Avengers 173 to 177: Korvac Saga, part 2

Near mint collecting.
Avengers to the slaughter.
Eternity remains.

Captain America; Steve Rogers

Iron Man; Tony Stark

Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Thor; Donald Blake
Vision

Wasp; Janet Van Dyne

Yellowjacket; Henry "Hank" Pym

Featured Allies
Black Panther; T'Challa
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
Captain Marvel; Mar-Vell

Charlie-27
Hawkeye; Clint Barton
Hercules; Heracles
Jocasta
Martinex
Moondragon; Heather Douglas
Ms. Marvel; Carol Danvers
Nikki; Nicholette Gold
Quicksilver; Pietro Maximoff
Starhawk; Stakar/Aleta Ogord
Two-Gun Kid; Matthew Hawk
Vance Astro; Vance Astrovik
Vance Astrovik (future Marvel Boy/Justice)
Wonder Man; Simon Williams
Yondu; Yondu Udonta    

 

     The middle of the Korvac Saga saw a shift in the creative personnel. Jim Shooter was now Editor-in-Chief, so he needed help to finish off the saga, and writers David Michelinie and Bill Mantlo came aboard. Roger Stern and his assistant Jim Salicrup took the editorial reins from Shooter on the book as well. These changes mid-story didn't stop the whole saga from winning the 1979 Eagle Award for Best Continued Story, the second time the series had captured that honor in a row.
     Although these issues are noteworthy for the sheer number of characters, almost every Avenger that had so far appeared, it may be better remembered for its novel denouement. The Avengers are nearly all killed, but the wannabe deity they are fighting loses heart, nonchalantly brings them all back to life, and appears to kill himself when his wife feels doubt for him. Korvac, now calling himself Michael, does not really consider the Avengers his enemies, though they call him "The Enemy" before his identity is discovered. Michael's struggle is being played out against universal forces, and we don't really get a clear look at what he's doing or a vision of what his universe would look like. He systematically removes or incapacitates anyone who can sense him so that he can work unhindered, but the Avengers are dogged in finding out who is behind recent events and end up painting Michael as a target to the cosmic forces he had hoped to avoid.
     The last few pages of issue 177 create the moral quandary that sets the saga apart. Moondragon looks inside Michael's spirit and declares that his goals were peaceful and would not have hurt anyone. Thor, the only Avenger left standing after the carnage, ponders if maybe the Avengers should have left Michael alone and had only made things worse by pursuing him. The characters are not given much time to figure this out, as Moondragon erases everyone's memory of these facts so they are not burdened with the thought they may have attacked the wrong person. This at least lets the reader think about how force can be abused by the authorities when all the facts aren't known, and this ambiguity of who is the hero probably helped the story secure its Eagle Award by standing out.
     In the big picture, there are a few reasons to support Moondragon's assertion. The Avengers are freaked out by all their comrades disappearing and being collected, so when the Collector is killed and an even more powerful adversary is revealed, they are so on edge that they act out of fear and concern. Unfortunately, except for the subtle change in Starhawk's perception so he can be left alone, Michael really didn't do anything directly to them to warrant being attacked. He admits he wants to rule the universe, but the Avengers don't really have jurisdiction over who is "in charge" of the universe. As in most comic book stories, the existence of God is not debated or mentioned, so instead the previous supreme cosmic being, Eternity, is presented as the ultimate cosmic power that Michael wants to overthrow. Since there are no elections for cosmic ruler, it's unclear how such power changeovers should naturally go and whether Michael is really doing anything against that process.
     Since the Avengers are our heroes of the series, there are reasons to side with them instead. In my mind, the greatest problem with Moondragon's point is that she's the one to make it. She has demonstrated time and again that she lacks compassion, and in issue 176, she demonstrates this by forcibly going into Quicksilver's mind to remove his prejudice. Her tactic here, taking something that is justifiably negative and just removing it with no regard to Quicksilver's right to be his own crude and imperfect self, shows her idea of how to deal with problems. Quicksilver himself says he feels better afterwards, but considering his mind has just been altered, is that a fair payoff that most people would favor? Michael likewise talks about his distaste for things that are chaotic and crude, which probably is why Moondragon is such a fan of the universe he would rule over. It will be orderly, and she sees that as a better universe. Her teammates may not agree with her at all. Many of them would side with the rights of an individual over that of someone imposing order, no matter how benevolent, and would probably still fight Michael because of this principle, even knowing what he planned. Despite his words, Michael had recently killed the Collector, making him a murderer on a cosmic scale and responsible for his crime, even if it wasn't directed at the Avengers themselves. History is also not kind to Michael. In his subsequent appearances, he acts selfish and dictatorial, showing his true nature is not very benevolent after all.
     As a character, Michael is also a good example of someone who makes continuity in a fantasy universe impossible. He can 1) travel through time 2) alter another character completely without them noticing it, as in the case of Starhawk 3) avoid most detection if he wishes, and 4) alter the perceptions of most of the universe. We see he is not omnipotent or omnipresent since the Collector is able to capture Avengers without Michael's knowledge, so he has limits, but even with them, he's a continuity nightmare. While the Avengers were searching for him in his tasteful suburban home, he could have traveled to a near-infinite number of locations, changed subtle things, and no one would ever have known. So if a character is acting "out of character" or some part of history doesn't seem to fit anymore, Michael or someone else like him could be the cause, and we'd never know...

 

 

Avengers 173
Threshold of Oblivion!

July, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter and David Michelinie
Art by Sal Buscema and D. Hands

Lettered by Annette Kawecki

Colored by Nel Yomtov

 

After old members and allies were informed of the disappearances, they begin to arrive at the Mansion. Hercules, Black Widow, Whizzer, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther are the first to arrive. Michael Korvac mentally observes not only events at Avengers Mansion, but also those of the Guardians of the Galaxy and several cosmic entities that he wishes to keep ignorant of his affairs. His end plan is to gain control of the entire universe. While he monitors others, his wife Carina surprisingly reaches out with her own cosmic power. Michael senses she is doing so and confronts her, but upon searching the depths of her soul, he finds no hint of betrayal, only love. Yellowjacket admits defeat on finding any clues to the disappearances, so Black Panther suggests they use the Guardians' equipment from the 31st century to aid their search. Before those two can follow through, they disappear suddenly, becoming the latest victims. This is soon followed by Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man's disappearances as well. Vance Astro is still orbiting in Drydock, and he does find an orbiting construct that may have teleported the missing heroes away. Vance Astro teleports Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and Wasp into the construct, where they find the missing heroes and their kidnapper, the Collector.

 

Michael: "Eternity! He who is the universe personified...within whom all the stuff of this reality exists. He's so confident, so serene in his omnipotence! He would pay little heed to a mote such as I, even had I not shielded myself from his sight! But one day--one day soon--I will take what is rightfully mine!"

• This is David Michelinie's first issue as writer. He will continue to contribute to the series for the next three years or so.
• The use of "D. Hands" refers to "diverse hands." Inkers Pablo Marcos, Win Mortimer, Bob McLeod, Joe Rubenstein, Dan Green, Rick Bryant, and Klaus Janson each worked on two or three pages of the issue. They are given credit in the letter column of issue 179. Except for regular inker Marcos, Janson and Rubenstein had each worked on only one issue of Avengers before this, and the rest have this as their first issue.
• Speaking of firsts, this is also the first Avengers issue for letterer Annette Kawecki and colorist Nel Yomtov as well. Its also Kawecki's only Avengers issue, so it's her last as well.
• This is the first issue to credit the assistant editor, in this case Jim Salicrup. Usually only the editor is credited.
• The Champions series had ended in January, 1978, and the team had disbanded, leaving Hercules and Black Widow with some free time.
• Hercules is still being confused with Steve Reeves, this time by a little boy. In 1978, Reeves was 52 years old and hadn't appeared in a movie as Hercules since 1959, long before the little boy was born.
• The Watcher is a character who spends his time watching events on Earth. In this issue, we see that Michael is watching the Watcher without his knowledge.
• Whizzer has decided to retire from superheroics after his last showing against Count Nefaria. He shows up in his civilian clothes.
• Thor arrives at the mansion and not only doesn't have knowledge of all their recent battles, but he hasn't even met Wonder Man after his return from the dead. This means every Thor from issue 159 on was not the present Thor until now.
• Although their disappearances are not shown, Black Widow, Hercules, and Captain Marvel are among the Collector's collection by the end of the issue.
• The Collector is able to grab so many team members in a short period because he knows from Carina that Michael is busy elsewhere.
• The Collector's gigantic ship only appears as three meters across on Astro's scanners. He advises that the Avengers don't try to teleport there, but he helps them anyway.
• The Bullpen Bulletins announce that Mark Gruenwald has joined the staff as an assistant editor. He will later become the editor guiding the Avengers line of comics in 1982 and will be editor of the title at his death in 1996.  

Avengers 173
Captives of the Collector!

July, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter and Bill Mantlo
Art by Dave Wenzel and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Shelly Leferman

Colored by Phil Rachelson

 

Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Wasp face down the Collector aboard his ship. The Collector grabs nearby artifacts to combat them. He summons energy creatures that he claims are conduits to another dimension. Thor's hammer gets stuck in one creature, and the Collector claims that removing it would cause an upheaval in the other dimension, killing billions of beings. This takes Thor out of the fight, and gas capsules immobilize Iron Man's armor. In reality, Thor is only absorbing negative energy through his hammer, and the death of innocents was a lie. The Collector jolts Thor with positive energy, and this reacts with the negative energy Thor absorbed and knocks him out. Wasp is shocked into unconscious by an electrified net, leaving only Hawkeye in the fight. Hawkeye evades several other threats and corners the Collector, who calls on the Power Cosmic. The Collector had not used this ability in some time, so it is slow to build, giving Hawkeye time to disable him with a shock arrow. The captured heroes are freed, and they question the Collector. He claims that he saw a future where the universe was in peril from Thanos, so he spent thousands of years collecting items and creatures of interest to preserve them. On the defeat of Thanos, the Collector sensed another powerful enemy was coming, so he sent his daughter Carina to get close to this new threat. Before the Collector can reveal Michael's identity, Michael disintegrates him with a bolt from Earth.

 

Vision: "But the Enemy learned that he was about to be revealed--and eliminated the Collector from afar!"

Iron Man: "And right before our eyes--as if to show us how insignificant we are! Fleas compared to a being--who can kill a god!"

• Bill Mantlo steps in to handle the scripting this issue. This is his first Avengers writing credit, but he had done coloring for the series previously.
• Beast appears on the cover in a tube, but he was not collected. He was busy with the X-Men in their series. Narration says that only 13 people have been taken, so since 13 have so far been accounted for without Beast, he can't be hiding in stasis around the ship somewhere.
• Hawkeye mentions that they thought the ship was three cubic yards. He changed that from Vance Astro's actual reading of three cubic meters. Hawkeye doesn't do metric, apparently.
• The Collector's items this issue include a Vandarian power wand, energy creatures from Erdile, a Biogram image, missiles from Dergos, and a positron cannon.
• Collector finally reveals that he has the Power Cosmic and also the existence of the Elders of the Universe. He refers to a "brother" who roams the universe and plays games, probably the Grandmaster. They are not true brothers, more like fraternity brothers.
• The Collector is truly dead until his resurrection in Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions.

 

 

Avengers 175
The End...and Beginning!

September, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter and David Michelinie
Art by Dave Wenzel and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Annette Kawecki

Colored by Nel Yomtov

 

The shocked Avengers stand over the Collector's ashes. They search his ship for answers, but the computer's memory that stored information on "the Enemy" has also been turned to dust. They do come upon Collector's time device, and Two-Gun Kid is ready to be sent back to his home time period. They manage to use the teleporter to get the rest of themselves back to Earth, but the coordinates are not accurate, leaving some heroes in precarious situations. While they return home, Michael is trying to see how Carina is coping with the murder of her father. She seems fully all right with it and supportive of Michael's plan to alter the universe into a peaceful place under his complete rule. Michael's ascension is explained as his having absorbed information and power from the computers aboard Galactus' star ship into his own body. Though he was once a villain obsessed with revenge, he found that his new state of being made him forget such small concerns and instead focus on the welfare of the universe. His last selfish act had been transforming himself from the half-computer body he had previously been trapped in. The Avengers meet in their mansion, but they have no idea how to proceed. Ms. Marvel arrives to help, and Quicksilver, after causing tension among the group with his comments about Jocasta and Vision, prepares to return home. Small teams investigate different avenues, and Iron Man is upset to find that Gyrich has removed most of their computers. Jarvis suggest they turn to Starhawk's cosmic senses, and Iron Man calls him in, not knowing that Michael has made Starhawk unable to sense Michael in any way.

 

Wonder Man, after totaling a bus: "I, uh, had to promise the driver that Tony Stark would pay for the bus."

Scarlet Witch: "That's okay, Simon. Mr. Stark makes a habit of bailing out Avengers."

 

Iron Man: "All right, cut it out! The days when Avengers punched each other out at the drop of a cowl are over! We're a team now--and we're going to act like one!"

 

Michael: "...I hold no enmity towards the Avengers. And it would be a pity indeed--to have to destroy them!"

 

• The memory banks of the Collector's time machine reveal how he transported Thor to help the Avengers from issues 162 to 170, then sent him back with his memory erased. The era that Thor came from is not pinpointed, but based on his behavior it is during his time with the Avengers.
• While narration retells Michael and Carina's story, the two have sex in the bedroom of their house. They turn into glowing cosmic images of themselves, but despite their evolved nature, they still are horizontal in an embrace. This is the first shown sex scene in Avengers.
• Narration tells that Carina's body was chosen to appeal to Korvac. It's not her original form. But then, her father, the Collector's, original form looks like this...

  

  His cape is actually Galactus' baby washcloth and the jewel of his collection. (not true)

  
  
  
  

Avengers 176

The Destiny Hunt!

October, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter and David Michelinie
Art by Dave Wenzel and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Rick Parker

Colored by Bob Sharen

The Avengers and their allies separate to search for any lead on their mystery adversary. Moondragon grows tired of Quicksilver's words and uses her mental powers to remove bigotry and hatred from his mind. She then begins commanding the other heroes around and taking charge of the situation. She calls everyone back in for a meeting, and the information they've gathered is compiled in the computer. Although each member's data seems trivial and unconnected, the computer does produce an address for a home in Forest Hills Gardens. The team is unable to use a Quinjet with their government clearances revoked, so they are forced to commandeer a bus in order to get their nonflying members there. They ring Michael's doorbell, and though he is annoyed, he calmly lets the heroes in. They search the house and find nothing out of order. Starhawk, unable to sense Michael in any way, exclaims that the group has been talking to empty air during the whole visit. Realizing that Starhawk's senses have been tampered with, the Avengers conclude that Michael is their true enemy. He confirms their suspicions and tells them that they have ruined his plans by revealing his presence to the greater powers of the universe. Michael declares war on the Avengers and displays his cosmic power in preparation for a battle.

 

Herb: "Gee, guys, I, um, don't have anything against super-heroes, but...well, don't things have a habit of getting trashed when you're around? I mean, I've only got three more payments on my mortgage and--"

Woman: "R-Relax, Herb, they're probably just here to open a 7-Eleven or something!"

Hawkeye: "Terrific. 'Avengers attack suburban home! Defeated by stylish décor!' The tabloids are gonna love this."

• This is Rick Parker's first issue lettering the series. He is also a cartoonist and would be one of the artists to create the "Bull's Eye" cartoons for the Bullpen Bulletins in the late eighties and nineties. He also drew the Beavis and Butthead series for Marvel.
• This is colorist Bob Sharen's first issue. He had only been doing color guides for Marvel for about two months before doing this issue.
• The cover declares the price is still 35₵. DC Comics had raised the price of their comics to 50₵ in September, but they would drop it down to 40₵ in December. Marvel would eventually raise their prices to 40₵ as well in May of 1979.
• Hawkeye calls Quicksilver a "Simon Pure." This is a character from A Bold Stroke for a Wife, an English play from 1717. The character's name became a term for either someone of integrity or someone who pretends to have that that quality, but it is really a hypocrite. We can assume Hawkeye is using it the latter sense.
• When Wonder Man is frustrated with inactivity, Black Panther suggests he reads some Keats. He's referring to John Keats, a 19th-century romantic poet, perhaps best known for his "Ode on a Grecian Urn."
• When Jocasta reveals herself in a crowd, someone wonders if Alan Funt is around. Alan Funt was the creator and host of Candid Camera, which filmed people's reactions to staged events. The show appeared on television in one format or another from 1948 until 2004.
• When the Avengers arrive in Forest Hills Gardens, a bystander says they may be there to open a 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven sold Slurpee cups featuring a large variety of Marvel characters on them in 1975 and 1977.
• Wasp declares that Michael and Carina's home is decorated in good taste, so at least Michael's rule of the universe would have been visually stylish.
• There is a letter in the letter column from future Marvel archivist Peter Sanderson.
• The Bullpen Bulletins mentions new artist John Romita Jr. starting on Iron Man (1968). He will later be the regular Avengers artist at the start of the 2010 series. It also compliments Dave Wenzel on his work on Avengers and states the Korvac Saga is 10 issues long, which tracks back to it starting on issue 167. (skipping 169)

 

Avengers 177

The Hope...and the Slaughter!

November, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Dave Wenzel, Pablo Marcos, and Ricardo Villamonte

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Nel Yomtov

 

The Avengers are poised to strike at Michael, but they are all frozen in place by his cosmic power. Moondragon sends out a mental summons to the nearby Guardians of the Galaxy, who race to Michael's house in a borrowed Quinjet. Michael laments the fact that these events have revealed him to the powers of the universe and ended his chance for a silent takeover. When the Guardians arrive, Michael does not freeze them, and he shows his overwhelming power by destroying the Drydock space station with Vance Astro in it, killing his first hero. Nikki rushes to attack, and she distracts Michael, ending the paralyzing effect in place on the other heroes. They all attack in turn, but no one is powerful enough to do serious harm to Michael. Iron Man suggest they use Carina as a hostage, but Michael responds by killing Yellowjacket. Several Avengers die in the assault, and the rest are knocked out or stunned except for Captain America, who engages Michael in hand-in-hand combat. Moondragon has remained out of the fight, and she stands by weeping now that she has sensed Michael's inner self. During this battle, several of the more powerful heroes have had time to recover, and they pile onto Michael. He reaches out his consciousness to Carina for mental support and finds that she has been shocked by all the carnage and has a seed of doubt about Michael's intentions. Sensing that their love is not as perfect as he had hoped, he wills himself to die. Carina is distraught and starts fighting the heroes with her own formidable cosmic power. After calming down somewhat, she resolves to join Michael in death and mentally forces the last remaining hero, Thor, to fatally wound her while she lowers her defenses. She dies next to Michael, reaching for his hand. Moondragon explains to Thor that Michael's plan was not truly evil and that Michael had also reached out with his power before dying to resurrect and heal all the heroes that had been slain. Thor wonders if perhaps the Avengers were standing in the way of goodness this time. Moondragon uses her mental power to remove everyone's memory of her disturbing revelations, letting them believe that they won a great victory over yet another villain, but she herself will remember.

 

Michael: "Know this, as humble as you are, I would rather enter into death myself than slay you--were it not for Carina and what I have found with her!"

 

Captain America: "Or maybe you don't even count me--because I'm just a man? Hear that, Mike? This is no god hitting you...no super-man! Just a man!"

 

Moondragon: "He was not evil, Thor! He sought not to rule us...nor even to interfere with our madness! He wished only to free us from the capricious whims of Eternity!"

 

Thor: "Can it be that Michael was just--and we were the villains? Verily, then, his innocent blood is on our hands!"

• Jim Shooter did not have a cowriter for this issue, probably because it was the crux of the story he wanted to tell.
• This is inker Ricardo Villamonte's first Avengers issue.
• For those more familiar with Avengers film characters, that is Dr. Don Blake on the cover, Thor's secret identity.
• Narration translates the name Michael as meaning "like unto God."
• Black Panther has an opportunity to attack Carina, but he doesn't. He still feels it's dishonorable to attack a woman. Yellowjacket has no such qualms and takes her hostage briefly.
• Captain America's shield striking Michael's head makes a "Kang!" sound effect.
• When Donald Blake has the entire team to give medical aid to, he goes to Iron Man first, even though his wearing armor will make him the most difficult to help right away.
• A future story reveals that Michael's suicide was not due to Carina's doubt. Now that Michael was revealed to the universe, Galactus became aware of him and was not happy Michael had stolen the energies from Galactus' computers. An Ultimate Nullifier beam was on its way to Michael, and Michael sent out a "gene packet" to his ancestors and then ended his own life, allowing him to plant the seed for a return in the future. The Ultimate Nullifier's effects would have been more permanent for him, so this was his way of avoiding that worse fate.
• Carina will also return. Her glowing body is mistaken for Wasp's when Henry Pym discovers it in Underspace and builds the Infinite Mansion there. Avengers Academy student Veil brings back Carina into normal space in 2011 thinking it is Wasp, who was missing at that time.

Avengers 167-168, 170-172: Korvac Saga, Part 1

The future arrives.
Do you know the Enemy?
Pop, go Avengers

Beast; Henry "Hank" McCoy

Captain America; Steve Rogers

Iron Man; Tony Stark

Scarlet Witch; Wanda Maximoff
Thor; Donald Blake
Vision

Wasp; Janet Van Dyne

Yellowjacket; Henry "Hank" Pym

Featured Allies
Black Panther; T'Challa

Charlie-27
Crystal; Crystalia Amaquelin
Hawkeye; Clint Barton
Jocasta
Martinex
Moondragon; Heather Douglas
Ms. Marvel; Carol Danvers
Nikki; Nicholette Gold
Quicksilver; Pietro Maximoff
Spider-Man; Peter Parker
Starhawk; Stakar/Aleta Ogord
Two-Gun Kid; Matthew Hawk
Vance Astro; Vance Astrovik
Vance Astrovik (future Marvel Boy/Justice)
Wonder Man; Simon Williams
Yondu; Yondu Udonta

    
     Since issue 169 was a fill-in story, it was featured in the entry for Avengers 158 to 163, where it likely took place chronologically.    
     A lot of characters are included in just a few issues, as the Collector plucks various people away without any warning, causing a lot of concern. But he takes his time, stringing the tension along and his identity remains a mystery until later. These events don't stop other Avengers' foes Ultron and Tyrak from rearing their heads and causing their own mayhem.
     We also get to see the Guardians of the Galaxy make their Avengers debut. Someone who has only seen the Guardians of the Galaxy film would not recognize this older team of characters. That team name was co-opted in 2008 by the current team of heroes who got the cinematic treatment, but it originated in 1969 in a story featuring heroes from Earth's solar system in the 31st century. After a few scattered stories, they end up in Avengers and become temporary members of the Avengers during their stay in the 20th century. Despite the Guardians being from the future, both Captain America and Thor have had previous adventures with them and are happy to help them. It should be noted that Marvel had yet to use the idea of multiple universes and alternate time lines extensively, so the story has the characters worried about changing history and affecting the future the Guardians come from as if it is the future of the current Marvel Universe.
     These issues are considered part of the Korvac Saga even though Michael Korvac does not appear in issues 169 through 173. His arrival and the battle against him bookend the ends of the "saga." The complete Korvac Saga, issues 170 through 177, was voted on by fans as the 47th best Marvel comic in the first 75 years of Marvel's publishing history.
      

Avengers 167
Tomorrow Dies Today!

January, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter and Roger Stern
Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Joe Rosen

Colored by Phil Rachelson

SHIELD summons the Avengers when a gigantic spacecraft appears next to the SHIELD space platform and seems poised to collide with it. Once the Avengers are assembled, they fly into space and board the strange craft. They split up to search it, and Beast is the first to encounter Nikki and Charlie-27, who grabs Beast by the scruff of his neck. Not having familiarized himself with the Avengers' full archives yet, Beast starts a scuffle. The rest of the Guardians and Avengers converge on the fight and split up the combatants. The Guardians claim that their ship's natural meteor deflectors would have prevented any collision, and they state why they have come to this time period. They followed their enemy Korvac here, thinking he may plan to attack the young Vance Astro and cause the Guardians to never exist. On Earth, Wasp is holding a fashion show featuring her clothing designs. Nighthawk is in attendance as Kyle Richmond, and he notices an intense man staring at the model Carina Walters. Porcupine, a supervillain, is there at the hotel to rob it when he and his henchmen stumble upon the fashion show and demand the attendees' valuables. Yellowjacket, Wasp, and Nighthawk make short work of the robbers, but during the fight, the intense man and Carina discover they have a deep, unspoken bond, and they teleport out of the ballroom together.

Wonder Man: "Sometimes I--I feel as through I'm not man enough to be a super man!"

Thor: "They are called the Guardians of the Galaxy in their own far-future era! They are heroes of passing valor!"
Captain America: "You should have recognized them, Beast! I met them once before and recorded their descriptions in the Avengers' archives!"

• Roger Stern is the co-plotter for this issue, and it's his first Avengers credit. He had previously written adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy in Marvel Presents 10 through 12. That series ended in 1977, and the Guardians made one appearance in Thor Annual (1966) 6, also written by Stern, before appearing here. Stern will later become editor of Avengers and also the regular writer for an extended stint.
•  Beast mentions that he uses a five-gallon container of shampoo.
• Captain America says he regularly wakes up at 0600 hours.
• The SHIELD satellite is the same one the Avengers left the galaxy from in Avengers 96. Since we saw it, a group of Sentinel robots took it over and occupied it up through X-Men (1963) 100. SHIELD recently reclaimed and rebuilt it.
• Tony Stark is already aboard the space platform, but since Iron Man is required, he has to take a shuttle back to Earth to suit up as Iron Man and come back to the platform with the Avengers. Captain America chews him out for taking so long to respond to the summons.
• Thor shares his concerns about how he keeps showing up to help the Avengers and how he feels he should be elsewhere. He surmises that this new threat may be why he didn't instantly return to space after Nefaria was defeated.
• Wonder Man is summoned to the Mansion by a "people beeper." Pagers hadn't reached widespread use, but they had been available for professionals since the 1950s.
• Wonder Man gives up on wearing a costume and starts wearing a red safari jacket with his red eyeglasses. Work it, Simon. Remember he's an engineer, not a stylist. 

• The Quinjet hanger has at least four Quinjets, with markings QJ-1, et cetera, and a little SI logo for Stark International.
• Iron Man forgoes flying at one point and uses his built-in roller skates. Two heroines who used roller skates as part of their ensemble, Dazzler and Kitty Pryde, wouldn't be introduced until 1980, but roller discos had been popular for a few years already.
• These Guardians of the Galaxy are from the 31st century. With the rise of using alternate dimensions to account for time travel, their universe is later called Earth-691, from their first published adventure being in January (1) of '69. The members here will all become honorary Avengers.
• Beast, ever enjoying actor references, thinks Charlie-27 resembles a space Hoss Cartwright.

