Earth's Mightiest Annotations
by Sean McQuaid
AVENGERS (volume 3) # 10
November, 1998
"Pomp & Pageantry"
By Kurt Busiek & George Perez
with Al Vey (inks), Tom Smith (colors),
Richard Starkings/Comicraft/Dave Lanphear (letters),
Tom Brevoort (editor) & Bob Harras (editor-in-chief).
Avengers Assembled:
Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Vision [II], Firestar &
Justice (as active
members); Giant-Man & Wasp (as reserve members); Hawkeye
& Scarlet Witch
(as active members on leave not appearing with the team); Hulk
[II], Thing,
Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman & Spider-Man (as
inactive/former members
not appearing as Avengers); and Captain Marvel, Swordsman,
Hellcat,
Wonder Man, Mockingbird, Doctor Druid & Thunderstrike (as
undead zombie
adversaries). The above twenty-two Avengers also appears in
decorations
and/or flashbacks in this story, some of the more than once.
In addition to the above appearances, all the past and present
Avengers
and honorary Avengers appear at least once in this story as
decorations,
or in flashbacks, or both. See the annotations below for who
appears
where, and in what form. In addition to the Avengers who actually
appear
in this story in person, Avengers featured in decorations and
flashbacks
include Quicksilver, Hercules, Black Panther, Black Knight [III],
Black Widow [II], Mantis, Moondragon, Beast, Two-Gun Kid,
Warbird,
Falcon [II], Tigra, She-Hulk, Photon, Jocasta, Starfox, War
Machine,
Sub-Mariner, Moon Knight, Demolition Man, Gilgamesh, USAgent,
Quasar [III],
Firebird, Human Torch, Sersi, Stingray, Rage, Sandman, Machine
Man,
Spider-Woman [II], Living Lightning, Crystal, Darkhawk, Rick
Jones,
Whizzer, Charlie-27, Martinex, Vance Astro, Yondu, Starhawk,
Nikki,
Marrina, Yellowjacket [II], Swordsman [II], Magdalene, Deathcry
&
Masque [II].
Other Characters:
Megan McLaren, Stuntmaster, Chili Storm, The X-Men (Nightcrawler,
Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Shadowcat, Rogue, Gambit &
Marrow),
The Commission (behind the scenes), Ebony, Agatha Harkness,
Imus Champion, Ultron, Grim Reaper, Daredevil & The Fantastic
Four
(Human Torch II, Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic & Thing).
In addition to these characters, dozens of other characters
appear in
decorations and/or flashbacks in this issue. See the annotations
below
for who appears where, and in what form.
EXTERIOR COVER
This issue's cover illustration (drawn by George Perez and
colored by Tom
Smith) features the Avengers (Justice, Iron Man, Captain America,
Thor &
Firestar) posing before an adoring crowd during Avengers Day
celebrations.
Note that Iron Man, Captain America and Thor are posed in a
fashion similar
to the statue of the founding Avengers seen in the first issue of
this
series (and partially reproduced on the interior cover of each
issue to
the left of the main title). While the statue features fellow
founders
Giant-Man and Wasp (as well as the Hulk), the live-action scene
on this
cover features Justice and Firestar. In a way, young couple
Justice &
Firestar have symbolically taken the place of longtime couple
Giant-Man
and Wasp in the team, a transition underlined by the fact that
Giant-Man
and Wasp fill the reserve slots recently vacated by Firestar
& Justice
in this issue, as well as the fact that Justice spoke of
Giant-Man as an
inspiring role model in the recent Avengers/Squadron Supreme
annual. In a
way, Justice and Firestar are like a reversal of the early
Giant-Man and
Wasp: the earlier couple consisted of a reluctantly heroic male
(Giant-Man)
and an eagerly adventurous female (Wasp), while the newer couple
consists
of a reluctantly heroic female (Firestar) and an eagerly
adventurous male
(Justice). Firestar and Giant-Man have something else in common,
too: both
have been reluctant adventurers due to health problems associated
with
their powers, a subject touched on in this issue's story.
The Grim Reaper hovers menacingly above the heroes at the top of
the cover.
Floating everywhere are balloons decorated with the faces of
Avengers
members. Identifiable faces on the balloons include Firebird,
Hercules,
Black Panther, Falcon [II], Vision [II], Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye,
Rage,
Stingray, Warbird, Wonder Man, Ant-Man, Spider-Woman [II], Wasp
&
Quicksilver. There is also an obscured balloon below the Ant-Man
balloon
and to the right of the Spider-Woman balloon, but who appears on
it is
unclear.
In the crowd behind the Avengers, a woman at left wears a T-shirt
reading
"A JARVIS HEAD (and proud of it!)". This is a reference
to the
"Jarvis-Heads", the principal contributors to Van
Plexico's Avengers
Assemble web site (http://www.lads.com/~plexiva/avengers/index.html)
and its Avengers Mailing List. Known Jarvis Heads include Van
Plexico,
Bobby Politte, Vincent Alvarez, Sean McQuaid, Ladd Everitt, Kent
McCorkle,
John Warren, Michael McClelland, James Harrahy, David Medinnus,
Kevin Newburn, Paul Bourcier, Lonni Holland, Chris O'Gwynn, Mike
Proctor,
Scott Harris , Bob Fronczak, Luke Smith, Brian Zavitz, Jeanne
Burch,
Emmanuel Seyman, Christophe Darras, Danny Wall, Mark Beaulieu,
Steven R. Stahl, Jess Nevins, Nick Favorito & Kell Carpenter.
Most of them
are current or former members of the Avengers Mailing List.
A man in front of and to the left of the "Jarvis Head"
woman wears a
She-Hulk button. A man in front of and to the right of the
"Jarvis Head"
woman wears a ballcap with an "A" emblem (for Avengers
and/or Captain
America) and little Captain America-style wings. Behind Iron
Man's leg we
can see a man whose T-shirt reads "FACE THE BUSIEK AND
DANCE" (Kurt Busiek
being the current writer of Avengers). Behind and between Cap's
feet we can
see a man wearing a Hawkeye-styled ballcap. To the left of
Firestar's foot
we can see a man wearing a propellor beanie made to resemble
Thor's helmet.
In the foreground we can see an outstretched hand wearing two
distinctive
rings: one is a replica of the Beast's face, while the other is a
variation
on the chest emblem from Wonder Man's second costume. The wearing
of the
two rings may symbolize the longtime friendship between Beast and
Wonder
Man, a friendship fondly remembered by many Avengers fans. To the
right
of the hand we see a boy with an "A" (for Avengers)
painted on his face
and a "T" or hammer shape emblematic of Thor shaved
into his hair. To his
right we can see someone wearing a backwards "A"
ballcap covered in
buttons; the slogans on the buttons are the titles of letter
colums from
Avengers-related comic books: Single File (Solo Avengers/Avengers
Spotlight), Sock It To Shellhead! (Iron Man), Let's Rap With Cap
(Captain
America), Avengers Assemble (Avengers) and The Hammer Strikes
(Thor). At
the far right we can see a man with a camera wearing a shirt
covered in
Iron Man faces, faces representing various incarnations of Iron
Man's armor
seen over the years.
INTERIOR COVER
With this issue, the interior cover content is reduced to one
page (with
the rest of the space being taken up by advertising). Featured
characters
include Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision
[II],
Wonder Man, Justice, Firestar, Giant-Man & Wasp. Giant-Man is
depicted in
a new costume which he adopts this issue. Wasp is depicted in her
costume
from Avengers (v3) # 1. The illustration at the bottom of the
page is a
reproduction of the wraparound cover illustration from Avengers
(v3) # 1.
