1988: The Dreadful Druid part V: The Doctor Is Out!

By Jef Willemsen (clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com)

The Avengers were rapidly approaching their 300th issue, but thanks to their new chairman ánd their new writer they wouldn't be around to enjoy that special anniversary. Leave it to Walt Simonson and Doctor Druid to take Earth's mightiest right over the edge...

The beginning of the end

Frankly, it's not like it was that hard to do. Simonson made sure the team suffered a steady stream of tragedies ever since he came on board back in #291. As a result, the number of Avengers left on active duty had been reduced to four: Thor, She Hulk, a severely handicapped Black Knight and their new leader Druid, who'd used his mental powers to convince the others he'd be best suited to take the reigns when Walt almost had Monica Rambeau die of sheer incompetence.

"In this moment of crisis, I see the fury of Dr. Druid unleashed!" 

To be fair, Doctor Druid is never written as either an outright villain or an infiltrator out to destroy the team from the inside. Instead, and that's the truly tragic part of this whole enterprise, he genuinely believes his cause is just. In no small part because of a series of prophetic visions in which a gorgeous blonde woman adoringly assures him he's the last, best hope of all that is. All that praise and adulation feeds Druid's sizable ego. He falls for her charms even as she eggs him on to do what's right and he feels that includes making sure he's leading the Avengers when the fat hits the fire.

But, just who is this blonde lady? Well, that takes some 'splainin...

"But... you look different somehow..." 

Why is she blue and dressed like Kang?

And here's where Simonson lost me when I first read these issues in the late 80s. Try and follow along: Time travel invariably leads to the creation of alternate timelines and time travelers like Kang the Conqueror have hundreds, if not thousands of rogue copies of themselves navigating the timestream. Invariably, some of these alternate Kangs get defeated or killed by others who don the armor and effectively become a version of Kang. Eventually, a fair number of these Kangs met up and formed an organisation called the Council of Crosstime Kangs. One of the latest Kangs admitted to the council was a female who claimed to be Nebula, the alleged granddaughter of Thanos. For convenience's sake, let's call her "Nebula Kang" for now.

With me so far? Good.

During her time on the Council, Nebula Kang learned that roughly 20 years in the future a period of 15 years was covered by an impenetrable Time Bubble. The Council believed a Celestial was building a superweapon inside it, which was all the power hungry Nebula Kang needed to hear. She wanted that weapon. Bad.

And that's where the Avengers come in. The Kangs also observed that eventually a team of Avengers would penetrate the bubble. Nebula Kang then figured she had to control the heroes and, rather logically, decided that the mind bending Doctor Druid would be an ideal stooge.

You're still with me? Well, that makes one of us.

All kidding aside, it gets even more complex when ultimately it is revealed Nebula Kang isn't *that* Nebula at all. It's actually an alternate version of Ravonna Lexus Renslayer, the princess that Kang tried to court back in a 1966 issue of Avengers. She first refused his love because he'd invaded her father's kingdom but soon realized she loved his raw machismo after all. She wound up sacrificing her life to save his in Avengers I#24.

"Perhaps... ' twas never meant... to be...!" 

Oh Ravonna, if only the same could be said for this storyline... 

Through the continued visions, Ravonna had Druid firmly in her grasp as she groomed him to have the Avengers enter the Time Bubble. An added wrinkle to her whole plan was the fact that she never bothered to learn which Avengers were actually destined to enter the Time Bubble. Even by 1988, there were close to 30 members, odds are you get the wrong bunch or even the wrong team. After all, you also had the West Coast Avengers by then. The odds don't favor this particular anemic East Coast line-up. And things get trickier when Ravonna wanted to get rid of Thor because Druid had proved unable to mentally coerce him.

That's why she planned for him to have a little "accident" in Avengers I#295. Using the Council's temporal technology, she captured a weaponized, technological T-Rex from an alternative future and set it loose on Washington D.C. She then made sure Dr. Druid knew about it.

"Less and less do I trust Druid's supposed psychic powers." 

When you're part of a team designed to come together to fight the threats too big for anyone to face alone... Yet your leader insists you go solo anyway, despite the fact it was serious enough for him to have a vision over, you know you're in trouble. And Thor did indeed have a devil of a time against the mechanized monstrosity. Especially when it proved more sturdy than expected. 

