G.L.A. #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeG.L.A. #4 is the concluding chapter of Dan Slott's four-issue 'Misassembled' miniseries — a sharp satirical response to the grim death-driven tone of Avengers Disassembled and Identity Crisis — and it delivers on every front simultaneously as parody and genuine superhero storytelling. Most significantly, it contains the first appearance of Tippy-Toe, the eastern gray squirrel who would go on to become Squirrel Girl's permanent partner and a fan-beloved character in her own right across two decades of Marvel publishing. The issue also pays off Doorman's arc in a surprisingly meaningful way, as he dies in battle against Maelstrom but is immediately elevated to a cosmic role, inheriting Deathurge's position as a servant of Oblivion — a punchline with real narrative weight. As the finale of the miniseries that re-established Squirrel Girl as a fixture of the Marvel Universe, this issue is the pivot point for one of the medium's most unlikely character comebacks.
In "Countdown to a Miscount," Dan Slott and Paul Pelletier deliver a pivotal chapter where Mr. Immortal confronts his unexpected cosmic significance, leading to a showdown with Maelstrom that ends in tragedy—Doorman's death marks his grim ascension as Deathurge’s successor to Oblivion’s service. With the real Avengers demanding they abandon their name, the Great Lakes Avengers reinvent themselves as the Great Lakes X-Men (GLX), setting a bold new course. The issue’s dynamic art by Pelletier, inked by Magyar and colored by Quintana, captures the stakes with precision, while the cover by Pelletier and Magyar perfectly frames the team’s transformation.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Dan Slott wrote the four-issue G.L.A. miniseries — pencilled throughout by Paul Pelletier, inked by Rick Magyar, colored by Wil Quintana, lettered by Dave Lanphear, and edited by Tom Brevoort — as a deliberate comic counterweight to the wave of dark crossover events dominating Marvel in 2004–2005. The series ran from April through September 2005 and was subtitled 'Misassembled' as a direct parody of Brian Michael Bendis's Avengers Disassembled; the miniseries-wide gimmick of killing a team member every issue mirrored (and mocked) the trend of treating character deaths as shock spectacle. Issue #4 specifically, titled 'Countdown to a Miscount,' was the first issue in the run to clock in at 24 pages rather than 22, suggesting a slight expansion for the finale.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Tippy-Toe (Earth-616): the eastern gray squirrel who survives Maelstrom's reality-bomb and is formally inducted by Squirrel Girl as her new partner, replacing the murdered Monkey Joe — making this issue the origin point of a character who has since appeared in well over 100 Marvel comics.
- Written by Dan Slott; pencils by Paul Pelletier; inks by Rick Magyar; colors by Wil Quintana; letters by Dave Lanphear; edited by Tom Brevoort. Cover date: September 2005; on-sale date places it in that same month.
- Story synopsis (per Grand Comics Database): Mr. Immortal discovers his cosmic significance, the GLA defeats Maelstrom, Doorman dies in the battle but inherits Deathurge's role as servant of Oblivion — effectively giving him a unique post-death promotion that recontextualizes his power set.
- Leather Boy — the non-powered rejected GLA applicant — appears disguised as Doctor Doom, with the ruse exposed by issue's end.
- Batroc's Brigade (Batroc the Leaper/Georges Batroc, Machete/Mariano Lopez, Zaran/Maximillian Zaran) appear as antagonists; Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse), Living Lightning (Miguel Santos), and Quasar (Wendell Vaughn) appear in cameo.
- The GLA is ordered by the real Avengers to stop using their name; they immediately rename themselves the Great Lakes X-Men (GLX) at the close of the issue.
- The entire four-issue miniseries was collected in the trade paperback G.L.A.: Misassembled (ISBN 0-7851-1621-4, December 2005), which also reprints West Coast Avengers #46 (the GLA's first appearance, by John Byrne) and the Squirrel Girl story from Marvel Super-Heroes #8 (her first appearance, by Will Murray and Steve Ditko).
- The series' parody premise — a death in every issue — was a meta-commentary on Identity Crisis and Avengers Disassembled, the two high-profile 'serious' event storylines running at DC and Marvel respectively in 2004–2005.
Cast · 12 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in G.L.A.: Misassembled #[nn] (2005), The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl & the Great Lakes Avengers #[nn] (2016)
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