Avengers 158 to 163 (including 169)

Avengers 158 to 163 (including 169)

 

Who's the real Simon?
Hey, isn't Thor out in space?
Ultron wants a bride?

Beast; Henry "Hank" McCoy
Black Panther; T'Challa

Captain America; Steve Rogers

Iron Man; Tony Stark

Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Thor: Donald Blake

Vision

Wasp; Janet Van Dyne

Yellowjacket/Ant-Man; Henry "Hank" Pym

Featured allies

Black Knight (body only)
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
Captain Marvel; Mar-Vell
Daredevil; Matt Murdock
Hawkeye; Clint Barton
Hercules; Heracles
Jocasta
Two-Gun Kid; Matt Hawk

Wonder Man; Simon Williams

     The Avengers welcome aboard a new regular scribe in Jim Shooter after Gerry Conway left the book. Shooter's run is especially well remembered for the lengthy Korvac saga, but before he got to that, he penned some shorter arcs, introducing archvillain Graviton and Avengers ally Jocasta to the pantheon of characters.

     Shooter had already had a career in comic books since he was 14 years old, though he was now a mature 25 years old He had sent in some Legion of Super-Heroes tales to DC Comics, and they liked them enough to commission him for more comic scripts starting in 1966, while he was still in high school. He created stories for DC for several years, but eventually ended up in the Marvel office as a writer and assistant editor. He had started contributing to Avengers with issue 151 in conjunction with others and now become sole credited writer. Since he was not a writer/editor, Editor-in-Chief Archie Goodwin became editor of Avengers.
     In a strange coincidence, this entry is being posted on Jim Shooter's birthday, September 27.

 

Avengers 158
When Avengers Clash!!

April, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Sal Buscema and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Joe Rosen

Colored by Don Warfield
 

Seeing Scarlet Witch lean on Wonder Man after the battle with the Black Knight statue enrages Vision, so he attacks Wonder Man. The rest of the team revive, and Iron Man advises they let the two fight it out. Once both are staggered, Iron Man threatens Vision with suspension, and the battle ends. At a research center in the Canadian Rockies, we find the staff is being terrorized by scientist Franklin Hall. He displays amazing power over gravity and lifts the entire installation and its surrounding landscape into the sky. Hall is smitten with a coworker, Judy, even though she is married, while another woman, Raquel, plans to ingratiate herself into Hall's good graces. We see how Hall was working with a teleportation beam when an accident scrambled his molecules, giving him mastery over gravity. He chooses the name Graviton and dons a costume in his new identity. The Avengers and Wonder Man arrive, having been alerted by Judy's husband, Joe. Despite the eight-to-one odds, Graviton is able to overwhelm the entire Avengers team, leaving them all unconscious. During the fight, Raquel attacks Judy and stashes her in a closet so she may join Graviton in his victory.
 

Iron Man: "Wonder Man, you're a guest here in Avengers Mansion. I'll thank you not to wreck it--"
 

Jarvis: "Uh, sir, should I clean up the stone gentleman, or...call the morgue?"

Captain America: "Uh, neither, Jarvis! We'll take care of...it, I suppose!"
 

• Archie Goodwin resumes his editorial duties with this issue.
• The cover says "only the victor remains." They're both just fine at the end of the fight. Vision's sometimes secret identity is named Victor, though.
• The title is a bit of a misdirect. Wonder Man isn't an Avenger yet.
• Vision, embracing a new machinelike attitude, says he will soon relinquish his wife. He changes his mind about that.
• Vision uses a disruption attack on Wonder Man, but it does not defeat him, to Vision's surprise. Vision says no human can resist this attack, but Wonder Man's body has changed to a flesh-like substance that is powered by ionic energy--in other words, not a true human.
• Iron Man digs himself out from under a computer towards the start of this issue, but he was just lying on the ground at the end of the last one.
• Captain America says that they will take care of the ruined statue. Doctor Strange eventually comes to reassemble the statue in Doctor Strange (1974) 35, but this isn't until 1979. Doctor Strange investigates the whereabouts of Dane Whitman's soul until Doctor Strange 37, during which time the statue is possessed by yet another entity. It ends up inert and in pieces at Dane Whitman's estate in England at the end of those stories.
• This is the first appearance of Graviton, who will become a recurring high-level threat. In 2013, he is currently serving as Minister of Science on the High Council of AIM, Advanced Idea Mechanics.
• Franklin Hall, Graviton, is a Canadian citizen. There is also a Canadian Frank Hall who was on the 1972 Canadian Olympic sailing team.
• Wonder Man's power has mysteriously increased back to its normal peak. He thinks it happened after being defeated by the Black Knight statue. I think it happened after Shooter became regular writer.

Avengers 159
Siege by Stealth and Storm!

May, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Sal Buscema and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Doc Martin
 

Graviton gloats after his victory over the Avengers. He is upset to find out that Raquel has hurt Judy and annoyed by the other scientists fighting against him, so he removes everyone but Judy from the complex by tossing them all over the edge and lowering them to Earth gently. He transports the installation eastward all the way to New York City with his hostages. A gravitic force field around the island keeps out the Air Force. Jarvis is perturbed by events, but Black Panther and Thor soon arrive at the Mansion to attempt a rescue mission. Thor's hammer is able to shatter the barrier, and he engages Graviton while Black Panther approaches the trapped Avengers with a field disruptor in order to free them. Iron Man manages to free himself before the Black Panther intervenes, and he goes to aid Thor, who is sorely pressed by Graviton. The rest of the Avengers quickly follow, but Graviton is able to encase them all in a force field. When Graviton attempts to boast to Judy, he finds she is no longer there. He follows a trail to the edge of the floating island and despairs that she has thrown herself over the edge. Blaming the Avengers, he summons all his power for one attack and loses control. The entire island collapses onto Graviton's body and falls toward the city below. Wonder Man, Thor, Vision, and Iron Man use their super strength to catch the small, but dense sphere and hurl it out to sea. The heroes mourn the loss of Judy, but on returning home, they find that Jarvis had been on his way to Graviton's island on an Avengers sky-sled, and he caught her as she fell.
 

Iron Man: "Thor's on the ropes! That's...hard to believe!"
 

