Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Avengers 80 to 88 (9/70 to 5/71)

Inside, harmony.
Other dimensions threaten.

Team splits and conquers.



Black Knight; Dane Whitman
Black Panther; T’Challa
Captain America; Steve Rogers
Goliath; Clint Barton
Iron Man; Tony Stark
Quicksilver; Pietro Maximoff
Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Thor; Donald Blake
Vision
Wasp; Janet Van Dyne

Featured Allies:
Daredevil; Matt Murdock

                Roy Thomas continues to refine some of the concepts he had so far introduced in the series, managing to premiere some new characters as well that still remain active in the Marvel Universe, like Red Wolf and Valkyrie. Fans continued to ask for more Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, so their presence becomes more common, but the team is usually split off into factions so that there is not an army of superheroes facing any foe at one time. With today’s huge events and splash pages with dozens of combatants, this almost seems quaint. In issue 82, New York City is left with only two superheroes left, a far cry from today, where they have enough to fill a superhero team in each of the 50 states.
                Speaking of teams, this cycle introduces the Squadron Supreme. Although at first blush, it seems to be the Squadron Sinister making a repeat appearance, it’s really the start of a new parallel world with its own history and own group of heroes. They continue to seem like a knockoff of DC’s Justice League and serve as a foil to the Avengers. In 1985, they would get their own 12-issue “maxi-series” and start to gain their own identity and rich history that diverged from their source material. In a multiverse full of alternate realities, this one would become featured quite often, crossing over into the Marvel Universe to this day. Their members even appeared in a couple of Ultraverse books, so they got around. Not to downplay the Avengers’ efforts. In their first short trip to the Squadron’s world, they managed to save that Earth, spreading the Avengers’ influence beyond just their home world.
                Thomas brought in a bit of writing help, but continued to be the guiding force of the series. Although he didn’t get credit at the time, Len Wein helped plot out issue 86 at the beginning of his comic-book writing career. Although Wein wouldn’t write Avengers any further, he did manage to introduce a couple of popular concepts in the seventies, like, say, the new X-Men lineup and a little fella called Wolverine, and he turned the lights out on the final Ultraforce series. In a rare comic collaboration, Harlan Ellison also stepped in to plot the last issue in this cycle, issue 88. Although it could be argued that the concepts in this issue of Avengers have not strongly impacted the history of the Marvel Universe, its continuation in Incredible Hulk (1962) 140 introduces the Hulk’s tragic love Jarella and her world, which has had a lasting effect in the story of the Hulk and his sons.



Avengers Vol 1 80.jpg

Avengers 80
The Coming of Red Wolf!
September, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

Vision has quit the team when he comes across Red Wolf and Lobo tracking a man through New York City. Vision intervenes and renders Red Wolf unconscious, taking him back to Avengers Mansion. Lobo, a wolf, dutifully follows his master. When Red Wolf revives, he tells the Avengers his story. Before becoming Red Wolf, he had served in the American armed forces and worked in construction in the city, and he was visiting his parents on the reservation when they were gunned down by Jason Birch. The murder was part of a scheme to grab their land for development by Cornelius Van Lunt. The distraught and wounded son had wandered to the tribe’s sacred mountain, where he encountered the spirit of Red Wolf, which empowered him to be his tribe’s champion. The new Red Wolf tracked Birch to New York, where he encountered Vision. A repentant Vision agrees to help, and Goliath and Scarlet Witch choose to go along to the reservation to help while the rest of the team pursues their own missions. 

Vision: “Yet, a human life is not to be lightly taken—as I, who am not human, should well know!” 

Captain America: “We run around calling ourselves Avengers—yet, when this man comes before us with something to avenge—a wrong that shrieks to heaven for vengeance—we turn a deaf ear—because his cause isn’t world-shattering enough for us!” 

Goliath: “Aw, we knew you’d be back, Vizh! The ‘Avengers assemble’ thing gets in the blood..even artificial blood!” 

·         With this issue, Tom Palmer will have inked the largest number of consecutive issues, beating the previous record of six, held by three other previous inkers.
·         The story begins with the rhyme “Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief.” This is a rhyme kids used to pick who will be it, like Eenie, meenie, miney, moe. There’s no counting going on here, though.
·         This is the first appearance of Red Wolf and his wolf Lobo. It was an attempt to create an American Indian hero. He is still an active hero and serves on the Texan superhero team the Rangers.
·         There would be a Red Wolf series in 1972, but it only lasted for nine issues. It did not feature the modern Red Wolf. It was set in the Old West and featured an earlier incarnation of Red Wolf.
·         The tribe Red Wolf belongs to is not given here. He has since been identified as a Cheyenne, more specifically the Tsitsistas part of the tribe. Although he is listed as being born in Wolf Point, Montana, and there is a Cheyenne reservation in Montana, the location of his family in this story is in the American Southwest.
·          “Lobo” is “wolf” in Spanish. The Cheyenne word for “wolf” is “ho’nene” or “maiyun.”
·         Red Wolf gained his animal companion only after he was attacked by Lobo’s mother. Red Wolf killed her in self-defense and adopted the young orphan pup.
·         There have been three Lobos up to the present. Red Wolf had to find a new partner after the first one was killed by an enemy. He now wears the skin of the first Lobo as part of his costume. The second Lobo was impersonated by a Skrull sometimes before the Secret Invasion event, but the Skrull impostor has since been found out and killed. The whereabouts of the true second Lobo are unknown.
·         Although from totally different cultures, the stories of Red Wolf and Black Knight are remarkably parallel. Both have ancestors in previous centuries who started the same costumed identity they now use, both have visions of the spirits of these ancestors, and both have animal companions.




Avengers Vol 1 81.jpg

Avengers 81
When Dies a Legend!
October, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

The mini-team of Vision, Goliath, and Scarlet Witch are flying west with Red Wolf and Lobo in a Quinjet when they are attacked by robot-piloted  aircraft. They are forced to bail out of the crashing Quinjet, and Vision and Scarlet Witch are separated from the others. Jason Birch and some other gunman capture them while Scarlet Witch is recovering from the fall. They are taken to Van Lunt’s hacienda, where Van Lunt offers a payoff to Vision. Vision refuses, so Van Lunt keeps Scarlet Witch hostage to ensure Vision’s compliance. We learn that Goliath, Red Wolf, and Lobo also survived the crash, and they defeat Jason Birch’s squad and come after Van Lunt. Vision and Goliath battle each other while Red Wolf leads his tribe to the dam that is threatening their lands. Van Lunt flies a helicopter to the top of a dam with the Scarlet Witch as his hostage. She finally recovers her strength enough to unleash her power and causes the helicopter to explode. This destroys the dam and cause a flood that engulfs Red Wolf, Lobo, and Van Lunt. The team briefly mourns Red Wolf, but Will Talltrees, whom they know to be Red Wolf, arrives on the scene to begin the process of rebuilding the tribal lands. 

Scarlet Witch, thinking: “Why did I join this mission—heeding a rash impulse? Was it really to help Red Wolf…or for some deeper, hidden reason?” 

Scarlet Witch, thinking: “The Vision could defy them all…at no risk to himself! He’s surrendering to save me, knowing I’m still too weak to use my mutant hex power! Before now, I’ve always thought of him as cold…aloof…but I was wrong..so wrong!” 

Red Wolf: “There are those who say you did not earn your growing powers, Goliath—because another man created the formula! Yet, this day, I know they are wholly wrong!” 