"AKREEEE!" 

On a sidenote, yours truly initially believed this metal monster was Walt Simonson's way of spoofing Robosaurus, the fire breathing star of many a monster truck rally. However, Avengers I#295 predates the debut of the actual Robosaurus by about 6 months. Chances are the dinosaurs loving creator might have slightly been inspired by Grimlock, the similarly shaped and mannered Dinobots leader from the Transformers cartoon. 

At any rate, while Thor fights for his life, She Hulk figures the others need to fly out and help him. But Druid has a unique way to make sure she follows the leader.

"You want to listen to me. Believe me Jennifer, this is all for the best." 

It gets worse.

"Relax Dane! We shall save the universe! Whether you want to or not.
The Avengers are mine!" 

Admittedly, that looks bad. But Druid really wasn't himself by this point. Essentially Nebula's puppet, he did all he could to please his beloved. So, when the Knight actually managed to launch the Quinjet and escape Druid's mental sway, she was less than pleased. Black Knight traveled to DC and helped Thor defeat the digi-dinosaur by ripping it beyond repair with his ebony blade. The two Avengers then headed back to Hydrobase to take down Doctor Druid. 

One Asgardian thundergod and an armored knight with a mystical blade versus a paunchy soothsayer in a bedsheet... Ya'd think, right?

" When they  awaken, they will be real Avengers at last.
Completely obedient!" 

By then, "Nebula" had fully manifested herself in the timeline, which only served to further cement her control over Druid. She even supplied him with "mindbenders", devices that added even more mind control. While She-Hulk and Black Knight were kept in check with one, Thor turned out to need three. Even though everyone was in their thrall, Druid and "Nebula" insisted on keeping things as regular as possible.

"YOU, my slaves, you are the key."

And so they were, as issue #297 proved. "Nebula" had Druid and his Avengers board a Quinjet prepared for interdimensional travel and away they went. But as soon as they approached the Time Bubble and there weren't any easy ways in, questions and doubt set in. All Nebula knew was that only Avengers were destined to enter the bubble. Since she wasn't an official member, she bet on that technicality and had Druid orchestrate the quickest signing in ceremony in the team's history....

"Beloved, that's it! Dane's future is a void!"

And. after using his not too reliable precognitive powers, Druid mystically concluded Black Knight was the one without a future. You'd think that even Nebula would have questioned his foresight after he failed to foresee minor hick-up like, say, a teammate's wife turning into a giant sea serpent snacking on ships.

But no, Druid went ahead and mentally coerced his teammates to toss Dane out the Quinjet airlock as they were cruising right outside the time bubble. The Black Knight was rescued by a couple of Crosstime Kangs who were following their wayward member. Those Kangs used a handy gizmo to free Thor from his mindbenders. The Asgardian attacked, which soon led to She-Hulk freeing herself as well.

That all led to this regrettably unforgettable confrontation.

"Doc, thou just hast to be kidding!"

Right around that time, the Time Bubble is approached by a near infinite number of alternate Avengers quinjets from a myriad of realities. They're all desperate to pierce the barrier and this particular assemblage of heroes falls short. That's why as soon as the bubble opens, "Nebula" makes a run for it.

The lovesick Dr. Druid can do nothing but follow suit.

"Beloved!"

And with that, the era of Dr. Druid reached its end in November of 1988. He apparently vanished inside the Time Bubble. Now free of his mental domination, the three Avengers returned home to Hydrobase. Thoroughly demoralized and sickened by what happened to them, She-Hulk quit the team. Thor and Black Knight made an off panel attempt to find new members but readily give up as soon as no reservists or fresh recruits appear available. 

"I can't believe they've all gone."

But gone they were, only for Steve Rogers to show up an issue or so before #300 to assemble a new team. Just like Gruenwald had wanted Roger Stern to do before all the unpleasantness began. The new Cap-centric lineup came together during the Inferno crossover and of course included Thor. The other roster picks were a bit more... eccentric. Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman joined, though they never even bothered to change out of their FF costumes. Another new recruit was the aptly named Forgotten One, an obscure character from Jack Kirby's late 1970s Eternals series. That couldn't have been the big plan Mark Gruenwald had in mind, could it?

