Two founders
return.
Mighty team,
personal woes.
Heart wins, not
powers.
Captain America;
Steve Rogers
Goliath; Henry
“Hank” Pym
Hawkeye; Clint
Barton
Quicksilver;
Pietro Maximoff
Scarlet Witch;
Wanda Maximoff
Wasp; Janet Van
Dyne
Featured Enemies
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
The
growth of the new team and the return of two members of the original team
causes a few changes to the group’s chemistry. Hawkeye is shown to gain respect
for Captain America and becomes less of a smart-mouth towards him, but once
Goliath returns to the team, Hawkeye turns his disrespectful streak towards him
instead. As Goliath and Wasp become more active, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch,
under the pretense of having problems with their powers, briefly leave the
team, keeping the core members at four.
This
small number of members seems contrary to modern convention, where teams will
end up bursting at the seams with members and often have to split up into
subgroups, each with their own title for the readers to purchase. The Avengers
team, if you include the recently formed Initiative, got so big that there was
a team in each of the 50 states for a short time. Although those small branches
have since been pruned off, the current Avengers team can call upon dozens of
possible heroes as needed.
Keeping
the scale small may have been to keep things easier for the artist, with less
figures to keep track of in each panel. Stan seemed to love to split the
Avengers group all the time in order to keep the battles small or perhaps the
tension high. The team would show up in groups of one or two to give those poor
villains a change to avoid getting overwhelmed. Even going back to Avengers 1, Iron Man says, “We’ll fight
together, or separately, if need be!” Little did he know how separated they
would often find themselves. Villains could field a small army of lackeys, but
they hardly ever got along well enough together for very long as a supervillain
group.
The pattern
of stories usually fell into two-issue story arcs, which is a change from the
single issues at the beginning of the series. Two was the most, however, not
like the mega-issue epics of modern stories, which like to span about the
length of what would fit into a medium-sized trade paperback. With Stan still
writing most of the titles, he continued to refer to events in other series
that month to explain character absences or plot points. Keeping the issue arcs
small also allowed a certain amount of down-time between issues for those other
series to take place without contradicting each other, so characters’ movements
were a bit easier to track.
The villains' motives continued be a bit childlike, with the exception of Attuma, who was trying
to flood out the surface and drown everyone. Villains seemed enamored with the
idea of defeating the Avengers in public, recruiting them as a public relations
victory, or “destroying” them, which never meant killing them, just imprisoning
them or tricking them in disbanding. Villains didn’t really think much beyond that
for personal gain. They just see the Avengers as a means to some end that often
doesn’t make that much sense. It goes beyond the Avengers. The Living Laser leaves
behind all the cash from bank heist before getting involved with the Avengers, because
apparently having superpowers means you just need to prove you’re awesome to
the public, not make a living.
Avengers 26
The Voice of the Wasp
March, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia
Namor is headed for New York, and Wasp and Henry Pym are
at sea and know about it, so Wasp flies to Manhattan, but she is intercepted by
Atlantean warlord Attuma. Attuma has a
machine that will cause global tides to rise and flood the surface. Wasp
briefly escapes and sends a message to summon the Avengers. Hawkeye is not at
headquarters, and his ring’s receiver is broken, so the rest of the team head
to sea. Attuma’s submarine has air in it to protect the equipment, but the
humidity inside is high enough to cause humans to pass out. The Avengers battle
his forces, but they are hampered by their breathing and are captured. Attuma’s
men claim he had it too easy in battle with the atmosphere as an ally, so in
his vanity, he frees the Avengers to fight again in a chamber with regular
humidity. In that fight, an important structure is destroyed, and the sea
floods the vessel.
Hawkeye: “What’s with you, Winghead? You’re startin’ to
yell ‘Avengers Assemble’ like a nutty broken record!”
·
Inker Frank Giacoia uses the alias Frank Ray for
this issue and the next two after it. He starts using his real name in issue 29.
According to Stan Lee in a Bullpen Bulletins column, artists started using
their real names when they each became comfortable getting public credit for
working in the comic book field, which was not always respected.
·
Writer Roy Thomas must have liked the name Frank
Ray. He used it for the name of a girlfriend of the Human Torch, Frankie Ray.
She later became a herald of Galactus under the code name of Nova.