·         With this issue, Tom Palmer will have inked the most issues of the series, beating Dick Ayers’ previous total of 12.
·         The team members not featured in this story decide to pursue the Zodiac, except for Black Panther, who goes on a quest for street-level justice for the common man.
·         Goliath quips that Vision also has the mind of Parnelli Jones due to his skillful piloting. Jones is a racecar driver who won the Indy 500 in 1963 and is in over 20 automotive halls of fame.
·         The sound effects of the Quinjet being fired upon and the Vision falling to Earth are both “Shroom!”
·         That’s another Quinjet destroyed. That’s two.
·         We learn the Quinjets have no armaments. The Avengers inside are their only defense and offense.
·         We learn Red Wolf’s name is Will Talltrees in the story.
·         It’s later revealed that Will Talltrees was on the same military squad as James Rhodes, aka War Machine, during their time served in the Vietnam war.
·         The Scarlet Witch is unable to use her hex power for a short time when she becomes too fatigued from the fall and subsequent swim.
·         Goliath calls Van Lunt a “super-fink.” There was a Revell model kit produced in 1964 that features a bizarre skateboarding figure by that name.
·         It seems that the public is now aware that Goliath is no longer Henry Pym. This may be due to the fact that Pym is publicly doing research in Alaska while Goliath is still active.
·         The flood is not very fatal. Everyone caught in it survives.




Avengers Vol 1 82.jpg


Avengers 82
Hostage!
November, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

Zodiac soldiers under Aries have invaded the island of Manhattan and taken it hostage for one billion dollars ransom. They erect a force field around the island that paralyzes anyone who comes in contact with it. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and Quicksilver had been gassed in Avengers Mansion before the assault, so they were unable to fight the invasion. Black Panther is still free, and he recruits Daredevil to help break out the Avengers. Black Panther recognizes where the Avengers are being held from a video broadcast, and he and Daredevil battle Aries and his forces there, but they are forced to retreat. The Avengers are set to be executed publicly in front of a crowd. Daredevil is in the crowd in his civilian identity, and he causes a scene in order to be drawn closer. He sabotages the machinery holding the Avengers with the projectile in his billy club, and the team is freed. Aries escapes in an aircraft, but Thor destroys it, which also disables the force field. The assembled team discovers that Cornelius Van Lunt had been training this army on his ranch on the reservation and had to invade immediately once the dam had been destroyed. 

Daredevil: “Aries! We’ve hit the jackpot!”
Aries: “You have—if you survive!”
Black Panther: “The Avengers have a way of surviving, madman! I would think you of Zodiac would know that by now!” 

·         The issue cites the 1960 census figure of New York City having 1,698,281 citizens. The latest estimate in 2011 had a figure of 8.2 million.
·         The mayor of the city is shown captured at Gracie Mansion. It has been the official residence of the New York City mayor since 1942, though not all of them have moved in.
·         We see the Fantastic Four were outside the force field and Spider-Man is staying with his aunt. Black Panther and Daredevil think they are the only superheroes active in New York. Man, those were simpler times.
·         Daredevil and Black Panther just had an adventure together the day before in Daredevil (1964) 69. They discover the street gang they fought in that issue is also tied to the Zodiac.
·         Daredevil calls Aries “Giles Goatboy.” This is a reference to a 1966 novel, Giles Goat-Boy by John Barth, a satire of campus culture and the heroic journey.
·         When Thor destroyed an aircraft, we see the “Shroom” sound effect again.




Avengers Vol 1 83.jpg

Avengers 83
Come on in…the Revolution’s fine!
December, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

Wasp returns to the mansion because she’s in town to visit a sick aunt. She stumbles upon a meeting of the Lady Liberators, an all-female team made up of Medusa, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, and a new character, Valkyrie. The assembled heroines uncharacteristically agree to go with Valkyrie to Rutland, Vermont,  to defeat the male Avengers and start the downfall of male supremacy. The other four Avengers are at the Rutland Halloween parade as guests and also because of rumors of the potential kidnapping of Dr. T.W. Erwin, the inventor of a parallel-time projector. We discover that the Masters of Evil do intend to kidnap Dr. Erwin, and the Avengers and Masters start a conflict at the parade. The outcome hasn’t been decided when the Liberators arrive and manage to overpower the remaining members of both the teams. In the presence of the machine, Valkyrie reveals herself to be Enchantress in disguise. She wishes to use the device to return to Asgard. She prepares a spell to destroy the Avengers, but Scarlet Witch uses her hex power to reflect the spell, seemingly destroying Enchantress. The Scarlet Witch reveals that one of “Valkyrie’s” strident comments reminded her of a previous meeting with the Enchantress and that the Scarlet Witch’s sliver of doubt in Valkyrie’s motives was enough to break the delicate enchantment she had placed on all the Liberators to get them to follow her. 

Vision: “I am trapped! If I try to become ethereal—the boiling hot tar may destroy my artificial body in the midst of the transformation!” 

Goliath: “Well, at least I’m glad of one thing…you birds finally learned your lesson about that Women’s Lib. bull!”
Scarlet Witch: “That’s what you think—male chauvinist pig! One of these days, the Liberators will stage a  comeback—right, Jan?” 

·         Herb Cooper is the letterer for this issue. This starts a string of issues without Sam Rosen or Artie Simek. Sam Rosen was battling illness at the time, leaving Art Simek the only regular staff letterer.
·         This is the first appearance of a Valkyrie character. Enchantress has the real Valkyrie’s spirit trapped in a mystic soul crystal so she can take that form for herself, and she is later seen giving that form and power to other people. The true Valkyrie will later gain her freedom and become a member of the Secret Avengers.
·         This will not be the last time the series shows the Halloween parade in Rutland, Vermont. Many comic book professionals were invited to the superhero-themed parades, so it ended up appearing in many stories in both the DC and Marvel Universes. The parade is still running and has been since 1960.
·         Tom Fagan was a local writer who helped organize the parade. In real life, Tom Fagan usually dressed as Batman, but in Marvel stories, he dresses as Nighthawk, Batman’s counterpart. In one panel, someone probably dressed at Batman can be seen on the left.


·         A poster reading “Cthulhu Lives!” is seen in one scene behind Tom Fagan. This was based off a real photograph of Fagan where a poster with that text was behind him. In addition to this shout-out to H.P. Lovecraft’s work, Dr. T.W. Erwin works at Miskatonic University, a fictional university featured in Lovecraft’s tales, not the Marvel Universe.
·         Roy Thomas writes himself and his wife Jeanie into the story. They attend the parade dressed as Spider-Man and “Mrs. Fantastic.”
·         The female group is often called the Lady Liberators, but they only refer to themselves as the Liberators.
·         Another group of Lady Liberators would be formed, but not until 2008. They team up to track down Red Hulk and are not nearly as stridently feminist. Black Widow is the only member in common between both teams, but the real Valkyrie is part of the new team instead of an impostor.
·         The Masters of Evil lineup here is Radioactive Man, Klaw, Melter, and Whirlwind. Klaw takes the leadership role and claims he helped the others escape from prison, even though it was Whirlwind who was the only one not to be captured in their last outing. Later stories reveal that Klaw was the frequent recipient of aid from other supervillains, the Intelligencia, for his breakouts.
·         We have to assume Whirlwind is no longer Wasp’s driver since she has relocated to Alaska. He was last seen in Captain America (1968) 130 attacking Cap.
·         Radioactive Man uses a cement gun in the fight. I guess he ran out of Adhesive X.
·         Black Panther claims he will not fight women. He’ll get over it later.
·         The battle cry of the Liberators is “Up against the wall, male chauvinist pigs!”
·         We learn Executioner left Enchantress for another woman, partly because of Enchantress’ excessive pining for Hercules. The duo will still be antagonistic when they next appear in Defenders (1973) 4.
·         Enchantress claims that her powers are halved since she has been banished from Asgard.




