Avengers #191 Jan 1980
"Back to the Stone Age!" Part 2 of 2. Guest-starring Daredevil.
Iron Man and Daredevil have been transformed into stone statues by the Grey Gargoyle.
The Avengers battle the villain but he defeats them and leaves.
At Avengers Mansion, Jarvis is dismayed to see Redwing
the Falcon’s pet at a window, anxiously pecking to get out.
Jarvis opens the window and the bird bolts off like a rocket.
Back at the site of the battle, the Avengers rouse one by one.
They discover that Iron-Man hasn’t actually been transformed into stone, just his armor, although he’s imprisoned within it now.
Iron Man
who’s battled the Gargoyle before is aware that the transformation only lasts an hour.
He informs the team that he saw Falcon take off in pursuit of the Gargoyle and suggests they search for him.
The Falcon pursues the Gargoyle across Manhattan rooftops back to his former penthouse apartment,
which is now occupied by a woman named Margo Neil after he was believed to have abandoned it.
Intending to augment his powers, he opens up a secret compartment - only to
discover that Margo has thrown away his formulas and now uses it as a liquor cabinet.
Enraged, he is about to attack her when the Falcon intervenes.
The Falcon isn’t a match for the Gargoyle’s strength.
Redwing arrives and his master tells him to find the Avengers but the Gargoyle turns him to stone before he can fly away.
The Falcon continues battling the Gargoyle, hoping to cause enough of a ruckus to attract the team’s notice.
The Avengers then show up in time and the Scarlet Witch uses her hex power to turn the Gargoyle back into flesh and blood.
Margo, who’s been crouching in the corner, is dismayed to see her home has been trashed.
Returning to the court
after Iron Man and Daredevil have reverted to normal, the Senate committee rules in favor of the Avengers,
citing that this recent encounter has reminded them that the Avengers can combat menaces ordinary law enforcement cannot.
A visibly disgruntled Gyrich is forced to greatly loosen his restrictions on the Avengers.
Gyrich snidely asks Iron-Man if the team will once again expand their roster, but Iron-Man
admits that they likely would have trimmed their active membership down to what it is now anyway.
Unfortunately, the good news for the Avengers is bad news for the Vision. With Gyrich’s strictures loosened,
the Scarlet Witch is now free to take her previously requested leave of absence.
Plot by Roger Stern. Script by David Michelinie.
Art by John Byrne (breakdowns) and Dan Green (finishes).