Avengers #150

TITLE: The Avengers #150

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: August 1976

COVER PRICE: $0.25

18 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

As I mentioned on the last post, I just recently reread this issue so the events are pretty fresh in my mind. It doesn't help, that this issue serves as a vehicle for reprinting bits and pieces of stories that any Avengers or Marvel fan should know by heart. And honestly, if you don't know what happened in Avengers #4, you should probably just hang it up.

I'll cut the non-Avenger reader some slack if they're unfamiliar with Wonder Man's introduction in #9, and I might even be lenient about ignorance with the first big wholesale line-up change in issue #16 if you catch me on a good day.

And you know what? Today is a good day, because this issue reprints those exact issues. So while we don't get a new Avengers line-up until the next issue, we are treated to some highlights of the first year and half of Avengers history, courtesy of Messrs. Lee and Kirby. If that wasn't enough, we also get a framing sequence by Steve Englehart and George Perez.

Let's get right to it, and in the interest of still having something to say when and if the Randomizer picks issue #9 or 16, I'm going to forgo the full on review and just geek out for the remainder of this issue and soak up all that Lee, Kirby and Perez have to offer.

Since this was the anniversary of 150 issues of The Avengers, let's see if I can find 150 things to geek out about in these eighteen pages. Everybody synchronize your watches, and we're off...

1. Awesome cover by Ron Wilson and Frank Giacoia! That right there is just about the perfect Avengers line-up. Swap out Hawkeye for Hellcat, and I could read about these guys all day long.


2. It only cost two bits!


3. Great issue title. Avengers Assemble! It's also a great catch-phrase, but why does it work as well as it does? It's not like assemble is the most action-packed verb around, and it definitely doesn't translate to other super-hero teams nearly as well. Champions Congregate! Fantastic Four Forgather! Metal Men Muster! It's a true mystery for the ages.


4. Stan Lee


5. Jack Kirby


6. George Perez

I'm probably cheating by listing the creative team separately, but I gotta get to 150 somehow. Besides, those guys are legends and deserve the honor. And while I've acknowledged that I'm playing fast and loose with the rules, these guys ain't nothing to sneeze at either...


7. Steve Englehart


8. John Tartag


9. Duffy Vohland


10. Dick Ayers


11. Denise Wohl


12. Artie Simek


13. I love time travelling villains


14. Irene Vartanoff


15. Archie Goodwin


16. Avengers Trope #41: The assembled mass of people and reporters outside of Avengers Mansion. I love this visual, as it really drives home the accessibility of these heroes. You couldn't do this with a moon base.


17. Yellowjacket. You can keep your Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Wasp, Scientist Supreme, or Dr. Pym identities. To me, Hank Pym will always be Yellowjacket (although I do kinda like the sound of that Scientist Supreme one).


18. Crazy wild coincidence! That just happens to be the 150th different costume that the Wasp has worn in her tenure with the Avengers so far.


19. Another crazy wild coincidence! I think I may have just made that last fact up out of thin air.


20. It's not named here, but one can only wonder if that is Korr that Yellowjacket is riding on.


21. The Wasp's fiery streak! She's come a long way in the past 118 issues.


22. A bonus shout out for referencing continuity from the previous year...and in a Marvel book, no less. Those were the days.


23. Jarvis' striped pants and tails. There's a butler who dresses for success.


24. Avengers Trope #81: Monogrammed chairs! Nothing says super-hero headquarters like monogrammed chairs.


25. Although, for each of them supposedly having chairs "especially reserved for them", it would appear that the Beasts and Hellcats are pretty interchangeable. One can only assume that their decals are waiting if they make the cut into the new line-up.


26. Appropriate that Iron Man's symbol is that of both iron and man.


27. Avengers Trope #68: Overly dramatic resignations!
    
    But I guess when you're dealing with the god of thunder, you should expect a little bluster every now and again.