• Graviton claims he's "Lord of the Fundamental Force" on the cover. There are actually four "fundamental forces" in physics, which are gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces. If you think he should team up with three other villains that represent those other forces, he will in West Coast Avengers (1985) 12.
• "Doc Martin" seems to be a pseudonym sometimes used when various people team up to get the work done. "D.R. Martin" is another.
• In a scene back at the Mansion, we see there is a bookshelf with action-figure-sized statuettes of the team members and Wonder Man for some reason.
• Jarvis assumes Black Panther is busy with his own problems. Black Panther had just started starring his own comic series two months previously.
• The Avengers "sky-sled" it not actually seen, just mentioned, but this seems to be its first use.
• Jarvis says the "They also serve who only stand and wait" John Milton quote again this issue. He refutes the quote a bit by later following after the Avengers and saving Judy's life on the way there.
• Graviton goes to New York City because the United Nations is there to be intimidated into surrender.
• Daredevil briefly appears in New York, but he admits he would be of little help and can't reach the floating island.
• As a scientist, Graviton only gives Thor the benefit of "supposed godhood," but then he declares he himself may now be a god if Thor is to be an example.
• Graviton appears, in a fashion, in the third episode of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD in his civilian guise of Franklin Hall. He was played by actor Ian Hall, who had previously played the far more villainous role of Adolf Hitler.



And, yes, they said he's Canadian, because they wouldn't want to change anything.
 

• Thor has been out in space in his own series for several months on an extended saga, so he should not be appearing here at all. We find out much later that from Thor's appearance here until the Collector's supposed death, the Collector has been "collecting" Thor from different points in time and sending him into battle to help the Avengers. This situation becomes clearer over time, but no mention is made of it here.
• Judy and Jarvis become friends after the rescue. He becomes "like a second father" to her. He later takes her to the DMV to get a driver's license in Marvel Two-In-One Annual 4, which is also Graviton's next appearance.
• A letter writer asks for new characters Nova and Iron Fist to be added to the Avengers team. Both will join, but not until the 21st century.

Avengers 160
...The Trial!
June, 1977
Written by Jim Shooter
Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos
Lettered by Denise Wohl
Colored by Roger Slifer and David Anthony Kraft
 
After several Avengers leave the Mansion, Beast is ambushed by Grim Reaper in the wrecked lab. Wonder Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Black Panther attack their foe, but the devices in his scythe overcome them one by one. He has come to the Mansion because of the return of Wonder Man. He is determined to discover who is really his brother, Wonder Man or Vision, and he plans to destroy the impostor. He restrains the team with bands on their wrists that can cause severe pain, but they still have freedom of movement. Grim Reaper appoints Black Panther as counsel to the two defendants, and a trial commences. Both Vision and Wonder retell their histories, and Grim Reaper is shocked to find out many of his assumptions about past events are incorrect. Vision is set to announce that he isn't Simon Williams and end the charade, but Wonder Man has his own revelation and shows the energy field inside his body by revealing his glowing eyes to everyone. Seeing that Wonder Man has likewise gone outside of humanity, Vision finds common ground with Wonder Man, but Grim Reaper is unnerved and activates everyone's restraining  bands. Wonder Man, whose body has changed since the bands were devised, is unaffected, and he subdues Grim Reaper, destroys his scythe, and rescues the Avengers.
 
Grim Reaper, regarding Vision: "No! My brother would never marry a stinking Mutant!"
Black Panther: "So...you're a bigot as well as a fool!"
 
Grim Reaper: "Enough! So the Avengers killed you in battle?"
Wonder Man: "No! It was Zemo!"
Grim Reaper: "What?"
 
• The credits box doesn't list who did what job. Hopefully there was no swapping going on.
• Not only does George Pérez return for art duties, but the letters page says he will co-plot the series. He doesn't get credit for it in the credit boxes however.
• This is colorists Roger Slifer and David Anthony Kraft's first Avengers work. They are credited together as Sliferkraft. This is the only time they use that pseudonym. Both are more recognized for their writing work.
• The Yu-Gi-Oh monster/god Slifer the Sky Dragon is named after Roger Slifer. He executive produced the first season of that cartoon. The Storm Shooter and Sonic Shooter Yu-Gi-Oh monsters seem to have no relation to Jim Shooter.
• Thankfully for Scarlet Witch, Vision becomes more human emotionally after this experience and he doesn't "relinquish" her after all.
• It's established that no one bothered to tell Wonder Man that his brother was now a supervillian or had attacked the Avengers in the past. On the other hand, Wonder Man didn't seem to reach out to his brother either.
• The sounds of Grim Reaper swatting Beast with his blade is "Kang!"
• After his capture, the Grim Reaper isn't seen again until Vision and Scarlet Witch (1982) 3. Based on his experience here, he then tries to kill both Wonder Man and Vision.
• The May issue, Captain Marvel (1968) 50, features the Avengers in an adventure around this time. The Super-Adaptoid attacks Iron Man and then goes to Avengers Mansion to assimilate more powers. Rick Jones is visiting there during the attack, and he transforms into Captain Marvel. When the Super-Adaptoid assimilates Captain Marvel's powers, it gains its own set of Nega-Bands. Captain Marvel forces those bands together, and the Super-Adaptoid is sent to the Negative Zone, and Rick Jones swaps places with him, meaning both Captain Marvel and Rick are able to be on Earth at the same time. In issue 51, the Avengers offer Rick a place to stay, but he turns them down.
• What If? (1977) 3 is published this month. The story is "What If the Avengers Had Never Been?" In this alternate universe, later called Earth-776, the team broke up after Avengers 2. When Hulk and Namor team up, as they did in Avengers 3, Iron Man builds powered armor for Ant-Man, Wasp, and Rick Jones to help him, even though they aren't Avengers. They can't use their armor effectively, so Iron Man goes to fights the two enemies alone. The other heroes eventually join Iron Man, but Iron Man is killed in the battle.

 

 

Avengers 161
Beware the Ant Man!

July, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Jim Shooter

While the team is checking out Wonder Man's new outfit, Ant-Man appears. Based on his comments and his expectation that Hulk and Thor should be there, he seems to think the Avengers team just formed. Everyone present is unfamiliar to him, so he considers them intruders and takes them on single-handedly. Wasp arrives and stuns him with a Wasp's sting and then informs the team of Pym's recent behavior. Multiple scientific failures had led to increased outbursts, and the day before, he had gone into a trance and flown away without a word. Upon discovering he had ruined his lab, Wasp came to seek from the Avengers and found the battle going on. While Iron Man preps the subliminal recall-inducer, Wasp and Beast go to her house to collect items to jog Pym's memory. While there, she is attacked by Ultron, and Beast barely makes it back to the Mansion in time to warn the others. Ultron crashes into the room and uses a new weapon, the encephalo-ray. He makes short work of all the Avengers, only given pause by a hex from Scarlet Witch. Once all the Avengers are down, Ant-Man feels compelled to fight Ultron, but is vacuumed up inside Ultron's new adamantium body. Jarvis returns to the Mansion to find everyone unmoving on the floor.
 

