Avengers 145-146, 150-152

Avengers 145-146, 150-152

Hawkeye's glass stomach?
Big shakeups inside and out.
Unkind cuts are made.

Beast; Henry "Hank" McCoy
Captain America; Steve Rogers
Iron Man; Tony Stark
Moondragon; Heather Douglas
Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Thor; Donald Blake
Vision
Wasp; Janet Van Dyne
Yellowjacket; Henry "Hank" Pym

Featured Allies/Reserve Members
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
Falcon; Sam Wilson
Hercules; Heracles
Hellcat; Patsy Walker
Hawkeye; Clint Barton
Thing; Ben Grimm
Wonder Man; Simon Williams

     The first two issues here are an out-of-sequence inventory story that are a bit difficult to place, but I've decided to put them here. In the letter column to Giant-Size Avengers 4, readers were told the next issue of GSA in September, 1975, would feature a story by Tony Isabella and Don Heck. That writer and artist match the creators of these two issues, so I have to assume it was meant to have been this tale. Giant-Size Avengers 5 instead featured a reprint of Avengers Special 1, and the Giant-Size Avengers series was canceled after that, leaving this story in limbo. Since there was a problem meeting the deadline for issue 145, the story was used to fill two issues while the regular creators caught up.

     This is by no means official placement of the story in the timeline. Hawkeye had left the team to go out west, but he appears in these stories. Hopefully having his buddy Captain America put in the hospital would induce him to show up despite his detached status. Falcon also appears in issue 146, and was there not as an Avenger, but a concerned friend of Captain America. Wasp is wearing the costume here she wears when returning to the team in issue 151. Moondragon and Hellcat are not present, but no other place was perfect to place it either, as stories after 151 feature Wonder Man and start a new adventure. Some people think it may have happened before issue 141, but Beast is present, and he mentions that Wasp and Yellowjacket were in the hospital "a few weeks ago."
   The second batch of issues are the last story and plot to be written by Steve Englehart. The editorial department, especially the Editor-in-Chief position, continued to go through changes. From 1974 to the beginning of 1976, five different men had held the position. On Steve Englehart's website, he recalls he was halfway through scripting issue 150 when the editorial changes in the office factored into him leaving the title. His script and plots would still be partially used for issues 151 and 152. This seems to be during the brief period that Gerry Conway held the Editor in-Chief position. Most of the previous Editor-in-Chiefs had found it preferable to gain artistic control of a small number of series as a combined writer and editor on the same book, and Gerry Conway also followed that route. With issue 153, after he is no longer Editor-in-Chief, he would become both writer and editor of Avengers.
     Englehart would move on to write for DC's premier hero team, the Justice League of America, starting with the February, 1977 issue, issue 139. His run on that series would end with issue 150, the same issue number he was writing when he left Avengers. Although he would write for other publishers in the interim, he would return to Marvel and the Avengers with the West Coast Avengers regular series in 1985. Englehart talks about his run on these series as well as his many other writing endeavors on his website, www.steveenglehart.com.
.

Avengers 145

The Taking of the Avengers!

March, 1976

Written by Tony Isabella and Scott Edelman

Art by Don Heck and John Tartaglione

Lettered by David Hunt

Colored by Don Warfield

A masked assassin is contracted to kill all the Avengers by unknown parties for the sum of one billion dollars, plus expenses. The Assassin asks for one year to complete the contract. After that time period, Captain America comes across a gang of robbers wearing Captain America masks. He knocks them all out except one. He chases the last robber and uses his shield to incapacitate him. While shieldless, the Assassin appears and fires a ray that puts Captain America in a state near death as part of the master plan. Captain America is taken in for treatment, and many of the Avengers stand vigil at the hospital. The doctors can't identify the problem, so Iron Man suggest to Thor that Don Blake may have a helpful opinion, and they go to Stark's Long Island complex. Hawkeye arrives at the hospital and sees two men dressed as aliens in the hallway. They escape in a smoke screen, and Hawkeye loses sight of them. He reunites with Beast, Scarlet Witch, and Vision near Captain America's room and offers to take over. Vision remains with him while Scarlet Witch and Beast go to get some sleep. The Assassin, watching these events, gets ready for the next move.

Robber: "There's too many of us! you can't beat us all!"
Captain America: "You know, I figure I've heard that line maybe a hundred times by now. But what none of you clowns take into account--is that I've spent a lifetime training to be able to do just that!"

• The identity of the people who take out the contract on the Avengers is only revealed as several of their old enemies pooling funds.
• A billion dollars in 1975 would be $4,341,933,085 in 2013. Of course, the team has a lot more members now, so the cost per head would probably be less.
• A text page that features a list of Marvel publications for the month has the cover and plot explanation for the Squadron Supreme adventure that will actually end up as Avengers 147, but it is listed for Avengers 145.
• The Assassin's cohorts will not be well rewarded. Their costumes, weapons, and their payments are coated with a slow-acting poison that will kill them a few days after they complete their assignment. The two "aliens" that were spotted by Hawkeye are killed by their employer off-panel for making the mistake of being seen.
• The doctor attending Captain America in the hospital mentions that Cap saved his life in World War II. Synchronicity.
• It seems strange that Iron Man would go to Stark International to consult with Donald Blake. We find out next issue that it was to get a Thor Life Model Decoy.
• Hawkeye says, "What the heck." The artist of the issue is Don Heck.
• Captain America, though comatose in bed, still has his mask left on.
• The Bullpen Bulletins congratulates Steve Englehart on his marriage to Marie-Therese Beach.
• This month has the first appearance of future Avenger Jack of Hearts in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 22.

Avengers 146

The Assassin Never Fails!

April, 1976

Written by Tony Isabella

Art by Don Heck, Keith Pollard, and John Tartaglione

Lettered by David Hunt

Colored by Petra Goldberg

More men in alien outfits watch Avengers Mansion and have weapons trained on Wasp, Yellowjacket, Scarlet Witch, Beast, and the visiting Falcon. Captain America is in surgery at the hospital, and Don Blake is inserting counter-radiation capsules in his body to hopefully reverse the effects of the ray. A nurse offers Iron Man and Hawkeye some coffee, but Vision has no interest in it. Iron Man and Hawkeye begin to feel woozy, and they realize they've been drugged. Goons rush to attack them while they're weak. Vision takes on most of the men while the Thor LMD that is standing in for Thor is easily deactivated by a simple rifle blast. The Assassin slips a device on Vision while he's solid, causing him to collapse. The Assassin explains that it will supercharge him with solar energy and cause him to explode soon. After examining the Thor LMD, the Assassin confirms the theory that Don Blake is the real Thor, and the Assassin moves to shoot Don Blake. An arrow whizzes down the hall and entangles the Assassin's arm. As Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Vision explain how they recovered, the Assassin downs Hawkeye with a kick to his midriff and points a gun at his head. Donald Blake exits the surgery theater and jostles the Assassin with the door, ending the standoff. Vision and Iron Man disable the gun and blast off the Assassin's costume, revealing the nurse who had drugged them earlier. She throws a gas grenade to cover her escape and gets out of the hospital. She rushes to her squad of men, but they don't realize she's the Assassin, and they shoot her as a possible witness, killing her. The Avengers round up the rest of the men easily, and Captain America recovers. We later discover that the man who brokered the hiring of the Assassin was her father. This man's son, in grief over his sister's death, brandishes a gun at his father and promises revenge, but the father is able to get off his own shot first, killing his son. He turns the gun on himself, presumably ending his own life.

C-Squad Leader: "The plan is working to perfection! The Avengers are so concerned about Captain America that they've let their own defenses down."

• Iron Man reveals he has a LMD, Life Model Decoy, of Thor handy. It stands around while Don Blake does surgery to protect his secret identity. The Assassin's plan to destroy Thor was to focus the electrical power of the entire city through the hospital's generator room. Since the LMD is taken out with one blast, this plan is never developed.
• The Assassin's men all have a sword insignia on their masks that match the one on her tunic. Not very low-key.
• The Avengers call on the expertise of Mister Fantastic and Bill Foster off-panel, but neither is seen. Mister Fantastic comes up with the radiation theory that they act on.
• The poison meant to affect Hawkeye and Iron Man doesn't work. The poison was meant to kill them upon reaching their hearts, but Iron Man has an artificial heart that is not affected. Hawkeye just vomited up the poison before it took effect because of his, he claims, "glass stomach." He is knocked out with a kick to the stomach after he says this. (I like to think he ate some bad chili while working out in the west with Two-Gun Kid.)
• The Assassin does mention Moondragon as being an Avengers member, even though she doesn't appear in the story.
• The defeated thugs are noted as dying several days after the story from the poison in their outfits. Donald Blake and Henry Pym develop an antidote, but 14 of the men die first.
• No more of the Assassin or her family are seen again in future stories. Her name was Maria, and her brother's name was Angelo.
• This month's issue of Marvel Team-Up (1972) 44 features over half the team. The title guest star is Moondragon, but it also features Vision, Scarlet Witch, Iron Man, and Avengers Mansion. Since Iron Man is wearing a helmet with no nose and Moondragon is still with the team, it probably takes place somewhere between Avengers 149 and 150, though it doesn't fit there easily.

