Marvel Comics' Avengers, 1985 from Roger Stern Beyonder: That's Some Turkey

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Finally: the last in my Turkey Day Triple Treat:
Oh yeah, you’ve been waiting for it: SECRET WARS II. Whether it took you on a tour of the comic shop, with all its cross-overs (that really was the perfect place to explore as much of it as you wanted), or whether you just wished the whole war stayed a secret, the Beyonder’s visit to Earth became the Marvel Event of the Year, at a time when such a concept had never been tried.

The Thanksgiving turkey has arrived.
Storywise, how do you write about confrontations with a being of limitless power? It’s an exercise in frustration, and you’re going to watch every one that stands against him be humbled if not humiliated, while no reasonable force could be brought to bear in equal portion. (No Ultimate Nullifier on the shelf, here. Who knows what it would’ve meant to the Beyonder, anyway?) Early on, though, there’s the question of what to do with the curious being from another universe, how to interact---what to even believe! When the Beyonder attempts to emulate the superheroes---even creating a body for himself that replicates that of Captain America, without the particulars of his training---the Avengers take a wild gamble and offer him probationary membership in their program. Who knows what might’ve been? Nonetheless, after the Skrull Gene Bomb, the Beyonder finds Firelord.

Firelord tells him they are out to stop Nebula. Beyonder takes this as his cue to

remove Nebula---just as she's about to be brought to justice.

This leads to Starfox leaving the Avengers. He takes it personally upon himself to track Nebula, for she claims to be the grand-daughter of Thanos---his brother. Firelord, wishing to settle the score for Xandar's destruction, joins him.

We're just a few months away from seeing a lot of the Beyonder in THE AVENGERS; he has them out-classed to such a frustrating degree, at most we get more speeches, as well as courage in the face of futility. The best moment regards Namor's apparent decision to throw in with the Beyonder. In the end, the power of the Molecule Man is brought out of retirement to undo the damage he creates, in an epilogue shown in AVENGERS #266. I love the part where the survival of Saks is second on the Wasp's list of things worth saving in the world.

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