PAGE 1
Panels 1-2:
Reporter MEGAN McLAREN has been seen covering superhero stories
before in
the pages of Thunderbolts and the current Avengers series. She
first
appeared in Thunderbolts # 1.
Avengers Day was first celebrated years ago in Avengers (v1) # 22
as the
city's way of trying to make up for declaring the Avengers
outlaws when
the heroes were framed for criminal acts by the Enchantress and
Power Man.
McLaren's mention of the Avengers being lost "for
months" refers to their
disappearance in the wake of the Onslaught disaster, after which
they
were wrongly presumed dead for months. For more details, see
Onslaught:
Marvel Universe, Avengers (v2) # 1-12, Heroes Reborn: The Return
# 1-4 and
Avengers (v3) # 1-4.
Panel 3:
The marchers are wearing some of the costumes formerly worn by
the Wasp
(Janet Van Dyne), an Avenger whose fashion sense and career as a
clothing
designer has led her to adopt more new outfits over the years
than any
other Avenger. For a fairly complete guide to the Wasp's many
costumes
and when they were worn, see the Wasp costuming guide by Jason
Rivera,
available on the Avengers Assemble web site. The blue-and-white
costume most
prominent here, one of my favorites, comes from Avengers [v1] #
194-199.
Panel 4:
The crazed fan wearing the "A" cap and Scarlet Witch
button says he'd be
satisfied to see any Avenger, even Deathcry. That's something of
an in-joke
since Avengers fandom (including current Avengers writer Kurt
Busiek)
generally considers Deathcry one of the least appealing
characters in
Avengers history.
In the background at right we can see a fan wearing tiger-stiped
make-up,
presumably in imitation of inactive Avengers member Tigra.
Panel 5:
A black man speaks of how he regards the Avengers as role models
for his
son but wishes that some of the black Avengers could be present
for the
parade (presumably so his son could see some black heroes as role
models,
too). The parent specifically mentions the Black Panther, Photon
and the
Falcon, all currently inactive members of the Avengers, and all
black.
Interestingly, he does not mention the lesser-known and somewhat
less
upstanding Rage, another black inactive Avengers member who also
happens
to be one of the most vocal Avengers when it comes to racial
issues.
The man's son wears a Black Panther costume and is eating a
lollipop
decorated with a star design. The design could be meant to
represent
Photon (formerly known as the second Captain Marvel) or the
original
Captain Marvel, both of whom wore similar star emblems (though
neither
of those emblems was colored white).
Panel 6:
Fans dressed as Avengers members Black Knight, Black Widow and
Hawkeye can
be seen in the crowd. One fan holds up a "Where's
Wanda" sign indicating
that the Scarlet Witch's civilian identity as Wanda Maximoff,
never
seriously kept secret, is known to the general public. The sign
also
foreshadows the fact that Scarlet Witch is one of the Avengers
absent from
the Avengers Day parade. The man dressed as Hawkeye may be meant
to
represent Avengers writer and big Hawkeye fan Kurt Busiek.
Panels 7-11:
The STUNT-MASTER (George Smith) is a daredevil motorcycle stunt
performer
and occasional adventurer who has worked alongside Daredevil and
the fourth
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), a fellow cyclist. The Stunt-Master
first
appeared in Daredevil (v1) # 58. He started out as an embittered
overage
stuntman who turned to crime, but he reformed and went on to star
in his
own television series. Formerly a recurring guest star in 1970s
issues of the original Daredevil series and the second Ghost
Rider series,
Stunt-Master has been languishing in obscurity for quite some
time.
CHILI STORM was the longtime rival of Millie the Model, one of
Marvel's
most popular humour/romance characters (Millie, who first
appeared in 1944,
starred in several Marvel series over the decades before fading
into
obscurity in the 1970s). An older Mille has since been introduced
into
official Marvel continuity as the head of her own modelling
agency. Chili
joins Millie in the mainstream MU here, and Busiek seems to be
playing her
as a parody of real-life aging soap opera actress Susan Lucci,
whose
decades-long role as Erica Kane on "All My Children"
has consistently failed
to win her a Daytime Emmy Award despite numerous nominations.
Chili even
had her own comic book for a time (1969-1973, with some
interruptions).
Chili looks (and is) much older than she was during her comic
book heyday
due to a Defenders story that placed Millie (Chili's
contemporary) in
official Marvel continuity as an older woman in the present day.
In
Defenders # 65, an older Millie was revealed to be the head of
her own
modeling agency, Glamour Girls Incorporated.
Another of Marvel's most popular teen/humour genre characters,
Patsy Walker
(who also first appeared in 1944), starred in several comic book
series
before fading out in the 1970s. By then, however, she'd been
introduced into
official mainstream MU continuity as of Fantastic Four Annual 3
(1965),
and went on to become an Avengers member as Hellcat in 1976.
PAGES 2-3 (two-page spread)
The Avengers (VISION, GIANT-MAN, IRON MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR,
WASP, FIRESTAR & JUSTICE) roll into view on a parade float.
The red-clad
women with tamborines following the float wear gypsy-style garb
presumably
inspired by the costuming of the Scarlet Witch. Floating behind
the
Avengers are a series of Avengers-related parade balloons
depicting former
founding member The Hulk, Avengers butler Edwin Jarvis and
inactive
Avengers member Black Panther. One fan in the crowd at left wears
a
Captain America shirt, while another fan is dressed as Thor. A
Captain
America imitator can be seen in the background at right, as can a
fan
wielding an imitation of Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. The man with the
"Avengers
Forever!" sign might be Avengers co-creator Jack Kirby (and
Avengers Forever
is the title of an upcoming Marvel limited series).
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers (mentioned in the captions
here) were the creators of the first issue of the original
Avengers series
in 1963. Lee and Kirby co-plotted it (and co-created all of the
characters),
Lee scripted it, Kirby drew it and Ayers inked it.
The Wasp is wearing an approximate re-creation of her original
costume
(introduced in Tales to Astonish # 44 and seen in Avengers [v1] #
1-5),
presumably in honor of the team's founding. Giant-Man (Hank Pym)
has
adopted a new costume, the design of which is based closely on
his
original Goliath costume (Goliath being the third of several
identities
used by Pym during his career as an Avenger). The original
Goliath costume
was first worn in Avengers (v1) # 28-50. Perez presumably
redesigned
Giant-Man's outfit in answer to concerns that Giant-Man's
previous outfit
made him look too much like Ant-Man (Pym's original costumed
identity,
since adopted by Scott Lang).
With the inclusion of Giant-Man and Wasp, all the founding
members are
present except for the long-estranged Hulk. Giant-Man last worked
with the
team in Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98, when he helped the
Avengers defeat
Imus Champion. Wasp last appeared with the group in Avengers (v3)
# 4, when
she and Giant-Man downgraded to inactive membership status;
however, she was
present behind the scenes in Avengers (v3) # 8 as the creator of
the
costumes currently worn by Firestar & Justice.
Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man and Wasp are all founding members of
the
Avengers. Captain America joined in Avengers (v1) # 4 and was
retroactively
declared a founder in place of the absent Hulk. Vision met the
team in
Avengers (v1) # 57 (his first appearance) and joined in Avengers
(v1) # 58.