Avengers Vol 1 84.jpg

Avengers 84
The Sword and the Sorceress!
January, 1971
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

The Scarlet Witch has a vivid dream of Black Knight fighting Arkon’s forces at the Well at the Center of Time. When she wakes up, she feels the events in her dream really happened, so she convinces the Avengers to contact Thor so they can go to Arkon’s dimension and investigate. We learn this truly did occur, and Black Knight is shown to be hostage to Arkon and the Enchantress, who advises Arkon that Black Knight is a spy sent to destroy him. The truth is that Black Knight had noticed he has become more aggressive in using his Ebony Blade and nearly let two criminals fall to their deaths. On the urging of the spirit of Sir Percy, Black Knight journeyed to Stonehenge and was sent to the Well by a crone he found there. Before the Avengers can travel to Arkon’s dimension, Enchantress uses magic to mentally enslave the Black Knight and bring the entire Mansion there. The Avengers inside are captured, but Thor and Black Panther were outside the walls of the Mansion and remain at large. They fight through Arkon’s troops and free the others. Enchantress exhausts her magic against the Scarlet Witch, and the Black Knight’s will is released, so Enchantress flees from the scene. The Black Knight hurls the Ebony Blade to intercept one of Arkon’s bolts, and the sword falls into the Well and is seemingly destroyed. Arkon begins to understand the Black Knight is not a spy, so he calls off his troops and lets the Avengers leave for home. 

·         This issue and two others in this section were lettered by Mike Stevens.
·         After the last trip to Arkon’s world, the Avengers’ standard procedure to get there is just to call Thor so he can use Mjolnir.
·         This is the first appearance of the Well at the Center of Time. It will later appear in the Nightcrawler (1985) mini-series. Nightcrawler claims the Well exists “in all times and worlds and dimensions.” If that’s true, it’s unknown why Black Knight was drawn to Arkon’s realm instead of one in his own. Perhaps they are just similarly named.
·         We see that Black Knight’s membership on the Avengers is public knowledge, at least in Great Britain.
·         The Enchantress will return in issue 100 after she takes a quick detour to mess with the Hulk in Incredible Hulk (1962) 142.
·         The Ebony Blade is not destroyed. We will also see it next in Avengers 100, where we learn it was transported to Olympus and found by Ares.
·         The letter column of this issue features a letter written by Mike W. Barr. He would go on to become a comic book editor and writer himself of many series for various publishers starting in 1974. He was also the creator of Batman and the Outsiders, Camelot 3000, and Maze Agency. I was lucky enough to work with him as assistant editor on another of his creations, the Ultraverse’s Mantra series.
·         Jeremy Renner, the cinematic Hawkeye, was born this month.
·         Avengers Annual 4 was also published this month. It reprinted the stories from Avengers 5 and 6.




Avengers Vol 1 85.jpg

Avengers 85
The World is not for Burning
February, 1971
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia 

Thor uses Mjolnir to return the Avengers home. Black Knight returns to Stonehenge, and Thor and the Black Panther return to New York City with the mansion. The other four members find themselves turned into phantoms that can only observe that the world is melting from excessive heat. They notice that a newspaper’s date is a few weeks later than when they left. Scarlet Witch uses her hex power, and the team returns to solid form in their present. They return home, but notice differences in the Mansion. They first discover Nighthawk, and they pursue him to a meeting room filled with other superbeings they don’t recognize. Not knowing what to make of each other, the teams begin to fight each other. Vision notices a transmission from other Squadron Supreme members about a solar rocket that is about to launch, and he surmises that this rocket will cause the deadly sun activity they had seen in the future. Since the Squadron is in charge of protecting this rocket, the Avengers’ intention to stop the launch causes the conflict to resume. The Avengers manage a victory and take Nighthawk as a hostage and to guide them to where the rocket is set to launch. 

Goliath: “You’re—Hawkeye? That’s addin’ insult to injury! I almost feel like I’m stompin’ myself!” 

Tom Thumb: “The red-faced one! Where is the red-faced one?”
Vision: “Right here—and employing the one thing it seems you will listen to! Sheer brute force!”

American Eagle: “I think they’re a bunch of Reds—or at least Commie-symps!” 

·         Black Panther, Thor, and Captain America take part in a Toys for Tots campaign in this issue along with Spider-Man.
·         Although Goliath is with the team to go the Squadron’s Earth, he is not featured on the cover, possibly because he would take up too much room and obscure the other details in the background.
·         Although the cover promises the return of the Squadron Sinister, they don’t appear in this issue.
·         This is the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme and their world, which would be later designated Earth-712 for this issues 1971 (71), February (2) cover date.
·         Like DC’s universe, the Squadron Supreme’s cities use fictional names like Cosmopolis City and Atomic City.
·         In addition to the four characters copied by the Grandmaster for the Squadron Sinister, we meet four new Squadron members with Justice League analogues. This Hawkeye is a take-off of Green Arrow. Lady Lark is similar to Black Canary. American Eagle is reminiscent of Hawkman. Tom Thumb shares an under-average height with the Atom, but shrinking is not his power. He is a genius inventor with an arsenal of gadgets.
·         American Eagle is the son of a hero by the same name. He will later become estranged from his father and change his name to Captain Hawk and finally Blue Eagle. He is no way related the American-Indian American Eagle from the main Marvel Earth.
·         This Hawkeye will later go on to change his name to Golden Archer and finally Black Archer. Coincidentally, Clint Barton will also briefly go in a disguise and call himself Golden Archer in order to fool Captain America, but this was before the Squadron’s Golden Archer changed his name and was encountered by the Avengers again. I guess both men have very similar tastes in code names.
·         This issue is the true first appearance of the heroic Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, and Whizzer.
·         Hyperion has just been introduced as a new member of the expanded Avengers team in Avengers (2013), but he is yet another alternate version of this Hyperion whose universe was destroyed.
·         In the Squadron’s world, the President of the United States at this time is Hubert Humphrey. In the real and Marvel Earth, he had lost to Richard Nixon in the 1968 election.
·         With this issue, this becomes the longest-running American Avengers series. The third volume, started in 1998, reached issue 84 before the numbering jumped to 500 with the next issue to reflect the overall number of issues since 1963.




Avengers Vol 1 86.jpg

Avengers 86
Brain-Child to the Dark Tower Came…!
March, 1971
Written by Roy Thomas (and Len Wein)
Art by John Buscema and Jim Mooney 

The four Avengers in the Squadron’s dimension head toward the rocket launch. A revived Nighthawk listens to their story and switches from hostage to ally in their mission. When they arrive, Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, and Whizzer are waiting for them, and they scuffle briefly with the Avengers before Nighthawk has time to land the plane and explain what’s going on. We learn about Brain-Child, a child born with incredible intellect that grows up mocked and pitied by his peers and that became an alienated youth. He was still sought out for his genius, and the American government had set him up on a private island to develop technology for them. One result was the Brain-Child One rocket, which was to monitor the sun, but will cause the apocalyptic reaction the Avengers saw in their vision. The two teams travel to the island to confront Brain-Child, where he reveals his evil intentions to the heroes outside his complex. They split into four smaller teams to enter the complex, and three teams are defeated by various defenses controlled by Brain-Child’s mental powers. The fourth team, Hyperion and Goliath, reach his inner sanctum and see he is fatigued by all the effort he spent defeating the other heroes. Hyperion is downed by a mental attack, and Goliath is about to succumb as well when uses a cable to launch Hyperion at Brain-Child like an arrow. This final attack defeats Brain-Child, and he reverts to the mental state of a normal child due to shock. Doctor Spectrum uses his Power Prism to cause Brain-Child to regain a normal intellect and appearance, ending the menace. On the Avengers’ home Earth, Thor, Black Panther, and Iron Man combine magic and technology to bring the lost Avengers home. 

Goliath: “Forget it, fella. It’s just weird to meet some super-heroes we don’t’ wind up fightin’ for a change. Doesn’t seem to happen much to the Avengers.” 

Doctor Spectrum: “It’s time I willed it to do its thing. Do you have that expression in your world, Vision?”
Vision: “Unfortunately—yes.” 

Vision: “We have returned from one Earth to another, where three Avengers searched for four others—and seemingly found them. But how can we be certain that we have not been rescued by a third world—one all but identical to our own? We may live out our lives—tell ourselves we do not care—yet, will we ever truly—know?” 

