Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Avengers 45 to 52 including Avengers Special 1 (9/67 to 5/68)

Avengers Day ends,
Crumbling around core trio,
A prince, then a king.

 Captain America; Steve Rogers
Goliath; Henry “Hank” Pym
Hawkeye; Clint Barton
Hercules; Heracles
Quicksilver; Pietro Maximoff
Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Wasp; Janet Van Dyne 

Incoming member:
Black Panther; T’Challa 

Featured Allies
Black Knight; Dane Whitman
Iron Man; Tony Stark
Thor; Donald Blake

                Black Widow has left the list of allies because she announces her retirement from being a costumed hero and sees no action in this cycle of issues. Her early character is quite a bit different from the Natasha we know today from the Avengers film. It’s hard to believe she didn’t even have her signature red hair for much of her early history. In the old days, a woman’s “danger” was due to her use of deception and the mystery of her allegiance. Today, she can demolish an enemy with physical violence as well as any of the boys, even if she’s just given those tiny pistols Scarlett Johansson is sporting against waves of alien shock troops in the Avengers film.
                Roy Thomas continues to make use of the Marvel stable of master villains such as Mandarin and Magneto and the villains from the members’ own series, such as Super-Adaptoid and Whirlwind. He devises a couple of new characters as foils to new Avengers. Typhon is drawn from Hercules’ web of mythology to menace Earth, but apart from some scattered appearances, not much is seen of him afterwards. Seeds are planted for the future as a new heroic Black Knight appears who will later become a longtime member. And the menace of the Grim Reaper springs from the almost-forgotten story of Wonder Man, who at this point was still as dead as a character could get. It would be years before Wonder Man returned to the living.  We have to assume Thomas had no idea how major a character Wonder Man would become, but after that, the Grim Reaper becomes a constant foil to the team.
                While reading these issues, the story format seemed to come closer to the modern style of storytelling. The use of subplots that lasted several issues became more prevalent. Each character had his own thing going on, and it could lead up to a major story for the team, such as Hercules going to visit Olympus, or it could just serve as a short vignette, like Goliath and Wasp catching a cheating gambler with their powers in Las Vegas. Not knowing how relevant each page would be in the future seemed to add a bit to the tension. Rather than a large slugfest in each issue, which of course is still the main plot, the pieces of the puzzle seem to stand out more. This isn’t to say Stan Lee’s stories didn’t have asides or subplots. They certainly did, but Thomas’ asides seem more deliberately planned to pay off farther down the road, not right away or just next month when the story was bound to wrap up.

               






Avengers Annual Vol 1 1.jpg

Avengers Special 1
The Monstrous Master Plan of the Mandarin!
September, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck and George Roussos 

The Living Laser escapes prison, even though Tony Stark is coincidentally there at the time. The Laser is teleported away by the Mandarin’s devices and sees a group of villains assembled there. Iron Man goes to warn the Avengers, who have already learned that other villains have also gone missing. The military sends the Avengers a message regarding three places around the world that are being attacked by those villains, so the team splits up into four groups. Goliath and Wasp  go to South America and battle Power Man and Swordsman. These villains menace a city with a giant explosive sword hovering overhead. Despite the Avengers defeating the villains, the sword comes down, but we discover Iron Man was waiting in reserve, and he manages to deflect the weapon, saving the city. Hercules and Scarlet Witch go to Asia to face Executioner and Enchantress and an army of Trolls. These villains forget about the Mandarin’s plot and only wish to battle the heroes. The Enchantress transports them all to the Citadel of Silence, an abandoned other-dimensional city, but the two heroes defeat them and use the Executioner’s axe to slice through the dimensions back to Earth. Thor and Hawkeye battle the Living Laser in Africa. Hawkeye is able to trap him, but the Mandarin’s gigantic Ultimo robot comes out of an erupting volcano. The two heroes manage to defeat it as well. Back at headquarters, Captain America and Quicksilver triangulate the Mandarin’s location after his communications with this three teams. They take an auto-control rocket to his satellite base in space and discover his master plan, a hate ray powered by a giant diamond. The other Avengers arrive as well, but the hate ray is turned on them, and they are forced to fight whomever is closest to them. While the Avengers battle each other, Mandarin is knocked into the controls. Because Wasp was closest to Mandarin, she did not turn on an ally and attacked the Mandarin under the influence of the beam. The controls are destroyed, and the Mandarin is sent into outer space. The Avengers rig the satellite to blow up and make their escape. 

Scarlet Witch, thinking: “The sorceress does not understand mortal science...or my uncanny control of the laws of probability!*”
Editor’s note: “*To tell the truth, we sometimes get a bit confused about them ourselves!—Straightforward Stan.” 

Hawkeye: “Hold it, Goldilocks! That crumb is an enemy of the regular Avengers—so I claim first crack at him!”
Thor: “Then, so be it! ‘Tis indeed thy right—which Thor shall honor!” 

Captain America: “They also serve who stand and wait, Pietro!” 

