The Avengers (Can't) Assemble Hard Enough! Avengers 108, FF 131, Hulk 161 | Five Minutes of X 111

Welcome back to Five Minutes of X! I'm reading every mutant comic Marvel ever made, month by month. November 1972 brings four books and a love triangle nobody asked for. Avengers 108 wraps up the Grim Reaper/Space Phantom arc with Vision and Wanda patching things up, mostly through the Phantom overplaying his hand and the Avengers assembling just hard enough to lose before winning. Fantastic Four 131 drops us into Attilan where Pietro has been convalescing with Crystal, who apparently fell in love with him at his bedside, Back to the Future style (except she's not his mom, so points for that). Johnny Storm shows up, demands she choose, and the issue ends with Crystal kidnapped underground and two grown men chasing after her. Incredible Hulk 161 closes out the Mimic/Vera arc: Calvin's powers are back, out of control, and draining the life out of everything around him - including, somehow, the Hulk, who is not a mutant, which the comic never quite reckons with. Mimic dies. He will not stay dead. X-Men 80 is a reprint of issue 32, covering the second Juggernaut arc. Great story. Terrible cover. Both times. Pietro gets a spotlight, a kiss, and a love rival this month. That's character development. We'll take it. Cerebro is powering down. You can find the mutant character guide, the reading list, and signs of a cry for help at joerdie.com. New episodes Wednesdays at noon and Fridays at 4PM Eastern. Credits The Avengers #108 - November 7, 1972 - Writer: Steve Englehart, Artist: Don Heck The X-Men #80 (reprinting #32) - November 7, 1972 Fantastic Four #131 - November 21, 1972 - Writer: Roy Thomas, Artist: Ross Andru The Incredible Hulk #161 - November 28, 1972 - Writer: Steve Englehart, Artist: Herb Trimpe http://joerdie.com