·         This issue is lettered by Shelly Leferman, another fill-in letterer who had previously only worked for DC Comics. The Bullpen Bulletins in this issue reports that Sam Rosen is recovering from his illness and will be back soon to his regular duties.
·         This is the first issue inked by Jim Mooney. He would go on to ink and pencil many series for Marvel and will later pencil some Avengers issues as well.
·         Goliath calls Nighthawk “junior birdman” when he’s piloting. The Junior Birdmen of America were a group started in the thirties for young men interested in model airplanes that inspired a popular song, Up in the Air, Junior Birdmen.
·         In a huge, shocking development, the dialogue no longer uses exclamation marks for all statements! There are sometimes periods! An issue of Amazing Spider-Man a few months previously had used periods, and Marvel was thinking the public would riot! But they didn’t! This use of more regular punctuation is not just because of the temporary letterer! Rosen will continue using periods when he returns! Enjoy it while it lasts! It won’t!
·         This is the first and last appearance of Brain-Child. He does actually get to enjoy a normal childhood. He is no way related to the Brainchild of the Savage Land in the regular Marvel Universe.
·         Roy Thomas later gave Len Wein credit for helping plot the issue in a forward to a Marvel Masterworks reprint edition. Wein didn’t get credit in the original issue.
·         The issue’s title comes from the poem, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” a poem by Robert Browning. “Childe” is a medieval term for an untested knight, not a youth.
·         This issue’s letter column features a letter from Mike W. Barr in which he voices some concern about the use of two half-pages on pages 12 and 13 cutting back on the amount of content.
·        Also this month, Thor, Iron Man, and Goliath are sent to help the army defend an installation from the Titans Three, a short-lived group consisting of Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer. This takes place in Sub-Mariner (1968) 35. All these characters will also appear in the Avengers/Defenders War in 1973, though Goliath will do so as Hawkeye and as a Defender.







Avengers Vol 1 87.jpg

Avengers 87
Look Homeward, Avenger
April, 1971
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Sal Buscema and Frank Giacoia 

In a quiet moment at Avengers Mansion, T’Challa tells his teammates how he became Black Panther. His father, King T’Chaka, was killed by Klaw before the villain became a creature of living sound. After the king’s death, N’Baza was made regent of Wakanda, and T’Challa was sent to college abroad. N’Baza’s son, B’Tumba was T’Challa’s companion and rival in athletics and their studies. Once they returned home, T’Challa faced the tests that would make him worthy of being the Black Panther, including the search for the heart-shaped herb which gives him his heightened physical abilities. On this final quest, he stumbled upon A.I.M., the evil scientific organization, stealing vibranium. Black Panther fought bravely, but outnumbered and outgunned, he was captured. He discovered that the leader of this team of agents is his friend B’Tumba, who had been in A.I.M.’s employ for many years. B’Tumba was left to kill Black Panther, but because of their long friendship, B’Tumba couldn’t bring himself to do it and in fact helped Black Panther to escape. The other A.I.M. agents were subdued, but not before B’Tumba was caught in the crossfire and died. At the end of his story, Black Panther reveals that the aged N’Baza has died, so he must decide whether to return to Wakanda or stay an active Avenger. 

Goliath: “Yeah, Vizh. I know that even an android can cry—but can’t they yok it up a little, too?” 

Thor: “The metal of the Human spirit is forged upon the anvil of sorrow, Avenger. Thus hath it ever been—thus shall it ever be.” 

·         Rather than the usual dichotomy of penciler and inker, Frank Giacoia and Sal Buscema share credit as “artists.”
·         The issue retells a story told in Fantastic Four (1961) 53 with some additions. They even redrew some of the panels to look similarly.
·         The issue title is probably a reference to Thomas Wolfe’s first novel Look Homeward, Angel: The Story of a Buried Life, but the direct meaning of the title and the biographical nature of the issue seems to be the only connections.




Avengers Vol 1 88.jpg

Avengers 88
The Summons of Psyklop
May, 1971
Written by Harlan Ellison and Roy Thomas
Art by Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney 

We see that Mister Fantastic and Professor X are helping to capture the Hulk with Thunderbolt Ross. Iron Man was one of the architects of the plan as Tony Stark, and they wonder why he is not present. We discover that he is with a team of Avengers and the Falcon on an uncharted Pacific island. The team traveled there after Captain America and the Falcon discovered a voodoo ritual that was led by one of Falcon’s friends that was in a trance. After the ritual was broken up, the enthralled friend repeated longitude and latitude coordinates that led the team to this island. Meanwhile, although the Hulk is briefly subdued, he disappears suddenly and appears in the lab of an insectoid humanoid, Psyklop. Psyklop plans to drain the energy from the mighty Hulk to feed his Dark Gods, who he hopes will revive the rest of his ancient race. To help study the unconscious Hulk, he turns on a shrinking ray, but the Avengers break in and distract Psyklop. Psyklop is able to evade them long enough to use another device that transports the Avengers back to New York City, but by this time, the shrinking ray has caused the Hulk to shrink totally out of this dimension. 

Goliath: “Everything lies heavy upon my shoulders—even my shoulders. But, I can’t go changin’ sizes too often. It wastes a guy.” 

·         This issue and the Incredible Hulk story that follows it were conceived by writer Harlan Ellison, and then Roy Thomas wrote the dialogue after the art was produced. Ellison is a prolific writer, but his comic book output is not large. He is better known for his science-fiction and television writing.
·         The opening quote, “The most merciful thing in the world…is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.” is from H.P. Lovecraft. Ellison recently voiced himself in a Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode that was H.P. Lovecraft themed.
·         The plan to capture the Hulk is conceived by Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, and Professor X. Although they had not yet formed the secret Illuminati group just yet, they will very soon, and this group contains half their number. Although their plot here to capture Hulk fails, they will one day have greater success with ejecting him into outer space, at least for a while.
·         This is the first time Falcon and Redwing appear in an Avengers issue.
·         This is the first appearance of a Psyklop. He states his race pre-dates man and worshipped Dark Gods that put this race to sleep. He is not successful in waking them up and dies later in Incredible Hulk 203. His race is eventually awakened in Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force, but they do not totally resemble his bipedal form.
·         Black Panther returns to Wakanda for his duties there, so he is only briefly seen this issue and won’t return to action until issue 100.
·         Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver remain on monitor duty rather than go with the rest of the team. This is because the Invisible Woman had a premonition that someone would break into the Baxter Building, and Reed Richards asked the Avengers to monitor the building while the Fantastic Four were away. The premonition comes true next issue.
·         Some of the narration in this issue is in the rare second-person format. It refers to the character in the scene with pronouns like “you” and “your,” such as “They lured you here—and now they have you—a big green butterfly, writhing convulsively—pinned, living, by a skewer of lightning-!” This type of narration is the least common in English fiction.
·         The latitude and longitude of the island puts it about 1,500 miles west of Chile. The narration mentions that a giant slug the Avengers encounter was native to Lemuria, a continent in the Pacific that sank thousands of years ago in the Marvel Universe. It’s not the same as another Marvel Lemuria, which is in Antarctica near the Savage Land and has an Atlantean outpost.
·         Iron Man says that Thor’s hammer makes a crater the size of the Sea of Tranquility. That area of Earth’s moon is actually over 500 miles across and has an area larger than that of over 200 individual countries on Earth. He exaggerated.
·         The entry to Psyklop’s lair is lined with weird statues that evoke the origin tale of the original Fawcett Captain Marvel. Iron Man refers to this when he says the last time he saw something like this was in a comic book with an abandoned subway tunnel.
·         The narration says that Psyklop’s device not only transports the Avengers, but it also wipes their memory of the event, so although the story is said to be continued in Incredible Hulk 140, the Avengers don’t show up in that issue except in a brief recap.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Avengers 69 to 79 (10/69 to 8/70)

Old allies return.
Squadrons and Legions gather,
evil counterpoints.

