This issue serves as a bit of a breather after “The Crossing Line,” told in the previous six issues, and also as the conclusion to the Avengers Support Crew tale from the back-ups in the same issues (including the one featuring Peggy Carter in issue #322). There, the members of the Crew were brainwashed by Machinesmith, Mother Night, and Minister Blood, and in this issue they use them to carry out their nefarious plan. Perhaps most important, though, we get to see Sersi being Sersi, not whoever she was supposed to be in the recent movie (no fault of actress Gemma Chan, of course). We saw her heroic side when she saved the team several times in “The Crossing Line”—not that Captain America always appreciates it—but to me it’s the lighter moments in which Sersi really stands out as a character.
Speaking of which, on the first page, Sersi invites Cap to relax with her after a long and taxing mission, even less subtly than normal.
Cap knows better, of course, not just because he’s team leader, but also because of a certain “diamond” who will show up later in the issue.
Our hero is no doubt grateful at that moment to see Michael O’Brien, the Avengers’ head of security, who updates them on the construction of the new headquarters… and Sersi reveals that she has a type.
At the team meeting, Cap is excited to share their latest tech: laptops with recording and voice transcribing capacity—which, in 1990, was still quite futuristic, although your basic cellphone can do it easily today. (I would assume Vision can interface with the computer directly, but whatever.)
As soon as the meeting ends, Sersi’s at it again, and despite his best attempt at evasion—Wakanda Design Group?—there’s no escape.
I’m sure Cap would change places with you in a heartbeat, Emo Vision.
On their way out, Quasar checks with Cap on Avengers rules regarding conflicts of interest in bidding for contracts, and Cap gives a very reasonable answer (and is likely impressed by Quasar’s question). Never a dull moment in the Avengers’ world!
As we see below, Quasar turns this one around very quickly, and Cap and Michael issue some wry commentary on superheroes who depend on eyeglasses to protect their secret identities. (Not that anyone could possibly care who Quasar is in real life.)
Later that night, it’s time for Sersi’s soirée, and Cap arrives with his plus one, although I don’t remember Sersi offering him one (unless she’s with the Wakanda Design Group). Of course, she doesn’t seem to care one way or the other.
Luckily, because he’s Cap, Rachel probably believes him.
Once the party gets started, the villains give the brainwashed Support Crew weapons and unleash them on the Avengers. However, they’re still just the Support Crew, and the Avengers subdue them fairly quickly, with Vision crashing the party and apprehending the real bad guys—only to learn that he was invited after all. A happy ending for once!
Well, maybe not such a good ending for Sersi.
ISSUE DETAILS
Avengers (vol. 1) #325, late October 1990: Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Fred Fredericks and “Many Hands” (inks), Ed Lazellari (colors), Brad K. Joyce (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Avengers Epic Collection: The Crossing Line.
PREVIOUS ISSUES: Avengers #323-324 (September-October 1990)
ALSO THIS MONTH: Captain America #378, Spectacular Spider-Man #169, and Marvel Comics Presents #60 (October 1990)
NEXT ISSUE: Avengers #326 (November 1990)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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