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Solo Avengers #14: Review

Jan 1989
Tom DeFalco, Al Milgrom

Story Name:

When the Widow Calls

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Solo Avengers #14 Review by (May 10, 2022)

Review: Not exactly a solo Avenger story, the Hawkeye tale is clearly a team-up but I’m not going to get picky about what the editor wants to put in his own comic. It is nice that they are returning to a longer form for stories that can’t be covered in one issue and this one is nice, being a throwback to the 60s with its streamlined plot and the silly name for the “Awesome Attackoid.” Nothing very cerebral, just a decent adventure story.

Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, an unbeatable team to begin with, contribute a story featuring She-Hulk, one of the most delightful of Marvel characters and this tale immediately goes on the list of best stories for this title. Really. I have nothing more to say.

Comments: First story: Part one of three parts. There’s a play on “Reach out and touch someone,” a contemporary slogan of the telephone company. Second story: Reprinted in ALL-NEW SAVAGE SHE-HULK #2. Only appearance of Mr. McVicker. The final moment is an echo of a Life Savers candy commercial from the 70s, when a dad offers one to his son after the kid loses the hockey game.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Solo Avengers #14 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Caught inside A.I.M. headquarters, Black Widow tries to fight her way out. The way clear for a moment, she reaches a phone and sends out an emergency broadcast before she is overpowered….

The distress signal goes off at Avengers Compound where Clint Barton is preparing for a visit from his estranged wife Bobbi Morse. He is forced to don his Hawkeye outfit and take off on his sky-cycle just as Bobbi arrives for him. She is told that Clint had a call from Black Widow and Bobbi jumps to the wrong conclusion and storms off in a huff. Hawkeye arrives at an ordinary shopping mall and is shot down by A.I.M. soldiers….

Downstairs, Black Widow is hooked up to a giant android and the Scientist explains that he is going to transfer her physical abilities to the creature and then dispose of her….

Hawkeye continues to fight his way into the base, unaware that Mockingbird is tagging along behind him, saving his life at various points. Clint enters the lab and takes down the Scientist and his guards, then frees Natasha. She explains she was tracking a shipment of globes that A.I.M. was anxious to get. Opening one reveals they contain human brains, causing Hawkeye to vomit. And then the android comes to life, controlled by the Imperial Council of A.I.M. which was watching from a remote location. The monster attacks Clint and Natasha….

“Court Costs!” 5/5
Writer: Chris Claremont. Pencils: Alan Davis. Inks: Josef Rubinstein. Colors: Paul Becton. Letters: Tom Orzechowski.
Synopsis: Jennifer Walters, best known as She-Hulk, has been called to present a brief before the US Supreme Court on the Mutant Registration Act, on behalf of a friend. As she begins her case, Mr. McVicker calls her away, telling her she is needed as an Avenger. She changes into her hero costume (in a telephone booth) and heads outside where she finds Titania causing a ruckus. Shulkie punches her foe into the next state, puts her lawyer suit back on and returns to the Court. A few minutes later, she is again summoned by McVicker, dashes out and discovers that Titania is back. With one blow she drives her foe into the ground then races back inside. Another attempt, another summons, another clobbering, another return—only to find the Court has adjourned, Jen’s case postponed until the next term. Defeated, she goes outside and Titania smashes a van over her head. Jen gives her a serious beating this time, telling her that their next meeting will be their last, as the cops take the villain away. McVicker approaches the moping Jen and offers her a Life Saver (that’s a candy) like her father used to. It cheers Jen up and so McVicker has something else to ask….



Al Milgrom
Jose Marzan Jr.
Janet Jackson
Sandy Plunkett (Cover Penciler)
Scott Hampton (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Jack Morelli.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Black Widow
Black Widow

(Natasha Romanoff)
Hawkeye
Hawkeye

(Clint Barton)
She-Hulk
She-Hulk

(Jennifer Walters)

Plus: Titania.

> Solo Avengers: Book info and issue index

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