Black Knight; Dane Whitman
Black Panther; T’Challa
Captain America; Steve Rogers
Goliath; Clint Barton
Iron Man; Tony Stark
Thor; Donald Blake
Vision
Wasp; Janet Van Dyne
Yellowjacket; Henry “Hank” Pym 

                The nature of the team continues to flow in this cycle of issues. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver return after a long hiatus, and Yellowjacket and Wasp take a leave of absence to keep the core membership at five. The Big Three rotate onto the team from time to time to deal with the big threats, but they don’t stay long. They’re busy with their own series. The only new blood is the Black Knight, but he is largely absent, as he has made his home in London. A weak overture is made at the Hulk rejoining the Avengers, but at this point, he barely remembers the team and his intelligence level is even lower than when he left.
                The team keeps it more casual as well. They have been calling each other by their civilian names for a while, but this seems to become more the norm. Ever since Clint’s first name was revealed, the team uses it often, perhaps to make it clear to readers that Goliath is not Hank Pym any longer? Following this pattern, the rest of the team is now bantering as Wanda, Jan, T’Challa, and an occasional Cap and Vizh. This continues to this day, as the team is more comfortable than ever with each other’s civilian identities. To be honest, I had to restrain myself from calling them by their civilian names when I started writing this blog since that’s how I see them more than their superhero code names.
                Some of the team are definitely professional Avengers without their own personal lives. We see Black Panther take a job as a schoolteacher because he wants to give to the community in his off time as well. This brings into contrast Goliath, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch, who don’t really have outside jobs or secret identities or fields of study to worry about and hang around the Mansion even when there isn’t a crisis. I’m giving Vision a pass since he’s artificial and really has no idea what to do with himself. These characters are a bit in contrast to the typical superhero story, where a secret identity and civilian life are par for the course. There are some other exceptions. The Legion of Super-Heroes from DC Comics mostly just hang around their 30th-century clubhouse, too. Of course these Avengers characters may just be victims to the fact that they don’t have their series to flesh them out yet.
                Goliath gets back some of his surliness after being dumped by Black Widow. He snaps at Scarlet Witch and mouths off some anti-female quips here and there. He also stays at his 10-foot size almost all the time, unlike Hank Pym. Whole issues go by where he does not revert to normal size. We learn later in issue 88 that size-changing does tire him out, which may account for this choice, but we see him with a jury-rigged gigantic crossbow to practice his archery, rather than shrinking down to normal size and using his old equipment. This also could be due be an artistic choice, since including a giant in the panels just adds some dynamic flair and makes him stand out from other characters.

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 Avengers 69
Let the Game Begin
October, 1969
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger 

While visiting Tony Stark in the hospital, Wasp discovers a small doll. The doll was sent there by Kang, and it reveals itself to be the Growing Man, which grows to gigantic size. The Growing Man abducts Tony Stark to the future, and the Avengers follow it through the distortion in time. They discover Kang planned this to bring the Avengers to his future empire and also that the Black Panther has already arrived there. Kang has entered into an agreement with an alien being called the Grandmaster to play a cosmic game. Kang stands to win the power of life and death, which he would use to revive his love Ravonna, and he has chosen the Avengers as his champions. If the Grandmaster wins, Earth will be destroyed and will never have existed at all. The Avengers agree to help Kang only if the injured Tony Stark is sent back to the present. For the first stage of the game, Goliath, Thor, and Captain America are sent into a construct called a tri-sphere, where they encounter an enemy team called the Squadron Sinister. 

Goliath: “Sorry to let you down…Hank! Guess I got too big for my britches…but still too small to fill your old boots!”

Yellowjacket: “It was a valiant effort, Clint! I’ve never been prouder of the man who succeeded me as Giant-Man!” 

·         Tony Stark is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack in Iron Man (1968) 18. This is even after using the Avengers’ Ultra-Rejuvenator technology in that issue to heal him.
·         One of the S.H.I.E.L.D. guards guarding Tony Stark in the hospital is also named Tony.
·         The specialist brought in to help Stark is Dr. Jose Santini. He was previously seen in Fantastic Four trying to help cure the Thing and restore him to his form as Ben Grimm. He does help revive Tony Stark successfully after this adventure. For some reason, the villain the Thinker will also use the alias Jose Santini, but he does not seem to be the same person.
·         When the Growing Man is at a small size, a guard describes its small voice as like that of “a midget with the grippe.” The grippe is simply an older term for the flu.
·         The Growing Man is also known as a “stimuloid.” It had been used by Kang once before to battle Thor.
·         Clint begins to experience some dizziness from using his growth power, showing that this is a side-effect that affects everyone using Pym particles.
·         This is the first appearance of the Grandmaster.
·         This is the first appearance of the Squadron Sinister and its members Nighthawk, Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, and Whizzer, though its only their “astral images” in the last two panels.
·         This is only one of three occasions where the issue number is the same as the year of publication. This won’t happen again until Avengers (2010) 11 in 2011 and Avengers (2013) 13 in 2013.





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Avengers 70
When Strikes the Squadron Sinister!
November, 1969
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger
Three Avengers are sent back to the 20th century to face their foes, The Squadron Sinister. To even the teams, the Iron Man of that era joins them. Images of four landmarks are revealed, and the contest is who can win one-on-one battles at those locations. Captain America defeats Nighthawk at the Statue of Liberty, Iron man beats Doctor Spectrum at the Taj Mahal, and Thor overcomes Hyperion at the Sphinx. The last skirmish is between Goliath and Whizzer. The Black Knight had relocated to England, and he interferes in the battle to help save Big Ben, knowing nothing about the contest or its stakes. Although Whizzer is defeated, this breaches the rules of the contest, and the four Avengers are taken back to the future, leaving the Black Knight puzzled in 20th-Century London.

Thor: “Thor doth say thee…nay! Nor shall Asgard-forged Mjolnir speak with my softer voice!!”
Hyperion: “I have heard all it has to say, immortal!”
Mjolnir: Wham!
Hyperion: “And it has left me unimpressed!” 

·         The Squadron Sinister were given their powers and abilities by the Grandmaster so they could serve as pawns. We find out later he based them on members of the heroic Squadron Supreme from a parallel Earth.
·         The Squadron’s members are clear parallels to a few of DC’s Justice League members, giving fans a little taste of what a meeting between the teams might be like. In 1971, DC did the opposite, creating a team of aliens called the Assemblers that resembled some of the Avengers characters.
·         Doctor Spectrum, a parallel to Green Lantern, was given a Power Prism to give him his abilities. It is much later revealed the prism is really an alien Skrull locked in the form of a crystal. This prism does talk to Doctor Spectrum out loud.
·         Whizzer on this Earth, a parallel to the Flash, is a chemist, James Sanders, who takes a pill to get his speed. He is unrelated to the Golden Age Whizzer, who this evil Whizzer mentions as being a comic book hero he is emulating. The elder Whizzer is a real hero from the forties that will later become an Avengers ally. Sanders will eventually change his name to Speed Demon and have a long career as a villain and, later, Thunderbolt.
·         Nighthawk is a counterpart to Batman. He will later reform and become a hero, serving a long time with the Defenders. Of all the Squadron Sinister, he is the only one whose alternate in the Squadron Supreme’s Earth is the same person, Kyle Richmond.
·         Hyperion, a parallel to Superman, relates his origin as being from an atom-sized world that was split in atomic tests. These memories are false and were given to him by the Grandmaster. Unlike his teammates, he was created from nonliving matter to serve in this scheme. He believes is an alien called Zhib-Ran. The real Zhib-Ran will not appear until New Thunderbolts 16 in 2006.
·         The contest is quite one-sided. For the Avengers to win, they must be victorious in all four battles.
·         Black Knight is seen relocating to England and another Whitman Castle there in Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) 17, which takes place before this issue.
·         The word “Mighty” is removed from the title on the cover, starting with this issue.
·         Thor defeats Hyperion by using Mjolnir to shrink him and capture him in a glass globe made from sand. Though these abilities seem highly random, Thor claims he must call upon Odin for these events to happen.

