydrobase to destroy it and Namor. Unfortunately Namor is not even there. He is in Latveria, where he discovers that the man he thought was Doctor Doom is really an imposter, Rudolfo, the rebel prince of Latveria in a Doombot's shell. Tiring of the surface men's affairs, Namor flies away. Doctor Doom bides his time at Hydrobase, waiting for his bodyguards to show up and free him. Instead, the Avengers arrive and demand that Namor be brought before them. Instead Doom and the others at Hydrobase battle the Avengers. Because of the slave collars, the Avengers' reactions are dulled, and they are eventually defeated. Beast, after fleeing the Mansion, goes to the hospital to recruit Whizzer and Wonder Man to go after the Avengers. Namor encounters some fighter planes on his journey, and they open fire on him. After he disables the jets, he discovers that the latest news is that Attuma is planning an attack off the coast of Maryland.
 

Doctor Doom: "The mighty Avengers! Bah! You are sheep to be driven before the might of Doom!"

• The cover shows Vision wearing his cape, but inside it is missing. Attuma is still wearing it after taking it in Avengers 154.
• This issue's art was laid out by Jim Shooter. Although he is mostly known for his writing and editing, he did sometimes do rough breakdowns and penciling as well.
• Earlier in this series, Namor had been hampered out of water, unable to survive there without a serum Doctor Doom had been providing to him. Rudolfo gives him an antidote, and Namor is then freed from this restriction.
• Namor had been doing the bidding of Doctor Doom because he swore an oath to do so in order to keep the serum coming. Doom was supposedly killed in Super-Villain Team-Up 7, so Namor believes he's freed from any such oath.
• Doom's "death" was from falling off a cliff. He was captured in his weakened state by Namorita and eventually taken to Hydrobase to help cure the Atlanteans.
• Scarlet Witch complains of her broken arm, which is in a sling and bandaged in the forearm area. Her injury was really a bullet wound to the upper arm. I suppose a bullet fragment could have caused additional damage.
• The Avengers' reactions are so slow due to their slave collars that even onlookers can tell something is wrong with them.
• Doctor Doom is incensed when the Avengers attack him. He refers to a non-aggression pact that Latveria has with the United States. American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger appeared in Super-Villain Team-Up 6 with this pronouncement. The enslaved Avengers don't much care.
• Beast has a Quinjet remain stationary outside a window on the 30th floor of the hospital with no pilot. Apparently it has a hover mode.
• Atlantean ally Tamara belongs to a water-breathing alien race, the Banari, who have crimson red skin, but she is the only survivor of that race. When she sees Vision, she briefly thinks she may have found one of her people.

Avengers 155
To Stand Alone!

January, 1977

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Glynis Wein
 

The Avengers try to rally against Doctor Doom and his allies, but they fail, and the Avengers are imprisoned. Doom has no idea why they attacked, but a groggy Captain America murmurs, "Attuma," and Namorita asks Doom for help against the warlord. Working together, the Avengers manage to destroy Vision's slave collar, but instead of helping his team escape, he leaves the chamber completely. Attuma and his strike team attack a research platform to steal its technology, which accelerates plant growth. Beast, Wonder Man, and Whizzer are there to defend the platform, and there are doing well against the Atlanteans. Namor flies onto the scene, and Attuma calls out, pretending the heroes are really his allies, not his enemies. Namor believes Attuma's ruse and attacks the heroes instead of his true foe. Attuma takes the device he sought and dives into the ocean, and Beast follows him. Namor finally recognizes Whizzer and stops fighting just as Wonder Man decks Namor with a powerful blow. Attuma reaches his sub and declares he will use the chlorobeam to transform Tyrak. We discover that Vision has gone to Doctor  Doom with some kind of offer.
 

Doctor Doom: "If you other Avengers would avoid his fate, I suggest you surrender--at once--else I lose my patience!"

Captain America: "Doctor, you've got to be kidding!"