Firestar and Justice (then known as Marvel Boy III) first met the
Avengers
in New Warriors # 1, and were among the Warriors who teamed with
the
Avengers against the Sons of the Serpent in Avengers (v1) #
341-342. More
recently, Firestar and Justice aided the Avengers against Morgan
Le Fay and
Whirlwind in Avengers (v3) # 1-4. This resulted in an offer of
reserve
Avengers membership, and the couple upgraded to active membership
status in
Avengers (v3) # 7, replacing the departing Warbird and the ailing
Vision.
PAGE 4
Panel 1:
SPIDER-MAN has been a recurring ally to the team since Avengers
(v1) # 11,
but he 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 (in Avengers [v1] # 318) 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
showed
up for the team's last general membership meeting in Avengers
(v3) # 1,
but has declined further involvement with the team since then.
Panel 2:
"Capmania" refers to a storyline from Captain America
(v3) # 1-7 during
which Captain America's celebrity status escalated to
near-religious levels
in the wake of the Avengers' return from Onslaught. Cap was
uncomfortable
with the resultant public adoration, and the situation became
disastrous
when a Skrull subversive posing as Cap used Cap's identity to
spark
widespread civil unrest.
Iron Man's recent injuries occurred in Iron Man (v3) # 8-10, when
he was
beaten nearly to death by Spymaster's Espionage Elite but
insisted on
battling the Mandarin anyway.
Panel 3:
Reflected in Iron Man's helmet we can see children dressed as
Hawkeye,
Thor, Scarlet Witch and Iron Man.
Panels 4-5:
As Vision notes, Giant-Man has adopted a new outfit that closely
resembles
his original Goliath uniform, just as his previous costume
closely
resembled his original Ant-Man uniform. As Vision observes, the
only past
identity that Pym doesn't use as a basis for his recent costuming
is his
fourth costumed identity, his Yellowjacket guise. It's
understandable that
Giant-Man wants to put his former Yellowjacket identity behind
him since
that's the guise in which he experienced his worst mental
problems and
personal failures, including three nervous breakdowns (the first
of which
prompted him to create his Yellowjacket identity and the last of
which
prompted him to abuse the Wasp); his divorce from the Wasp; his
expulsion
from the Avengers for dishonorable conduct; the seemingly
permanent loss
of his size-changing powers; and a period during which he was
framed for
treason by his old foe Egghead.
Hank Pym was a founder of the Avengers as Ant-Man, but had
switched to a
new costumed identity as Giant-Man as of Avengers (v1) # 2. He
adopted a
new identity as Goliath in Avengers (v1) # 28, then became
Yellowjacket
in Avengers (v1) # 59-60. He permanently renounced his
Yellowjacket
identity in Avengers (v1) # 230 and retired from costumed
adventuring, but
joined the western Avengers' staff as their resident scientist
and major
domo in West Coast Avengers (v2) # 1-3. When sometime Avengers
member
Firebird convinced Pym that he still had potential as a hero, Pym
rejoined
the Avengers as the plainclothes Doctor Pym in West Coast
Avengers (v2) #
21-24. He resumed his Giant-Man identity in Avengers (v1) # 366
for reasons
unknown after somehow regaining his ability to alter his physical
size.
Pym's return to costumed heroics and his renewed romance with the
Wasp
have both gone largely unexplained to date.
Panel 7:
As noted in previous issues, Firestar & Justice were founding
members of
the New Warriors group before joining the Avengers. The New
Warriors first
appeared in Thor (v1) # 411-412 and went on to star in 75 issues
of their
own series, most of which featured Justice and Firestar.
An Iron Man balloon is visible at right.
PAGE 5
Panels 1-2:
As noted in previous issues of New Warriors and the current
Avengers
series, Firestar's microwave powers endanger her physical health
when
she uses them at high levels. As the world's foremost biochemist
and a
scientist who has studied superhumans extensively, Giant-Man is
ideally
qualified to help Firestar with her health problems. He even
solved the
life-threatening complications of his own super-powers (though
just how
he did this remains unrevealed), so he understands Firestar's
position
better than most people would--and having solved his own health
problems,
he isn't all that daunted by Firestar's. If he seems cavalier
about
Firestar's situation, it's because he's successfully handled
problems like
this before.
Panels 2-3:
Thor muses on his new mortal double identity as paramedic Jake
Olson,
adopted in recent issues of his current ongoing series.
Panel 4:
A Perez reinterpretation of the Avengers' first adventure, as the
team's
founding members battle Loki (Thor's evil brother). Seen here
battling
Loki are Iron Man (in the second version of his armor), Hulk,
Thor, Wasp
and Ant-Man, the latter four in their original costumes. This
scene seems
to reproduce the climactic battle from Avengers (v1) # 1, when
Loki made a
last-ditch attempt to ward off the assembled heroes with a
barrage of
radioactive energy.
It was Loki who unwittingly caused the formation of the Avengers
when he
framed the Hulk for criminal acts as part of a scheme to lure
Thor into
battle, unwittingly attracting the attention of Iron Man, Ant-Man
& the
Wasp as well. After Thor exposed Loki as the real menace, the
five heroes
joined forces to defeat him and remained together thereafter as
the
Avengers.
Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man (Hank Pym) and Wasp all went on to long
careers
as Avengers members and remain active with the group today
(though Pym and
Wasp are reservists), and all four have had stints as the team's
chairman.
Hulk quit the group in a fit of anger in Avengers (v1) # 2 and
has been
estranged from the team for most of the years since then, never
serving
another active membership stint. He has worked alongside the
group very
briefly and very reluctantly on occasion, though, notably in
Avengers
Annual 17 & 18. He has also teamed with the Avengers in
crossover stories
such as the recent Onslaught storyline. He remains on bad terms
with the
Avengers at present, and declined further involvement with the
team as recently as Avengers (v3) # 1.
This issue is structurally similar to Avengers (v1) # 150-151,
another
Avengers retrospective told largely through television coverage.
Panel 6:
A Perez reinterpretation of the last panel of Avengers (v1) # 4,
when the
Avengers welcomed Captain America into their ranks. Rick Jones,
the team's
first honorary member, observes the moment over Cap's shoulder as
Iron Man
(in the third version of his armor), Cap, Wasp, Thor and
Giant-Man join
hands. It was the Avengers who rescued Captain America from the
state of
suspended animation he'd languished in since World War II, and he
joined
the group after aiding them against his old wartime ally Namor
the
Sub-Mariner, who had unwittingly participated in Cap's revival as
well
(Namor had thrown the ice-encased Captain America into the sea in
a fit of
rage, not knowing who was inside the ice, and the Avengers came
upon
Captain America as he thawed out shortly thereafter).
Panel 7:
Captain America is seen here with Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and
Hawkeye
(all in their original costumes) shortly after the latter three
joined the
team during the group's first membership drive in Avengers (v1) #
16. This
is presumably a Perez reinterpretation of the closing scene from
Avengers
(v1) # 16, when the new Avengers roster made its debut before a
cheering
public. This incarnation of the group was affectionately
nicknamed Cap's
Kooky Quartet.
The Kooky Quartet have all had long careers as key Avengers,
though
Quicksilver has served more infrequently than the other three.
Captain
America has put in more time as an Avenger than anyone else, and
has also
logged more time as Avengers chairman than any other member.
HAWKEYE has
the second-longest record as an Avengers chairman due to his
longtime
leadership of the western Avengers roster, to which he
transferred after
years as a mainstay of the original eastern roster. When the
Avengers
disbanded their western division, Hawkeye (who was then on leave
mourning
the death of his wife Mockingbird) soon returned to the eastern
squad. He
is part of the current active roster, though he is now on
indefinite leave
as of last issue (and is rumored to be defecting to the
Thunderbolts).
