The Best Avengers Stories Ever – 1984-1993

I have been reading Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ comics for 26 years, which apart from following my football team, is probably the longest continuous stretch of time that I have done anything.

I once heard Avengers’ writer Brian Michael Bendis say at a convention just after he had read through the whole series that there are a lot of bad Avengers comics … but there are also a lot of good comics. These are what I personally think are the good ones.

In a sense I tipped my hand as to which stories I thought mattered when I did my ‘pseudo-critical’ history of the Avengers. But that was seven years ago now and there has been some notable stories since then.

So across five posts spanning each of the Avengers’ five decades of publication, here are what I think are the best Avengers stories.

Part One (1963-1973) was here.
Part Two (1974-1983) was here.

Avengers #251, 253-254: ‘Absolute Vision’
Writer: Roger Stern, Penciller: Bob Hall
Line-up: Vision, Scarlet Witch, Captain America, Captain Marvel II, Starfox, Hercules, Wonder Man, Black Knight, Wasp
Main villains: Vision (?), Quasimodo
Other main characters: ISAAC

Roger Stern, despite his very good conclusion of ‘The Trial of Yellowjacket’ storyline, was another ‘Avengers’ writer who took a while to warm up. The Vision’s grandiose plans had themselves been building for about a year or so by the time Stern stepped them up to a new level, with the Vision taking over the world’s computer systems so as to put an end to war on Earth. It is an intriguing premise and one where you almost want the Vision to succeed, particularly when he starts doing his sales pitch to each Avenger appearing in various personalised guises. Like Henry Pym in ‘The Trial of Yellowjacket’ the Vision has feelings of insecurity which feed into his actions – see his dream sequence in #251 - but his intentions do seem to go beyond himself even if they are misguided. After a very long stint with the team the Vision would take a leave of absence following this story, bringing to an end his time of ‘stardom’.

 

Avengers #258-260: ‘The Legacy of Thanos’

Writer: Roger Stern, Penciller: John Buscema

Line-up: Wasp, Captain America, Captain Marvel II, Starfox, Hercules, Black Knight

Main villains: Nebula, Gunthar, Levan

Other main characters: Firelord, Raymond Sikorsky, Spider-Man, Beyonder, plenty of Skrulls

Review: Zakt!

 

I once wrote my reasons for why the Roger Stern/John Buscema issues, from #255 to #286, was the best ‘Avengers’ run ever. Frankly I could recommend them all here – there isn’t a dud issue among them. The Savage Land story in issues #256-257 is pretty good, but the first really good story is the Nebula one that follows thereafter. Nebula – who claims that she is the granddaughter of Avengers’ enemy Thanos – is more vicious than your usual Avengers foe, terribly so when she sets her sights on destroying an entire world. Buscema always had a darker edge to his art than most artists of the traditional Marvel titles, and following on from the ravaging of the Savage Land a couple of issues before, the stakes have definitely gone up a notch from Stern’s earlier ‘Avengers’ stories. Fortunately the Avengers roster generally had upbeat and/or likable characters at this point – Captain America, Wasp, Hercules, the Black Knight, Captain Marvel, and Starfox – to keep things from getting too bleak. The only major weakness of the story is the ending in issue #260, as the Beyonder from Marvel’s mega-crossover ‘Secret Wars II’ is unfortunately shoehorned as a deus ex machina into the issue.  

 

Avengers #267-269: ‘Time and Time Again’

Writer: Roger Stern, Penciller: John Buscema

Line-up: Wasp, Captain America, Captain Marvel II, Hercules, Black Knight, Sub-Mariner

Main villains: Kang, Immortus, Growing Man, Space Phantom, Dire Wraiths

Other main characters:  Ravonna

Yes I like Kang the Conqueror, but never have I liked him more than in this three-parter. It opens with X-Man Storm joining the Avengers, which throws the reader for a bit of a loop, though the explanation is soon forthcoming. We are then quickly introduced to a ‘council’ of Kangs; turns out that Kang’s many time travels have created a legion of alternate versions of himself, and a few of them have banded together to wipe out the others. Even when faced with his own self Kang is still rarely anything but ruthless.

Issue #269 lines up all the ducks in a row regarding the convoluted history of Kang – by no means the last issue to try and do so – but one which does so in a natural and easy-to-read way. Immortus shows up at the end to cause Kang further trouble, with Kang raging like a child against the older version of himself. The whole story feels like a smooth, logical progression of what a writer can do with the time-travelling villain, and having missed out on drawing him on his first run of ‘Avengers’ Buscema handles the warlord better than almost any other artist.

Avengers #271-277: ‘Under Siege’
Writer: Roger Stern, Penciller: John Buscema
Line-up: Wasp, Captain America, Captain Marvel II, Hercules, Black Knight, Thor
Main villains: Baron Zemo, a souped-up Masters of Evil
Other main characters: Edwin Jarvis, Ant-Man II, Doctor Druid, Paladin
Review: Living Between Wednesdays, Bronze Age Babies

In my view ‘Under Siege’ – in which a massively expanded Masters of Evil take over the Avengers’ headquarters – is the greatest Avengers story ever, and issue #277 is the greatest Avengers issue ever. Further the moment when Captain America breaks down, as he takes in all the destruction the Masters of Evil have wrought on the people and things he loves, is the greatest Avengers moment ever. Cap’s old nemesis Baron Zemo assembles an army to take the Avengers down, and does so … the Avengers’ butler Edwin Jarvis is brutally beaten and Hercules is smashed (which leads into the next major storyline). But then the Avengers start to turn the tide, first through an unlikely victory by the Wasp, followed then by the return of Thor, which starts to give the team some momentum. The Avengers return to claim back their shattered headquarters, culminating in an intense battle between Cap and Zemo. Like most of the great Avengers stories non-Avengers fans may have trouble appreciating this one, but in the Avengers world this is as good as it gets.    