·         Cap’s quote above is adapted from John Milton’s poem “On His Blindness.” Milton implied that even people who were limited in their functions still had a place in the world. This quote appears several times over the years in Avengers, usually in reference to a “limited” nonpowered ally of the Avengers or, in this case, those waiting and only monitoring the situation.
·         The special was 49 pages of story, supposedly the longest story Marvel had printed up to this time. It still was only 25 cents, despite being 2 ½ times as long as a regular 20-page issue.
·         The graphics for this issue call it a “King-Size Special.” After Avengers Special 5,  and with Avengers Annual 6, these specials became known as annuals. The first five specials are sometimes retroactively called Annuals as well.
·         Iron Man blinds Living Laser with “black light.” This is just a dramatic name for this darkness effect. Real black light is simply ultraviolet light and wouldn’t blind anyone.
·         Black Widow is still in the hospital from her injury in Avengers 44.
·         Living Laser receives a new costume in this issue. It was made by the Mandarin.
·         The Avengers appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Special 3 before this issue. They considered Spider-Man for membership on the team. (It’s also sometimes referred to as ASM Annual 3.)
·         The cities and countries that the villains attack are never named, only the continents they are on.
·         The first three attacks don’t seem to further the Mandarin’s master plan directly, except perhaps to demoralize the Earth before the hate ray or to procure more diamonds in Africa for the ray.
·         It’s presumed the second group of Avengers to the satellite used another auto-control rocket, but on leaving the station, both groups return in one, leaving the other to be destroyed. Wasteful!
·         Hercules uses a battle mace in this issue that is possibly his signature “Golden Mace” created by Hephaestus. It is highly indestructible and not actually made of gold. He usually prefers  to go into battle with his bare hands.
·         The story ends with all Avengers agreeing to assemble en masse again, but the narration implies that it will only be for each year’s special.
·         The special includes a diagram of Avengers Mansion. It also shows that their headquarters includes a warehouse that is adjacent to the mansion itself.

Avengers Vol 1 45.jpg
Avengers 45
Blitzkrieg in Central Park
October, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck and Vince Colletta 

The Avengers prepare for a ceremony in Central Park. They are to be celebrated for defeating the Mandarin’s plot to conquer the world. Most of the team is there, except for Captain America, and they answer the press’ questions or demonstrate their powers. The Super-Adaptoid waits in the crowd in disguise for Captain America, and when he arrives, the Super-Adaptoid is activated, and a battle ensues. The Super-Adaptoid is a match for the team, but when it tries to use all their powers at the same time, the strain causes it to shut down. 

Hawkeye, to Thor: "What’s up, curly? The Madison Avenue boys been buggin’ you to pose for Lady Clairol ads again?” 

Thor: “Must the mighty Avengers be reduced to mere clowns—strutting and fretting for the benefit of mortals?” 

·         We see that Hawkeye proposes marriage to Black Widow in this issue. Considering her husband just died, that’s a bit fast. She does not give an answer, and the matter isn’t addressed again for a while.
·         During the ceremony, the Avengers surprise Hercules by giving him full membership.
·         A bystander swears they aren’t spying, on “the name of Napoleon Solo.” This is the name of the main character from The Man from U.N.C.L.E., who is a spy.
·         Wasp shows up to the ceremony with a new costume, which makes the news. The cover still features her old costume, however.
·         The Super-Adaptoid was created by A.I.M., Advanced Idea Mechanics, the same organization that created the Earth’s Cosmic Cube. The Super-Adaptoid has a small piece of the cube inside it to empower it.
·         This adaptoid is only the first. In the future, a serum will give the power-copying abilities of the Super-Adaptoid to humans, including Norman Osborn.
·         A letter writer addresses the fact that Hawkeye has no civilian name. He has appeared out of costume in public before, but even Stan Lee isn’t sure what his name is yet. Even his lover, Black Widow, just calls him Hawkeye.
·          Avengers Day was proposed in Avengers 22 and appears to be an annual event, but this is the first time it is shown.







Avengers Vol 1 46.jpg

Avengers 46
The Agony and the Anthill
November, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Vince Colletta 

A recovering Black Widow comes to the mansion to announce her retirement from being a spy and crime-fighter. Hercules and Scarlet Witch join her and Hawkeye to go out for a stroll as civilians. We discover that Wasp’s new chauffeur is Whirlwind in disguise, and he attacks Goliath and Wasp in the lab. He tricks them into standing in front of a shrinking ray and shrinks them into a anthill full of red ants. Because they were shrunk by an outside device, they do not retain their powers or have their equipment to communicate with the ants. Captain American and Quicksilver battle Whirlwind while Goliath and Wasp try to survive the ants. Wasp manages to bring down the queen, and the other ants become docile. Goliath manages to cobble together a new Cyberno-helmet from equipment in the anthill, and they escape. They tell Quicksilver and Captain America about a bomb Whirlwind planted, and Quicksilver takes the bomb out to the East River to explode it while Whirlwind escapes. 

Goliath: “...a human being is never finished, honey...not as long as he wants to live...and keeps on fighting!” 

Quicksilver: “No Mutant will ever be accepted by the accursed humans! The time draws near when I will bear their insults and suspicions no longer...but will lash back!”
Narration: “And that fearful moment approaches more swiftly...and in a more surprising form...than even Quicksilver might admit—“

·         Hercules has no beard on the cover. By the middle of the issue, he has shaved it off.
·         Captain America is shown to be reading a J.R.R. Tolkien book, but we’re not told which one.
·         Whirlwind used to be known as the Human Top. He should not be confused with the DC Comics’ Flash villain, the Top, though they are similar in powers and color scheme.
·         Whirlwind did not know why he had his superhuman abilities. During the battle, Quicksilver assumes he is a Mutant, which strikes a chord with Whirlwind. It turns out this is the truth.
·         Despite this battle, Whirlwind continues to hide in his false identity, and he remains Wasp’s chauffeur under the false name of Charles Matthews for some time.
·         Since Quicksilver is near the bomb’s blast, nearby bystanders assume he was to blame because he is a Mutant, inflaming Quicksilver’s bias against humans.
·         John Buscema becomes the regular artist after this issue. Apparently he started doing some  Avengers issues to give Don Heck the time he needed to pencil the extra-long Avengers Special 1, but then Buscema kept the regular job.
·         Mark Ruffalo, the Hulk in the Avengers film, was born this month.







Avengers Vol 1 47.jpg

Avengers 47
Magneto Walks the Earth!
December, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and George Tuska 

Captain America announces he is quitting the team, and the various members scatter to their own affairs. The villain Magneto and his lackey Toad are shown in space on a distant planetoid, but Magneto has been sensing magnetic signals from Earth. We see that they are originating from Garrett Castle, where Dane Whitman is doing experiments with magnetic beams to communicate into space. Magneto finds a way to transport himself and Toad back to Earth on the beam, and they take over Garrett Castle. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch receive an anonymous message at the Mansion that leads them to the castle, and they discover it was Magneto’s way to bring them there and test their abilities. He manages to capture them and offers them a place in a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. 

