AVENGERS #221 (1982): One of My Favorite Issues EVER!

Great cover. It got the tribute treatment.

The Avengers want a lineup change.

Wasp wants some girlfriends.

Damn skippy.  She compiles a list of potentials.

One of them will join. Two were already on the team. Guess who joins?

But first…

Hawkeye joins the band. Thor thinks of Spider-Man…

…Who says, “No,” but does so with some nice humility.

This is such a well-written character issue. Too often, “guest stars galore” stories sacrifice the truth of each character for the sake of cramming in stunt casting.

This was a great, great issue.  It had lots of guest stars, a cover that fun as hell, and, the return of Fabian Stankowicz, who can’t even beat up a Dazzler. 

The women take him on.

It’s a pretty funny fight.

She-Hulk is the one who has the final blow.

And for the first time in Avengers history, we ended up with a lineup where the second strongest person on the team was female and the least powerful was male.

Hawkeye immediately feels threatened.

Bonus picture: The cover of the issue ends up being the cover of an issue!

This is one of the best single-issue stories of all time, according to this objectively accurate list. It’s also one of my favorite Avengers Lineup Change issues of all time.

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