Beast: "What--? Ants?! Does this mean you had a picnic and didn't invite me?"
 

Captain America: "Don't you ever quit clowning, Beast?"

Iron Man: "Cap's right, McCoy! This isn't the time for your inane antics!"
 

Wonder Man, thinking: "Iron Man...took for granted that I'd follow his orders--as if he considered me...an Avenger!"

• Writer Jim Shooter does not color an issue often. He will only do one other issue of Avengers and five overall of any series in his career.
• The opening blurb on the first page is changed to a shorter version. It now reads, "And there came a day when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single super-hero could withstand!"
• Wonder Man debuts a new costume in this issue. It was designed by Beast. Who knew the Avengers were all hidden fashionistas?
• Wasp also debuts a new lavender outfit that she only wears in this issue. She does it to get Yellowjacket's attention.
• While being stung by ants, Scarlet Witch calls out for Quicksilver, even though he's not there.
• The Avengers contact old members to help Hank Pym with his memory loss. We see Thor is not available, Quicksilver's home of Attilan is in ruins, and Hawkeye is away from his equipment while working at a dude ranch, but the team know none of this.
• Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid are working at the Cheery-O's Dude Ranch.
• We see that Wasp has a framed head shot of Mister Fantastic on the wall at her home.
• The subliminal recall-inducer device isn't new. Hawkeye used it way back in issue 27 when he forgot the pass code to the viewscreen, and Hercules used it in issue 99 when he lost his memory.
• When Ultron reappears, he doesn't understand their surprise at his return. He reveals that he had helpers ready to recreate him in the event of his destruction. He points out that Captain America, Vision, and Wonder Man have also returned from supposed death before. (He didn't know Iron Man had as well.)
• Ultron also reveals that he had made a bargain with the Grim Reaper, but that the Grim Reaper did not keep up his end of the deal. He does not mention reviving the Black Knight statue, but the statue did wreck the Avengers lab that allowed the Grim Reaper to gain entry to the Mansion.
• Future Avenger Machine Man premieres this month in 2001: A Space Odyssey 8. He goes by the name Mister Machine at this time.
• Also premiering this month in Eternals (1976) 13 is the Forgotten One, who will later become an Avenger.
• This month features the premiere of Star Wars (1977) 1, the comic book. Marvel's business outlook was not strong around this time, but this series was so popular that it helped revitalize the company's coffers so they could operate with more confidence.
• Current Avengers cover artist Leinel Francis Yu is born in this month.

Avengers 162
The Bride of Ultron!

August, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Don Warfield
 

Thor arrives in the aftermath of the last battle and hears the news that Beast, Captain America, and Scarlet Witch are dead. He joins Wonder Man, Black Panther, and Iron Man to rally against Ultron. We see that Wasp has been taken to Ultron's lair and hooked up to a machine that will transfer her life force into an artificial body, one that Ultron plans to make his bride. He convinces Ant-Man that the Avengers are the villains and that Wasp's mind is being temporarily moved in order to heal her body properly. The still confused Ant-Man goes along with this and helps with the procedure. The Avengers have no idea where to find Ultron, but ants pour into the lab and spell out STARK LI on the floor. Iron Man deduces that this refers to an abandoned Stark property on Long Island, and the heroes go to that location. Ultron is surprised to see Wonder Man and remarks that Wonder Man should be in a coma, which reveals his beam is not as fatal as it had seemed. Ultron is a match for the heroes and is winning the battle. Ant-Man remains loyal to Ultron, so Black Panther is forced to stun him. Iron Man grabs the bride robot and threatens to destroy it if Ultron does not reveal how to release Wasp. Ultron informs Iron Man that this would kill Wasp as well, but Iron Man continues to bluff. Ultron does not want his woman destroyed, so he surrenders and flees. Once she recovers, Wasp says she did not send the ants with the message, and Ant-Man is still raving against the Avengers. No one knows who sent the ants, unless it was the now-inert form of Ultron's bride using Wasp's ability.
 

Wonder Man: "Still can't reach Hawkeye, huh, Thor?...Is he worth all this grief?"

Thor: "When thou has proven thyself a thousandfold thou mayest question the 'worth' of Hawkeye, my friend! I will disregard thy careless remark--this time!"
 

Thor: "Death to Ultron! Verily, this night we shall avenge our slain comrades, or taste death's bitter cup ourselves!"

• Thor's arrival at the beginning of the issue is another assist from the Collector. He should still be in space and unable to help.
• Although this is Jocasta's first appearance, she is not called by name. She will become a long-time ally and sometimes member of the Avengers, most recently as an instructor at Avengers Academy.
• Ultron thinks to himself  about how he caused Pym's memory loss, but he doesn't reveal it to anyone else. Many years later, Kang will try to take credit for some of Pym's mental problems, but this doesn't seem to be one of them.
• We see Two-Gun Kid reading a Marvel comic of Rawhide Kid. He mentions it's drawn by an hombre named Kirby. The Rawhide Kid comic book was still featuring art by Kirby, though reprints, in 1977. He is sitting under a poster that reads, "Wanted Kid Colt" as well.
• After the supposed death of several Avengers, Wonder Man begins to have a fear of his own death and starts to hesitate in battle. Ultron is even able to detect his slowed reactions.
• Ultron remarks that his encephalo-ray is just a variation on the coma ray that he built for the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper used this ray before Ultron and his Masters of Evil team was even introduced.
• Mjolnir striking Ultron produces the "Kang!" sound effect.
• Jocasta's design has what almost looks like a garter on her left leg. A garter is often part of wedding tradition, so this may be appropriate for an artificial bride's input port.

