AVENGERS (volume 3) # 1
February, 1998
"Once an Avenger..."
By Kurt Busiek & George Perez
with Al Vey (inks), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters), Tom Smith (colors), Tom Brevoort (editor) and Bob Harras (editor-in-chief).
EXTERIOR COVER:
The Avengers--Hulk, Darkhawk, Spider-Man, Binary, Sub-Mariner, Moondragon, Vision, Quasar, Firebird, Starfox, Black Widow, Giant-Man, Thor, Spider-Woman, Living Lightning, Photon, Falcon, Hercules, Iron Man, Machine Man, Crystal, Quicksilver, Black Knight, She-Hulk, Black Panther, Tigra, Rage, Demolition Man, Swordsman, Tigra, Beast, USAgent, Sersi, Captain America, Sandman, Hawkeye, Magdalene, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Stingray and Rick Jones--charge into action courtesy of artist George Perez and colorist Tom Smith. Marvel's just gotta make this thing into a poster.
INTERIOR COVER:
Wowzers! Tom Brevoort earns his salary by providing capsule introductions to forty-two principal characters. Two weird glitches: Darkhawk's bio blurb ends with an exclamation mark (the only bio to do so), and Wasp's bio misspells "socialite" as "sociate".
It's interesting to note that Demolition Man, Rick Jones and Magdalene are listed out of alphabetical order at the end, perhaps reflecting their peripheral roles in the group as largely unofficial associates (though the similarly informal associate Swordsman II appears in the main list with most of the other characters); or perhaps their placement indicates that they were added belatedly, as an afterthought; or maybe it's just a random peculiarity necessitated by layout considerations.
Moon Knight appears here in the principal cast list despite his absence from the exterior cover illustration. This may reflect the fact that he doesn't actually rejoin the Avengers in this story--but neither does the Hulk, and he appears prominently on the cover. It's more likely Moon Knight was omitted from the cover illustration due to the fact that he was still presumed dead until his return to activity in the current Moon Knight limited series; news of his return may have come too late for his inclusion in the cover drawing, or he may have been intentionally left out to avoid spoiling the news of his return since the Avengers # 1 cover illustration was used in advance publicity long before either the new Avengers series or the Moon Knight limited series came out.
The text at the top left of the interior cover is the introductory text that used to adorn the opening splash page for many years in the team's original ongoing series.
PAGE 1
A statue of the six earliest members of the Avengers: Wasp, Giant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. This is how the team looked circa Avengers (v1) # 4 or 5 (Hulk quit in issue 2 but appeared with the group once more in issue 5, and they tried for some time to convince him to rejoin; Captain America joined in issue 4, essentially replacing Hulk, though they both appeared in issue 5 when the entire team joined forces against the Lava Men). Thor, Wasp and Hulk wear their original outfits, and Captain America wears the slightly modified version of his original costume that he has worn for most of his career. Iron Man is wearing his third suit of armor (adopted circa Avengers v1 # 3), the first red-and-gold version of the suit; it would serve as the basic design template for many of the armors that followed, including Iron Man's current armor. Hank Pym is clad in his original Giant-Man costume, which he adopted circa Avengers (v1) # 2 after co-founding the team in his earlier guise as the original Ant-Man (Avengers v1 # 1).
Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp and the Hulk were the founding members of the Avengers, first teaming to battle their common foe Loki , the Asgardian god of mischief, Thor's evil half brother. The volatile Hulk soon left the group and was replaced by Captain America, known affectionately as "Cap". Cap quickly became the linchpin of the group, their greatest strategist and their most inspirational natural leader. As such, he tends to be regarded as a de facto founding member of the group despite joining shortly after the team's formation.
PAGE 2
Panel 1:
Cafe Transia, presumably a restaurant dealing in Transian cuisine, derives from Transia--the small eastern European nation where Avengers members Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were born and raised.
Panels 2-4:
Here we see QUICKSILVER (Pietro Maximoff), the superhumanly swift mutant adventurer; his wife, CRYSTAL (Crystalia Amaquelin Maximoff), an Inhuman with "elemental" powers over earth, air, fire and water; their daughter LUNA MAXIMOFF; and Quicksilver's twin sister the SCARLET WITCH (Wanda Maximoff), a sorceress who has the mutant ability to alter probability and cause seemingly impossible things to occur.
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are the twin children of the infamous mutant terrorist Magneto, but they have long since renounced his ways and use their powers for good. The twins are longtime members of the Avengers, having joined to replace the departing founding members in Avengers (v1) # 16. Crystal joined the team much more recently in Avengers (v1) # 334-339, partly as an attempt to atone for misdeeds in her personal life (including a period during which she deserted Pietro and Luna). She and Pietro were estranged for some time (as of the second Vision\Scarlet Witch limited series) but have since reconciled and grown close again. During their separation, Quicksilver went temporarily insane and comported himself as a super-villain for a while before returning to his senses; that behaviour was later attributed to mental manipulation by Inhuman villain Maximus the Mad (see X-Factor Annual # 2), who was apparently responsible for much of the erratic behaviour of Pietro and Crystal around the time of their separation.
Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Crystal were all active members of the Avengers until most of the team's active roster (including Crystal and Scarlet Witch) seemingly died fighting Onslaught, prompting the remaining Avengers to disband under circumstances as yet unrevealed. Crystal, Scarlet Witch and the other supposedly dead Avengers have since returned, after an extended stay in an alternate reality, and are reestablishing their lives. The legal red tape discussed by the characters here pertains to Crystal and Scarlet Witch legally establishing the fact that they are still alive, having been wrongly presumed dead for months. Quicksilver's foul mood is consistent with his historically mercurial temper.
Note that Pietro and Wanda's civilian clothes echo the principal colours of their original Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch costumes--green and red, respectively.
Panel 6:
The first of many Asgardian menaces to attack the Avengers in this story. Asgard is the legendary otherdimensional realm of the Asgardians, who were worshipped as gods by the ancient Norsemen and are regarded as mythological figures today. Their greatest warrior, Thor, is a founding member of the Avengers; and Thor's half-brother, Loki, was the villain whose threat first brought the Avengers together.
PAGE 3
Panels 1-6:
Here we see FIREBIRD (Bonita Juarez), a southwestern social worker and sometime adventurer who gained miraculous power over heat and flame when a failed alien experiment created a fiery meteor that impacted near her in the desert. A recurring associate of the Avengers since WCA (West Coast Avengers) # 4, Firebird eventually became an official member of the team in Avengers (v1) # 305 as a reservist. She last worked with the Avengers in AWC (Avengers West Coast) Annual # 5 (her last appearance prior to this story), and hasn't served with the Avengers for some time.
Firebird appears here in her civilian guise as Bonita Juarez; while her identity has been secret in the past, whether it remains so is unclear since she has never worn a mask and is doubtless seen by various bystanders here in the act of becoming Firebird.
Note Bonita's crucifix pendant and Bible; she is a devoutly religious Catholic.
Albuquerque, New Mexico is Firebird's usual base of operations.
The Asgardian monsters who attack Bonita are the mute trolls from the Isle of Silence seen in Avengers (v1) # 1.
Panels 7-11:
Here we see the BLACK PANTHER (T'Challa), warrior king of the African nation Wakanda and occasional member of the Avengers during leaves of absence from his royal duties. He joined the team as Captain America's hand-picked replacement in Avengers (v1) # 52 and served with the group for quite some time, but he has been an infrequent participant in Avengers business in recent years due to his conflicting royal responsibilities. The Panther is a technological genius and a superb unarmed combatant possessed of near-superhuman agility. He was among the Avengers seemingly slain by Onslaught and displaced into another dimension but has since returned to Earth and resumed his kingship.
Black Panther wears his traditional costuming here.
PAGE 4
Panels 1-2:
Here we see HAWKEYE (Clint Barton), a costumed crimefighter who is the world's finest archer, as well as a gifted unarmed combatant and acrobat; he employs arrows custom-fitted with a variety of special devices and weapons, such as the explosive arrow (or "blast arrow") he seems to be using here. Hawkeye is one of the earliest and most pivotal members of the Avengers, arguably second only to Captain America in terms of his dedication and contributions to the group; he was the team's second recruit, joining in Avengers (v1) # 16. In recent years, Hawkeye was also the founding leader and principal mainstay of the AWC (the Avengers' western roster) until it shut down during one of his leaves of absence. Though he has taken many leaves of absence from the Avengers over the years, Hawkeye always returns to the fold and was an active member of the group once more when he and most of his teammates were seemingly killed by Onslaught; they returned to Earth alive and well in the Heroes Reborn: The Return limited series shortly before this story. Hawkeye last appeared in Thunderbolts # 10, in which he tried to apprehend the fugitive Moonstone. Hawkeye is wearing a new outfit (albeit one based on his traditional costume design) created by George Perez for this series.
Panels 3-4:
Here we see SWORDSMAN (Philip Jarvert) II and his lover MAGDALENE, adventurers from an alternate universe who encountered the Avengers as adversaries in Avengers (v1) # 343-344 but later became in-house allies and honorary members of the team. Swordsman is the alternate-Earth counterpart of the deceased Avengers member who first used that alias (Jacques Duquesne). Like his late namesake, the current Swordsman is a master of bladed weapons who wields a specially gimmicked sword capable of firing energy blasts. Magdalene is superhumanly strong and wields an energy-blasting staff that can also open teleportational gateways. Swordsman was still an occasional participant in Avengers cases at the time of the team's post-Onslaught disbanding, and he and Magdalene have continued to fight crime since then. They last appeared in Thunderbolts # 8 when they helped battle the Elements of Doom.
It's curious to hear Magdalene call Swordsman by his costumed alias rather than his real name given their intimate romantic relationship, but Busiek may have calculated that dialogue to introduce the characters to the readers. It may also be that the couple are trying to keep their real names secret since moving out of Avengers Mansion.
Panels 5-6:
HERCULES (AKA Heracles) is the legendary warrior son of the Olympian monarch Zeus and a mortal woman, and as such he is a super-strong demigod (though he was recently stripped of his immortality and much of his strength in a dispute with his father). An early Avengers member, Hercules took up residence at Avengers Mansion in Avengers (v1) # 38 after Zeus temporarily exiled him to Earth, and he formally joined the group in Avengers (v1) # 45; he was an active member of the Avengers at the time of their recent disbanding, though he was absent from the Onslaught case and thus escaped being displaced into another world along with his seemingly slain teammates. Hercules briefly joined the new Heroes for Hire after the Avengers broke up, but he has since returned to solo adventuring. The costume he wears here was adopted in Heroes for Hire # 1.
Panels 7-8:
The LIVING LIGHTNING (Miguel Santos) is a college student and sometime costumed adventurer who gained the ability to transform himself into pure electrical energy after the accidental explosion of equipment he was trying to salvage from the headquarters of the Legion of the Living Lightning, a militant patriotic group to which Santos's late father had belonged. Miguel gained his powers in Avengers West Coast # 63 and joined the Avengers in AWC # 74 after aiding the team against the criminal Pacific Overlords. He served with the group for a relatively brief time before downgrading to reserve status in AWC # 88 so he could attend college full-time at UCLA. He last worked with the group when he aided them against Ultron in AWC Annual 8.
PAGE 5
Panels 1-2:
MOONDRAGON (Heather Douglas) developed superhuman mental powers and peak human physical skills under the tutelage of Titan's Eternals and has come to regard herself as a sort of benevolent goddess striving to better the lot of "lesser beings". Though she is well-intentioned, her sometimes extreme and often self-righteous conduct has brought her into occasional conflict with her fellow heroes, including her Avengers associates, though she has reformed her ways to some extent since shedding the corrupt influence of the Dragon of the Moon (see Defenders # 152 and Solo Avengers # 16, 18 and 20). Moondragon met the Avengers during the Celestial Madonna affair (see Avengers [v1] 133-135 and Giant-Size Avengers # 4), joined the Avengers on a probationary basis during a membership drive in Avengers (v1) # 137, and made her membership official as a reservist in Avengers (v1) # 151. She has been only an infrequent reserve member since her initial probationary membership stint, last serving with the group in Avengers Spotlight # 27. She is a former member of the Defenders.
Panels 3-4:
SPIDER-WOMAN (Julia Carpenter) II is a costumed adventurer who gained spider-like powers--including enhanced strength & agility and the ability to weave psychic "webs" of adhesive energy--in a government experiment. She first encountered the Avengers during the Secret Wars and later helped them escape the Vault in Avengers Annual 15. She joined the Avengers in AWC # 74 after aiding the team against the Pacific Overlords (AWC 70-73) and served until the group's western division shut down in AWC # 102. She then resigned and joined the short-lived rival super-team Force Works, which has since disbanded. Denver, Colorado is her home city.
NOTE: Julia Carpenter is the second Spider-Woman. The original Spider-Woman, private investigator Jessica Drew, retired from her costumed identity after losing several of her super-powers, but recently returned to her Spider-Woman guise in an encounter with Spider-Woman II and the similarly costumed Shadowoman. Drew's current status remains unresolved, as does the question of who has dibs on the Spider-Woman name.
Panels 5-6:
The SUB-MARINER (Namor McKenzie) is the mutant hybrid offspring of an Atlantean woman and a human male; a volatile adventurer who has been both an enemy and an ally to the human race over the decades, Namor first appeared in the late 1930s and joined the Avengers only in recent years after mending his ways to some extent; after encountering the Avengers as an ally or adversary several times over the years (beginning with Avengers [v1] # 3), Namor accepted an offer of membership from his old friend Captain America in Avengers (v1) # 262. He is superhumanly strong and durable and possesses the power of flight. He can survive in either air or water indefinitely, though all his abilities are at their peak when he is exposed to water. Namor was among the Avengers seemingly slain in battle with Onslaught but has since returned to Earth with the others shortly before this story; however, he has not been a full active member of the Avengers since leaving the team to mourn the death of his wife Marrina in Avengers # 291-293. He was a longtime founding member of the Defenders group and has recently become the patron of the Heroes for Hire; he is also currently appearing on a regular basis in Marvel Team-Up. Namor has apparently gone back to his classic short haircut, abandoning the ponytail he wore prior to Onslaught.
Panels 7-8:
SHE-HULK (Jennifer Walters) is the cousin and close friend of the superhuman Hulk, and gained superhuman strength and durability similar to his after he was forced to give her an emergency blood transfusion. She joined the Avengers during a membership drive in Avengers (v1) # 221 and went on to serve several stints with the group before drifting away from the team for reasons never fully explained. She last served with the Avengers as a reservist during Galactic Storm in AWC # 81. She has also served as a replacement member of the Fantastic Four in the past. She was among the heroes seemingly slain by Onslaught and recently returned from her presumed death; in her civilian occupation as a lawyer, she currently works for the corporate super-team Heroes for Hire.
Panels 9-10:
DARKHAWK (Christopher Powell) is a teenage adventurer whose alien amulet allows him to assume a superhuman armored form capable of flight, enhanced strength, fast healing and energy blasts; Perez has mistakenly drawn Darkhawk in his original armor here, not knowing he'd adopted a newer model in more recent stories. Darkhawk first joined forces with the Avengers against Professor Power in AWC Annual # 7 and was later made a reserve member of the team in AWC # 94 while aiding the group against the Pacific Overlords. That case (AWC 93-95) was his only recorded Avengers mission prior to this story. Darkhawk is more often allied with the New Warriors, of which he became a reserve member in New Warriors # 50. He last appeared in Thunderbolts # 8, helping the Warriors and other heroes battle the Elements of Doom.