• The last two digits of the UPC reset to 01. Oh, that's because it's a January book. I should have realized that before.
• This is the first appearance of Hydrobase in Avengers. It will eventually be the Avengers' temporary headquarters when the Mansion is destroyed and being rebuilt. Hydrobase gets its name from the first owner, Doctor Hydro.
• A narration caption says that this issue is the 13th anniversary of the Avengers first battling Namor. That would be Avengers 3 in January of 1964.
• The sound effect for an Atlantean blasting Vision is "Chump."
• We find out that Beast placed an electronic tracking device on Tyrak's ship after leaving the mansion in issue 154.
• Narration calls the research platform a "Sealab." The United States Navy constructed three different Sealab installations in the sixties to test how divers would respond to extended periods underwater at deep depths. These tests ended in 1969 after one fatality. The lab in this story is testing a beam to increase plankton growth, though.
• Namor doesn't recognize Whizzer right away. He first dismisses him as "a costumed human," then thinks Quicksilver has arrived at the battle when he sees a foe with super speed. He finally recognizes him as his old World War II ally after beating him up a bit.
• A footnote says Namor met Whizzer in Marvel Premiere 27 and 28. Those stories actually appeared in issue 29 and 30 of Marvel Premiere.
• Bullpen Bulletins mentions Gerry Conway and George Pérez are working on a series for Marvel based on the 1976 film Logan's Run. Conway only wrote the first issue, but Pérez drew the first five issues. The series only lasted seven issues. 1977 also saw a short-lived Logan's Run television show. One of those episodes was written by Avengers contributor Harlan Ellison.

Avengers 156
The Private War of Doctor Doom!
February, 1977
Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Sal Buscema and Pablo Marcos
Lettered by Joe Rosen
Colored by Don Warfield


Vision convinces Doctor Doom that Attuma's plan might result in an army of warriors as powerful as Tyrak and that they should join forces, and Doom reluctantly agrees. Namor recovers and reconciles with Wonder Man and Whizzer back on the research platform. Beast contacts them via radio and tells them he has stowed away on Attuma's vessel. Doom frees the Avengers and disables their slave collars as well. He tracks the energy beam that powers the collars back to its source, Attuma's citadel. Beast is discovered in Attuma's vessel and captured. Namor is the first to attack the citadel, but a supercharged Tyrak is able to defeat him. Soon the Avengers arrive, and, with Wonder Man's help, they overpower Tyrak despite his increased size and strength. The Avengers track down Attuma, but they find that Doctor Doom had already defeated him and taken the cell stimulator device. The Avengers return to Hydrobase and engage in battle with Doom while Vision sneaks in and destroys the device. Doom decides to leave now that he has no purpose there, and the Avengers let him go.
 
Captain America: "Huh? Tyrak! But...bigger--much bigger!"
Tyrak: "And stronger, puny one...stronger than all of you!"
 
• Most of my older collection was purchased as back issues, but I recall having this for a very long time, so there's a good chance this was my first issue of Avengers. I also recall a time when I had no idea who Wonder Man and Whizzer were or what they were doing in this book.
• Archie Goodwin gets editing credit for this issue, probably because the normal writer/editor didn't do the writing either. Jim Shooter was filling in for Gerry Conway. Conway does not get any credit in the issue, but it's probable that he did at least create some of the plot since it continues off his story in the previous issue.
• Kudos for the cover having Vision with no cape this time. Once Attuma is defeated in this issue, Vision takes it back
• The title, "Private War of Doctor Doom" was later used as the title of an episode of the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon as well the title of a collected reprinting of issues from Avengers 150 to 156.
• Now that Wonder Man has returned to life, Vision is feeling very sensitive about his own feelings and whether they are his or a simulation of Wonder Man's.
• Beast playfully calls Attuma "Charlie A'Tuna," based on StarKist Tuna's Charlie the Tuna mascot.
• Doctor Doom vows revenge on Vision specifically, but the man has a lot on his plate, so he doesn't really follow through.
• It may seem strange that the Avengers just let Doom go, but there is that pesky non-aggression pact to think about.
• At the end of the issue, Captain America steps outside to investigate something. A footnote says to check Super-Villain Team-Up 11 for answers, but it actually is in issue 10 of that series. In it, Cap mentions how a spy ship was hovering nearby. Cap got to the pilot, but the man poisoned himself before he could be questioned. A scepter in the ship led Cap to the Latverian embassy in New York. He doesn't involve the other Avengers, but he does leave a sealed letter with Jarvis in case he doesn't return from the adventure. He guests in Super-Villain Team-Up until issue 12.
• Also this month, the Avengers appear in one panel of Defenders (1972) 44. Hellcat warns them they may be needed to face an unknown menace, but the Defenders end up handling it.
• Jessica Drew debuts in Marvel Spotlight (1971) 32 this month. She will later join the Avengers. She is known by the code name Arachne here, but she will take the Spider-Woman name in her second appearance.

 

Marvel Treasury Edition 13
'Tis the Season!