And as for Doctor Druid... Considering what he'd done, it's surprising the Avengers didn't revoke his membership or voted him out in absentia. Then again, the entire east coast branch of the team was in absentia. Druid was left in comics limbo for close to two years until Roy and Dann Thomas came by to rescue him from obscurity in October 1990's Avengers Spotlight I#37. They decided to make ol' Druid a hero for the 90s.

"The reincarnation of Doctor Druid"

In a dutifully crafted but too dull to fully recap, the Thomases reveal Druid and "Nebula" have been surviving in a small, paradise like pocket of the Time Bubble, blissfully unaware of who or what they were until Druid's psychic powers ultimately reminds him of his past deeds. That leads to pages of poorly colored flashbacks, a fight with Nebula involving anti-time, a visit to 1961, a slight retooling of his origin to make him an official precursor to Doctor Strange, more meandering mystical mumbo jumbo before we end up with a rejuvenated Druid and a bad pun.

"Who knows, maybe this time I'll even keep my hair!"

Well Doc, there's good news and bad news. Yes, you'll hang on to your hair and you're even going to lead another team of heroes Roy & Dann Thomas salvaged Druid to make him the leader of the shortlived Secret Defenders series. However, after that book folded, Warren Ellis took note of the character so by the Summer of 1995, Druid's body would be burning in a dumpster, courtesy of Ellis' extreme take on Daimon Hellstrom. No worries, Anthony got better. Remember, he's a doctor ánd a druid. 

Just not a very good one. 

1988: The Dreadful Druid part IV: The Doctor Is Out... Of His Mind

By Jef Willemsen (clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com)

Remember the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Well, Marvel's editors sure didn't when they broke up the Avengers in late 1988 just to "fix" them. Walt Simonson was brought in and he picked Dr. Druid as the tool for the job. Marvel was so pleased, they took out an ad.

They were Earth's mightiest heroes. Nothing lasts forever"

The end begins in Avengers I#291, but before we get into the story... Let's consider the ad for a moment. This line up never actually served together. Thor was absent for most of their tenure, Namor was basically an estranged member and his wife Marrina was active as an Avengers associate at best. Still, longtime Thor-scribe Simonson started out with this lineup that by all accounts was nothing to sneeze at. Thor, She-Hulk and Namor were powerhouses, Captain Marvel was virtually unbeatable living energy, Doctor Druid was the next best thing to Doctor Strange, Black Knight covered both science and mysticism and Marrina well... She was a real good swimmer.

Anyway, remember them as they were because they'll never be this close again. Walt wasted no time and began tearing at the team's seams in the first few pages by revealing Doctor Druid was having bad dreams.

"I feel as though the heart has been cut out of me!"

Truer words were seldom spoken, Doc. To fans of Roger Stern's Avengers, reading Simonson's debut must have been the way Druid felt when he woke from his nightmare. Something felt off, even though everything looked fine and familiar. After all, Avengers I#291 still sported the comforting, reliable art duo of John Buscema and Tom Palmer. Yet, even without reading the in house ad, you could tell an ill wind had begun to blow.

"What evidence have I of the impending doom that seems to haunt my sleeping hours?
A moment's meditation will restore my calm and refresh my spirit."

That's right, the first thing this self proclaimed savior of mankind does after waking up from a potentially prophetic dream is take another restorative nap. And it's during his REM-cycle that the Doc is having the most problems. His dreams are being invaded and manipulated by Nebula, a mysterious woman who adores him and assures Druid he's the biggest hero there is... All of this clearly feeds the Doc's already considerable ego. 

Now, on to the actual deconstruction of the team. Though Simonson started on a positive note by having Edwin Jarvis return as butler, things took a turn for the worse when the Avengers attended a New York City gala and Marrina suddenly went wild. 

"My love!"

For unknown reasons, except for the obvious, plotdriven ones, Marrina was overcome by berserker rages, eating goldfish and slamming her hubby the Subby before transforming into a massive sea serpent. Now known as a/the Leviathan, she began to literally terrorize the seven seas. Namor went after his spouse and for the next two weeks, the Avengers simply sat back as reports of Leviathan's destructive attacks continued to come in. Simonson cleverly tied Druid's ominous dreams to Ralph Macchio's previously established storyline that focused on Captain Marvel's apparent incompetence as leader. Monica continued to doubt herself and had Druid order her around like a little girl. 

