Carol Danvers in Another Small Role: Avengers #177 – November 1978
Avengers #177: "The Hope... and the Slaughter!"
As usual, there is a small continuity/time gap problem if you read according to the order in which the issues where released. So, I decided to jump forward a month to cover this issue of the Avengers, which is the natural continuation of my previous post, then I’ll return to the two October issues in which Carol Danvers appears in.
The issue opens with Michael/ Korvac and Carina who show the Avengers who they really are. He is angry at them, because they are the reason he is discovered. Heimdall is already gazing at him and so is the Watcher that is set on the moon, and now most importantly, Eternity himself (the embodiment of the universe himself, you know comics…), the being he wanted to destroy and replace has noticed him. Now he cannot defeat him slowly and by surprise. He warns the Avengers that if all of the forces of the universe will unite in a war against him, it will destroy the universe and continuity. Yes, he actually uses the word “continuum.” Michael says that he doesn’t want to kill them, but he must. Why? Nobody knows.
In the meantime, Moondragon sends a mental message to the Guardians of the Galaxy and they fly to her location. She told them that the enemy that the Avengers are facing is the same one that they are seeking, Korvac in a new form.
The Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, but it doesn’t matter. Michael kills their ally in space, causing one of the member of the Guardians to attack him. He kills that member. Then Quicksilver attacks and dies. All of the Avengers attack, but it is useless. Then Tony Stark says that they have to get Carina as she is Michael’s only weak point. Of course, the girl is. How not cliché at all. Yellowjacket reaches her and she does not defend herself. Still, Michael kills him.
Ms. Marvel attacks him, but he stops her mid-flight. It’s no different then what the other Avengers face. Michael takes them all out. He really believes in his love for Carina and that he will make a better world. Then he lets his guard down, the ultimate mistake, Captain America takes the opportunity to hit him relentlessly and repeatedly. But Michael recovers and kills Captain America as well. Wonder Man also manages to hit Michael a few times before being defeated.
Then all of the remaining Avengers attack at once. He reaches for Carina and she hesitates with her help. That apparently causes him to abandon life. Apparently if the woman you love hesitates to start a cosmic war, then it’s good enough reason to take your own life.
Still, she is angry that Michael is dead, and even though it’s kind of her fault, she blames the Avengers. Thor manages to kill her. Moondragon explains that she wanted to die, and that Michael was not evil, so he brought all of the Avengers back from the dead before the killed himself. How convenient. Because comic book characters never die in comics. But Moondragon is sad because Michael could have saved them all from eternity, I have no idea what it means. I guess that he is not as evil as we thought he is.
In the end, Ms. Marvel has a very small unimpressive cameo in this issue. But then again no one is really impressive in this issue. They all fight and lose.
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