SCARLET WITCH, like Hawkeye, is an Avengers mainstay who
transferred to
the team's western roster and became a staple of that team. She
even
became the western roster's chairwoman, but her term was very
brief since
the Avengers shut down their western division shortly thereafter.
Scarlet
Witch resigned in protest and helped found a new team called
Force
Works with other disgruntled ex-western Avengers, but the new
group soon
broke up and Scarlet Witch rejoined the Avengers.
QUICKSILVER quit the group in anger in Avengers (v1) # 103-104,
and did
not return to active duty even after reconciling with the team
since he
had married into the Royal Family of the Inhumans and took up
residence in
their hidden homeland of Attilan (his wedding to Inhuman princess
Crystal
took place in Fantastic Four [v1] # 150). He was an infrequently
active
reserve member of the group for years thereafter, but went on to
serve two
more stints with the team (circa Avengers West Coast # 56-70 and
Avengers
[v1] # 369-402). He was one of the few remaining active members
when the
team disbanded during Onslaught, but declined to resume active
membership
when the team regrouped shortly thereafter. He last worked with
the group
in Avengers (v3) # 7, when he aided the Avengers against the Kree
Lunatic
Legion. He is currently an inactive member of the team.
PAGE 6
The peerless power of Perez at its peak! This full-page
illustration is a montage of all the Avengers members to date
other than
the founders and the kooky quartet, as well as all the team's
honorary
members. Pictured here are Sandman, Falcon [II], Living
Lightning,
Spider-Man, Machine Man, Yellowjacket [II], Human Torch,
Black Knight [III], Thunderstrike, Mister Fantastic, Sersi,
Firebird,
Mockingbird, Martinex, Photon, Vance Astro, Warbird, Nikki,
Captain Marvel,
Black Widow [II], Starhawk, Charlie-27, Yondu, Whizzer, Wonder
Man,
Firestar, Spider-Woman [II], War Machine, Masque [II], Beast,
Justice,
Swordsman [II], Hellcat, Quasar [III], Rage (obscured behind the
third word
balloon), Two-Gun Kid, Swordsman, Sub-Mariner, Moon Knight,
Doctor Druid,
Thing, Stingray, Magdalene, Hercules, Mantis, Tigra, Crystal,
Demolition Man, She-Hulk, Deathcry, USAgent, Black Panther,
Gilgamesh,
Darkhawk, Vision [II], Moondragon, Starfox, Jocasta, Marrina,
Rick Jones &
Invisible Woman. All of them are in their current costumes unless
otherwise
noted below. In the case of dead Avengers, all are depicted in
the costuming
they wore before dying unless otherwise noted.
The commentators' "girl next door" remark could apply
to either Hellcat or
Firestar, both of whom fit the description and are close to the
word balloon
in question. "Monarchs of other lands" refers to Namor
(also close to the
word balloon in question), former ruler of Atlantis, and the
Black Panther,
current ruler of Wakanda. "Stalwarts from the future"
refers to the
Guardians of the Galaxy (Martinex, Vance Astro, Nikki, Starhawk,
Charlie-27
and Yondu), who are close to the relevant word balloon. Avengers
"from outer
space" include Captain Marvel (of the alien Kree race),
Martinex (from 31st
century Pluto), Nikki (from 31st century Mercury), Starhawk (who
grew up off
Earth despite his terrestrial heritage), Charlie-27 (of 31st
century
Jupiter), Yondu (of 31st century Centauri IV), Deathcry (of the
alien Shi'ar
race), Moondragon (an Earth woman raised on Titan), Starfox (an
Eternal of
Titan) and perhaps Quasar, who was born and raised on Earth but
now spends
most of his time in outer space. Apart from the Guardians, Quasar
is closest
to the relevant word balloon.
Reformed super-criminal SANDMAN joined the Avengers as a
probationary
reservist in Avengers (v1) # 329 but resigned in anger during a
procedural
dispute with team leader Captain America shortly thereafter (in
Amazing
Spider-Man [v1] # 349). He has only worked with the Avengers
twice since
then, when he aided the team against Morgan Le Fay and Whirlwind
in
Avengers (v3) # 1-4. He is currently among the Avengers' inactive
membership ranks.
As a sometime partner of Captain America, the FALCON 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. Uncomfortable with the circumstances of
his
membership and feeling out of place with the group, Falcon
resigned in
Avengers (v1) # 194; however, he has been a reliable reserve
member of the
group since then, serving on many subsequent cases. He last
worked with
the Avengers in Avengers (v3) # 1-4, when he aided the team
against Morgan
Le Fay and Whirlwind. He is among the team's inactive membership.
The LIVING LIGHTNING first encountered the Avengers as an
adversary in
Avengers West Coast # 63, but joined the team in Avengers West
Coast (AWC)
# 74 after aiding the team against the Pacific Overlords. He
downgraded to
reserve status in AWC # 87-88 to pursue a college education
full-time. He
last worked with the Avengers in Avengers (v3) # 1-3, when he
aided the
team against Morgan Le Fay. He is among the team's inactive
membership.
MACHINE MAN first met the Avengers in Avengers [v1] # 287-290
when he was
involved in their conflict with the Super-Adaptoid, after which
he aided
them against Terminus in AWC Annual # 5 and Avengers Annual # 19.
He was
elected to reserve membership in the Avengers' western roster in
AWC # 69,
but only served on one case (in AWC # 83) before the Avengers
disbanded
their western division. He last worked with the Avengers in
Avengers (v3)
# 1-4, when he aided the team against Morgan Le Fay and
Whirlwind. He is
among the team's inactive membership.
The second YELLOWJACKET (Rita DeMara) was a petty criminal who
stole Hank
Pym's Yellowjacket costuming and equipment for her own use in
Avengers (v1)
# 264. She went on to battle the Avengers as a reluctant member
of Baron
Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil, but reformed and became an ally to
the
Avengers as of Solo Avengers # 12, even accompanying them on a
mission
that earned her honorary Avengers membership in Avengers Annual
17. Her
association with the Avengers came to an abrupt and tragic end,
though,
when she was seemingly murdered by a person who appeared to be
Iron Man
in Avengers: The Crossing # 1. The story behind her death remains
largely
unrevealed, though it was apparently part of a scheme engineered
by Kang
and Mantis. Yellowjacket appears here in her original costume.
The original HUMAN TORCH joined the Avengers in AWC # 50 after
the team
revived him from the state of suspended animation he'd been left
in by the
Mad Thinker years earlier. He took a leave of absence as of AWC #
65 to
investigate the fate of his late partner Toro, and downgraded to
reserve
status after losing his superhuman powers. He is mostly retired
from
adventuring now, working as the manager of the
corporate-sponsored
super-team Heroes For Hire in his civilian identity as Jim
Hammond. He
last worked with the Avengers in Avengers West Coast # 83. The
Torch is
depicted aflame here, a state he can no longer safely achieve
given the
current state of his powers.