"If this is truly the beginning of those events, perhaps someone else might be better suited for the chairmanship here."

The issue ended with the Avengers catching up with Namor just as the Leviathan was getting ready to charge Florida. The heroes tried to stop Marrina, but Namor refused to let them hurt his wife and even fought off his fellow Avengers. The ensuing melee helped prevent the Leviathan from decimating the entire Florida coast. Namor escaped to chase after what has become of his wife while Simonson made sure we knew the internal struggle for power over the Avengers was alive and well.

"A good suggestion, Dr. Druid.
Should I ever decide to step down as the Avengers' chairperson...
There will be a ready candidate at hand."

... Ya can't even consider this foreshadowing anymore. But Simonson wasn't done being "subtle". While piloting the Quinjet, Druid got another vision, courtesy of Nebula. It only helped convince him he's to be the one, true savior of all.

"... You, my lord and master... You are the leader they have been waiting for"

All this subliminal deification only fed Druid's conviction that he indeed was the man who would be king. That's why he openly started questioning Captain Marvel's stance on the Leviathan. As a former Monster Hunter, Druid was the first to suggest the rational, though all but popular, option of killing Marrina for the greater good of mankind. Monica was vehemently opposed to this and found herself backed by Thor who rallied the team by declaring he'd agree with the Avengers chairman.

Monica Rambeau decided not to opt for lethal force, which led to the Leviathan attacking the US navy, sinking several battleships in the process. The Avengers tried to help, but the military got understandably steamed when they learned the team had kept the fact Leviathan was Namor's wife a secret.

"While Captain Marvel fails to make the tough decisions, men die.
The Avengers must be convinced that the Leviathan,
whatever her form or origin, must be killed!"

Avengers I#293 opened with Druid using his hypnosis and mentalism to subtly guide matters along. He tricked the Sub-Mariner into believing Leviathan was now attacking Atlantean cities, which helped convince Namor that lethal force was now unavoidable. He then fooled the sea serpent with an illusory cargo ship to lure it towards a final confrontation with the Avengers. Joined by Namor, Earth's mightiest faced down the sea serpent. During the fight, Namor used the Black Knight's ebony blade to slash into their foe, which triggered the sword's blood curse.

But the outcome of the battle was never in doubt...

                                                                "Where's Captain Marvel?"

In the space of just three issues, Simonson had managed to jettison three main characters: Namor, Marrina and Monica Rambeau, while also seriously handicapping the Black Knight who was suffering the effects of the blood curse.

In Avengers I#294, we learned just where Captain Marvel had gone. During the fight against Leviathan, Monica had combined her energy form with Thor's lightning in order to hit the creature with a double whammy. That worked, but water and electricity don't really mix and Monica got herself dispersed across the ocean. It took Rambeau days and all her will to rematerialize and appear at Avengers Mansion. She'd clearly paid the price for her heroism.

"Captain Marvel yet lives. But she is in the final stages of exhaustion."

And with that, the road was clear for Druid to take command of the team. But first he made sure Monica received proper medical care while also effectively sidelining her even more by having her parents flown in. Druid then insisted on holding a meeting in Monica's hospital room to decide who should succeed her. The good doctor used his mental powers to assure his favored outcome.

 "Our new chairman must be Doctor Druid!"

And that, as they say, was that. Druid influenced the vote to make sure he became the leader of a sorely depleted Avengers squad. Now down to a foursome, with Black Knight slowly turning into a living statue because of the blood curse, the team's future appeared more insecure than ever. But it was still morning in Druid's America... thanks in no small part to Nebula's machinations.

"Our enemies are gathering and the time is coming when we must face them together as a team.
All of us!"

You just know this won't end well, and that's just what the fifth and final installment of The Dreadful Druid will show. Hardly a spoiler alert, still worth checking out, though.

1985: The Eros Avenger part V: Nebuh-Bye-Bye Now

By Jef Willemsen (clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com)

As 1985 drew to a close, so did Starfox' time with the team. But before the ever flaundering Eternal went a'wandering, there were some loose ends to tie up and as it turns out, those would be the ties that bind. 

