X-amining Avengers West Coast #101

"Genosha, Mon Amour: Bloodties Part III of V"
December 1993

In a Nutshell
War Machine battles Exodus in the skies over Genosha.

Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Dave Ross
Inks: Tom Dzon
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Nel Yomtov
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
As the Avengers confront the United Nations over the terms of their charter, the contingent of the team that journeyed to Genosha are confronted by Exodus. War Machine engages him as the Scarlet Witch & Crystal head off to find Luna and the rest of the Avengers try to stop the fighting between the mutates and humans. Elsewhere, Professor X, Beast & US Agent discover a mutate concentration camp in the tunnels beneath the city, protected by the Magistrate Elite. On the outskirts of the city, the X-Men defeat the Unforgiven, while in the skies above the city, Exodus overpowers War Machine, only to find Sersi ready to go one-on-one with him.

X-amining Avengers West Coast #56, 57 & 60

"Darker Than Scarlet" / "Family Reunion" / "Personal Magnetism"
March/April/July 1990

In a Nutshell 
Magneto attempts to counsel the now-villainous Scarlet Witch. 

Writer: John Byrne, Roy & Dann Thomas (Issue #60)
Penciler: John Byrne, Paul Ryan (Issue #60)
Inker: Paul Ryan, Danny Bulanadi (Issue #60)
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
Issue #56: Scarlet Witch, having embraced her power and darker urges in the wake of her recent losses, torments the Avengers she's captured. Meanwhile, at Avengers Compound, Hank Pym is visited by Quicksilver, and Iron Man receives the Avengers emergency signal. Investigating Scarlet Witch's cottage, Pym watches as Magneto arrives, then bursts through the wall. Magneto insists he's only there for his daughter, but Pym draws a weapon from his pocket and turns it on Scarlet Witch. Just then, Quicksilver rushes in, knocking out Pym and declaring his allegiance lies with his father and sister. Issue #57: Human Torch arrives and attacks the mutants, prompting Magneto to fly them away. They're attacked in the air by Iron Man but Scarlet Witch disables his armor, sending him plummeting to the ground. The three mutants arrive at the newly-rebuilt Asteroid M, and shortly thereafter, he Avengers proceed to infiltrate the base.

X-amining "Acts of Vengeance" Part 4

Amazing Spider-Man #329, Avengers Annual #19 (Second Story), Avengers Spotlight #29 (Second Story), Avengers West Coast #55, Captain America #367
February 1990

In a Nutshell
Loki is defeated and the Avengers deal with the fallout of "Acts of Vengeance".

Amazing Spider-Man #329 by David Michelinie & Erik Larsen
Avengers Annual #19 (Second Story) by Mark Gruenwald & Vince Mielcarek
Avengers Spotlight #29 (Second Story) by Dwayne McDuffie & Dwayne Turner
Avengers West Coast #55 by John Byrne & Paul Ryan
Captain America #367 by Mark Gruenwald & Kieron Dwyer

Plot
Captain America #367: Magneto confronts Red Skull at his Washington DC office, chasing him through a series of tunnels, dispatching obstacles along the way. Eventually, Magneto catches and imprisons Red Skull in an underground fallout shelter, leaving him alone in the dark, with nothing but water, to think of the horrors he's perpatrated, to suffer such that he'll wish Magneto had killed him. Avengers West Coast #55: Both teams of Avengers meet to discuss Thor's revelation that Loki is the mastermind behind the recent attacks on the Avengers. Meanwhile, in a holding cell, the Wizard activates a teleportation device hidden in his thumbnail and rejoins the Prime Movers. But Loki flies into a rage, saying Thor can trace the teleportation back to this location, and reveals himself to the Movers. Kingpin slips out, but Loki angrily immobilizes Wizard, Red Skull and Mandarin just as Thor appears with the rest of the Avengers. They engage Loki, and during the battle, the rest of the Prime Movers, now ignored, escape. Thor eventually defeats Loki, trapping him in a fissure of his own creation, declaring that the Avengers shall ever and always prevail.

X-aminations in April 2015

April is Cable time*, as Rob Liefeld follows up his New Mutants' debut with the full unveiling of his most iconic creation. Meanwhile, we catch up with a few Siege Perilous-displaced X-Men in Uncanny and the storyline that never ends keeps never ending in Excalibur.

Also, I made a change to the six months-out calendar I posted in January, pushing back Alpha Flight #87-90 (which takes place between Uncanny X-Men #258 and #259 but was published a few months after those issues) and slotting Magneto's Avengers West Coast story (which is, aside from "Acts of Vengeance", pretty much the only overtly villainous story he participates in during this era, and which I'd completely forgotten about when making the original six-months-out list) into its place next month (Avengers West Coast #58 and #59 are a pair of mostly-unrelated fill-in issues; at any rate, Magneto does not appear in them).

