Pressure

In the aftermath of the siege on Avengers Mansion by the Masters of Evil, a gang of crooks try to break into the ruins in order to steal equipment from the lower levels.[1] Unfortunately, they run into Captain America and the Wasp who have been guarding the building. The crooks quickly surrender and are turned over to the authorities.

With the situation under control, the Wasp departs so she can visit Hercules, the Black Knight, and Jarvis in the hospital. Unfortunately, Hercules is still in a coma after taking a beating from the Masters of Evil and the doctors fear he may have suffered some brain damage as a result. Jarvis on the other hand is recovering well and is in good spirits as he is regularly visited by his mother and the other Avengers. She is glad Jarvis is doing well but feels guilty that he was injured because of his association with the Avengers. When she goes to check on the Black Knight, Janet is annoyed to learn that Dane checked out of the hospital earlier even though he is still recovering from a concussion.

When Janet returns to the Avengers temporary headquarters at the Four Freedoms Plaza, she receives a call from her lawyer who wants to know if the Sub-Mariner has returned from his personal business. She regrets to inform him that Namor hasn’t come back, something that worries her too because of the lawsuit that is looming over him.[2] Janet is really beginning to feel the pressure of leadership and when she dozes off she has a nightmare where the Avengers are all demanding she take responsibility for the team. She is woken up by the She-Hulk who has just returned from the west coast ahead of the Fantastic Four. Learning of the Avengers plight, Jennifer offers to rejoin the team as the Fantastic Four don’t have a need of her now that the Thing is back on the team.[3]

When she learns from She-Hulk that the Black Knight has gone to Hydrobase where he is sparring with Doctor Druid, Janet makes a call to Dane to scold him for checking out of the hospital so early. Druid assures Janet that he will go easy on Dane, and assures her if there are any health issues he is trained as a doctor and can help. Janet reluctantly accepts this situation and signs off.

Moments later, the alarm goes off as the Atlantean warrior known as Tyrak arrives on Hydrobase looking for the Sub-Mariner. The Knight and Druid are the first to face him and they are soon joined by the Wasp, She-Hulk, and Captain Marvel. In the ensuing battle, the Black Knight deduces that Tyrak is maintaining his strength out of the ocean because his armor is filled with water. Slicing open the armor with his Ebony Blade, the Knight depletes Tyrak’s water supply causing his strength to wane and a sound defeat. When Tyrak is in captivity, the Wasp learns how he came looking to defeat Namor and win back favor from his master, Attuma. Janet informs him that his plan was a bust from the start as Namor is nowhere to be found. Later, Janet confides in Doctor Druid, telling him that she intentionally held back in the middle of battle because she wanted someone else to take the lead for once. Druid points out that there is only one person who can ease the pressure of command that is weighing her down: Herself.

Later, the Wasp calls a meeting with Captain Marvel, the Black Knight, Thor, Captain America, She-Hulk, and Doctor Druid.[4] After nominating Doctor Druid for membership, the Wasp announces her intention to stepdown as chairwoman for the Avengers, saying that had the Masters of Evil’s attack hadn’t happened this would have been an eventuality anyway. She then turns things over to Captain America. After Janet leaves, Cap turns the floor open so they can all nominate their next leader.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Wasp, Black Knight, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, Doctor Druid), Tyrak, Hercules, Edwin Jarvis,

Continuity Notes

1. The Masters of Evil recently attacked Avengers Mansion leaving it in ruins and injured many members of the team. See Avengers #273-277.

2. The Sub-Mariner was sued by a group of businessmen for property damage caused by past invasions of the surface world. Namor got served in Avengers #270. At the time of this story, Namor had gone on a leave of absence in issue #272 and subsequently got married to Marrina in Alpha Flight #40.

3. She-Hulk’s stint with the Fantastic Four comes to an end as of this issue. The details:

   • Following the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12, Ben Grimm decided to stay on Battleworld because he discovered he could change back and forth between his human and Thing forms.

   • He recommends She-Hulk as his replacement and she officially took his place on the team starting in Fantastic Four #265. She remained on the team even after the Thing returned to Earth in Thing #23.

   • Eventually, the Thing was convinced to rejoin the FF in Fantastic Four #296. Jennifer still remained with the team and was assisting them against Umbra and Jaggar in Fantastic Four #297-298.

4. Thor is depicted wearing a suit of armor with little comment here. At the time of this story, Thor had been cursed with eternal life with brittle bones that will not heal by Hela in Thor #372. His body becomes so broken and battered by Thor #378, Thor creates this armor to hold his body together. Thor will continue to wear this armor on the regular until the curse is eventually lifted post Thor #382.