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thebibliomancer · 2 years

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Essential Avengers: Avengers #272: Assault on ATLANTIS

October, 1986

Finally, prevenge for Atlantis Attacks!

Huh Atlanteans dress in green and purple? I know that’s common villain colors but good job being indistinguishable from several other groups. Including the Skrullkree united empire.

Also, guest starring Alpha Flight! I know very little about Alpha Flight! Except Puck. Puck is great.

Last time on Avengers: Namor joined the Avengers. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. Namor’s past behavior as a guy that flooded New York but also punched Nazis has caused a public opinion split on him. A bunch of insurance companies got together to sue Namor. Despite insisting that the trial be held as soon as possible, Namor also skipped town due to Atlantis drama. This made Wasp very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

And then Namor came back to ask for the Avengers’ help after insisting This Is Something He Has To Do Himself.

So that’s what they’re doing now.

As Captain Marvel nyooms ahead as invisible energy, helpfully rendered bright yellow for the readers’ benefit, she worries about where Namor’s priorities lie. She fears that though Namor asked for the Avengers’ to help him rescue Marrina, he may use the team as muscle to reclaim his throne.

Inside the Avengers sub (they have subs now. There was a whole thing about a submarine dock and a submarine tunnel, remember?) Black Knight assures Wasp the power harnesses he created will protect the Avengers from the crushing deep sea pressure and help them move.

And at Cap(tain America)’s prodding, Namor exposits about his history with Marrina.

See, she’s an alien.

Yup.

A fish alien. So at home in the ocean as he.

And they loved each other, Namor even proposing marriage.

But before she could give him an answer, Marrina got bogged down in Alpha Flight nonsense and got captured by the Master of the World. The Master of the World exposed her to another, more monstery, member of her race which caused a transformation in Marrina.

Namor helped Alpha Flight defeat the Master of the World but Marrina vanished in the confusion and Namor couldn’t find her no matter where he looked.

So, eventually, Namor moved on. Got busy with other stuff. And then he heard that Attuma had captured Marrina and was using her as bait in a Namor trap. So obviously, he went to try and rescue her.

Namor: “But the people of Atlantis... my former subjects... turned against me and supported Attuma when I tried to rescue Marrina. Despite my abdication, I never thought... never dreamed I would so lose the love of my people. I had no choice but to turn to the Avengers for help!”

Which brings us to now.

Meanwhile, in Atlantis, Attuma taunts a captive Marrina. A captive Marrina whose face is very conspicuously being kept hidden.

Attuma: “Hah-hah-ha! The former prince was not of much help in saving your worthless skin... was he, creature?”

Marrina: “Why do you continue to torture me, Attuma? Why don’t you simply kill me and get it over with?”

Attuma: “Because, monster, Namor yet lives. He will never stop trying to free you until his cursed heart ceases to beat! But never fear, the moment I behold proof of his demise -- you shall follow your ‘beloved’ into the embrace of death!”

Charming guy, Attuma.

One of Attuma’s guards comes to report forces moving on the defense perimeters, which Attuma assumes (correctly) is Namor returning with help from air-breathing friends.

Attuma sends the guard with a message to surround the interlopers and then obliterate them.

And then he taunts Marrina again about how he’s totally going to kill Namor.

Villains really do love a captive audience.

At Atlantis’ outer fortifications, the Atlantean soldiers are confused why so much weaponry is needed against just a single ship but you know those tricksy drylanders. Always with treachery.

The Avengers’ ship just floats right outside range of the Atlantean armament... and that’s because the Avengers themselves have left the ship and circled around behind all the fortifications.

Hard to fortify when 3D movement is easy.

Of course, Namor loudly announces their presence and demands they lay down their arms and they won’t be harmed ON HIS WORD AS THE SUB-MARINER.

And Wasp chimes in on her word too.

So the soldiers immediately start firing on them.

Captain America: “Nice try, you two, but they’re not going for it!”

So the Avengers start shaming the pride of the Atlantean military.

Black Knight scoots around on his atomic steed and breaks stuff with his extremely cursed sword.