But before Avengers writer Roger Stern gave Starfox the boot, there was still the ongoing subplot of the power mad Vision to deal with. Back in December, 1983's Avengers I#238 it was Starfox who had set up a mind link between the android and the sentient world computer I.S.A.A.C. Starfox meant no harm, but by arranging this meeting of the A.I. minds, he'd put the idea in Vision's head to take over all of Earth's computers and run the planet like I.S.A.A.C. did Titan.

That explained his odd behavior, like forcibly ousting Wasp as Avengers chairman and setting up a secondary team on the West Coast to expand his power base. He even invited gamma powered psychiatrist Leonard Samson to the mansion because he wanted him to head up a third Avengers team in the midwest. Samson turned down the offer, but his visit did give him a chance to interact with Starfox who was still none the wiser about Vision or Earthers in general, as shown in Avengers I#253.

" How do you do! I wasn't aware that green hair was common in terrestrials!" 

Sigh... Of all the inconveniently awkward coloring gaffs. But Starfox was too busy to notice Samson's hair was blond. He was far more concerned his teammates had been treating him differently ever since they learned of his emotion manipulating powers. Which is tad hypocritical, after all he didn't bring it up during his membership application back in Avengers I#232. And later, when he sensed that the team took a dim view of hidden abilities, he kept his mouth shut again. But in Avengers I#252, he decided to confront his teammates over dinner.

" These mortals! They grow so solemn at the slightest provocation!" 

Solemn or not, this be storytelling at its best... Roger Stern used Starfox's concerns to further the Vision storyline while also giving Hercules some much needed character development. Even though he'd been a member since 1967, Herc never received much in the way of proper character arcs or even particularly deep thought. Whenever he showed up, the prince of power was mostly played for comic relief, think Volstagg if he was Greek and worked out more. But Stern intended to make Hercules a mainstay while slowly making Starfox superfluous. By then, the Eternal served as the team's resident powerhouse but Hercules was mighty too.

Getting back to the Vision's dreams of planetary rule, he was about to start his scheme after months of planning. The plan was shockingly simple: he decided to rule by taking over the world's computers. Back in 1985, that still seemed a somewhat manageable task. He already had access to the NATO and US defense systems thanks to the Avengers' security clearances. Once he was in, I.S.A.A.C. would help him spread his influence on a global level until he would literally be the ghost in the machine.

However, to carry out his plan he needed the others away from the mansion. Using his position as chairman, he sent them on several bogus missions. For one, he ordered Captain Marvel to check out Thanos' old command post Sanctuary II in deep space claiming he'd detected some "disturbing readings". And as for the others... Thanos had a base or two on Earth too.

" My brother Thanos was a ravager of worlds.
He coveted power and worshipped death!
His hidden base could well hold the means to rip this planet asunder!" 

So with Earth's mightiest off on a wild goose chase, Vision and I.S.A.A.C. launched their grab for world power. They were briefly interrupted by the Black Knigh who had unwittingly dropped by for a visit only to be quickly trapped by Vision using the mansion's security systems. Only after the Avengers and the West Coast Avengers realized the Vision was unhinged, the truth came out. Both teams invaded the mansion through its heretofore unseen submarine pen. Once inside, the individual members had confrontations with aspects of the Vision. Eros seemed most efficient at conveying the truth.

"I.S.A.A.C couldn't run Earth and neither can you!" 

In order to save himself, Vision managed to pull himself out of the pre-Internet. And once he'd left all of Earth's (important) computers, he realized just what has been influencing him. Turns out Ultron constructed the android with a control crystal that I.S.A.A.C. had been using to make Vision more receptive to his way of thinking. With that particular tidbit revealed, Vision decided to literally take matters in his own hand...

                                      " The control crystal... I'm done with it... Forever!" 

Android or not, yanking out a good chunk of your brain really shouldn't be that easy. But Vision wasn't out of the woods yet. Even though the existence of the control crystal could have given him an easy out, Stern decided to have him face the music. Vision stepped down and turned himself in.But the US government wanted more. For instance,  the equipment he had constructed with help from I.S.A.A.C. But Starfox took care of that, as we saw in Avengers I#258.

                                "You've put yourself through all this for nothing, sir.
                              I personally disassembled the Vision's equipment days ago." 

Government liaison Raymond Sikorsky is not wrong... Disassembling the Vision's technology is a fancy way of saying you destroyed a piece of evidence. But it's not like Starfox can be brought up for charges, he isn't even native to this planet after all. But that's the Vision dealt with as far as Eros' involvement was concerned. 