The third BLACK KNIGHT (Dane Whitman) first appeared in Avengers
(v1) # 47-48, and became a recurring ally to the group
thereafter. He was
awarded official Avengers membership in Avengers (v1) # 71. He
has been an
inactive or reserve member for most of the years since then,
though he has
served two significant active membership stints with the group
(Avengers
[v1] # 255-297 & Avengers [v1] # 336-375), serving as the
team's de facto
field leader under chairwoman Black Widow during his second
stint. He last
worked with the Avengers in Avengers (v3) # 1-4, when he aided
the team
against Morgan Le Fay. This illustration depicts Black Knight in
the second
version of his original costume (adopted in Marvel Super Heroes
[v1] # 17).
He is riding his original winged steed, Aragorn, which is now in
the care of
the Valkyrie. The sword he carries is probably his ebony blade,
but if so it
is miscolored here (the blade should be black).
Eric Masterson, a mortal friend of Avengers founder Thor, was
imbued with
Thor-like powers by the Asgardian gods to act as Thor's
substitute on
Earth while Thor was incapacitated. At first, he posed as a new
Thor, and in
that guise he took the original Thor's place in the Avengers as
of Avengers
(v1) # 343. Later, he was given slightly altered powers and
adopted an
identity uniquely his own as THUNDERSTRIKE after the original
Thor returned
to action, and he began to serve with the Avengers more
infrequently. He
died in the final issue of his own ongoing series when he was
possessed by
the Bloodaxe and sacrificed his life so that the Bloodaxe could
not use him
to threaten others.
As founding members of the Fantastic Four, MISTER FANTASTIC,
INVISIBLE WOMAN
and the THING have been allies to the Avengers since the latter
team's founding. The Thing became a recurring ally to the
Avengers' western
roster in West Coast Avengers (WCA) v2 # 3-8 during a leave of
absence from
the Fantastic Four and joined the western Avengers in WCA v2 # 9,
but he was
forced to leave the group for personal reasons almost
immediately, in WCA v2
# 10. He eventually rejoined the Fantastic Four. Mister Fantastic
and
Invisible Woman joined the eastern Avengers roster during a leave
of
absence from the Fantastic Four at the request of Captain America
in
Avengers (v1) # 299-300, when they joined the group to fill
vacancies
left by a mass walkout of the eastern Avengers membership. They
were unused
to serving in a larger group, though, and soon resigned from
active duty
as of Avengers (v1) # 305, returning to the Fantastic Four. Since
resigning
from the active Avengers roster, the three FF members have very
seldom
served with the Avengers, though the Avengers and the Fantastic
Four remain
close allies. The three FF members declined further participation
in the
Avengers as recently as Avengers (v3) # 1, saying they wish to
concentrate
on the affairs of the Fantastic Four. Mister Fantastic is not
wearing the
currently standard version of the FF's costuming here, and is
instead
wearing an earlier version of the FF uniform.
A recurring ally to the Avengers as of Avengers (v1) # 246-248,
SERSI
accepted an offer of membership in Avengers (v1) # 314, serving a
lengthy
membership stint until personal problems forced her to leave in
Avengers
(v1) # 375. She last worked with the Avengers in Avengers (v3) #
1-4, when
she aided the team against Morgan Le Fay. She is among the team's
inactive
membership.
FIREBIRD became a recurring ally to the Avengers in WCA v2 # 4
and had
two informal membership stints with the group, one as Firebird
(WCA v2
# 4-10) and one in her short-lived alternate guise as Espirita
(WCA v2
# 17-25). She became an official Avengers reservist circa
Avengers (v1)
# 305 and has served infrequently with the group since then. She
last
worked with the Avengers in Avengers (v3) # 1-3, when she aided
the team
against Morgan Le Fay. She is among the team's inactive
membership.
CHARLIE-27, MARTINEX, VANCE ASTRO, YONDU, STARHAWK and NIKKI are
all members
of the Guardians of the Galaxy, a team of heroic adventurers from
the 31st
century of an alternate future timeline. The Guardians visited
the 20th
century for the second time in pursuit of their adversary Korvac,
and
during this visit they forged an ongoing alliance with the
Avengers. For
the duration of their stay, the Guardians were granted honorary
Avengers
membership to facilitate their activities in the 20th century.
Shortly
after Korvac's defeat, the Guardians returned to their own time
period
(though they later helped defend Avengers Mansion from the fifth
Masters of
Evil during another visit to the 20th century). They are depicted
here as
they looked during their association with the Avengers (in
Avengers [v1]
# 167-181), though the coloring makes Starhawk and Martinex look
a bit
more like they did later in the Guardians of the Galaxy ongoing
series
(Starhawk's coloring is more pale, and Martinex's crystalline
body is more
monochromatic than it was in his early years). Vance Astro is an
alternate
future incarnation of the present-day Vance Astrovik, who has
become a
member of the Avengers as Justice. This cameo marks Nikki's and
Starhawk's
first appearances in the current Avengers series.
Former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and freelance intelligence operative
MOCKINGBIRD
began working alongside the Avengers in Avengers (v1) # 239,
shortly after
marrying longtime Avengers member Hawkeye. She became a founding
member of
the team's new western roster in WCA (v1) # 1, serving until an
ideological
dispute estranged her from Hawkeye, prompting her to take an
indefinite
leave of absence in WCA (v1) # 37. She continued to associate
with the
Avengers on a reserve basis, though, and also served as a mentor
to the
novice adventurers known as the Great Lakes Avengers for a time.
She took on
active reserve status in AWC # 69, and rejoined the active ranks
in
AWC # 87-88, finally reconciling with Hawkeye in AWC # 89-91. She
was
planning to retire and raise a family shortly thereafter, but she
sacrificed
her life to save Hawkeye & Scarlet Witch during a battle with
Mephisto in
Avengers West Coast # 100. She is pictured here in her second
Mockingbird
costume, the one she was wearing at the time of her death.
PHOTON joined the team in Avengers (v1) # 227, serving a lengthy
membership
stint during which she eventually became the team's chairman (in
Avengers
[v1] # 279). She was forced by injuries to leave the active
roster in
Avengers (v1) # 294, but became one of the team's more reliable
reservists
after recovering. She last worked with the Avengers in Avengers
(v3) # 1-3,
when she aided the team against Morgan Le Fay. She is among the
team's
inactive membership. She was originally known as Captain Marvel
(the second
Avenger by that alias) and was known by that name for most of her
Avengers
career, but she recently changed her alias to Photon in Avengers
Unplugged
# 5, conceding the Captain Marvel title to the son of the
original Captain
Marvel out of respect for the family.
The original Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) aided the Avengers
against menaces
such as Ultron, Attuma, Korvac and Doctor Spectrum in Avengers
(v1) #
171-172, 175-177 & Avengers Annual 8, officially joining the
team in
Avengers (v1) # 183. She served capably until Avengers # 200,
when her
abduction and physical & mental violation by Marcus Immortus
led to her
resignation. Blaming the Avengers for allowing Marcus to
victimize her,
Carol declined to associate with the team for some time
thereafter. This
separation continued for quite some time after Carol gained new
cosmic
powers and became the spacefaring adventurer known as Binary.
More recently,
Binary helped the Avengers save Earth's sun during Galactic Storm
and was
reconciled with the team in Avengers (v1) # 350-351. She formally
rejoined
the team in a new guise as WARBIRD in Avengers (v3) # 4, but
angrily
resigned in Avengers (v3) # 7 when she was disciplined for
reckless and
deceitful conduct stemming from her recent drinking problem.
CAPTAIN MARVEL (Mar-Vell), a legendary spacefaring alien hero who
served
as the Protector of the Universe, was a recurring ally to the
Avengers. He
aided the team against menaces such as Zodiac (Avengers [v1] #
72), the
Kree-Skrull War (Avengers [v1] # 89-97), Space Phantom & Grim
Reaper
(Avengers [v1] # 106-108), 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 later version of his second costume, the uniform he
was wearing
at the time of his death.