·
Hawkeye says Captain America is acting “like Mr.
Novak.” He’s referring to a television program, Mr. Novak, that ran from 1963 to 1965. It was about a high school
English teacher, e.g. a lecturer.
·
This story follows up Tales to Astonish 78, where Namor is mind-controlled into attacking
Wasp and Henry Pym’s cruise ship. The Namor story isn’t picked up again in Avengers at all.
·
Starting this issue, Wasp no longer needs to use
pills to change her size. She can do it at will.
·
Wasp is known for her costume changes, but for
this issue, as well as issues 28 and 29, she’s just wearing a regular bathing
suit.
·
Attuma claims the Avengers will be sacrificed to
the “Water gods.” Some Atlanteans still worship the Greek god Neptune, but it’s
unclear what Attuma is referring to here.
·
Attuma was most recently seen in the major event
Fear Itself. He was one of the seven beings chosen to wield one of the Hammers
of the Worthy for the Serpent.
Avengers 27
Four Against the Flood Tide
April, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia
Hawkeye finds himself attacked at headquarters, but he
subdues the mystery intruder and leaves him there tied up. Attuma’s machine
begins its work, and tides start to rise. Of the Avengers, only Quicksilver is
able to escape the submarine, but he is close to drowning when Hawkeye arrives
to rescue him. The two heroes crash their vehicle into Attuma’s sub, and it
again begins to fill with water. In the confusion, Captain America and Scarlet
Witch free themselves. While the Avengers battle Attuma and his forces, Captain
America is able to sabotage the machine and derail Attuma’s plot.
Captain America, thinking: “Things look pretty hopeless!
But he’s got one weak chink in his armor—This is the time for me to play upon
his colossal vanity!”
·
Hawkeye’s mystery attacker is the first Beetle,
Abner Jenkins. He is acting on behalf of the Collector, who will be seen next
issue.
·
Abner Jenkins will later become the hero Mach V,
a teammate of Hawkeye on the Thunderbolts, though he spends much of that time
in prison to pay for his crimes.
·
Hawkeye offers the Beetle a “no-prize” during
their battle. A no-prize was an imaginary prize given out to Marvel readers for
finding mistakes. At first, it was nothing but a simple statement the person
had won it, but eventually in 1967, they began sending out empty envelopes to
the fans.
·
A reporter covering the flooding is named Chet
Brinkley, who ends his report with, “Good night, David.” The Huntley-Brinkley Report was a nightly news show airing from
1956 to 1970, but the hosts were Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.
·
When a fan in the letter column suggests that
there should be two teams of Avengers, Stan Lee jokingly lists several possible
names for the second series, one of which is New Avengers. This would become a series in 2005.
·
During the story, Hawkeye casually mentions that
he borrowed his vehicle from the Fantastic Four. He then casually crashes it
into Attuma’s sub. It survives the ill treatment and is used in the Avengers’
getaway.
Avengers 28
Among Us Walks…a Goliath!
May, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia
After the last adventure, the Wasp and the Beetle are
both missing. Henry Pym returns to seek her out with the Avengers. He decides
to use his powers again and takes the new code name of Goliath. The Collector
contacts the team and tells them where to find Wasp. They go to a castle in the
mountains and face traps designed to add them to the Collector’s collection.
The Beetle Is also there, doing the Collector’s bidding. Goliath grows enough
to shatter his bonds and pursues the Collector, who uses a “temporal
assimilator” to escape. The strain of his powers causes Goliath to collapse.
Hawkeye, thinking: “I always hoped Methuselah would some
day retire, and then I might be Avengers leader! But now with Goliath here, I’m
just another also-ran! What a crummy break!”
·
To prove he was Giant-Man, Henry Pym reveals his
secret identity to the Avengers. He can now also use mental commands to changes size instead of pills. By the end of the story, Janet Van
Dyne also reveals her identity as the Wasp.
·
Pym says the name Giant-Man was too corny and
chooses the new alias, Goliath. He actually fought against the biblical Goliath
in issue 10, but because time was turned back at the end of that story, he
theoretically should not remember that encounter.
·
To stay safe using his powers, Goliath says he
must only grow to a 25-foot height and he must do so for 15 minutes, no more or
less. When he stays at that height too long, he shrinks down to a 10-foot
height before collapsing.