28. Thor's abrupt announcement leads us to our first flashback to Avengers #1 and the formation of the team, helpfully recapped by the local newscaster reporting from outside. It was pretty awesome that the news station had Kirby on staff to provide some artist's renderings of the action.


29. It turns out, it's actually George Perez that they had on staff. I just checked the panels that I assumed were reprinted from Avengers #1 with the actual issue, but they're not the same. So there you go, a little Perez after Kirby for you. Here's another...


30. I like how Iron Man keeps his options open. You know, just in case this whole Avengers thing doesn't pan out.


31. This was obviously the Hulk from his more verbose, catch-phrase spewing youth.


32. Overly officious membership by-laws.


33. Wait a minute...isn't everyone here? Couldn't you just do a show of hands and get the new chairman installed with an actual mandate behind him? We all know what happens when a leader gets appointed, rather than elected.


34. Here's Perez' take on Kirby's classic scene of a frozen cap from Avengers #4.


35. Followed shortly by a nice Perez ala Heck re-imagining.
    
    
36. There's something right about George Perez drawing Wonder Man. He's one of the few that can make his myriad of questionable costumes seem not quite so questionable.


37. With the flashbacks coming this quickly, it's only a matter of time until we're at the formation of the new Avengers in Avengers #16. And with it, our first glimpse of actual Kirby art.
    
    And not a moment too soon, as the old Avengers seem to be in a spot of trouble!


38. Avengers Trope #92: Nothing says let me onto your team more than an "I just kicked your teams ass" introduction!



39. Hawkeye!


40. Flashbacks within flashbacks. Were there no editors back then. But it's Hawkeye, so we'll give him a pass.
    
    


41. And what of old Jarvis tied up in the corner? No hard feelings I'm sure, but we'll see how quickly your tea and biscuits gets delivered the next time your feeling a bit peckish, eh Hawkeye?


42. ZZZZZZZIT!


43. TWANNNNNG!


44. SSSSSSST!


45. Three arrows loosed from the same bow at the same time, and only one of them sounds like an actual arrow. Although in all fairness, I think that last sound effect is actually coming from the snake that Hawkeye used to tie up Jarvis' legs with, so we're all good. It's probably a good thing he was around to get that snake before something drastic happened, eh?


46. More by-laws! Good thing there's an employee manual to get the new members up to speed.


47. Watch that wandering eye, Jan! You know your man is a bit of a loose cannon, right?


48. One reformed villain joined up, so why not offer a spot to Namor, The Sub-Mariner?


49. Denied!


50. He'd come around in about a hundred issues or so, and end up palling around with the Avengers for a good few years. I actually have a lot of love for Namor in the Avengers as his arrival came right around the time I started reading the books on a regular basis.


51. Don't fret Iron Man, there's plenty of b-list villains hanging around that are just dying to join up.


52. Old-timey social networking at its finest. I long for the days when you could have a membership drive using the want ads.


53. Quicksilver's hair, the beta-testing for Logan's hairdo.


54. Self-deprecating Stan.
    
    I guess even Stan gets tired of Magneto boasting in those early issues, as we have yet another flashback in a flashback dealing with the origin of Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch.


55. Old-timey social networking at its finest, part two.
    
    I guess the equivalent today would be tweeting your request for membership to #avengersmemberdrive.


56. Quicksilver has lovely penmanship for someone who, and I'm only assuming here, writes really fast.


57. Captain America fighting jungle beasts! Why? Who cares, as we've had a real lack of action in this issue.


58. If only he would've fought a gorilla, we would've come full circle from our last post.


59. I guess this is still early in Cap's career, as he hasn't mastered the art of ricocheting his shield back to him with every throw. There's nothing more foolish than a super-hero picking his shield up off the ground.


60. Back in the states, Cap is still on his jungle high and looks to avoid the assembled reporters in true, man of action style.
    
    Surely there has to be a secret door somewhere, eh?