THE BLACK WIDOW has a long but not especially impressive record
with the
Avengers: she was their adversary (Avengers [v1] # 29-30) while
serving as
a brainwashed communist agent, became a recurring ally to the
group
(Avengers [v1] # 32-33 and up) through her now-defunct romance
with Hawkeye,
joined the group herself in Avengers (v1) # 111, resigned for
personal
reasons after one case in Avengers (v1) # 112, served
infrequently as a
reservist for years thereafter, and rejoined the active roster
for a long
but largely undistinguished membership stint (Avengers [v1] #
329-402)
during which she served a lengthy but otherwise unimpressive
stint as team
leader (Avengers [v1] # 348-402), a leadership stint that ended
with the
group's disbanding. Now believing herself unsuited for
superheroics, she has
since returned to freelance espionage. She has been an inactive
member of
the Avengers since they regrouped, though she aided the team
against Morgan
Le Fay in Avengers (v3) # 1-3 and fought the Mandarin's forces
alongside
them in Iron Man (v3) # 10.
The original WHIZZER was a 1940s costumed crimefighter who served
as
a member of the Liberty Legion, the Invaders and the All-Winners
Squad
during and after World War II alongside heroes such as Captain
America,
Namor and the Human Torch. In recent years, the long-retired
Whizzer became
a recurring ally of the Avengers after they helped him subdue his
monstrous
son Nuklo in Giant-Size Avengers # 1. The Whizzer repeatedly
assisted the
team in their adventures thereafter, due in part to the fact that
he was
mistakenly believed to be the long-lost father of Quicksilver and
the
Scarlet Witch for some time. A humiliating defeat at the hands of
Count
Nefaria in Avengers [v1] # 165 finally convinced the Whizzer to
retire as
of Avengers [v1] # 173. Later, he went into action one last time
to save
Nuklo and Scarlet Witch from his old foe Isbisa. The Whizzer died
in that
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).
NOTE: This cameo marks not only the Whizzer's first appearance in
this
series, but also the first time he has been featured in any
Avengers
illustration for many years. Kudos to Busiek & Perez for
including this
oft-forgotten Avenger.
WONDER MAN was given superhuman power by Baron Heinrich Zemo and
plotted
against the Avengers with Zemos 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 Zemos
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 official membership circa
Avengers (v1)
# 181 after a lengthy probationary association with the group. He
later
helped found the AWC and served until the shutdown of the teams
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 teams first mission when he disappeared in a
massive explosion
during a battle with hostile aliens, the Kree and the Scatter
(Force Works
# 1). He has since returned as a ghostly energy being that
repeatedly
manifests in the vicinity of the Scarlet Witch, the fellow
Avenger for whom
he had a largely unrequited romantic passion. This new
incarnation of Wonder
Man has appeared in Avengers (v3) # 2-9, battling alongside the
Avengers at
the Scarlet Witch's behest. He is pictured here in his original
costume, as
he looked when he first became Wonder Man.
Firestar appears here in her second costume, the one she wore
when she
joined the team in Avengers (v3) # 4.
SPIDER-WOMAN (Julia Carpenter) 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 groups
western
division shut down in AWC # 102. She then resigned and joined the
short-lived rival super-team Force Works, which has since
disbanded. She
is currently an inactive member of the Avengers, having last
worked with
the team when she aided them against Morgan Le Fay and Whirlwind
in
Avengers (v3) # 1-4.
WAR MACHINE (Jim Rhodes) was a longtime friend, employee and
confidant of
Tony Stark, who entrusted his Iron Man armor and identity to
Rhodes after
succumbing to 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 newly
sober Stark
to reclaim 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 own death. Upon learning of Starks 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 groups 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). He
last
worked with the Avengers during The Crossing. He is pictured here
in the
original War Machine armor.
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 Mans 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 Masques origins and motivations. One incident suggested
that she might
be Iron Mans 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 teams
missions
(Avengers [v1] # 397-398), but disappeared after she was abducted
by a
cyborg named Benedict in Avengers (v1) # 399.
Note: while several comics (including this one) suggest an
Avengers status
of some sort for Masque II, current Avengers editor Tom Brevoort
has said he
prefers to regard Masque as a non-member until she is explicitly
designated
otherwise in the comics themselves. Current Avengers writer Kurt
Busiek, on
the other hand, has referred to her as an honorary member in the
past.
A founding member of the X-Men, The BEAST left that group to
pursue a
scientific career before applying for Avengers membership during
one of the
team's earlier membership drives (Avengers [v1] # 137). Following
a
probationary period of unofficial membership, Beast 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
the X-Men, the Beast has remained affiliated with the Avengers
and works
with them on occasion, most recently in Avengers(v3) # 1-4 when
he aided
the team against Morgan Le Fay and helped Warbird evaluate the
state of her
physical powers. He is currently among the team's inactive
members.
Justice appears here in his second Justice costume, the one he
was wearing
when he joined the Avengers in the fourth issue of this series.
The second SWORDSMAN (Philip Jarvert) and his lover MAGDALENE are
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. More recently, the couple left
Earth in search
of a new world to call home (in Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98),
declining
an offer to become reserve Avengers. The second Swordsman is the
alternate-Earth counterpart of the deceased Avengers member who
first used
that alias (Jacques Duquesne).
Note: while several comics (including this one) suggest an
Avengers status
of some sort for Swordsman II and Magdalene, current Avengers
editor Tom
Brevoort has said he prefers to regard Magdalene as a non-member
until she
is explicitly designated otherwise. Current Avengers writer Kurt
Busiek, on
the other hand, has referred to her as an honorary member in the
past.
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, and Patsy
longed for
some form of escape. 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 Buzzs
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
Daimons
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 then, Hellcat is considered
dead.
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 as Protector of the
Universe
(replacing Eon's previous agent, the late Captain Marvel). Though
Eon
eventually died in the course of its duties as Quasars
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
(in Captain
America [v1] # 401). He last worked with the team in Avengers
(v3) # 1-4,
when he aided the team against Morgan Le Fay and declined an
offer to rejoin
the active roster. He is currently among the group's inactive
members.
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. He last worked
with the
group in Avengers (v3) # 1-4, when he aided the team against
Morgan Le Fay
and Whirlwind. He is an active member of the New Warriors.
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 known as the Two-Gun Kid. A clever
thinker, 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 longtime Avengers member 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-Guns
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 didnt 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-Guns true future remains to be seen.
Two-Gun appears
here in his conventional costuming, as opposed to the less
distinctive look
he sported come the conclusion of the Sunset Riders story.
The original 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 and odd jobs,
some of them
criminal. 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 since then as the teams first fatality.
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 (beginning with Avengers [v1] # 3), Namor
accepted
an offer of membership from his old friend Captain America in
Avengers
(v1) # 262. He has not been an active member since leaving the
team to mourn
the death of his wife Marrina in Avengers (v1) # 291-293. He was
a longtime
founding member of the Defenders and has recently become the
patron of the
Heroes for Hire. He is an inactive member of the Avengers, having
last
worked with the team when he aided them against Morgan Le Fay and
Whirlwind
in Avengers (v3) # 1-4.
