Hi, Dave.
DJ> I just re-read these books, as well as avengers 395 with the death
DJ> of Tony Stark. Man, what marvel alowed to be done to Tony Stark,
DJ> was equal to the decision to make the clone spidy out to be the
DJ> true one!! It bombed terribly!
     I agree.  Early on IMO, "The Crossing" tried to be an intelligent
time-travel story.  Having Kang go back in time and make a young Tony
Stark into a sleeper agent was an extremely interesting idea... as was
the idea that, in a similar way, Kang was also responsible for Hank
Pym's various nervous breakdowns over the years.  The problem was
(IMO) that it was also a very complex and convoluted storyline which
required a lot more sophisticated ending than it got.  I mean after
Kang's temporal influence was established, it was like the writer (Bob
Harras, wasn't it?) painted himself into a corner he didn't know how
to get out of...  and instead, chose to dumb-down the story.  Going
back in time and altering the past can potentially have all kinds of
ramifications for the present.  Harras (or whoever was writing the
book at the time) just didn't seem interested in dealing with those
ramifications... and I think the whole story suffered as a result.
     I also didn't like his usage of Mantis in that particular
storyline (something Rob Liefeld had no problem continuing during his
dumb "Heroes Reborn" storyline).  Mantis went from being an Avenger
(whose boyfriend, the Swordsman was killed by a death-ray meant for
her, which was fired by Kang)... to being the Silver Surfer's main
squeeze for a little while... to back to being an Avenger again for a
short time (in the West Coast Avengers)... to being Kang's "gun-
moll"???  That doesn't make much sense to me (unless the Mantis who
appeared in "The Crossing" was from an alternate time-line).  To this
date, Mantis continues to be one of my favorite Marvel characters...
and I'm hoping the next time we see her... we'll get some explanations
for some of the recent developments in her life (I'd also love to see
her and the new Swordsman encounter each other).
DJ> I read that an iron man special is planned to resolve the teen
DJ> Tony storyline. Now THAT will take SOME doing!!
     I agree.  It will take some doing.  To be honest though, I'm not
sure an explanation is necessary.  Personally, I'm so glad to have
a grown-up Tony Stark & human-looking Janet Van-Dyne again...  that
I'd almost accept any lame-ass explanation for it...  Still... I'd
be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little interested in the
explanation...  If any writer is up to the task... Kurt Busiek is
it, IMO. 8)
DJ> Back in issue 228 or so of avengers, marvel came VERY close with
DJ> having Hank Pym blow his brains out, but wisely did'nt.
     Are you SERIOUS?!?  They were actually gonna have Hank commit
suicide?  Yikes!  I'm so incredibly glad they shelved that idea.  He's
just too good a character to lose, IMO.
DJ> They gave these books, slick covers, but they still stank.
     Well... you know the old adage... if you can't dazzle them with
brilliance... baffle 'em with bull****.  The same thing applies here
IMO.  Heck, I liked the Avengers/Ultraforce crossover a lot more than
I did "The Crossing".
DJ> I for one, liked the female yellowjacket.She met a worthless end.
     I liked the female Yellowjacket too... and I agree with you 100%
about her death being a worthless one.  IMO, she was killed because
most Avengers fans wouldn't make too much of a stink over losing her
(and they wanted to have Iron Man kill some of his fellow Avengers to
emphasize his devotion to Kang's scheme).
     I loved the way they brought her into the Avengers in the first
place way back during "The Evolutionary War" storyline (a
story/crossover I was generally unimpressed with).  Originally, she
was a part of the Masters Of Evil (now called the "Thunderbolts") who
successfully invaded and occupied Avengers Mansion for a time
(probably my all-time favorite Avengers story).  It's a couple of
years later, and the Avengers are disbanded (time-wise, it takes place
prior to Avengers #300).  Captain America, then calling himself "The
Captain" needs the Avengers and sends out a general call to any
available members.  Because Yellowjacket II originally stole her suit
from Hank Pym, she gets the Avengers priority call too... but doesn't
know how to shut it off.  She heads to Avengers Mansion to get
somebody to show her how to stop the incessant "beeping" and ends up
getting conscripted onto a team which included the Grey Hulk, Hercules
and Jocasta (like Yellowjacket II, another wasted-potential character
who was recreated only to be destroyed by the issue's end).  I think
she could've made a great Avenger... but none of the writers seemed
interested in using her (other than in a single issue of ""Avengers
Spotlight"/"Solo Avengers").
DJ> Im ejecting them from my collection.
     As bad as "The Crossing" was... I just can't find it in my heart
to get rid of those issues.  I guess it kinda serves as a reminder
that even a great book like the Avengers (which still, despite "The
Crossing", goes down in my books as Marvel's all-time most
consistantly good series) can be brought low by a poorly thought-out
idea.  At least the series didn't finish off with "The Crossing"...
Talk to you later.
David
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