Toad: “Follow me, master! Such a place as this must house a dungeon! You are wise in the ways of magnetism—but the Toad knows about castles!” 

·         This is the first issue inked by George Tuska. Though he produced art for many Marvel series, he is best known for his almost unbroken 10-year run on Iron Man from 1968 to 1978.
·         The letterer is credited as L.P. Gregory. This is a pen name for Gaspar Saladino. He was also lettering for DC Comics and probably did not want it to be known he was working for Marvel on the side.
·         Captain America quits because he wants to focus more on his life as Steve Rogers and find his place in the modern world.
·         This is the first appearance of a new heroic Black Knight, Dane Whitman. He does not appear in costume until next issue, however. He would later go on to be an Avenger and one of the few Marvel characters to cross into the Ultraverse for an extended period of time. He even led the Ultrahero team Ultraforce.
·         Magneto was trapped in space by the alien Stranger. The Avengers will later face the Stranger as well, but only Goliath and Scarlet Witch will still be with the team at the time of their first encounter. The Stranger was apparently destroyed by Thanos recently in Avengers Assemble (2012) 7, though this story has not completed. Whoops. False alarm. He's okay!
·         Toad is not as capable as he appears in the X-Men film and subsequent issues of the comic that adapted his character to match that depiction. In his early years, his power was only superhuman leaping.
·         Goliath and Wasp vacation in Las Vegas for much of this issue.
·         Hercules goes to meet with his father, Zeus, and finds Olympus completely deserted.
·         Magneto claims that Scarlet Witch cannot use her hex power if she cannot gesture when tied up, and that seems to play out here.
·         Garrett Castle was originally in Europe, but it was dismantled and moved to Virginia. It is the same castle the first hero called Black Knight lived in during the sixth century.







Avengers Vol 1 48.jpg

Avengers 48
The Black Knight Lives Again
January, 1968
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by George Tuska

Quicksilver appears to consider Magneto’s offer to join together, so Magneto leaves the siblings to think on it. Quicksilver begins to escape his bonds, but Toad is eavesdropping and stops the escape by calling to his master. Dane Whitman is trapped in the dungeon, but he knows secret passages that enable him to escape. He recalls how his uncle was mortally injured while battling Iron Man and regretted his evil ways. Before dying, he made Whitman promise to use his equipment and research for good. Whitman puts on his new Black Knight costume and reveals his own winged horse. He flies on its back to Avengers headquarters, but he is attacked by the remaining members of the team after Hawkeye mistakes him for his uncle. Black Knight finally convinces them of his good intentions after saving Goliath from a fall. He takes them to his castle, but by this time, Magneto and his captives have left.  

Goliath: “Magneto? But—he’s the greatest enemy of the X-Men!”
Wasp: “Their monopoly on him is over, handsome!” 

·         Captain America’s head in the corner box is replaced by Hercules on this cover.
·         This issue features a panel with Toad followed by a panel with Jarvis. In the recent Avengers Vs. X-Men crossover, one page dealt with Toad fighting Jarvis. Jarvis won and defenestrated Toad. That means “threw out the window.” Sorry, but it’s so rare to be able to use that word in proper context.



·         This is the third Black Knight to appear. The second was Dane Whitman’s uncle, as recounted here, and the first was Sir Percy of Scandia, who was the Black Knight in the 6th century. Sir Percy had his own comic series in 1955.
·         We discover that Wasp specially treats her civilian clothes to shrink, but she forgets to treat some accessories.
·         Wasp is able to control the actions of wasps in this issue  due to antennae in her head. Eventually the antennae’s effectiveness fades because she doesn’t use them very often.
·         Wasp mentions that the Black Knight is probably cute under his helmet. In later years, Black Knight will try to start a relationship with Wasp, but she won’t be interested.
·         Although known primarily as a man of action, Dane Whitman does have knowledge in various sciences, including physics and genetic engineering.
·         Black Knight calls his winged horse “Pegasus” in this issue, but its actual name is Aragorn. He was probably named after the Lord of the Rings character.
·         Madame Masque makes her premiere this month in Tales of Suspense 97. Her clone will later be an honorary member of the Avengers.







Avengers Vol 1 49.jpg

Avengers 49
Mine is the Power!
February, 1968
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema 

Hercules finds that Olympus is empty because the Titan Typhon destroyed the Temple of the Promethean Flame, which banished all full-blooded gods to another dimension. Hercules battles Typhon, but he, too, ends up banished. On Earth, Magneto takes the siblings to his island base to persuade them to join him. He lies and says that he no longer wants to conquer humans, but instead live alongside them in a Mutant refuge. He takes them to the United Nations to make a speech and threatens his way in. He makes an ultimatum to those assembled that he be given his own country for Mutants and veto power in the United Nations. The Avengers see this on the news, and Hawkeye, Goliath, and Wasp arrive to find Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. On the refusal of Magneto’s demands, a fight breaks out. Magneto manipulates a security guard's gun to fire and strike Scarlet Witch a glancing blow on the head. Quicksilver is enraged, thinking a human has hurt his sister, and battles by the side of Magneto. After overpowering the Avengers, the Mutants leave the scene.

Quicksilver: “I’m through listening—listening to nothing but abuse from those I once swore to protect—because I’m a Mutant!” 