Avengers #281-285: ‘Assault On Olympus'
Writer: Roger Stern, Penciller: John Buscema
Line-up: Captain Marvel II, Captain America, Thor, She-Hulk, Black Knight, Doctor Druid, Sub-Mariner, Hercules
Main villains: Zeus and some of the Olympus gods
Other main characters: Prometheus

Stern and Buscema’s last full story together, ‘Assault On Olympus’, was another winner, as the Avengers face off against the Greek Gods. Following the assault by the Masters of Evil Hercules lies in a coma, and his all-powerful dad Zeus blames the Avengers for his condition. Zeus has sentenced the Avengers to death, and the team has to fight their way through both Hades and Olympus in order to get home safe. Most of the Greek Gods are enemies, but some are friendly to our heroes, and the Avengers must seek their allies out. The Avengers had some serious firepower at this point; Thor, She-Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain Marvel would hold their own against many foes, gods included. Alas Stern soon departed after this, and there would not be another true classic story in the ‘Avengers’ title for the next five years.

West Coast Avengers #42-45: ‘Vision Quest'
Writer and Penciller: John Byrne
Line-up: Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Vision, Henry Pym, Wasp, Mockingbird, Tigra, US Agent joins
Main villains: The world’s governments
Other main characters: Professor Horton
Reviews: Marvel Comics of the 1980s, Comics Matter

‘West Coast Avengers’ #42 – the first issue by writer/artist John Byrne – was one of the first comics I bought, and I loved it. That issue went through a lot of the history of the Avengers, centered around the Vision and the Scarlet Witch, including Vision’s first appearance, his origin, the Celestial Madonna story and their wedding, and so on. The occasion for this is the Vision’s sudden disappearance, which as it transpires, is due to the world’s governments reacting to the events of Avengers #254. Long-time fans called for Byrne’s blood as he dismantled the Vision, and re-wrote parts of his history; me being a new fan I didn’t mind. Mockingbird’s betrayal, the Avengers hanging around in the early morning as the Vision is rebuilt, Wonder Man’s anguish as the Scarlet Witch reacts to his refusal to give the Vision his brain patterns – these moments made me just want to read more and more. Perhaps somewhat inexplicably it is my favourite ‘Avengers’ story after ‘Under Siege’. Byrne’s run as a whole sustained me through a relatively lean period in ‘Avengers’ history, helping me to keep the faith before Bob Harras re-ignited my intrigue in the early ‘90s.

The Finger Points Outwards - No. 95

GEOGRAPHY/SOCIAL MEDIA: Maps of every geotagged tweet.

MUSIC: Us The Duo mash up the top songs of 2014. Most of these songs are not to my taste, but it is kind of cute.

ECONOMICS/WOMEN: The role of women in ending Japan’s economic stagnation.

FILM: Not a new topic, but I was thinking again this week about the destruction in ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’. These two articles from Tor-Com and Newsarama are in line with my thoughts, also discussing ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’.

COMIC BOOKS: Graphic Policy’s list of ‘best of’ lists for comics in 2014, along with a tally.

Book Reviews: ‘The Dog’ and ‘We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves’

While on leave from work I have had a chance to read two of the notable books for 2014: Joseph O’Neill’s Booker Prize-longlisted ‘The Dog’, and Karen Jay Fowler’s Booker Prize-shortlisted ‘We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves’.

‘The Dog’, like O’Neill’s excellent previous novel ‘Netherland’ has a middle-aged male protagonist facing a bit of a life crisis. The unnamed character takes up a job in Dubai, working for one of the very rich families there. Our protagonist’s observations on Dubai life and struggles with the local customs will seem familiar to anyone who has ever spent a long stretch of time working overseas (I’m guessing here, because I haven’t). His narration oscillates between being the everyman Westerner and somewhat entertainingly Humbert Humbert. His ‘Humbert’ voice particularly comes out when discussing his ex-girlfriend, with which he had an acrimonious break-up. I found his ruminations on sex and relationships the most absorbing parts of the book, though others may prefer the politics of his dealings with his employers. ‘Netherland’ is still the better novel, but this is worth a read.

It is hard to talk about Karen Jay Fowler’s ‘We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves’ without giving away the major twist, which comes relatively early on in the book. Rosemary Cooke has just started college, and the book is essentially about her unusual childhood, and how it is still affecting her as an adult. She is messed up in a way that is initially pretty fascinating, although the problem for me was that the rest of the book just continued to go on about how messed up she was as well. Fortunately there are a couple of good supporting characters – her brother Lowell, who hasn’t quite forgiven Rosemary for past actions, and her college friend Harlow, who despite initially acting like a crazy person adds a bit of light to Rosemary’s brooding. Critics and readers have praised the structure of the book, which is not quite as radical as some of the copy has made out, though it does enhance the story’s impact. There is a bit of the Moby Dicks about Rosemary’s obsession with a particular animal, but this book does not go on nearly as long, and at about 300 pages with plenty of space it is a pretty easy read.