Wasp shoots people with her pew pew bio-electric stings. She mentions that Black Knight wasn’t able to make diving gear for her that could also shrink with her so she can’t use her usual tricks. But I think her energy blasts are more potent when she’s full sized so its maybe worse for the Atlanteans.

And Namor whines that nobody in Atlantis listens to him.

Although he springs into action when Atlantis launches a warship against the Avengers.

Namor: “It is an Atlantean warship! And those aboard must be taught the folly of firing upon the allies of a former prince of the blood!”

And he and Hercules punch the warship together, reducing it to scrap in one simultaneous punch.

This is their get along move.

I like the Atlantean seaman being ejected from the collapsing vehicle. He probably has no idea what’s going on.

Anyway. Captain Marvel ‘flies’ around underwater as electricity, stunning the Atlantean soldiers.

Captain America is the one who is doing the worst here since he doesn’t have a good way to do a lot of damage fast underwater. But even slowed down underwater, he’s knocked out a dozen Atlantean soldiers.

Also, I have to say. These pressure suits don’t look much like they would be pressure suits. They have helmets and oxygen tanks but nothing that would prevent the water pressure from squeezing your gooey insides out.

Science sure is amazing.

Anyway, with the Avengers all making Atlantis look like fools (something Namor really should keep in mind the next five times he decides he’s mad at humanity), they panic and flee the Avengers.

An Atlantean: “Retreat! Better to risk the wrath of Attuma than battle the Avengers unarmed!”

Captain America suggests pursuing the retreating soldiers but gets distracted because it seems like Attuma’s forces are under attack from a second group as well.

Namor recognizes them. Because he sent his treacherous cousin Byrrah to find them and bring them to help.

It’s Alpha Flight!

‘Oh right,’ the Wasp says, having briefly met them in Secret Wars II.

Anyway, it’s Northstar, Aurora, Shaman, Box, Puck, Snowbird and Vindicator.

I don’t know a lot about these guys. Except Puck, as I’ve already established.

Also, Sasquatch. But he doesn’t seem to be here. Maybe he isn’t on the team yet or currently.

The two teams exchange greetings and Vindicator mentions that Alpha Flight wants to avoid an international incident.

I’m also not sure if Alpha Flight is still working for the Canadian government at this point. But if they are, that explains why they’re more worried about that then the Avengers are, who are in the doghouse as far as the government goes.

Captain America: “We’re not invading Atlantis, Vindicator, we’re just going to rescue your teammate, Marrina... and get out!”

Wasp: “The faster, the better!”

Namor: “I concur. Atlantis is no longer mine... When I ruled her, I ruled neither wisely nor well. I will not force myself upon my people now! They have chosen the rule of a barbarian over mine. They must live by that decision. All I demand from them is Marrina’s freedom.”

Meanwhile, within Attuma’s fortress, he is STILL taunting Marrina?

Dude, you are under attack, take an interest!

He’s just assuming that everything is going fine so he can continue talking his captive audience’s ear off.

So he’s not happy when his messenger brings him not Namor’s head but news that the invaders are at the outskirts of Atlantis. And less happy when the great warning horn signals WROOAAHHH! indicating that Atlantis is now under siege.

But, again, its hard for fortifications to matter much in an environment with 3D movement. The Avengers aren’t sieging the city walls, they’re swimming over the city.

Wasp tells Namor and Hercules to lead the charge. Which just further annoys Hercules’ emergent misogyny.

Hercules thoughts: ‘Take the lead,’ says she... bah! What else would I do? The Prince of Power needs no slip of a woman to tell him the obvious!

The Avengers and Alpha Flight storm the city, if such a small number can be said to storm. Putting the pressure on the palace guards.

Attuma actually shows up to his own battle and berates his guards for thinking that the Avengers could be fought without using the BIGGEST guns available.

A soldier: “But Lord Attuma, such weaponry could level the city!”

Attuma: “What of it? Cities can be rebuilt! ... I would level a hundred cities to insure our victory! The accursed Avengers must fall! The Sub-Mariner must die!”

Attuma finally showing up puts a little pep in Namor’s step and he launches himself across the battle to punch Attuma through a wall.

