Avengers #257: Review

Jul 1985

Roger Stern, Tom Palmer

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Story Name:

Holocaust in a Hidden Land

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #257 Review by T Vernon (June 24, 2023)

Comments: Part three of eight parts. First appearance of Nebula. Pangea was discovered in KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE #1. The creature in the Terminus armor is revealed to be a Deviant named Jorro in QUASAR #7. The Skrull Empire fell apart when Galactus devoured their throneworld in FANTASTIC FOUR #257, dividing the empire into far-flung competing factions. The letters page includes one by future comics creator Malcolm Bourne.

Review: My, that was a nasty and violent issue. The villain, a Deviant in Terminus’ armor, lays waste to the Savage Land and Pangea, showing no regard for life. Result: an extremely high death toll though the Comics Code Authority likely prevented them from saying how high. But two entire cities and their populations are extinguished. The good guys do a creditable job against the giant villain and Shanna also gets some heroics in (though not Ka-Zar who is thumped on the head). All around pretty cool though the outstanding bit is the introduction of Nebula, then looking like Madame Hydra, though in blue instead of green. It would be a while before she is covered with stuff that it would take four hours to glue onto Karen Gillan. For now, Nebula is just a “babe” version of Corsair but eventually she would be quite a bit more.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #257 Synopsis by T Vernon

The Avengers (Captain America, Wasp, Black Knight, Hercules) come across an injured Ka-Zar in a devastated area of the Savage Land while trailing the alien monster Terminus. The jungle hero revives and relates how the giant blasted them all away, searched the lake bottom until he found something then walked away with it. They tell Ka-Zar that the visiting scientists are all dead and the heroes promise they will be avenged….

Meanwhile, Starfox is streaking through the jungle on the trail of Terminus. Ka-Zar’s pregnant wife, Shanna, is in their treehouse up ahead when the giant crashes through the clearing; Shanna is hurled through the air but caught and deposited on the ground by Starfox who continues after Terminus. Starfox tries to gain Terminus’ attention but the monster swats him out of the sky and continues his quest for the advanced technology his instruments have detected, smashing through a wall of mountains and finding a second jungle paradise, Pangea….

On the Sanctuary II, Captain Marvel keeps up the ruse that she has lost her powers as she deals with the space mercenaries—and that she is interested in joining their band. Their leader Nebula arrives…and fires an energy blast at CM, revealing the Avenger was in a hologram form. CM feigns interest in Nebula’s plans, which she reveals to be conquering what is left of the Skrull Empire….

In the Savage Land, Ka-Zar and the Avengers discover Shanna unharmed, caring for a damaged Starfox. She reports that Terminus was heading for Pangea; after a geography lesson by Ka-Zar, the Avengers head that way, with Wasp forbidding Ka-Zar and Shanna to accompany them….

Terminus, in a fit of pique, destroys the city of Lemura, then melts it into slag. He approaches the Aerie Shalan, shattering the high-altitude city and wiping out its winged inhabitants. The Avengers arrive in the Quinjet, entering a region of heated air around the monster that measures in the hundreds of degrees. Black Knight drops from the craft, landing on Terminus’ arm; he slashes the arm to make him drop his staff but the entire hand drops off. Terminus smacks BK into the distance but Hercules catches him from the Quinjet—and then the giant knocks the Quinjet out of the sky. The area starts to revert to its Antarctic conditions now that Terminus has wrecked the machinery controlling the climate. Starfox hurls Hercules up to Terminus’ chin and he seizes the armor there and, sliding down the length of the monster, splitting the armor down the front and revealing the creature within to be a relatively small misshapen thing. Herc and Starfox return to the others, leaving their foe to die in the mounting snow….

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