Avengers 150

Avengers Assemble!

August, 1976

Written by Steve Englehart and Stan Lee

Art by George Pérez, Jack Kirby, John Tartaglione, Duffy Vohland, and Dick Ayers

Lettered by Denise Wohl and Art Simek

Colored by Irene Vartanoff

The team and its allies meet to discus who will be on the next team roster. The public is aware of the meeting and gathers outside along with the press. Newsman Sam Reuther tells of the history of the Avengers, which leads into a tale from the first major membership shake-up the team underwent. Inside, Thor announces that he will be leaving the team, but will always remain to aid them if called upon.

Thor: "I have remained with ye more from vanity than from need. Ye have prospered without me on other occasions. Mayhap, in my heart of hearts, I did not appreciate that."

• Archie Goodwin is credited as editor. He became Editor-in-Chief at Marvel in the spring of 1976, replacing Gerry Conway, who only held that position for a few weeks. Goodwin had a long history as a writer and editor at various publishers.
• The narrator of the Nero Wolfe mystery novels is Wolfe's assistant, a character named Archie Goodwin. Those stories began to appear in 1934, three years before Goodwin was born. The real Goodwin succeeded Marv Wolfman as editor of Avengers.
• The reprint material comes from Avengers 16, another issue that dealt with a public changing of the membership. There are only six pages of original story and 12 pages of the reprinting.
• This is the first Avengers credit for Duffy Vohland and Irene Vartanoff. The two of them only work on this issue and Avengers Annual 6.
• Reporter Sam Reuther has been seen before in Avengers. He works for CBS and is reporting to a "Walter," probably Walter Cronkite, who was the CBS News anchor until 1980.
• At the end of the reprinted portion of the story, none of the original founding Avengers had remained on the team. When the current lineup is announced in issue 151, most of the original members have returned.
• During the Avengers meeting, Scarlet Witch jokes about reviving the Lady Liberators team from issue 83. If you take the issue numbers of this issue and the reprint material, 150 plus 16, their average is exactly 83.
• Thor makes a mention of Iron Man's new armor, the Mark V, without the nose. It premiered in Iron Man (1968) 85 in April, but this is its first appearance in this series.
• Iron Man loses his "nose" in the same story that the writer leaves. I'm sure there's some reference to management "cutting off its nose to save its face" that I could make.
• The symbol on the back of Iron Man's chair is below. It is the alchemical symbol for iron as well as the symbol for man. He only has it appear once, since it applies to both words in his name.

• Beast and Hellcat sit at chairs with no symbols on the back.
• Thor talks about elections for Chairman, when previously that job rotated among the members.
• The Bullpen Bulletins talks about the return of Wonder Man in Avengers 150, but because of the story being split, he won't appear until next issue, unless you count a brief flashback of him. 

Avengers 151

At Last: The Decision!

September, 1976

Written by Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, and Jim Shooter

Art by George Pérez and John Tartaglione

Lettered by Irv Watanabe

Colored by Don Warfield

News reporter Sam Reuther continues to recap moments in Avengers history outside the mansion. Around the country, various other superhumans are seen responding to the news coverage, including former Avengers Black Widow and Hercules. Inside, the team tries to decide who will be on the new roster. Discussion is also made of a new membership status, either called detached or special status, that would only involve being on call for more dire emergencies, much like Hawkeye is currently doing. The core team begins to form up, including Iron Man, Captain America, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Wasp. Yellowjacket decides he does not want to join and leaves the meeting. Moondragon also turns down membership, feeling she must have her freedom. After some discussion, Beast is also made a full member. Iron Man is willing to have one further member only, and they offer that spot to Hellcat. She enthusiastically accepts, but Moondragon objects, telling Hellcat she must come with Moondragon for further training. Hellcat agrees to this, and the two heroines are given special Avengers status. Yellowjacket returns to the meeting and announces that he will take the final spot after all. The new team of seven goes out to the press to announce their roster. A large crate nearby shatters from the inside, revealing a dazed Wonder Man, who accuses Vision of having stolen his mind.

Iron Man: "I get the feeling...an era has just passed!"

• With this issue, the price goes up to 30₵. This equates to $1.23 in 2013 dollars.
• Jack Kirby is the artist for this cover and the next seven covers.
• No editor is credited on this issue. Some other sources list Gerry Conway as editor, and that fits with the writer/editor post that Marvel was using around this time.
• This is the first Avengers issue Jim Shooter has writing credit on. He will become the regular writer of the series with issue 158.
• The word "Assemble" almost appears to be part of the title on the cover. There will eventually be Avengers Assemble comics beginning in 2010, as well as it being the name of an animated series and the British title of the 2012 Avengers theatrical film.
• The Thing is in his human form of Ben Grimm when he appears here. In Fantastic Four (1961) 167, exposure to the Hulk's gamma-powered body caused him to revert to normal. Mister Fantastic built him a powered exoskeleton that looks just like the Thing did, and he is wearing it in this issue with the helmet off. This is the same exoskeleton currently worn by Darla Deering as Miss Thing in the current FF (2013) series
• The Thing is seen drinking Shotz Beer. This is the beer company Laverne and Shirley work for on Laverne and Shirley.
• The letters page promises an upcoming Giant-Size Avengers 6, but instead the story will be printed as Avengers Annual 6.
• There is an editorial apology on the letters page about the reprint pages appearing in issue 150. It explains how the six original pages in 150 and most of the pages in issue 151 were meant to be one full story in issue 150. The editorial explanation for the snafu is that "Steve Engelhart" (it was spelled wrong on the letters page) failed to finish the script on time, necessitating the reprint. Jim Shooter finished the script for 151, but it was now six pages short. Gerry Conway wrote the additional six pages, which consist of full-page interludes and subplots.
• An older gentleman reacts to the news in his hotel room. He will be revealed as Robert Frank, the Whizzer, in issue 153.
•  A mystery villain plots revenge on the Wasp, talking about how he offered her his love in the past. I almost forgot Living Laser was smitten with her back in issue 34.
• Iron Man becomes chairman with this issue after Thor leaves.
• Yellowjacket toys with the idea of instead joining the Defenders, as there's less time pressure on his career as a scientist.
• Iron Man calls Moondragon an applicant here, but sources like the later Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe list issue 137 as the issue she had joined the team. With Moondragon, "maybe" means "yes."
• In the sequence where Moondragon tells Hellcat she must leave the team for training, it is implied she uses mental manipulation. Hellcat does a complete turnaround from enthusiastically joining the team and stutters, "I-I must! I mean--I do need training..." Moondragon will indeed train her, increasing Hellcat's combat skills and bringing out some of her psychic potential.
• Wonder Man's crate does not have any airholes, but it's all right. He doesn't need to breathe.
• Wonder Man last appeared in Giant-Size Avengers 3, but to him, the last thing he remembers is his death way back in Avengers 9.
• The Bullpen Bulletins mentions that "Steve Engelhart" (misspelled again!) is producing horoscopes professionally. This might be true, or perhaps it's some kind of coded dig at him as he was quitting the company. Or both.
• This month features the first appearances of two future Avengers. Sersi debuts in Eternals (1976) 3, and Richard Rider, the first Nova, stars in his own new series, Nova (1976).

Avengers 152

Nightmare in New Orleans!

October, 1976

Written by Gerry Conway and Steve Englehart

Art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Petra Goldberg

Wonder Man continues to repeat the same accusation against Vision and suddenly collapses into unconsciousness. The Avengers take him inside, and analysis shows he is definitely alive, not an undead being. Scarlet Witch investigates the crate and finds some dirt. She focuses on it mystically and gets a vision of men performing a ritual, and the location of New Orleans springs into her mind. The team takes Wonder Man there in a Quinjet. Scarlet Witch senses that a man nearby is involved, so the Avengers interrogate him. He admits little until the Scarlet Witch whispers something unsettling to him, and he tells them to go to Le Mort Bayou. On the way the way, Wonder Man revives and begins to shamble forward in a dazed state, talking about responding to a call. The team follows him and come upon a group dancing around a bonfire and performing a ritual. Corpses rise out of the ground and, along with Wonder Man, they present themselves to the Black Talon. He is  surprised to see Wonder Man there and mentions that they have another master who had sent him to New York for a purpose, but now that he has failed, Wonder Man must be destroyed. The Avengers attack the group and have little trouble until the serpent god Damballa is summoned to the swamp. Although merely lurking nearby, its mere presence causes everyone, including the Avengers, to fall, crushed under a mystical force. Only the Scarlet Witch is unaffected. Hearing Black Talon call Damballa a "dark god" and seeing it keep to the shadows, she hurls a branch from the bonfire toward it, causing it to retreat from the light and leave the dimension. Without this support, Black Talon is defeated, but he can give no more information about how Wonder Man was revived or who he was really working for. Scarlet Witch, despite being instrumental in this whole adventure, feels she needs some time alone to further develop and announces she must leave the team for the moment.