Namor: “You have the throne... you have the kingdom! Yet, you would sacrifice both to see me dead! You are either a madman or a fool!”

While Namor helps Attuma destroy the kingdom a building at a time, Northstar swims into Attuma’s Marrina mocking tower and frees her by punching open her prison globe.

Northstar is surprised to see what Marrina looks like (though we still don’t) while the underwater woman weakly begs him not to look at her.

Somehow, Attuma senses a disturbance in the mocking tower and knows that Marrina has been freed.

Attuma: “The half-breed traitor dares to assault me... an air-breathing accomplice frees his monstrous lover! Where are my legions?”

QUINCTILIUS VARUS, GIVE ME BACK MY LEGIONS!

Hah but no.

Even though the Atlantean military hasn’t done much good so far, apparently having failed to keep the Avengers out of the city has done them some good.

The armies come storming into the city and surround the Avengers and Alpha Flight.

How did you dinguses let yourselves get bunched up like this?

Surrounding them doesn’t do a lot of good though.

Because. Ocean. Three-D movement.

Hercules just gets mad at Attuma proclaiming that the bunched up heroes will be slain and does a big stomp, which flings a bunch of soldiers away. Then Wasp commands Namor, Box, and Vindicator to follow Hercules’ lead in fighting the legions, Captain Marvel to take out their mobile artillery and warships, and for the rest of the heroes to escort Marrina to safety.

Wow. Mook armies less well equipped and with less homefield advantage than the Atlanteans have do better against superhero teams than this. This is embarrassing for Atlantis.

Namor confronts Attuma personally and demands that he call off his legions.

Attuma disagrees so he hits Namor with a rock.

It was a really big rock.

He plans to follow it up with what looks like a pillar or maybe a statue, presumably torn from one of the underwater buildings.

Attuma: “This time Attuma is the sovereign of Atlantis, and Namor the usurper! And this time, Namor will know the ultimate defeat!”

-Namor punch-

Namor: “You may rule, Attuma -- but you shall never slay me! Listen to me! I don’t want your throne!”

Attuma: “You... you are serious!”

Wow. This whole thing was so avoidable.

Attuma managed to get Atlantis but he was paranoid that Namor would come take it back so he decided better have it on his terms and tried to lure him into a trap by capturing his ex.

Except Namor was so bummed that none of his people like him that he doesn’t even care that Attuma took over Atlantis finally.

Attuma and Atlantis deserve each other!

Also, the book isn’t even pretending that the Atlantean soldiers were much of a threat to the Avengers and Alpha Flight.

Namor: “Now order your men to stop fighting, before my allies are forced to injure more of them!”

Let this senseless violence cease! My guys are getting tired of whupping your guys’ asses!

Actually, I joke but Box of Alpha Flight literally does get tired of whupping Atlantean ass.

Apparently his thing is that he’s a guy... who merges with a robot body? And he’s never been merged this long and isn’t feeling too good.

Team leader Vindicator tells him to go to the surface and unmerge with that armor ASAP.

On his way up he passes the escort team and does them a startle. And while they’re done a startle, Marrina vanishes on them.

One job. You guys had one job.

Back unda the sea, Namor is still scolding that this whole plot was so avoidable.

Namor: “Look about you, Attuma! None of this destruction was necessary! The affairs of Atlantis are now but part of my past. I doubt that I would ever have returned, had you not taken Marrina prisoner. There is a saying among the surface people... that every nation has the government it deserves. If that is so, then I pity Atlantis.”

Hercules: “Let us return to the land, Namor. There is nothing for you here!”

Then Marrina shows up to try to kick Attuma’s ass but one of the otherwise useless Atlantean soldiers shoots her to stop her from attacking his warlord.

Namor clobbers the soldier and then swims after Marrina.

When the Avengers and Alpha Flight leave to head back to the surface, Captain Marvel lingers to read Attuma the riot act.

Captain Marvel: “All right, Attuma... you can keep on running Atlantis for as long as these people put up with you. We won’t interfere. But if you ever pull anything like this again, the Avengers will be on top of you like mud on a crawfish! And don’t you forget it!”