·         This is Typhon’s first appearance. He is one of the mythical Titans and the “Father of All Monsters.” In mythology, Typhon had a hundred dragon heads. Here is a bearded man, which is probably easier to draw.
·         Typhon’s battle-axe is able to summon monsters from other dimensions and also send his opponents to those dimensions. The one shown here is simply a “nameless universe.”
·         The Promethean Flame that banishes the Olympian gods here is destroyed again later by Ares, but in that case, quenching the flame turns the gods to crystal instead. Since Typhon used his magical battle axe to destroy it, perhaps the axe’s transportation power interacted with the Flame to cause banishment instead.
·         A diagram of Goliath’s cowl shows that he used Morphon fabric for his costumes to change size with him. This did not catch on as well as Mister Fantastic’s “unstable molecules” costumes in the hero world. Only Goliath and Wasp seem to use Morphon.
·         Hawkeye says that his entire costume and weaponry have alternate “synthetic” components so that he has no metal on him when facing Magneto. In this time period, Magneto was not powerful enough to affect metal molecules in blood or other body tissues. Though apparently he could ride magnetic waves across interstellar space...
·         Magneto demands his Mutant nation will have veto power in the UN. The United Nations only allows five members this power, the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain, and France.
·         Magneto eventually gets his way many years later and is given the island nation of Genosha by the United Nations as a haven for Mutants, just as he asks here. It doesn’t end well. Millions of the mutants who seek refuge there are slaughtered by Sentinels in later stories. And they didn’t get the veto power either.
·         Goliath suspects his growth powers may not be working again, so he does not use them this issue. He instead plans on later returning as Ant-Man.







Avengers Vol 1 50.jpg

Avengers 50
To Tame a Titan!
March, 1968
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema 

The Avengers decide they must find Hercules, and they track his aero-jet toward Mount Olympus. Typhon has watched the Earth from Olympus and decides to conquer it. He attacks a United States vessel, which attracts the attention of the Avengers. We see that Hercules has met up with the banished gods, and due to his being half-human, Zeus is able to send him back to Earth. The three human Avengers are unable to stop Typhon, but Hercules arrives in time to aid them and defeat Typhon. As the loser of the battle, Typhon must bow to Hercules’ wishes, and they both return to Olympus. The Promethean Flame was imprisoned within the battle-axe and is returned to its rightful place, restoring the gods to their home. A grateful Zeus removes the banishment decree, and Hercules decides his place is at Olympus, so he leave the Avengers team. 

Hawkeye: “Nuts! The way we’re losin’ members hand over fist, maybe we oughtta launch a door-to-door membership drive! About now, I’m ready to vote in anybody this side of Wonder Warthog!”

·         Wonder Wart-Hog is an actual underground comic character created by Gilbert Shelton, who also created the Freak Brothers. It was in publication in the sixties, before this issue.
·         Though 50th issues are often marked today as a special occasion, this was just a normal-size 12-cent issue as always.
·         With Hercules leaving and Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch defecting, this issue ends with only three Avengers active.
·         Hercules is attacked by a beast called an Erinnyes. The Erinyes (with one N)  in Greek Mythology are three goddesses of vengeance that do not seem to be related to this creature, although they are banished here along with the rest of the Greek gods.
·         When Hercules discovers the banished gods, Zeus does not recognize Hercules at first because he had shaved his beard.
·         Kratos and Bia are two of Zeus’ allies who restrain Typhon. They are the gods of strength and force, but in mythology, Bia was a goddess. Here, he is male. They later appear as henchman for Ares.
·         Ares is among the gods banished. He is still a detractor of Hercules throughout the issue.
·         The ship attacked by Typhon is part of the Sixth Fleet, which the United States operates primarily in European waters such as the Mediterranean.

·         This month is the first appearance of Carol Danvers in Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) 13. She will later join the Avengers as Ms. Marvel.







Avengers Vol 1 51.jpg

Avengers 51
In the Clutches of the Collector!
April, 1968
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and George Tuska 

The Collector plots on how to add the Avengers to his collection. He selects the Wasp as his first target and plants a comb in her apartment. When she touches it, she is unable to let go of it and is whisked into the sky towards the Collector’s aircraft. Hawkeye and Goliath grab on to her and are carried there as well, but they cannot avoid being captured by one of the Collector’s extraterrestrial beasts. The Collector is upset that Goliath’s powers are not working and begins experiments on him to restore his powers to perfect condition. We see that the Collector had earlier enthralled Thor with a doctored drink that put him under the Collector’s control. Thor is sent to retrieve Iron Man, and Thor overpowers him. On the ship, Wasp discovers that one of Collector’s pets, a sauro-beast, is subject to her insect control, so she uses it to free her and the team. With his powers restored, Goliath is able to help the team defeat Collector’s other subjects. The Collector flees, and Thor is restored to free will just in time to fly the Avengers off the craft before it explodes.

Thor: “My captor hath bade me subdue my fellow Avenger...in the swiftest manner possible! Therefore, I have no recourse but to smite him...without warning!” 

·         The narration says the story will not abide by Aristotle’s Unities. These Unities were rules he put forth for Greek stage drama. The three rules were having one main action with few subplots, keeping the stage as representing one location only, and keeping the story within a 24-hour time period.
·         Wasp shows off her new penthouse apartment in this issue. In keeping with her Avengers membership, her swimming pool is in the shape of a giant A.
·         The nature of the Collector’s items changes to the interstellar in this issue, rather than those from Earth’s past.
·         Captain America contacts the team and proposes the Black Panther take his place. The heroes  met in Captain America’s own series. Black Panther is actually referred to only as “the Panther” in this and the next two issues.
·         Collector uses the temporal assimilator to escape again. This time, narration clarifies that  the device takes him to a “sidereal time-world.” Since sidereal is normally used to describe the true astronomical units of time versus the human time-keeping system, I’m not sure how it applies to time travel.
·         The Collector wishes to collect Hulk and Captain America, but he determines they are too far away to target first.
·         The cover’s corner box has the heads of Hercules, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, none of whom are with the team or even in this issue.
·         Goliath’s restored ability allows him to grow up a 25-foot height for 15 minutes again.







