"The Kree-Skrull War" (1971/06/01)
"The Only Good Alien..." The Avengers 89 (June 1971)
"Judgment Day" The Avengers 90 (July 1971)
"Take One Giant Step--Backward!" The Avengers 91 (August 1971)
"All Things Must End!" The Avengers 92 (September 1971)
"This Beachhead Earth" The Avengers 93 (October 1971)
"More Than Inhuman!" The Avengers 94 (November 1971)
"Something Inhuman This Way Comes..." The Avengers 95 (December 1971)
"The Andromeda Swarm!" The Avengers 96 (January 1972)
"Godhood’s End" The Avengers 97 (February 1972)
Scene from Marvels 4 (1994)

Reader Rating: Above Average; Thunderbolts Interest: Medium

Summary: By befriending the Kree outcast Mar-Vell (a.k.a. Captain Marvel), The Avengers place themselves in the middle of an intergalactic war.

The Avengers are Captain America, Goliath (Clint Barton), Iron Man, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Thor, the Vision, Yellowjacket, and the Wasp. Along the way they encounter Annihilus, Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic, The Inhumans, The Mandroids, Maximus, Nick Fury, Ronan, The Sentry, The Super Skrull, The Supreme Intelligence, and The Thing. Cameo appearances from these Golden Age heroes: The Angel, The Blazing Skull, The Fin, The Human Torch, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and The Patriot.

Continuity: Clint entertains romantic thoughts about Wanda and makes his final appearance as Goliath. His remarkable escape from the Skrulls and return to Earth will be recounted in "Whatever Gods There Be!" (1972/04/01).

The picketing against the Avengers, the attack by the Mandroids, and the subsequent battle with the Skrull mother ship are recapped briefly in Marvels #4.

Comments: Roy Thomas practically invented the comic book "arc" with this imaginative and ground-breaking adventure. This story opened up the heavens to Marvel heroes and raised the scales of all future Avengers tales. Neal Adams makes some famous (but overrated) contributions in the middle chapters, but it is the solid work of the Buscema brothers that brings the story home. Key elements of this story will echo into "Avengers Forever" ( 1998/12/01)

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This page was revised on February 21, 2002