61. Reunions!
    
    Just because the other Avengers are kid-sized to Giant-Man, shouldn't give him permission to treat them as such.


62. Time-travelling villains! Although isn't there some sort of paradox being violated by having two disparate versions of the same character commenting about the same thing in real time?


63. Did I mention that I love time-travelling villains? Maybe I'll go back in time and mention it there too!


64. The drama...oh, the drama!


65. Really Rick Jones? I mean really? (with apologies to Seth and Amy)


66. Tip for Rick Jones on getting into the Avengers. Try robbing a bank or subjugating mankind first. It seemed to work out all right for the new line-up.


67. I think Tony Stark is the poster child for personal reasons.


68. Overly dramatic exits...


69. ...and new beginnings!

And that brings the 150th issue extravaganza to a close. Let's see how we did on our quest to find 150 interesting things about Avengers #150. After totaling up the judges scores, it looks like we got to 69...so close, so close.

Lucky for you, you won't be going home empty-handed. That's right, along with the home version of the Random Longbox board game, every reader will also be going home with the identity of the new line-up that was teased in this very issue, but never revealed.

Here it is, enjoy...

(oh, and spoilers I suppose, for those of you not up on your 34 year old continuity)

As far as line-ups go, it doesn't get much better than that.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

The Avengers #32

TITLE: The Avengers #32

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: September 1966

COVER PRICE: $0.12

20 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

So this is the first of three reprint issues from Giant-Size Marvel Triple Action #2 that we'll be reading and reviewing. I was actually quite pleased when this issue came into my possession late last year, as the three stories are all ones that I haven't read yet.

My Avengers collection starts around issue #90, with a handful of earlier issues sprinkled here and there. Most of those early issues feature two of my favorite characters, either the Vision or Kang, including their first appearances. This story that we're reading today includes neither, so it's a new one for me.

Who do we have in this issue? Well Hawkeye's here, and any Avengers story worth its salt features Hawkeye. Hank and Janet are back, but Wanda and Pietro seem to be missing. And as always during these early years, Cap is leading the way.

"The Sign Of The Serpent!"

• Writer and Raconteur: Stan Lee
• Artist and Bon Vivant: Don Heck
• Letterer and Patron des Artes: Artie Simek
• Scapegoat, Junior Grade: Irv Forbush

Before we actually get started, there's a helpful tip from Stan about something we should be aware of with this issue.

I did a little googling about this issue, and it would appear that it never did win any prizes, so I'm assuming that Stan Lee is using a bit of his trademark hyperbole. In fact, it might be a good idea to turn on our patented Hyperbole Meter so we're not caught off guard and accidentally hurt ourselves when we come across it.

We barely even get a chance to introduce it and it's already going off!

So here come the Avengers back from their latest adventure when they're attacked..by their own headquarters!

That's right, deactivation codes are for wimps! Who needs 'em when you can use your own super-powers to shut it down. Which then begs the question...how secure is your base when your defensive measures can be thwarted with cutting edge stone age technology like a shield and a bow and arrow?

They don't get much of a chance to rest however, before Hank goes into one of his "woe is me" episodes. It seems he's been stuck in an enlarged state and is depressed about not being able to shrink back to normal size.

We're hitting the yellow on the meter, I'd look out if I was you Hank!

It may seem like Cap has lost his mind, but it's all part of some tough love as he tries to get Hank to snap out of his depression. A page and a half of fighting later, and Cap is able to break through to Hank and make him realize the his problem will not by solved by moping around. Off to the lab goes Hank, as Cap receives a kiss from the Wasp in thanks.

So now that everything's hunky-dory with the Avengers, let's check in with the general populace of New York City as the Sons of the Serpent are in the middle of a new recruiting drive. Who are the Sons of the Serpent, you ask? Well let's check in with the old Hyperbole Meter.

Hello? Is this thing on?


I guess old Stan was ahead of time as the Sons of the Serpent just don't sound that crazy today. In fact, there's a certain modern day "patriotic" political movement that they'd probably be right at home in.