Must be the belt buckle

• Vance Astro is an alternate version of the Vance Astrovik from the main Marvel Earth-616 who will become Justice, a future Avenger. The Guardians' version was born in the twentieth century, but went into hypersleep for hundreds of years. He idolizes the Avengers from his youth. This is not the only time two alternate versions of the same person will both be members of the Avengers. There is later a teenage version of Tony Stark from an alternate dimension that is part of the team as Iron Man for several months.
• Vance Astro stays in space because he fears that having two versions of himself interact on Earth might mess up the time stream.
• It is later discovered that Stakar, the male half of Starhawk, is the son of future Avenger Quasar, although it is the Quasar from Earth-691. Stakar's mother is Her, the female counterpart to Adam Warlock, who just appeared and died in the previous Avengers story.
• Speaking of Quasar, this month features Wendell Vaughn's first appearance in Captain America (1968) 217, where he goes by his first alias, Marvel Boy. Vance Astrovik will also use the Marvel Boy alias before he goes by the code name of Justice.
• People in the future still speak English as their main language, even though they are from different planets.
• One of the models at the Wasp's fashion show is named Denise Vladimir. Avengers letterer Denise Wohl had previously been credited as Denise Vladimer. She didn't letter this issue, however.
• Korvac was an enslaved Human computer technician in the 31st century. His masters punished him by grafting a powerful computer onto him, replacing the bottom half of his body. That computer was able to analyze and siphon cosmic power from the Grandmaster and allow Korvac increased power and the ability to travel through time.
• This is the only Avengers appearance for petty super-criminal Alex Gentry, the Porcupine.  He started his career as an Ant-Man villain and coincidentally runs into Hank Pym again in this issue. Porcupine will later retire from crime after being a continual failure. In Captain America 315, he is down on his luck and tries to sell his most recent version of the Porcupine suit to the Avengers for $10,000. He gets pulled into a fight with the Serpent Society and ends up falling on one of his own quills and dying. Captain America buries him in a plot reserved for Avengers comrades, and his Porcupine armor is put on display on the second floor of the Mansion with a plaque reading "Honored Foe of the Avengers."

Avengers 168
First Blood
February, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Phil Rachelson

The Avengers return to the Mansion with the Guardians of the Galaxy along for the ride. They are able to land inside the hanger, but an alarm alerts them there is an intruder. They find Henry Peter Gyrich in the meeting room and demand answers. He berates them for their poor security and says he could have easily gotten away with not only equipment, but United States secrets stored on the Avengers' computers. He points out that he can revoke their security clearance as well as their other privileges and storms off. Captain America chews out Iron Man for his recent leadership of the team and strikes him. Scarlet Witch intervenes and counters by saying that Captain America has proven himself less than useful in the last few battles. Brooding, Captain America stalks away. When Iron Man turns to the Guardians to plan how to help them, he sees that Starhawk has disappeared. We see Starhawk in his feminine form of Aleta going to a home in Forest Hills Gardens to confront Korvac. The two enemies seem calm, but Korvac, now calling himself Michael, warns Aleta that Starhawk is the only being in the universe that can sense him and that cannot be allowed. They enter into a psychic struggle, and although Starhawk is powerful, Michael incinerates Starhawk with his cosmic power. To remove any trace of his activity, Michael resurrects Starhawk as he was down to the molecule, but he removes Starhawk's ability to ever perceive Michael in any way. Starhawk returns to his comrades and does not have any memory of this encounter with Michael.

Scarlet Witch: "The days when Avengers engage in senseless brawls among themselves are past--as long as the Scarlet Witch can help it...and I most certainly can!"

• Inker Pablo Marcos ends his consecutive streak of issues at 15 in a row. This is the longest streak by an inker so far.
• That's Henry Peter Gyrich in the chair on the cover. Based on the star logo, that's Captain America's chair he's sitting in, and Captain America is absent from the cover. Inside the issue, we see the Vision's chair has a diamond logo like that on his chest and Yellowjacket's chair has his insect symbol on it. Wonder Man sits in a chair that is only partially seen, but it looks like there may be a "W" on it. There is yet another chair with a simple "X" on the back. Perhaps this is Beast's because of his former ties to the X-Men.
• Although the film version won't come out until 1982, the novel First Blood, the first tale of John Rambo, had been published in 1972. The title for this story refers to Starhawk's temporary death as the first casualty against Korvac.
• The team is worried Charlie-27's super dense body is too much for elevator cables to hold. He only weighs 555 pounds. Thor actually weighs more, at 640 pounds.
• Gyrich works for the National Security Council, which is a real organization. It is chaired by the President of the United States and advises him on national security issues. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter had cut back greatly on the NSC's staff and authority after perceived abuses under former Secretary-of-State, Henry Kissinger.
• Poor Jarvis is tied up by Gyrich when he breaches the Mansion. Jarvis says he was taken by surprise, but he suggests he should take a jiu-jitsu course to be better prepared for intruders. In Avengers 201, Jarvis uses boxing to defeat a far more formidable looking man and remarks he was a former boxing champion and has been tutored a bit by Captain America.
• The rather large hole in the wall of the Mansion that Gyrich used to enter has been there since issue 165.
• Captain America punches Iron Man's face and produces a "Kang!" sound effect.
• We see the first Avenger ally to just disappear out of the blue, and it's the Two-Gun Kid right in front of Hawkeye. He disappears to become part of the Collector's collection.
• Starhawk has two people living in his/her body, step-siblings Stakar and Aleta Ogord. They were merged together in an incident with an energy-conversion device. They have lived this way for hundreds of years and got "married" to each other during that time. Although Aleta appears human, she is an Arcturan from the planet Arcturus.
• When Korvac introduces himself, he says he has taken the name Michael, implying that wasn't his name before. Speaking of odd marriages, he also introduces Carina as his wife, even though they met only hours before.
• Several heroes with extra-sensory powers feel a psychic echo of the battle between Korvac and Starhawk. They include Spider-Man (spider-sense); Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and the Silver Surfer. Captain Marvel has cosmic awareness and should know more details, but he feels they are being kept secret by an outside force.
• Spider-Man is also from Forest Hills, Queens, where Michael makes his home. Peter Parker is shopping nearby with Mary Jane Watson when the backlash from the psychic combat causes wind and property damage.
• The Next Issue blurb has the story title for issue 170, so the use of a fill-in story for 169 was not yet planned when this issue went to press.

Ms. Marvel 18
The St. Valentine's Day/Avengers Massacre!
June, 1978

Written by Chris Claremont
Art by Jim Mooney and Ricardo Villamonte
Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Phil Rachelson

Ms. Marvel is flying home when she is attacked by a man in powered armor called the Centurion. Wasp and Scarlet Witch are nearby and rush to her aid. Ms. Marvel changes to her Carol Danvers identity and mixes into the crowd to recover her wits. Wonder Man, Vision, and Yellowjacket arrive to help their teammates. When Ms. Marvel changes back into her costume, the Centurion senses her immediately and is able to follow her movements, leading her to believe that the armor can track her Kree battle uniform. Her theory is confirmed when she changes back to Danvers and is again clear of her opponent's sensors. She improvises a new outfit and gets back in the fight. The Avengers are wary of the Centurion's Meson disruptor beam, which they believe would be fatal to any of them but Wonder man, so they hang back out of range to wait for Thor or Iron Man. Ms. Marvel lures Centurion to a power plant and jury-rigs a magnetic field that disables the armor, ending the threat.

Wasp: "It's Ms. Marvel! She's changed her costume!"

Yellowjacket: "My apologies, Jan. I thought you were one-of-a-kind in the costume-a-day department."

• Wasp is sporting an older costume on the cover, but she wears her orange outfit inside.
• This issue features the first time readers see the character of Mystique in her "normal" blue-skinned form. She is called by the name Raven Darkholme, not Mystique yet. Though she is one of Ms. Marvel's premier foes, she gains more fame as an X-Men villain.
• Though the rest of the Avengers have met Carol Danvers before, Wonder Man has not, so he does not know who she is.
• Wasp recognizes the newly black-suited heroine as Ms. Marvel because she still has the same hairstyle. Carol Danvers' hairstyle does actually change when she takes on the Ms. Marvel identity. She is able to instantly will herself into her Kree battle uniform, and the change also changes her hairstyle.
• Ms. Marvel throws Wonder Man into Centurion in a variation of the X-Men's "fastball special," where Colossus throws Wolverine at a target. Wonder Man wasn't actually ready or willing for it, so it's wholly ungraceful and not that effective. Also Wonder Man presumably falls many stories down to the street and is not seen again until the end of the issue.
• The story is set in winter, with snow on the ground and tops of buildings. The Avengers issues in this time frame don't have snow in the background.