·
Goliath’s new costume was designed by the
Scarlet Witch. She used stretch fabric he had left behind and created a new
outfit in case he ever returned.
·
This is the first appearance of the Collector.
He is portrayed as an elderly man who has a collection of wondrous artifacts,
but no hint is made that he is an immortal alien Elder of the Universe. This is
also the first appearance of any Elder of the Universe.
·
Among the Collector’s collection in this issue
are a Persian flying carpet; a catapult from the Middle Ages of Earth; a
crystal ball that emits “mystic rays;” Jack’s magic beans, which summon two
giants; a tiny vial that imprisons Wasp at miniature size; and a temporal
assimilator, or time machine.
Avengers 29
This Power Unleashed!
June, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia
A consulting doctor says that Goliath will be stuck at
his 10-foot form or risk death. We find that Black Widow has returned behind
the Iron Curtain, and her new handler is Hu Chen. She is brainwashed to serve
him and returned to the United States. When Hawkeye hears she has returned, he
goes to her former house to investigate. Captain America secretly sends Wasp to
follow Hawkeye. Hawkeye finds Black
Widow has allied with Swordsman and Power Man and is defeated. Wasp tries to
return to the mansion, but an altercation with a hungry bird leaves her
unconscious. The villains go to Avengers mansion and capture Captain America as
well. Cap summons Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch with his communicator, but
they, too, are defeated. When Wasp revives, she summons Goliath, who sends the
villains into retreat. A freed Hawkeye has a chance to take a shot at Black
Widow, but he is overcome with his feelings and can’t attack her, so the villains
escape.
Goliath: “You can’t know how I feel! Nobody can! I’m
doomed to spend the rest of my life in a world that’s too small for me!”
Swordsman, of Scarlet Witch: “The poor kid--! She seems
so frail…so helpless!”
Black Widow: So does an asp…until it strikes!”
(Hawkeye lets Black Widow escape)
Hawkeye: “All right, Winghead—say it! Go ahead, say it!
This is one time I got it coming!”
Captain America: “There’s nothing to say, fella! We’re
all Avengers, yes…but we’re also human beings, with feelings, and emotions! You
did what you could…No man can do more than that!”
Hawkeye, thinking: “And that’s the guy I’ve been riding
for months! I wish the ground could swallow me up…right now!”
·
The only reason Captain America selects Dr.
Carlson to examine Goliath is that they knew each other in World War II. He is
able to examine Goliath with a simple stethoscope to make his diagnosis, which
of course is proven incorrect.
·
Black Widow seems to be in a city with Russian
architecture, but the agents she deals with are Dr. Yen and Hu Chen. When she
returns to her handlers in issue 41, the country she is serving is called a
“far eastern power, which shall remain nameless and unrecognized.”
·
Captain America is able to call for help with a
communicator hidden under his glove and a tracking disk on his costume. At
least the villains took his shield.
·
In this month, future Avenger Ares makes his
modern Marvel debut in Thor.
Avengers 30
Frenzy in a Far-off Land!
July, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch feel their powers are
weakening. They surmise that perhaps going to their homeland might recharge
them, so they take a leave of absence. Goliath wishes to consult with his
college professor, Dr. Anton, about his height difficulties, so he travels to
South America. When he arrives, he is attacked by a band of strangely dressed
men. When he defeats them, he demands to be taken to Dr. Anton. Anton is being
held captive in a hidden land nearby which uses a Flame of Life for power. When
Goliath arrives there, more natives attack him, but he is rescued by Prince
Rey, whose regime is no longer in charge. Meanwhile, Wasp scours the streets
for news about Black Widow and her gang and gets a solid lead. Hawkeye requests
that he be able to go after the villains alone since he just let them escape.
His request is approved, so Hawkeye goes to battle them alone. After defeating
Swordsman, he is pinned helplessly by Power Man. Black Widow breaks her
brainwashing and rescues Hawkeye. At headquarters, Wasp sees Goliath’s
abandoned vehicle on a newscast about the missing Dr. Anton, and she fears for
his safety.
Goliath: “The only thing that can stop an Avenger is
another Avenger!”
