TITLE: The Avengers Issue #103
YEAR: September 1972
COMPANY: Marvel Comics
WRITER/EDITOR: Roy Thomas
ARTIST: Rich Buckler
INKER: Joe Sinnott
LETTERER: Sam Rosen
With “The Avengers” issue #103, this is a continuation of what was featured in “X-Men Issue #59”.
With Larry Trask, son of the late Sentinel inventor, Bolivar Trask having sent the Sentinels to capture all mutants.
And with many of the mutants being captured and held in suspended animation, and it was revealed that Larry Trask is a mutant who has the ability to find other mutants (but his powers are negated). Because his last act was sending Sentinels to destroy all mutants, being a mutant, he is captured and because Trask lost his leadership ability among the Sentinels, they will no longer look at him as their leader but as their enemy.
Meanwhile, this leads Cyclops, Jean Grey and Beast to sneak into their headquarters in hopes to find a way to rescue their friends. Upon sneaking in, they see a captured Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Toad being brought aboard. Knowing that the Sentinels are conditioned to deal with mutants by identifying who they are, the three X-Men trade outfits with the the three mutants and assume their identity.
In “The Avengers” issue #103, the Avengers are trying to rescue the Scarlet Witch from whoever has captured her. Iron Man is getting emotionally caught up with Wanda’s capture and as for Quicksilver, he struggles of why he is helping people, when they treat mutants like crap but at the same time, looking for his sister.
As the Quicksilver manages to return back to the Sentinel headquarters, he confronts Larry Trask and demands for him to show him with his sister is. And also using his mutant power to find her.
Meanwhile, the Avengers track down another Sentinel site in Australia. And the Avengers take on the Sentinels.
With the “X-Men” arc which lasted from issues 58-60 showcasing a strong storyline that revolved around Trask’s hatred towards mutants, “The Avengers” issue #103 tried to recapture that magic but there was too much going on. Iron Man is emotional, Rick Jones wants to help the Avengers but no one think he’s cut out for their next mission, Quicksilver trying to get Larry Trask to help him find Wanda and we get a glimpse of the future.
But for the most part, I thought it was interesting to see a Sentinel story in “The Avengers” and despite the Sentinel protocol of going after only mutants, I suppose it’s cool to see a battle between The Avengers and the Sentinels featured. But for all it’s worth, it was a decent story.