Yellowjacket: "I'm not a swashbuckler anymore. I'm a grown man--and I feel kind of silly chasing around playing hero."

Vision: "There are questions which require answers, questions which I must ask myself--concerning my 'immortal soul.'"

• Gerry Conway becomes the writer/editor starting with this issue. He used a plot that had been created by Steve Englehart before his departure.
• Including issues he collaborated on and Giant-Size Avengers, Steve Englehart was writer on 48 issues of Avengers, making him the second-most prolific writer on the series to date.
• The Black Talon has four fingers on his gloves on the cover. Inside the issue, he has five fingers. An actual rooster would have four claws--three in the front and one spur in the back. In the interior art, he seems to have three toes and a spur on his footwear, but the angles used make that inconclusive.
• This story is said to occur exactly 42 seconds after the end of the last issue. That's oddly specific.
• The story uses the term "zuvembie" rather than "zombie" to describe Wonder Man and the corpses. The Comics Code Authority, which determined what was "suitable" for young readers, did not allow the use of certain terms, and "zombie" was one of them, so this was a stopgap term. It comes from Robert E. Howard's 1938 story "Pigeons from Hell." The word "zombie" will come back into use in Code-approved comics in 1989. The term "zombie" could still be used in other series that did not use the Comics Code, like Tales of the Zombie.


Newsman Sam Reuther's hair changes from being dark in previous issues to reddish in this issue. Perhaps it's a side effect of seeing a zuvembie!
While unconscious, Wonder Man mutters about "the silver shadow" and "the reaching hand." Most later evidence seems to point to his reference being to Ultron, but this plot point is only indirectly picked up in subsequent issues.
In New Orleans, Beast carries around the unconscious Wonder Man over his shoulder. They will end up having one of the stronger friendships on the Avengers teams.
• The character here is the third to have the name Black Talon. The first appeared in Captain America Comics in the 1940s, a murderer who was a white man with the transplanted right hand of an African-American criminal. The second died in a 1974 issue of Tales of the Zombie and was a fake voodoo priest with the same rooster outfit seen here. This is the first appearance of the third Black Talon, Samuel Barone.
• Yellowjacket has returned to using his shrinking powers and doesn't mention any ill effects that could arise from doing so. It seems the treatment used in issue 140 has made it safe to do so.
• Once the Avengers start the fight, Wonder Man is not seen any further. We have to presume he just collapsed again.
• Black Talon gets his power from the demon Damballa, aka Damballah. In the Marvel stories, there is a serpent god that is the son of Set and also an African god by the same name who also appears in snake forms. Since only eyes in shadow appear, it's hard to tell which one this is meant to be.
• Yet another future Avenger makes his debut this month, Captain Britain in Captain Britain (1976) 1, which was published in the United Kingdom. He would not appear in an American Marvel comic until 1978.

Updates for 8/21/13

Updates for 8/21/13 

     Normally I would like to compile more changes before adding an update, but right now the Marvel Unlimited site, which allows you to view Marvel comics for a monthly fee, also has some issues available for free at http://marvel.com/comics/list/623/get_started_with_free_issues. This month, they featured many of the appearances of the villain Thanos in their free section, including some that tied in to Avengers issues I have already featured. Avengers 125 is available to view for free for a time as well, at least on my Nook. I tried looking for it on the desktop and found a different set of issues for free, so you may need to use the Marvel Unlimited app for iOS or Android to find this particular issue, and it will probably be for a limited time.
     Anyhow, here's how I updated the old blog entries.

Avengers 125

• Captain Marvel 27 features the same scenes with Lou-Ann arriving at Avengers Mansion and Captain Marvel seeking her out. That issue was published in July of 1973, a full year before this issue. That's why keeping track of continuity can be hard, people!
• Captain Marvel 33 explains that this whole space adventure was a ruse to get the Avengers off Earth. Thanos used the Cosmic Cube to move Earth slightly into a different space-time so that when the Avengers returned, they could not interact with him and stop his plan. Mantis, with her full-body control, was able to partially counteract that effect and appear as an image to advise Captain Marvel.

Avengers 133

I updated Moondragon's membership as starting in issue 137 instead of 151. Sources like the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe use 137 as her induction issue.

Avengers 138

• There are multiple "Strangers" in the issue. Englehart will later create the Strangers comic book for the Ultraverse.

Avengers 141 to 144, 147 to 149

Avengers 141 to 144, 147 to 149 

Hello, George Pérez.
Did I mention George Pérez?
 George Pérez. Damn right.

Captain America; Steve Rogers
Moondragon; Heather Douglas
Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Thor; Donald Blake
Vision

Featured Allies
Beast; Henry "Hank" McCoy
Hellcat; Patsy Walker
Two-Gun Kid; Matthew Hawk

Disabled List
Wasp; Janet Van Dyne
Yellowjacket; Henry "Hank" Pym

     This sequence of issues features the first Avengers artwork from one the giants in the series, George Pérez. He had been an assistant to former Avengers artist Rich  Buckler, and after some other Marvel work, like Creatures On the Loose, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, and various other issues, he became the regular Avengers artist. He would continue to work on the series off and on for over 25 years and worked on a variety of crossovers with other companies, like Avengers/JLA and Avengers/Ultraforce.

     Avengers editor Marv Wolfman would have a long working relationship with Pérez. They would go on to create the extremely popular New Teen Titans series in 1980 as well as the maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985 for DC Comics, where Pérez had to draw practically every character in the DC stable. He didn't shy away from group books, and he would go on to work on the flagship group series for DC and Malibu Comics, Justice League of America and Ultraforce as well.

     Writer Steve Englehart had left the Captain America (1968) series a few months earlier, but he played out one of the storylines here and brought Captain America back to the team to finish it. Cap's investigations into the Roxxon Oil company got tied into storylines Englehart had also written regarding Beast's former employer from Amazing Adventures, the Brand Corporation. He also tied in

the Marvel counterparts to DC's Justice League of America, the Squadron Supreme. They hadn't been seen since issue 86 of Avengers, and they had parted on good terms with the Avengers. In typical superhero fashion, their second meeting resulted in yet another brawl. This time, we would get to see a bit more of the dark side of their universe and the sinister forces at work in their social order. Despite Englehart writing a Marvel version of the Justice League, DC must not have been too upset, as they hired him to start writing the Justice League of America comic starting with the February 1977 issue. Alas, he would not still be writing Avengers at the same time.
     We also get a taste of a Western adventure. It might seems strange to mix Western characters with superheroes, but this was 1975, and Western comics were on the wane, but still in the public eye. Marvel was still publishing Kid Colt, Outlaw; Two-Gun Kid; and Mighty Marvel Western, and those series featured several of the characters that were chosen to appear in Avengers. Englehart had planned to write a revival series of the Ringo Kid character as well. The first issue was drawn and scripted, but plans to publish it were abandoned.
     Since issues 145 and 146 can't take place storywise in between the whirlwind of events in issues 144 and 147, they'll be featured in the next cycle.

 Avengers 141

The Phantom Empire!

November, 1975

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Pérez and Vince Colletta

Lettered by Tom Orzechowski

Colored by Janice Cohen

Beast is attacked by a group of costumed men on the streets. Captain America had been following this group during his investigations of the Roxxon Corporation, and he joins the battle, sending the men into retreat. Beast takes Captain America to the hospital, where the rest of the team is visiting the injured Yellowjacket and Wasp. The team returns to the mansion, where they meet up with Iron Man and Moondragon, back from their trip to Castle Doom. Iron Man reveals his suspicion that Kang has kidnapped Hawkeye as bait. While the heroes trade information, Patsy Walker arrives, reminding Beast of his promise to involve her in the world of super-heroics. Moondragon decides that she and Thor alone, as the gods on the team, will seek out Hawkeye and Kang. They summon Immortus mentally and ask for his help to travel through time. On their journey, they encounter Kang outside the timestream, and they manage to overpower him. Kang flees, and they follow him into the Old West in the year 1873. The remaining members of the team try to sneak into the Brand Corporation, but they are discovered. Brand's security includes five members of the Squadron Supreme, Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, Whizzer, Golden Archer, and Lady Lark, who attack the Avengers. The Squadron subdues the Avengers, and our heroes are readied for captivity.

Iron Man: "We've been had by Kang the Conqueror!"

Vision: "Again? This is getting monotonous!"

Thor: "I must insist that thou dost mention my godhood no more!"

Moondragon: "You dislike being called a god before men, eh? You are so--so--egalitarian!"