Avengers Vol 1 71.jpg

Avengers 71
Endgame!
December, 1969
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger 

Black Knight’s Ebony Blade was held by Goliath when he was transported to the future, so Black Knight goes to his castle and consults the spirit of his ancestor, the original Black Knight. The ghost shows him what has transpired through magic. Through a link between himself and the Ebony Blade, Dane Whitman is able to will himself through time and space to Kang’s headquarters and free the remaining Avengers in the future, who are trapped in stasis. Meanwhile the second stage of the contest involves sending Yellowjacket, Vision, and Black Panther to battle Captain America, the Human Torch, and Sub-Mariner in the Nazi-occupied France of World War II. The Avengers are able to win the battle, but this only gives Kang half of a victory after the spoiled first round. Grandmaster agrees to give Kang the power of either life or death temporarily, rather than both. Kang is about to choose life and revive Ravonna when the freed Avengers burst in on him. Faced with defeat, Kang chooses the power of death over the Avengers instead. As Kang’s foes lie helpless, the Black Knight, unaffected since he is not an Avengers member, strikes down Kang. The Grandmaster returns the team to its present, and the Black Knight is made an official member of the team. 

Kang: “Can any blame me if I would risk a planet’s history to see her draw another breath? Can any blame Kang the Conqueror…because he is also…a man..?” 

Grandmaster: “Think on Kang…and have pity! Because his heart held more hate than love…his hands are now empty!” 

·         According to this issue, Black Panther can speak six languages.
·         This is the first appearance of the World War II hero team the Invaders, but they do not actually use the name Invaders in the story. They would go on to have their own series in 1975. This is the first use of their battle cry, “Okay, Axis, here we come!”
·         When Vision battles the Human Torch, he is fighting himself in another time period, though Roy Thomas didn’t know it at the time.
·         The original Human Torch shown here will become an Avenger in the future, recently being part of the Secret Avengers team.
·         Black Knight says two of the future soldiers are not exactly Conan and John Carter. He’s referring to them as fictional characters, but in 1970 Marvel would start a Conan series written by Roy Thomas, and Conan would become part of the Marvel mainstream continuity.  John Carter adventures were also published by Marvel Comics, but they were not part of the Marvel Universe.
·         The forties Captain America is still using his original traditionally shaped shield, but he says he could really use a round shield for throwing.
·         At the end of both stages of the contest, the Wasp is not used by Kang, even though she was part of the team that went to the future. Kang does not even place her in stasis with her teammates.
·         The point of view of the Invaders characters of these events is explored in Invaders Annual 1, which isn’t published until 1977.

Avengers Vol 1 72.jpg
Avengers 72
Did You Hear the One About Scorpio?
January, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger 

Captain America has called an Avengers meeting because several city officials are missing. Rick Jones happens to come to the mansion at this time, and all are stunned by a message from SHIELD that Nick Fury has been killed. Rick relates how he came upon Scorpio in Nick Fury’s apartment and that Scorpio left behind a list of the same missing officials. Scorpio himself then appears on the monitor screen to taunt the Avengers before the screen explodes. When the team revives, they are trapped at a Zodiac hideout. The rest of the Zodiac join Scorpio, and Aries reveals that he is the true head of the organization and owner of the Zodiac Key, a weapon previously wielded by Scorpio. Yellowjacket manages to summon some ants that ruin the machinery restraining the Avengers, and a battle breaks out. Aries is poised to kill Captain America when Scorpio reveals himself to be Nick Fury in disguise. Despite the shift in numbers, Aries manages to daze all the Avengers and Fury with the powerful Zodiac Key. Rick Jones, forgotten in the melee, jostles Aries’ arm at the last moment, deflecting his fatal blast. With the Key low on power, the Zodiac makes their escape. Fury reveals that the whole plan was a ruse to flush out the rest of the Zodiac group.


Captain Marvel: “Poor Rick! He’s wanted all his life to be a superhero! And now he feels like little more than a spear-carrier!”


·         With this issue, letterers Art Simek and Sam Rosen have each lettered an even number of issues, 35 each.
·         Rick Jones’ last encounter with Captain America was in Captain America (1968) 115, when the mind of the Red Skull was in Captain America’s body. Rick still thinks that the real Cap treated him with contempt until this is explained to him here.
·         The meeting table’s chairs are shown to have emblems imprinted on them for each of the members. Black Knight does not seem to have one here, but he also doesn’t meet with the team in the United States.
·         For whatever reason, this issue had an extra page of story, or 21 pages.
·         Rick Jones was currently bonded with Captain Marvel, and their bodies would switch places. Rick tries to keep this a secret, so although the reader gets a clear retelling of past events, the Avengers are confused by his tale because of this omission. Despite the cover, the Avengers do not meet Captain Marvel in this issue.
·         This is the first appearance of Captain Marvel in Avengers. He would be made an honorary Avenger after his death.  The original Captain Marvel (Shazam!) was published by Fawcett Comics in 1940, but a lawsuit where DC Comics claimed that he was too similar to Superman meant they had to cease using that character. Marvel Comics introduced this character in 1967 and took over the trademark on the name. His code name comes from his Kree name and rank, Captain Mar-Vell. DC later bought the rights to the Fawcett Captain Marvel and have brought back that character, but they avoid using the title Captain Marvel for any series featuring him.
·         The Avengers are told that Nick Fury was killed by Bulls-Eye. This is not the more famous Daredevil villain Bullseye. He won’t be introduced until 1976. It’s just an assassin with a similar code name who was killed by S.H.I.E.L.D in a gunfight immediately in his first and last appearance.
·         This is the first appearance of the criminal organization Zodiac. They will change members and methods many times. Most recently, they appeared as powered thralls in the service of Thanos in Avengers Assemble (2012), not as a crime syndicate.
·         Well, mostly their first appearances. The “real” Scorpio and his Zodiac Key had appeared battling S.H.I.E.L.D. in previous adventures without his Zodiac cohorts.
·         Taurus’ identity is Cornelius Van Lunt, a crooked businessman who will appear again in issue 77. No connection will be made between him and Taurus until Avengers 121 in 1974 by a different writer.
·         Libra’s real name is Gustav Brandt. He is the father of future Avenger Mantis.
·         Captain Marvel can communicate with Rick telepathically. He offers to join in the battle against the Zodiac, but Rick wants to handle it himself.
·         The story title follows the question format for stories featuring Scorpio. The previous two Scorpio stories in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D (1968 ) were titled “Who is Scorpio?” and “What Ever Happened to Scorpio?” The next story featuring him in The Defenders (1972) will be “Who Remembers Scorpio?”





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Avengers 73
The Sting of the Serpent
February, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Frank Giacoia and Sam Grainger 

Black Panther returns to the United States, where a new Sons of the Serpent group has been formed under a new leader. An African-American talk show host, Montague Hyde, is assaulted by the group. His sponsors don’t like the negative publicity, so he loses his show. He goes on another talk show hosted by the conservative white host Dan Dunn, where he becomes a frequent guest. Another guest is singer Monica Lynne. The Sons of the Serpent then target her, but they attack her near Avengers Mansion, and Black Panther intervenes. Lynne and Hyde go back on the Dan Dunn program, and their debate over race relations and violence begins to inflame the viewers. The Avengers are keen to find the Serpents, but Black Panther feels as an African man he would like a chance to handle it alone, so the team gives him 24 hours. He finds a Serpent member in costume, renders him unconscious, and takes his place. He manages to infiltrate the Serpents’ hidden submarine, but when he doesn’t know the pass phrase, he is revealed as the Black Panther in the enemy’s lair. 

Black Panther: “Don’t go on TV tomorrow…I’m asking as a soul brother!” 