Panels 11-12:
Here we see FIRESTAR (Angelica Jones), JUSTICE (Vance Astrovik) and RAGE (Elvin Halliday), all active member of the New Warriors. Firestar is a mutant with the ability to radiate microwaves. Her fiancee, Justice, is a mutant with telekinetic powers. Rage is a young teen mutated by toxic waste into a superhumanly strong adult, and was briefly a reserve member of the Avengers before they expelled him after learning he was underage. Rage first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 326 and joined the Avengers in Avengers (v1) # 329; they bounced him from their active roster in Avengers (v1) # 341-342. Justice, formerly known as the third Marvel Boy, is one of the most dedicated and idealistic Warriors; he has long idolized the Avengers in general and Captain America in particular, and has tried unsuccessfully to join the Avengers in the past. Justice was the New Warriors' leader at last report, though he may have been replaced by the returning team founder Night-Thrasher circa New Warriors # 75. Justice, Firestar, Rage and other members of the Warriors last appeared in Thunderbolts # 8 and 10, when they battled the Elements of Doom and pursued the fugitive Thunderbolts.
Many fans have speculated that Firestar and/or Justice may be joining the Avengers since Firestar matches clues leaked by Kurt Busiek about an upcoming brand-new Avengers member.
PAGE 6
Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Crystal, Firebird, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Swordsman II, Magdalene, Hercules, Living Lightning, Moondragon, Spider-Woman II, Sub-Mariner, She-Hulk, Darkhawk, Firestar, Justice and Rage fight on. Note that they appear on the page in the order that they first appeared in the story, with the Scarlet Witch/Quicksilver/Crystal trio first and the Firestar/Justice/Rage trio last.
PAGE 7
Note that the characters are depicted in reverse order this time, with the Rage/Justice/Firestar trio first and the Crystal/Quicksilver/Scarlet Witch trio last, giving a nice cyclical feel to the Asgardian attack sequence as it winds down and ends where it began.
Panel 10:
Perez correctly draws Living Lightning in his current costume, but it is mistakenly given the colour scheme of his original outfit.
Panel 11:
"By my beard" is a common exclamation for Hercules, though it sounds kind of funny at the moment since he shaved the beard off a while ago. "By my stubble?"
Panel 16:
Firebird's power appears to have burned away her clothing, though her costume would have been immune to flame had she been wearing it at the time; presumably her Firebird outfit is composed of the super-malleable "unstable molecules" created by the Fantastic Four, or some variation on them, since ordinary clothing seems unable to endure her power as her costume has in the past.
PAGE 8
Avengers Mansion has been the team's principal headquarters for most of the group's history, and was the first headquarters they adopted after their founding (in Avengers (v1) # 2); it was destroyed by the Masters of Evil in Avengers (v1) # 277 but miraculously restored by Ute the Watcher in Avengers (v1) # 375. Other Avengers headquarters have included the artificial island Hydrobase (AKA Avengers Island), sunk during Acts of Vengeance in Avengers (v1) # 311; and the western Avengers Compound outside Los Angeles, abandoned in AWC # 102 when the group stopped maintaining an active west coast roster in addition to its eastern roster. The team has also employed a secret Emergency Headquarters, concealed in a cave in a wooded area somewhere outside New York City (first seen in Avengers [v1] # 13).
The Maria Stark Foundation is a charitable foundation established by Tony Stark (secretly Avengers founder Iron Man) to provide for the Avengers' financial needs indefinitely and support other worthy charitable causes.
SHIELD is the foremost intelligence agency in Marvel continuity, and took charge of Avengers Mansion when most of the active Avengers were wrongly presumed dead following Onslaught.
Thor, as mentioned, did not return alongside the other lost Avengers; the reason for this was shown in the Heroes Reborn: The Return limited series, during which Thor fought the villain Doctor Doom in a battle that left them both lost in a space warp while the other Avengers returned to Earth.
PAGE 9
Panel 1:
This is EDWIN JARVIS, the Avengers' faithful butler and principal employee for most of the team's history. He has been present behind the scenes since Avengers (v1) # 2, but first appeared in Tales of Suspense # 59; he made his first Avengers appearance in Avengers [v1] # 16.
Panels 2-11:
Wasp, Iron Man, Captain America and Giant-Man are meeting (for the first time since returning from their seeming Onslaught demise) to discuss the recent Asgardian attacks on members of the Avengers (as seen on pages 2-7). Iron Man, as he says, has been busy legally reestablishing his identity as businessman Tony Stark since his return; Captain America has just recently returned from Japan (the "overseas" trip he mentions here, seen in Captain America [v3] # 1); and Wasp says that she and her ex-husband Giant-Man took a vacation to catch up on the years they've spent apart (the two were divorced years ago in Avengers [v1] # 213-214 when a temporary mental breakdown prompted Pym to abuse her, but they've become friends again since Pym's recovery and have also occasionally toyed with renewing their romance).
Panel 9:
Note the use of a giant-sized tea cup for Giant-Man. Jarvis has had such cups on hand for oversized Avengers like Giant-Man and Goliath II in the past.
PAGE 10
Panel 1:
We get our first clear look at CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers), GIANT-MAN (Henry Pym), WASP (Janet Van Dyne) and IRON MAN (Tony Stark). On the wall above the fireplace, at right, we see a portrait of Wasp, Thor, Ant-Man (Henry Pym), Hulk and Iron Man as they looked when they first founded the Avengers. Iron Man is wearing his second suit of armor in that portrait, the golden-hued version of his original metallic gray suit.
Captain America is a legendary World War II hero who was augmented to the peak of human physical perfection by the experimental super-soldier serum; a mishap left him frozen in ice for decades after the war until the Avengers freed him and invited him to join their ranks. Since then he has been the group's principal leader and the cornerstone of the team, their greatest combat strategist and their most respected natural leader. No one has been more valuable to the Avengers over the years than Captain America. He wears his conventional costuming here and carries his shield on his back; the shield is composed of an indestructible adamantium-vibranium alloy that absorbs all impact directed against it. Captain America is one of the most formidable unarmed combatants in the world and has mastered a variety of physical skills such as acrobatics and martial arts.
Giant-Man is a genius biochemist whose size-changing formulae gave him the ability to shrink and enlarge his own body, a power he has used in various super-heroic guises as Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath and Yellowjacket. Uncomfortable as a costumed hero and plagued by physical health problems related to his size-changing, Pym came to regard himself as a personal and professional failure, prompting a nervous breakdown that led to him being divorced by the Wasp and thrown out of the Avengers.
Pym soon recovered his emotional balance and returned to his original career as a research scientist, determined to not resume his super-heroic role since he saw that as a failed pursuit and had become incapable of size-changing anyway thanks to the years of damage he'd done to his cellular structure. He eventually began working for the AWC in a civilian capacity, though, as their resident scientist and major domo, and he soon rejoined the Avengers as the plainclothes Doctor Pym, using his power to shrink and grow other objects rather than himself. More recently, through circumstances as yet unexplained, Pym transferred back to the Avengers' eastern roster, somehow regained his ability to increase his bodily size and inexplicably resumed his old Giant-Man guise. He remained active with the Avengers thereafter until he and most of the other active members disappeared in battle with Onslaught, returning only recently.
The costume he wears here is a new Perez design, albeit one that essentially reproduces his original Ant-Man/Giant-Man duds, but with a new close-fitting helmet and other slightly altered details. A preview sketch of Giant-Man by Perez printed in Wizard magazine hints that Pym may have regained his ability to shrink himself as well, and that his helmet grows insect-controlling antennae and a voice-augmenting mouthpiece when he reduces in size.
The Wasp was a flighty socialite until her father's murder prompted her to become a crimefighter under the tutelage of the original Ant-Man, scientist Henry Pym, whom she eventually married in Avengers (v1) # 60. Pym gave her the power to shrink in size, growing wings capable of flight and antennae capable of controlling insects whenever she shrinks; he later further augmented her abilities so that her physical strength increases as she shrinks, and gave her the ability to generate a "sting" of amplified bioelectrical energy. Originally one of the weakest Avengers in terms of both power and personality, Wasp gradually grew into one of the most formidable and dedicated members of the team despite her frivolous manners, and spent a lengthy stint as team leader following her divorce from Pym. She had reconciled with Pym to some extent and rejoined the Avengers' active roster shortly before she, Pym and most of the other then-active Avengers vanished in battle with Onslaught, returning only recently.
Wasp is sporting a new hairdo and a new costume, both Perez designs; a wealthy fashion designer, Jan is renowned for her seemingly endless supply of new costumes, a trait Perez helped establish during his work on the earlier Avengers series. It should also be noted that Wasp had been mutated into a huge, freakish bug-woman shortly before Onslaught during the events of the "Crossing". How she returned to her human form is as yet unexplained, though Busiek may address it later. The loss of her freakish bug form was one of the earliest promises and/or revelations Busiek made about his plans for the new Avengers series, another early promise being his vow to restore Iron Man to adulthood. Busiek summed this up as, "No teen Tony, no bug Jan," those being two of the most unpopular revamps stemming from the very unpopular Crossing storyline.
Tony Stark is a genius inventor and billionaire businessman who secretly leads a double life as his own bodyguard, Iron Man, using an armored battle suit of his own design. The armor augments his strength and durability to tremendous levels and is also outfitted with a variety of high-tech offensive weapons and other devices. Iron Man appears here in his newest armor, introduced in Iron Man (v3) # 1; it was created by Iron Man artist Sean Chen from a design by Alex Ross; its red-and-gold color scheme is the same one Iron Man has used in most of his suits since his third Iron Man suit, adopted circa Avengers (v1) # 3. The pointed face plate is especially reminiscent of the old third-generation armor, the last Iron Man armor to sport that look. The lighted portions of the armor are colored incorrectly in this story; the flat red portions should be glowing gold, and the glowing gold portions should be flat red.
Iron Man's voice balloon is styled in a new way unique to the character (presumably reflecting his helmet's voice modulator), introduced in Iron Man (v3) # 1.
As noted in the introduction to these annotations, Iron Man was revealed as a madly murderous unwitting pawn of Kang, killed off and replaced by a teen-age version of himself from an alternate timeline in "The Crossing", a storyline running through the Avengers-related comics in 1995. When the active Avengers disappeared in battle with Onslaught, the teen Iron Man was among them, but the adult Iron Man returned from that journey instead, seemingly himself again and free of Kang's influence. Busiek has promised that the benevolent adult Iron Man's return will be explained in a future story, currently slated to appear in the Iron Man: Look Back in Armor one-shot.
As Iron Man says here, he and fellow founding member Thor have been close for years; however, it should be noted that they have seen comparatively little of each other in recent years, thanks to Iron Man's relocation to the west coast and his subsequent estrangement from the Avengers.
Iron Man's confusion and irritation over the Avengers disbanding in his absence mirrors the feelings of a lot of Avengers fans who've asked how and why the Avengers disbanded when so many past and present members of the team were still around after Onslaught despite the loss of most of the active membership. The Avengers have remained together under worse conditions in the past, so the disbanding remains a troubling mystery for now, one Busiek has said he may be addressing in future stories. As it is, the only explanation to date is rooted in editorial considerations--the fact that Marvel wasn't authorized to publish its own Avengers stories while Rob Liefeld (and later Jim Lee) had a contract to cover the adventures of the Onslaught-displaced Avengers in the "Heroes Reborn" version of the Avengers series. An in-continuity explanation for why the Avengers who escaped Onslaught disbanded the team is yet to come.
Panel 2
Loki is a natural suspect since he, like the menaces attacking the Avengers, is an Asgardian; he also bears a grudge against the team since his unwitting role in their formation galls him. He has fought the group on several occasions and twice schemed to destroy them simply out of frustration with the fact that he was responsible for first bringing them together. He last battled the team in Avengers (v1) # 400.
PAGE 11
Panel 1:
Enter the thunder god THOR, the last of the heroes missing since Onslaught. Thor is the warrior prince of the Asgardians, a superhuman otherdimensional race of immortals worshipped by the ancient Norsemen as gods and regarded as mythical today. Son of the Asgardian monarch Odin and the Earth goddess Gaea, Thor is possessed of near-limitless strength and wields the enchanted, indestructible uru hammer Mjolnir, which can summon and control storms. It also allows Thor to fly, fires energy blasts, opens interdimensional portals and performs a variety of other functions; it always returns to Thor when thrown, and only someone worthy of the hammer can wield it. Though a founding member of the Avengers and one of the group's first chairman, Thor has often split his time between Earth and Asgard and as such has taken several lengthy leaves of absence from the team, but he always returns to the group eventually. He is one of the most powerful Avengers, so the sight of him in such dire straits is shocking for the others.
Thor was clean-shaven when last seen but has obviously since regrown his beard. The heavily stylized "Asgardian" font used here for his voice is a new affectation on the part of the letterers.
As the Wasp recalls, Midgard is the name given Earth in the Asgardian cosmology.
PAGE 14
The chapter title, "Avengers Assemble!", is the team's traditional rallying cry, first used in Avengers (v1) # 10. It's fitting that Thor's speech from the previous chapter should lead into the use of that rallying cry, since Thor was the first known Avenger to use their rallying cry.
Hawkeye's actions here are consistent with the character's long-established daredevil swashbuckler tendencies. He's using one of his cable arrows to slide down to Avengers Mansion.
This opening scene is reminiscent of the opening of Busiek's favorite Avengers comic, Giant-Size Avengers # 2, with a laughing Hawkeye gliding through the air. In fact, Busiek's script originally called for a scene almost exactly like GSA 2's opening, with a laughing Hawkeye swinging on a rope, but Perez decided that having Hawkeye slide down an arrowline using his bow would be more visually interesting and unique to the character.
PAGE 15
Panels 2-3:
Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch are old and dear friends, dating back to when they joined the Avengers at the same time years ago. Her awkward reaction to his comment on her looks and his assurance that he's not hitting on her are both understandable reactions given their history, since Hawkeye had an unrequited crush on Wanda years ago, but they've been close platonic friends for so long that it's surprising to see there might still be some tension between them.
Scarlet Witch is wearing a new costume designed for this series by Perez; it's basically a modified version of her traditional costume design: scarlet headpiece, cloak, gloves, boots and bathing suit with pink tights.
Panels 3-4:
Hawkeye takes out his Avengers priority identicard, also known as a communicard, but Quicksilver beats him to the punch by inserting his own card first. All official members of the Avengers are issued such cards for identification purposes, and the most recent version of the cards is particularly versatile. Designed by Tony Stark and Hank Pym and manufactured by Stark Enterprises, the communicard is roughly the size of an average credit card, and its all-surface display screen allows the user to camouflage it as an ordinary credit card if desired. The front side of the card is a two-way audio-video transmitter and receiver, and a card user can dial up the Avengers headquarters switchboard or any other authorized card user through the card's variable-configured numbered grid (which can also serve as a calculator). The communicard's signal is strong enough to carry roughly 2000 miles, and it serves as a homing beacon allowing headquarters to track the whereabouts of members. The magnetic strip on the back of the card works in most banking machines and allows Avengers to withdraw up to $2500 from the Avengers account if necessary, and many businesses will even accept it as a credit card. The cards also serve as a picture ID for card-carrying members, giving them security clearance with most legal and governmental organizations and ensuring the cooperation of most police and military personnel who are shown the card. In the hands of an authorized user, a communicard grants access to Avengers facilities (in this instance, Quicksilver uses his card to gain entrance to the Mansion grounds); however, active members' cards can access more facilities than inactive or reserve members' cards, and only the current chairman's card can access all facilities and equipment unchallenged. Communicards also serve as the ignition keys for the Avengers quinjets and sky cycles. The cards are powered by advanced thermal-instability batteries and are signature-encrypted so that only authorized users can access their functions.
(Most of the above info courtesy of Avengers Annual # 21.)