As always, sound off in the comments with anything I may be missing. 

*insert your preferred Cable/cable TV pun here.

On Sale January 1990 
April 1st: Uncanny X-Men #259
April 2nd: New Mutants #87
April 3rd: X-Factor #52

April 8th: Avengers West Coast #56-57, #60
April 9th: Excalibur #20
April 10th: Wolverine #22

On Sale February 1990 
April 15th: Uncanny X-Men #260
April 16th: New Mutants #88
April 17th: X-Factor #53

April 22nd: Marvel Comics Presents #48-50 (Wolverine story)
April 23rd: Excalibur #21
April 24th: Wolverine #23

On Sale March 1990
April 29th: Uncanny X-Men #261
April 30th: New Mutants #89
May 1st: X-Factor #54

X-amining "Acts of Vengeance" Part 3

Amazing Spider-Man #328, Avengers #313, Avengers Spotlight #28 (Second Story), Avengers West Coast #54, Captain America #366, Thor #413
January 1990

In a Nutshell 
Loki is revealed as Mandarin attacks the Avengers. 

Amazing Spider-Man #328 by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane
Avengers #313 by John Byrne & Paul Ryan
Avengers Spotlight #28 (Second Story) by Dwayne McDuffie & Dwayne Turner
Avengers West Coast #54 by John Byrne & Paul Ryan
Captain America #366 by Mark Gruenwald & Ron Lim
Thor #413 byTom DeFalco & Ron Frenz

Plot
Amazing Spider-Man #328: Having been approached by the Prime Movers and offered the detruction of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle in exchange for the death of Spider-Man, Sebastian Shaw hires the Hulk to do the job. He then observes the fight as Spider-Man nearly kills Hulk thanks to his increased cosmic powers, and Shaw realizes that Spider-Man's powers may be even more a threat to him than Magneto and the Inner Circle, and resolves to find a way to remove them. Avengers Spotlight #28: The Mad Thinker is approached by the Prime Movers' lackey, but he rejects his offer to join the group. Forseeing trouble for his plans should the Superhuman Registration Act pass, however, he breaks out of prison and sends the super-villain Gargantua to attack a debate on the act involving Wonder Man and Wasp. The two defeat the villain, turning the crowds' opinion in their favor, as the Mad Thinker had planned. Captain America #366: As Captain America hunts the Controller, hoping to free Namor of his control, the Red Skull plots to take control of the Prime Movers' lackey. Cap faces off with the Controller, but he escapes, after which the Controller successfully places a control disc on the lackey, but it has no effect.

X-amining "Acts of Vengeance" Part 2

Amazing Spider-Man #327, Avengers #312, Avengers Spotlight #27, Avengers West Coast #53, Captain America #365, The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #9, Thor #412
December 1989

In a Nutshell 
The West Coast Avengers realize the team is under attack and heads east while the eastern Avengers deal with the fallout of the sinking of Avengers Island. 

Amazing Spider-Man #327 by David Michelinie & Erik Larsen
Avengers #312 by John Byrne, Paul Ryan & Tom Palmer
Avengers Spotlight #27 (second story) by Dwane McDuffie & Dwayne Turner
Avengers West Coast #53 by John Byrne
Captain America #365 by Mark Gruendwald & Kieron Dwyer
The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #9 by Terry Austijn & Mike Vosburg
Thor #412  by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz & Joe Sinnott

Plot
Thor #412: Working with the New Warriors, Thor is able to defeat Juggernaut by transporting him to another dimension. Cloak & Dagger #9: As the Avengers hold a public forum to discuss the Superhero Registration Act, they're attacked by a group of villains led by the Jester. Amazing Spider-Man #327: Testing out his new, increased powers, Spider-Man is attacked by Magneto, believing the powers may be an indication that Spider-Man is a mutant. But he breaks off his attack when he realizes the sheer breath of Spider-Man's abilities mean he cannot be a mutant, and Magneto leaves hoping to find another way to utilize Spider-Man's powers for the betterment of mutants. Captain America #365: The Red Skull is offered a place with the Prime Movers, and while he stews on the offer, his agent Crossbones enlists the Controller in setting Namor the Sub-Mariner against Captain America. Dealing with the loss of Avengers Mansion, Captain America is attacked by Namor. During the fight, he manages to damage the Controller's control disc, knocking Namor out but leaving the disc attached. Meanwhile, the Red Skull decides to join the Prime Movers.