The Best Avengers Stories Ever - 1974-1983

I have been reading Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ comics for 26 years, which apart from following my football team, is probably the longest continuous stretch of time that I have done anything.

I once heard Avengers’ writer Brian Michael Bendis say at a convention just after he had read through the whole series that there are a lot of bad Avengers comics … but there are also a lot of good comics. These are what I personally think are the good ones.

In a sense I tipped my hand as to which stories I thought mattered when I did my ‘pseudo-critical’ history of the Avengers. But that was seven years ago now and there has been some notable stories since then.

So across five posts spanning each of the Avengers’ five decades of publication, here are what I think are the best Avengers stories.

Part One (1963-1973) was here.

Avengers #129-135 & Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 – ‘The Celestial Madonna’
Writers: Steve Englehart and Roy Thomas, Pencillers: Sal Buscema, Dave Cockrum, George Tuska and Don Heck
Line-up: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Mantis, Swordsman, Hawkeye
Main villains: Kang, Immortus, the Legion of the Unliving, the Titanic Three, Dormammu
Other main characters: Rama-Tut, Libra, Agatha Harkness, the Cotati
Review: Steve Does Comics

Steve Englehart wrote one of the more baffling but finer Avengers sagas with his ‘Celestial Madonna’ story. A lot of the story revolves around the Avenger Mantis, a Vietnamese prostitute with a knowledge of martial arts and a mysterious past, who was brought in to sex the Avengers up a bit. Readers are still divided about the character – other Marvel creators reportedly hated her (especially her tendency to refer to herself as ‘this one’) – but she was more complex than many female superheroes, and a welcome added element to the white male homogeny of the title.

‘The Celestial Madonna’ title refers to a prophecy that one of the female Avengers will eventually give birth to a child that will ‘rule the heavens’. Kang the Conqueror, who has the intention of fathering that child, returns in issue #129 … and again in issue #132, but his plans are frustrated by an unexpected source. Kang’s time-travelling history starts to become really complicated from this point, but here the paradoxes add to the strangeness of the saga.

In the second half Englehart told two concurrent origin stories, those of Vision and the Mantis. The former has entered Avengers folklore, while the second – creative though it is – has like the character been mostly forgotten (it involves talking trees). The Legion of the Unliving, which consists of Marvel characters that have been killed off – at least at the time – also make their first creepy appearance. Plus, an Avenger dies (and actually stays dead), and the whole shebang ends with a double wedding.

Avengers #141-144, 147-149 – ‘The Serpent Crown’
Writer: Steve Englehart, Penciller: George Perez
Line-up: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Beast, Moondragon, Hellcat joins
Main villains: Nelson Rockefeller and the Serpent Crown, Roxxon-Brand Corporation (Hugh Jones, Buzz Baxter, many flunkies), Kang, Orka the Killer Whale
Other main characters: Squadron Supreme, the Two-Gun Kid and his gang
Review: Junk Food For Thought

Top Avengers artist George Perez made his debut for ‘The Serpent Crown’, which like ‘The Celestial Madonna’ was more a collection of plotlines that ran concurrently even if it is commonly thought of as one story. The Squadron Supreme return, and in issues #147-148 the Avengers travel to their earth once more where the President Nelson Rockefeller disturbingly makes his appearance with the nefarious Serpent Crown atop his head. From there the various Squadron members face off against the various Avengers members, until the Beast convinces the Squadron that maybe they’ve been had. Another threat is the James Bond-lite Roxxon-Brand Corporation, while the ‘gods’ Thor and Moondragon, along with Hawkeye, team up with the Two-Gun Kid to take down Kang in the Old West. Issue #149 – which I actually read in a waiting room years before I saw the rest of the story – ties up the Roxxon plotline, with Thor duking it out with a giant Atlantean calling himself Orka the Killer Whale.  Not all of it makes a whole lot of sense, but Perez’s crystal clean art mostly papers over any cracks, signalling the start of many lovely looking issues to come.

 

Avengers #160: ‘The Trial’

Writer: Jim Shooter, Penciller: George Perez

Line-up: Vision, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Beast, Black Panther

Main villain: Grim Reaper

Unlike Thomas and Englehart, Jim Shooter started his ‘Avengers’ run with a bang. In his first issue he had the Vision take on the newly resurrected Wonder Man – the android’s brain patterns having been revealed to be based on Simon Williams’. Then in his third issue, ‘The Trial’, Eric Williams the villainous Grim Reaper returns to put both the heroes on trial to determine which one is his ‘real’ brother. The answer? Neither and both. The Vision makes his point through another existential rant, while Wonder Man tries to hammer some sense into his brother. However Simon’s response is not purely physical, and he makes a good case to Eric in the closing pages on accepting change. The Wonder Man/Vision/Grim Reaper dynamic would be explored again over the years (the Kurt Busiek/George Perez story in the ‘90s is worthwhile), but each attempt seemed like it was mainly trying to recapture the success of this issue.