·         This is the sixth issue in a row inked by Sam Grainger. He ties for the longest streak so far with George Bell and Frank Giacoia.
·         Since Art Simek letters this issue, he is one ahead of Sam Rosen.
·         This is the first appearance of Monica Lynne. She will be the love interest of Black Panther for many years after this meeting.
·         It is reinforced here that that the public at large does not know that Black Panther is an African man. He reveals that to Monica Lynne to persuade her not to go back on television, but it doesn’t sway her.
·         Goliath tells Yellowjacket to stop “playing Captain Video” when he spends a lot of time at the monitor. Captain Video and his Video Rangers was a science-fiction television program from 1951 to 1955.
·         The members of the Sons of the Serpent can be killed via remote control from their command center. The Supreme Serpent uses the device with little deliberation.





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Avengers 74
Pursue the Panther!
March, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

The news reports that Black Panther has been committing petty crimes, even though we know he is a prisoner of the Sons of the Serpent. Don Dunn’s program continues to fan the flames of racial tension in the country with each broadcast. The Avengers spilt up to try to find Black Panther, and Wasp is lucky enough to come across a robbery by an obvious imposter. Even though it is not T’Challa, the imposter is skilled enough to evade capture from Wasp and the rest of the team with the help of a Sons of the Serpent aircraft. Monica Lynne finds the Avengers at their mansion and  alerts them that the Sons of the Serpent are breaking into television broadcasts and are planning to unmask the Black Panther on the air. The Avengers track them to an abandoned TV studio, but not before they unmask their own imposter as a black man. The Avengers free T’Challa, reveal that the imposter is actually a white man in a mask, and also unmask not one, but two Supreme Serpents, who are Montague Hale and Don Dunn working in concert. 

Man (regarding Vision): “He ain’t white…and he sure ain’t black! Whose side are you on, baby?” 

Fake Black Panther: “But, if you’re here to help Mr. Charlie there get back his marbles, then, lady you’re definitely in the wrong pew!” 

·         This is the first issue inked by Tom Palmer.  He would go on to ink about a hundred issues of the series, many along with John Buscema, until 1996.
·         A taxi in the background belongs to the Caliban Cab Company. Earlier in the series, Magneto likened Toad to Caliban, and Toad will appear in the next issue. Accidental foreshadowing?
·         The Sons of the Serpent say they will repel foreigners like the serpent repelled Adam and Eve from the garden. Perhaps that’s not the best role model.





Avengers Vol 1 75.jpg

Avengers 75
The Warlord and the Witch!
April, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

Quicksilver returns to the Mansion in search of the Avengers and is directed to the pier where they have wished Yellowjacket and Wasp farewell. He tells them how he, his sister, and Toad have been searching for a way to restore the powers of the Scarlet Witch. They had found a book hidden in an ancient library, and reading an incantation from it opened a portal which Arkon had come through. He overpowered the Mutants and kidnapped Scarlet Witch to be his bride as well as Toad. During the encounter, Arkon told Quicksilver how his world was suffering a crisis. His planet is surrounded by an energy ring that provides light to its people and crops, but the ring has been fading for 20 years. Their scientist discovered that atomic explosions in the dimension of Earth reenergize the energy ring for a short time, but they were disappointed that such explosions are rare. They were unable to travel here until the spell Scarlet Witch read activated a connection between the dimensions. Now that has happened, Arkon plans to unleash a massive atomic explosion to fully reenergize the rings. The Avengers are skeptical of Quicksilver’s story until a news report reveals that Arkon has kidnapped top atomic scientists from Earth in order to build him the bomb he needs.

Quicksilver: “Look! The stone rises in place, to reveal…a book! It throbs and glows in my hand…like a lethal living thing!” 

·         Since Sam Rosen lettered the last two issues, he has taken the lead 37 to 36 and will continue to keep the lead into the future. No, it’s not wrong to care about lettering.
·         Jarvis reveals he almost became a certified public accountant due to his mother’s wishes.
·         Narration affirms the Avengers Mansion is on 5th Avenue. The official address is 890 5th  Avenue, which in real life is bounded by Central Park and East 70th and 71ST Street. The “real” Avengers Mansion is the Henry Clay Frick House, an art museum.

·         Yellowjacket and Wasp leave for Alaska when Henry Pym is asked to investigate how new oil fields are affecting Alaskan wildlife. Bill Foster also goes with them.
·         Quicksilver appeared in Amazing Spider-Man (1963) 71 since his last appearance here. He attempted to help his image by capturing Spider-Man, but ended up befriending him instead. He still had his green costume then, but he has a new silver costume in this issue.
·         This is the first appearance of Arkon and his realm.
·         Arkon’s title is Imperion. There’s no real-world usage of this term. Their culture esteems battle above all else, so he won the title through conquest. The similar-sounding “archon” is a title of leadership in ancient Greece, meaning “ruler” or “lord” in Greek.
·         Starting with this issue, pages 12 and 13 of the story would only be half-pages. The top half of the page would be comic panels, and the bottom half would be advertisements. This dropped the page count of each story to 19 full pages.
·         By Arkon’s account, only a Mutant who read the words could bring him to Earth. This is supposed to be because of Mutants’ relationship to the atomic energy that caused their mutations.





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Avengers 76
The Blaze of Battle…The Flames of Love!
May, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

Black Panther tries to use a D-Machine to breach the dimensional barrier to Arkon’s world, but his efforts fail. Scarlet Witch is still a prisoner, but she begins to be intrigued by Arkon despite his intentions. The atomic scientists that had been kidnapped have their knowledge extracted by technology, and Arkon’s scientist creates a powerful Atom-Sphere device. Thor and Iron Man arrive to help, and Thor’s hammer Mjolnir is able to transport the team to Arkon’s world. While they battle Arkon’s troops, Arkon returns to Earth with the Atom-Sphere and Scarlet Witch. Goliath, Black Panther, Quicksilver, and Vision follow him and delay him from setting off the device at the top of the Empire State Building. Iron Man works with the scientist to create an alternate means to reenergize the energy ring, so Arkon calls off the attack and returns home, leaving the Atom-Sphere in Thor’s hands. 

Quicksilver: “My sister’s life is in deadly danger!”
Vision: “If what you told us is true, Quicksilver…a cosmos is in danger…for, the one called Arkon means to destroy all Earth with a nuclear device! And you dare dwell on one lone life?”
Black Panther: “If you were human, Vision, you’d deal more kindly with Pietro! The life of one person close to you means far more than those of abstract millions!”

Vision: “You were once an Avenger, Pietro…though it shames us now to admit the fact!”
Black Panther: “He’ll be worthy of admission to our ranks again, Vision…when his humility matches the speed of his limbs!” 

·         Goliath keeps his archer skills sharp by training with a giant crossbow in the Mansion.
·         Black Widow appears to Goliath and breaks up with him. She says she cannot say the reason why, and she falsely tells him that she never loved him.
·         Scarlet Witch recites the Tennyson poem “Flower in the Crannied Wall” to Arkon. Arkon doesn’t really get poetry.
·         This issue features the first meeting of Vision and Scarlet Witch, who will later be married. Vision is not too concerned with her well-being before he meets her.
·         Despite the Avengers victory, Toad is left in Arkon’s world without an explanation here.
·         Arkon tells Scarlet Witch that passing through the “Great Barrier” between dimensions should have restored her powers. 

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The Incredible Hulk 128
And in This Corner…The Avengers!
June, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Herb Trimpe 

The Hulk is smashing his way through underground tunnels and headed for the San Andreas Fault, so Thunderbolt Ross calls in the Avengers for aid. With the aid of Ross’ instruments, they pinpoint the area above the Hulk, and Vision sinks into the Earth to intercept him. He lures the Hulk to the surface to face the entire team. The plan is to position the hulk between two nodes of a Gammatron Bombarder to return him to his human form. The Avengers are unable to hurt the Hulk, but they do manipulate him to the designated spot. The ray bombardment is not as effective as expected, so the Hulk reflects the rays back, destroying the machine. Tired of combat, Hulk leaps away. Although the Avengers couldn’t capture him, they feel some accomplishment at stopping him from reaching the fault and feel some confidence about their new lineup. 

Goliath: “This man-mountain’s been waitin’ for a chance to wrestle ol’ Green-Skin for a long time now!” 