MOON KNIGHT 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 v2 # 21-23), and
after a
probationary period (WCA v2 # 24-32) Moon Knight was invited to
join their
ranks. He accepted this time (WCA v2 # 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 Knights mind altogether. When Khonshu left
the Earthly
plane to attend another matter (battling the forces of rival god
Seth),
Moon Knights mind became wholly his own again and he left
the Avengers in
WCA v2 # 41, having been on an indefinite leave due to an ethical
dispute
since WCA v2 # 37 anyway. He later resigned his Avengers
membership
altogether on bad terms in Moon Knight (v3) # 50, when the group
called him
in to question his sometimes extreme crimefighting methods. Moon
Knight
responded to the team's last general membership summons in
Avengers (v3) # 1
but has declined further association with the group.
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 Earths sorcerer
supreme, Doctor
Strange. Druid battled occult evil mostly alone 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 Druids mental
powers; this
situation led to Druid and Terminatrix being cast adrift in limbo
and the
teams eastern roster being disbanded altogether for a while
in the wake of
Druids 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
here 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, gauntly slender man after his final
empowering
transformation.
Walter Newell is an oceanographer and occasional adventurer who
designed and constructed the submersible armor he wears as
STINGRAY. A
longtime friend and ally of Namor the Sub-Mariner, Newell became
custodian
of the artificial island Hydrobase as a platform for his
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, a status apparently made official sometime during or
after his
role in the "Crossing Line" mission (Avengers [v1] #
319-324). Hydrobase
had sunk by that time, but Stingray remained affiliated with the
Avengers.
He was alternately referred to as an honorary member or a
reservist in
various texts thereafter, and was once referred to as an
"honorary
reservist" (whatever that means), but in practice he seemed
to function as
an ordinary reservist. He is currently an inactive member of the
Avengers,
and last worked with the team when he aided them against Morgan
Le Fay and
Whirlwind in Avengers (v3) # 1-4.
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;
that membership stint proved brief (ending in Avengers [v1] #
50), but he
later served for two much longer membership stints (Avengers (v1)
# 249-274
and 334-402), the second of which ended only recently when the
team
temporarily disbanded following the Onslaught disaster. Currently
an
inactive Avengers member, he last worked with the team when he
aided them
against Morgan Le Fay and Whirlwind in Avengers (v3) # 1-4. He is
pictured
here in his original costuming and with his usual full beard, a
markedly
different look than the less majestic outfits and
semi-clean-shaven look he
has sported of late.
MANTIS first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 112 and began working
alongside the
Avengers on an unofficial basis in Avengers (v1) # 114 when her
loever, the
original Swordsman, returned to active duty with the Avengers.
Having
nowhere else to go, Mantis remained with the Avengers after the
Swordsman
died in action. She eventually departed for outer space with an
alien Cotati
as her mate, though, when she learned she was fated to be the
Celestial
Madonna, a woman who would bear a child of immense importance to
the
universe. Just before her departure, the Avengers granted Mantis
official
Avengers membership as a mark of respect (Giant-Size Avengers #
4). Years
later, after conceiving and bearing her mysterious child, Mantis
returned to
Earth for a second, much shorter stint with the Avengers (WCA v2
# 37-39 &
Annual 3). When the team next encountered her during The Crossing
(Avengers [v1] # 390-395 and related titles), Mantis had somehow
become an
embittered enemy of their group, conspiring against the Avengers
with her
new husband Kang and a corrupt incarnation of Iron Man. Whether
that was
the true Mantis remains to be seen, as do the motivations behind
this attack
on the Avengers. She is pictured here in her original costume,
which she wore
while active with the Avengers.
TIGRA (Greer Grant Nelson) was the costumed crimefighter known as
The Cat
until fatal wounds left her in the care of the otherworldly Cat
People, one
of whom had created her physique-enhancing Cat costume. The Cat
People saved
Greers life by transforming her into a sort of superhuman
cat-woman called
a Tigra, in which guise Greer joined the Avengers during an
impromptu
membership drive staged by Moondragon (Avengers [v1] # 211).
Convinced that
she was inferior to her fellow Avengers, Tigra left after only a
brief stint
(in Avengers [v1] # 216). She was later convinced to rejoin as a
member of
the teams new west coast division (WCA [v1] # 1-4), and
quickly became a
mainstay of the Avengers western roster. 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 she
downgraded 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. She last worked with the team
in Avengers
(v3) # 1-4, when she aided the group against Morgan Le Fay. She
is currently
an inactive member of the Avengers.
The Inhuman adventurer CRYSTAL joined the team relatively
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 her
husband
Quicksilver and their daughter Luna). Signing on officially in
Avengers (v1)
# 343, Crystal found her membership complicated by a romance with
a
teammate, the Black Knight, a situation that became more
complicated when
Quicksilver rejoined the tean in hopes of winning Crystal back.
Impressed
by the love between Pietro and Crystal and feeling guilty about
his own
competing romantic relationship with teammate Sersi, the Black
Knight left
the Avengers so that Crystal and Quicksilver could be happy
together
(in Avengers [v1] # 375). Quicksilver and Crystal continued to
serve with
the group until shortly after Avengers (v1) # 402, when the team
disbanded
in the wake of the Onslaught disaster. They have since declined
to rejoin
the active roster, remaining inactive members, but they did aid
the
Avengers against Morgan Le Fay and Whirlwind in Avengers (v3) #
1-4.
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
(in Captain America [v1] # 349), 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. He remains an inactive member
of the
Avengers, though, and aided the team against Morgan Le Fay in
Avengers (v3)
# 1-4.
SHE-HULK is the cousin and close friend of the 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 is currently an inactive Avengers member and last worked with
the team
in Avengers (v3) # 1-4.
DEATHCRY was a young alien warrior entrusted to the care of the
Avengers by
Empress Lilandra of the Shiar, 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] # 363-364) 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.
Note: while several comics (including this one) suggest an
Avengers status
of some sort for Deathcry, current Avengers editor Tom Brevoort
has said he
prefers to regard her as a non-member until she is explicitly
designated
otherwise. Current Avengers writer Kurt Busiek, on the other
hand, has
referred to her as an honorary member in the past.
USAGENT (John Walker) 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, so they faked his death and gave
him a new
identity as Jack Daniels, alias USAgent.
As USAgent, Walker was assigned to join the Avengers' western
roster
(WCA v2 # 44-45) so that he could monitor the Avengers
activities on the
governments 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. He
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. He is currently an inactive member of
the
Avengers, and last worked with the team when he aided them
against Morgan
Le Fay in Avengers (v3) # 1-3.
The BLACK PANTHER is the warrior king of the African nation
Wakanda and an
occasional member of the Avengers during leaves of absence from
his royal
duties. He joined the team as Captain Americas hand-picked
replacement in
Avengers (v1) # 51-52 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. An inactive Avengers
member, he
last worked with the team when he aided them against Morgan Le
Fay and the
Whirlwind in Avengers (v3) # 1-4.
The ancient Eternal warrior GILGAMESH, seeking new adventures,
joined the
Avengers in Avengers [v1] # 299-300 after assisting the team
against Nanny,
the Orphan-Maker and the demons of Nastirh; however, his
stint as an
Avenger was soon cut short when he suffered debilitating injuries
in battle
with the Lava Men (Avengers [v1] # 307) and left the active
roster, though
he later served the group in a reserve capacity on missions such
as Galactic
Storm (Avengers [v1] # 345 & AWC # 81). He last encountered
the team
during The Crossing, when he was mysteriously aged into a feeble
state and
apparently murdered by Kang's minion, Neut (Avengers: The
Crossing # 1 and
Avengers [v1] # 391).