 

Avengers #164-166: ‘Nefaria Supreme'

Writer: Jim Shooter, Penciller: John Byrne

Line-up: Vision, Iron Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Beast, Black Panther, Thor, Yellowjacket, Wasp

Main villains: Count Nefaria, the Lethal Legion

Other main characters: the Whizzer

A review I once read described Jim Shooter and John Byrne’s three-part Count Nefaria story in issues #164-166 as ‘highly entertaining’, and that seems right to me. Yes it is mostly just a slug-fest, but it is about as good an Avengers slug-fest as you will get. In this story, Nefaria gains godlike powers, and proceeds to beat up and rain buildings down on the Avengers, including heavy-hitters Iron Man, the Vision and Wonder Man. Things do not look good for the team until Thor – in a great burst of light – arrives on the scene, and even then it takes some ingenuity and desperate measures to save the day. Byrne fired on all cylinders with his artwork for this story, and helped produce some of the most well-loved fight moments in Avengers’ history.

Avengers Annual #7/Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2: ‘The Final Threat’

Writer and Penciller: Jim Starlin

Line-up: Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Beast

Main villain: Thanos

Other main characters: Adam Warlock, Captain Marvel, Thing, Spider-Man, Pip the Troll, Gamora

Reviews: Bronze Age Babies, Eye On Comics

Although it stars the Avengers the main purpose of ‘The Final Threat’ is to finish off Jim Starlin’s excellent ‘Warlock’ story. Adam Warlock’s enemy Thanos is after the powerful Soul Gems, and Warlock enlists the Avengers to help him stop the mad Titan. It is a pretty awesome fight with pretty gruesome consequences, as Warlock and his friends are each eventually killed off by Thanos. That only forms Part One of the story though, and in Part Two (in which Spider-Man and the Thing join the battle) Warlock returns in a rather creepy way to end Thanos’ threat.

The story relies on atmosphere as much as plot, and Starlin’s vision is both unsettling and brilliant. (I recall reading writer Mark Millar as saying that he thought the idea of the Avengers just hanging around their mansion on a rainy night was kind of cool.) Thanos’ villainy was a lot more subtle at this stage as well, at least compared to his return a decade later in ‘The Infinity Gauntlet’; Thanos’ menace still seethed rather than blustered.

Avengers #167-168, 170-177: ‘The Korvac Saga'
Writer: Jim Shooter, Pencillers: George Perez, Sal Buscema, and David Wenzel
Line-up: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Beast, Hawkeye, Moondragon, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Black Panther, Quicksilver, Hercules, Black Widow
Main villains: Korvac, Carina Walters, the Collector, Ultron, Tyrak
Other main characters: Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy (not the movie team), Ms. Marvel, Jocasta, Two-Gun Kid

‘The Korvac Saga’ takes even longer to get going than ‘The Kree-Skrull War’ did, with the Avengers dealing with several other threats before coming up against their ultimate enemy. Its final chapter though – issue #177 – stands as one of the top few issues in ‘Avengers’ history. A mysterious entity known as ‘The Enemy’ is working to bring all of existence under his ‘benevolent rule’. The Avengers track this enemy – who (spoilers) is actually a transformed version of the villain known as Korvac – to where he is hiding in suburban Queens. This forces him to reveal his hand, thereby swiftly ruining his plans to install peace.

Korvac is none too happy about the Avengers’ intrusion, and it brings about the most brutal battle the Avengers have ever fought. It is both dreadful and amazing to watch our heroes get absolutely slaughtered by this godlike being. Korvac’s intentions also bring into question who the actual villains of the story are – is it, in truth, the Avengers themselves? One Avenger certainly seems to think so. I side with the Avengers myself, but the ambiguity around their actions here would make for an interesting philosophy essay.

The lead-up issues have the Avengers fighting old foes such as Ultron and the smarmy Collector. These are worthwhile as well, though I still wonder about a Grade-A robotic menace such as Ultron hanging out in a nunnery.

Avengers #185-187: ‘The Yesterday Quest’
Writers: David Micheline, Mark Gruenwald and Steven Grant, Penciller: John Byrne
Line-up: Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Wonder Man, Beast, Ms. Marvel, Falcon, Iron Man, w/ Quicksilver
Main villains: Chthon, Modred the Mystic
Other main characters: Bova, Django Maximoff

‘The Yesterday Quest’, the product of three – yes, three – writers (and artist John Byrne) follows the efforts of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to learn more about their origins. Alert readers learned the true identity of the twins’ father, although somewhat frustratingly (depending on how you view it) the identity is left unrevealed to the characters themselves. A later letters page explained this choice by saying that it did not matter for the characters what their relationship was.

Apart from this ‘revelation’ though, the story is best remembered for its portrayal of a ‘dark’ Scarlet Witch, as Wanda is possessed by the demon Chthon. Byrne himself would use this trope when he took over the ‘West Coast Avengers’ title, while writer Brian Michael Bendis would use it to devastating effect in his first Avengers tale. When I first heard of the Scarlet Witch I assumed she was a villain – which in fact she was to begin with – so I agree she can be a natural fit for the role.

Oh, and there is a talking cow.