Avengers Vol 1 52.jpg




Avengers 52
“Death Calls for the Arch-Heroes!
May, 1968
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Vince Colletta 

The Panther arrives at the Mansion to join the Avengers, but he must fight his way through the Mansion’s active defense systems to get inside. Since Captain America briefed him on these defenses, he gets inside to discover that Goliath, Hawkeye, and Wasp are dead. A visiting SHIELD agent catches him with the bodies and assumes the Panther is the killer. The Panther tries to prove he is a prospective member by using the combination to open the meeting room, but his combination doesn’t work. Panther goes along quietly with his arrest to figure things out. We see that the Avengers were attacked by the Grim Reaper, the brother of Wonder Man, who is seeking revenge and now waiting for the return of the other Avengers he holds responsible. His scythe weapon has merely put the Avengers into a death-like trance. The Panther surmises that the killer is behind the locked door he could not open, so he escapes from the police. His theory is proven correct, and the Panther defeats him in battle. The Grim Reaper had let slip that his weapon could revive those under its effects, so the Panther takes the scythe to the hospital and revives the team, becoming their newest member. 

Panther: “And now, it is time for the Panther to prowl the city once more...to learn if the gnawing suspicion which fills my mind is the senses-staggering truth!” 

·         The SHIELD agent who catches Panther is Jasper Sitwell, one of the primary agents in  SHIELD’s own series at this time. He also appeared in the background of Avengers 38 and 39. He is at the headquarters on an errand for Tony Stark.
·         This is the first appearance of the Grim Reaper. He will continue to be a villain of the team for many years, both while alive, dead, and undead.
·         In this issue, the Panther claims he has given up the throne to Wakanda to come and join the Avengers.
·         The police cannot find Wakanda on a map when they are booking the Panther. According to the Panther's thought balloon, Wakanda’s location is secret from the rest of the world at this time. It’s located in the eastern central part of Africa and surrounded by several other Marvel Universe countries.
  • We later learn that Grim Reaper's coma ray was developed by Ultron, who has yet to appear himself.




Friday, October 5, 2012

Avengers 35 to 44 (12/66 to 9/67)

The whole globe beckons.
Will legend or spy join next?
Motives become clear. 

Captain America; Steve Rogers
Goliath; Henry “Hank” Pym
Hawkeye; Clint Barton
Quicksilver; Pietro Maximoff
Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Wasp; Janet Van Dyne 

Featured allies:
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
Hercules; Heracles 

                After a brief hiatus, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch return to the team. Not much is said about why a visit to their homeland returns their powers here, but it may just be that Roy Thomas, the new writer wanted to bring them back after Stan Lee wanted to put them on the back burner. Their homeland of Transia contains the mysterious Mount Wundagore which figures heavily into the twins' origins. A few writers later, it's revealed that the power loss was caused by a mystical entity, Chthon, who wanted to lure Scarlet Witch back to Wundagore so Chthon could enslave her. Because Quicksilver was there as an emotional support, Chthon failed in this and gave up, and their powers returned.
                Roy Thomas also brought the Olympian demigod Hercules into the series. He fits nicely into the Thor mold and is even banished from his otherworldly realm by his father, the king of his pantheon of gods. This mirrors Thor’s story as well as some of his abilities. Of course, Hercules did not have his own series to deal with, so he could fit seamlessly into the action with less worry.
                Goliath is shown to still have some interest in his scientific work as well as superheroics. He is finally able to do something other than worry about his own body and takes an interest in the android Dragon Man. He still manages to wear his Goliath outfit in his lab, so he’s definitely portrayed as Avenger first, scientist second. He is renowned enough that Diablo kidnaps him for his help with his evil plots.
                The love story between Hawkeye and Black Widow is central to this group of stories. She has fully reformed and is helpful to the Avengers, but the older members are resistant to letting in yet another reformed villain.  This causes friction with her main booster, Hawkeye. When she takes on a mission from SHIELD and appears to have defected back to “the East” again, Hawkeye never loses faith in her and drives the Avengers’ actions in his quest to find the truth and bring her home.
                Roy Thomas continues the stories’ format much in the same way Stan Lee had been writing the series for the past year. He used many villains already created by Stan Lee here or in Fantastic Four and Thor, but he did create a few new characters. Unfortunately, of the Ultroids, Ixar, and the Triumvirate of Terror, none of these characters were seen again. He also created the Red Guardian, and that code name and concept has seen use over the years, even if Thomas killed off his first Red Guardian himself almost immediately.



Avengers Vol 1 35.jpg


Avengers 35
The Light That Failed!
December, 1966
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck 

The Living Laser absconds with Wasp and leaves Captain America and Hawkeye to die, but the heroes escape with the aid of Goliath. The Laser contacts a group of rebels from the South American country of Costa Verde. They hire him to destroy the army of the current regime in that country, and the Living Laser is able to do so with his powerful laser. He sets himself up as ruler of Costa Verde. The Avengers hear the news and travel there to his new castle headquarters, but they are all captured. Goliath had used a “molecular space transformer” on himself before the mission, and he hopes it will return his size-changing ability. He is able to shrink free and locate a large laser cannon that has been set up to kill the Avengers. He sabotages it to explode, and the Living Laser is defeated. Democracy-minded remnants of the national army set up a new government, and the Laser is put under a doctor’s care for his mental issues. 

Hawkeye: “I was just thinking about all these classy go-buggies that Tony Stark keeps turnin’ out for us! No wonder you don’t read much about him goin’ to the Playboy Club any more!” 