• This issue marks the first by artist George Pérez and also colorist Janice Cohen.
• The cover is incorrect as to the Avengers' foes. The Squadron Sinister are a villain team from the Avengers' world. The next few issues feature the Squadron Supreme, who are the preeminent heroes of an alternate Earth.
• Steve Rogers has returned to his Captain America identity, giving up the Nomad hero identity.
• The Roxxon Oil Corporation was created by Steve Englehart in the Captain America series. It would become one of the premier corrupt businesses in the Marvel Universe.
• Patsy Walker hopes to blackmail Beast into complying with her by revealing his secret identity to the Avengers, but since they already knew it, this plan fails. Beast takes her along anyway.
• Moondragon demonstrates the ability to mentally sense others through time.
• Some of the Kang and Immortus plots were meant to lead into a story for Giant-Size Avengers 5, but that issue printed a reprint, so the story instead played out in the regular series. Kang and/or Immortus had already been in three of those four Giant-Size issues.
• It's apparently pure coincidence that Patsy Walker accompanies the team on a mission to infiltrate a complex that is guarded by her ex-husband, Buzz Baxter.
• Wyatt McDonald, the Squadron Supreme member formerly called Hawkeye, mentions he changed his identity to Golden Archer since he wanted to avoid confusion with the Avengers' member, Clint Barton. Barton took on the identity of Golden Archer one time in Captain America 179 to keep Captain America from recognizing him. Somehow McDonald found out about this and took on that persona for himself. His new name also more clearly parallels his Justice League inspiration, Green Arrow.

Avengers 142

Go West, Young Gods!

December, 1975

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Pérez and Vince Colletta

Lettered by Tom Orzechowski

Colored by Janice Cohen

Immortus, Moondragon, and Thor find themselves faced with not Kang, but a posse of heroes from the American West. They discover that Hawkeye is alive and holed up in the nearby town of Tombstone. The Western heroes take them to town to meet up with Hawkeye and hear what happened to him. Hawkeye had encountered Kang on his trip through time to the 12th century, and a trick arrow's explosion had thrown them both to 1873 Tombstone, where Hawkeye discovered that Kang had built a futuristic fortress and enslaved the town. Hawkeye slipped away from Kang's men, and, remembering the identity of the Two-Gun Kid from history, he sought help from him at his law office. After hearing this tale, Immortus shares that Kang's plan is to conquer the 19th century as a pre-emptive strike on the 20th. Hawkeye suspects that Kang will try to rob a train that services a nearby uranium mine, so the heroes, past and present, set out to defend it. Thor and Moondragon disguise themselves as passengers while Hawkeye and the Western heroes stand guard nearby. As Hawkeye predicted, a group of Kang's men attack the train, but the robbery is foiled, and Hawkeye proceeds to interrogate them as to Kang's next move.

Kid Colt: "Listen, ma'am, ah ain't ridin' nowhere with a bald-headed female up behind!"

Moondragon: "If you'd have me fly, Kid, I cannot! Ride on!"

Patsy Walker: "I guess you can't scare folks with words these days, huh?"

Captain America: "Sorry. It takes actions, just as it always has."

• Although Iron Man appears on the cover, he does not figure into the 1873 adventure at all. Kid Colt's horse is named Steel, though. Close enough?
• The Western heroes include the Rawhide Kid, the Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Night Rider, and the Ringo Kid. All five had started their own series in the 1940s and 1950s, so they had been around far longer than the Avengers. Most of those adventures are not set in Marvel continuity. They are explained as fictional dime-novel adventures written about the "real" heroes.
• Night Rider had previously been called Ghost Rider, but his name had been changed to avoid confusion with Marvel's modern supernatural motorcycle character. He would not keep the Night Rider name for long, as that term also referred to members of the Ku Klax Klan. He would later be renamed Phantom Rider.
• Although Night Rider and Hawkeye fight together here, Lincoln Slade, then named Phantom Rider and losing his grip on sanity, would later kidnap Hawkeye's wife Mockingbird and sexually assault her. Englehart would write those tales in 1987 issues of West Coast Avengers (1985). It doesn't end well for Phantom Rider, but though dead, his spirit would still possess his descendants and cause trouble for Hawkeye in the present as recently as 2010.
• This is first appearance of Two-Gun Kid in Avengers. He will become a reserve member of the Avengers during his upcoming travels through time.
• The Rawhide Kid would later be revealed as a gay character in the series Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather in 2003. This was part of a Marvel line of books aimed at older readers.
• In issues 4, 5, and 6 of the 1998 series Avengers Forever, Yellowjacket, Songbird, and Clint Barton in his Goliath persona come to this same time period to track down a chronal anamoly. That mission takes place just before the events of this issue. They observe Kang enslaving the town and battling the Western heroes. Songbird stops her team from interfering, because she knows from her history that Thor and Moondragon will soon arrive to take care of Kang. We do see the Western heroes' attempts to fight Kang, but they are outmatched by mind-controlled townspeople and a giant mutated Gila monster. The events of Avengers 142 take place after the Western Heroes had retreated from the town in these stories.
• Thor states in this issue that he detests firearms.
• Moondragon is excited to go back in time and see an old-fashioned train robbery, as she is experiencing what she considers her human heritage for the first time.
• A brief interlude shows us that the Avengers in the present have been imprisoned at the Brand Corporation in a cage constructed by Doctor Spectrum.

Avengers 143

Right Between the Eons!

January, 1976

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Pérez and Sam Grainger
Lettered by Tom Orzechowski

Colored by George Roussos

Kid Colt gets the password to Kang's citadel from Ace, the leader of the outlaws. Hawkeye, Moondragon, Two-Gun Kid, and Thor in his Donald Blake guise approach the tower in Western garb, but even they doubt they can surprise him. Kang appears on a viewscreen and welcomes them inside, having seen through most of their deception. He reveals that he had hoped to trap all the Avengers, but he'll settle for the few he did ensare. He lets loose a mutated coyote that has become a towering biped monster. Donald Blake slips away during the melee and manages to get to Kang's control center while the others battle the creature unsuccessfully. Blake transforms into Thor and attacks Kang physically, hurling him from the tower. Moondragon recovers from a stunning blow and shuts down the mind of the coyote creature. Outside, Kang uses a dissolution beam from his gauntlets to attack Thor. When they fail to defeat him, Kang increases the energy flowing to the weapons, but it too much for his own armor to handle, and he disintegrates himself. Upon Kang's seeming death, the citadel also disappears, and Immortus has a few moments to say goodbye. He reveals that he had hoped for this outcome himself, to be freed of the burden of all his past misdeeds before he also fades from sight.

Iron Man: "Every day, I see more wisdom in having helped found this team!"

Thor: "He destroyed himself! But if I've learned naught else in my immortal life--such is the way of the warrior!"

• The cover is a bit confused. It features the five Avengers from the present fighting the mutated coyote that is the threat to the Avengers team in the past. They never meet in the actual issue.
• All the Western heroes except Two-Gun Kid end their involvement with the Avengers in the first few pages. Two-Gun claims that since Tombstone is his town, he's in it to the end.
• The FOOM sound effect makes a return when Thor strikes Kang's force field with his fist.
• While in distress, Kang cries out, "By Lovah--!" I'm unsure what this refers to. There was a John Lovah who lived in 17th and 18th Century France who was claimed to live to 128 years old, but records can't support that claim.
• The normally frosty and reserved Moondragon is quite upset when Immortus dies and even cries about it. She appears to consider him another god, like Thor and herself.
• A short interlude shows the Avengers in the modern era escaping from Doctor Spectrum's cage. Although Vision cannot pass through its energy bars, Captain America jams his shield into the energy matrix, and Vision is able to pass through the matter of the shield and free the team from outside.
• Kang and Immortus only appear to be destroyed. Their nonlinear time travel and multiple versions mean they can still be active characters at any point afterwards even though this one set of beings dies. Immortus next appears in 1979 in  the Thor (1968) series. Kang would not appear again until Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars in 1984, but no one must have thought he was truly dead, as he gets a full entry in 1983's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe in the section for living characters.
• Stan Lee first talks about plans for Spider-Man and Hulk feature films in this issue's Bullpen Bulletins. The actual theatrical films wouldn't come out until 2002 and 2003, but the characters would get TV series in 1977 and 1978 respectively.

Avengers 144

Claws!

February, 1976

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Pérez and Mike Esposito

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Petra Goldberg

Although the Avengers are free from Doctor Spectrum's cage, they are still inside a Brand Corporation complex that is filled with security devices and surveillance. Among the devices are missiles that target the team. Iron Man dismantles their guidance system, and they blast through the exterior of the building, causing a public disturbance. The Avengers are separated while defending themselves. During a brief respite, one group discovers a costume similar to that worn by a previous superheroine, The Cat. Iron Man and Captain America, with some misgivings, suggest Patsy Walker use the costume, and she happily agrees. After the Avengers regroup, the Squadron Supreme is dispatched to their location for a rematch. The local police begin to arrive to investigate the missiles, so Hugh Jones, President of Roxxon Oil, who is monitoring events, sends the Avengers and Squadron through the dimensions to the Squadron's Earth to keep the police from finding them at Brand Corporation.

