There was no shortage of Marvel inventory stories in the '70s and '80s, though I've always been curious as to how and why such stories turn out to be set aside in the first place. You could almost hear a collective groan from your fellow readers as you flipped open what you thought was the next issue of a story arc, only to find that a deadline problem had forced the substitution of a different story that had nothing to do with the previous issue. In many cases, it wasn't hard to see why the "placeholder" story never made it to the comics rack at the time it was worked on (though many of us could probably bring to mind some regular stories which would qualify for that dubious honor)--yet it seems unclear how you build a stock of "rainy day" stories in the first place. Presumably an inventory story is used because there wasn't time to complete the regular issue--but doesn't it take time to put together the stories that are shelved? And later, even if it's only the art that's ready to dust off and finally use, that still means snagging a writer and letterer (and perhaps a colorist and/or inker, depending on how much has been done) to complete the work.
It's an interesting process that no doubt has other factors involved, since we're talking about roughly twenty pages of work that would possibly never see the light of day. Perhaps the goal was to have something substantive to publish instead of offering yet another reprint of a classic tale--or worse, a reprint of a reprint. (The subject could probably even spawn a post of its own: "Does anyone actually have a favorite inventory story?" There are even a few such stories scattered in the PPoC for the eagle-eyed among you.) Yet from a reader's perspective, it almost always seems as if you're getting a hand-me-down story, one which didn't make the grade for whatever reason but would do in a pinch.The Avengers title must have had its own inventory shelf in the Marvel offices, as often as the book has had to shuffle in such tales. And given the turnover of membership in the group, it probably isn't possible to just pull any story off the shelf; for instance, if Hawkeye has stormed out and left the team, it would be absurd to see him present and accounted for in the substitute story and trading quips with everyone as if things were rosy. Somehow, it usually seems to work out in terms of which Avengers would need to be available when the need for an inventory story arises, so there's that.
In terms of the story featured here, things were just getting cranked up with both the Michael plot and the return of Ultron when the pause button is hit, and we suddenly shift to a core trio of Captain America, Iron Man, and the Black Panther, who come under attack from a threat that appears to have more than their deaths in mind.
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