• Hank Pym is in part responsible for the creation of Jocasta, whose personality is based on Wasp's. He and Jocasta will later have a romantic relationship.
• Ultron says the comatose Avengers will die in a few hours unless the process is reversed. He never passes on information to cure them on-panel. In issue 166, we find that Iron Man was able to use the knowledge that the encephalo-ray was like Grim Reaper's coma ray and reverse the process using what they knew from issue 52.
• The Bullpen Bulletins has a blurb about the death of Bob Brown from leukemia. He penciled 11 issues of Avengers between issues 113 and 126.

Avengers 163
The Demi-God Must Die!

September, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by George Tuska and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Don Warfield

 

Hercules, Iceman, and Black Widow are flying in their Champscraft through the skies of Manhattan when Iron Man attacks them and causes them to crash. He manages to stun all three Champions, but Hercules recovers quickly. Iron Man recalls how the evil Olympian Typhon had appeared at the Mansion and captured Beast. Typhon had sought Hercules, not realizing that he was no longer an Avenger. With Beast being threatened, Iron Man summoned Hercules and the Champions under Typhon's orders and then set out to weaken them with a sneak attack. He had also hoped to communicate secretly with Black Widow, but Hercules' quick recovery didn't allow that to happen, so Iron Man keeps up the pretense of battling Hercules. Iron Man leads him to Avengers Mansion and manages to knock Hercules out before being felled himself. Typhon prepares to finish Hercules off, but Black Widow and Iceman intervene, soon joined by Beast, who freed himself from his bonds. This gives Iron Man and Hercules time to recover. Typhon is removed from the scene by his benefactor Pluto, who feels Typhon could not defeat all the heroes combined.
 

Iron Man, thinking: "If Typhon even suspects I'm sandbagging, I know he'll kill the Beast without a second thought! If I go down, it has to be convincing! It has to be real!"
 

Beast, thinking: "You're a real funny man--an Avenger, and not much else...yet for what you've been worth as a hero, lately, you might as well join a zoo!"

• Some copies of this issue sold for 35₵.
• Despite this being an inventory issue, except for the penciller, it has the same team as usual, and George Pérez does contribute the cover. It was also not a surprise, as the next-issue blurb in issue 162 mentions this was planned to be the next story.
• The Champions comic series was still being published, but bi-monthly. It would soon end in January of 1978.
• Only two current Avengers actually appear in the story, Iron Man and Beast. This could also have been a backup issue for Champions if needed to serve in that capacity.
• Iceman says he will create an iceberg big enough to sink the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner. That boat never sank by iceberg or other hazard. It went out of regular service in 2008 after 39 years of use.
• The "Kang!" sound effect is used when Iron Man dents a lamppost and later is struck by a fire hydrant.
• Iron Man at least mentions that Yellowjacket's memory is recovering, tying it into the previous issue. He speculates Wasp and Yellowjacket will return in a week or two.
• Typhon has had only one appearance once since his defeat in Avengers 50. He fought Hercules in Marvel Premiere 26 and ended up in Pluto's domain along with his "wife" Cylla.
• Typhon has been given extra powers by Pluto and now wields fire and lightning.
• Typhon claims he is a "scion of Typhoeus." That is just an alternate name for Typhon, and this character in later appearances will continue to be linked to the main Greek deity by that name, not as his offspring.
• Beast is the only Avenger to this point to have also been an X-Man, so this is a bit of a mini-reunion for him and Iceman.
• The Amazing Spider-Man pilot movie aired this month. Spider-Man won't be an Avenger for some time, but this is the first live-action Marvel TV movie to air. It won't become a regular, though short-lived series until next year.

Avengers 169
If We Should Fail--The World Dies Tonight

March, 1978

Written by Marv Wolfman
Art by Sal Buscema and David Hunt

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Ken Klaczak

 

Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Panther are at the Mansion when a man in powered armor bursts in and attacks them. Though he is fighting them, he reveals that his true goal is for the Avengers to kill him. Sensing something is not right about this, Iron Man is finally able to subdue him. Once his helmet is removed, Iron Man recognizes him as Jason Beere, a rival industrialist to Tony Stark that has access to wealth and technology. Iron Man keeps him alive, but unconscious, and tracks down Beere's diary and notes. They reveal that Beere wanted the world to end when he himself died and that there are four neutron warheads set to explode when Beere's heart stops beating. The three Avengers split up, each tracking one of the first three bombs, but they don't yet know where the fourth is. They each face different threats, with Captain America fighting natives in Peru, Black Panther grappling with a polar bear in the Arctic, and Iron Man facing down the Russian military. All three devices are brought back to the Mansion, but they are not bombs. They fit together to form a recording device which plays a taunting message. It says that Beere found out he would die due to illness within a month, which is when he hatched the plan. It also says that the Avengers were duped by false notes and that the fourth bomb will still be activated. Iron Man deduces that fourth bomb is attached to Beere's heart inside his own body. Feeling that surgery will be too risky, Beere is placed in cryogenic refrigeration so he can never die.

 

Black Panther: "Bizarre! Someone we've never met attacks us--demands we kill him. The ways of the civilized jungle still puzzle me."

• This is writer Marv Wolfman's only issue writing Avengers, but he had previously been the editor of the series. He edits himself in this issue.
• This is David Hunt's only issue for inking Avengers, but he had previously done lettering and coloring for the series. As for inking, he won't do another issue until West Coast Avengers (1985) 28.
• This is also Ken Klaczak's only coloring work on Avengers. He did a few other issues of coloring and lettering here and there. He seems to be friend of Jim Shooter, as his credits are tied to work Shooter did at DC, Marvel, and then Defiant Comics.
• This inventory issue of the series likely falls chronologically before issue 164, as the storyline gets very linear after that point. It could also have occurred before issue 163, but its location here puts it closer to its publication date and gives Captain America more time to recover from his Ultron-induced coma.
• Beere calls his armor a hyper-suit.
• Iron Man takes Beere to the Stark plant in Flushing, Queens. From other issues in Iron Man's own series, this seems to be the company's main headquarters in the sixties and seventies. It's not the abandoned Long Island plant from issue 162, though Flushing is also on Long Island.
• The devices Iron Man use to keep Beere alive are an Iron Man chest plate and an artificial respirator that he himself had used to stabilize his heart when it still had shrapnel in it.
• Iron Man is not impressed with conventional Russian weaponry, but he jokes that being forced to watch Captain and Tennille reruns might subdue him. This television variety show aired from 1976 to 1977, after which time the hosts, singers Captain & Tennille, asked to be let go from their TV contract so they could get back to touring. Since the show was not airing new episodes in 1978, Iron Man is correct in saying episodes would be reruns.
• This is the only appearance of Jason Beere before he is frozen. After this, he's just a prop. He recently had his own write-up in Avengers Roll Call 1 in 2012, though, so he hasn't been forgotten.
• Beere's code name of the Eternity Man is given to him by Iron Man after he is frozen and seems to be on the road to living forever.