Yep, the Sons of the Serpent are looking to rid the country of all of those "furriners".

And who is that working undercover to get inside the inner serpent circle? It's none other than Natasha Romanoff, giving the Black Widow her first (if brief) appearance here at the Random Longbox.

I guess this thing is working after all, and we're pushing the red zone. Let's check back in with the Avengers to see what all the commotion is about.

Wait a minute...Did Hank just hit Janet? It was just an accident, but honestly...there's just no place for a "chattering female" in the lab. After all, Hank is under a lot of pressure to get himself back to size. Janet's a strong-willed woman, however, and she storms out of Hank's lab as she will not be talked to in such a fashion.

A quick call to Tony Stark, and Hank soon has the the star of Stark's Baltimore Plans and Research Division to come over and lend a hand. Coincidentally enough, Hank's new assistant is African American. I smell trouble brewing with the Sons of the Serpent.

That didn't take long. Luckily for Bill, Hank heard the struggle and comes outside just as the Sons of the Serpent are making a hasty retreat. Enraged by their actions, Hank calls a stop to his labwork so that the Avengers can be assembled to take on this venomous group personally.

Captain America decides to check in with Nick Fury to see if S.H.I.E.L.D. knows anything about these jokers, while the rest of the Avengers strategize about the best way to take 'em down.

The next day, the Avengers call a press conference to announce that they are declaring war on the Sons of Serpent. After their recent attempt to kill a travelling foreign dignitary, they can't wait any longer. Luckily for them, they don't have to as Captain America is soon sucked up into a mysterious looking cloud.

It turns out it wasn't a cloud after all, but the hidden base of the Sons of the Serpent. And now that he's on board, he gets a personal introduction to the sons themselves.

Alas, they're just too many snakes and Captain America is soon captured. It's all part of the Serpent's plan, as now that they have an Avenger at their mercy they're using him to blackmail the rest of the Avengers to stay out of their business...or else they'll never see Captain America alive again.

So with their backs against the wall, how quickly do the rest of the Avengers get their stuff together to take the fight to the serpents in the cloud?

Unfortunately you'll have to get the next issue to find out, as Hank has a plan and it involves making the world think that the Avengers have gone soft.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

Now if you remember, right off the bat we were told to expect one of "the most deeply-moving, off-beat thrillers of the year." We never did get the ol' Hyperbole Meter up to the red zone during the course of the story, but I imagine if we fired it up now, that prologue blurb would be enough to do the trick.

Stan Lee was nothing, if not the mediums greatest pitch man. He's in full force here, as I found this story neither deeply-moving, or very off-beat. I think even calling it a thriller is a bit of an overstatement.

I can definitely see the story that Stan was trying to tell here, and it's a story worth telling, but I'm not sure Stan's your man. I realize that you have to view a story in the context of the era in which it was written, but...

We have a story dealing with the serious topic of racism, but how are we supposed to take it seriously when this is how the Avengers deal with the female members of their own team.

Quiz time...which one of these statements was actually said to the Wasp, to her own face no less.

• "Butt out of this lady!"
• "Look lady -- I know you've been trying to help and I appreciate it -- But it's just no good"
• "And I'll get one -- A top notch scientist -- Not a chattering female!"

The answer? All of 'em!

So all of Hank's blustering about the injustice and bigotry involved with what the Sons of the Serpent stand for, and that's how the Avengers treat a fellow hero just because she's a girl? Remind me to tell Hank and the boys about pots and kettles and the color black the next time I see 'em.

Don Heck handles the art chores on this issue, and while he's not one of my favorite Avengers artists, he does okay with this issue. The story doesn't leave a lot of space for visual fireworks, but he has some good action panels when the story picks up.