·         This is the first issue written by Roy Thomas. Roy was a high school English teacher who edited  a fan publication covering comic books. He eventually got a job working in the Marvel office after working at DC comics for only eight days. He went on to later be Editor-in-chief of Marvel and has written a plethora of comic series for several publishers. He was recently inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2011.
·         Captain America’s shield is destroyed by lasers on page 2, but by page 8, he is fighting with a shield again, and no mention is made of it. In later years, it was retroactively stated that Tony Stark would borrow Cap’s legendary shield for analysis and would loan him steel replicas in the meantime.
·         Hawkeye calls Costa Verdan soldiers “Rover Boys.” This is referring to a series of children’s novels written from 1899 to 1926 that were set at a military boarding school and featured heroic, if mischievous boys.
·         The country of Costa Verde is the birthplace of future reserve Avenger Silverclaw.
·         Roy Thomas continues to use exclamation points for all the dialogue, just like Stan.

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Avengers 36
The Ultroids Attack!
January, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck 

The Scarlet Witch returns to the Mansion. She tells them that the trip to their homeland did return their powers, and she relates a tale of how Quicksilver was captured investigating an alien craft. The Avengers travel to Transia to rescue him, but find the entire village is surrounded by a force field. They enter caves under the town to infiltrate the alien headquarters and find a way in, but Scarlet Witch reveals herself to be an imposter. The alien leader Ixar wants to take the Avengers’ powers and place them in his automatons called Ultroids. Wasp tries to free the captured siblings, but she is stunned in the attempt. The other Avengers fall in battle and are captured. 

Ultroid: “It is the giant earthman…the one they call Goliath!”
Hawkeye: “Well, how d’ya like that! Him they recognize…me they just call ‘earthling’! That settles it…I’m just gonna have to get a new press agent!” 

·         Before the events in this issue, Professor X asked Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to join the X-Men, but they said they were loyal to the Avengers.
·         Although the Black Widow is not allowed to become a member, she does accompany the Avengers on their mission.
·         Hawkeye mistakenly calls Captain America “web-head” instead of “wing-head.” This is one of Spider-Man’s nicknames.
·         The village that this story takes place in is the same one that ejected Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in X-Men 4 for being demons. Their hospitality is to make up for this past offense, now that they know they are heroes.
·         The country of Transia is the birthplace of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch and will be the scene of many future adventures and revelations about their backgrounds.
·         The imposter Ultroid is female in design and has the name Ultrana. That’s pretty close to Ultron and may have inspired Goliath or Roy Thomas when creating this future character.




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Avengers 37
To Conquer a Colossus!
February, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck 

Ultrana tells how her master Ixar is the last survivor of one side of an interstellar war. At the end of the war, both sides had all died out except for their leaders and the two armies of Ultroids. Ixar seeks to gain the advantage by empowering his army with the Avengers’ abilities. Goliath’s prison is based on his current large size, and since Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch did not know about Goliath regaining his size-changing power, the prison is not set to prevent his shrinking out. Once Goliath frees the others, they engage in battle with the Ultroids. Ixar reveals that the burgomeister (sic) of the village is also a hostage and will be harmed if the Avengers continue to battle, so the Avengers surrender. Ixar combines the energies of the Ultroids into one giant body, and the battle begins anew. The last to avoid capture are Hawkeye and Black Widow. Hawkeye has guessed that the burgomeister is truly Ixar in disguise and threatens him. The now revealed Ixar knows of the Avengers’ oath to not take a life, so Hawkeye’s bluff fails. Black Widow convinces Ixar that she has taken no such oath and will kill him. Ixar surrenders and leaves the planet with hopes of finding power for his troops elsewhere. 

Wasp: “That was my Wasp’s sting, Two-Ton…and I’m glad you noticed! When a girl’s only a couple of inches tall, she appreciates attention from anybody!” 

Ixar, to Hawkeye: “You dare challenge me—you, who are the weakest of all?”
Hawkeye: “You really know how to hurt a guy, don’tcha?” 

·         This seems to be the last appearance of Ixar and his Ultroids.
·         This issue and the next feature covers drawn by artist Gil Kane. An original cover was also done by interior artist Don Heck, but it was rejected. Avengers stories were reprinted later in a series called Marvel Triple Action, which usually reprinted the old covers. For this story, Jack Kirby drew yet another cover.


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Avengers 38
In Our Midst…an Immortal!
March, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck and George Roussos

Black Widow is subjected to sleeping gas and kidnapped by SHIELD, who offers her a mission. We see Hercules in Olympus fighting Ares, but Enchantress intervenes and offers both combatants mead. Hercules’ drink is infused with waters of Eros, and he falls in love with Enchantress. At the Avengers meeting, Black Widow is late. Hawkeye proposes her for membership, but Goliath is resistant. Black Widow arrives and says she is leaving to return to the Far East.  Since her mission is classified, she is brusque in giving details and leaves. After this tension, Hawkeye and Wasp leave the mansion.  Enchantress chooses this moment to attack with the enthralled Hercules. The three remaining members are defeated, but Wasp and Hawkeye return. Hawkeye uses a sulfur arrow, and it turns out this substance clears the effects of the water of Eros, freeing Hercules, and Enchantress retreats. This journey to the Earth was forbidden to Olympians, so Zeus banishes Hercules to Earth for one year. 

Quicksilver: “Who would not wish to be host to…Hercules?”
Hawkeye: “Personally, I’ll bet at midnight he turns into Steve Reeves!”
Not a stretch?

·         This is the first appearance in Avengers of future Avengers Hercules and Ares. Ares will remain a villain for a long time and not join until far in the future.
·        The credited inker George Bell is a pseudonym for George Roussos. He will use it until Avengers Special 1. When he returns to the series with issue 92, he will use the George Roussos name.
·         The sleeping gas used on the Black Widow is called Morpheus Mist. Morpheus is the Greek god of dreams. It’s a coincidence that SHIELD would use a Greek-named weapon just before the arrival of a Greek demigod to the series.
·         At this time, SHIELD stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division.
·         Captain America is missing from the Avengers meeting because he was lured away by a message from the Red Skull, who impersonated Bucky using a robot.
·         Enchantress passes up an opportunity to attack Hercules after he is freed from her control. She thinks she may be falling in love with him. She will still be pining over him in the Avengers Special 1.
·         Although Hercules and Black Widow do not meet in this issue, they will both later go on to form the hero group the Champions of Los Angeles together.