Avengers 153 to 157 (including Avengers Annual 6)

Avengers 153 to 157; Avengers Annual 6

 

Conway edits himself.

Generals, warlords, monarchs

all can't be trusted.

 

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

Featured Allies/Enemies
"Black Knight" (petrified body only)
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
Daredevil; Matt Murdock
Doctor Strange; Stephen Strange
Hercules; Heracles
Hulk; Bruce Banner
Namor; Namor McKenzie
Valkyrie; Barbara Norriss
Wonder Man; Simon Williams

     Gerry Conway's tenure as writer/editor on Avengers was fairly short, only from issue 151 to 157, and he needed a little help to finish a couple of those issues. He was contributing to several other series at this time, so it's no surprise he needed some assistance. He will not make a return to Avengers later, and he soon jumped to DC Comics by mid-1977. His career continued to flourish, and he also made the move to writing animation episodes for shows like Transformers and GI Joe and feature films like Conan the Destroyer with fellow Avengers scribe Roy Thomas. In 1990, he began working for network television and produced and wrote episodes of Father Dowling Mysteries and several other series, including more than one of the Law & Order franchise.
    This time period also saw a crossover with the Super-Villain Team-Up series. This series had typically featured Doctor Doom and Namor, and they figure directly into these Avengers issues as well and lead Captain America to be in several later issues of Super-Villain Team-Up as well. The seeds of the Serpent Crown and Wonder Man's return continued from Englehart's run, and Conway continues to Wonder Man with the team in action and explore the reactions to his return. The team shows a little Christmas cheer in a short Holiday Grab-Bag story before Christmas Eve is soured in their own series by an unprovoked attack.

Avengers 153

Home is the Hero!

November, 1976

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Petra Goldberg 

Scarlet Witch goes by herself to investigate the whereabouts of the Serpent Crown after their previous battle at the Brand Corporation. She encounters the Living Laser there, who is after the Crown and retrieves it for himself. When Brand security attacks them, Living Laser disappears with the Crown. Back at the Mansion, the rest of the team returns with a comatose, but strengthening Wonder Man. Bob Frank, the Whizzer, is waiting to see Vision. As they talk, a light beam flashes in Whizzer's eye, making him go berserk and attack Vision. Other Avengers come running, but Whizzer also attacks them. From his comments, he believes he's fighting villains from his past, not the Avengers. Wasp and Yellowjacket are able to attack him by surprise, knocking him out. When they take Whizzer to the Lab, the Avengers find that Wonder Man had wrecked the lab and fled the mansion. Back at the Brand Corporation, Scarlet Witch engages the security team and is shot in the shoulder, so she retreats. In New York, Wonder Man begins to speak coherently. We see that he had been summoned by the Living Laser. The Laser admits to causing Whizzer's trance earlier, and he uses the Serpent Crown to take control of Wonder Man's mind.
 

Beast: "Since when was I elected donkey for this troop?"

Vision: "In many ways, you are our strongest member, Hank McCoy--and thus, you may sometimes be unduly burdened."

Scarlet Witch, thinking: "It isn't possible! After all the villains I've fought--I've been shot by a two-bit thug!"

• In the upper left corner box, rather than the Vision standing, he is now passing through "A" in the title.
• Scarlet Witch does not typically fly with her powers. It is revealed later she was using "an experimental flying belt," though it's not visible. A footnote in issue 164 was supposed to explain this, but that issue went to the printers without footnotes by mistake, so it was finally cleared up in the 168 letter column over a year after the fact.
• The explanation as to why the Serpent Crown is still in the ruins at Brand Corporation is they simply forgot about it and left it there.
• Living Laser was last a main villain in Avengers with issue 79. John Buscema was the regular artist back when that issue came out.
• The public thought that Living Laser is dead after a battle in Captain Marvel (1968) 35, but it turns out that was an android duplicate.
• When Brand Security attacks the Living Laser, they think he's with the Avengers. Silly goons.
• None of the team had seen Whizzer since the wedding of Quicksilver in Fantastic Four (1961) 150. They had feared he was dead.
• The Living Laser may take control of Wonder Man, but he mentions that he has no idea how Wonder Man came back to life.
• The story is said to continue in "Giant-Size Avengers" 6, but no such publication is printed. Instead it is Avengers Annual 6.

Avengers Annual 6

No Final Victory!

November, 1976

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by George Pérez, Mike Esposito, John Tartaglione, and Duffy Vohland

Lettered by Joe Rosen

Colored by Petra Goldberg 

Scarlet Witch returns to the mansion and warns the team about the Serpent Crown before she passes out. Vision takes her to the hospital, and Beast goes out into the street to look for Wonder Man, while the rest of the team tends to the recovering Whizzer. Iron Man tracks the Serpent Crown's energy emissions and detects it heading to California, so Iron Man and Captain America fly after it. Whizzer tells Yellowjacket and Wasp his story since he last met the team. He had hit rock bottom, drunkenly wandering the Bowery when a vision of his late wife caused him to recover. He had been seeking answers about his son Nuklo from the American government and discovered his son was being held prisoner in California. He then sought the Scarlet Witch and Vision for assistance. Outside, Beast is attacked by the hypnotized Wonder Man, but Beast is able to knock him out after a brief tussle. Iron Man and Captain America track the readings to a Pacific Palisades compound that is occupied by a heavily armed United States Army unit. The Army won't respond to radio communications and eventually fires on the Quinjet with a tank. The heroes engage the soldiers and their tanks, but the Living Laser appears on the scene wearing the Serpent Crown and defeats the Avengers with a surprise laser blast. We discover that Nuklo is at the compound as well. General Pollock was in charge of his treatment, but chose to go renegade and sell him to the Living Laser, who has upgraded his powers since his last appearance. After these discoveries, the rest of the Avengers and Wonder Man, tipped off by Whizzer as to Nuklo's location, appear and battle the troops. Vision gets the Serpent Crown off the Living Laser's head. Pollock releases Nuklo to assist, and Nuklo goes wild, attacking everyone, knocking out the Living Laser and General Pollack. Nuklo continues to grow in size and seems on the verge of exploding. Whizzer, who had been left behind in New York, appears on the scene at high speed and contains the blast. After the air clears, Nuklo and Whizzer are both alive, but injured.