Panel 5:
The rivalry and bickering between Hawkeye and Quicksilver dates back to when they joined the Avengers together in Avengers (v1) # 16, though the two have long since become friends despite their respective bad tempers. It's very fitting for Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to arrive together since they joined the group together years ago; it also lends a sense of continuity to the issue, with the first generation of Avengers (the founders and Captain America) depicted together in the first chapter and the second generation of Avengers (Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch) gathering in this subsequent scene in the second chapter.
Quicksilver's comment about impatience with slow minds is truer than even he might suspect, since psychoanalysis of him by Doc Samson during his stint with the government mutant team X-Factor indicated that Pietro's prickly personality stems largely from the fact that everyone around him thinks and moves frustratingly slowly by comparison to him.
Quicksilver is wearing the costume he adopted not long ago in the Avengers: The Crossing one-shot. It's the same costume he's currently wearing in his own ongoing series, in which he's leading a team of warrior animal-men entrusted to his care by his one-time benefactor, the High Evolutionary.
PAGES 16-17 (two-page spread)
Panel 1: Perez unleashed! Assembled in response to the summons from Captain America and the founders we see no fewer than thirty-six Avengers, not to mention Jarvis. Assembled from left to right are Machine Man (the purple and silver robot), Falcon (behind Black Widow's chair), Black Widow (seated), Hercules, Beast (crouching on the mantle), She-Hulk, Binary (the glowing-haired, red-skinned woman in blue), Sersi (the brunette in green on the couch), Darkhawk, Rick Jones (in the high-tech hovering wheelchair in the foreground), Hawkeye, Crystal (in yellow, turning to greet Hawkeye and the others), Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Starfox (the redhead seated to Crystal's right, apparently arguing with Sersi), Jarvis, Sandman (seated left of Magdalene), Magdalene, Moondragon, Demolition Man (to the right of Moondragon in the distant background), Swordsman II, Black Panther, Sub-Mariner, Spider-Woman, USAgent (talking with Spider-Woman), Rage, Firestar, Justice, Spider-Man (crouching above Justice), Photon (the black woman in white), Black Knight (armored man standing next to Photon at right), Stingray (in red and white to the right of Black Knight), Quasar (blond guy in blue and red to Stingray's right), Vision (to right of Quasar, though only his yellow cloak is visible) and, in the far right foreground, Tigra (furry, striped woman with a tail), Living Lightning and Firebird (in costume).
Above the mantle we see a picture of the founding Avengers (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Wasp) as they looked in the Jack Kirby illustration on the cover of Avengers (v1) # 1.
Behind Hawkeye, a picture of JOCASTA is visible. Jocasta was a sentient robot created by the evil robot Ultron as his bride (in Avengers [v1] # 162), but she turned against him and joined his mortal enemies, the Avengers, instead (Avengers [v1] # 162 and 170-171). Jocasta resided at Avengers Mansion as an ally to the team for quite some time thereafter, having nowhere else to go, but eventually tired of being passed over for full membership and left (in Avengers [v1] # 211--just as, unbeknownst to her, the Avengers were about to offer her formal membership). Shortly after her departure, she became romantically involved with fellow sentient robot Machine Man, but she was destroyed in their resultant battle with Ultron. Jocasta was presumed dead and mourned by the Avengers after that, but the High Evolutionary salvaged her parts and reactivated her in an unsuccessful attempt to use her against the Avengers. She instead joined the Avengers in defeating the Evolutionary, though the battle ended in an explosion that seemingly destroyed her once more (Avengers Annual # 17). Her head survived intact, however, and was stolen by criminal arms dealer Madame Menace; what Menace will do with it remains unclear, as does whether or not the Avengers or Machine Man will learn of this and attempt to rescue and reactivate her. Jocasta's human personality was based on the brain patterns of the Wasp.
Behind Quicksilver, a picture of the late Avengers member WONDER MAN (Simon Williams) is visible. A longtime provisional member of the Avengers, and later a mainstay of the team's AWC division, Wonder Man was given superhuman power by the original Baron Zemo and plotted against the Avengers with Zemo's Masters of Evil, only to seemingly die when he repented by turning against Zemo and saving the Avengers (all this happened in Avengers [v1] # 9). Years later, Wonder Man returned from his seeming death (in Avengers [v1] # 151-152) and learned that Zemo's superhuman empowerment process had actually sent him into a deathlike coma, from which he emerged as a super-strong, physically invulnerable, seemingly immortal being of coherent ionic energy. Having nowhere else to go, Wonder Man informally joined the Avengers (as of Avengers Annual # 6), aiding them in their battles, and was awarded full official membership in Avengers (v1) # 194 after a lengthy probationary association with the group. He later helped found the AWC and served until the shutdown of the team's western base prompted him and several other western-based Avengers to resign and form the rival team Force Works. Wonder Man seemingly died in the course of this new team's first mission when he disappeared in a massive explosion during a battle with hostile aliens, the Kree and the Scatter.
MACHINE MAN (X-51, alias Aaron Stack) is a sentient robot who poses as a human insurance investigator while leading a double life as a robotic adventurer. He first met the Avengers in Avengers [v1] # 287 and, after working with them again in AWC Annual # 5 and Avengers Annual # 19, he was elected to reserve Avengers membership in AWC # 69. He only served as an AWC reservist once, though, in AWC # 83, before the Avengers shut down their AWC division. He hasn't worked with the group since then and has been largely obscure of late. Prior to meeting the group, he was indirectly linked to them through his brief romance with the late robotic Avengers member Jocasta, who encountered Machine Man and died in action with him shortly after leaving the Avengers. Machine Man has been trying to locate Jocasta's remains and revive her since then, not knowing that her surviving parts are in the custody of the criminal arms dealer Madame Menace, a character currently appearing in Busiek's Iron Man series. Machine Man is superhumanly strong and durable and can fly using his anti-grav generator; his body is also outfitted with a wide variety of modular tools and weapons, though his most memorable ability may be his telescoping arms and legs, which can extend to many times their natural length.
The FALCON (Samuel Wilson) is a social worker and sometime adventurer who started his crimefighting career in partnership with Captain America but has been flying solo more recently. Aside from being a formidable unarmed combatant and acrobat, Wilson possesses a high-tech costume (a gift from the Black Panther) that allows him to fly, and also has a mental link with his pet falcon, Redwing, who accompanies him in battle. As a sometime partner of Captain America, Falcon has worked alongside the Avengers as early as Avengers (v1) # 88, but did not officially join the team until Avengers (v1) # 183, when he was drafted into the group at the US government's insistence to fulfill a racial minority quota imposed on the team's membership. Falcon served capably but was uncomfortable with the circumstances of his joining and felt out of place with the group since he was concerned chiefly with down-to-earth social ills and street crime in his native Harlem, so he resigned after a short time; however, he has been a reliable reserve member of the group since then, serving on many subsequent cases. He was among the Avengers who vanished during the Onslaught battle only to return to Earth in the recent Heroes Reborn: The Return limited series. The costume he wears here is his third to date.
Note: Falcon is unrelated to the obscure 1940s costumed crimefighter of the same name who appeared in Daring Mystery Comics.
The BLACK WIDOW (Natalia Alianovna Romanova, AKA Natasha Romanoff) was an elite espionage agent in the service of the Soviet Union and a recurring foe of Iron Man until her romance with the idealistic American adventurer Hawkeye convinced her to abandon the Soviets, defect and offer her services to the American government. As Hawkeye's longtime girlfriend, she was a longtime associate of the Avengers in their early days, though she refused membership due to various conflicts with her work and personal life. She eventually broke up with Hawkeye but finally joined the Avengers anyway in Avengers (v1)# 111-112, though she served on only one case before opting for reserve status. She was an infrequent participant in Avengers cases for years thereafter until the group reorganized its membership under the auspices of the United Nations (Avengers [v1] # 329), at which time she was elected to the active roster.
A lengthy but undistinguished membership stint ensued, during which she was appointed deputy leader of the team by then-leader Captain America, assuming the group's leadership by default in Avengers (v1) # 348 after Captain America went on indefinite leave. She retained the leadership position for some time thereafter, though her contributions as chairwoman were thoroughly unremarkable until the Onslaught disaster, during which she folded under pressure in Avengers (v1) # 402 and lagged behind while the rest of the team seemingly died; she then disbanded the group under circumstances as yet unrevealed. All told, she has a long but not especially impressive record with the Avengers: she began as their adversary (Avengers [v1] # 29-30), became an occasional ally (starting in Avengers [v1] # 32-33), eventually joined the group (serving very infrequently) and put in a lengthy but otherwise unimpressive stint as team leader that ended in the group's disbanding. More recently, she has returned to freelance espionage and solo crimefighting, as seen in comics such as Daredevil and Thunderbolts.
In addition to her considerable espionage skills, the Black Widow is a superbly agile unarmed combatant, acrobat and martial artist. Her bracelets contain her "widow's bite" (an electrical discharge weapon) and "widow's line" (a grappling wire), while her belt usually contains small explosives. The palms and soles of her costume are coated with micro-suction devices that allow her to cling to walls. The outfit she wears here is her second, which she abandoned years ago but recently resumed wearing after the Avengers' disbanding.
Note: Black Widow is apparently unrelated to the mystical 1940s Black Widow, Claire Voyant, a murdered medium who hunted down the souls of evildoers for Satan.
The BEAST (Hank McCoy) is a mutant adventurer and brilliant biochemist born with ape-like agility, dexterity and bodily proportions, along with superhuman strength. A founding member of the X-Men, he graduated from that group to a civilian career as a scientist, during which his mutation research led to a mishap in which he grew fur all over his body and took on a more animal-like appearance. Shortly after this, he joined the Avengers on a probationary basis during a membership drive (Avengers [v1] # 137) and won full official membership in Avengers (v1) # 151. After a fairly lengthy active membership stint, he retired to reserve status in Avengers (v1) # 211. Though he has gone on to membership in other groups, including the Defenders, X-Factor and his current renewed membership in the X-Men, the Beast has remained affiliated with the Avengers on a reserve basis. He last worked with them in Avengers: The Crossing # 1, not counting occasions during which he aided them as a member of the X-Men, such as Avengers (v1) # 369 or Onslaught. .
BINARY (Carol Danvers) was a veteran US intelligence agent who joined NASA security and befriended the alien adventurer Captain Mar-Vell; this alliance led to her exposure to the Kree psyche-magnetron device, which gave her superhuman powers that she used as the costumed crimefighter Ms. Marvel in emulation of Mar-Vell. After aiding the Avengers against Ultron (Avengers [v1] # 171), Tyrak (Avengers [v1] # 172) and Korvac (Avengers (v1) # 175-177), she formally joined the team to replace the absent Scarlet Witch in Avengers (v1) # 183; however, Danvers was estranged from the group following the events of Avengers (v1) # 200, when the Avengers allowed her extradimensional admirer Marcus of Limbo to abduct her, mistakenly believing that she was going with him willingly (this despite the fact that he'd admitted to kidnapping her into Limbo and mind-controlling her into sexual intercourse with him).
Carol escaped Marcus after he died through his own machinations, but then she lost her super-powers in a battle with the power-siphoning mutant Rogue. Unable to bear staying with the Avengers after they'd failed her so badly (see Avengers Annual # 10), Danvers avoided them and ended up residing with the X-Men, whose leader, Charles Xavier, gave her therapy to recover from the Rogue and Marcus encounters; Carol's adventures with the X-Men led to her being captured by the alien Brood, whose experiments gave her new stellar super-powers that inspired her to adopt the new alias of Binary.
As Binary she joined a band of outer space adventurers called the Starjammers, but she returned to Earth to help save it from destruction during Galactic Storm; she nearly lost her life in the effort, but the Avengers nursed her back to health, strengthening her attachment to them and to Earth in general, though she declined to rejoin the team. She was last with the group in Avengers # (v1) 350-351, when she left the Starjammers and decided to remain on Earth for the time being but opted not to rejoin the Avengers.
As Ms. Marvel, Carol possessed superhuman strength and durability and the power of flight, as well as a psychic "seventh sense". As Binary, she can duplicate most of the known effects of a star, including the generation and manipulation of tremendous amounts of heat, light, gravity, radiation and so on; she can also fly and survive unaided in the vacuum of space.
Curiously, Binary is wearing her Ms. Marvel costume (her second, the one she wore during her membership in the Avengers) rather than her Binary outfit.
Note: Carol Danvers is unrelated to Sharon Ventura, a superhuman adventurer who has used the Ms. Marvel costumed alias on occasion since Danvers became Binary.
SERSI, known in Greek myth as the witch Circe, is a powerful Eternal adventurer and unapologetic hedonist with highly developed transmutation abilities. The Avengers have worked with the Eternals, including Sersi, on several occasions, and Sersi was strongly attracted to Avengers leader Captain America, so she joined the Avengers to replace her fellow Eternal Gilgamesh after he was critically injured in action with the team. She joined the team in Avengers (v1) # 314 and remained an active member until she was stalked by Proctor, a corrupt hero from the Avengers of an alternate universe who was killing all the Sersis in various alternate realities in revenge for his Sersi romantically rejecting him. The true Avengers eventually defeated Proctor, and Sersi slew him, but not before he had infected Sersi with a form of madness that made her highly dangerous. Lest she threaten her teammates and the world, she fled to another dimension for a time in the company of her erstwhile lover, the Black Knight. The two recently returned to Earth and Sersi regained her sanity, but they have severed their romantic relationship. Sersi left the team in Avengers (v1) # 375 and returned to Earth during the Avengers' post-Onslaught absence, as seen in recent issues of Heroes for Hire. Sersi is one of Earth's most powerful Eternals. In addition to conventional Eternal superhuman strength, invulnerability, longevity, levitation and energy projection powers, she is the most skilled transmutator of her race and can rearrange matter at will into virtually any form she can imagine.
Sersi wears her traditional green costuming here, rather than the red and black outfit she has been wearing more recently.
RICK JONES first came to prominence as the friend and confidant of the Incredible Hulk, and later became a sidekick to the adventurers Captain America, Captain Mar-Vell and Rom at one time or another; though a lover of adventure, Rick has never really established a super-heroic name for himself (despite briefly adopting the costume of Captain America's old partner Bucky) and has instead become jokingly known as a "professional sidekick", a heroic hanger-on.
Rick was partially responsible for the creation of the Avengers since it was his radio summons for aid that first brought together Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and Wasp when the Hulk was being framed as a menace by Loki; the five heroes exposed and defeated Loki and decided to remain together as the Avengers, though the Hulk soon quit. Rick was considered an honorary member of the Avengers, assisting in their missions and training under Captain America, but the Captain was wary of endangering another young adventurer after the death of his original sidekick Bucky and opposed the idea of Rick becoming a full member of the Avengers, despite the fact that the other Avengers were ready to vote him in as early as Avengers (v1) # 10. When Rick was passed over for membership during the group's first major membership reshuffling (Avengers [v1] # 16), Jones decided the Avengers would never fully accept him and drifted away from the group, soon severing his ties with Captain America as well. In the years since then, Rick has continued to seek adventure while making his living as a musician, a writer and a talk show host, profiting by his pseudo-super-heroic celebrity status.
Jones rarely works with the Avengers these days, their most recent adventure together being Galactic Storm (AWC # 80), though they did attend his recent wedding to Marlo Chandler. Rick's legs were recently crippled in a mishap with the Hulk, on account of which he's using the high-tech hovering wheelchair shown here (the chair may have been obtained through the X-Men since their leader, Charles Xavier, uses a similar model). .