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Avengers 39
The Torment…and the Triumph!
April, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia 

The news reports that Black Widow stole classified secrets before she left the country. Hawkeye tries to find his old underworld contacts for information. The Thinker plans to incapacitate the Avengers so he can get to Tony Stark’s inventions and intimidate the Fantastic Four. Since Captain America is still away, the Thinker chooses this moment to strike. Hawkeye is captured by the Thinker’s agent, Hammerhead. When Goliath and Wasp respond to a summons, another minion, Piledriver, defeats them. Thunderboot and the Thinker defeat Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch at the mansion. Before they can be taken away, Hercules shows up and frees the Avengers, who defeat the whole group. The Thinker retreats, and the so-called Triumvirate of Terror are arrested.

Goliath: “We always wondered why Thor seemed so aloof…so distant! And now, at last, perhaps we know! How lonely it must feel to be a god…destined to walk among mere mortals!” 

·         In this issue, Black Widow uses her suction shoes to walk on walls. This is part of her normal equipment, but she seems to rarely use them.
·         Hercules is given the name Mr. Powers to receive deliveries at the mansion. One of his nicknames is the Prince of Power.
·         The costumes of the villains are derided as being “straight outta Pop-Artsville.” Stan Lee had tried to retitle Marvel “Pop Art Productions,” but changed his mind about it.
·         The Avengers mention a “condition blue,” which means that specifically only two Avengers should respond to an emergency call.
·         The villain calls himself the Thinker. Most adversaries call him the Mad Thinker, which he dislikes. He doesn’t think he’s mad at all.
·         One of the Triumvirate of Terror is Thunderboot. That is not a typo for “Thunderbolt.” He really uses enhanced boots as weapons.
·         The three henchmen are never seen again. The Piledriver here is unrelated to the member of the Wrecking Crew that will have the same name.
·         Hercules proves he is well-rounded by playing a guitar and singing a song. About himself and his famous labors, of course.
·         Irving Forbush returns to the credit box, this issue as a dog-catcher.




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Avengers 40
Suddenly the Sub-Mariner!
May, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Don Heck and George Roussos 

After the battle last issue, Scarlet Witch faints from exertion. The team gets a message from Captain America that the Red Skull is searching for a powerful item called the Cosmic Cube. Quicksilver remains behind to watch over Scarlet Witch, and Hercules goes with the team to search in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Namor sees an American submarine testing its weapons and traps the sub. He finds its home base and gets ready to attack it when the Avengers arrive in their search. While Namor battles Hercules, Hercules mentions the Cosmic Cube, thinking Namor is also there to find it. Intrigued, Namor retreats and successfully finds it at the bottom of the sea. He returns to attack with his new weapon, but he transforms it into a necklace to avoid drawing attention to it. Namor uses its power to create an Amalga-beast to battle the Avengers while he takes on Hercules one-on-one. Namor has honor, so he only uses the Cosmic Cube to keep himself fully hydrated on land. Wasp figures out the necklace may be the Cube and uses her sting to separate it from Namor. It reverts to its cube form and falls into a crevice, lost to the surface world again. 

Goliath: “I, for one, was just recalling how you used to be Cap’s self-appointed gadfly! Now you act like a charter member of his fan club!”
Hawkeye: “Let’s just say my eyesight’s improved, big man!” 

Wasp, of Namor: “Strange…we fought him…but, I can’t believe he is truly evil!”
Hawkeye: “Sure, sure…he’s a regular pussycat!” 

·         When cleaning up the mansion, the Avengers mention their disintegrator disposal unit for trash. Yet this amazing technology is never used for weaponry.
·         When Captain America sends his message, he had been said in the press to be a traitor working with the Red Skull. Cap did agree to do so for 24 hours in order to rescue Manhattan Island. This is seen in Tales of Suspense 90.
·         There is no island of Puerto Nuevo in the real world, but it is the name of a section of San Juan in Puerto Rico.
·         The Cosmic Cube is shown to fall into the Mole Man’s realm. The Mole Man does not know what it is and throws it away.
·         This Cosmic Cube is actually one of many throughout the universe. They allow the possessor to do anything he or she wishes. This Cube will eventually evolve into a sentient being known as Kubik in later Avengers stories.
·         Although it is called the “Tessaract” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the cubic appearance of the item at the heart of the Avengers film hints that that is just another name for a Cosmic Cube.




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Avengers 41
Let Sleeping Dragons Lie!
June, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and George Roussos 

Black Widow is trapped in the Far East in a device called the Psychotron, which displays her deepest fears to her. Back at his lab, Goliath takes delivery of the android Dragon Man. The villain Diablo is lurking nearby and uses his alchemical mastery to turn a nearby building to gold. When Goliath and Wasp investigate the building, Diablo sneaks into Goliath’s lab and reactivates Dragon Man. Goliath battles the android, but loses. Wasp is knocked out by Diablo’s Dyna-Disk. The rest of the Avengers show up to the battle as well. Diablo turns the roof of the lab to gold, and the ceiling crushes the Avengers. Diablo escapes with Dragon Man, taking Goliath and Wasp as his prisoners. 

Goliath: “Remember—the bigger they are—Nope—I can’t say it! It’s just too hackneyed!” 

Hawkeye, to Scarlet Witch: “I take back every crack I ever made about your nutty hexes! They’re my favorite people!” 

