The West Coast Avengers Annual #4

History

The main story was written and pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Terry Austin — a pairing that had an enthusiastic following from their celebrated Uncanny X-Men collaboration — with colors by Bob Sharen and letters by Jack Morelli, under editor Howard Mackie. The issue also carried multiple backup features by a rotating creative pool including Mark Gruenwald, Fabian Nicieza, and Peter Sanderson, with pencil contributions from Mike Manley, Gavin Curtis, Amanda Conner, and Mark Bagley. Tom DeFalco served as Editor-in-Chief. The 'Atlantis Attacks' event itself was conceived as a direct follow-on to 1988's 'Evolutionary War,' consciously expanding that annuals-only crossover format; Marvel revived annual publication for Daredevil, Iron Man, and Thor specifically to increase the chapter count from eleven to fourteen.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Chapter Twelve of the fourteen-part 'Atlantis Attacks' crossover event, which ran exclusively through Marvel's 1989 annuals; the story picks up directly from Web of Spider-Man Annual #5 and continues into Thor Annual #14.
• Main story titled 'Gather Now Ye Seven Brides!' — written and pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Terry Austin — depicts Ghaur assembling all seven Brides of Set (Storm, Jean Grey/Marvel Girl, Dagger, Andromeda, She-Hulk, Invisible Woman, Scarlet Witch) at a Deviant base and deploying them to retrieve artifacts needed to summon Set; the god Set physically rises at story's end.
• The Avengers — augmented by Beast and the Thing — mount a direct assault on Ghaur's base in an attempt to stop the summoning ritual, but fail to prevent Set from manifesting.
• Contains a 'Saga of the Serpent Crown' backup (Chapter 12, written by Peter Sanderson, art by Mark Bagley and Keith Williams) set on Earth-712, featuring Squadron Supreme members Arcanna, Nighthawk, and Power Princess, along with the Serpent Cartel and the Earth-712 President Nelson Rockefeller; this installment resolves the Squadron Supreme's Serpent Crown enslavement plotline.
• A humorous 'Rate the Hunks' backup feature is narrated by She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) and the Wasp, who score the East and West Coast Avengers on a 1–10 scale — a lighter tonal counterpoint to the main story.
• Additional backup stories include a U.S. Agent solo feature, a Firebird solo installment set in Baja, Mexico, and a comedic segment starring Hawkeye, Iron Man, Vision, and U.S. Agent at a monster truck show, written by Dwayne McDuffie.
• Cover by John Byrne; the book was published with both a direct edition and a newsstand edition. It was reprinted in the Atlantis Attacks Omnibus (2011), Atlantis Attacks: The Original Epic (2021), the Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016), and the Squadron Supreme Classic Omnibus (2016).
• The issue's indicia reads 'West Coast Avengers Annual' while the cover bears the 'Avengers West Coast' branding, reflecting the mid-run title transition that had taken effect with issue #47 of the ongoing series.

Cast · 40 characters

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Variants (1)