You'll note that the art style changed dramatically in between panels. Yes, the late great John Buscema had arrived to take over for Al Milgrom which meant the book had a distinctly different feel to it. Aware of Buscema's love of sword and sorcery characters, Stern had the Black Knight stick around as a member. This provided the team with a new resident scientist, the part Eros had been playing as well. He was slowly but surely made obsolete. But Roger Stern made sure to take care of any danglers, like Wasp being afraid of Starfox after she learned what he could do.

"It's disturbing to discover that someone you thought you knew can control people's minds!" 

Leave it to the wealthy socialte heiress to be right on the money... It is creepy, especially after all the trouble they'd been through when Moondragon was around and tried to run the team with her mental powers. Having the ability to influence and control those around you and not even being candid about that only makes you more insidious and untrustworthy. So, let's see how Starfox explained himself.

" Jan, I use my special powers only on enemies. Never on friends... Unless they want me to!" 

... Sigh. So close.

But this is as apologetic as Eros got. Guess we should take his word for it, after all he acted noble and heroic since he first joined and that's gotta count for something. It's very comparable to how the X-Men had no other choice but to trust professor Xavier when he said he wouldn't violate their thoughts.

Time to get some avenging done... In what would be his last Earth mission as an active member, Eros joined the others in the Savage Land where Terminus had recently resurfaced. He tried to take the giant alien pillager on, but got swatted away like a fly. But even in failure, he still got the girl.

" I'd probably have fallen on my keister if it weren't for Starfox!" 

... In Savage Land, you don't hold girl, girl holds you. What a country!

All kidding aside, Terminus proved to be a major threat. After reaching Pangea, he ripped apart its environmental control systems which led to the deaths of thousands when the artificial jungle climate fell prey to the arctic frosts. That led the Wasp to make a shocking decision when she ordered Hercules and Starfox to "stop" Terminus. 

"Give him one for me!" 

Avengers don't kill, especially not during the 1980s. But what other way to "stop" him is there, after the countless deaths he's caused? Hercules manages to rip his armor open, revealing that Terminus wasn't actually a giant at all, merely a morbidly obese human sized alien who operated the armor like a big robot. 

"Terminus... is no longer a threat!" 

Leaving an helpless alien to die in the cold. That's... cold. Later stories would retcon this, saying this was actually a Deviant called Jorro roped by the real Terminus to be his accomplice. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact the Avengers allowed an enemy to die. At the very least, that makes them accessories to murder.

Now, time to wrap things up and get Starfox off Earth. Remember how Vision had sent Captain Marvel to check on Sanctuary II? She never came back. Turns out there was actually something going on, the massive vessel was being commandeered by Nebula and her space pirates who trapped Monica and forced her to join them as they unleashed a reign of terror all across the cosmos. Xandar was among the first to fall as Nebula moved her attention to the Skrull empire that had fallen into civil war following the destruction of their throneworld at the hands of Galactus.

The Avengers learned of this from Galactus' former herald and Xandarian Firelord. Worried about their teammate, they decided to go after Sanctuary II.

" The swiftest starship produced by the science of my homeworld of Titan... Sent earthward by my doting father Mentor" 

Man, John Buscema could draw the heck out of a spaceship. And Stern sure could write exposition to match... Using the Titanian vessel, the Avengers learned much of what was going on in space and teamed up with Skrull general Zedrao and his forces to take on Sanctuary II. For those of you keeping score, Zedrao was also the one who visited Captain Mar-vell on his deathbed to honor him for his valor. That led the team to trust him even as they engaged in an engaging bit of subterfuge.

"That's it, brother... Teach them what it means to oppose Thanos and the Avengers!" 

"Thanos" was actually Zedrao, cleverly playing into the fear among many of the Titan's former henchmen that the purple potentate would one day return from the dead. And they weren't wrong to be afraid, six years down the line Thanos would be alive and well for Jim Starlin's Infinity Gauntlet. But for now, he was still quite dead and Starfox was ready to stake a claim to Sanctuary II. But when he finally came face to face with Nebula, the usurper had a surprise. 

"Imbecile! I have as much right to this ship as you! it was built by my grandfather!" 