Goliath: “Okay! You’re not wearing a moustache…and you’ve
got wavy hair…so you must be a good guy!”
·
The credits include one for “Irving Forbush,
Arbitrator.” He will continue to appear in the credits box with a different
title each issue. Irving Forbush is a fictional Marvel employee used for
various purposes and later has the heroic counterpart of Forbush Man.
·
Goliath rides a personal rocket-powered air car
to South America. According to him, it was designed by Tony Stark, and it uses
“its own speed to recharge the generator.” Yet no other use of this amazing
technology seems to impact the Marvel Universe.
·
This is the first appearance of Prince Rey, who
will continue to appear from time to time in other Marvel series along with the
Flame of Life.
·
Goliath claims the hidden land looks like a
scene from H. Rider Haggard, the author behind King Solomon’s Mines and other Lost World and Allan Quatermain
novels.
·
Future Avenger Black Panther debuts in Fantastic Four this month.
Avengers 31
Never Bug a Giant
August, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia
Prince Rey’s soldier, whispering: “Who would dare place
his trust in one so huge?”
·
The “hidden land” is not mentioned by name here,
but the inhabitants claim they are decided from the Incas. Years later in
issues of Incredible Hulk, it’s
revealed that it is El Dorado. In those Hulk stories, the Flame is still active.
·
Prince Rey says that the Flame of Life is
powered by the element cobalt. Excessive amounts of cobalt can cause intoxication
or delirium in humans.
Avengers 32
The Sign of the Serpent
September, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck
A new hate organization called the Sons of the Serpent
comes to prominence in the United States. They speak out against any
foreigners, especially minorities. Goliath gets a new lab assistant from Stark
Industries, Bill Foster, to help him
with his size problems. A visiting dignitary, General Chen, is attacked by a
beam from the sky, and Bill Foster is roughed up outside the lab, both
seemingly attacks by the Sons of the Serpent. The Avengers publicly denounce
the group, and soon afterward Captain America is abducted into the sky. The
Serpents demand that the Avengers join the Serpents’ cause publicly, or they
will execute Captain America. Goliath is formulating a plan, but for the
moment, the Avengers refuse to take any aggressive action against the Serpents.
Hawkeye: “Cap, if I didn’t know better, I’d suspect
you’re turning into a real human being!”
Captain America: “Careful, sonny—you’re liable to say
something pleasant, and I’ll figure you’re an imposter!”
Sons of the Serpent initiate: “I’m gonna join up and get
me a Serpent’s robe—then I’ll lean on every blamed furriner I can find!”
Captain America: “No man—no group of men—can be
super-patriots! Freedom belongs to all—or else it isn’t worthy of the name.”
·
Starting this issue, no inker is listed until
issue 37, so Don Heck was completing his own artwork.
·
Goliath accidentally strikes Wasp in the nose
with his elbow during an experiment. Based on their future relationship, this
was an odd bit of unintentional foreshadowing.
·
This is the first appearance of Bill Foster, who
would later go on take the Goliath identity. He was recently killed during an
altercation between the two factions of the hero “Civil War.”
·
Captain America says that no group of men should
be “super-patriots.” Steve Rogers would later be replaced as Captain America by
John Walker, who also used the code names USAgent and Super-Patriot.
·
In this issue, Black Widow comes to Hawkeye to
reconcile with him and show her intentions to reform.
·
The General Chen who is attacked by the beam
seems to not be related to the Black Widow’s handler, Hu Chen or the
Radioactive Man, whose name is Chen Lu. The name Chen was the fifth most common
name in China in 2007, with an estimate of over 56 million people having that
name in China alone. By comparison, in the United States, the most popular family
name, Smith, has about 2.4 million people with that name.
·
This month saw the premiere of the first Marvel
cartoon show, Marvel Super Heroes. It
aired Monday through Friday, and each day of the week featured a different
character. Captain America was on Monday, Hulk Tuesday, Iron Man Wednesday,
Thor Thursday, and Namor on Friday. All would be Avengers at some point, and
the Avengers sometimes guest-starred in the Captain America and Hulk episodes. The
animation was crude and borrowed art and storylines directly from the comic
book stories. The word "Thursday" is actually a modern interpretation of “Thor’s
Day,” so it was appropriate that his adventures would air on that day.