Wasp: "Hank...the Vision's changed. We've all changed since you and I left the Avengers. It frightens me--even more than the Serpent Crown. I feel--lost."

Captain America: "...we should also say a prayer--for a man with the courage of Abraham, a father willing to make the greatest sacrifice of all--his son!"

• What happened to Annuals 1 through 5? The numbering is a continuation of the Avengers Specials, but the name has been changed to Annuals. Special 5 came out way back in 1972. It's a coincidence that next issue of Giant-Size Avengers would have also been issue 6.
• Jack Kirby does the cover for this Annual, much as he had been doing the covers for the regular series.
• Beast is the only Avenger to seek out Wonder Man. This foreshadows their strong friendship.
• Whizzer reveals he saw the villains Isbisa, Future Man, and Madame Death in his hallucination. Iron Man was Madame Death since no female Avengers were handy. He didn't see Wasp, after all.
• Beast ends up carrying Wonder Man back to the mansion over his shoulder. This is the third story in a row the poor guy is lugging unconscious foes around.
• The Living Laser learned about the Serpent Crown from a book in his prison library about the ancient continent of Lemuria written by a Dr. M.C. Higgins.
• General Pollock is next seen in Marvel Two-in-One 51, trying to invade the SHIELD Helicarrier. In that issue, Nick Fury mentions that Pollock had been out of the country since his defeat here.

Night Vision!

November, 1976

Written by Scott Edelman

Art by Herb Trimpe

Lettered by Irving Watanabe

Colored by Irene Vartanoff
 

Vision drifts through the city in his intangible state, lost in thought. He unfortunately stops and becomes solid in the middle of a city street. A milk truck smashes into him, but the driver leaps clear and avoids injury. The police arrive and try to calm the driver, but they take Vision to the station for causing the accident. Coincidentally Whirlwhind is being held prisoner at that station, and he stages a breakout while Vision is there. Whirlwind manages to get outside, but Vision pursues him and is able to recapture him. Vision claims he has wasted enough time, so he reassures the driver that Tony Stark will reimburse him for the loss of his truck and flies away.

Whirlwind: "He who fights and whirls away--will whirl and win another day. Good day, Vision!"

• This is a short eight-page story after the main tale.
• This and Avengers 145 are the only Avengers stories that Scott Edelman has written.
• This is the first time Herb Trimpe will do art for Avengers. He inks his own work for this story.
• A police officer mentions to Vision that the common citizens do tend to get upset when their property is destroyed by superheroes.
• Whirlwhind was defeated in Avengers 139 and has been in jail since. He is being kept in a regular jail cell with no extra security measures for a super criminal.

Avengers 154
When Strikes Attuma?

December, 1976

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Don Warfield
 

While dropping the Serpent Crown into the depths of the Pacific Ocean, Vision is attacked by a submersible. He investigates and finds Lord Arno and his warriors inside, and the Atlanteans manage to subdue Vision with a sonic rifle. After the Whizzer is taken to the hospital for his injuries, Triton, the Inhuman, arrives at the Mansion looking for help. Arno reveals that his master is Attuma, whose plan is to blackmail the Avengers into attacking Namor at Hydrobase. Back at the Mansion, Triton betrays himself to be a disguised Atlantean when he lacks knowledge of Quicksilver's current affairs. Tyrak is not a typical Atlantean and shows off his increased strength and handy weaponry by beating Scarlet Witch, Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, and Yellowjacket by himself. Only Beast is left standing, and he escapes through the window rather than be captured. Two more Atlanteans exit the craft that brought Tyrak to the mansion, and the unconscious Avengers are collected for transport.

Attuma: "To me, you are symbolic, Vision. You represent heroic humanity--in a way most ironic! And because you do, you must be broken completely--and subject to total humiliation!"

• This is the first Avengers to feature inker Pablo Marcos.
• The front page still refers to the Annual as "Giant-Size Avengers" 6. They really miss that title.
• The Avengers' plan to get rid of the Serpent Crown is to drop it in the Pacific Ocean. This seems very shortsighted since the Crown originally resurfaced after being under the ocean. More Serpent Crown mind control at work?
• This issue introduces several new Atlanteans--Mako, Gort, Lord Arno, and Tyrak, all who work for Attuma.
• The Vision thinks that all Atlanteans should be in a state of suspended animation. This happened in Sub-Mariner (1968) 68 when the city of Atlantis was poisoned by nerve gas and the entire city was so afflicted. They are eventually revived by, of all people, Doctor Doom in Super-Villain Team-Up 13.
• While Vision is unconscious, Attuma takes Vision's cape and begins to wear it.
• Wonder Man states that he has been comatose for 10 years. He hopes to bond with Captain America, who went through similar circumstances when he was frozen at the end of World War II.
• Jarvis shows his action-hero side when he brandishes a large energy rifle at "Triton's" craft. Scarlet Witch has to calm down the nervous butler. He later jumps on Tyrak's back as well.
• Tyrak says the Atlanteans have been watching the Avengers for weeks in preparation of this plan.
• Tyrak bursts forth from his Triton exoskeleton disguise in full Tyrak costume. I'm still trying to figure out how he got his helmet in that normal-sized head space. Also, Tyrak is seven feet tall, and Triton is only 6'2". I guess Atlanteans are used to crushing pressures.

Tyrak                               Triton

 

Super-Villain Team-Up 9
Pawns of Attuma!

December, 1976

Written by Bill Mantlo

Art by Jim Shooter and Sal Trapani

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Hugh Paley
 

The Captured Avengers are fitted with Attuma's slave collars that force their compliance and sent to Hydrobase to destroy it and Namor. Unfortunately Namor is not even there. He is in Latveria, where he discovers that the man he thought was Doctor Doom is really an imposter, Rudolfo, the rebel prince of Latveria in a Doombot's shell. Tiring of the surface men's affairs, Namor flies away. Doctor Doom bides his time at Hydrobase, waiting for his bodyguards to show up and free him. Instead, the Avengers arrive and demand that Namor be brought before them. Instead Doom and the others at Hydrobase battle the Avengers. Because of the slave collars, the Avengers' reactions are dulled, and they are eventually defeated. Beast, after fleeing the Mansion, goes to the hospital to recruit Whizzer and Wonder Man to go after the Avengers. Namor encounters some fighter planes on his journey, and they open fire on him. After he disables the jets, he discovers that the latest news is that Attuma is planning an attack off the coast of Maryland.
 