Avengers #194-196: ‘The Taskmaster'
Writer: David Micheline, Penciller: George Perez
Line-up: Iron Man, Captain America, Vision, Wonder Man, Beast, Wasp, Ms. Marvel, Yellowjacket, Falcon leaves
Main villain: Taskmaster
Other main characters: Ant-Man II, Selbe, Jocasta, Dr. Pernell Solomon, lots of henchmen

After ‘Nefaria Supreme’, the three-part ‘Taskmaster’ story probably best fits the ‘highly entertaining’ description. The story introduces the visually striking Taskmaster, an expert in fighting styles who is training a school of henchmen. Fans were treated to Henry Pym, formerly Ant-Man and now known as Yellowjacket, teaming up with his successor as Ant-Man Scott Lang, to rescue yet another hero with shrinking powers, Pym’s wife the Wasp. Meanwhile the rest of the Avengers hang out in the snow and drink coffee (which all looks very pretty when George Perez is drawing it). Also we learn Captain America has a sense of humour, the Vision is having another ‘I’m not human’ existential crisis, and the Beast to his delight finds out what his pal Wonder Man is doing as an acting job.

 

Avengers Annual #10: ‘By Friends … Betrayed!’

Writer: Chris Claremont, Penciller: Michael Golden

Line-up: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Beast, Wonder Man

Main villains: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Mystique, Rogue, Blob, Pyro, Avalanche)

Other main characters: Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, the X-Men

Review: Comic Book Resources

The ‘happy-go-lucky’ feel of the late ‘70s-early ‘80s Avengers came crashing down hard, as X-Men writer Chris Claremont made the Avengers confront the unwitting insensitivity of their actions. In Avengers #200, a being known as Marcus had brought Ms. Marvel to Limbo so as to woo her, impregnate her, and then be born into our realm. Marcus quickly grew to adulthood but then his plans to stay in our realm were thwarted, and Ms. Marvel, deciding that her feelings for Marcus still lingered, agreed to go off with him. It was a decent story, typical for the era, that looked like it might have a happy ending.

Oh how wrong we were! Carol Danvers returns in this annual (also the first appearance of future X-Man Rogue), and in the final six pages, blasts the Avengers for standing by and letting her be manipulated by Marcus. Brian Michael Bendis, at the convention I saw him at, called it the best Avengers story ever, and the most vicious attack by one writer on another writer’s story he had ever read. One can see in those six pages basically Bendis’ entire approach to his ‘Avengers’ run (a reliance on dialogue, heroes being ‘besties’, etc).

Claremont’s views were informed by an essay called ‘The Rape of Ms. Marvel’ by Carol A. Strickland, as well as his own affection of the character from having written her series. Ms. Marvel’s ‘you betrayed me’ speech was even more devastating than the ‘were the Avengers the villains?’ theme in ‘The Korvac Saga’. While that story sowed the seeds of doubt within itself that was all was not right with the Avengers’ actions, in this case many fans were blind-sided by the implications of the Avengers’ actions until Claremont brought them out in full force.

Avengers #212-213, 217, 224, 227-230: ‘The Trial of Yellowjacket’
Writers: Jim Shooter and Roger Stern, Pencillers: Alan Kupperberg, Bob Hall, Sal Buscema and Al Milgrom
Line-up: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Yellowjacket, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, Tigra, Captain Marvel II
Main villains: Egghead, Gorn, Elfqueen, Yellowjacket
Other main characters: Trish Starr
Review: ZAKT!

‘The Trial of Yellowjacket’, at least Jim Shooter’s component, was one of the more divisive ‘Avengers’ stories in terms of its implications. In this story founding Avenger Henry Pym, then known as Yellowjacket, essentially has a mental breakdown. Hank has feelings of unworthiness, which leads to massive jealousy of his superhero wife the Wasp. He even concocts a half-baked plan to make himself look good in front of his teammates. Yellowjacket’s awful abuse of Jan, both emotionally and physically, effectively ends one of Marvel’s longest-running relationships. Henry Pym smacking his loving wife across the face remains one of the Avengers’ more memorable and most disturbing images.

 

Things turn worse for Hank when, after re-encountering the Avengers, he is jailed, though in this case he is actually not in the wrong. He pops up again in the issue where the Wasp starts a relationship with Tony Stark, with Jan not knowing Stark is her fellow Avenger Iron Man. Jim Shooter leaves the title after that issue, and it is up to new writer Roger Stern to steer Hank Pym through to redemption. Stern’s conclusion, which rightfully does not ignore or reverse the horrible mistakes Hank has made but recognises his efforts to make right, should satisfy most readers.

 

Frankly Hank’s offences should have been resolved then, but other writers, particularly Chuck Austen, decided the skeletons could not be left alone. Pym made mistakes to be sure, but to write him off as an irredeemable jerk shows little regard for one of Marvel’s key creations. Even Jim Shooter, as he was tearing down Pym’s life, suggested that Pym could be redeemed. Still, whether or not this story ‘wrecked’ the character of Henry Pym, ‘The Trial of Yellowjacket’ stands out as some fairly brave storytelling.