Patsy Walker: "I know you think I'm just a silly female, but what you don't know is I've waited all my life for this moment! You couldn't stop me with a team of wild horses!"

• A Cat costume was used previously by Greer Nelson. She has since been transformed into the Cat Person called Tigra, so she no longer had any need for the costume.
• The Avengers don't know where the Hellcat costume came from and assume it was The Cat's. Dozens of the outfits were made in the experiments that created her, so this could be any of those. It was later explained that the Brand Corporation was one of the funders of the original experiments featured in The Cat issue 1, and all the property from it is legally theirs.
• Greer Nelson had gained superhuman power from her Cat costume only because she was also experimented on in other ways to increase her physical abilities. Despite Hellcat thinking she has also became enhanced, it's later said the costume does nothing for her but increase her confidence in her own natural abilities. Her impressive feats over the next couple of issues suggest that Englehart intended her to have enhanced abilities. This was probably revised later, and that writer ignored her being able to fight superhumans easily in these stories.
• When Patsy Walker is thinking of her history, credit is given to the designer of one of swimsuits she's wearing in the flashback. Having readers send in designs for outfits and giving them credit was a common practice for romance and similar types of comic books in the seventies and earlier.
• Patsy admits she had a crush on Mister Fantastic and slept with his picture by her pillow. She appeared as one of the onlookers at his wedding in Fantastic Four Annual (1963) 3.
• Captain America has second thoughts about Pasty playing Cat, and he mentions Bucky and Roscoe as examples of what could happen. Bucky is still thought dead, and Roscoe Simons was a fill-in Captain America while Steve Rogers was the Nomad. He died in Captain America 183, prompting Rogers to return the Captain America identity.
• Iron Man says, "This is another fine mess you've gotten us into." He's misquoting a line associated with comedians Laurel and Hardy. The actual phrase was "nice mess," but since once of their films is titled Another Fine Mess, people often use "fine" instead.
• Hawkeye tells Thor that he's quitting the team when they get back to the present.
• The Avengers in the past get set to return to the present in Kang's Time Sphere. This seems odd since all of Kang's equipment disappeared when he did. In the later-printed Avengers Forever, there is a second Time Sphere that Kang had confiscated from the second group of Avengers that had already left 1873. If the Avengers Forever team left 1873 in Kang's first Time Sphere instead of their own, they would have left behind a working Time Sphere that was not tied in any way to Kang's existence, and this team might be using that one.
• When Vision calls Hellcat "Ms. Walker," she asks him to call her "Miss Walker." The use of "Ms." as an address had been used historically before, but became more prevalent as an official choice for women to use in 1972 after the launch of Ms. magazine in 1971. Rather than seeing this exchange as Hellcat refuting "Ms." as too modern, she is probably more focused on the fact that she was just divorced from her husband and has returned to her maiden name. She does however admit to being "not a big women's-libber" in issue 148.
• The letters page features letters from Peter B. Gillis. He would later write comics for Marvel, including a Moondragon tale for Solo Avengers and a run on Defenders (1972) that featured Beast and Moondragon.
• The letters page also has a letter from Mary Jo Duffy, who would become an editor and writer for Marvel Comics.

Avengers 147

Crisis on Other-Earth
May, 1976

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Pérez and Vince Colletta
Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Petra Goldberg

The five Avengers and Hellcat realize they have been transported to a city street, but the Squadron Supreme's demeanor convinces them they have gone to the Squadron's home world. The two teams begin a battle, but the Avengers back down when the army begins to arrive, along with the President of the United States, Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller is openly wearing a Serpent Crown on his head, clueing Captain America into the fact that the authorities are also going to be antagonistic. Vision goes to a low density and is able to remove the crown by surprise, giving it to Scarlet Witch. She threatens to harm the Crown, so the Avengers are allowed to leave. Despite being disconnected, Rockefeller is still under the Crown's thrall and can communicate with anyone else who has ever worn a Serpent Crown, so he contacts Hugh Jones on the Avengers' Earth to plot out his next move. While moving through the streets, Scarlet Witch feels a compulsion to wear the Crown, but knows not to do so. However, her internal battle causes her to collapse unbeknownst to the rest of the team, who unknowingly leave her behind. Vison doubles back to her, and she becomes verbally abusive to him due to the Serpent Crown's dark influence, attacking him when he suggests she hand it over to him. Hyperion, Lady Lark, and Golden Archer discover the two Avengers and attack. Vision manages to hold them off with a last-minute assist from Scarlet Witch, who has barely regained control of herself and surrenders the Crown to Vision.

Captain America: This whole world is a near-replica of Earth."

Golden Archer: "Or your world is a copy of ours, eh, Yank?"

• The story title beginning with "Crisis on..." is a bit of comic tradition for parallel Earth stories. It started appearing with great frequency in the sixties in Justice League of America (1960) stories by Gardner Fox that featured that team traveling to alternate Earths, just as the Avengers do in this story.
• Beast begins using his, "Oh, my stars and garters!" catchphrase in this issue. He may have used it before in Uncanny X-Men or Amazing Adventures, but this is the first time I noticed it in Avengers.
• The President of the United States on the Squadron's "Other-Earth" is Nelson Rockefeller. In 1976, he was our Vice President. We don't know what happened to Other-Earth Gerald Ford.
• Captain America is familiar with the Serpent Crown from his previous adventure with it in his own series. The version here is from the Squadron's Earth, but it is similar to the one he dealt with. In later years, we find out there are hundreds of them scattered across various alternate dimensions.
• Two sunbathers on the Squadron's Earth, a brunette and a redhead, are named Lois and Lonni. This is very close to Lois and Lana, the two best-known love interests of Superman who have the same hair colors. Hyperion is later said to have had a relationship with Lonni Lattimer, a fellow news reporter.
• Lady Lark and Golden Archer are revealed to have a romantic relationship, just like the Black Canary and Green Arrow relationship in the Justice League.
• Hyperion cries out "Helium and Argon!" when he's surprised. These two elements belong to a group of six elements called the noble gases. Another noble gas is krypton. Although Hyperion at this time believes he is from a planet named Argon, he will later find out he is an Eternal from Earth.
• Hyperion mentions his villain "Burbank." Emil Burbank, also known as Master Menace, does appear in later stories. Rather than being bald like Lex Luthor, Superman's nemesis, his hair grows at an accelerated rate due to an accident caused by Hyperion's atomic vision. Perhaps Burbank's name was selected to refer to noted botanist Luther Burbank as a sideways reference to Lex Luthor yet again. 
• Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid head west for their own adventures outside the Avengers. An editorial caption says they will show up in the anthology series Marvel Spotlight, but they never did.
• Vision calls the Serpent Crown a "damnable ikon." This is an alternate spelling of icon, but it may have been an intentional choice by Englehart. In his later Ultraverse series, he was particular in the use of the spelling "magick" rather than "magic," though he has yet to adopt that practice in these Avengers issues.
• The letters page has a letter from Fred Hembeck. Hembeck was a cartoonist who wrote and drew parody strips mocking both Marvel and DC characters. He wrote and drew the full-length Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe for Marvel and was a long-time contributor to their Marvel Age (1983) news magazine.

Avengers 148

20,000 Leagues Under Justice!
June, 1976

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Pérez and Sam Grainger

Lettered by Tom Orzechowski

Colored by Hugh Paley 

President Rockefeller addresses other captains of industry and reminds them how their rule of the country is due to the missing Serpent Crown. Back in the city, Captain America, Iron Man, Beast, and Hellcat realize that Vision and Scarlet Witch are missing, so they split up to search for them. Beast and Hellcat are attacked by Squadron members Cap'n Hawk, Tom Thumb, and Amphibion, but the Avengers team is able to win over the three despite being outnumbered. Captain America and Iron Man skirmish with Doctor Spectrum and the Whizzer and also manage a victory. The three pairs of heroes reunite and realize how dangerous the Serpent Crown is and how it has affected the Squadron's Earth. The Squadron Supreme meet at the White House with the President, who bluntly reveals how corporate interests are secretly running the country. This strange behavior is explained by the fact that the Avengers got there first, and Beast had used his mastery of disguise to impersonate the President and talk to the Squadron. There is a machine capable of traveling to the Avengers' Earth in the White House, so the Avengers make use of it and escape. Hyperion is ready to follow, but the rest of the Squadron feels Beast's words had a ring of truth, and the team decides to deal with their own Earth's problems first, letting the Avengers go.

Captain America (to Whizzer): "You rely too much on not rocking the boat! You have your definition of a hero, and I have mine--and mine includes being a lot more aware!"