Avengers 170
"...Though Hell Should Bar the Way!"
April, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter and George Pérez
Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Jim Shooter

Iron Man apologizes to Captain America for his lapses in leadership and is ready to tell him his secret identity as Tony Stark, but Cap stops him and accepts his apology, promising to toe the line under Iron Man's command. The deactivated bride of Ultron is delivered to Avengers Mansion and comes to life suddenly in the lab. The movers run to the Avengers to inform them of the activation. The team rushes to the lab, but a falling security door splits the team into two groups. The forward group of Wasp, Yellowjacket, and Vision are unable to stop her from leaving the Mansion. Wonder Man, Beast, and Scarlet Witch catch up to her outside and are poised to destroy her, but Iron Man arrives and intervenes. Thor flies toward the mansion and sees the battle, so he hurls his hammer at her, not even recognizing her from the previous adventure. Captain America is nearby and throws his shield to deflect Mjolnir. Iron Man explains to the team that they should purposely let her escape so Iron Man can track her emissions to the location of Ultron.

Charlie-27: "It's a wonder anyone reaches maturity in this idiotic, backward era!"

Wonder Man: "This door and I have a personal thing going now! It's a grudge match--and I mean to settle it!"

• Although it had been stated George Pérez was co-plotting the series before this, this is his first credit as co-plotter
• This is the last issue of Avengers Jim Shooter will do color guides for.
• Beast quotes "eminent philosopher Johnny Olson." He's referring to the announcer on The Price is Right.
• Captain America verifies in this issue that he has lost the last of the super strength he gained back in March of 1973 in Captain America 159. It just wore off over time.
• Hawkeye informs the team via telephone about Two-Gun Kid's disappearance and says he's coming to New York. We also see that Quicksilver vanishes into thin air in front of his wife Crystal.
• One of the movers mistakenly calls Yellowjacket "Bumblebee." DC Comics had a Bumblebee character that was introduced in 1977 as a member of the Teen Titans. She was DC's first African-American heroine.
• We see that the Guardians of the Galaxy are staying in a rented house in Saugerties, New York, and keeping an eye on the young version of Vance Astro. Charlie-27 saves the boy from being hit by a semi.
• This is the first Avengers appearance of future Avenger Justice. He has yet to develop his telekinetic powers since he is just a boy here. It's not his first overall appearance. He had previously been in two Defenders stories. Doctor Strange erased his memories of those adventures, however.
• Ultron will claim next issue that he is the one who activated Jocasta.
• Jocasta is surprised to see Wasp alive. She assumed that if she has been activated, Wasp should have been killed in the process.
• Vision uses his disruption attack on Jocasta, but Ultron equipped her with antimatter pods inside of her structure. Apparently, they fill Vision with an energy he must process carefully, or those around him could be harmed by it. It takes him about two minutes to do so.
• Jocasta's voice sounds just like Wasp's voice through a robotic filter.
• Beast sings a bit of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" when attacking Jocasta in the garden outside Avengers Mansion. He just substitutes the word "kick" for "kiss." Although the song was number one on the music charts in 1929, it had more recently charted with Tiny Tim's version in 1968.
• Beast mentions that he had been looking for Thor earlier, but Thor had vanished. When Thor again arrives at the end of the issue, he says his "long-delayed return" is well timed, and he knows nothing of the last several Avengers adventures. This is yet another Thor sent by the Collector.
• Future Marvel staffer Peter Sanderson has a letter printed in the letter column.
• Future Avengers Luke Cage and Iron Fist start their buddy series, Power Man and Iron Fist (1978) this month. They start with issue 50 since they are taking over the numbering of Power Man's solo series.

Avengers 171
"...Where Angels Fear to Tread"
May, 1978

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by George Pérez and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Phil Rachelson

The Avengers track Jocasta through the city's crowds and even holes in buildings. Ms. Marvel is nearby shopping in her civilian identity, and she gets a seventh sense premonition that the Avengers are heading into danger, so she changes into her Ms. Marvel identity and joins the Avengers. They track Jocasta to a convent, and a nun, Sister Eucalypta begins to show them around. After a bright light flashes, Scarlet Witch and Eucalypta have disappeared. The rest of the heroes hear Ultron's voice, and a fight breaks out between all of them and Ultron. He is able to hold them all at bay due to his indestructible adamantium outer shell. Meanwhile Scarlet Witch awakes in a room with dozens of mirrors on the walls and floor. Disoriented, she falls through a trapdoor and then ends up back in this chamber, kept purposely out of the fight with Ultron. Ms. Marvel breaks away from the combat to search the convent and is attacked by Sister Eucalypta, who turns out to be a robot. Ultron lures all those fighting him into a small force sphere and imprisons them so he can reunite with his bride, whom he names Jocasta. Jocasta feels her programming compel her to obey Ultron, but she also feels he is evil and attacks him, to his surprise. As he recovers, the Scarlet Witch and Ms. Marvel appear, and Scarlet Witch hexes Ultron, causing his molecular rearranger to malfunction and his outer shell to crack. Thor uses his hammer to absorb Ultron's energy through the cracks and sends the energy into space. Now empty, Ultron's shell collapses. As the heroes regroup, Jocasta suddenly disappears and so does Captain America.

Ultron: "My desires are the same as ever! I want your death...I want your wife...and then...I want the world!"

Jocasta: "I love you...and yet, I know what you are! I must end your evil despite my desires!"

Ultron: "This cannot be! I did not program this foolishness into you!"

• Jim Shooter becomes the writer/editor with this issue. He had also replaced Archie Goodwin as Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics by this time.
• With this issue, Pablo Marcos has inked 17 issues of the series. This is the most thus far by any of the 30 inkers that have worked on the series, and it only took him 18 months to do it.
• Ms. Marvel mentions she owes the Avengers a favor. They had just saved her life in Ms. Marvel 18.
• Captain America calls Jocasta "Tin Lizzie." This is a nickname for the original Ford Model T automobile.
• Beast speaks some Latin to Sister Eucalypta. It translates, roughly, to "Sister, we believe a runaway (something) is in the area. (something) the safety of this house. Can we come in?" There are a couple of words that I couldn't translate.
• Ultron uses his encephalo-beam on Yellowjacket, but it now has no effect. Yellowjacket immunized the team against this weapon with a biochemical formula.
• Cap's shield striking Ultron produces a "Kang" sound effect. Actually four Avengers are all attacking Ultron in that panel, so that's my best guess as to what caused it.
• Ultron gives Jocasta her name in this issue. In Greek legend, Jocasta was the mother of Oedipus and later his wife as well. Ultron is often described as having an Oedipus complex because he has tried to kill his creator, Henry Pym, and created a wife in Wasp's image. In psychology, a Jocasta complex involves a mother having an intense relationship with her son, even if it's not sexual.
• While his energy is being absorbed, Ultron calls out for his mother. Presumably he's calling to Wasp.

Avengers 172
"Holocaust in New York Harbor!"
June, 1978
Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson
Lettered by Denise Wohl
Colored by Phil Rachelson

Hawkeye returns to the Mansion, but everyone else is out. The Avengers are processing the recent disappearances and return home to find that Hawkeye is back and that he trussed up Henry Gyrich, thinking he was an intruder. They free him, but he revokes all the Avengers' clearances and special privileges and leaves angrily. Crystal contacts them to tell them of Quicksilver's disappearance, and the team tries to contact everyone who has been an Avenger to check on their whereabouts. Jarvis informs the team that Tyrak has resurfaced and is attacking the harbor, so a team of Vision, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Wonder Man, and Scarlet Witch head to the emergency while the rest remain behind. Tyrak has attacked to draw out the Avengers and defeat them in an effort to reclaim his honor and return to Atlantis as a conqueror. He is as formidable as ever, and he defeats all the team but the Scarlet Witch, who dizzies him with a hex. As he advances on her, Vision revives enough to use his thermal beams to dehydrate Tyrak. The Atlantean collapses, but the Avengers are unable to summon the authorities to take him into custody after Gyrich had revoked their privileges. Faced with a dying Tyrak, Wonder Man throws him back into the ocean to save his life, and Tyrak does not resume the fight. As the team leaves the harbor, Vision disappears suddenly. We see he has been put inside a stasis tube in a secret lair along with the other missing Avengers and their allies.

Scarlet Witch: "Clint, it's so good to see you again! I can't tell you how much I missed your aggravation!"

Wonder Man, regarding Ms. Marvel: "I've never seen anybody so...aggressive! And she doesn't just strike a pose and point like Wanda or the Wasp! She hauls off and belts people--like a man would!"

•  This is Klaus Janson's first issue as inker on Avengers. He'll do a few issues here in the seventies and then return as regular inker in 2010 over 30 years later. He may be best known for his collaborations with Frank Miller on Daredevil and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
• Iron Man tells everyone to never be alone during this crisis, but he then goes to the lab by himself to research the problem. Beast calls him out on this, and Iron Man says he'll stay in contact with Tony Stark as his second person.
• When Black Panther is called, he mentions his own missing persons case. He is referring to Marvel Two-in-One 40 and 41, where he fights a vampire zuvembie (yeah, that's one creature) and the former Dr. Spectrum with the aid of the Thing and Brother Voodoo while searching for prominent citizens in his community who have been kidnapped.
• Beast stays at the Mansion, but by the end of the issue, he is gone. He answered a call from Polaris in Marvel Team-Up (1972) 69 and left in a Quinjet. He then appears in X-Men 111 searching for the X-Men after he finds that they are missing from Xavier's school. He appears in that series through issue 114 before returning to Avengers.
• After Beast leaves, Thor gets embroiled fighting the Living Monolith in Marvel Team-Up 70. Yellowjacket suggest the Avengers go help Thor, but Iron Man says Thor should handle it himself while they focus on the disappearances.
• In the Collector's tubes, we see Moondragon has also been collected. Her disappearance was not otherwise depicted.
• What If? (1977) 9 is published this month. The story is "What If the Avengers Had Fought Evil During the 1950's?" It does not feature the established Avengers, but instead a new group consisting of  3-D Man, Gorilla-Man, The Human Robot, Marvel Boy, and Venus. Although this story is not part of the official Marvel Universe, the same heroes would be seen as a team in Avengers Forever and then later as the Agents of Atlas group in 2006.
• This is the month of the DC Implosion at DC Comics. DC Comics had been struggling financially, laid off part of their staff, and canceled about 40% of their series. If DC had landed the Star Wars license, this might have been Marvel's fate instead.