STARFOX (Eros) is one of the Eternals of Titan, an adventurer who first encountered the Avengers as allies against his mad brother Thanos. He was a close friend of the longtime Avengers associate Captain Mar-Vell, and after Mar-Vell's death Starfox decided to emulate his late friend and seek new adventures by joining the Avengers. He successfully sought membership in Avengers (v1) #232 after aiding the team against the Plantman, but served for only a relatively brief time before joining the outer space manhunt for his grandniece Nebula, a space pirate guilty of horrible genocidal crimes. Nebula was eventually brought to justice, but Starfox never rejoined the Avengers, preferring to wander space in search of romance and adventure. He has been fairly reliable as an occasional reservist, though, serving during such cases as the Terminus crisis (Avengers Annual # 19), the Galactic Storm mission (Avengers # 345/347 and AWC # 82) and the Nemesis case (Avengers/Ultraforce # 1 and Ultraforce/Avengers # 1). Most recently, he aided Photon and other Avengers against the Controller in Avengers Unplugged # 5. Like most Titanian Eternals, Starfox is superhumanly strong and durable and extremely long-lived, and capable of flying through levitation; he also has a unique ability to stimulate the psionic pleasure centers in other beings' brains, a power which has enhanced Starfox's infamous womanizing skills.
The SANDMAN (William Baker) was a career criminal who gained the ability to transform his body into mentally malleable sand after he was caught in an atomic test explosion while fleeing police. He became one of the most infamous and formidable super-criminals of his generation, repeatedly battling the likes of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, but eventually tired of his life of crime and reformed on the advice of his old adversary, the Thing. He even went so far as to seek membership in the Avengers, and was admitted (with a presidential pardon for his crimes) as a probationary reserve member in Avengers (v1) # 329. He served only for a very brief time, though, before a procedural argument with team leader Captain America prompted him to quit the group in the mistaken belief that he'd be fired anyway (Amazing Spider-Man # 348). He hasn't served with the group since then, though he has stayed on the straight and narrow while making a living as a mercenary in the employ of Silver Sable.
DEMOLITION MAN (Dennis Dunphy), also known simply as D-Man, was a pro wrestler who gained superhuman strength through treatments purchased from the Power Broker. As Demolition Dunphy, he competed in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, befriending the Thing, and later became a costumed crimefighter as Demolition Man, becoming an apprentice partner to Captain America. When the Avengers' eastern roster temporarily disbanded circa Avengers (v1) # 297-298, Captain America returned to reconstruct the team and began gathering new recruits. The first such recruit was Demolition Man, but D-Man was lost in action and presumed dead during an Antarctic mission immediately afterward, so he never really got a chance to serve with the Avengers. He was eventually rescued by Falcon and USAgent but had suffered slight brain damage, leaving him a bit punchy and slow-witted; rather than joining the Avengers, he went underground as the champion of the subterranean community called Zerotown and has lived there as its protector since then. This story is actually his first appearance in an Avengers comic book, since the story of his previous brief pseudo-membership and subsequent adventures was told in the Captain America series.
USAGENT (John Walker, alias Jack Daniels) is a soldier who sought personal glory and a sense of purpose as the nationalistic adventurer called Super-Patriot, eventually landing a government assignment as the new Captain America when the original Captain was temporarily stripped of the role for refusing to unquestioningly serve the US government. Though a loyal soldier, the egotistical and sometimes sadistic Walker proved to be erratic, unpredictable and murderously violent under the pressures of his Captain America guise, eventually resigning from the role in disgrace. The government decided he could still be useful, though, and faked his death, giving him a new identity as Jack Daniels, alias USAgent.
As USAgent, Walker has acted as a freelance crimefighter in addition to working for various government agencies, and the US government assigned him to AWC membership (WCA # 44-45) so that he could monitor the Avengers' activities on the government's behalf. Since he was violent and disruptive, the Avengers expelled him in AWC # 69 after the government order making him a member was rescinded--but the team gave him a second chance and readmitted him in AWC # 74 after he assisted them against the Pacific Overlords. Determined to atone for his past and make a name for himself out of Captain America's shadow, USAgent remained an active member of the AWC until the Avengers disbanded their western division, prompting him to quit and join the new rival super-team Force Works until it disbanded. USAgent is superhumanly strong thanks to treatments purchased from the Power Broker and currently wields Stark-designed gauntlets that generate a photonic "shield" of coherent light which can also be directed outward as concussive force.
SPIDER-MAN is a celebrated but controversial veteran costumed crimefighter who started out as a selfish show biz entertainer until his uncle's death--at the hands of a criminal whom Spider-Man had previously refused to pursue--taught the young hero that great power demands great responsibility. Spider-Man's power, specifically, is an array of superhuman abilities he developed after being bitten by an irradiated spider at a science exhibit: superhuman strength, agility and equilibrium; the ability to cling to almost any surface; and an extrasensory awareness of danger, dubbed his "spider-sense". Armed with these abilities and adhesive "webbing" of his own design, Spider-Man has long sought to use his powers for good despite the efforts of media forces like J. Jonah Jameson to label him a menace. He has been a staunch ally to the Avengers through most of their history, first encountering them in Avengers (v1) # 11, but either declined or was refused membership repeatedly due to various extenuating circumstances over the years. More recently, he accepted the group's latest membership offer in Avengers (v1) # 316 after aiding the team against Nebula, but he resigned from the active roster almost immediately afterward when a humbling encounter with the Stranger shook his confidence. He consented to join the team's reserve roster in Avengers (v1) # 329 but was an unreliable reservist at best given his preoccupation with various personal concerns. He last worked with the group in AWC # 84-86 when he aided the Avengers against Deathweb.
PHOTON (Monica Rambeau) is a costumed adventurer who gained the ability to convert her body to any form of energy within the electromagnetic spectrum in a freak scientific accident; previously a harbor patrol officer, she decided to hone her new powers as a costumed crimefighter and joined the Avengers as a member in training (Avengers [v1] # 227), quickly earning a place in the group as one of its most powerful, dedicated and competent members. She served a lengthy unbroken membership culminating in a stint as team leader until severe injuries forced her to retire from the active roster in Avengers [v1] # 292-294. She eventually recovered her health and the full use of her powers, but has worked with the Avengers strictly on a reserve basis since then, albeit as one of the team's most reliable and formidable reservists. She last served with the group during Galactic Storm (Avengers # 345-347 and AWC # 80-82), leading one of the three contingents of Avengers who participated in that mission.
More recently, she encountered the Avengers in a dispute regarding her costumed alias. The news media dubbed her "Captain Marvel" when she first appeared based on comments from bystanders at the scene of her debut, and the name stuck despite the fact that she was contritely surprised to learn an earlier Avenger, Mar-Vell, had used the alias before. She kept the name as a tribute to him with the blessing of his old comrades, and was judged worthy of the title by all who had fought alongside both her and the late Mar-Vell; however, Mar-Vell's son Genis has recently attracted notice as an adventurer in his own right and picked up the Captain Marvel name, prompting Monica to abandon the alias out of respect to the Mar-Vell family after she, Genis and the Avengers joined forces to defeat the Controller in Avengers Unplugged # 5.
The BLACK KNIGHT (Dane Whitman) is the third person by that alias. The original Black Knight, Sir Percy of Scandia, wielded the enchanted ebony blade in defense of King Arthur's Camelot until he was treacherously slain by Mordred the Evil. Percy's modern-day descendant, scientist and spy Nathan Garret, learned of the Black Knight legend and tried to take the ebony blade as his own but could not draw it since he was unworthy. Embittered by the experience, Garrett used his scientific expertise to become a super-criminal called the Black Knight, riding a genetically engineered winged horse and wielding high-tech armaments that looked like medieval weapons. Garrett eventually suffered fatal wounds in battle with Iron Man and summoned his closest living relative--his nephew, Dane Whitman--to his deathbed, bequeathing his Black Knight alias and paraphernalia to Whitman on the condition that Whitman use them only for good. Whitman agreed and became the new heroic Black Knight, soon adding the ebony blade to his arsenal.
Whitman tried to aid the Avengers against Magneto in his first outing as the Black Knight (Avengers [v1] # 47-48) and later rescued the team from the Masters of Evil (Avengers [v1] # 54-55). After attending the wedding of Yellowjacket and the Wasp and joining forces with the group against Ymir, Surtur and the Man-Ape (Avengers [v1] # 60-61), Black Knight rescued the Avengers from Kang and was awarded membership in their ranks (Avengers [v1] # 70-71). He decided to serve as a reserve member, though, since he resided in England, and he served on only a few cases before the Enchantress turned him to stone in Defenders # 4, after which he was transported to the era of the Crusades in astral form in Defenders # 11, waging war in the body of his ancestor Eobar Garrington. His body was restored and his soul returned to it in the present day in Avengers # 225-226, after which he moved to America and joined the Avengers full-time, serving until a curse on the ebony blade ravaged his body and mind (Avengers [v1] # 293-297), eventually turning him to a petrified statue. He was cured in Black Knight (limited series) # 1-4 and rejoined the Avengers, first as a reservist (Avengers [v1] # 329) and later as a full-time active member (Avengers [v1] # 343-375), during which time he abandoned the ebony blade and served as the group's de facto field leader under chairwoman Black Widow. He left the Avengers to join his love interest Sersi in her otherdimensional exile (Avengers [v1] # 375), but the pair have since returned to Earth and parted company.
Since Dane returned to Earth while the Avengers were disbanded after Onslaught, he found a new home with the corporate super-team Heroes for Hire and currently appears in their ongoing series; however, he remains infatuated with Avengers member Crystal, who is married to fellow Avenger Quicksilver.
Dane recently agreed to become the champion of the mystical Arthurian realm of Avalon, and was outfitted with new magical paraphernalia by Avalon's Lady of the Lake. This paraphernalia includes lightweight but supernaturally durable armor; the winged horse Strider; the Shield of Night, which absorbs force directed against it; and the Sword of Light, which can discharge energy absorbed by the shield as concussive force. Dane can summon all of these items at will by invoking the name of Avalon while touching the mystic pendant given to him by the Lady of the Lake.
STINGRAY (Walter Newell) is an oceanographer and occasional adventurer who designed and constructed the submersible armor he wears as Stingray. Newell originally created the Stingray armor to capture his one-time ally Namor the Sub-Mariner on behalf of the US government, and he succeeded, but he respected Namor too much to go through with it and allowed the Sub-Mariner to escape. The two later fought side by side in many subsequent adventures and became close friends, and Newell married their mutual friend Diane Arliss. The Newells then became custodians of the artificial island Hydrobase as a platform for Walter's research, and Namor was their frequent guest there. When the Newells offered to let the Avengers use Hydrobase as an airport for their quinjets (in Avengers [v1] # 262), the Avengers accepted and invited Namor to join their ranks. Stingray went on to participate in various Avengers cases, too, an activity which became more frequent when the Avengers moved their entire headquarters to Hydrobase following the destruction of the original Avengers Mansion. As caretaker of Hydrobase (later also known as Avengers Island), Stingray was an ongoing associate of the team and eventually came to be regarded as a member of the Avengers, alternately referred to as an honorary member or a reservist. He continued to serve the Avengers in a reserve role after Hydrobase sank, answering calls to action in Avengers [v1] # 319-324 and Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual # 1.
Stingray's armor enhances his strength and durability to superhuman levels, enabling him to survive and operate within the crushing pressures of the ocean depths; his suit also allows him to breathe underwater, and its streamlined wings allow him to glide through air for great distances. The armor's chief offensive weapon is a powerful electrical discharge released through the gloves.
QUASAR (Wendell Vaughn) is a former SHIELD agent who was entrusted to wear the immensely powerful, energy-manipulating quantum bands by the ancient, all-knowing alien Eon, who appointed Quasar "Protector of the Universe." Though Eon eventually died in the course of his duties as Quasar's mentor (and was replaced by its offspring Epoch), Quasar has continued to serve as Protector of the Universe, striving to maintain order in the universe while battling cosmic or paranormal threats to the security of Earth and the rest of the cosmos. Quasar first worked with the Avengers when he aided them against Supernova (in Avengers [v1] # 302-303) and was invited to join the group, an offer he eagerly accepted. Quasar served very effectively as an active member for some time thereafter (Avengers [v1] # 305-347), but he left the active roster indefinitely after the genocidal massacre of the alien Kree during Galactic Storm convinced him that he could better perform his Protector of the Universe duties by spending more time off Earth. More recently, he faked his death and exiled himself from Earth altogether--partly to better concentrate on his Protector duties, but also as a means of preventing his deadly enemy, the Presence, from menacing Quasar's loved ones since he believes Quasar to be dead. Evidently, though, Quasar has discovered a way to return to Earth safely since he manages to attend this Avengers meeting.
Quasar's quantum bands allow him to tap and manipulate the immense energies of the extradimensional "quantum zone" for such effects as space warps, energy constructs, supersonic flight, energy discharges, energy absorption, remote communication and sensory scanning. The bands are effectively tamperproof and cannot be removed from Quasar's wrists; they also protect him from most forms of mind control and provide a communications link to his cosmic advisor, Epoch.
Note: Quasar is unrelated to the two individuals previously known as Quasar: a superhumanoid energy parasite artificially evolved from an ape, and a member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard currently known as Neutron.
The VISION is a synthezoid, a synthetic humanoid created by the rogue robot Ultron as a weapon to use against the Avengers; however, the Vision's consciousness, based on the recorded brain patterns of the seemingly deceased superhuman Wonder Man, developed into a benevolent human personality of its own and the Vision rebelled against Ultron, joining the Avengers instead of destroying them (in Avengers [v1] # 57-58). Since the Avengers were the first and only family he'd ever known, the Vision dedicated his life to the group and has served several long, unbroken stints with the team, becoming one of the principal mainstays of the Avengers. As he gradually came to terms with his emerging capacity for human emotion, Vision fell in love with and married his teammate, the Scarlet Witch (in Giant-Size Avengers # 4).
The couple were fixtures of the Avengers roster for some time to come but eventually took a leave of absence to pursue married life in private (Avengers [v1] # 211). When they returned to the team, Vision fell under the influence of the alien computer ISAAC and attempted nonviolent world conquest by dominating Earth's computer systems, but the Avengers freed him from ISAAC's control (Avengers [v1] # 254-255) and he retired to domestic tranquillity alongside his wife again. This leave of absence lasted longer, during which time the couple produced twin children (Vision and Scarlet Witch vol. 2 # 1-12), but they reluctantly returned to the Avengers to fill some unexpected vacancies in the team's western roster (WCA # 33-37). The world's national governments and intelligence agencies regarded the Vision's return to duty suspiciously, though, remembering his near-conquest of the world as a pawn of ISAAC, and decided to neutralize any threat he might pose (and eliminate any sensitive data he might retain from his temporary control of the world's computers): to that end, an international intelligence coalition joined forces to kidnap the Vision, dismantle him and wipe his mind clean (WCA # 42-45). Though Hank Pym managed to reprogram the Vision's memories, his human personality seemed forever lost, effectively ending his marriage to the Scarlet Witch. The physical trauma of the experience also left the Vision's formerly scarlet body a ghostly, pale shade of yellowish white.
This more inhuman Vision continued to serve with the Avengers, having nowhere else to go, and eventually adopted a new set of human brain patterns (those of the late scientist Alex Lipton) to facilitate the smooth operation of his internal systems, which were accustomed to running on a human template (see Avengers Spotlight # 40). Perhaps because of this addition, Vision gradually began to realize that his original personality had not been completely erased, and his capacity for emotion began to resurface. Vision came fully to terms with this during a confrontation with a Vision from an alternate reality (in Vision # 1-4). Vision and the Avengers defeated this evil alternate Vision twice, and Vision switched bodies with his evil counterpart during the first of these encounters (Avengers [v1] # 360-363), the result being that the true Vision now has his original physical appearance as well as an as-yet-undefined semblance of his original personality. Since then, he has tried to reconcile with his teammate and estranged wife the Scarlet Witch, who has rebuffed his romantic overtures to date. Both of them were active members during the Onslaught battle, in which they seemingly died but were actually displaced into another dimension. They and their fellow Avengers have since returned to Earth, as shown in the recent Heroes Reborn: The Return limited series. Vision was last sighted in London in Thunderbolts # 10.