Doctor Doom: "The mighty Avengers! Bah! You are sheep to be driven before the might of Doom!"

• The cover shows Vision wearing his cape, but inside it is missing. Attuma is still wearing it after taking it in Avengers 154.
• This issue's art was laid out by Jim Shooter. Although he is mostly known for his writing and editing, he did sometimes do rough breakdowns and penciling as well.
• Earlier in this series, Namor had been hampered out of water, unable to survive there without a serum Doctor Doom had been providing to him. Rudolfo gives him an antidote, and Namor is then freed from this restriction.
• Namor had been doing the bidding of Doctor Doom because he swore an oath to do so in order to keep the serum coming. Doom was supposedly killed in Super-Villain Team-Up 7, so Namor believes he's freed from any such oath.
• Doom's "death" was from falling off a cliff. He was captured in his weakened state by Namorita and eventually taken to Hydrobase to help cure the Atlanteans.
• Scarlet Witch complains of her broken arm, which is in a sling and bandaged in the forearm area. Her injury was really a bullet wound to the upper arm. I suppose a bullet fragment could have caused additional damage.
• The Avengers' reactions are so slow due to their slave collars that even onlookers can tell something is wrong with them.
• Doctor Doom is incensed when the Avengers attack him. He refers to a non-aggression pact that Latveria has with the United States. American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger appeared in Super-Villain Team-Up 6 with this pronouncement. The enslaved Avengers don't much care.
• Beast has a Quinjet remain stationary outside a window on the 30th floor of the hospital with no pilot. Apparently it has a hover mode.
• Atlantean ally Tamara belongs to a water-breathing alien race, the Banari, who have crimson red skin, but she is the only survivor of that race. When she sees Vision, she briefly thinks she may have found one of her people.

Avengers 155
To Stand Alone!

January, 1977

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by John Costanza

Colored by Glynis Wein
 

The Avengers try to rally against Doctor Doom and his allies, but they fail, and the Avengers are imprisoned. Doom has no idea why they attacked, but a groggy Captain America murmurs, "Attuma," and Namorita asks Doom for help against the warlord. Working together, the Avengers manage to destroy Vision's slave collar, but instead of helping his team escape, he leaves the chamber completely. Attuma and his strike team attack a research platform to steal its technology, which accelerates plant growth. Beast, Wonder Man, and Whizzer are there to defend the platform, and there are doing well against the Atlanteans. Namor flies onto the scene, and Attuma calls out, pretending the heroes are really his allies, not his enemies. Namor believes Attuma's ruse and attacks the heroes instead of his true foe. Attuma takes the device he sought and dives into the ocean, and Beast follows him. Namor finally recognizes Whizzer and stops fighting just as Wonder Man decks Namor with a powerful blow. Attuma reaches his sub and declares he will use the chlorobeam to transform Tyrak. We discover that Vision has gone to Doctor  Doom with some kind of offer.
 

Doctor Doom: "If you other Avengers would avoid his fate, I suggest you surrender--at once--else I lose my patience!"

Captain America: "Doctor, you've got to be kidding!"

• The last two digits of the UPC reset to 01. Oh, that's because it's a January book. I should have realized that before.
• This is the first appearance of Hydrobase in Avengers. It will eventually be the Avengers' temporary headquarters when the Mansion is destroyed and being rebuilt. Hydrobase gets its name from the first owner, Doctor Hydro.
• A narration caption says that this issue is the 13th anniversary of the Avengers first battling Namor. That would be Avengers 3 in January of 1964.
• The sound effect for an Atlantean blasting Vision is "Chump."
• We find out that Beast placed an electronic tracking device on Tyrak's ship after leaving the mansion in issue 154.
• Narration calls the research platform a "Sealab." The United States Navy constructed three different Sealab installations in the sixties to test how divers would respond to extended periods underwater at deep depths. These tests ended in 1969 after one fatality. The lab in this story is testing a beam to increase plankton growth, though.
• Namor doesn't recognize Whizzer right away. He first dismisses him as "a costumed human," then thinks Quicksilver has arrived at the battle when he sees a foe with super speed. He finally recognizes him as his old World War II ally after beating him up a bit.
• A footnote says Namor met Whizzer in Marvel Premiere 27 and 28. Those stories actually appeared in issue 29 and 30 of Marvel Premiere.
• Bullpen Bulletins mentions Gerry Conway and George Pérez are working on a series for Marvel based on the 1976 film Logan's Run. Conway only wrote the first issue, but Pérez drew the first five issues. The series only lasted seven issues. 1977 also saw a short-lived Logan's Run television show. One of those episodes was written by Avengers contributor Harlan Ellison.

Avengers 156
The Private War of Doctor Doom!
February, 1977
Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Sal Buscema and Pablo Marcos
Lettered by Joe Rosen
Colored by Don Warfield


Vision convinces Doctor Doom that Attuma's plan might result in an army of warriors as powerful as Tyrak and that they should join forces, and Doom reluctantly agrees. Namor recovers and reconciles with Wonder Man and Whizzer back on the research platform. Beast contacts them via radio and tells them he has stowed away on Attuma's vessel. Doom frees the Avengers and disables their slave collars as well. He tracks the energy beam that powers the collars back to its source, Attuma's citadel. Beast is discovered in Attuma's vessel and captured. Namor is the first to attack the citadel, but a supercharged Tyrak is able to defeat him. Soon the Avengers arrive, and, with Wonder Man's help, they overpower Tyrak despite his increased size and strength. The Avengers track down Attuma, but they find that Doctor Doom had already defeated him and taken the cell stimulator device. The Avengers return to Hydrobase and engage in battle with Doom while Vision sneaks in and destroys the device. Doom decides to leave now that he has no purpose there, and the Avengers let him go.
 
Captain America: "Huh? Tyrak! But...bigger--much bigger!"
Tyrak: "And stronger, puny one...stronger than all of you!"
 
