"Testing...1...2...3!" The Avengers 227 (January 1983)
"Trial and Error!" The Avengers 228 (February 1983)
"Final Curtain!" The Avengers 229 (March 1983)
"The Last Farewell!" The Avengers 230 (April 1983)
(1983/03/01)

Reader Rating: Above average; Thunderbolts Interest: Medium

Summary: Egghead frames Hank Pym for treason, then manipulates his trial to force him to assist in longevity experiments. Egghead’s revamped Masters of Evil (The Beetle, Moonstone, the Radioactive Man, Tiger Shark and the Shocker) battle the Avengers (Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Thor, and the Wasp).

Arriving in prison, the Beetle bumps into the Wizard and Plantman (or reasonable facsimiles).

Continuity: Egghead once again arranges to break Moonstone out of prison, and possibly The Beetle, as well. He arranges transporation for Chen Lu, but it is not clear where Chen Lu is coming from.

This is Abner’s only appearance with the Masters of Evil, and his first encounter with Moonstone. The association does not get off to a good start, as he is captured. Abe spends several years either in prison or laying low before he is seen again.

Chen Lu initially appears in human form and is seen in what appears to be a Hulk-type transformation. He displays the ability to sap the radiation-based power of She-Hulk, transforming her to her human form. Chen Lu, too, is left in police custody. In the next year he will somehow return to communist China, where he falls into thrall to the Mandarin.

Hawkeye encounters Moonstone for the second time and notes that she is a "babe." Karla surrenders to the Avengers and is sent to Project:Pegasus.

At this point Sam has already escaped from prison; that's a plant duplicate that Abe bumps into, as will be revealed in "Up from the Depths" (Smithers/Next).

Comments: It’s worth fishing through Avengers issues from the previous year (#214-#217, or so) to see Henry Pym’s downfall in all its glory. The recap provided in "Testing" is complete enough to get oriented. It takes a while for the story to gather steam but, when it finally comes, Hank’s showdown with Egghead and the MoE is spectacular. Moonstone is fairly prominent in the later installments, and the Beetle has a showy, albeit brief, run-in with Thor.

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This page was revised on May 25, 2005