• Hugh Paley will color only this issue and the next of Avengers.
• Original Avengers artist Jack Kirby returns to do the cover for this issue and 8 of the next 10 issues. He hasn't done any art for the series since corrections on the cover for issue 33 in 1966. In a strange coincidence after this return, deadline pressure will cause pages Kirby did breakdowns for in issue 16 to be reprinted in issue 150, so he'll soon be presented on the interior pages as well.
• The cover has Iron Man's faceplate with no nose and Thor fighting the Squadron Supreme. Neither is in the issue. Thor didn't travel there.
• The cover boasts the price is "Still only 25₵." The price will increase to 30₵ with issue 151 soon. DC had already raised their prices to that level in April of 1976.
• This is the first cover to use a UPC, universal product code, on the front. UPCs were in use for other items since 1974. The first 10 digits, 71486 02458, are exclusive to Avengers comics, and the last two digits, 04, will increase by one with each subsequent issue. The 02458 number has actually been on the cover since issue 89 in 1971, and it remains there under the issue number and month of publication.
• The opening page of the issue has the teams' rosters lined up in columns. Similar "roll calls" were more often seen in previous Justice League of America comics. The center panel never comes to pass and is not part of the actual story. The alternating blue and red lettering of the Squadron's name in the narration box is also evocative of the red, white, and blue Justice League of America logo.

• The issue title just happens to have "Justice" and "Leagues" in it, in case you forgot who the Squadron Supreme is meant to evoke.
• The Squadron's headquarters is called Rocket Central and is an orbiting satellite similar to the Justice League's satellite headquarters. Don't worry. The Avengers will get their own satellite headquarters eventually in Secret Avengers, as well as other off-world outposts.
• Whizzer claims he'll capture some Avengers "in a flash" in case you forgot which JLA member he represents.
• Hyperion admits he is excited for the teams to fight, as he wants to prove the Squadron is superior.
• Cap'N Hawk was formerly known as American Eagle in his last Avengers appearance.
• A brief interlude of Thor and Moondragon shows her accusing him of "slumming" with his weaker teammates in the Avengers.
• This is Amphibion's first appearance, as the Squadron didn't yet have an Aquaman analogue. His name is spelled with an "O" here and for several years, but he will later use the more standard "Amphibian" spelling.
• Iron Man reuses an old tactic from Iron Man 64, employing ultraviolet light to defeat Doctor Spectrum. He tells Spectrum, "I'm sure you remember it." The Doctor Spectrum in that issue was the one from the Squadron Sinister, not the same person at all. Iron Man may know at this point that this Squadron does have files on the Avengers' past battles, so that may be what he's referring to.
• An interlude shows that Wasp is eager to return to the Avengers, but Yellowjacket is not sure he wants to.
• The capital of the Squadron's United States is Capitol City, and the President still does live in the White House. Another city in the Earth-712 universe is mentioned as Knickerbocker City.
• By the next appearance of the Squadron's Earth in Defenders (1972), the team has forced Rockefeller out as President, and one of their members, Nighthawk, had been elected President.
• The letter column features letters from future Marvel staffers Peter Sanderson and Mary Jo Duffy.

Avengers 149

The Gods and the Gang!
July, 1976

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Pérez and Sam Grainger

Lettered by Tom Orzechowski

Colored by Hugh Paley 

Thor and Moondragon finally return to the Mansion and find the others still missing, so they go to Long Island. The rest of team are there at the Brand Corporation fighting a security team after returning from the Squadron's world. They defeat the multitude of soldiers, but all six Avengers are knocked out by a surprise punch from one new adversary. They are taken into captivity just as Thor and Moondragon arrive. The mystery foe is revealed to be Orka, and the two new arrivals begin their assault. Moondragon is downed by one punch, leaving Thor to fight alone. Hellcat is the first hero to awaken, and she finds the Avengers are tied up in a machine that is set to disintegrate them. She breaks free and overpowers Buzz Baxter, the Brand security chief. Thor gets Orka outside and summons a storm to successfully incapacitate Orka. Moondragon reveals she let Thor fight alone intentionally so Thor could discover that he could defeat a foe that had singledhandedly defeated the other Avengers by himself. Hugh Jones orders the Avengers to be killed, but he finds the Avengers had been freed while he watched the fight outside.

Thor: "Aid is always welcome when a warrior doth venture into the unknown, woman! But mark me well, prattle is not!"

Hugh Jones: "...even a god has his limits...while a corporation doesn't!"

• The "Foom" sound effect is used for either Iron Man's jets or Scarlet Witch's hex blasting a goon. The poor guy is certainly in the wrong place. It also surfaces when Mjolnir plows into Orka's face.
• Hugh Jones contacts Rockefeller for help, but the Squadron is no longer supporting Rockefeller.
• The disintegration equipment meant to destroy the Avengers is called the electro-incinerogram.
• Baxter tells Hellcat to tell her emotional problems to Mary Hartman. The parody soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman had begun airing in 1976 but would end soon in 1977. It would still have some influence, ranking 21st in a list of cult television shows in a 2004 TV Guide.
• Thor admits that he has made a habit of holding back his full strength in the interest of not killing mortal enemies or embarrassing his mortal allies with his superior might.
• Orka is an enhanced Atlantean whose villainous exploits were shown in previous Sub-Mariner (1968) issues. He is able to absorb extra strength while he is near actual whales. Orka is his original Atlantean name, not a code name. Orka is an ally of the Atlantean Krang, another villain who has worn the Serpent Crown, which explains his presence here. Orka won't be seen again until Avengers Annual 18 in 1989.
• Buzz Baxter will long harbor a grudge against Hellcat. The Secret Empire will give him superhuman abilities, and he will take the costumed identity of Mad-Dog in Defenders 125 and attack Patsy's wedding to Daimon Hellstrom. His sanity will start to deteriorate, making him truly match his code name. This Mad-Dog character is not the same as the Mad-Dog character featured in the situation comedy about a comic book creator, Bob, although Marvel will publish a comic book titled Mad-Dog of that television creation in 1993.
• Hugh Jones is not done with the Serpent Crown. (or vice versa.) He will appear next in Marvel Two-in-One 66 in 1980. George Pérez will also be the artist on that issue.
• The letters page features a letter from future Englehart collaborator Richard Howell.
• The Bullpen Bulletins announces that Englehart will be writing a comic book based on the 1967 Prisoner television series. Unfortunately that never came to pass, as Englehart leaves Marvel soon after. Jack Kirby would later take over the project, but it was not published. All indications are it was not an original story, but an adaption of the first episode of the TV series. DC did eventually publish an original four-issue series using that property in 1988.

Happy 50th Birthday

Happy 50th Birthday, Avengers!

     Back in 1963, on July 12, the first issue of Avengers hit the newsstands, making today the 50th anniversary of that issue. John F. Kennedy would be President of the United States for a few more months. People were just figuring out what these new "ZIP codes" were all about on their snail mail. The Great Escape with Steve McQueen was the number one film at the box office the previous weekend, making almost $3 million. The Beverly Hillbillies was the most popular show on television, and it wouldn't be in color for another two years. Little did Marvel Comics, an imprint less than two years old, know that it had hit upon its own mother lode in the Avengers franchise. (Okay, X-Men 1 also came out that month, and I guess that franchise did all right as well.)

     Marvel only came out with 14 comics that month, many of them Westerns, romance comics, and one World War Two adventure. Half of that output was relegated in part to its superhero comics. If a reader was enthralled by the Avengers and wanted to rush out and purchase the adventures of all the members on the team, that would include three series, Journey Into Mystery, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish. What are those titles?! Well, the superheroes weren't trusted to headline their own series. In fact, their stories were usually about half the comic, and another science-fiction or suspense tale would fill out the second half. Those are the series featuring Thor, Iron Man, and the team of Ant-Man and Wasp. Sorry. There was no Hulk comic. It had been canceled a few months earlier. But for 48 cents, 12 cents an issue, a collector could go out and buy every Avengers comic on the market that month. Avengers itself wouldn't even be published every month. For the first year, it only come out every other month. Only Millie the Model had TWO whole series to her name back then.

     Flash to today. Due in large part to a successful string of films starring Avengers characters, there's more new Avengers each month than ever. A new comic book series, Avengers A.I., just premiered this month. Including that and all the other various Avengers titles, (I'm NOT looking at you Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers!) you would find 14 issues on the stands to purchase, or the same as the entire Marvel publication schedule in the month of Avengers 1 in 1963. This is in part due to the fact that some series will now ship two or even three times in one month! If you wanted to add on the series that feature current members of the team, that's another 16 series to collect. Since each issue costs either $3 or $4 apiece, if you take the average price of $3.50, that's only $105 to get 'em all, and you'd be able to get a new one every day if you so chose. And that's in a month WITHOUT any major Marvel events going on!

