1982 - Power Man & Iron Fist crossover with Daredevil

1986 - Romita Jr.'s designs for the Maurauders

From the back matter of the X-Men: Mutant Massacre Hardcover:

1985 - Avengers/Fantastic Four crossover Annual event

The Avengers Annual #14 cover by Kerry Gammill and Kyle Baker.

The Fantastic Four Annual #19 cover by Kerry Gammill and Joe Sinott.

1984 – The X-Men and the Micronauts

X-Men and the Micronauts miniseries- #1-4
Writer(s): Chris Claremont and Bill Mantlo
Artists: Butch Guice/Bob Wiacek/Kelly Jones

This miniseries, which is actually more of a crossover since it features two teams that each had their own titles at the time, was collaboratively written by regular series writers Chris Claremont and Bill Mantlo. I wasn’t a big Micronauts fan, but I had enjoyed a few issues of the original series, particularly the ones featuring the Michael Golden art. However, I was an X-Men fanatic, so I had no choice but to pick up this miniseries.

This limited series was targeted at your typical X-Men fan with an angle to try and sell you on the Micronauts. A disproportionate amount of time is spent on the Micronauts, their characteristics and origins, which is clearly intended to try and hook the X-Men reader. It was also nice to see the New Mutants used in such a prominent role. Butch (Jackson) Guice and Bob Wiacek, with some help from by Kelly Jones, provide some great and versatile artwork that captured the look and feel of both teams.

The Microverse is threatened by a formidable enemy that has the Micronauts and their archenemy Baron Karza fight side-by-side. The Micronauts are defeated by the Entity, but Karza and the Bioship escape and end up at the X-Men’s mansion. Karza convinces the X-Men to return with him to face the Entity. The Entity, however, is ready for them and defeats them using the mind- controlled Micronauts. Professor X is drawn into the battle only to discover that his emotions and rage are actually powering the Entity. Together with Professor X, the X-Men and Micronauts destroy the Entity.

The X-Men and the Micronauts was a refreshing twist on the typical super hero team-up which usually began with a senseless battle over some kind of misunderstanding. Claremont and Mantlo cleverly send one team’s archenemy, Baron Karza in this case, against the other super hero team. The Baron Karza and Kitty Pride mind switch worked well as a plot device. I found it odd that Professor X would just have shrugged off the irreparable damage his dark side had done to the Microverse. If there had been an attempt made by the X-Men to help rebuild, I might have been a bit more satisfied. Keep in mind that none of the events that take place here have ever been brought up again in any X-Men title. And that’s probably due to the Mircronauts licensing. It would have been interesting to have Kitty being haunted by her experiences as Baron Karza or at least express some discomfort at having her body taken over by him.

Nevertheless, as a standalone miniseries, it's rather solid and stands the test of time well.

1985 - West Coast Avengers/Vision and the Scarlet Witch Crossover

The West Coast Avengers #1-2
The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1-2
Steve Englehart, writer
Allen Milgrom/Joe Sinnott, artists - West Coast Avengers
Richard Howell/Andy Mushynsky, artists - The Vision and the Scarlet Witch

I can’t say that I was overly fond of Englehart’s first run on the Avengers (#105-150ish), but he was one of Marvel’s underrated writers in the 1980s penning the West Coast Avengers and Silver Surfer.

And one of his best stoylines didn’t involve some of the more recognizable Avengers like Captain America, Thor, Wasp. But rather the 2nd Avengers team, the West Coast Avengers.

>The basic blot involved the Grim Reaper who wants the brother he knew (Simon Williams) back and he’s willing to destroy the Vision and Wonder Man to bring that about. He forms an alliance with Ultron who also wants the Vision destroyed. And for good measure, throw in a wildcard, one Dr. Henry Pym (Ultron’s creator).

Steve Englehart did a great job with the story all around. On one side with the West Coast Avengers he juggles five very different characters and through some good characterization establishes the bonds between them. He also manages to insert a level of intimacy by recounting their individual origins.

On the other side in the Vision and the Scarlet Witch, in a strong prolog sequence, he delves into the origins of both the Vision and Scarlet Witch. In both titles, he spends a lot of time on the characters and demonstrates the importance of their internal conflict as well as physical:

- The Vision’s ongoing struggle to be human as well as deal with the consequences of his recent actions in the Ultimate Vision where he tries to take over the world’s computers.
- Wonder Man realizing who he was and how he’s become a better man as well as coping with his fear of dying.
- Tigra’s inner struggle with her feline side and trying to contribute to a team in which she feels inadequate.
- Pym, who has sworn off heroes, is dragged back into it because of his past actions.
- And Hawkeye who is trying to bring his team together and establish it as a legitimate branch of the Avengers.

The art in The West Coast Avengers is good, dynamic, and simple, but nothing more than that. However, the art in The Vision and the Scarlet Witch is weaker and the action doesn’t flow as well as its counter part.

It was nice to see a complicated crossover span only 4 issues (2 of which were 39-page special issues). It was a great start for both series, but unfortunately the Vision and the Scarlet Witch didn’t live up to for the length of their 12-issue run.

The story ends as predictably as super-hero epic do, with good triumphing over evil since the evil doers couldn’t work together and were defeated by the good who did come together as a team. The Vision and Wonder Man force a climatic confrontation with their brother, the Grim Reaper. They force the Grim Reaper to abandon his prestige view of his brother Simon, but he sees the bond between Vision and Wonder Man as something he can never be a part of, and dies fleeing from this.

And enjoyable read worth keeping an eye out for.