Avengers: Acts of Vengeance - various
A mysterious figure enlists together some very unlikely villainous bedfellows — Red Skull, Magneto, Kingpin, Dr. Doom, Wizard, and Mandarin — while casting himself, the real mastermind, as each one's lackey, letting each one believe he is the brains behind it all. Brushing aside how this would possibly work ("Hey, why are you calling my lackey 'Lackey'? That's my lackey!"), this collection very helpfully put Loki on the back cover, blowing any chance, however small, of the mystery puppeteer's identity. I didn't think much of the premise that somehow switching opponents with someone would ensure victory, but anyway. As with all long story arcs that involve multiple titles, the quality varies, but there's a lot of great superhero combat, and some soap opera-like dramatics of the time, plus some terrific Byrne artwork. [3.5]