·         Diablo was supposed to be dead at the end of Fantastic Four 35, but he escaped drowning through unknown means that he does not deign to tell Goliath.
·         Dragon Man was shut down by the Human Torch using ultraviolet radiation in Fantastic Four 47. It was left deactivated until this issue.
·         Diablo uses an Auric Ray, which turns items to gold, but the effect is temporary. His Dyna-Disk shoots bolts or waves of force.
·         This is the first issue drawn by John Buscema, who was prevalent through the Marvel line until the eighties and drew most of their series for at least one issue. He was inducted in the Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2002.
·         Black Widow’s new handler in this issue is Colonel Ling. No mention is made of what happened to the old one, but maybe they just felt there were too many Chens.




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Avengers 42
The Plan…and the Power!
July, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and George Roussos 

The remaining members of the Avengers get the location of Diablo’s castle from the Fantastic Four, but turn down their assistance. We find that Diablo intends for Goliath, as a biochemist, to help him bring to life an entire army of Dragon Men androids. He has kept the Wasp hostage elsewhere as leverage on Goliath. The Avengers tap into Diablo’s video feed in their aero-car and drop off Hercules at the cave where Wasp is guarded by Dragon Man. The rest of the team goes to Goliath’s location, but Goliath battles them to keep Wasp safe, not knowing that Hercules is going to rescue her. Once this plan is revealed to him, all the Avengers turn on Diablo, who hides behind a force field. Surprisingly Captain America is also behind the force field with Diablo and captures him. Hercules also rescues Wasp, sending Dragon Man into lava. 

Scarlet Witch: “Must you treat everything lightly—even so vital a mission as this?”
Hawkeye: “Listen, lady…nobody accuses Hawkeye of not takin’ his Avengin’ seriously!” 

  • Diablo’s castle is located in Transylvania. Although he was born in Spain, during his long history of immortality, he settled in Transylvania for a time and was discovered there by the Fantastic Four trapped in a tomb in his first appearance.
  • Captain America was able to follow the team due the trackers in their aero-car. He did so after defeating the Red Skull in his own series.
  • This issue figures into the recent Age of Ultron story. It's the point where Wolverine and Invisible Woman travel back to kill Henry Pym. There is also an alternate cover to Age of Ultron 6 that features it.





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Avengers 43
Color Him…Red Guardian
August, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and George Roussos 

Hawkeye turns up the Black Widow’s location overseas by intimidating his underworld contacts. He invites Hercules along, so the two heroes go to rescue her. They are able to fight through a group of soldiers, but they also encounter Red Guardian, the communist alternative to Captain America. He is able to defeat Hawkeye, and he tricks Hercules into the Psychotron, where he is stuck battling illusions he thinks are real. Red Guardian reveals to Black Widow that he is her husband, Alexi Shostakov, who she thought was dead. 

Soldier: “One of them is an Avenger! What a feat to capture him alive!”
Hawkeye: “Waddaya know! Ol’ Hawkeye—a potential propaganda victory!” 

Captain America: “If all of us showed up behind the Curtain, it might mean an international incident! The only sensible thing to do is let Hawkeye stew in his own juice! Okay, Hank—you know what to do!”
Goliath: “Check! I’ll warm up the aero-car—for an immediate rescue mission!”
Captain America: “You know it, big man!” 

·         The letterer for this issue is Jerry Mann. This is a pen name for Larry Feldman.
·         In this issue, Wasp turns 23 years old and gains her full inheritance of three million dollars. Previously she had been living off of $25,000 a year. In 2014 dollars, that’s $21,363,952 and a measly $178,033 a year.
·         Quicksilver learns how to fly for short distances when he vibrates his legs at high speed. Later writers seem to ignore this talent for the most part.
·         This is the first appearance of a Red Guardian. The identity will be used by various others over the years. This one uses a small magnetically controlled disk as a weapon and belt buckle.
·         When Hercules is subjected to the Psychotron, he is faced by the mythical Hydra. This shows that the stories of his labors were actually part of history in the Marvel Universe.
·         Future Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis was born in this month.




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Avengers 44
The Valiant Also Die!
September, 1967
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Vince Colletta

The plan for the Psychotron device is to use it over long distances on entire populations, causing chaos in the Western world. Now that it is revealed her husband is alive, they release Black Widow and submit her to a lie detector to make sure she is loyal to them, and she passes the test. The rest of the Avengers arrive, and Captain America is separated from the group. He and Red Guardian fight one-on-one, but the outcome is in doubt. Colonel Ling electrifies the floor, shocking Captain America into unconsciousness. Red Guardian is outraged because he wanted a fair fight. Hawkeye discovers his prison has been tampered with and is able to escape. Black Widow moves to sabotage the Psychotron, and Colonel Ling takes aim at her. Red Guardian intercepts the bullet to protect his wife. Hawkeye bursts in and deflects Colonel Ling’s second shot, but the Black Widow is still injured at the same time she successfully destroys the Psychotron. The Avengers and their allies escape as the base explodes. 

Scarlet Witch: “When those caught in the trap are Avengers, the hunters have a way of becoming the hunted!” 

Captain America: “From what I’ve pieced together, I owe my life to…the Red Guardian! Strange…we were born to clash…yet there was an invisible bond between us! We fought on different sides…but each by his own code! And for that code, the man named Alexi was willing to die!” 

·         This is the first Avengers inking job for Vince Colletta. Although he was appreciated for his ability to ink art quickly to meet deadlines, he was also rumored to sometimes erase portions of the artist’s pencils to make the inking go faster.
·         A letter writer in this issue complains that six Avengers plus the two hangers-on are too many characters for a super team, so perhaps there was some fan pressure to keep memberships small.
·         Alexi Shostakov was originally a test pilot who was supposedly killed while piloting an experimental rocket. In truth, he began his Red Guardian training after his faked death.
·         In this retelling of her origin, Black Widow implies the death of her husband drove her to become the Black Widow as an adult. Later stories show that her training began when she was much younger and that her marriage to Shostakov was arranged.
·         The Avengers take Black Widow to the closest American hospital, which is in Hawaii.
·         Future Avenger Stingray first appears this month in Tales to Astonish 95.