A regular reader (thanks Thelonious Monk) recommended that I pick up The Defenders #21-25 last year when the I reviewed another Defenders issue, and the Son of the Serpent are the main villains of that story arc. Now I'm doubly curious to track those down to see how these jokers and this topic are handled by the likes of Steve Gerber writing the story.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

The Avengers #269

TITLE: Avengers #269

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: July 1986

COVER PRICE: $0.75

23 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

As much as I love The Avengers, I have a soft spot just as big for Kang. To me, he's the classic comic book villain with just the right touch of crazy and Machiavellian tactics that he uses in his never ending quest for power. Throw in a healthy dose of time travel, and you've pretty much created a character made just for me.

And I haven't even touched on the fantastic visuals yet. Who else but a world conquering villain could pull of a green jump suit with purple gloves and thigh high boots. It shouldn't work, but add a purple diving suit helmet and it all just comes together against all odds.

If I was to put a list together of my top ten Avengers stories of all time, I can think of at least four right off the bat that feature Kang, including my all time favorite Avengers Forever and the better than it had any right to be first story arc in Young Avengers.

This particular storyline involves Kang attempting to get rid of all of the divergent timeline Kangs that are floating around out there. And when you mess around with time travel as much as Kang, you're bound to create one or two thousand. This is the last part of this story, and like the cover promises, it's Kang versus his future self, Immortus. Will the Avengers survive this clash of time-traveling titans?

Read on...

The Once and Future Kang!

• Writer: Roger Stern
• Breakdowns: John Buscema
• Finished Art: Tom Palmer
• Letterer: Jim Novak
• Colorist: Christie Scheele
• Editor: Mark Gruenwald
• Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Now seeing as how this is the third issue of a three part story, and our heroes are trapped and at he mercy of Kang...isn't it time for some super-villain boasting and pontificating? I believe that's actually part of the union laws for would-be world conquerors.

Not one to disappoint, Kang delivers...

and delivers...

and delivers...

In the interest of brevity and keeping my audience awake, we're going to give you the cliff note's version of Kang's speech, which basically recaps his history from his origins to present day.

For those gluttons for punishment out there, click over here or here for Kang's history in all of it's unabridged glory.

For everyone else, it goes a little something like this.

Born in the peaceful and enlightened 31st century, Kang is a young man who craves the glory of battle. Finding a time machine, he heads back into Earth's distant past and sets himself up as the Pharaoh Rama-Tut where the Fantastic Four ruin his sweet gig and force him fleeing into the future where he encounters Dr. Doom in the 20th Century.

Inspired by his meeting with Doom, he travels to the war-torn and savage 41st century and uses his knowledge of technology to set himself up as Kang the Conqueror for the first time. He's soon bored however, and decides to test his mettle against Dr. Doom. Instead, upon returning to the past, he meets the Avengers for the first time.

It goes without saying that the Avengers win, but Kang would be back a couple of times. On one of those occasions, the Avengers found themselves in the 41st century as Kang works on conquering one of the last kingdoms not under his control. Through a twist of circumstance, the Avengers find themselves working with Kang after one of his lieutenant's demands the death of Ravonna, a princess of the newly defeated kingdom. The only problem is that Kang has fallen in love with her. She jumps in front of a laser blast meant for Kang, taking her life and saving his, but at the same time leaving him a broken man.

After a couple of other super-hero scrapes, Kang finds himself in Limbo where he stumbles upon the abandoned fortress of Immortus. Using his technology, he's able to snatch Ravonna from the time stream the moment before she died. Joyous though their reunion may be, Kang is unsettled as he learns that all of his machinations through time have created thousands of divergent timeline Kangs.

That pretty much brings us up to speed for this issue, as Kang has been successful in eliminating all but one of his inferior counterparts. The icing on the cake is that he has captured the Avengers as well, and he has them trapped in a stasis beam so that they may see him eliminate his last double and solidify his title as Kang the Conquerer!

Like any good superhero team, the Avengers did not just sit idly by while Kang boasted. Hercules has been busy the whole time straining against the stasis beams. He eventually weakens them just enough that Captain Marvel is able to transform to energy, which overloads the machine and sets the Avengers free.

