Avengers Annual #14 – VF/NM – 1985 (Marvel)

VF/NM — Bagged and boarded.

A sprawling cosmic epic with a wildly entertaining hook — 1930s prohibition-era gangster Skrulls straight out of Fantastic Four #91–93 collide with an Avengers pursuit of Nebula across a Skrull power asteroid. Roger Stern weaves Beyonder interference, a hyperwave bomb power struggle, and a Fantastic Four team-up into one of the most imaginative annuals of the bronze age. A Secret Invasion tie-in years before that story was told — New Avengers #43later connects directly to this issue making it a genuine retroactive key.

• 52 pages, full color
• November 1985
• Notable: Secret Invasion retroactive key; connects to New Avengers #43; 1930s gangster Skrulls; Nebulapursuit; hyperwave bomb plot; converges with Fantastic Four Annual #19; continues from Avengers #260 into #261; Beyonder interference; flashback cameo by Galactus; cameos by Firelord and Raksor
• Avengers lineup: Black Knight, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hercules, Starfox, Wasp
• Cover price $1.25

Written by Roger Stern. Breakdowns by John Byrne. Finishes by Kyle Baker. Cover by Kerry Gammill and Kyle Baker.