Vision wears a streamlined version of his traditional costume, newly designed by George Perez for this series, based on the previous costumes designed by John Buscema and Steve Epting.
The Vision is superhumanly strong and durable. He can also alter his own physical density, varying between wraith-like intangibility and diamond-like hardness. At lower densities, the Vision can become immaterial enough to glide on air currents and pass through solid objects. He is powered by solar energy, which he can release as heat beams from his eyes or from the jewel on his forehead.
Note: The Vision has no known connection to the original Vision (Aarkus), an otherdimensional supernatural adventurer active in the 1940s and featured in Marvel Mystery Comics.
Note: For years, the Vision was wrongly believed to be the reconstructed Human Torch. This was later revealed to be a hoax perpetrated by the time lord Immortus, as proven when the Torch himself revived in AWC # 50.
TIGRA (Greer Grant Nelson) was the costumed crimefighter known as The Cat until fatal wounds suffered in battle left her in the care of the Cat People, one of whom had created her physique-enhancing Cat costume. The Cat People saved Greer's life by transforming her into a sort of superhuman cat-woman called a Tigra, in which guise Greer continued her adventuring activities and also pursued a career as a private investigator. She joined the Avengers when Moondragon staged an impromptu membership drive in Avengers (v1) # 211, but she quickly grew uncomfortable as she became convinced that she was inferior to her fellow Avengers, and she left after only a brief stint.
Tigra was convinced to rejoin, though, as a member of the team's new west coast division (WCA limited series # 1-4), and quickly became a mainstay of the Avengers' western roster despite the emotional problems inherent in her feline nature, problems resolved when the Cat People transformed her into a stronger, more emotionally integrated Tigra (WCA # 14-15). Apart from a leave of absence during an ethical dispute with the team (WCA # 37-41), Tigra remained with the AWC until she briefly reverted to a feral state in AWC # 49, a condition cured by Agatha Harkness in Avengers Spotlight # 38. Tigra returned to active duty with the Avengers in AWC # 66, serving until her resignation to reserve status in AWC # 74 for personal reasons. Though she spent some time in Australia after leaving the active roster, Tigra has been a reliable reservist, helping to capture the Hyena during Galactic Storm (AWC # 83) and battling Ultron in AWC Annual # 8, her last outing with the team apart from attending Mockingbird's funeral in AWC # 100.
Tigra is superhumanly strong and agile, with superhumanly acute senses. Her prehensile tail can be used as an additional limb. She can resume her human form by touching the mystical amulet she usually wears on her costume.
Note that Machine Man's head is revolving to take in the room's many objects and occupants.
Note Hercules's mug of ale. He has always been fond of drinking, and has descended into borderline alcoholism of late (as seen in Heroes for Hire # 1-3) thanks to his diminished stamina and depression over the Avengers' disbanding.
Beast hanging out near Binary makes sense since they were Avengers together during Binary's time with the team. Strangely, Binary is wearing her old Ms. Marvel costume rather than her usual Binary outfit.
Sersi and Starfox conversing makes sense since they have so much in common, what with both of them being oversexed Eternals; what they're arguing over is anybody's guess, though.
Rick Jones, as noted, is in a high-tech wheelchair due to injuries recently inflicted by the Hulk.
USAgent and Spider-Woman conversing makes sense since they were friends and teammates in AWC and Force Works until those groups disbanded. Besides, odds are the unpopular USAgent wouldn't have many other people willing to chat with him apart from Spider-Woman.
There's something triply fitting about Spider-Man crouching above the New Warriors, off to the side. For one thing, he's a perpetual outsider who usually has little to do with groups, and his peripheral presence in this composition echoes that; he's also one of the youngest heroes there apart from the Warriors, despite his years of experience, so he fits in with the younger crowd; and his recently deceased clone, Ben Reilly, was briefly a member of the New Warriors as the Scarlet Spider, indirectly linking Spider-Man to the group.
Photon, Black Knight and Stingray grouping together makes sense since they were all active Avengers members or associates around the same time, during Roger Stern's stint as the series writer.
Quasar and Vision conversing makes sense since Vision was one of the relatively few active Avengers members during Quasar's stint on the active roster.
On the one hand, the grouping of Tigra, Living Lightning and Firebird makes sense since all three are Avengers primarily associated with the team's defunct western division; however, Firebird might seem a bit out of place in this clique since she's never met Living Lightning before (he joined after she left the group) and Tigra has never liked her. Regardless, Firebird seems fairly familiar with Living Lightning here to judge by her use of his first name and her casual manner with him.
There are 18 voice balloons in this two-page spread, and only the first two--spoken by Hercules and Hawkeye--are clearly assigned to their speakers. The rest are seemingly random snatches of unidentified conversation, but we can guess at their speakers and their significance given the clues afforded by the picture and the words.
Balloon 3:
"You were the Avengers' leader, Black Widow--"
The speaker is Falcon, who finishes this sentence in panel two.
Balloon 4:
"--may be crippled, but Rick Jones was here at the start, and I'm not about to--"
Rick Jones, commenting on how his recent handicap didn't stop him from answering the call to action since he participated in the founding of the Avengers.
Balloon 5:
"--And still more? How many Avengers are there, anyway?"
Magdalene, judging by the placement of the word balloon; the way she's turning to look at the new arrivals; and the fact that she's one of the team's newer and more inexperienced associates, previously unaware of how large the team's membership was.
Balloon 6:
"More than we ever had, that's for sure, but with all the attacks--"
Probably Swordsman, judging by the placement of the word balloon and the way he's turning toward the new arrivals and Magdalene. The "we" Swordsman refers to may be the Avengers roster he worked with before Onslaught or, more likely, the Avengers team he formerly belonged to on his destroyed alternate Earth.
Balloon 7:
"--to steer it away from the village by jabbing at its eyes--"
Black Panther, describing how he drove off the monster that attacked him earlier in this issue.
Balloon 8:
"--that stench?"
Namor the Sub-Mariner, who seems preoccupied with smells this issue, has caught wind of the unwashed Demolition Man.
Balloon 9:
"--a shame War Machine's out of the business--"
At this point, the balloons bunch up enough and some of the quotes become vague enough that it's harder to tell who's saying what; but the nearest probable speaker is USAgent, since he used to work with War Machine as a member of the AWC. This quote also acknowledges the fact that past Avengers member Jim Rhodes (AKA War Machine) has retired from adventuring, explaining why he's one of the few absentees at this gathering (though his absence still seems a bit conspicuous when a crippled Rick Jones can manage to show up and an able-bodied Jim Rhodes doesn't).
Said Busiek in Rhodey's defense:
"Rhodey certainly could have come, but chose not to, since he's retired. Rick, on the other hand, chose to come -- he feels a much stronger bond to the team than Rhodey does."Rhodey is currently running his own business, as seen in Iron Man (v3) # 1.
Balloon 10:
"--left my daughter with a sitter, so I hope--"
Spider-Woman, fretting--as always--over her young daughter Rachel Carpenter, who'd have to stay with a sitter in Spider-Woman's absence since Spider-Woman is a single parent. Her ex-husband Larry, who formerly had custody, died in AWC # 86. The close sequential placement of balloons 9 and 10, coupled with the certainty that Spider-Woman is the speaker in balloon 10, more or less confirms that USAgent is the speaker of Balloon 9 since he and Spider-Woman seem to be conversing.
Balloon 11:
"--not sure we should be here--"
Judging by body language, the placement of the balloon and the statement made, this is almost certainly said by either Justice or Firestar, who are worried about intruding on Avengers business since they aren't members of the Avengers. They continue this line of conversation in panels 6-7 below.
Balloon 12:
"--tied up with the new business, but when the Avengers call--"
Since this vague snippet doesn't seem applicable to either Spidey or the New Warriors, the most likely nearby speaker is Photon, who apparently has a new business to run. This would explain why Photon, once a mainstay of the team, hasn't returned to full active duty since recovering from the injuries she suffered in Avengers # 292-293, something many Avengers readers have been curious about. A conflicting commitment such as running a new business would also be a handy way for Busiek to keep Photon off the active roster in future if he so desires. The "new business" Photon refers to may or may not be the shipping company she took over in Captain Marvel Special # 1, which would be "new" to those Avengers who haven't seen Photon lately even though this happened quite a while ago.
Balloon 13
"--Hammond passed, but if we need the Heroes for Hire--"
The Black Knight, apparently in conversation with Photon, says that Jim Hammond (formerly the Avengers member known as the Human Torch until he lost his super-powers) declined to attend this Avengers gathering, explaining why he is absent. Like Jim Rhodes, Hammond is retired from adventuring; also like Rhodes, the able-bodied Hammond seems a conspicuous absentee with the likes of Rick Jones showing up, but people do have differing senses of priorities in both life and fiction. Hammond is currently managing the corporate-sponsored super-team Heroes for Hire, as seen in their ongoing series, and the Black Knight's statement seems to indicate that his fellow Heroes for Hire were available to help if the Avengers need them. Actually, over in concurrent issues of Heroes for Hire's own series, Hammond seems more than a little annoyed at the Avengers pilfering his personnel. There's also a slight continuity conflict between the two books here: Sandman encounters HFH as an adversary while Black Knight and She-Hulk are still said to be off on this mission with the Avengers, a mission in which Sandman is also participating.
Balloon 14
"--say the Presence mysteriously vanished, and Vanguard--"
The weirdly bordered green voice balloon (which was meant to be colored yellow) belongs to Vision, who is talking to Quasar; Vision has had uniquely designed voice balloons in the past to represent his weirdly inhuman voice, though this particular style of voice balloon is a new one for him. Vision's placement in the composition indicates he is talking to Quasar, and so do his words, since Quasar would be the one Avenger present uniquely concerned about the current status of the Presence and Vanguard. The Presence is an insane, immensely powerful radioactive superhuman who swore revenge on Quasar for various reasons, among them the Presence's mistaken belief that Quasar caused the death of his son, Vanguard. Since Presence was willing to strike at Quasar's loved ones if he could not destroy Quasar himself, Quasar had faked his death and exiled himself from Earth for safety's sake (in Quasar # 60)--but that exile is no longer necessary if, as Vision says, the Presence has mysteriously disappeared. The problem is doubly solved by the fact that Vanguard has since turned up alive, so Presence would no longer have any reason for a vendetta, which is probably what Vision is in the process of saying about Vanguard. Basically, this balloon caption explains (albeit sparsely) how Quasar can be present for this Avengers meeting despite his recent exile.
It's also interesting to note that the Vision, long considered one of THE principal Avengers characters, gets only this one partial line of dialogue in this entire story, and does little else apart from blending in with the assorted crowds. One supposes he simply got somewhat lost in the shuffle, understandable given the huge cast of this comic.
Balloon 15:
"--Oh, Deathcry sends her regards, by the way--"
Judging by his placement in the composition and the fact that Vision is clearly talking to him, Quasar must be speaking to Vision here. Deathcry is a young alien warrior who became the Avengers' ward and an honorary member of the team (beginning in Avengers [v1] # 363-364) until recently returning to her home in the Shi'ar galaxy (as of Avengers [v1] # 399). She was a very close friend to the Vision, so it's only natural that she would send her regards to him--and Quasar, as someone who routinely travels interstellar distances, would be the Avenger most likely to encounter Deathcry. Busiek confessed early on that he didn't like the Deathcry character and that she would be one of the few Avengers characters he definitely wasn't using, but he's still conscientious enough to mention characters he won't be using--such as Rhodes, Hammond and Deathcry.
Balloon 16:
"Caspita! Look who just came in!"
Judging by his placement in the composition and his body language, the speaker is probably Living Lightning, reacting excitedly to the arrival of old AWC teammates Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.
Balloon 17:
"Simmer down, Miguel. It's nice to see so many old friends, but--"
On the one hand, Tigra might seem the likely speaker since she has worked with Living Lightning before and would speak to him in this familiar manner; however, the balloon is closer to Firebird, and Firebird's body language--a contemplative countenance and a hand on Miguel's shoulder--seems appropriate to the speech, as does her usually serene personality. So Firebird is probably the speaker, presuming that she and Living Lightning have been introduced sometime prior to this scene. Hawkeye would be one of the many "old friends" Bonita is referring to, well known to all three of the AWC members congregating in the foreground at lower right.
Balloon 18:
"--all these attacks--BRRR!--I keep jumping at shadows--"
Given the placement of the balloon, her body language and her rather excitable personality, Tigra is the probable speaker of this quotation.
Panel 2:
Machine Man looks at a picture of the original Human Torch while Falcon asks Black Widow's opinion of the attacks. Black Widow replies that her record does not entitle her to speculate--a harsh self-assessment, perhaps, but not inaccurate since Black Widow only became an active member of the group in recent times and had a rather undistinguished record as leader that culminated in the team's disbanding, a failure for which she still blames herself.
The original HUMAN TORCH (now known as James Hammond) was an android created by Phineas Horton in 1939, but marred by a bizarre flaw that caused his body to burst into flame on contact with air. Escaping confinement and honing his power into a mental mastery of heat and flame, the Torch became a policeman and a costumed adventurer, using his power for good in the 1940s and 1950s until he disappeared and was presumed dead. For some years, the Avenger known as the Vision was incorrectly believed to be the reconstructed original Human Torch, but the Avengers eventually discovered that this was a hoax, after which they located and revived the original Human Torch from his years-long burial at the hands of the criminal Mad Thinker. The Avengers then invited Torch to join their team, and he gratefully accepted in AWC # 50; however, he served for only a short time before taking a personal leave of absence (as of AWC # 65), during which time he lost his powers in Namor the Sub-Mariner # 12. He has since retired from adventuring (though he maintained his reserve Avengers membership for a time even after his depowering, last serving with the group in AWC # 83) and taken an executive position within Namor's Oracle Incorporated company, in which capacity he founded and currently manages the Heroes for Hire super-team funded by Oracle. It makes sense that Machine Man would take notice of the Human Torch's picture since the two were elected AWC reservists at the same time and worked together in AWC # 83.
Panel 3:
Hercules warmly greets Scarlet Witch, an old friend on whom he once had a godly crush. His comment about how he was feeling like the earliest Avenger here until Hawkeye, Wanda and Pietro arrived makes sense since Hercules is the oldest surviving member of the team apart from the founders, Cap, Wanda and Pietro; the only other Avenger who predates him is the deceased original Swordsman, slain long ago by Kang in Giant-Size Avengers # 2.
Panels 4-5:
Black Panther, Moondragon and Sub-Mariner comment on the presence of Demolition Man, AKA D-Man, while Namor complains of the smell coming from the sewer-dwelling D-Man. As Jarvis tells them, D-Man was awarded membership by Captain America himself, but Namor and Moondragon remain haughtily scornful in keeping with their personalities (a self-proclaimed goddess and a self-important sometime monarch, respectively). While Black Panther is more charitable and more diplomatic, it makes sense that Namor would feel comfortable speaking with him since they are both monarchs. Namor's snide comment about the X-Men not being "choosy" contains a grain of truth since they are a less prestigious and demanding organization than the Avengers, but it's also an ironic remark since the X-Men once tried to recruit Namor himself. The ragged clothes D-Man is wearing over his costume reflect his new lifestyle as the champion of an underground sewer settlement, Zerotown; similarly, the way he's wolfing down that sandwich indicates that this might be the first time he's had access to good food in a while.
Panel 6:
As indicated in panel 1, Justice and Firestar are worried about intruding on an Avengers meeting, offering to leave, but Rage assures them they can stay.
Panel 7:
Darkhawk, an occasional member of the New Warriors, reassures Firestar that their presence shouldn't be a problem, noting that he's "barely an Avenger" himself (a fair comment since he served on only one case as a member, in AWC # 94-95).
