The Avengers #262: Many Brave Hearts…

Writer: Roger Stern
Breakdowns: John Buscema
Finisher: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Jim Novak
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter

I have to admit, this is my kind of comicbook.

Because, despite the impression you might get from the cover above, no-one fights any bad guys in it.

Although there are indeed villainous things going on behind the scenes, this issue is primarily driven by the Avengers' need to find a new base to launch their flying Quinjets from. The FAA have revoked the outfit's landing rights in Manhattan (something to do with endangering too many civilians' lives would you believe), while the National Security Council are also dragging their heels restructuring the team's priority clearance.

Maybe I'm a big nerd for enjoying the admin side of superheroing so much, but it's just this sort of bureaucratic red tape that makes the Marvel Universe so believable for me.

The second half finds our costumed crimefighters touring a potential new site, and here one of them actually does get into the bare-knuckle fist-fight depicted above. However it turns out, after four pages of blows and a coincidental advert for Hulk Hogan's new TV show, that Hercules is actually just teasing the Sub-Mariner to cheer him up, so that doesn't really count.

It's the same plot-device that author Roger Stern would pull a year later with She-Hulk goading the Thing in Fantastic Four #299, but I can't really criticise him for repeating a plot that I like.

Oh, and in the final panels the Sub-Mariner agrees to join the Avengers to replace Starfox. Hmm, that's all this issue was really about, wasn't it?

Like I said, my kind of comicbook.

(with thanks to Herschel)

Sometimes available here.