     Even without comics, the brand is at an all-time high recognition. Every day brings news about the upcoming Marvel films and Avengers 2. Even yesterday, Vin Diesel may get a role as Hank Pym? Or maybe Vision? (Rearrange those letters to get I SO VIN!) Or maybe he'll play a tree! A new cartoon series, Avengers Assemble, premiered this month, featuring another version of the team that's quite close to the film. The new television season will have the live-action Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiering as a spin-off of the Marvel films, and even if no Avengers show up for a brief appearance, I'm sure Marvel wants to think they might. In the 50 years of publication, thousands of comics have come out, as well enough toys, games, video games, and other collectibles to fill Avengers Mansion from top to bottom. Yeah, I guess they have an Avengers Tower now, not a mansion, but I'm still blogging about issues from 1975, so that's what I thought of first. But until I get back to that, I couldn't let such a momentous day pass by without comment. So happy birthday, Avengers! Here's to 50 more!

     You're still not getting $105 a month out of me, though.

     If you want more information about Avengers 1 or how the series came about, I have blog entries on that from August of 2012 at the beginning of the blog timeline.
 

     The banner at the top is the "50th Anniversary" alternate covers of Avengers (2013) issues 3, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 copied and pasted together into one image. Since the year isn't over, I'm sure there will be more added. It's so tiny because I don't want you to have to scroll side to side. Larger copies are below in better detail. Enjoy. (No, I don't think Luke Cage's baby Danielle is officially a member yet, but she's still the cutest.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avengers 137 to 140

Avengers 137 to 140

New members are sought.

Enter space-born beauty, Beast,

and pair of founders.

Hawkeye; Clint Barton

Iron Man; Tony Stark

Moondragon; Heather Douglas

Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff

Thor; Donald Blake

Vision

Wasp; Janet Van Dyne

Yellowjacket; Henry "Hank" Pym

Featured Allies:

Beast; Henry "Hank" McCoy
Patsy Walker

On video only:
Black Panther: T'Challa

Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff

Captain America; Steve Rogers

Hercules

Quicksilver; Pietro Maximoff

     With the focus taken off Mantis and Vision, Englehart set about bringing in some new characters to mix things up. He brought in Beast, the character he had started writing before Avengers, as well as some of the locations and supporting characters from that series, including Patsy Walker, who would soon become Hellcat. He also began to feature the "runner-up" in the Celestial Madonna contest, Moondragon, whom Englehart had brought in from Captain Marvel (1968). The Marvel Universe continued to show how inextricably linked all its books were, as you never knew where stories and characters that had been abandoned would end up.
     Beast brought in his fun-loving, gregarious character to lighten the mood and would stay with the team off and on for the rest of its history. He has been on the Secret Avengers team as recently as 2013. He was not the only ex-X-Man to find a new home. Both Iceman and Angel would join another team of heroes, the Champions. At this time, the X-Men (1963) series had been only printing reprints for some time, and when the X-Men series was finally revamped, these three heroes would find new homes elsewhere. The X-Men managed to become an incredibly popular series without them, though. Beast will have to share many adventures with the Avengers before he's actually made a member, however.
    Moondragon was far from fun-loving. She brought a more dour demeanour to the team, though her mental powers were certainly formidable and helpful. As the new single lady on the team, she had to weather her share of comments about her great, if unconventional, beauty, but she was at worst uninterested or at best just unsure of human customs and never fell into the role of romantic interest. She only viewed Thor as being her equal and would soon lead to him doubting his place on a team of heroes who she deemed "beneath" them both in power and worthiness. Unlike Beast, Moondragon did not mix well with the Avengers, and her visit would be relatively short. Once the 1980s roll around, Moondragon will find herself again on a team with Beast (and the aforementioned Iceman and Angel) when they are all in the Defenders (1972) series.
     There was also a bit of a classic taste to these issues, as Wasp and Yellowjacket came back to the team, mostly because of Wasp wanting to get back into the superhero life. Yellowjacket tagged along, even though he continued to show some anger issues. Both heroes unfortunately end up sidelined by injury almost immediately on rejoining the team and will miss out on the next cycle of stories.

Avengers 137

We Do Seek Out Avengers!!

July, 1975

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta

Lettered by Charlotte Jetter

Colored by Phil Rachelson

Most of the the team return to New York from Vietnam, but the Vision and Scarlet Witch have stayed in the South Pacific for a honeymoon. Feeling shorthanded with only three members in residence, Thor proposes they look for more members. Iron Man nominates Moondragon for membership, and she is accepted onto the team. Many of the inactive members are contacted and refuse to join, but Wasp and Yellowjacket return. Hawkeye decides he will seek out the Black Knight in the 12th century, and he strikes out alone to use Dr. Doom's Time Platform in order to do so. A televised recruitment drive brings out only one potential new hero at Yankee Stadium, the former X-Man Beast. Before the Avengers can administer their own test, floating mines fill the air in the stadium. A voice from the shadows warns that one out of every five mines is primed to explode unless a disarming lever is pulled in the next six minutes. Thor and Beast recognize the voice as that of an alien menace, the Stranger. Thor, Iron Man and Wasp attempt to fly through the mines, but they fail and are knocked out by the explosions. Moondragon mentally paralyzes Yellowjacket before he can make an attempt and injure himself. Beast uses his superhuman agility to navigate the mines and throws the switch. Upset that no one was killed, the Stranger appears and attacks the Avengers himself, but Moondragon's mental attack on him makes him flee the scene.

Agatha Harkness: "...your Wanda will never be a great witch, much less a sorceress--but she will be very good!"

Yellowjacket: "Jan and I are a team. We're not together all the time, certainly, but I wouldn't want to be apart from her for any great while!"

• Despite Beast's comment on the cover about being an Avenger, he is not a member of the team yet.
• The star that heralded the coming of the Celestial Madonna is still in the sky. Apparently it also figures into a story line in Captain Marvel 38 and 39.
• The decision to reprint an old Beast adventure in issue 136 helped introduce him to readers of this issue, but he still retells his story to the Avengers.
• Vision and Scarlet Witch are off on their honeymoon in Rurutu. It's the same island on which they battled the Silver Surfer in Avengers 116.
• Agatha Harkness moves out of the mansion after her return from Vietnam.
• The former team members who turn down membership are Black Panther, Quicksilver, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hercules.
• Since his departure from the team, Yellowjacket spent some time as a Defenders member. His last issue with that team was Defenders 25.
• Yellowjacket announces he has a new weapon, a cellular disruptor gun which paralyzes living tissue. Later in the issue, Moondragon paralyzes him with her mental powers.
• Yellowjacket's size-changing drama continues. He cannot shrink without risk of staying permanently at ant size because the microbe that had caused a similar condition previously is still in his blood.
• Yankee Stadium is deserted because of construction. In real life, it was closed between 1973 and 1975 for renovations, and the Yankees played at Shea Stadium during that time.
• Thor tells Beast they do not need to know members' secret identities for people to join the team.
• While inactive as a hero, Beast spent his time reading books by Carlos Castaneda and listened to Stevie Wonder.
• This is the Stranger's first mention in Avengers, but both Thor and Beast are familiar with him from his appearances in Thor (1966) and X-Men (1963).
• This month features the first appearance of future Avenger Justice in Giant-Size Defenders 5. He is still a boy and has no powers yet, so he appears as civilian Vance Astrovik.

Avengers 138

Stranger in a Strange Man!

August, 1975

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta

Lettered by Charlotte Jetter

Colored by George Roussos

Wasp is in the hospital from her injuries, and the Avengers vow to go after the Stranger. They are assaulted by a mind blast while they are planning, and they see the face of the Scarlet Witch in their minds. Reasoning that the Stranger is after her location, they decide to lay a false trail. Thor and Moondragon fly to a deserted island to await the Stranger's next move while the rest of the team stays behind to monitor for the source of his attacks. Mental images of the Stranger do attack Thor and Moondragon, but the images are easily overcome. The other group triangulates on the energy trail, and it leads up into the Earth's atmosphere. Beast, Yellowjacket, and Iron Man find a starship and enter it to seek the Stranger. They are separated by a trap, and Beast finds himself alone and pursued by the Stranger. Taking advantage of a moment out of sight, Beast jury-rigs a disguise as actor Edward G. Robinson, which surprises the so-called Stranger and causes him to drop his mental disguise. It is revealed that the person assaulting them is really Toad, who had used the real Stranger's machines to camoflauge himself in the likeness of the Stranger. After being restrained by the Avengers, Toad recounts how he had built his own spaceship after being left behind in Arkon's realm and traveled to the Stranger's planet, which had visited once before with Magneto. Toad mastered some of the technology and planned to return to Earth and ask the Scarlet Witch to marry him, but he was enraged on discovering she had already been married during his absense.

Vision: "Beautiful night, eh, darling!"
Scarlet Witch: "I've never felt such peace, never!"

