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.
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.
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 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 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?”
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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