Panels 8-9:
Beast asks "Carol" (Carol Danvers, AKA Binary) about why she's wearing her old Ms. Marvel costume. Binary testily replies that it makes no difference and that she wants to know why they're standing around after being summoned there; her reply is typical of her quick temper, and she's bound to be a bit edgy around the Avengers given all the bad memories the team holds for her.
PAGE 18
Panels 1-3:
Monitor images of Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch classified as "ARRIVED" (in green type), reflecting their entrance on pages 16-17.
Panel 4:
More exhaustive Perez detail work: there are twenty-six images on the bank of monitors in front of Iron Man, each one depicting an Avengers member who hasn't shown up for the meeting. As Iron Man says, "Of the members and honoraries we haven't heard from--virtually all of them are deceased, in another time period, or just plain enigmas." The Avengers pictured on the monitors include the following (left to right):
First row: Captain Marvel, Charlie-27, Deathcry, Doctor Druid, Gilgamesh, Hellcat, Hulk and Human Torch.
Second row: Jocasta, Mantis, Marrina, Martinex, Masque, Mockingbird, Moon Knight, unclear (obscured by Thor)
Third row: unclear (obscured by Giant-Man's arm), Swordsman, Thunderstrike, Two-Gun Kid, Vance Astro, War Machine (partly obscured by Thor's cape), unclear (obscured by Thor) and unclear (obscured by Thor).
Fourth Row: Yellowjacket II and Yondu.
Note that all the DECEASED entries are in red type; all the UNAVAILABLE entries in blue type; NO ANSWER in white; INACTIVE in purple; and UNKNOWN in orange. Jocasta is marked with a red DEACTIVATED rather than DECEASED, reflecting her robotic nature.
Four of the monitor displays are completely blocked from view by Giant-Man and Thor, but we can figure out who is featured on them by process of elimination since the names are arranged alphabetically. The last monitor in the second row (just after Moon Knight) presumably features Nikki; the first monitor in the third row (just before Swordsman) presumably features Starhawk; and the last two monitors in the third row (after War Machine) presumably feature Whizzer and Wonder Man, in that order. On account of this, Nikki, Starhawk and Whizzer are the only three Avengers who don't appear in any illustration in this story, a seemingly random omission. Had Perez realized this, he might have featured them in portraits in the Mansion scenes as he did several other characters; or it may be that he knowingly omitted them for lack of space. Oddly enough, Perez omitted Whizzer from the Avengers 30th anniversary poster and other recent Avengers illustrations as well. Either the character's just plain unlucky or Perez isn't much of a Whizzer fan.
CAPTAIN MARVEL (Mar-Vell) was a celebrated Kree soldier who deserted his militaristic people during a subversive mission to Earth when he came to sympathize with humankind. He became a costumed adventurer on Earth popularly known as Captain Marvel, and eventually became renowned throughout the stars as a champion of life and freedom, even acting as the Protector of the Universe under the guidance of the alien Eon. Mar-Vell's superhuman powers, gleaned from various sources, included superhuman strength and durability, flight, absorption and redirection of solar energy, the ability to survive unprotected in outer space, and extrasensory "cosmic awareness" that allowed his senses to perceive objects and actions throughout the cosmos. For a time, he shared his physical form with Rick Jones in a sort of symbiotic relationship, a relationship that led to Mar-Vell becoming a recurring ally of Jones's friends in the Avengers, aiding them against such foes as the Zodiac (Avengers [v1] # 72), the Kree-Skrull War (Avengers [v1] # 89-97), Thanos (Avengers [v1] # 125 and Avengers Annual # 7) and Korvac (Avengers [v1] # 173-177). When Mar-Vell died of cancer (in Marvel Graphic Novel # 1), the Avengers were among his many mourners and posthumously declared him an honorary member of their team. He is pictured here in the mask of his second costume, the uniform he was wearing at the time of his death and throughout his association with the Avengers.
CHARLIE-27, MARTINEX (Martinex T'Naga), NIKKI (Nicholette Gold), STARHAWK (Stakar Ogord), VANCE ASTRO (Vance Astrovik) and YONDU (Yondu Udonta) are all members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, a 31st century team of freedom fighters turned heroic adventurers. When the Guardians came to the 20th century in pursuit of their old adversary Korvac, the Avengers hosted the future group and even awarded them honorary Avengers membership to facilitate their activities in the Avengers' time period (as shown in Avengers # 167-168, 170-177 and 181). Following Korvac's defeat and death, the Guardians went back to their own time period but have occasionally returned to the 20th century, including a foray during the Infinity War in which they saved Avengers headquarters from an attack by the Masters of Evil (Guardians of the Galaxy # 28-29).
Charlie-27 is the immensely massive and superhumanly strong last survivor of the 31st century's Jovian militiamen. Team scientist Martinex is the last survivor of the 31st century Pluvians, crystalline humanoids who can generate heat or cold through their hands. The sharpshooter Nikki, an acrobatically nimble gymnast, is the last survivor of the 31st century Mercurians, humans who can survive intense heat and generate similar heat from their own bodies. The archer and weapons master Yondu is a warrior priest of the 31st century Centaurians of Alpha Centauri IV. Mutant psychokinetic Vance Astro is the adult counterpart of Vance (Justice) Astrovik, who became an astronaut in an alternate future timeline and embarked on a journey lasting a thousand years, reaching Alpha Centauri in the 31st century in time to join the successful revolt against Earth's alien Badoon conquerors, forming the Guardians of the Galaxy in the process. Starhawk is an enigmatic, light-manipulating, spacefaring cosmic being who originally consisted of the physical and mental merger of Stakar and Aleta Ogord, but now consists solely of Stakar since Aleta has achieved a separate existence.
The various Guardians seen here on the monitor screens are pictured as they looked during their time with the Avengers.
DEATHCRY was a young alien warrior entrusted to the care of the Avengers by Empress Lilandra of the Shi'ar, ostensibly as a protector of the team against the Kree. She resided with the Avengers as their ward for some months (joining them in Avengers [v1] # 364) and served as an honorary member of the team until her recent return to her home galaxy (as of Avengers [v1] # 399). The full story behind her origins, her motivations and her departure is as yet unrevealed. During her time with the team, she formed close friendships with Hercules and Vision.
DOCTOR DRUID (Doctor Anthony Ludgate) was an obscure Celtic mystic and mentalist imbued with a great deal of magical potential by the Ancient One as a trial run for the empowerment of Earth's sorcerer supreme, Doctor Strange. Druid battled evil in relative anonymity for years until he became an ally of the Avengers, aiding them against the Fomor (Avengers [v1] # 225-226) and the Masters of Evil (Avengers [v1] # 276-277), after which he joined the team in Avengers [v1] # 279. The haughtily arrogant Druid proved a disruptive force within the team, though, and soon became an outright destructive force when he fell under the mental sway of the Terminatrix, who in turn dominated the Avengers through Druid's mental powers; this situation led to Druid and Terminatrix being cast adrift in limbo and the team's eastern roster being disbanded altogether for a while in the wake of Druid's ruinous leadership. Druid eventually regained his free will, spurned the Terminatrix and returned to sorcerous adventuring (Avengers Spotlight # 37), occasionally assisting the Avengers in an effort to atone for his past failures (he last worked with the group in Avengers Annual # 21 when the Avengers faced Kang and Terminatrix). He also briefly led the Shock Troop and the Secret Defenders, though he soon deserted both groups. Eventually, Druid grew tired of perceiving himself as a failure and performed rituals that greatly increased his powers while turning him into an amoral monster and a threat to the Earth (Druid # 1-3), a threat snuffed out when Hellstorm and Nekra murdered him in Druid # 4.
Druid is pictured on the monitor as he looked when he was an active Avengers member. He later had a full head of hair after a mystical rejuvenation experience, and still later became a shaggy-haired, gaunt little man after his final empowering transformation.
GILGAMESH (true name unknown) was an ancient Eternal warrior who has either lived the lives of or been confused with many of Earth's legendary warrior heroes, such as Gilgamesh, Hercules, Samson and so forth. He possessed tremendous superhuman strength and durability, and also had other conventional Eternal powers such as flight and energy blasts. He joined the Avengers in Avengers [v1] # 299-300 after assisting the team against Nanny, the Orphan-Maker and the demons of N'astirh, hoping to find new adventure as an Avenger; however, his stint as an Avenger was cut short very soon when he suffered debilitating injuries in battle with the Lava Men (Avengers [v1] # 307) and retired to reserve status, though he later served on missions such as Galactic Storm (Avengers # 345 and AWC # 83). More recently, he was attacked and slain by the minions of Kang despite the efforts of the Avengers (in Avengers: The Crossing # 1 and Avengers # 391); how Kang's lackey Neut managed to kill Gilgamesh remains unknown, as does why Gilgamesh was killed.
HELLCAT (Patsy Walker) was a child celebrity and model whose mother immortalized her in a popular series of teen humour comics. As a young adult, Patsy married her real-life and comic book high school sweetheart, Buzz Baxter, but found the life of a housewife deadly dull; worse yet, Buzz became cold and withdrawn over time, even abusive. When Patsy aided the adventurer known as the Beast, she made him promise he would help her become a super-hero. After divorcing Buzz, she held Beast to his promise and started out by accompanying him and his fellow Avengers on a mission that brought them into conflict with Buzz's employers, the corrupt Brand Corporation. During this mission, Patsy stumbled upon the discarded costume of the adventurer called the Cat (now known as Tigra), donning it and dubbing herself the Hellcat (Avengers [v1] # 144). As Hellcat, Patsy helped the Avengers defeat the Serpent Crown and its pawns, the Squadron Supreme and the Brand Corporation, including Buzz (Avengers [v1] # 147-149). The Avengers then offered Hellcat membership, but she only accepted reserve status since she decided to receive further training from fellow reservist Moondragon (Avengers [v1] # 151).
Shortly afterward, Patsy became affiliated with the Defenders (in Defenders # 44) and was a mainstay of that group for years, serving only occasionally with the Avengers (her last case with the team was during Acts of Vengeance, in Avengers Spotlight # 27 and Avengers [v1] # 313). She retired from active Defenders membership in Defenders # 125 when she married teammate Daimon Hellstrom (formerly the Son of Satan) after he was cleansed of his darksoul. The two set up an occult investigations business together and Patsy continued to act occasionally as Hellcat, both alone and as a sometime member of the Avengers, but that came to an end when Daimon's darksoul reasserted itself and Patsy was driven mad at the sight of it. She languished in a near-vegetable state for months afterward until the mercy-killing entity Deathurge sensed her despair and freed her spirit from her body. She has since contacted Earth from a spirit plane and announced her intention to return in the near future, though how and when this may happen is as yet unrevealed. Until such time Hellcat is considered dead, as her "DECEASED" label on the monitor screens indicates.
Hellcat was a superbly agile gymnast and a highly nimble hand-to-hand combatant, attributes supposedly enhanced by her Hellcat costume, which was fitted with glove claws (and sometimes boot claws as well) that allowed her to cling to or slice through most substances. She also had a titanium steel "cable claw" that could be fired as a grappling hook or used to enwrap opponents. She had considerable knowledge of and some proficiency in occult forces, and she also trained in mental and martial disciplines under Moondragon.
Note: Patsy Walker first appeared as a teen humour character in Miss America # 2 in the 1940s, and went on to star in several comic books of her own in subsequent decades. In official Marvel continuity, these stories are regarded as the fictional comics created by Patsy's mother. Patsy did not appear in canonical Marvel continuity until Fantastic Four Annual # 3, when she attended the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards.
MANTIS (first name unrevealed; last name Brandt) was the daughter of Lua Khruul, sister to Vietnamese crimelord Monsieur Khruul, and her husband Gustav Brandt, a German mercenary soldier. Monsieur Khruul disapproved of Lua's marriage to Brandt and had their home burned, killing Lua and blinding Brandt, who fled with their infant daughter. They found refuge with the alien Kree pacifist sect known as the Priests of Pama, who taught Brandt how to see mystically despite his blindness. Brandt's violent nature was in conflict with their pacifist ways, though, and he left, leaving his daughter in their care. Brandt himself went on to become the criminal Libra of the original Zodiac cartel. The Priests knew Brandt's child might grow up to be the Celestial Madonna, a woman fated to bear a child of immense importance to the universe, so they educated her, honing her mind and body to perfection. She proved especially proficient at martial arts, defeating all her male opponents, and took her name, Mantis, from the insects whose females kill the males. She also developed undefined psychic and empathic powers through her mental rapport with the Cotati, sentient plant beings, one of whom was fated to father the Celestial Madonna's child.
When Mantis turned eighteen, the priests stripped her of her memory and left her in Ho Chi Minh City so that she could live among humans and learn what it was to be human. She became a barmaid and prostitute in the employ of her uncle, Khruul, neither realizing who the other was. The failed super-criminal known as the Swordsman had become Khruul's enforcer and Mantis saw a buried nobility within him, falling in love with him and persuading him to renounce crime and rejoin the Avengers. When he did so, she came with him, acting as a provisional or honorary member of the group, a role she continued to play after the Swordsman died in action defending Mantis from Kang, who had discovered that she was the Celestial Madonna and attempted to take her for himself. Eventually, the Avengers helped Mantis learn her true origins, after which she married the eldest Cotati and left Earth to mate with him. The Avengers made her membership in their team official at her wedding as a mark of respect.
Years later, Mantis returned to Earth after raising her child to self-sufficiency, and shared some adventures with the Avengers (see WCA # 37-39 and Annual # 3). She disappeared again, though, when Kang pursued her anew in search of her child. To protect her child and her friends from future attacks, Mantis willed her spirit to leave her body (something she had done for extended periods in the past). She later appeared in physical form in a brief encounter with Moondragon, and more recently reappeared as Kang's consort, in which role she was a deadly foe to the Avengers. Whether that was the true Mantis remains unknown, as does why any incarnation of Mantis would ally herself with Kang against the Avengers. Hence the UNKNOWN label on her monitor display. The headpiece Mantis wears in the monitor display is from her most recent appearances during The Crossing.
MARRINA (Marrina Smallwood) is an aquatic alien adventurer who married Namor the Sub-Mariner and fought alongside the Avengers during his second active membership stint, which ended when Marrina mutated into a gigantic murderous Leviathan and was slain by Namor in combat (Avengers [v1] # 291-293). Prior to her death, Marrina had served as an honorary or provisional member of the Avengers. She was previously a member of the Canadian super-team Alpha Flight.
MASQUE (true name unknown) was a mysterious adventurer who aided the Avengers against Kang and the rogue versions of Iron Man and Mantis during The Crossing (Avengers [v1] # 393-395). Her name and costuming are derived from Iron Man's old foe Madame Masque (Whitney Frost), who was seemingly slain and replaced by a new Madame Masque some time ago. Whether either of the Madame Masques was the Masque known to the Avengers remains unknown, as do Masque's origins and motivations. One incident suggested that she might be Iron Man's old girlfriend Bethany Cabe, but that remains unconfirmed. After aiding the Avengers against Kang, Masque briefly resided at Avengers Mansion as an honorary member of sorts, assisting in the team's missions (Avengers [v1] # 397-398), but disappeared after she was abducted by a cyborg named Benedict in Avengers (v1) # 399. She was an agile gymnast and unarmed combatant, skilled in the use of handguns.
MOCKINGBIRD (Barbara "Bobbi" Morse Barton) was a biologist turned SHIELD agent who later went freelance as the costumed intelligence operative Mockingbird. As Mockingbird, she met and married Hawkeye after they joined forces against Crossfire (Hawkeye [v1] # 1-4), and she began serving alongside Hawkeye in the Avengers (Avengers [v1] # 239), becoming a full official member of the group when she joined Hawkeye in founding the team's west coast roster (West Coast Avengers limited series # 1-4).