• The issue title is likely a play on the Robert Heinlein novel Stranger in a Strange Land, but you might grok a different meaning. In 2012, that novel was named one of the 88 "Books that Shaped America" by the Library of Congress.
• Somehow, five Avengers and a cabdriver make the drive to Avengers Mansion in one cab.
• The team is worried Hawkeye is taking too long to time travel. After all, you should be able to return home right after you left.
• This is newsman Sam Reuther's first Avengers appearance, but he had appeared before in Captain America (1968). He works for CBS news.
• Toad's mental attacks do not reveal Scarlet Witch's location since none of the team knows where she went on her honeymoon with Vision.
• Beast quips, "You betchum, Red Ryder." He's referring to a Western comic strip, "Red Ryder" that ended in 1964 and spawned a radio show and many movies. He's probably mimicking Red Ryder's young Indian sidekick Little Beaver.
• Thor busts on Iron Man by saying he can't be trusted to team up alone with Moondragon because of Tony Stark's known fondness for the ladies. He affirms later it was just good-natured banter.
• Yellowjacket refers back to the events of Avengers 14, when Wasp was also fighting for her life in a hospital.
• Beast calls the Stranger "Cesar Romero." Must be the mustache.
  

  
• Toad was last seen in Avengers 76. It's just a coincidence that a former X-Men villain came back when a former X-man entered the series, right?
• Beast, wearing simply blue trunks, is able to disguise himself fully as Edward G. Robinson in a full coat and outfit in a matter of seconds. Although he has stated he now has great facility with makeup, this strains belief. We have to assume he found the technology Toad was using to project images and was able to figure out its use in seconds with his often-overlooked intellect.
• One of the films that Edward G. Robinson starred in was called The Stranger. Maybe that's why Beast chose his likeness.
• There are multiple "Strangers" in the issue. Englehart will later create the Strangers comic book for the Ultraverse.
• Yellowjacket risks using his power by shrinking down to just under four feet tall to evade some laser beams. He starts to feel ill effects from doing so at the end of the issue, but no one else notices.
• There is another letter from future Eclipse Comics founder Dean Mullaney in this issue.
• Another letter writer, Bob Rodi, will later become a writer for Marvel as Robert Rodi, writing some Thor and Loki adventures, among others.
• This month features the debut of another future Avenger. Moon Knight has his first appearance in Werewolf By Night (1972) 32.

Avengers 139

Prescription: Violence!

September, 1975

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta

Lettered by Irving Watanabe

Colored by Phil Rachelson

Wasp is still injured from the explosion at Yankee Stadium and is recovering in the hospital. Her old foe Whirlwind attacks her there, but the Avengers defend her. His speed cannot get around Moondragon's mental powers, so he flees. Yellowjacket is still feeling pain from his shrinking, but he hides it from the team and leaves the hospital in a rage. He passes Whirlwind in his disguise as Charles, their old chaffeur, but Yellowjacket dismisses him. Whirlwind tries to attack again, but finds Beast and Thor are still there, so he decides to attack Yellowjacket instead. He goes to Yellowjacket's home and attacks, but when Yellowjacket brandishes the cellular disruptor, Whirlwind flees again. Realizing that Whirlwind should not be familiar with this brand-new weapon, he figures out that Whirlwind is also Charles and lays in wait for him at Charles' car. Yellowjacket forgets about his personal safety and uses his growing and shrinking powers to the fullest to battle Whirlwind. He is close to victory when he is overtaken by pain and left vulnerable to attack. Beast arrives at the last moment and fells Whirlwind with a final blow, leaving Yellowjacket to wonder how he will be affected by the wanton use of his powers.

Iron Man, regarding the surly Yellowjacket: "To think he helped found the Avengers!"

Whirlwind, on his chauffer cover being blown: "Someday, the light had to dawn--but I never would've supposed it would take the light years! You really are a fool, Ph.D.--"

• This is Irving Watanabe's first Avengers lettering job.
• The cover promises "Prescription: Death," but the issue's title downgrades that to "Violence." That's why you get a second opinion.
• The Avengers, as a long shot, bring Toad to Wasp's bedside to help with her condition, but he is unable to do anything.
• Even though Whirlwind is one of Yellowjacket's arch-villains, Whirlwind pokes fun that he can't keep up with Pym's name changes and calls him "Yellow-Giant" and "Yellowback."
• Whirlwind only attacks Yellowjacket and Wasp because they came out of retirement from superheroics. He thinks to himself that if they stayed retired, he would probably leave them alone.
• Whirlwind attempts to use his chauffer cover again, even though the Pyms fired him in Marvel Feature (1971) 9 without knowing he was Whirlwind.
• This issue features the first appearance of Patsy Walker in Avengers. She will later be the Avenger Hellcat. Well, we see her hands and feet, anyhow. Patsy was the subject of several romance comics in the 1940s, like Miss America Magazine and Patsy Walker. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had her appear as a guest at the wedding of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman in 1965. Steve Englehart later wrote her in as a supporting character in Beast's stories in Amazing Adventures (1970). Her romance stories were later explained as fictional stories that used her as a basis. Patsy's Walker's mother in the Marvel Universe was a comic book writer that wrote them.
• Iron Man and Moondragon go to Doctor Doom's castle to track Hawkeye, and they find that the Time Platform is missing.
• In an unguarded moment, Whirlwind sings a lyric from They Call the Wind Mariah, though he uses the alternate name "Maria." His enemy, Hank Pym's, deceased first wife was named Maria, so perhaps that's why he liked that alternate. This song is from the Lerner and Lowe musical Paint Your Wagon, which was made into a 1969 film that starred Lee Marvin and a young Clint Eastwood singing! Singing is rare in Avengers, but here's an instance.
• Beast drops a quote from a Superman newspaper strip from 1943, hinting that DC characters exist as works of fiction in the Marvel Universe.
• The last narration caption notes that only seven minutes will pass between the end of this issue and the next.
• The letters page features more letters from Dean Mullaney and Peter Sanderson.
• This issue has a notice about the death of letterer Art Simek. Including specials, he had lettered 44 issues of Avengers comics, making him the second-most prolific letterer thus far on the series.

 

Avengers 140

A Journey to the Center of the Ant
October, 1975

Written by Steve Englehart

Art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta

Lettered by Charlotte Jetter

Colored by Petra Goldberg



Seven minutes after his battle with Whirlwind, Yellowjacket is overcome with pain and collapses. While unconscious, his body starts to increase in size. Beast thinks that an experimental anti-mutation formula he created in the past may help Yellowjacket's condition, but it is stored at the Brand Corporation, the company Beast had been fired from in his secret identity of Henry McCoy. The Vision and Scarlet Witch decide to return from their honeymoon and come across Yellowjacket growing uncontrollably in the street. Scarlet Witch uses her magic to slow the process but can do no more. After battling through guards at Brand Corporation, Beast secures the formula and returns, but he needs to research the microbe in Yellowjacket's blood in order to tailor an antidote to combat it. Thor becomes Don Blake and, as a respected physician, vouches for Beast and gets the hospital's cooperation. After five hours of research, Beast finds a cure, and the comatoseYellowjacket has grown to 150 feet. The antidote must be delivered directly to Yellowjacket's heart, so Vision places the liquid into his cape and lowers his density enough to enter the body himself. He reaches the heart and releases the liquid. Both Yellowjacket and Wasp recover from their respective maladies.

Thor: "This man doth live his every moment for yon woman, Doctor! He hath done that which she would have desired...and if 'tis decreed they are both to suffer for 't, then 'twill be together now as always!"

Beast: "Now look, guard--I'm an Avenger--or rather I'm trying out to be--"

Guard: "Yeah, sure! An' I'm tryin' out for Peter Pan in the company play!"

• This issue sees a new editor for the series, Marv Wolfman. After a few story credits for DC Comics, notably on Teen Titans (1966), he got a job at Marvel to edit their black-and-white line of comics before now heading up the color division.
• Previous editor Len Wein held the Editor-in-Chief position for only about eight months. He became overwhelmed by the reponsibility of 54 titles a month and handling business conflicts and chose to step down, similar to the way Roy Thomas did. He went on to write several Marvel books instead, including Thor (1966) and Incredible Hulk (1962).
• Iron Man and Moondragon appear only briefly in this issue. The Time Platform they were looking for suddenly appears with blood on it. We will find out later that Kang sent the machine back to the castle in order to trap them.
• Beast mentions a Captain Baxter while breaking into Brand Corporation. Robert "Buzz" Baxter is Patsy Walker's ex-husband as well as the head of Brand's security. He'll appear next issue.
• Dr. Rich Horrigan, the doctor in charge of Wasp's treatment, turns out to be an old classmate of Don Blake, Thor's secret identity.
• Beast exclaims, "Holy Hannibal, Missouri!" I assume he chose that town since it was the birthplace of Mark Twain.
• Vision entering Yellowjacket's body is a reversal of the events in Avengers 93, when Ant-Man had to shrink down and enter Vision's body to repair him. Vision mentions this turnabout himself in this issue.
• This month sees the premiere of the Champions (1975) series. It featured ex-Avengers Hercules and Black Widow teaming up with Ghost Rider, Iceman, and Angel as a superhero team in Los Angeles. That series doesn't catch on and will  only last 17 issues.