Updates for 10/18/13

Updates for 10/18/13

 

     There are quite a few updates that I have just made to previous entries. The Internet has enough disinformation, so when I find something that contradicts, enriches, or clarifies what I've put before, I'm compelled to make these changes.

 

For Avengers 9

I updated Wonder Man's information to show he's now on the Unity Squad in Uncanny Avengers. I would  have mentioned his pacifism, but he'll probably punch somebody sooner or later, making it old news.

For Avengers 16

I added Jack Kirby to the art team, since the reprint in 150 also credits him.

For Avengers 20

I updated Shang-Chi to show he's now a plain Avenger on the main team, not a Secret Avenger, not that there's anything wrong with that.

For Avengers 35 essay.

I included that Scarlet Witch's powers were lost due to the influence of Chthon, the entity that is imprisoned in Wundagore mountain. This is revealed in an issue I haven't featured yet, but I've recently read it, so it made sense of this former mystery.

For Avengers 52.

• We later learn that Grim Reaper's coma ray was developed by Ultron, who has yet to appear himself.

For Avengers 127 to 130

I removed "Whizzer; Robert Frank" as a featured ally. I had thought he had been given a reserve member status, but I was unable to find any solid reference to it. Did I mention I only put past and future Avengers in that "Featured Allies" section. No? Well, that's the criteria, or that list would get pretty darn long sometimes.

For Avengers 150

I removed that Archie Goodwin only appeared as editor of this one issue. He edits plenty later.

For Avengers 159

I added mention of Graviton--Sorry, Frank Hall's appearance on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.

• 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.
 

For Avengers 160

I removed the mention of X-Men 108 to have it take place before Avengers Annual 7. It's attached to that issue now. Wasp's costume is not the right one, but it fits there better based on other footnotes and publication dates. Once I made a similar exception for Wonder Man's costume, I wasn't as set on using Wasp's wardrobe as a time indicator outside of Avengers itself.

For Avengers 162

I updated it to show that Iron Man did use data from Grim Reaper's coma ray to revive the fallen heroes, except Vision. I had that as only a theory, but issue 166 verified it for me.

For Avengers 163

• 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 164 to 166 (including Avengers Annual 7)

Avengers 164 to 166 (including Avengers Annual 7)

 

Nefaria's patsies.
Team-up and a two-in-one
capped by Warlock's end
 

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; Henry "Hank" Pym
 

Featured Allies
Black Widow; Natasha Romanoff
Captain Marvel; Mar-Vell
Hercules; Heracles
Moondragon; Heather Douglas
Spider-Man; Peter Parker
Thing; Ben Grimm

Wonder Man; Simon Williams
 

     October through December of 1977 was a busy time for the Avengers. They appeared in six stories, only half of which were in their own monthly series. We see the return of Count Nefaria, a very old Avengers foe, along with his recruitment of a handful of other Avengers villains to form a new Lethal Legion. It struck me that a story had just featured Graviton, and Nefaria and Graviton are groomed quite a bit alike. I know Count Nefaria was designed back in the sixties, but I wonder who Jim Shooter was channeling into his villain roles.

 

Canadian? Italian? It's the beards that make them evil.

     The team also served as the mental thralls of Doctor Doom in Super-Villain Team-Up 14. While reading this story, I had a sense I had seen it elsewhere. It is very reminiscent of the future Marvel Graphic Novel, "Emperor Doom." In both stories, Doctor Doom has managed to gain mental control of everyone on Earth. How he can control so many people with his own thoughts, I don't know, but just go with it. In the "Emperor Doom" story, it's Wonder Man manages to stay free, but he's under Doom's control here. Sadly for the Avengers, they don't get to foil Doom's plot, but they do enter into a nice brawl with Magneto, which is always fun.

     Speaking of arch-villains, Jim Starlin used the 1977 Avengers and Marvel Two-in-One Annuals to follow up on his darlings Thanos, Adam Warlock, and company. The storyline would see the death or incapacitation of all these characters, but since this is comics, they will all be revived in time. Though Starlin was not the regular writer of the series, this was one of the best received Avengers stories from the time period. On the director's commentary to the current Avengers feature film, director Joss Whedon mentions this story as being one of his favorite Avengers stories ever. No wonder he was so keen to include Thanos at the end of the film. Britain had started its own awards for comics, the Eagle Awards, and these stories and their central characters won four of these awards in total.

     This is one of the first stories that hinted bringing together all these Soul Gems would mean bad news, but Jim Starlin and Thanos will go back to that theme many times in the future. Adam Warlock and the Infinity Gems were among the Marvel elements I got to work with in the Ultraverse. I was even able to plot a story that featured the Infinity Gems in it. (In the Ultraverse, we included a seventh gem, the Ego Gem, that merged the six into their own living being, because, well, why not? But that didn't end up back in the Marvel Universe.) Adam Warlock became a supporting character in the Rune series I was assistant editor on as well. I can't really wax nostalgic about Warlock, though, since I'm not that big a fan of his character overall. He's a bit too morose for my taste.

 

Avengers 164
To Fall By Treachery!

October, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by John Byrne and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Phil Rachelson

 

Wonder Man discovers some facts about his new body, that he is made of cells of energy that mimic his former body of flesh and blood. Beast is upset he was not consulted and leaves the Mansion to clear his head. Count Nefaria recruits the former Power Man, who helps him free Whirlwind and the Living Laser from prison. The three villains rob a bank, and Captain America, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Black Panther, and Scarlet Witch arrive on the scene to stop them. Living Laser sets the street on fire, and the villains escape. We see Nefaria's homestead has fallen on hard times, but he has a lab and scientists working on a secret project. The three villains are given a treatment that increases their powers, and they go to Avengers Mansion to use them on the Avengers. Beast has since returned, but the souped-up villains are winning until their powers mysteriously begin to fade and they are quickly defeated. While the Avengers try to figure this out, a newly outfitted Count Nefaria topples them all with a shock wave and promises he will kill them all.

Captain America: "This whole team's been falling short of its rep, lately..."

Captain America: "...we attack as a group!"

Beast: "Or, we could invite them into the game room for an air hockey tournament! But--no, they'd cheat!"

• Some copies of this issue sold for 35₵. Apparently there was a test run of such issues for a few months in four cities to gauge consumer response to a price increase. The cities were Memphis, Tennessee; Toledo, Ohio; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and Wilmington, North Carolina. Such variants would end up more valuable to collectors due to their scarcity. The test run ended in October, 1977.
• This is John Byrne's first run as penciller on the series, but he'll work on many issues of the series, also becoming writer of this and Avengers West Coast in the future.
• The villain group never uses the name Lethal Legion. It's only on the cover. The Living Laser is the only villain to be in both Ultron's and Count Nefaria's Lethal Legions.
• Beast is a bit upset that Tony Stark calls in a biochemist to examine Wonder Man. Stark knows that Beast is a trained biochemist.
• Count Nefaria has not been idle since his last Avengers appearance in issue 13. He has been the villain in several issues of X-Men (1963) and Iron Man (1968). All his failed schemes have exhausted his wealth. The bank robbery in this issue is how he gets funds to pay his scientists their back pay.
• Count Nefaria begins the issue having to drive his own car since his chauffeur had quit. Later he recruits Whirlwind for his abilities, but coincidentally Whirlwind had worked as a chauffeur before.
• Since his last appearance in Avengers, the former Power Man has had his code name appropriated by Luke Cage. They even fought over who got to use the name in Power Man 21. He still uses the Power Man code name here even though he lost to Cage.
• Living Laser is still in jail after his plot in Avengers Annual 6. Whirlwind was likewise last seen in a back-up story in Avengers Annual 6.
• This is the first appearance of lead scientist Kenneth Sturdy, but he claims he was an assistant on Baron Zemo's project that created Wonder Man and later Power Man. The other scientists are Stancheck, Hellen, and Withers.
• Whizzer sees the robbery on television and prepares to go to the scene, but Scarlet Witch gives him a lecture about his health and makes him stay at home.
• Scarlet Witch finally mentions that she had been testing a flying belt the last time she was seen flying. The footnote is incorrect and refers to Avengers 16, but it was issue 153. She also says it was not safe for her, which is why she did not continue to use it. I guess Wonder Man's rocket belt is also not safe for someone who is not as durable as he is.
• Although Iron Man appears at the beginning of the issue as Tony Stark, his own adventures in his series prevent him from being present during the fight at the end.
• Vision is also absent. We see next issue that he is still recovering from Ultron's attack.
• Captain America's shield running into Living Laser produces a "Kang!" sound effect.
• Wasp mentions that Yellowjacket's and her powers have been upgraded. Yellowjacket did this in Marvel Team-Up (1972) 59 as a surprise for her birthday. She now has increased strength and self-generated bio-blasts, and Yellowjacket's blasts are also internal rather than from a gun.
• An Alice appears as a biochemist helping to inspect Wonder Man. Some sources claim this is Alice Nugent, who later becomes Doctor Spectrum in 2006. She does share the first name and a resemblance, so it is a possibility. Alice Nugent owned a technology company, but as Henry Pym has demonstrated, Marvel scientists are often proficient in multiple fields.