Mockingbird remained a mainstay of the team until an ethical dispute estranged her from both Hawkeye and the Avengers (WCA # 37); this dispute hinged on Mockingbird's abduction and violation by her crazed admirer, the Phantom Rider (WCA # 17-22), who died in their final confrontation (WCA # 23) when she allowed him to fall from a cliff after he'd tried unsuccessfully to kill her. The Phantom Rider's ghost then began tormenting her (WCA # 31), and prompted Mockingbird's estrangement from the Avengers when he convinced Hawkeye that Mockingbird had "murdered" him. Mockingbird eventually exorcised his ghost from the earthly plane (WCA # 41) and started working with the Avengers again on an intermittent basis as of WCA # 42-45, while trying to mend her marriage to Hawkeye.
While on leave from the WCA, Hawkeye and Mockingbird became mentors to a midwestern team of novice adventurers called the Great Lakes Avengers (WCA # 46) until Hawkeye returned to the western Avengers roster (AWC # 60), prompting Mockingbird to rejoin as a reservist (AWC # 69) and, eventually, as a full active member (AWC # 87-88). By that time, Hawkeye and Mockingbird had realized how much they still loved each other and finally fully reconciled (AWC # 89-91), calling off their divorce before it became final. Their renewed bliss proved short-lived, though, when Mockingbird was seemingly slain in action by Mephisto (AWC # 100).
Mockingbird was a highly trained intelligence agent, an agile gymnast and an extremely formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Her principal weapons were her battle staves, steel striking rods that could be snapped together into a single battle staff. She took her code-name from her habit of unnerving opponents with verbal banter.
The SWORDSMAN (Jacques Duquesne) was a European nobleman who betrayed his own people to liberate an oppressed Asian populace as a costumed revolutionary, but when the Asians turned on him, too, he was tragically disillusioned (see Avengers Spotlight # 22). The demoralized Swordsman drifted into a life of mercenary work, occasional crime, and odd jobs. For a while he worked as a carnival performer, during which time he became a mentor and father figure to the young archer Clint Barton--but gambling debts prompted the Swordsman to steal from the carnival. When Barton refused to go along with it, the Swordsman knocked him from the trapeze and fled, leaving Barton for dead.
Years later, Barton had become a member of the Avengers as Hawkeye and Duquesne had become notorious as the Swordsman, prompting him to seek Avengers membership himself in hopes that this would end his conflicts with legal authorities (Avengers [v1] # 19). The Avengers turned him down because of his shady past, but the Mandarin then recruited Swordsman into a plot against the Avengers, arming him with a special weapon-laden blade and hoaxing the Avengers into accepting the Swordsman as a member (Avengers [v1] # 20). The Swordsman served capably for a brief time and came to genuinely admire the group, deciding to turn against the Mandarin, but the Avengers exposed him as an infiltrator first and he was forced to flee the team, encountering them repeatedly in an adversarial role thereafter, and once as an ally (in Avengers [v1] # 100).
When the Swordsman fell in love with the mysterious Mantis, she convinced him to reform and rejoin the Avengers. He did so in Avengers [v1] # 114 and served honorably with the group for a time until dying heroically in battle with Kang (Giant-Size Avengers # 2). The Avengers have mourned him ever since then as the team's first fatality.
The Swordsman was a capable unarmed combatant and the world's most skillful master of bladed weapons. The sword given him by the Mandarin was filled with a variety of hidden weapons, such as flamethrowers, gas jets, electrical blasters and so on.
THUNDERSTRIKE (Eric Kevin Masterson) was a friend of Thor's who shared Thor's corporeal form for a time in a sort of symbiotic relationship created to save the injured Eric's life. Later, when Thor was temporarily stripped of his role and power as punishment for seemingly killing Loki, Eric was empowered by Asgard as the new Thor in the original's stead, taking Thor's place in the Avengers as well (Avengers [v1] # 343). When Thor returned to activity and reclaimed his powers, he initially restricted his activities to Asgard and empowered Eric to continue acting as his Earthly replacement; Masterson was given the mallet Thunderstrike, from which he took his new costumed alias. Thunderstrike continued to serve occasionally with the Avengers thereafter until dying after he was possessed by the bloodaxe.
The TWO-GUN KID (Matthew J. Hawk, born Matthew Liebowicz) was a legendary gunfighter of the late 19th century who led a double life as lawyer Matt Hawk and a masked lawman. A clever man, a skilled fighter and a phenomenally accurate sharpshooter, the Kid became one of the most celebrated of the old western heroes. When the Avengers battled Kang in the 1870s, Two-Gun was intrigued by the team, struck up a fast friendship with Hawkeye (Avengers [v1] # 142) and allied himself with the Avengers against Kang (Avengers [v1] # 142-143), accompanying them back to the 20th century once their battle was won (Avengers [v1] # 144, 147). Two-Gun offered his services to the Avengers and was awarded membership in absentia (sometime during or after Avengers [v1] # 151) while he explored 20th century America with Hawkeye as his guide. Two-Gun became increasingly homesick, though, and returned to his own era in Avengers (v1) # 174-175.
Since then, the Avengers made a second visit to Two-Gun's time period (WCA # 18-23), during which he helped rescue Mockingbird from the Phantom Rider but declined returning to the 20th century and the Avengers, though he didn't rule it out as a future possibility. The Two Gun Kid: Sunset Riders limited series has since told a story in which Two-Gun, late in life, faked his death in both his identities and embarked on a new life as the anonymous leader of a band of adventurers called the Sunset Riders. Whether that is Two-Gun's true future remains to be seen. Regardless, he remained in the 19th century at last report and is, as the monitor display says, "UNAVAILABLE".
Two-Gun's usually blue hat is gray in the monitor display, as it was in part of the Sunset Riders series, but the Avengers wouldn't know what he was wearing then even if that story were confirmed as canonical. He should probably be wearing his usual blue hat in this display.
WAR MACHINE (Jim Rhodes) was a longtime friend, employee and confidant of Tony Stark, who entrusted the Iron Man armor and identity to Rhodes when Stark was incapacitated by alcoholism. As Iron Man, Rhodes helped found the Avengers' western roster (in WCA limited series # 1-4) and served until he was sidelined by injuries in Iron Man # 199-200, allowing the recovered Stark to resume the Iron Man guise. Rhodes continued to act occasionally as a substitute Iron Man thereafter, sometimes with the Avengers (as in WCA Annual # 1), and eventually became Iron Man full-time again when Stark faked his death. Upon learning of Stark's survival, Rhodes severed their friendship and struck out on his own using a variation of the Iron Man armor as War Machine. In this guise, he rejoined the Avengers (AWC # 94) and served until the dissolution of the group's western roster and a related argument with Iron Man prompted him to quit the team in AWC # 102. Shortly afterward, Rhodes lost his War Machine suit but gained a new suit of alien armor, which has since been destroyed as well (in Tales of the Marvel Universe # 1). Rhodes is currently on good terms with both Stark and the Avengers but has decided to retire from adventuring, concentrating on his new salvage business (as mentioned in Iron Man [v3] # 1). Hence his absence from this gathering of Avengers, and his "INACTIVE" label on the monitor display.
The WHIZZER (Bob L. Frank) was a 1940s costumed crimefighter who gained superhuman speed from a transfusion of mongoose blood. Though active as a member of the Liberty Legion, the Invaders and the All-Winners Squad during and after World War II, Whizzer and his teammate Miss America had gotten married and retired by the 1950s. They were working as civilian security agents in the US government's employ when their old foe Isbisa exposed them to intense radiation, radiation which led to their first child, Bob Junior, being born a dangerous radioactive mutant who was imprisoned by the government. The couple were laid off with a generous pension and traveled the world, eventually arriving at Wundagore Mountain in Transia, where they sought sanctuary in the High Evolutionary's citadel, Wundagore. Miss America died there giving birth to an even more mutated child, which was mercifully stillborn, but her midwife Bova tried to console Frank by offering him twin infants who had been abandoned there by their mother earlier, telling him they were his. Upon learning of his wife's death, though, the Whizzer fled in crazed grief without taking the twin infants. For decades thereafter, Frank was a semi-amnesiac vagabond, wandering the world on foot.
The Whizzer snapped out of his daze when he learned that the chrono-module containing his son, Robert, has been accidentally unearthed by the Avengers, whom he confronted in Giant-Size Avengers # 1; Robert Junior, dubbed Nuklo by the Vision, escaped during this encounter and the Whizzer helped the Avengers recapture him, though the elderly hero suffered a heart attack in the process. He also discovered what he'd previously suspected, that the twin children he'd forsaken at Wundagore had grown into the Avengers members Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, and he came to regard them as his children, a mistaken belief that the twins shared until they learned more about their own origins years later. After helping the Avengers subdue Nuklo a second time, suffering a second heart attack, the Whizzer became a recurring ally to the group despite their protests about his physical condition, and he proved a valuable ally on several adventures. He became an honorary member of the team, but a humiliating defeat at the hands of Count Nefaria in Avengers [v1] # 165 finally convinced him to retire as of Avengers [v1] # 173. Whizzer went into action one last time to save his son Nuklo and his erstwhile daughter Scarlet Witch from Isbisa, though, and died in the battle, but Nuklo was cured of his dangerous radioactive properties in the process, freeing him to lead a normal life at last (Vision & Scarlet Witch [v1] # 2).
YELLOWJACKET (Rita DeMara) II was a petty thief until she stole Henry Pym's Yellowjacket costume and equipment, adapting it for her own criminal purposes in Avengers (v1) # 264. After several battles with the Avengers (including a brief, reluctant stint with the Masters of Evil), the new Yellowjacket became an ally to the group when she teamed with the Black Knight against the Fixer (in Solo Avengers # 12) and later won an honorary Avengers membership by bravely fighting alongside the team against the High Evolutionary (in Avengers Annual # 17). Her criminal record stood in the way of continued association with the Avengers, though, and she joined the 31st century super-team called the Guardians of the Galaxy after she helped them defend Avengers Mansion from a new Masters of Evil group (in Guardians of the Galaxy # 28-29). She remained with the Guardians for some time before returning to the 20th century, where she was promptly murdered for reasons unknown by a person who seemed to be Iron Man (Avengers: The Crossing # 1). Her senseless death remains unexplained to date. She is wearing her original size-changing helmet in the monitor image, though she had discarded it by the time of her death.
Note that the Wasp has donned a new costume since the previous chapter, an indication of her inexhaustible wardrobe.
On another monitor at the far right of the panel (an image seen more clearly in panel 5), INVISIBLE WOMAN (Susan Storm Richards), MISTER FANTASTIC (Reed Richards) and the THING (Benjamin J. Grimm) convey their regrets to Captain America. As founding members of the Fantastic Four, they are otherwise occupied with their own team; however, the three of them have briefly served as Avengers members in the past during leaves of absence from the FF. Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman joined in Avengers (v1) # 299-300 but left active duty as of Avengers # 305, though they have served occasionally since then as allies or reservists. The Thing became affiliated with the Avengers in WCA # 3-4 and joined their ranks in WCA # 9, only to resign in WCA # 10 for personal reasons, eventually returning to the FF (though he, too, would serve occasionally thereafter as an ally or a reservist). Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Thing and their fellow FF founder, Johnny Storm (AKA Human Torch II), all gained superhuman powers after exposure to cosmic radiation on an experimental rocket flight. Invisible Woman can, as her alias suggests, render herself or other persons and objects invisible; she can also mentally project an invisible force field. Mister Fantastic can stretch, expand, contract and reshape his body at will. Thing has superhuman strength thanks to his grotesque rock-skinned physique.
Many fans thought that adding Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman and Thing to the Avengers was a mistake since the characters had been and will always be associated primarily with the Fantastic Four above all else. This story seems to reinforce that by keeping them out of the reformed Avengers team altogether, though Busiek is conscientious enough to acknowledge their absence.
Panels 7-8:
The HULK (Robert Bruce Banner) threatens the Avengers. Though a founding member of the group, the mentally unstable Hulk was bitterly estranged from the Avengers way back in Avengers (v1) # 2, when the Space Phantom briefly turned the other Avengers against him. He has rarely acted as a member of the group over the years since his violent temper and destructive tendencies have often made him an outcast fugitive, though he was a founding member and mainstay of a more informal super-team, the Defenders, for years. Hulk last acted as an Avenger in Avengers Annual # 17-18, when he responded to two general membership calls (once under duress), but he has been on bad terms with the Avengers again of late given his ongoing problems with legal authorities and several conflicts with the team, though they recently joined forces against Onslaught.
Genius scientist Bruce Banner became the Hulk when he was caught in the detonation of his own experimental gamma bomb; at first, he would transform into the superhumanly strong, almost totally invulnerable, rage-filled Hulk only at night, but eventually gained a degree of control over both the change and his actions as the Hulk, during which time he helped found the Avengers. But soon he was changing uncontrollably into the Hulk whenever he became excited, and as the Hulk he was mentally childlike and extremely violent, growing stronger whenever he grew angrier. In more recent years, Banner has managed to maintain his intelligence in his Hulk form but is still possessed of a savage temper and antisocial tendencies. He currently appears in his own ongoing series.
Despite being a founding member, the Hulk has never really been viewed as a character appropriate to the Avengers team dynamic and tends to be viewed as a solo character apart from his association with the Defenders. Busiek acknowledges the Hulk's connection to the group while severing it, much as he does with the three Fantastic Four members in this scene as well.
PAGE 19
Panel 1:
Captain America serving as leader by default is not surprising since he was the group's first full-time chairman and has long been regarded as the team's most effective and inspirational leadership figure. The pose he's striking here is especially appropriate for a speech designed to rally recruits since it echoes the old patriotic Uncle Sam "I Want You" recruitment posters.
Panel 2:
One more time, just to make sure we're all properly introduced:
Front row (left to right): Rick Jones, She-Hulk, Hercules, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Crystal and Quicksilver.
Second row: Sub-Mariner, Black Panther, Moondragon, Vision, Photon, Darkhawk and USAgent.
Third row: Beast, Falcon, Firebird and Living Lightning.
Fourth row: Binary, Stingray, Tigra and Sandman.
Fifth row: Demolition Man.
Sixth row: Starfox, Sersi, Machine Man, Black Knight and Spider-Woman.
Seventh row: Rage, Justice, Firestar, Spider-Man, Swordsman and Magdalene.
Note that the other Avengers are keeping their distance from D-Man on account of his foul body odour, a gag that Busiek and Perez milk for all it's worth and then some in this issue. Starfox is even holding his nose, while he, Sersi, Stingray, Firebird, Tigra and Sandman cast irritated glances at D-Man.
Oddly, Darkhawk doesn't sit with fellow New Warriors Rage, Justice and Firestar. Starfox sits chummily with his fellow Eternal, Sersi. Sub-Mariner, Black Panther and Moondragon, the upper crust trio, continue to stick close to each other. Hercules and Hawkeye are both flanked by former love interests--She-Hulk & Black Widow and Black Widow & Scarlet Witch, respectively. Hercules became involved with She-Hulk in her second ongoing series, and he became close to Black Widow when they were both members of the original Champions in that team's 1970s ongoing series. Hawkeye had an unrequited crush on the Scarlet Witch that he gave up on after Avengers (v1) # 109, while he and Black Widow were lovers for years until she inexplicably dumped him in Avengers (v1) # 76. Crystal sits with her husband Quicksilver. West coasters Tigra, Firebird and Living Lightning continue to sit close to one another, with fellow AWC alumni Darkhawk and USAgent nearby. Vision is wearing a new Perez-designed costume based on his original John Buscema costume design, only far more streamlined, not unlike the recent Steve Epting version of the outfit.