Then she nyooms off. And because Attuma is a villain, he has learned nothing. He vows he will get revenge for being humiliated in front of Atlantis.

Meanwhile, Namor has managed to catch up with Marrina, despite her blood trail running cold because she’s healed from the shoulder shot.

Still covering her face, Marrina demands Namor go away because she doesn’t want him to see her like this.

Marrina: “I didn’t want you to find me, Namor. I knew you’d repeat your offer of marriage, and... I am not worthy.”

Namor: “You’re in pain. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

Marrina: “Don’t I? Must I show you the horror that I’ve become?! I am an alien, Namor! The only reason I’m female... the only reason I’m even humanoid... is that the first organism I came in direct contact with was a human woman.”

Marrina exposits the biz with the Master of the World exposing her to another member of her alien race causing her horrible transformation!! into the same person but with a monstery face.

I’m not going to say she’s overreacting because she’s had a horrifying discover that she’s an alien meant to breed a whole lot and overrun Earth and also because the transformation has her in constant, unending pain.

But the part where she wants to cut all her social ties and lost herself to the depths is probably a wrong impulse.

Also, Captain Marvel is eavesdropping on this drama as invisible, undetectable neutrinos. Very possibly also the wrong impulse. Give them some privacy, Monica, geez.

The worse wrong impulse is that when Marrina declares that she’s going to lose herself in the depthiest depths of the ocean, Monica becomes visible light and pleads with Marrina not to do that thing because maybe the Avengers can help! Or if not them, then all the top biologists they know!

Marrina declares that nothing can “alleviate the spawning urge” except time or death. Then freaks out and tries to kill Monica.

Since Monica is intangible light form, Marrina instead escapes to the ocean depths.

Captain Monica offers to go after her but Namor tells her no. This Is Something He Has To Do Himself.

Dammit, Namor, that’s how we got here in the first place!

Captain Marvel: “You invoked personal privilege a week ago, and wound up having your mind changed the hard way.”

Namor: “This is different.”

Although, in fairness to Namor, trying to talk Marrina around is a different matter than trying to take on Atlantis single-handedly.

And as Namor says, this whole ordeal is sorta kinda only if you squint his fault since Attuma only tried to use her against Namor because Namor loved her.

Hey, Namor, this is fucked up logic.

Either way, he feels responsible for the situation and doesn’t want any help and in other fairness, Marrina tends to freak out when people see her so maybe let Namor handle it. Though I have my doubts about his soft skills.

Captain Marvel reminds Namor that he has other responsibilities. Avengers responsibilities. TWO BILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT RESPONSIBILITIES.

Namor: “Recognition in the courts of my father’s native land is very important to me. It is a priceless opportunity to declare my place amongst the humanity of the surface world.”

Captain Marvel: “This could be your last opportunity.”

Namor: “I know that, but I cannot abandon Marrina now. I must help her find some sort of peace. I want you to tell the Wasp that I wish to take a leave of absence from the active ranks of the Avengers. Tell her I shall return... as soon as I can.”

Captain Marvel asks if he’s sure but no, of course not. But he’s gonna do it anyway.

Namor: “I am not certain of anything in this world, Marvel -- save duty and honor. When the first is ignored, the second must wither and die. Farewell, Captain. I shall miss being an Avenger... I shall miss you all.”

And then he swims off, to try to save Marrina. Leaving Captain Marvel to ponder that maybe she pegged him all wrong with her kneejerk first impulse of him.

Maybe indeed.

Ignore that Masters of Evil thing though. Pay it no mind. We don’t have time for that. Because it’s really time.

For baseball.

Follow @essential-avengers because I’m going to do annuals in the same post. Hopefully. Sometimes tumblr posts can’t handle that much comic at once. Maybe if you like and reblog this post, it will help that post handle the strain. But probably not. These things are not connected.

#avengers #essential avengers #attuma #atlantis #the wasp #captain america #captain marvel #Monica Rambeau #Namor McKenzie #Hercules #Black Knight #Marrina #Alpha Flight #not gonna tag them all #essential marvel liveblogging

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