The Shit Gamer’s Review – ‘Game of Thrones’ (Episode 1)

As I have indicated on this blog before I am a bit of a fan of Telltale Games (‘The Walking Dead’, ‘The Wolf Among Us’), so I was pleasantly surprised to learn this week that they had released Episode 1 of a new ‘Game of Thrones’ series. Since I am spending most of my days this month sitting around the house in preparation for my newborn’s next scream, I downloaded it and gave it a go.

‘Episode 1: Iron From Ice’ takes place towards the end of Season 3 of the TV show – readers of the books can fill in where it takes place in that series. You play as three characters related to House Forrester, a Northern family that has been fighting on the side of the Starks. Most of the story takes place around the Forresters’ home, but some of it also takes place in King’s Landing, where we see a few of the familiar faces from the show. The Boltons too have a substantial presence in this first episode, with the Forresters having to make some difficult choices about where their loyalties lie.

I think most fans of the show would like this game, as long as you are expecting politicking and intrigue and not sword-swinging combat. As I have said before, Telltale Games work for me as a more involving way of storytelling rather than as ‘games’ in the usual sense. As much as the ‘Game of Thrones’ TV series might make you flinch when a favourite character looks to be in trouble, there is another level of tension when it is potentially YOUR head on the chopping block. When I was told I had to appeal to notorious hard-ass Cersei Lannister I was slightly petrified as the great doors to the throne room opened.

Most of this episode is set-up and introduction, though in true ‘Game of Thrones’ fashion it ends with a cliffhanger that will make some players go ‘WTF?’ As always with Telltale Games, it will be interesting to see how the choices made here will influence the choices down the track. I was actually in the minority of players in terms of what I did for most of the major choices – it seems others preferred to be more supplicant to those in power whereas I leant more towards loyalty and occasionally giving the bastards the middle finger. (It may turn out the majority were smart.)

For a good review of this game, I recommend the Wired review, but warning: it has MAJOR SPOILERS!       

The Best Avengers Stories Ever – 1963-1973

I have been reading Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ comics for 26 years, which apart from following my football team, is probably the longest continuous stretch of time that I have done anything.

I once heard Avengers’ writer Brian Michael Bendis say at a convention just after he had read through the whole series that there are a lot of bad Avengers comics … but there are also a lot of good comics. These are what I personally think are the good ones.

In a sense I tipped my hand as to which stories I thought mattered when I did my ‘pseudo-critical’ history of the Avengers. But that was seven years ago now and there has been some notable stories since then.

So across five posts spanning each of the Avengers’ five decades of publication, here are what I think are the best Avengers stories.

Avengers #8: ‘Kang The Conqueror’
Writer: Stan Lee, Penciller: Jack Kirby
Line-up: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Giant-Man, Wasp
Main villain: Kang
Other main characters: Rick Jones

You will see a lot of Kang the Conqueror stories in this list; in my view almost all of the Avengers’ Kang stories have had something to distinguish them from your run-of-the-mill Avengers tale. His first appearance in issue #8 is, I believe, the most worthwhile of the Lee/Kirby issues. Kang’s ship lands in Virginia with the aim of conquering present-day Earth. A nascent Avengers team try to stop him, but are hopelessly outmatched by his futuristic technology. In later stories Kang would be much more of a schemer, but in his debut you actually see him go toe-to-toe with the Avengers, and it is a pretty desperate fight, as the Avengers know that even one moment’s pause could lead to a swift defeat. Kirby’s shots of Kang staggering, his protective suit broken and the Avengers ready to pounce, shows exactly why ‘60s kids went ga-ga over the drawings of ‘the King’.

Avengers #23-24: ‘From The Ashes of Defeat'
Writer: Stan Lee, Penciller: Don Heck
Line-up: Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver
Main villain: Kang
Other main characters: Ravonna

 

The original Avengers team, which had included Thor and Iron Man, was replaced in issue #16 by a rather less-godlike team: Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. It definitely changed the title, but led to some fairly insubstantial stories and foes (the Commissar, the Swordsman, etc). Kang’s return in issues #23-24 was therefore a welcome upping of the stakes.

Kang has fallen in love with a princess named Ravonna, and because all he really only knows how to do well is conquer he tries to win her love by conquering her homeland. But Kang’s love for Ravonna leads to a twist in events in the second part of the story, resulting in Kang and the Avengers suddenly finding themselves fighting side-by-side.

Stan Lee was writing so many stories in those days that a lot of them were inevitably just banged out, but this one seemed to have a bit more behind it and the ending does carry some emotional weight. That ending too would have repercussions for Kang and the Avengers five years, twenty years, and even thirty years later, as it became an integral part of the ‘Kang narrative’.

Avengers Special #2: ‘The New Avengers vs. The Old Avengers’

Writer: Roy Thomas, Pencillers: Don Heck and Werner Roth
Line-up: Captain America, Hawkeye, Goliath (formerly Giant-Man), Wasp, Black Panther
Main villains: Scarlet Centurion, the old Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Giant-Man, Wasp)

As I said above, when Stan Lee was writing the Avengers it was just one of many books he was writing, but for his successor Roy Thomas it was the book (even if he was writing a few others as well). Thomas took some time to find his feet, but then started to produce some solid stuff from the mid-50s up until his departure sometime after issue #100.