PAGE 20
Panel 2:
Though Hawkeye is a chronic grumbler, he has a point: he and Scarlet Witch are at least as significant and important to the group as Captain America and the founders, despite Cap and the founders' habit of pulling rank on the basis of seniority. Hawkeye was leader of the Avengers' western roster for most of its history, serving effectively in that role, and is among the Avengers' most experienced and established leadership figures despite a history of grandstanding and disruptiveness during his early days with the team. Scarlet Witch is somewhat less worthy of praise, though, at least as a leader. She only had one very brief stint as AWC leader (AWC # 98-102), one which ended in the AWC's disbanding and her resignation from the Avengers. She led the rival super-team Force Works for a while only to see it collapse, too. She has been a valuable member of the Avengers for a long time, though, despite her less than illustrious leadership record.
Panel 4:
Spider-Man's comment about being occupied with five things at once is a joke Busiek has used before, in Thunderbolts # 8, referring to the fact that Spidey appears in no fewer than five comic books of his own each month. Spider-Man's departure also makes sense since he's historically a loner despite his brief Avengers membership and tends to work alone, the way many fans think it should be.
Panel 5:
One wonders why Swordsman II reacts so angrily to Spider-Man's exit; perhaps there was an evil or otherwise unsavory Spider-Man on the Swordsman's alternate Earth (Swordsman was originally hostile to the Vision, later a good friend, for similar reasons). It's especially odd considering the fact that Swordsman and Spider-Man fought alongside each other recently against the Elements of Doom in Thunderbolts # 8.
Busiek says that Swordsman's response was meant to be contemptuous, not outright angry: "He
doesn't think much of someone who'd duck out before a battle." Kurt goes on to say that Spidey and Swordsman "didn't get to know each other" during the battle with the Elements of Doom. When I said that it still seems a bit odd for Swordsman to be so vitriolic with so little provocation, Kurt elaborated: "Well, George drew him a tad angrier-looking than I'd intended, and Tom Smithjazzed it up with that weird background. It's not intended to be anything more than one character dissing another in grand Marvel tradition (indeed, my plot doesn't even call for Swordsman to comment until after Spidey's gone). But as Harras wrote him, Swordsman was both melodramatic and serious, and got off a lot of scornful lines when he first showed up. I don't see it as beyond the parameters of his character."
I suppose the visuals had a lot to do with the somewhat jarring impression I got of Swordsman angrily condemning Spidey for no especially good reason: George draws the Swordsman loud and angry here, an impression accentuated by Smith's wild color background. As for whether the scene as it turned out is in character, I still have doubts. The pompously scornful personality Swordsman sported in his earliest appearances seemed to be due largely to Proctor's brainwashing and Swordsman's resultant contempt for the "evil" Avengers, an attitude that faded once he was free of Proctor's influence. Swordsman's never been totally devoid of temper, though, so a scene such as this is plausible if not probable. I'll just chalk it up to provocative visuals and layout timing augmenting the tension of what might otherwise have been a low-key grumbling sequence.
Panel 7:
The legal problems Captain America refers to describe the "Spider-Hunt" storyline from Spider-Man's ongoing titles, a story in which Spider-Man has been accused of murder and is still trying to clear his name and evade capture as of this story.
Panel 8:
Sandman angrily rises to Spider-Man's defense, an action both understandable and ironic since he was one of Spider-Man's earliest major adversaries before reforming. As such, Sandman has a lot of respect for Spider-Man, a respect that has grown and become affectionate since they've become allies in more recent years.
Panel 9:
As Wasp's comment hints, dissension is not new to the Avengers.
PAGE 21
Thor recounts the events of Heroes Reborn: The Return # 4, during which he protected Franklin Richards (the "boy" referred to here) from Doctor Doom. Franklin is the son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, a mutant child with the potential for godlike mental powers, powers he used to preserve the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and their comrades in a pocket dimension of his own creation after their battle with Onslaught.
Doctor Doom (Victor Von Doom) is arguably the most infamous and formidable super-villain in the Marvel Universe, a European dictator bent on world conquest, which he has repeatedly attempted using his considerable scientific and sorcerous skills. He was stranded in Franklin Richards's pocket dimension along with the Avengers and the other heroes after Onslaught, and attempted to steal Franklin's power for himself when they were all on their way back to Earth.
PAGE 22
For what became of Asgard and the Rainbow Bridge, see later issues of Thor and the "Lost Gods" storyline from Journey Into Mystery. As Thor says, the Rainbow Bridge links the worlds of Asgard to the Earthly plane.
PAGE 23
Panel 1:
The faces in the background at left are prominent Asgardians: Heimdall (watchman of Asgard); Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg (the famed Warriors Three); Balder (one of the greatest Asgardian warriors apart from Thor); Sif (Thor's beloved); and Odin (Thor's father and Asgard's ruler).
Panel 4:
The Twilight Sword is the most powerful and dangerous weapon in all of Asgard. It was forged by the fire demon Surtur, who intended to use it to destroy all of creation, bringing about the foretold "twilight" of the Asgardian gods. The Asgardians and various Earthly heroes joined forces to narrowly thwart Surtur's plans, and the Twilight Sword was kept under guard thereafter.
PAGE 24:
Panel 5:
It makes sense that the Black Knight would be curious about the Twilight Sword since he has a history with magical swords himself.
Panel 9:
The Norn Stones are enchanted Asgardian gemstones imbued with a variety of magical properties. Loki used them against Thor in Journey Into Mystery # 116.
PAGE 25:
The "split into teams to investigate a menace in various locations" plot device is an old staple of super-team comics, dating all the way back to the original super-team, the Justice Society of America, in 1940s All-Star Comics. The Avengers, incidentally, are Marvel's answer to DC's Justice Society and modern-day Justice League: an all-star super-team including characters from several of the company's other comics. Roy Thomas, who wrote the Avengers for years after Stan Lee left the book, said that writing the Avengers was the closest he could get to writing the Justice Society back then.
Panel 2:
Starfox's costume is miscolored here, with the red and white reversed.
Panels 2-4:
Justice is the New Warriors' answer to Captain America in terms of an idealistic commanding personality, and as such Busiek may be overplaying his meekness here a bit; however, Justice has long hero-worshipped the Avengers in general and Captain America in particular, so it makes sense that he'd be somewhat nervous addressing them.
Panel 5:
The supersonic aircraft called Quinjets are the Avengers' principal mode of long-range transportation. They were designed by the Black Panther's Wakanda Design Group and are manufactured by Tony Stark (Iron Man). In addition to two pilots, quinjets can seat five other passengers. They can reach speeds of Mach 2.1 and climb to heights of 220,000 feet. Fully loaded, a quinjet can fly 9,500 miles without refueling. Quinjets have VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) capability, and all active Avengers members are instructed in their use. The quinjets shown here conform to the basic traditional quinjet design (more so than the revamped quinjets drawn by Steve Epting in later issues of the Avengers series), though Perez has redesigned them in minor ways.
The Avengers were banned from launching their quinjets within New York's city limits some time ago, which is why they used Hydrobase as an air strip for a time, and more recently they'd been launching their quinjets from an underground tunnel. Presumably they once again have the right to launch quinjets from the Mansion; regardless, it's surprising to see five modified quinjets ready to go on such short notice after the group's recent disbanding.
PAGE 26:
Panels 1-3:
MOON KNIGHT (Marc Spector) was a mercenary who embarked on a new life as a costumed crimefighter in honour of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu, who once saved him from death. A loner by inclination, Moon Knight turned down Avengers membership during a membership drive in Avengers [v1] # 211; however, Khonshu convinced him to come to the Avengers' aid when they were lost in time, since Khonshu owed them a favour (WCA # 21-23), and after a probationary period (WCA # 24-32) Moon Knight was invited to join their ranks. He accepted this time (WCA # 33), partly because Khonshu was fascinated by the Avengers and wanted to observe them through Moon Knight, exerting ever greater control over his disciple until he eventually subjugated Moon Knight's mind altogether. When Khonshu left the Earthly plane to attend another matter (battling the forces of rival god Seth), Moon Knight's mind became wholly his own again and he left the Avengers in WCA # 41, having been on an indefinite leave due an ethical dispute since WCA # 37 anyway. He later resigned his Avengers membership altogether on bad terms in Moon Knight # 50, when the group called him in to question his sometimes extreme crimefighting methods. Moon Knight has appeared most recently in his own limited series.
Moon Knight is a highly trained and experienced gymnast and unarmed combatant, clad in a cloak that he uses as a makeshift glider. He also carries a variety of hand weapons, most notably crescent throwing darts. In the past, his strength has waxed and waned with the phases of the moon, increasing to slightly superhuman levels under a full moon. He maintains two civilian alter egos as millionaire Steven Grant and cabbie Jake Lockley, a tactic that eventually led to his developing multiple personality disorder.
As a mysterious nocturnal vigilante, Moon Knight never seemed especially well suited to Avengers membership in the eyes of many fans. Busiek has done the same thing with him that he did with Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing, Hulk and Spider-Man earlier in this issue: conscientiously acknowledging their past ties to the Avengers while separating them from the group for the foreseeable future. All six of those characters have a certain standing in the Marvel Universe, just not as Avengers.
Panels 5-6:
Rick, not surprisingly, stays behind since his current physical condition makes him even more unsuitable for action than he would be otherwise; it does beg the question of why he showed up, though, if all he can do is chat with Jarvis. Busiek explains that
Rick "showed up because he wanted to, and to be whatever assistance he could be. Rick isn't the sort to stay home unless he can throw punches." Makes sense, though I guess what I'd been hoping for was evidence of Rick doing something concrete, even if it was just manning the communications equipment (which is the sort of thing he may well be doing behind the scenes during this storyline, I suppose).The horse Jarvis is feeding is the Black Knight's mystical steed, Strider.
PAGE 27:
Interesting roster Cap picked for himself, a rather mixed bag: Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, D-Man, Quasar and Crystal, a group that's never really worked together before (though all of them have served for significant periods with Cap at one time or another, and D-Man would practically have to be on Cap's team since Cap is the only Avenger he's really worked with much; Cap's also the only Avenger who's familiar--and patient--with D-Man's unique mental and physical condition).
PAGE 29:
Busiek's approach to the Scarlet Witch's power is both accurate and evasive, acknowledging its largely unknown nature without trying to really define it. Perhaps that's something Busiek will address at greater length in future stories.
PAGE 30:
Panel 6:
Zerotown is the underground settlement in which D-Man currently resides.
PAGE 31:
Mordred The Evil, the Mordred of Arthurian legend, has been mystically resurrected several times in modern Marvel continuity, usually in partnership with or in the service of his aunt, the likewise occasionally reanimated Morgan Le Fay.
PAGE 34:
Quicksilver has always been fiercely, sometimes violently, protective of his twin sister Wanda.
PAGE 35:
As the footnote indicates, the Avengers battled Morgan in Avengers (v1) # 240-241. Various individual members of the Avengers have clashed with Morgan as well, including Iron Man (repeatedly) and, most recently, the Black Knight (in his limited series).
PAGES 36-37 (two-page spread):
Top left panel: Black Widow leads Justice, Swordsman, Firestar, Sandman, Rage, Sersi and Magdalene against the Midgard Serpent.
Bottom left panel: Wasp leads Photon, Giant-Man, She-Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Black Knight, Stingray and Starfox against Frost Giants.
Top right panel: Iron Man leads Machine Man, Firebird, Spider-Woman, Darkhawk, USAgent, Living Lightning and Tigra against the Fomor.
Bottom right panel: Thor leads Moondragon, Beast, Falcon, Vision, Hawkeye and Black Panther against reanimated conquistadors.
The chosen leaders of the teams are somewhat curious: Thor, though an effective past leader of the Avengers, has not held a leadership position in the team for years since resigning as the team's chairman in Avengers [v1] # 151; he also hasn't been very active with the team for quite some time apart from a brief return to their ranks between the Crossing and Onslaught. More puzzling is the selection of Black Widow as a team leader, given her dismal track record and her reluctance to serve in that capacity. Even Iron Man is a questionable choice given his disruptive and sometimes downright destructive role in the group in recent years. Hawkeye and Photon would have been more sensible leadership choices--certainly preferable to Black Widow, at any rate.
Writer Kurt Busiek responds:
"Cap doesn't agree with you (or Natasha) on her leadership capabilities, and
chose leaders largely based on past service and the greatest familiarity with
the members of the squads they're leading. Hawkeye has served under Thor, but
Thor's never served under Hawkeye, so Thor got the nod -- and Hawkeye went
with that grouping rather than the WCA grouping in order to balance out the
teams better. And Photon could well have led the team Jan leads, but Jan has the better track record and longer experience. It took me three days of shuffling little bits of paper with names on 'em around on my coffee table to work out these teams (though Cap did it in seconds, of course); I'll stand by 'em."
All that being the case, I guess Cap and I will have to agree to disagree on the subject of Black Widow's leadership ability. I liked BW as leader of the Champions, but most of her time in the Avengers seemed to be spent taking up space, and in the team's final days she wasn't exactly a stellar leader (though I'll admit she had a slew of uniquely difficult circumstances to contend with). On second thought, Kurt's point about Cap having faith in BW does make her selection as a field leader ring a bit truer for me on account of the fact that it was Cap who appointed
Tasha deputy leader in the first place, so he must have seen something in her (something the Avengers themselves commented on after Cap's departure). So in retrospect, I can believe Cap
tapping her for a field leadership role in this story. I just don't see why, beyond her familiarity with some members of the squad assigned to her.
As for Thor getting the leadership nod over Hawkeye, Kurt says Cap figured
"there'd be less of an adjustment for the squad to make with Thor in charge" since most of the members of that squad had served under Thor before, but not under Hawkeye. "There was no chance for squad familiarization, so Cap went with old patterns. I'd also add that Hawkeye would have worked out fine leading [a] squad, but Cap simply didn't make that choice, and not because it didn't occur to me."Regardless of the logic behind the leadership assignments, there seem to be patterns behind the overall selection of team rosters. Black Widow, the most recent Avengers leader, leads a team composed primarily of more recent recruits and newcomers: Rage and Sandman joined the Avengers while she was with the team, and Sersi, Swordsman and Magdalene have all served under her. In short, this group represents the new blood. Wasp's group is composed of Avengers who began their affiliation with the team under her leadership (with the exception of Black Knight, who served his first ongoing active membership stint under the Wasp; and Giant-Man, who presumably came along due to his close personal relationship with the Wasp); this group might also be referred to as the Stern Avengers, since all but Giant-Man figured prominently within or made their Avengers debut during Roger Stern's run as Avengers writer. Iron Man's group is composed of Avengers principally or exclusively affiliated with the team's defunct west coast roster (which he served in for some time and briefly led); Giant-Man would have made sense as part of this group since he was a western Avenger for a long time, and Hawkeye would have made even more sense as the leader of this contingent since he was the first and longest-serving of the western Avengers leaders. Thor's group seems to consist of characters from the 130s-190s of the original Avengers series, under writers such as Englehart, Shooter and Michelinie.
Starfox's costume is miscolored as almost totally red here. The Midgard Serpent (the serpent that encircles the Earth in Norse mythology) and the Frost Giants are old enemies of Thor, and the Avengers have fought Ymir, the oldest and most powerful Frost Giant, previously in Avengers (v1) # 61; the club-wielding Frost Giant here may be Ymir. The Avengers have battled the Fomor before, in Avengers [v1] # 225-226. Ray Harryhausen is a famous film special effects artist whose best known gimmicks include stop-motion animated skeletons.
PAGE 38
Panel 2:
Wanda's sorcerous potential supposedly derives from her birth on Wundagore Mountain, which imprisoned the demon Chthon; hence the reference to Wanda's "Chthonic" magicks. Wanda learned of her links to Chthon in Avengers (v1) # 186-187, in a story reprinted in the recent Avengers: Yesterday Quest one-shot.