The Avengers #357

Name: The Avengers #357
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Dec 1992 · Marvel · 1.25 USD; 1.50 CAD; 0.85 GBP

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“The Night Visitors”

★ 1st appearance — Scanner

About this Issue

Avengers #357 holds a precise, verifiable niche in the Gatherers Saga as the issue that delivers one of the arc's most consequential expository pivots: the alternate-universe Swordsman (Philip Javert of Earth-921) openly confirms to the team that the Gatherers originate from parallel realities, a revelation that reframes the entire threat for the first time. It also marks the debut of Screener — the mutant Acolyte of Magneto who resurfaces across later stories under the name Scanner — making it the entry point for a supporting character who recurred through the X-Men line's landmark 'Fatal Attractions' era and beyond. The issue additionally deepens the romantic triangle between Crystal, the Black Knight, and Sersi, a character tension that would carry through to the saga's climax and shape both heroes' arcs for years. As part seven of the eighteen-chapter Gatherers Saga, it represents Bob Harras and Steve Epting's attempt to bring long-form, mystery-driven serial storytelling to the Avengers title in the early 1990s — a deliberate creative counterpoint to the era's louder, event-heavy mainstream.

In "The Night Visitors," the Avengers confront a startling revelation: the Swordsman hails from an alternate reality, a truth underscored when the Watcher makes a rare, unsettling appearance at a formal dinner at Avengers Mansion. The evening takes a dark turn as one of Magneto’s Acolytes arrives to investigate Luna, leaving the team on edge with a cryptic warning from the cosmic observer. Written by Bob Harras and illustrated by Steve Epting, with inks by Tom Palmer and colors by Tom Palmer, the issue’s cover by Epting and Palmer captures the tension with a striking, shadowed scene.

writer Bob Harras · artist Steve Epting · inker, colorist Tom Palmer · letterer Bill Oakley · cover Steve Epting, Tom Palmer

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CGC 9.8 $83.99 CGC 9.8 $83.99 CGC 9.8 $96 CGC 9.8 $140

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History

Bob Harras, who had come up through Marvel as an editorial assistant under Ralph Macchio and later served as chief editor of the X-Men line, brought that X-Men sensibility of slow-burn ensemble drama to the Avengers when he took over as writer in early 1992. Issue #357 sits squarely within the creative partnership Harras built with penciller Steve Epting — whose roughly fifty-issue run on the title became foundational to his career — and inker/colorist Tom Palmer, whose dual contribution gave the book a painterly consistency uncommon for the era. The editorial chain above the story was anchored by editor Ralph Macchio and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, and the issue shipped on October 23, 1992, carrying a December 1992 cover date. The issue notably includes a bonus full-page pin-up by Epting and Palmer reproducing an unused alternate cover, acknowledging the creative work that didn't make the final product.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Screener (real name Sarah Ryall), a mutant Acolyte of Magneto with bio-electrical abilities including neural disruption and genetic scanning; she later took the codename Scanner, appearing next as that character in Uncanny X-Men #300 (March 1993).
Titled 'The Night Visitors,' this is Part 7 of the 18-chapter Gatherers Saga, the multi-year alternate-universe storyline that ran through the Avengers title from early 1992 to 1994.
Written by Bob Harras, pencilled by Steve Epting, inked and colored by Tom Palmer, lettered by Bill Oakley; edited by Ralph Macchio with Pat Garrahy as assistant editor, under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.
The issue's central plot involves Screener covertly infiltrating Avengers Mansion on a mission from Fabian Cortez to scan the genetic makeup of Luna (daughter of Quicksilver and Crystal) to determine whether Magneto's granddaughter is a mutant; she confirms Luna is baseline human.
The Watcher (Uatu) makes an ominous, uninvited appearance at a formal dinner held at Avengers Mansion, interrupting what is otherwise a rare moment of downtime for the team.
The Avengers confirm in this issue that the Swordsman (Philip Javert) is indeed from an alternate reality (Earth-921) — a key narrative clarification for the ongoing arc.
The growing romantic triangle among Crystal, the Black Knight (Dane Whitman), and the Eternal Sersi is foregrounded, with multiple Avengers expressing concern about Sersi's deteriorating behavior.
The issue has been reprinted multiple times, including in the Avengers Epic Collection #23: Fear the Reaper (2019, recolored), the Avengers: The Gatherers Saga collected edition (2018), and translated editions in Spain (Planeta DeAgostini, 1994) and the Netherlands (Juniorpress).