Magneto thinks he has found a way to escape his imprisonment in space. By sending out magnetic waves he is communicating with a young scientist on Earth who is convinced he has made contact with a peaceful alien world.

The young scientist Dane Whitman explains to his technician that he is determined to make a name for himself to attone for his evil uncle. Professor Garret better known as the Black Knight who had recently died in combat with Iron Man.

In the states Captain America announces to the others that he is quitting to concentrate on his personal life leaving Goliath in charge of the team.

The Avengers take a break from each other with Hercules returning to Olympus to try and make peace with his father only to find the place deserted.

Dane Whitman's technician decides to knock out his boss and take the glory of communicating with outer space for himself. Unfortunately he does so just as Magneto finds a way to use the magnetic waves to return home. He tries to send the criminal back into space but gets knocked out and tossed in a dungeon.

Magneto contacts Wanda and Pietro to try and put his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants back together. When they arrive at the castle he threatens them with an army of robots if they wont join his cause. They still refuse but are no match for Magneto and his robots.

So it is any good?:

I am reading this and the next few issues for the first time so my comments are a bit more immediate than usual.

It isn't exactly good, it has some interesting moments but they tend to be interesting in hindsight rather than actually exciting. It is always good to see just how much of a one dimensional villain Magneto was before Claremont got hold of him. I prefer Claremont's version but anyone who thinks it was some sort of natural progression for the character needs to read stories like this. He is a fairly minor, personality free, bad guy.

Wanda and Pietro needed time in the spotlight but basically spent the time getting beaten up which doesn't really help. The Hercules subplot is off to an interesting start but I haven't read how it turns out yet.

Dane Whitman is one of Thomas' pet characters, based on a 50s super hero and one of the first characters Thomas actually created for the Marvel universe he always seemed desperate to find a place for him but the mixture of cool young scientist and medieval trappings didn't always work. Even here before he becomes the Black Knight he is at work in a Castle somewhere near Washington complete with torches, suits of armor and dungeons. It is obvious foreshadowing of his role as the Black Knight but it doesn't really make sense.

Beyond that there is some reasonable art from the mismatched team of Buscema and Tuska and that is about it.

Avengers Facts:

Magneto's easy escape from the Stranger's world is explained by the Strange losing interest in Magneto after capturing the Abomination in Astonish 91. Magneto had been the prisoner of the Stranger ever since X-men 18, he was nowhere near as important a character as he is today and I would guess that it was only Thomas' need to give Wanda and Pietro a time in the spotlight that brought him back at all.

Apparently Roy Thomas really wanted Captain America, Iron Man and Thor in the title regularly but Stan Lee was writing their solo titles and wanted them to only appear as guest stars in the Avengers. Cap's frequent bouts of membership followed by quitting were Thomas' way of getting round it, keeping Cap around as much as Lee allowed but never keeping him long or making him the focus of stories.

The whirlwind is still hanging around, taking Jan and Hank to the airport but he wouldn't actually make another move against the heroes until #54.

Are there any goofy moments?

Why was Dane Whitman doing his experiments in an American Castle?

Is it a landmark?

It is the first appearance of the third Black Knight although the next issue when he actually takes on that identity is probably more important.

Where can I read it?

Marvel Triple Action 39