Thomas started to succeed after he was willing to add some darker elements into the book, beginning with Avengers Special (aka Annual) #2. In this issue the present-day Avengers arrive back at their headquarters to find it inhabited by the original Avengers team - yes, even the Hulk. Fighting of course ensues, and the present-day team learns that they have arrived in an alternate timeline. But the story is not just ‘new team meets old team’. It turns out that on this Earth the Avengers have (initially through good intentions) systematically eliminated all opposition to themselves, in the process becoming the very dictators that they once fought to oppose. (The guy controlling them is the Scarlet Centurion … a future version of Kang.)

Twenty years before series such as ‘Squadron Supreme’, ‘Miracleman’, ‘Watchmen’, and ‘Kingdom Come’, this issue questioned how far superheroes would go to right the wrongs of the world. It also showed the Avengers a dark reflection of themselves, a theme that would be repeated many more times over the years.          

Avengers #57-58: ‘Behold the Vision/Even An Android Can Cry’
Writer: Roy Thomas, Penciller: John Buscema
Line-up: Goliath, Hawkeye, Wasp, Black Panther, w/ Thor, Iron Man, Captain America; Vision joins
Main villain: Ultron

 

Thomas’ stories were often quite insular, in that the Avengers mostly kept to themselves and their adventures often consisted of just warding off whatever threat was looking to break them up that month. Sometimes this made the title a bit claustrophobic, whereas other times it worked pretty well. One occasion it worked well was with the introduction of the Vision in issue #57, the first character specifically created for the title, and almost its unofficial ‘star’ for the next one hundred or so issues. With his grimacing red face and spectral abilities and appearance, the Vision looked at first glance anything but a hero, and indeed he was an android initially created by one of the Avengers’ enemies - the robot Ultron - to destroy them. Despite scaring the beejezus out of the Wasp he fails pretty miserably at his mission, soon siding with the Avengers to help take down his former master.

Issue #58 reveals the origin of the Vision (or at least part of it), and also that of Ultron as well, who turns out to have a sinister connection with one of the Avengers that would cause the team a lot of hurt over the years. It is a clever reveal, but the most remembered part of the issue is John Buscema’s final page as the Vision reacts to his acceptance into the Avengers. Though a little overwrought it helped a generation of ‘Avengers’ fans connect with a character that came to be the title’s most striking and enigmatic drawcard.

Avengers #69-71: ‘Let The Games Begin’
Writer: Roy Thomas, Penciller: Sal Buscema
Line-up: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Vision, Goliath II (formerly Hawkeye), Yellowjacket (formerly Goliath I), Wasp, Black Panther
Main villains: Kang, Grandmaster, Squadron Sinister, Growing Man
Other main characters: Black Knight (joins the Avengers), the Invaders (World War II-era Captain America, Sub-Mariner, original Human Torch)

A few decades before we got to see the Avengers clash with DC Comics’ Justice League of America Roy Thomas introduced some evil, non-copyrighted counterparts of the League – named the Squadron Sinister – for the Avengers to fight in this three-part story. Readers will easily recognise analogues to Superman (re-named Hyperion), Batman (Nighthawk), Green Lantern (Doctor Spectrum), and Flash (the Whizzer). Following the events of issues #23-24 Kang has made a deal with a cosmic gamesman named the Grandmaster to pit a set of chosen champions against each other, with the prize being power over life and death itself. Kang’s chosen champions are the Avengers themselves, making the Avengers and Kang once again uneasy allies. One side wins, and it is after that we get to see a dramatic demonstration of Kang’s egotism and villainy.

A lot of the fun for fans though was in the arena-style battles. The heavy-hitters Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and Goliath face off against the Squadron Sinister in issue #70, each battle taking place against the backdrop of one of the world’s great monuments. Then in issue #71 the ‘second-string’ Avengers Yellowjacket, Black Panther, and the Vision go up against Marvel Comics’ World War II-era heroes – the Invaders – in Nazi-occupied Paris. The premise of two teams of combatants facing off in small-scale brawls would be used again in various other ‘Avengers’ stories … including the ‘JLA/Avengers’ series itself. Aside from that influence though, a fuller appreciation of this story is gained by reading the Avengers’ next encounter with the Squadron fifteen issues later – it cleverly reverses the usual trope of seeing the good version of a team followed by a bad version. (We’ll get to that in a moment.)

Avengers #75-76: ‘The Warlord and The Witch'
Writer: Roy Thomas, Penciller: John Buscema
Line-up: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Goliath, Vision, Black Panther, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Yellowjacket, Wasp
Main villain: Arkon

‘Grab Quicksilver!’ Goliath shouts on the cover of issue #75, his large hand reaching out in an attempt to grab the mutant speedster, ‘He’s the only one who can stop the world from blowing up!!’ It was a dramatic way to re-introduce key Avengers Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, who had been off doing who knew what for over two years. In their wake comes a new menace, a guy in a helmet and furry pants calling himself Arkon the Magnificent, who quickly takes a fancy to the mutant sorceress. Arkon’s world is in peril – the energy rings around his planet are disintegrating – and to save his world he must (of course) destroy our own. John Buscema, who would later go on to draw the ‘Conan the Barbarian’ series, does a great job here; his Arkon really is magnificent, and the world of Polemachus feels like a good fantasy world should. Arkon’s capture of the Scarlet Witch is a bit removed from your usual damsel-in-distress scenario. By the end of the story both Wanda and the reader have gained a better appreciation of the conflicted heart of the warlord.

