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Welcome back comic fans to Ye olde School Cafe’. This week is part 2 of the ever enduring tale of The Kree-Skrull War! Previously we found out about Captain Marvel’s exploits on Earth and in the Negative Zone; we also learned about how the Fantastic Four had faced down a Skrull threat from years before and left the aliens in a field believing they were cows. We also learned of a political menace right outside the doors of Avengers mansion in the form of  H. Warren Craddock. We then gazed deeply across the stars and into the world of the Kree on their home-world of Hala. Next we saw how said politician aroused the American people and made them think the Avengers had done something wrong. Finally we got to see SuperSkrull in action and he subdued Quicksilver, The Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel. This story was written by Roy Thomas and penciled by Neal Adams and John Buscema. It was originally published in Avengers #95-97 in 1971.
All right, so onto part number two of this story. We first see the Inhuman Triton appear during the fight between the Avengers and the Mandroids; these two groups are at odds because the government has been led to believe the Avengers were helping an alien that was on a mission to destroy the Earth. After fairly easily defeating the Mandroids, we see our heroes rush to the aid of Triton who has received a less than warm welcome from the police and some dock workers. He tells them about how he left his homeland seeking the Fantastic Four to help find the king of the Inhumans, Black Bolt. He also tells them how while Black Bolt has been away, his mad brother Maximus has assumed control and plans to take over the entire planet. Following a brief argument between Iron Man and Vision, the team agrees to help Black Bolt, and then they will rush head first out into space to save Mar-Vell, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.
After helping to defeat the threat in Black Bolts kingdom, we see our heroes go to Nick Fury for help in getting a spacecraft to aid their captive friends. No sooner do they get into the far reaches of space when they run smack into the Skrull armada! The Avengers tear through the fleet of ships with reckless abandon until they reach the leader’s ship. Once inside they demand to know where Wanda and Pietro are being held. The Skrull king himself appears on the monitor screen and shows the Avengers that Mar-Vell is actually helping them against his own kind. The Avengers don’t know what to think until they see it was a Skrull trick and Mar-Vell is actually trying to help Quicksilver and Wanda escape. Once they see this they start to pound on the Skrulls on board the ship until Vision almost kills the captain and has to be restrained by Thor and Iron Man.
We next see Rick Jones in the Kree throne room as he was transported there earlier during the fight with the Inhumans and the Kree who made a deal with Maximus. Rick tries his best to stop Ronan but he gets thrown into a detention cell only to be surprised by the cell’s other guest, The Supreme Intelligence. The Supreme Intelligence tosses Rick through a portal and he ends up in the Negative Zone and face to face with Annihilus. They have a brief tussle but it’s stopped when a beam shoots out of Rick’s forehead and sends Annihilus spiraling into the depths of the Negative Zone. Rick finds his way back to the portal and leaps through. All this time Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were freed from captivity and joined Mar-Vell in trying to stop the Skrull king from executing his devious plan.
After a brief conversation where the Supreme Intelligence tells Rick that he possesses vast psionic power that he can use, and does, to create heroes from years past that he read about in comics. Namor, Captain America and Blazing Skull just to name a few, appear to fight with the Kree that are trying to silence The Intelligence and Rick. An all out battle ensues with the Kree guards and the heroes from the past. While all this is going on The Avengers are still battling an army of Skrulls in their way of saving Wanda and Pietro. Rick then uses his new found powers to send a bolt of energy across the stars that hits Mar-Vell and stuns the entire Kree and Skrull armies and freezes them in place like statues. Meanwhile back on Earth, H. Warren Craddock is zapped by this enormous ray and revealed in front of the world to be a Skrull himself! We then switch back to the Kree throne room where Rick Jones collapses from the strain of using this new power on such a grand scale.
The Supreme Intelligence then opens a portal to bring the Avengers to Hala and they arrive only to see Rick lying motionless on the floor. The Supreme Intelligence tells the spectators that Mar-Vell can save Rick if he merges together with Rick forever. After some pondering Mar-Vell realizes it is the right thing to do, so he becomes one with Rick and revives him as if nothing was ever wrong. The Avengers tell Rick that they’ll fill him in on what happened whey they get home. The Supreme Intelligence transports them there and they meet up with Fury, who he tells them about Craddock being a Skrull. All seems to be well until our heroes realize that one of their numbers did not return; Goliath was never transported by The Supreme Intelligence back in the throne room when they saw Rick dead! But that’s a tale for another time (Avengers #98 to be exact). Now it’s time to say the end! This story laid the ground work for Secret Invasion, make no mistake about it. That story would have never been if not for this one preceding it. That’s it for this week, tune in next week  for another exciting adventure!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net