The Vengeance Initiative
John Byrne writes and draws The Troubled Earth the next part of Marvel's Acts of Vengeance crossover. The Avengers (Hank Pym, Human Torch, Iron Man, U.S.Agent, Wasp and Wonder Man) attempt to stop an attack by Mole Man and the Subterraneans and may have an unexpected ally from the Cabal.
Right down to the cover (an excellent homage to Fantastic Four #1), I've always fondly remembered this as an example of a classic Avengers issue. This really is everything you should want from an Avengers comic. Each featured member has their own individual part in the issue, whether it's the scene with Wonder Man's and the Mole Man or Hank Pym fighting a gigantic monster bare-handed... this is just a great team book.
The story itself however, doesn't make much traction in terms of Acts of Vengeance. Despite it being a core issue of the crossover, it's really only the final page with the Avengers all meeting up to work out what is going on and the sequence where Magneto (having just kicked the crap out of the Red Skull) arrives to discreetly save the Avengers his daughter from a quinjet crash. Magneto's parts in Acts of Vengeance and his whole alliance with no one but himself is definitely one of the highlights of the crossover.
As I said, this is a solid issue of Avengers with one of the best line-ups and best use of a line-up, it's both a good stand-alone issue and a enjoyable part of the larger crossover. While the battles with the subterraneans are good in their own right, they aren't very important to the main story. Or perhaps it's reading this issue alongside all these tie-ins that has diminished this part the issue. Despite that, it's still a splendid outing.