Avengers #85-86: ‘The World Is Not For Burning!'
Writer: Roy Thomas, Penciller: John Buscema
Line-up: Goliath, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Thor, Black Panther
Main villain: Brain-Child
Other main characters: Squadron Supreme

Coming home from a return bout against Arkon, four of the Avengers – the Vision, Goliath, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch – get thrown off course, and land several weeks in the future to bear witness to ‘a doomed and burning earth!’ After jumping back to the present day they enter their headquarters, only to find it occupied by Nighthawk of the Squadron Sinister and four other super-strangers. However it’s not the Squadron Sinister, but their benign counterparts the Squadron Supreme, who would go on to become recurring characters in ‘Avengers’ and stars of their own limited series. While probably not wholly planned it was pretty cool that the good versions of these characters showed up after the evil ones.

Caught in the midst of Thomas and Buscema’s run the Avengers’ unexpected entrapment on the Squadron Supreme’s world had a subtle but significant effect on me. While the Squadron Supreme may be their world’s ‘Avengers’ that does not make their sudden appearance any less unsettling, and the dread of an earth close to an apocalypse just adds to the uneasy feeling running through these issues. Even the Avengers’ eventual return to their home world does not shake the sense that things are a heartbeat away from going horribly awry, or that our history and reality could themselves be overwritten.

Avengers #89-97: ‘The Kree-Skrull War’
Writer: Roy Thomas, Pencillers: Neal Adams, Sal Buscema, and John Buscema
Line-up: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Vision, Goliath, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Yellowjacket/Ant-Man, Wasp
Main villains: Supreme Intelligence, Ronan the Accuser, Super-Skrull, assorted Kree and Skrull soldiers
Other main characters: Captain Marvel, the Inhumans, Rick Jones
Reviews: Strange Horizons; The M0vie Blog, Longbox Graveyard

 

I find ‘The Kree-Skrull War’, sorry to say, one of the more overrated ‘great Avengers stories’ – it does not really get going until Neal Adams comes on board for the second half, and even then it drags on a bit. However it still has some impressive moments, and it definitely did stand out from anything else that was going on in ‘Avengers’ or at Marvel at the time.

Basically two of Marvel’s alien powers – the militaristic Kree and the shape-shifting Skrulls – are at war with each other, and the Avengers and the Earth are caught in the middle. Getting to see the Avengers jump off into space is thrilling in its own way; though it’s been done many times since few have ever done it better than Neal Adams did. We also get two of the best Vision moments ever: the first when Henry Pym re-dons his Ant-Man guise to go inside the Vision’s android body; and the second when the Vision, mad with love for the Scarlet Witch, coldly beats one of her alien captors half to death. Science-fiction buffs will enjoy Thomas’ wordplay on some of the genre’s most well-known titles (e.g. ‘Godhood’s End’, ‘1971: A Space Odyssey’). While not on the same level for me as Thomas’ more reality-bending stories ‘The Kree-Skrull War’ is worth a read … I still find the ending kind of silly though.

Avengers #115-118 & Defenders #8-11: ‘The Avengers/Defenders War'
Writer: Steve Englehart, Pencillers: Bob Brown and Sal Buscema
Line-up: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Swordsman, Mantis
Main villains: Loki, Dormammu
Other main characters: Defenders (Hulk, Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer, Valkyrie, Hawkeye), Black Knight
Review: Bronze Age Babies

Roy Thomas’ successor as ‘Avengers’ writer was Steve Englehart, who had some trippy ideas but who for me was just a step below the top four ‘Avengers’ scribes. Thomas and Jim Shooter had their flaws as well, but had great artists; perhaps if Englehart had a long run with an artist as good as George Perez or John Buscema – both of whom he worked with, but not for long – I might think of his run more fondly. Bob Brown as an artist was OK though.

In ‘The Avengers/Defenders War’ the various Avengers and Defenders (a team founded by the Hulk, Dr. Strange and the Sub-Mariner) face off in mostly one-on-one battles to collect shards of the Evil Eye. Gradually they learn they are being manipulated by Thor’s brother Loki and Dr. Strange’s enemy Dormammu. This culminates in the two teams combining forces in Avengers #118 to take down the two sorcerers.

I almost did not include this on the list; like ‘The Kree-Skrull War’ I don’t love this as much as others seem to. But I decided to include it for three reasons. One was that it built upon the arena-style battles from the Kang/Grandmaster story, and indeed served as even more of a template for those inter-team and inter-company crossovers. That leads to reason number two: for better or worse, it pioneered the crossover, as to read the entire story you had to buy both the ‘Avengers’ and ‘Defenders’ titles.

And then there is the Hulk/Thor fight. This fight had two great moments for me. One moment is how the issue opens up without the regular Marvel pre-amble, but just a heading ‘Hulk vs. Thor’, and people running away from the Hulk as he approaches the battle. (To be fair, if you had not read the preceding chapters any pre-amble was probably not going to catch you up anyway.) The second moment is Hulk and Thor locked in each other’s grip, neither giving an inch for over an hour. It really was the marquee match-up, and is just enough to get this story over the line into my list of recommendations.