... Did not see that coming.

Or this.

"Hello. I'm afraid I don't recognize anyone here... Are any of you Avengers?" 

Ye gods, if it's 1985, it's time for Secret Wars II and that means a mandatory visit from the Beyonder. The cluelessly naive almighty one actually helps Nebula escape, which leads Starfox to make a decision.

"I must know if Nebula's claim was true. She must be found!"

... Erm, why? I mean, sure she's certainly not harmless but I wouldn't call her an immediate threat. You recovered Sanctuary II and caused it to self destruct, so with her main base of power gone Nebula is little more than a terrorist who claims to be related to you. If family was that important to the Titan Eternals, wouldn't they have bonded together before to stop Thanos?

Still, it was clear Roger Stern wanted to move the Avengers in another direction and Starfox needed to go. Having him off in space chasing his alleged grand-niece was a perfectly serviceable way of dumping him. So, after a crossover between the Avengers and Fantastic Four annuals of that year that saw the Skrull race losing its ability to shift their shape, Starfox had an announcement to make in December 1985's Avengers I#261.

"That almost sounds as if you're not coming with us"

 Got it in one, Cap...

"Because Nebula is my personal responsibility.
If she is Thanos' granddaughter I have a familial duty to stop her."

And with that, he was off, along with Firelord who was eager to make Nebula pay for destroying Xandar. Was it really such a loss? At the time, readers didn't dislike Starfox, but they didn't particularly loved him either. He was just... there. And that's just not good enough, especially after the initial mystery and wonder about him wore off. 

After Stern resolved the long running issue with his secret mind control powers, he became a pretty regular member. Great guy to have around, but kind of bland especially when he lost his overly lascivious streak. There wasn't any real conflict or drama, how can you hate a guy who just wanted to have fun?

For the 2.5 years he was with them, Starfox served a meaningful purpose. He shook things up when he arrived, provided a special flavor missing from the team especially after the sassy She-Hulk left and proved to be both powerhouse and residential genius. But the incoming members Hercules and Black Knight would provide Stern with more ample story opportunities. Hercules chafed under having to follow a mortal woman in combat, while Starfox had no problem with Janet calling the shots. If Starfox had still been around when Namor joined a few issues down the line, he'd be even more expendable. What team needs two barrel chested, womanizing strongmen who can fly?

And what of the Mansion Siege? Eros could have dealt with all that nonsense by simply flashing a smile to win over the Masters of Evil.

When next we saw Starfox, it would be during the John Byrne days on the book somewhere near the end of 1990. To Byrne's credit, he picked up on Starfox's chase of Nebula. 

 Clearly my grandniece has wandered far in the time I searched for her trail between the stars"

You also clearly haven't changed your ways, you sly fox... Even after six years. But then, what is time to an Eternal?

Guardians of the Galaxy - A Spoiler-Free Review

Directed by James Gunn
Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro

Marvel/Walt Disney Studios pulled it off. I was just as skeptical as a lot of you when I first heard that they were going to make a movie starring the Guardians of the Galaxy. And not only did they pull it off, they hit a home run. It's a quirky, entertaining ride with a lot of feeling and emotions.

The story is a space opera of galactic proportions but it's the solid cast and writing that really stabilizes it, transforming it into a touching journey. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) brings together a group of ragtag loners on a quest to stop the destruction of the universe. Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace, was outstanding in the role of the Kree judicator and proved to be a great antagonist. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are the product of some spectacular CGI, and in particular, Cooper steals the show with a lot of great moments.

Don't hesitate to see this film, you won't be disappointed. My kids told me when I left to see it, that when I came back I just had to say that it's okay for them to see (as they had seen the trailer and loved it). Unlike Captain America 2, which was far too violent, and Man of Steel, which was simply a disappointment, Guardians of the Galaxy is a movie that I'd be happy to bring them to see. There are a few mature scenes, but you can really tell that Marvel/Disney worked hard to keep the film at a PG level. It also succeeds in striking a nice balance for non-comic book fans who can enjoy the film as a stand-alone entity, but also rewards the comic book fans with a lot of Marvel Universe references.

"I am Groot!"

(Found this fan poster at:
http://geektyrant.com/news/stunning-guardians-of-the-galaxy-poster-art-by-paul-shipper)