Hulk: “The Avengers! Hulk has heard that name before! But…don’t remember when…or where!” 

·         General Ross is a bit disappointed with the current lineup. He really wanted the help of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America.
·         The Avengers still hold out hope that they can convince Hulk to rejoin them.
·         This issue also features half-pages on pages 12 and 13, so it’s not just the Avengers that reduced its page count during this time.
·         Despite Arkon’s declaration, Scarlet Witch attempts to use her hex power and is unable to at first. By modifying her gestures, she creates a “hex sphere,” a globe that unpredictable events occur inside of.





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Avengers 77
Heroes For Hire!
June, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

Tony Stark tells the team that he’s facing economic pressure from a rival, Cornelius Van Lunt, who is attempting a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, so he needs as much cash as he can get. He tells the team they need to pay their back rent, so they look for ways to make money. Individual members of the team have come across a string of robberies in the city perpetrated by the Split-Second Squad. They are civilian criminals run by a masked man called Kronus. Van Lunt offers to employ the Avengers and reveals he engineered the takeover attempt to put the Avengers in this situation where they needed to seek employment. He will also stop his takeover attempt if they agree to his terms. They do and undertake several demolition jobs for Van Lunt. The last task is to renovate a tunnel under the East River. This turns out to be a trap to kill the Avengers, and an explosion destroys the tunnel with them inside. The Split-Second Gang attempts a robbery due the Avengers’ deaths, but finds the Avengers had been suspicious all along and had planned an escape from the tunnel before the explosion. Despite the evidence that Van Lunt is Kronus, it turns out to be his assistant Wilkins, who had tried to frame Van Lunt while getting rich from the robberies. 

Goliath: “Dig Pietro! Back in the Avengers for two days, and already he’s makin’ with the leader-sounds!” 

·         This is the fourth issue in a row that retains the same writer, penciller, inker, and letterer for all the issues. So far, this is the longest streak of issues where the entire creative team remains the same.
·         The issue title “Heroes For Hire” precedes its first use by Luke Cage in 1972.
·         This appears to be the first appearance of Cornelius Van Lunt, but he actually appeared in his Taurus costume in Avengers 72 already.
·         Van Lunt translates from Dutch to mean “from a match” in English.  Lunt can refer to the spark used to start a fire or the smoke coming from a fire.
·         Black Panther tells the team how he has taken a job as a schoolteacher under his English name, Luke Charles. He discovers that the hero his African-American students look up to is the Falcon.
·         We discover that the 1970 rent on the mansion is $2,000 a month, and the team owes 60 months of back rent, or $120,000. In 2014 dollars, that translates to $12,270 a month and $736,178 total. This also implies the team has been active for five years.
·         Jarvis offers to serve without pay for the duration of the financial crisis.
·         Although Black Panther is wealthy, he states he is bound by honor not to use Wakandan money to help the Avengers pay their rent.
·         Because Wilkins is much smaller than Van Lunt, to impersonate him he must wear a padded bodysuit as well as a mask.
·         Despite the colorful names of the Split-Second Squad, such as Pecos, Joe the Gorilla, Cap’n Skragg, Sweet William, and Onionhead, they and the group are not seen again.
·         Black Panther tells how his “uncle” N’Baza sent him to college abroad. In a later issue, N’Baza is just the father of T’Challa’s friend, not a relation. His use of “uncle” here may just be seen as a title a younger man might use for a family friend of his parents.
·         The Scarlet Witch seems more comfortable using her power in this issue.





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Avengers 78
The Man-Ape Always Strikes Twice!
July, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Sal Buscema and Tom Palmer 

A note summons Captain America to the mansion, but before he can enter, the Man-Ape attacks him. The rest of the Avengers intervene, but Man-Ape is still able to escape. The Avengers ponder why the target was Captain America, but in the meantime, Man-Ape kidnaps Monica Lynne. He sends the Avengers a message that Black Panther must come alone to battle Man-Ape one on one if they value Lynne’s safety. Black Panther arrives at Man-Ape’s aircraft and fights his way to Monica Lynne, but he discovers it is only a manikin, which promptly explodes. Man-Ape takes the unconscious Black Panther to an underground lair where the full plot Is revealed. Living Laser, Power Man, Swordsman, and Grim Reaper are also part of a team called the Lethal Legion, and they are hunting the Avengers as part of a contest. 

Captain America: “Maybe the Man-Ape had only one enemy before tonight..but now he’s got another one…and his initials are…Captain America!” 

·         We see that Monica Lynne has given up her singing career in favor of being a social worker.
·         Black Widow begins using a new look that resembles her modern one in Amazing Spider-Man 86 this month. No more skirt and stockings.
·         Man-Ape survived his last mishap with the aid of his servant N’Gamo and secret herbs that healed him.
·         Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s heads return to the corner box, and Yellowjacket and Wasp are removed.
·         The issue title is probably a take-off on The Postman Always Rings Twice, a 1934 novel that was also adapted for film in 1946 and 1981.
·         There would be several versions of the Lethal Legion over the years, but most of them battle one of the Avengers teams. The most recent one is still formed by the Grim Reaper.
·         The name Lethal Legion was coined by Stan Lee. Roy Thomas knew he wanted Legion in the team name, and the alliteration-loving Stan Lee suggested the “Lethal” adjective.





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Avengers 79
Lo! The Lethal Legion!
August, 1970
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer 

Iron Man and Thor join the team for a meeting since Black Panther is missing. Vision goes to the school Black Panther teaches at to explain his absence. The Grim Reaper splits his Lethal Legionnaires up to three different spots near Black Panther. When left alone, Black Panther escapes and gets a message to the Avengers, warning them of the villains’ locations, but he is overcome by a lurking Grim Reaper, who allowed him to escape and send the message. Goliath and Scarlet Witch are defeated by Power Man and Swordsman, and Captain American and Quicksilver are overpowered by Man-Ape and Living Laser. The five captured Avengers are placed in an hourglass deathtrap. Grim Reaper notices Power Man’s absence, and we learn he went to Avengers Mansion to ransack the place. He rejoins the Legion with a knocked-out Vision, who is thrown into the deathtrap.  Grim Reaper looks over the Avengers’ files on their members. When he learns that the mind of Vision is based on that of the Grim Reaper’s brother, Wonder Man, he shatters the deathtrap to free the Vision. Suddenly we discover that the Vision is masquerading as Power Man, and the “Vision” placed in the trap was a knocked-out Power Man. The other Avengers were also feigning helplessness, and the reunited team defeats the Legion. Feeling that he is not truly human, a perturbed Vision announces he is leaving the Avengers. 

Grim Reaper: “What were you before I came, but four spiteful failures…gnashing your teeth and muttering of revenge on the superheroes who had defeated you?” 

Living Laser: “But, Reaper…I thought the Avengers killed your brother before most of these guys were even dues-paying members!”
Grim Reaper: “That doesn’t matter, Laser! It’s enough that they are Avengers!” 

·         Vision disguises himself with a mask and clothes to appear as a normal man. This is his first use of a secret identity. He will later call himself Victor Shade when in this disguise. Unfortunately his artificial voice and mannerisms stand out easily.
·         We see that Black Panther teaches at Andrew Jackson High School. In 1970, a high school by that name in Queens, New York, was found to have a heroin-processing factory in its basement. So far, Black Panther’s school is only said to be “in the ghetto.” The real high school is no longer open.
·         On the cover, Grim Reaper has a normal right hand rather than the scythe device he wears. At this point, the scythe can be removed, but in the future, that hand will be amputated.
·         We discover another Avengers code phrase, “Prometheus priority.” This means the speaker suspects or knows that a trap for the team is imminent.
·         Goliath again quips, “I’m from Missouri!” But this time, he follows it up with, “Show me!!” so it’s a little clearer what he means this time.
·         Although Thor and Iron Man show up to aid the team, they end up not playing a factor since they go on a wild-goose chase.