1976

Written by Roger Stern

Art by George Tuska and Don Perlin

Lettered by Gaspar Saladino

Colored by Don Warfield

 

The Avengers battle the Fantastic Four at Central Park in a snowball fight for United Charities. Spider-Man is passing by and also visits with the teams. Scarlet Witch spots a shooting star, which is really the Silver Surfer streaking by in the sky. We see how other heroes are spending their Christmastime in New York and Los Angeles.

 

Thing: "It's clobberin' time!"

Beast: "It remains to be seen just who will clobber whom, my friends! Have at you!"

• This story is a series of short interstitial scenes that mostly serve to introduce and bridge four reprint stories. Many Treasury Editions simply reprinted material with no new content. Since the Tales to Astonish (1959) reprint story is only 10 pages long, it was probably to help make up the difference in pages.
• The Marvel Treasury Edition series was oversized, 10" by 14", and sold at newsstands. I got mine back then at 7-Eleven.
• Thor and Iron Man do not take part in the charity event. They do appear in a reprint story.
Although it does not overtly state it's Christmas Eve, everyone's celebrations imply that it is. Avengers 157 says that it takes place on Christmas Eve, so this probably takes place the afternoon before those events. The city is blanketed in snow here, but there is no snow in Avengers 157.
Avengers 58 is reprinted, the story when Vision joins the team. The characters recall these events because Wasp's winter outfit is the same as the one she wore in that issue.
There are also reprints of Marvel Team-Up (1972) 6, Tales to Astonish 93, and Daredevil (1964) 86.
In addition to those previously mentioned, the new content includes scenes with Hulk, Doctor Strange, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Clea, Daredevil, Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Angel, Hercules, Iceman, and some of their friends.
The only hero we see receive a Christmas present is Hulk. He gets a pair of mittens from the Defenders. He wears them to dinner and can't eat while wearing them, so Valkyrie has to spoon-feed him.

Avengers 157
A Ghost of Stone!

March, 1977

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by Don Heck and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Gaspar Saladino

Colored by Don Warfield

 

Iron Man, Yellowjacket, and Beast are in a lab at the Mansion when they are attacked by a strange figure. It proves resistant to their attacks and is able to defeat them all. It is revealed to be the petrified body of the Black Knight that had been stored in Doctor Strange's cellar. A metal hand had reached through a dimensional aperture and revived the statue. The statue came to the Mansion to seek revenge for being forgotten. It attacks Captain America, Wasp, and Jarvis in the kitchen and is able to defeat them as well. Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch are returning home, and Jarvis is able to warn them of danger. The statue still strikes Scarlet Witch by surprise and takes out Wonder Man after a short battle. Vision is the next to return, and the statue tells of its supposed abandonment and need for vengeance. Vision, having been told events previously by Doctor Strange, explains that Dane Whitman's spirit had left the stone body behind and now resides in the 12th century in the body of an ancestor. Doubting its own identity, the enraged statue pounds on Vision's diamond-hard body and destroys itself in its outburst of anger.

 

Wonder Man: "Who are you, mister? What are you trying to do?"

Black Knight Statue: "If you don't recognize me, my name would be meaningless to you."

• The opening caption says this takes place on Christmas Eve. The streets don't seem to have any decorations evident, and no one is carrying any packages, so that date may have been decided after the art was drawn.
• The metal hand is most likely Ultron, but it is not revealed for certain. Teleporting his hand to another location  and bringing stone to life is a bit outside of his normal capabilities. Ultron does return to the series soon, but he doesn't take credit for these actions. Wonder Man also babbled about a "reaching hand" in issue 152.
• Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch are not in the Mansion because they're out Christmas shopping. These two will later become romantically involved.
• Wonder Man complains about a $2.50 cab fare. That would be $9.64 in 2013 dollars. A current on-line calculator for cab fare from Midtown to 890 5th Avenue, the address of the Mansion, was going for about $8.99 to $9.87, so about the same adjusted for inflation. That's a trip of about a mile and a half.
• The statue mentions that it also wants revenge on Thor, Black Panther, and Mantis, but settles for the others that are present and previously "betrayed" it.
• After convincing the statue it is not truly Dane Whitman, Vision reflects that as an artificial man with a mind based on someone else's memories, he might say the same of himself.
• The statue lies in pieces on the floor at the end of the story. That ready was Dane Whitman's body that was destroyed! Whitman's spirit does return to it in Avengers 226, and magic puts the rubble back together and restores it to living flesh.