Changes in the Marvel Universe are nothing new - as seen when heroes are reborn, slain, and more in this startling selection of seventies sagas! The search for the Celestial Madonna is on, and all the candidates are under the Avengers' roof! After reviving heroes and villains to set a Legion of the Unliving against Earth's Mightest Heroes, will Kang the Conqueror be divided against himself in deciding the fate of the woman who could alter the universe's destiny? Cap, Iron Man, Thor and Avengers both well-remembered and near-forgotten face off against the lethal likes of Dormammu, Thanos and Ultron! Golden Age glories revisited! The secret of Mantis and the sacrifice of the Swordsmen! Resurrections, origins and THREE Marvel marriages! Plus: the Zodiac, the Titanium Man, the Stranger, Klaw Master of Sound and more! Guest-starring the Fantastic Four and Captain Mar-Vell Collecting Avengers #120-140, Giant-Size Avengers #1-4, Captain Marvel #33, and Fantastic Four #150.

Changes in the Marvel Universe are nothing new - as seen when heroes are reborn, slain, and more in this startling selection of seventies sagas! The search for the Celestial Madonna is on, and all the candidates are under the Avengers' roof! After reviving heroes and villains to set a Legion of the Unliving against Earth's Mightest Heroes, will Kang the Conqueror be divided against himself in deciding the fate of the woman who could alter the universe's destiny? Cap, Iron Man, Thor and Avengers both well-remembered and near-forgotten face off against the lethal likes of Dormammu, Thanos and Ultron! Golden Age glories revisited!The secret of Mantis and the sacrifice of the Swordsmen! Resurrections, origins and three Marvel marriages! Plus: the Zodiac, the Titanium Man, the Stranger, Klaw Master of Sound and more! Guest-starring the Fantastic Four and Captain Mar-Vell This title collects "Avengers" numbered 120-140, "Giant-Size Avengers" numbered 1-4, "Captain Marvel" numbered 33, and "Fantastic Four" numbered 150.

2008-04-30 Earth's mightiest heroes in full Silver Age splendour.

This volume is absolutely brimful of superb stories and a complicated chain of events involving two of the Avengers at that time that goes right back to the Golden Age of the 1940's. It starts off with one of the greatest Avengers line-ups facing off against Zodiac then the Star-Stalker and the first intimation that a member of Zodiac is the father of one of the newest Avengers recruits.
Following this there is a tie-in to events going on elsewhere in the Marvel universe involving Thanos and Captain Marvel (The Thanos War).
The Black Panther returns as do Klaw and Solarr in a tale revolving round racism in Southern Africa.
The first Golden Age re-appearance is that of the Whizzer who is revealed to be the father of two of the Avengers, the mutant duo of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver a sign of some of the complicated tie-ins to follow.
The Inhumans and The Fantastic Four star as Quicksilver and Crystal's wedding is marred by Ultron-7. After the wedding The Scarlet Witch is taken under the wing of the FF's ex-nanny Agatha Harkness to help hone her powers.
That's just the first part, what follows is a brilliant mix of the old and new as Kang The Conqueror, Rama-Tut and Immortus re-appear as do a host of old communist favourites (this is the mid-1970's) Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Radioactive Man. An Avenger dies, another is reborn as a cosmic goddess and the secret of Immortus is revealed. Let alone the Legion of the Unliving featuring Zemo and two aspects of the Vision's past life.
The stories switch to the origins of both The Vision and Mantis, the Vision's origin is an ingenious chain of events going back to the 1940's and another Golden Age hero. As Mantis' origin unfolds the reasons for the Kree-Skrull conflict are revealed. Both the origin tales end in weddings of sorts. The Vision finally marries the Scarlet Witch against the back-drop of separate attacks by Dormammu and Kang, with a brief appearance by the Avengers second oldest foe The Space Phantom. As for Mantis' wedding, well let's just say it's a really complicated chain of events. During this time Hawkeye, one of my favourite characters re-joins the team.
The last section sees a re-alignment of the team as Moondragon and the newly hirsute Beast (late of the X-Men) join and two other ex-members re-join, another husband and wife team, Dr. Henry Pym in his Yellowjacket persona and The Wasp ending in a reversal of roles from Avengers #95 as the Vision enters Pym's over-grown body to save his life.
The story-telling, largely by Steve Englehart is first class and there is some superb artwork most impressively from John and Sal Buscema, Jim Starlin and Golden Age great George Tuska. This is a near faultless volume and highly recommended.