Avengers 33
To Smash a Serpent
October, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck
Goliath and Wasp show up to a Sons of the Serpent rally
as instructed, but Hawkeye tracks down the Serpents’ airship where Captain
America is being held. He engages a large group of Serpents members while Black
Widow, who hid aboard his vehicle, sneaks out to rescue Cap. At the rally,
Goliath speaks against the Serpents, so an imposter Captain America inflames
the crowd to attack Goliath. The Supreme Serpent sees things are going against
him, so he flees to the airship, but the Avengers follow him. A melee breaks
out, and the Serpents and the fake Captain America are defeated. When the
Supreme Serpent is unmasked, it turns out he was General Chen, who was hoping
to erode America from within with hatred.
Captain America: “I’ve fought lots of madmen in my time
who tossed around slogans like that! One of ‘em bragged that his Reich would
live a thousand years! Got any idea where he is now?”
Captain America: “Well, remember this—there is—and there
will always be—only one Captain America—and that one is me!”
Hawkeye: “Who writes your dialogue? Brand Ecch? Don’t
bother answering, neighbor! It’s an in joke, anyhow!”
·
Goliath strikes Hawkeye when Hawkeye calls him a
coward. He immediately apologizes and says he will submit to disciplinary
action. No further action is taken, but Hank Pym will eventually be brought up
on other more serious charges.
·
Senator Byrd again takes the opportunity to
speak against the Avengers, just as he did in Marvel Heroes & Legends 1997.
·
Captain America’s claim that there will always
be just a Steve Rogers Captain America is not only false in the future, but
there had already been three other men who used the Captain America identity
while Steve Rogers was frozen in ice.
·
Hawkeye’s reference to “Brand Ecch” is a coded
way to refer to DC Comics, or the supposedly inferior “Brand X” to Marvel’s
line. The humor series Not Brand Ecch,
published by Marvel from 1967 to 1969, poked fun at Marvel’s own characters as
well as their competitors’.
Avengers 34
The Living Laser!
November, 1966
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Don Heck
The villain Living Laser robs a bank with his laser beam,
but he leaves the loot behind. He is only interested in proving his power to
the world. Coincidentally, the Laser’s ex-girlfriend is a friend of the Wasp.
At first sight, he falls in love with Wasp and seeks to impress her. He attacks
Goliath to prove himself, but he is defeated. He escapes the Avengers’ custody
by surprising them with his power of flight. Once at his lair, he increases the
power of his laser and uses it to cause mayhem in Manhattan. When Captain
America, Hawkeye, and Wasp try to follow him, they are all tricked into death
traps the Living Laser set up for them ahead of time.
Captain America: “The Avengers would continue to fight
even if they were penniless, Hawkeye!”
Hawkeye: “Mebbe so—but we’d sure look nutty goin’ into
action on roller skates!”
Wasp, regarding equipment: “If only I understood these
things…like a man!”
·
Goliath is “acting chairman pro tem” in this
issue. “Pro tem” means “for the time being,” referencing the constantly
rotating leadership role.
·
The Avengers begin to travel regularly in
“aero-cars.” Hawkeye used a similar-looking “aero-sub” in issue 27 which was on
loan from the Fantastic Four, but the aero-cars seem to be Stark issue.
·
This is the first appearance of the Living
Laser. He is still active and has faced the Avengers and their members many times since.
·
Hawkeye says that, “Cap knows I ain’t Gran’ma
Moses!” Grandma Moses was a well-known painter, but she was also especially known
for her age. She started painting in her 70s and died at the age of 101 in
1961. Hawkeye is saying he’s still young and spry.
·
Goliath is still so worried about being at 10
feet permanently that he mistakenly says he’s stuck at 12 feet.
·
Captain America coats his shield with a special
solution to make it resistant to lasers. At this point, his shield had not yet
been noted to have the incredible durability it currently has. At these early
adventures, it was just said to be a steel shield.
·
Bill Foster states that, “When it comes to
fighting giants, I’m a real washout!” In his later identity of Goliath, he will
be a fighting giant.
·
This is the last issue that Stan Lee writes of Avengers. The longest run of a series he
wrote was Fantastic Four, which
he wrote from issues 1 to 115. He will stay on as editor of Avengers.
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