DARKHAWK is a teenage adventurer whose alien amulet allows him to
assume a
superhuman armored form capable of flight, enhanced strength,
fast healing,
energy blasts and energy constructs. He 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 (AWC # 93-95). He is currently an inactive
Avengers member
and last worked with the team in Avengers (v3) # 1-4, when he
aided them
against Morgan Le Fay and Whirlwind. Perez mistakenly drew
Darkhawk in his
original armor in those issues but corrects that mistake here,
depicting
Darkhawk in the second-generation armor he has worn more
recently. He is a
reserve member of the New Warriors.
Vision appears here in his original physical body and costume,
first seen in
Avengers (v1) # 57. His appearance here is the basis for the
design of his
current holographic form.
MOONDRAGON developed superhuman mental powers and peak human
physical skills
under the tutelage of Titans 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 a conflict with Thanos (circa
Avengers
[v1] # 125) and later encountered them during the Celestial
Madonna affair
(see Avengers [v1] # 133-135 and Giant-Size Avengers # 4). She
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 an infrequent reserve member since her initial
probationary membership stint, last serving with the group in
Avengers (v3)
# 1-4, when she aided the team against Morgan Le Fay. She is
currently an
inactive member.
STARFOX is one of the Eternals of Titan, an adventurer who first
encountered
the Avengers as allies against his mad brother, Thanos. Eros was
a close
friend of the longtime Avengers associate Captain Marvel
(Mar-Vell), and
after Mar-Vells death he decided to emulate his late friend
and seek new
adventures by joining the Avengers as Starfox. He successfully
sought
membership in Avengers (v1) #231-232 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. Starfox left the team in Avengers (v1)
# 261.
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), the Nemesis case
(Avengers/Ultraforce # 1 and Ultraforce/Avengers # 1) and a
conflict with
the Controller (Avengers Unplugged # 5). Most recently, he aided
the team
against Morgan Le Fay and Whirlwind in Avengers (v3) # 1-4. He is
currently
part of the team's inactive ranks.
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. Jocastas human personality was based on the
brain patterns
of the Wasp. Kurt Busiek has said he has plans for Jocasta in an
upcoming
Iron Man story.
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.
RICK JONES first came to prominence as the friend and confidant
of the
Incredible Hulk, and later served as 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
Americas 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 he
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
groups 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, though he
did turn up to help the team during their conflict with Morgan Le
Fay in
Avengers (v3) # 1. Rick is pictured here with the short haircut
he wore
during his early adventures with the Avengers, but has since
grown his hair
longer.
PAGE 7
Panel 1:
Giant-Man and Wasp are revealed to have filled the reserve slots
vacated by
Firestar & Justice in Avengers (v3) # 7. Swordsman II and
Magdalene declined
the same two reserve slots in Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98.
Whether the
Avengers intend to expand their reserves beyond two members is
unclear, but
they have had substantially larger reserves in the past.
Panels 2-6:
The mutant adventurers known as the X-MEN watch the Avengers Day
celebrations on television. X-Men members COLOSSUS, GAMBIT,
NIGHTCRAWLER,
WOLVERINE, STORM & SHADOWCAT are visible in panel 2. X-Men
members MARROW
and ROGUE can be seen to the right of Gambit in panel 4. Since
mutants are
often regarded as social outcasts and the X-Men are sometimes
regarded
as outlaws, the X-Men do not enjoy the same level of public
acceptance or
popular acclaim generated by the Avengers.
As Shadowcat observes, the X-Men debuted around the same time as
the
Avengers. In fact, their first appearances (Avengers [v1] # 1 and
X-Men [v1]
# 1) were published in the same month: September, 1963. Mind you,
all of
the current X-Men debuted much later. None of the founding X-Men
are
active with the team at present.
"Katya" refers to Shadowcat, whose real name is
Katherine "Kitty" Pryde.
Panels 5-6 are an in-joke of sorts. Beast was an Avengers
mainstay for a
long time (most of Avengers [v1] # 137-211) and is fondly
remembered by
many Avengers fans, but he was a founding member of the X-Men
first and has
been largely monopolized by the X-Men comics in recent years.
Some longtime
Avengers fans resent this and insist that Beast belongs with the
Avengers,
but the Avengers and X-Men creative teams have yet to leak any
word on
Avengers plans for the Beast despite the fact that he's not
currently a
regular in the X-Men comics.
Panels 7-8:
Robert Bruce Banner, formerly a founding member of the Avengers
in his
alternate guise as THE HULK, watches the Avengers Day parade on
television
(fittingly, he is looking at a parade balloon made to resemble
the Hulk).
His wife Betty Banner, mentioned here, died recently in the
Incredible Hulk
series.
Panels 9-10:
Hawkeye is visiting the Commission, a government body that
monitors and
regulates the activities of superhumans and costumed adventurers.
This
presumably has something to do with the secret mission for which
Hawkeye
left the Avengers, a mission that brought him into contact with
the
fugitive adventurers known as the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #
20. What
Hawkeye's intentions are regarding the Thunderbolts remains to be
seen, but
the Commission's involvement suggests that he's either trying to
force the
Thunderbolts to face justice for their crimes or is seeking some
sort of
amnesty for the team. The Commission first appeared in Captain
America (v1)
# 331. USAgent sometimes freelances for them, and the second
Spider-Woman is
a former Commission agent who left the organization after joining
the
Avengers.
PAGE 8
Scarlet Witch visits AGATHA HARKNESS, her former withcraft tutor.
Harkness
first appeared in Fantastic Four (v1) # 94, met the Avengers at
Quicksilver
& Crystal's wedding in Avengers (v1) # 127, became Wanda's
withcraft tutor
in Avengers (v1) # 128 and appeared in Avengers (v1) # 129,
Giant-Size
Avengers # 2, Avengers (v1) # 130 & 133-134, Giant-Size
Avengers # 4 and
Avengers (v1) # 137, leaving once Wanda's studies were complete.
She was
seemingly killed in Vision & Scarlet Witch (v2) # 3, though
Wanda did not
witness that event in person despite what she says here. Harkness
turned
up alive without explanation in Avengers West Coast # 51 and took
up
residence with the Avengers to help protect Wanda from Magneto
and Immortus
and aid in her subsequent recovery (AWC # 51-52, Avengers [v1] #
313,
AWC # 55-57 & AWC # 61-63). Before leaving, she also helped
restore the
then-feral Tigra to her normal physical and mental state (in
Avengers
Spotlight # 38). Agatha's familiar, the cat named EBONY, has also
aided the
Avengers on occasion, notably in AWC # 52 when he battled
Mephisto on their
behalf.
PAGE 9
As the footnote indicates, these flashbacks come from Avengers
(v3) # 1-2,
6 & 9. Characters seen in the flashbacks include the Squadron
Supreme
(Moonglow [II], Whizzer [II], Doctor Spectrum, Shape, Skylark,
Hyperion &
Power Princess) and Moses Magnum.
PAGE 10
As Wanda recounts, Simon seemingly died in battle with the Kree
in Force
Works # 1. She brought him back to life in Avengers (v3) # 2, and
he has
continued to manifest on the earthly plane in every issue of this
series
since then. The tests conducted by Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Hank
Pym
(Giant-Man) apparently happened behind the scenes between
Avengers (v3)
# 3 and Avengers (v3) # 4, and are mentioned here for the first
time.
Click here for Part Two!