• Most of my older collection was purchased as back issues, but I recall having this for a very long time, so there's a good chance this was my first issue of Avengers. I also recall a time when I had no idea who Wonder Man and Whizzer were or what they were doing in this book.
• Archie Goodwin gets editing credit for this issue, probably because the normal writer/editor didn't do the writing either. Jim Shooter was filling in for Gerry Conway. Conway does not get any credit in the issue, but it's probable that he did at least create some of the plot since it continues off his story in the previous issue.
• Kudos for the cover having Vision with no cape this time. Once Attuma is defeated in this issue, Vision takes it back
• The title, "Private War of Doctor Doom" was later used as the title of an episode of the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon as well the title of a collected reprinting of issues from Avengers 150 to 156.
• Now that Wonder Man has returned to life, Vision is feeling very sensitive about his own feelings and whether they are his or a simulation of Wonder Man's.
• Beast playfully calls Attuma "Charlie A'Tuna," based on StarKist Tuna's Charlie the Tuna mascot.
• Doctor Doom vows revenge on Vision specifically, but the man has a lot on his plate, so he doesn't really follow through.
• It may seem strange that the Avengers just let Doom go, but there is that pesky non-aggression pact to think about.
• At the end of the issue, Captain America steps outside to investigate something. A footnote says to check Super-Villain Team-Up 11 for answers, but it actually is in issue 10 of that series. In it, Cap mentions how a spy ship was hovering nearby. Cap got to the pilot, but the man poisoned himself before he could be questioned. A scepter in the ship led Cap to the Latverian embassy in New York. He doesn't involve the other Avengers, but he does leave a sealed letter with Jarvis in case he doesn't return from the adventure. He guests in Super-Villain Team-Up until issue 12.
• Also this month, the Avengers appear in one panel of Defenders (1972) 44. Hellcat warns them they may be needed to face an unknown menace, but the Defenders end up handling it.
• Jessica Drew debuts in Marvel Spotlight (1971) 32 this month. She will later join the Avengers. She is known by the code name Arachne here, but she will take the Spider-Woman name in her second appearance.

 

Marvel Treasury Edition 13
'Tis the Season!

1976

Written by Roger Stern

Art by George Tuska and Don Perlin

Lettered by Gaspar Saladino

Colored by Don Warfield

 

The Avengers battle the Fantastic Four at Central Park in a snowball fight for United Charities. Spider-Man is passing by and also visits with the teams. Scarlet Witch spots a shooting star, which is really the Silver Surfer streaking by in the sky. We see how other heroes are spending their Christmastime in New York and Los Angeles.

 

Thing: "It's clobberin' time!"

Beast: "It remains to be seen just who will clobber whom, my friends! Have at you!"

• This story is a series of short interstitial scenes that mostly serve to introduce and bridge four reprint stories. Many Treasury Editions simply reprinted material with no new content. Since the Tales to Astonish (1959) reprint story is only 10 pages long, it was probably to help make up the difference in pages.
• The Marvel Treasury Edition series was oversized, 10" by 14", and sold at newsstands. I got mine back then at 7-Eleven.
• Thor and Iron Man do not take part in the charity event. They do appear in a reprint story.
Although it does not overtly state it's Christmas Eve, everyone's celebrations imply that it is. Avengers 157 says that it takes place on Christmas Eve, so this probably takes place the afternoon before those events. The city is blanketed in snow here, but there is no snow in Avengers 157.
Avengers 58 is reprinted, the story when Vision joins the team. The characters recall these events because Wasp's winter outfit is the same as the one she wore in that issue.
There are also reprints of Marvel Team-Up (1972) 6, Tales to Astonish 93, and Daredevil (1964) 86.
In addition to those previously mentioned, the new content includes scenes with Hulk, Doctor Strange, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Clea, Daredevil, Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Angel, Hercules, Iceman, and some of their friends.
The only hero we see receive a Christmas present is Hulk. He gets a pair of mittens from the Defenders. He wears them to dinner and can't eat while wearing them, so Valkyrie has to spoon-feed him.

Avengers 157
A Ghost of Stone!

March, 1977

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by Don Heck and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Gaspar Saladino

Colored by Don Warfield

 

Iron Man, Yellowjacket, and Beast are in a lab at the Mansion when they are attacked by a strange figure. It proves resistant to their attacks and is able to defeat them all. It is revealed to be the petrified body of the Black Knight that had been stored in Doctor Strange's cellar. A metal hand had reached through a dimensional aperture and revived the statue. The statue came to the Mansion to seek revenge for being forgotten. It attacks Captain America, Wasp, and Jarvis in the kitchen and is able to defeat them as well. Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch are returning home, and Jarvis is able to warn them of danger. The statue still strikes Scarlet Witch by surprise and takes out Wonder Man after a short battle. Vision is the next to return, and the statue tells of its supposed abandonment and need for vengeance. Vision, having been told events previously by Doctor Strange, explains that Dane Whitman's spirit had left the stone body behind and now resides in the 12th century in the body of an ancestor. Doubting its own identity, the enraged statue pounds on Vision's diamond-hard body and destroys itself in its outburst of anger.

 

Wonder Man: "Who are you, mister? What are you trying to do?"

Black Knight Statue: "If you don't recognize me, my name would be meaningless to you."

• The opening caption says this takes place on Christmas Eve. The streets don't seem to have any decorations evident, and no one is carrying any packages, so that date may have been decided after the art was drawn.
• The metal hand is most likely Ultron, but it is not revealed for certain. Teleporting his hand to another location  and bringing stone to life is a bit outside of his normal capabilities. Ultron does return to the series soon, but he doesn't take credit for these actions. Wonder Man also babbled about a "reaching hand" in issue 152.
• Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch are not in the Mansion because they're out Christmas shopping. These two will later become romantically involved.
• Wonder Man complains about a $2.50 cab fare. That would be $9.64 in 2013 dollars. A current on-line calculator for cab fare from Midtown to 890 5th Avenue, the address of the Mansion, was going for about $8.99 to $9.87, so about the same adjusted for inflation. That's a trip of about a mile and a half.
• The statue mentions that it also wants revenge on Thor, Black Panther, and Mantis, but settles for the others that are present and previously "betrayed" it.
• After convincing the statue it is not truly Dane Whitman, Vision reflects that as an artificial man with a mind based on someone else's memories, he might say the same of himself.
• The statue lies in pieces on the floor at the end of the story. That ready was Dane Whitman's body that was destroyed! Whitman's spirit does return to it in Avengers 226, and magic puts the rubble back together and restores it to living flesh.

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.