Avengers 165
Hammer of Vengeance!

November, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by John Byrne and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Phil Rachelson

Count Nefaria shows he has the combined powers of Power Man, Whirlwind, and Living Laser magnified to a higher degree and battles the entire Avengers team. Jarvis checks on Vision, who is still recovering in a pod in the Mansion. Nefaria tips an entire 40-story building onto the Avengers, crushing them all. He strides off and robs a bank with ease and kidnaps a young woman. He explain to her how his scientists temporarily increased the power of his lackeys while using the data gained to copy the abilities into Nefaria's body. Whizzer arrives to help the woman, but Nefaria's super speed surpasses even Whizzer's, making the hero no threat. Whizzer tells Nefaria his new power will bring him only temporary satisfaction, as Nefaria will eventually die and leave behind a bitter legacy. Iron Man arrives at the rubble and finds the team alive in an improvised foxhole that was kept clear from falling debris by Wonder Man's strength. Nefaria attacks the team at the Mansion, demanding they summon Thor. Chilled by Whizzer's prediction, Nefaria hopes that he can defeat Thor and gain the secret of immortality. Only Yellowjacket manages to escape the battle, and Nefaria is poised to slay the Avengers when Thor appears and attacks him.
 

Iron Man, thinking: "Better to have died with them than to be left to unearth their mangled bodies!"
 

Count Nefaria: "Would that your brother Quicksilver were here--to see how his speed pales beside mine! Ha! He would seethe with impotent rage now, as I strike you down..."
 

Wonder Man: "...you can bet your cutsie cape that if I had the guts and savvy that any other Avenger has, you'd be pulped by now!"

• The price per issue goes up to 35₵ nationwide. Marvel's stated reason is rising production costs. That would equate to $1.35 in 2013 dollars. They had held out longer than DC, who had increased their prices on June's 1977 issues.
• Shooter goes by "James Shooter" in his credit. He'll switch back and forth between Jim and James for a few months. Phil Rachelson also goes by "Phil Rache," which is a common pseudonym for him.
• Inker Pablo Marcos has inked 12 issues of the series in a row, breaking the record of 11 set by Tom Palmer thus far.
• Beast is enraged at Nefaria on sight. The X-Man Thunderbird was killed in the battle with Nefaria in X-Men (1963) 95. Nefaria barely remembers it.
• Wasp does not take part in these battles. She was knocked out at the end of issue 164 and doesn't recover until next issue.
• Nefaria attempts to crush Captain America's shield and cannot even bend it. The shield has yet to have its reputation for being indestructible. Iron Man just calls it "super-tough." Based on Nefaria's strength, this is the shield's most impressive feat yet in the pages of Avengers.
• This is the first brief appearance of Henry Peter Gyrich, the Avengers' future government liaison and perpetual thorn. Although starting as more of an annoying bureaucrat, he eventually turned to straight villainy and was largely responsible for the death of former Avenger D-Man in 2012 and was put in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.
• We see that the New York Police do have a protocol for Avengers battles. They cordon off the streets several blocks away and hope for the best. It's also said the police have arrested the rest of the depowered Lethal Legion, which is why we don't see them in this issue.
• Wonder Man refers to the villains from last issue as the Lethal Legion even though they never identified themselves by that name.
• Nefaria only wears the gaudy outfit because it was the conduit for the lab experiment, but he gets used to it and enjoys its dramatic effect.
• Wonder Man's new costume is destroyed in this issue, so that's the last we see of it in this series.
• A blow from Iron Man's fist to Nefaria's face creates the "Kang!" sound effect. I miss that guy. No. No, I don't.
• The Incredible Hulk television show premiered this month, making Hulk the first Avenger to get his own live-action television show. It won't be until 1988 that we see the TV version of Thor teaming up with Hulk for a meeting of Avengers, though.

Avengers 166
Day of the Godslayer!

December, 1977

Written by Jim Shooter
Art by John Byrne and Pablo Marcos

Lettered by Denise Wohl

Colored by Phil Rachelson

Thor attacks Count Nefaria physically, and both men are surprised that Nefaria is barely affected by the blows. Thor summons a space warp with his hammer Mjolnir, but Nefaria topples a large building, plugging it with the debris, and knocks Thor over. Back at the Mansion, Yellowjacket and a recovered Beast gamble on a process to revive Vision and are successful. Vision gets to Nefaria just before he can attempt to pick up Thor's fallen hammer. Vision's disruption attack does not work on Nefaria, leaving Vision unsure what to do next. Nefaria is surprised to see a battered Professor Sturdy arrive at the battle, as he destroyed his own lab with the scientists inside to make sure they could not replicate the experiment. Sturdy claims that a side effect of the treatment is that Nefaria is aging at an increased rate due to power in his body. Based on this prognosis, Nefaria would die in matter of days, so he goes insane and attempts to destroy the city in his shock. At the Mansion, a recovered Wasp revives Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man, and they rush to the battle, with Iron Man following soon after. The team manages to stagger Nefaria, but he keeps on fighting. Vision flies up a mile into the sky and increases his density to its maximum, plummeting directly at Nefaria. The resulting impact shakes the entire island of Manhattan but manages to knock Nefaria out. Yellowjacket reveals that the dying Professor Sturdy had lied to Nefaria and that, in truth, Nefaria is now immortal.
 

Wasp: "Don't baby me, Jarvis! Only Hank gets away with treating me like a 'helpless woman'!"
 

Count Nefaria: "It's too late! Do you hear? Too late! I'm going to di-i-i-e!"

Vision: "He...has gone mad!"

• George Pérez does the cover for this issue, along with inker Ernie Chan.
• Denise Wohl has lettered 8 issues in a row, breaking the previous longest streak set by Sam Rosen.
• This issue's narration begins to address the fact that Thor should be in space and his appearance makes no sense. Even Thor himself is confused. This is explained later as the Collector plucking Thor from a different time period in order to aid the Avengers.
• Count Nefaria's theory is that Thor's hammer gives him immortality, so the whole attack is based on a shaky motive, as that's not the case at all.
• Vision found his disruption effect did not defeat Wonder Man and now Nefaria. We later find out they have similar cell structures and that Wonder Man is also nearly immortal.
• Captain America is too injured to fight, so he loans Wonder Man his shield for the battle. Wonder Man feels he doesn't deserve to use it, but does.
• In a sound-effect turnabout, Nefaria's fist to Iron Man's face makes the "Kang!" sound effect. Last issue, it was Iron Man punching Nefaria that made that sound.
• This is the first appearance of Django Maximoff, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's adoptive father. He is not named here, just shown leaving Vladivostok to travel to New York City.

Super-Villain Team-Up 14
A World For the Winning!

October, 1977

Written by Bill Mantlo
Art by Bob Hall, Don Perlin, and Duffy Vohland

Lettered by Irving Watanabe

Colored by Don Warfield

Magneto arrives in Latveria to propose an alliance with Doctor Doom in order to control the world. Doom is not impressed, and he reveals he has already secretly gained control of the world through a mind-controlling gas that has been released worldwide. He proves it by making Magneto kneel against his will. Doom is bored, however, and he gives Magneto an antidote to return his free will and give Doom a challenge. Magneto goes to the Avengers for aid, but they attack him upon his arrival at Avengers Mansion. He holds them at bay, but he is soon at a disadvantage. The Avengers give him an opportunity to speak, and he reveals Doctor Doom's plot. They find it hard to believe, but a transmission of Doom confirms that he does control them. Doom gives Magneto the opportunity to free only one Avenger's mind in order to gain an ally. Magneto chooses Beast, and they are allowed to leave. Magneto uses the mind-controlling power he himself has to neutralize Doom's chemical agent. They fly to Los Angeles in a Quinjet to gain aid from the Champions.
 

Doctor Doom: "Rule a world? Magneto...you are a fool! I am Victor Von Doom, man--and this world is already...mine!!"
 

Magneto: "...though I came seeking aid--I came as an equal among equals, not to be humbled!!"

