Avengers #282: Review

Aug 1987

Roger Stern, Tom Palmer

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Story Name:

Captives

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #282 Review by T Vernon (February 23, 2024)

Comments: Part two of five parts. Thor was cursed with brittle bones by Hela in THOR #372 and donned the elaborate armor in THOR #378. Marrina’s first appearance since #272 as she mostly occupies ALPHA FLIGHT; she turns up next in #285, joining the Avengers in the following issue for an eight-issue run. The letters page includes one by future comics writer/editor Roland Mann and one by John Giarrusso who may be related to Chris Giarrusso of MINI-MARVELS fame.

Review: Well, now we have Namor back to fight his way through the red sky-lit caverns of Hades and then through the rather ordinary looking castle and torture chamber back outside to the trippy Pathway of Infinity which looks like a long yellow ribbon (with sides to avoid lawsuits) through a crimson background. Another all-action issue is pretty cool with more to come.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #282 Synopsis by T Vernon

Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, and his bride Marrina are at home in their undersea villa when a seaquake shakes the area. Namor rescues his companions and wonders at a quake not usually found in the area. Then the ground breaks open and King Neptune rises, seizes Namor and vanishes back into the chasm which seals itself again….

Neptune travels to Hades where he turns Namor over to Cerberus the Guardian. Neptune notes that Namor is a noble man and he hands him over only because of a covenant with Zeus. As Cerberus carries Namor to his master, the Sealord awakens and puts up a fight, finally escaping into a nearby pool. There he is attacked by tentacled sea creatures; he fights them off and swims though a burning sea and collapses on the shore. Soon he awakens to find his chains are gone and his wounds healed. A mystery man (Prometheus) has healed him and informs him that the Avengers are prisoners in Fortress Tartarus. He then fades away….

Namor smashes his way through a wall and subdues a guard, taking his armor so that he can infiltrate the prison. He comes upon a dungeon where he finds Captain America and Doctor Druid (whom he does not know) chained up. At the other end of the room, he spies She-Hulk and Black Knight bound together so that if she tries to break her bonds it will kill the Knight. As a torturer threatens Dane with his own sword, Namor starts thrashing the other guards and hurls Cap’s shield to break the chains holding Shulkie and BK together so they join in the melee. BK frees Cap and Druid and breaks open a large capsule containing Captain Marvel. The Avengers explain the situation to Namor, mentioning that Zeus would not allow them a defense, accused the armored Thor of being an impostor, and has sent agents out to capture other Avengers. They fight their way through more guards for two pages and question one as to Thor’s whereabouts….

Thor is chained to the floor with a giant stone block resting on him, while Pluto gloats over the victory. The Avengers arrive, clobber Cerberus, and free Thor who confesses that Hela’s curse has weakened him so that he needs armor. But Pluto unleashes his power on them, toying with them so they fall back, crashing their way out of the fortress. They must go to Olympus to retrieve Mjolnir and locate the only road there: the Pathway of Infinity which crosses the dimensional abyss. They travel a goodly distance but Pluto arrives with a tank and blasts the pathway apart, so the Avengers turn to face the villain and his hordes….

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