It's game on as the two big powerhouses of this lineup, Namor and Hercules, team up to deliver one heckuva punch. Through the wall Kang goes, with the rest of the Avengers in hot pursuit.

Before we get all caught up in the heat of battle, there's still the second Kang to be dealt with. Fortunately for the Avengers, it would appear that the recently snatched from time Ravonna has her own agenda as she pulls a gun on Kang.

Torn between two Kangs, she pleads with Kang II to not go after Kang I. Her words are wasted, as Kang could never let a slight like he's suffered go unanswered. Realizing that she has lost Kang(s) forever, she turns into the arms of a mysterious figure. Another Kang, perhaps?!

Back into the heat of battle, we catch up with the Avengers trying to defeat Kang, who is holding his own against Earth's mightiest heroes quite well. Using this to his advantage, Kang II appears from the shadows and aims his blaster square at the back of Kang I.

It's all for naught, however, as Kang I tampered with his blaster before, just in case something like this came to pass. It did, and now Kang II is no more, leaving just one Kang to rule them all!

End of story, right? Let's hold the champagne in reserve for a few more seconds, as the real puppet master reveals himself.

It turns out that Immortus has been pulling Kang's strings all along, nudging and tricking him into doing Immortus' bidding without Kang ever realizing it. Now that all of the false Kang's have been eliminated, Immortus reveals that there is still one more...himself!

That's right, Immortus is Kang too. Immortus has always been a bit of a mysterious, whose side is he really on, time traveller, so it makes sense. Ravonna claims that Immortus is everything that was ever good about Kang, who is still so full of hate at this time.

Kang has heard enough however, as he lunges forward to grab the Psyche-Globe from Immortus's grasp, which he claims holds all of he memories and knowledge from every version of Kang that has ever existed. Kang will have that power, but in the classic case of be careful what you wish for, it's all too much and an insane Kang goes running from Immortus' fortress into the blank expanse of limbo.

Successful in his quest to eliminate the thousands of Kangs, Immortus resolves to reclaim his role as ruler of Limbo. The Avengers are still unwilling to let the murder of a thousand Kangs go unanswered, but Immortus is beyond such moral trivialities when the balance of all reality is at stake.

With the wave of a hand, the Avengers are sent back to the 20th Century, leaving Immortus alone with Ravonna, his one true love.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

By all rights, this issue shouldn't have been as enjoyable as it was.

Over half of the issue was devoted to flashbacks of previous stories. Those flashbacks deal with nothing less than time travel and divergent realities. Throw in multiple versions of one time travelling character and you have the recipe for a confusing mess.

Like Kang's costume, however, it defies the odds and works. The first half is admittedly a little slow, but given how the recap of Kang's origin takes us on a whirlwind tour of some of the best of Marvel continuity, I gave it a pass. It doesn't hurt either, as we have the immensely talented John Buscema and Tom Palmer supplying the visuals. Their take on the Avengers, as well as the flashback guest stars of Dr. Doom and The Fanstastic Four, are pitch perfect. For me, when I think of the Avengers, it's Buscema and Palmer's versions that instantly pop to mind. Luckily for us, they gave us 45 issues of Avengers glory to feast upon.

By the time Immortus reveals himself, the action takes hold and Roger Stern manages to tie everything together perfectly, giving us some great Kang on Kang action in the process.

I know I've probably said this before, but re-reading this issue really make me miss the fact that the old Avengers have been m.i.a. for so long. With the heroic age right around the corner, I'm hopeful that we'll get back to a little bit of that same spirit that made the old 70's and 80's issues so much damn fun. It would appear that the relaunch of The Avengers is going to have Kang back front and center, so that's definitely a step in the right direction.

All characters are artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Related links for your surfing pleasure...

• Stern Talks! The Unofficial Roger Stern Message Board
• John Buscema's official website