• This is the last issue of Super-Villain Team-Up. The letters page claims that it was beyond the capability of the production department to produce so many books, not that it was canceled due to unpopularity or low sales. The title would be revived, sort of, in 2007 as the mini-series Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11.
• Wonder Man has an intact costume in this issue, even though chronologies place it after the costume's destruction in Avengers 165. It was printed before that Avengers issue, however.
• When Magneto takes out Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America with one attack, Beast refers to them as being "our Big Three."
• Magneto's "mind control" through using blood flow to the brain was seen before in Avengers 111. We also see this issue that Wonder Man and Vision have metal compounds in their "blood" that Magneto can use to control their blood flow.
• Magneto and Beast go to the X-Men and Fantastic Four first, but they are not home. The X-Men are in space, and the Fantastic Four are probably in a New Salem dungeon, as seen in Fantastic Four (1961) 186. A footnote says to check Fantastic Four 155 and X-Men 107. Fantastic Four 155 was printed in 1975, however, so this seems off.
• Past and future Avengers Black Widow and Hercules appear in the last panel along with their teammates in the Champions. The story is continued in Champions 16, but the Avengers, except for Beast, do not appear in that issue.

Avengers Annual 7
The Final Threat

November, 1977

Written by Jim Starlin
Art by Jim Starlin and Joe Rubinstein

Lettered by Tom Orzechowski

Colored by Petra Goldberg
 

Captain Marvel and Moondragon come to Avengers Mansion to warn the Avengers about Thanos. He has been destroying stars, and the Earth's sun is next on his list. Adam Warlock also arrives, backing up their story and informing them all about a giant synthetic gem created from the essence of five other Soul Gems like Warlock's. Starcore One contacts the Mansion to tell them about the huge fleet Thanos has brought to the solar system, and the team uses Moondragon's ship to go into space. Thor and Iron Man engage the other ships while the rest of team breaks into the flagship, Sanctuary II. During the battle, Adam Warlock finds his friend Pip aboard, but Thanos has destroyed Pip's mind, so Warlock absorbs Pip's soul into his Soul Gem as a form of mercy. Pip's soul informs Warlock that Thanos actually has another identical ship on the far side of the Sun, so Warlock and Captain Marvel fly out into space to attack it. Thanos is on the other ship with the giant gem, and he fights the two heroes and defeats them, fatally wounding Warlock. Thor and Iron Man arrive next and stop Thanos from using the sixth and final Soul Gem he took from Warlock's brow. Iron Man destroys the large synthetic gem, which Thanos needs to destroy the sun, so Thanos teleports away, vowing revenge. Warlock slips into death, but we see that his soul has entered his Soul Gem and is reunited with Pip and Gamora and others whose souls have found peace inside the Soul Gem.
 

Beast, thinking, of Warlock: "Those eyes...they've seen it all, life, death...infinity...and they've understood! Maybe that's why he looked so tired and sad. He's witnessed goodness yet seen behind it...evil! I could feel it all about him!"
 

• Some Avengers appear briefly in Uncanny X-Men (1963) 108. Captain America, Beast, Yellowjacket, Wasp, and Black Panther receive a video message about an impending disaster that the X-Men handle. Wasp is wearing her red and blue outfit, which doesn't match current Avengers, and Black Panther is absent from the team after issue 166, but since the previous Super-Villain Team-Up story is supposed to be concurrent with X-Men 107,  that scene probably happens before this Avengers Annual.
• Jim Starlin is an infrequent Avengers artist, and this is his only writing credit for the series. He was better known for his work with Adam Warlock and Thanos, both of which feature prominently in these stories.
• This is Joe Rubenstein's first Avengers work, but he will later be a regular contributor to the monthly series.
• This issue won the "Favourite Single Story" Eagle Award, which were awards in Britain for comic book excellence. Together with Marvel Two-in-One Annual 2, it also won "Favourite Continued Story." Characters Thanos and Pip the Troll also won Eagles that year for "Favorite Villain" and "Favorite Supporting Character." Strangely, Moondragon says in this issue that the evil can only be stopped by "a gathering of eagles," which is exactly what the story won.
• Gamora dies at the beginning of the story, leading Adam Warlock to seek vengeance. She would be revived along with Pip and Warlock in the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series in 1991.
• Iron Man expresses a feeling that he needs to be at the Mansion, but he doesn't know why. Considering Moondragon is part of the action, she may be  affecting the minds of some of the Avengers.
• The Warlock (1972) series had ended over a year previously. Warlock fills in some of the details in the lives of those characters and what happened to them before this story.
• Thor calls Warlock "Him," as that's how he was called in his first few appearances, including those in Thor's series. He was given the name Adam Warlock by the High Evolutionary a few years later.
• This story mentions that Thanos gets his powers from bionics, mystical enhancements, and his own sheer will power.
• The Soul Gems will later each have their own names, but not at this time. At least they're different colors. Their locations before this story are with Adam Warlock, one with the Stranger, one from an unnamed prison satellite, one abandoned on the planet Deneb IV, one with a creature called Xiambor, and one from Earth's moon. Thanos acquires them all.
• Deneb is the same star system that the Silver Surfer originally came from, but his home planet is not Deneb IV.
• Warlock's last appearance was in Marvel Team-Up (1972) 55. That featured two other Soul Gem owners, the Stranger and the Gardener, on Earth's moon. In that story, the Gardener fears his Soul Gem as a weapon, and striving to be peaceful, he discards it. He changes his mind and later regains a Soul Gem, but this time, Adam Warlock's Soul Gem.
• The enemy fleet is first noticed by Starcore, a scientific satellite that studies the sun. They also alerted Earth to the Sentinels' return in Avengers 102. They claim Thanos' fleet is twice the size of the Skrull fleet from the Kree-Skrull War.
• Scarlet Witch's intuition makes her fear Warlock will one day be an enemy. In a way, this happens, but it's his "future self," the Magus, from an alternate reality.
• The alien fleet uses ionic ray weaponry that Iron Man claims is the same as that used by the Skrulls on their ships.
• Thanos' troops come from a wide variety of alien races all mixed together. Some of the aliens depicted are the snakelike Hujah and the humanoid pig Kodabaks and a large individual called Qu'lar the Massive.

Marvel Two-in-One Annual 2
Death Watch!

December, 1977

Written by Jim Starlin
Art by Jim Starlin and Joe Rubinstein

Lettered by Annette Kawecki

Colored by Petra Goldberg

 

A sleeping Peter Parker has a dream sent by Moondragon that shows him of the Avengers' battle with Thanos. After retreating back to Sanctuary II, Thanos had rallied his troops and defeated all the Avengers and their allies. On awaking, Spider-Man seeks out the Fantastic Four for aid, but only Thing is home. The Thing reluctantly accepts Spider-Man's story, and they go into space to investigate. Their craft is pulled aboard Sanctuary II by a tractor beam, and the two heroes begin to fight Thanos' crew. Put at a disadvantage when the artificial gravity is negated, they are stunned and brought before Thanos. When they awaken, they see the Avengers displayed as trophies. Thanos reveals that a new weapon is being readied that will focus the power of Warlock's Soul Gem and enable him to destroy the sun. The Thing attacks Thanos anew, but he is swiftly defeated. Spider-Man chooses to swing away and lose himself in the giant spaceship. He sneaks back and smashes his own body into the restraining device holding the Avengers, freeing them all. A new battle breaks out with Thanos and his crew. A groggy Spider-Man recovers and feels the instinct to smash open the globe holding the Soul Gem. Freed from the globe, the Gem emits a flaming avatar of Adam Warlock. Thanos is severely surprised by the return of his enemy and offers no defense against him. The touch of this apparition turns Thanos into a granite statue, and his crew swiftly surrenders. After the adventure, the assembled heroes stand over the graves of Warlock, Pip, and Gamora and say their farewells while the souls of the fallen friends continue to exist inside the paradise of the Soul Gem.

 

Thing: "How could anyone doubt the word of a man in blue and red leotards who climbs on walls?"

 

Spider-Man, thinking: "There's nothing in the Spider-Man manual about fighting star bursting demi-gods! I don't belong here..."

• This issue states that the aliens in Thanos fleet are criminals, but it's unknown if they were criminals when recruited or they're now criminals for, you know, destroying stars and killing billions of beings.
• In space, we see cosmic floating-head entities Master Order and Lord Chaos revealing that Spider-Man and the Thing were destined to fight this battle and release their true champion, Adam Warlock. It also seems they are opposing their sister entity Death's plans. This is their first appearance.
• The Thing's choice of reading material is 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King. It was only King's second published novel, and it was released in 1975. (His first was Carrie.)
• Thing estimates that the flagship Sanctuary II is a mile across in size.
• Thing is able to recognize Thanos' voice over the public address. The two characters were both in Captain Marvel (1968) 27.
• Adam Warlock's soul calls himself the "ultimate avenger." I think he's referring to vengeance in general, not being part of the Avengers team.
• Thanos' fleet is allowed to leave peacefully on their surrender. Captain Marvel points out there's too much difficulty in trying to imprison them all on Earth. Sanctuary II seems to be left out in orbit around the sun, and Thanos' statue is left where he was transformed.
• Captain Marvel speaks the eulogy for Adam Warlock and refers to his own passing in the future. He didn't know he would die in 1982, but he had already been exposed to the toxic gas which eventually causes the cancer that kills him.
• Warlock's Soul Gem is left on his grave. It will summon the Gardener to it, and he will soon come by to pluck it up. It is next seen in his possession in Incredible Hulk (1962) 247.