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Avengers Re-Read: The 1970s - Part One 9/23/2014 5:06:56 AM
[A version of this post originally appeared on thunderalleybcp.com on September 11, 2014]
Welcome to the first part of my Avengers Re-Read.
While it’s been a good couple decades since I sold off my collection of monthly comics, I’ve long been a proponent of collected editions. I keep far fewer of them and don’t feel guilty when I drop them into a donation bin.
But I hold onto my Avengers collections. It has always been my favorite series. When I started collecting on my own it was with The Avengers. Issue #207, to be precise.
I’ve amassed a fair amount of Avengers collections over the years and realized that, even with a few gaps, they cover a decent amount of franchise history. With that in mind, it’s time to commence my Avengers Re-Read. In this installment, I start with the 1970s.
The ‘70s were an interesting time in the world of comics. The pages were filled with narrative boxes, stuffed with words, sometimes overwritten and often addressing the reader directly. Dialogue was exposition-heavy; don’t you walk around reciting your vital stats at all times? Issues were often packed with flashback panels, to help out any reader who missed an earlier issue.
But the era was also rich in imagination. It was a time where creators would try just about anything. Some agreeably bizarre stuff took place, some of it quite daring (either for its time or even now). It’s amazing how much of what was created in the ‘70s still influences the Marvel books of today. Let’s get into it with the first half of the decade.
Kree/Skrull War (Avengers #89-97)
Avengers had featured multi-part stories before, but under the guidance of legendary writer Roy Thomas, Kree/Skrull War was the first truly epic opus in the title. Running almost a year, the saga set the tone for this kind of far-reaching story that traveled the globe before launching into outer space. At the outset, the Avengers roster was down to only four members: Vision, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Goliath (the Clint Barton version, shortly before he reverted to being Hawkeye). Space hero Captain Marvel kicked things off, when his return to Earth threatened the safety of all around him. Marvel’s return caught the attention of the Kree Empire and heavy Ronan the Accuser came to Earth, intending to subjugate or destroy it. An initial skirmish in Florida was inconclusive. An SOS from inactive members Wasp and Yellowjacket took the team to Alaska, where Ronan tried another scheme. That precipitated the revelation of aliens’ existence to the public and, in a rather realistic turn, led to government intervention and hearings. The team sheltered Marvel, but then ran afoul of the Skrulls, who tried to tap Marvel for Kree technology that would give them an advantage in the eternal war between the two alien empires. After several characters were kidnapped into space, the rest of the team chased them for an epic space battle that was decided after guest star Rick Jones had a mind-bending encounter with the Kree Supreme Intelligence.
Thomas was a pro at choreographing this kind of complex plot action. He never lost focus on characters, doing some especially nice work with the fraught Vision/Scarlet Witch relationship. The epic also brought absent core members Captain America, Thor and Iron Man back to a central role. Other guests who popped up included Carol Danvers (the future Ms./Captain Marvel), Mister Fantastic, The Thing. Triton and Nick Fury. The War covered lots of ground and did a lot to expand the frontiers of Marvel’s space-based characters. Several artists worked on the saga, including long-time Marvel house artists John and Sal Buscema. Several issues also featured work from Neal Adams, then possibly the hottest artist in the business, whose gorgeous compositions elevated the story with innovative layouts and beautiful character work.
Kree/Skrull War holds up 40 years later. Even if some of its trappings are dated, the adventurousness and innovation that pushed comic book storytelling forward are on full display.
Avengers/Defenders War (Avengers #115-118 and Defenders #s 8-11)
Heroes meeting and fighting due to a misunderstanding is a classic comic book trope. Writer Steve Englehart put an elegant spin on the concept with Avengers/Defenders War. Major villains Dormammu and Loki wanted power, as represented by The Evil Eye, an artifact that had been split into several pieces and scattered around the Earth. The duo deceived the Defenders into thinking the Eye could restore their friend (and former Avenger) the Black Knight, who’d been turned to stone (it’s a long story). With recent Avengers refugee Hawkeye on their side, the Defenders pursued the Eye pieces. But Loki didn’t trust his partner and faked a warning to the Avengers that painted the Defenders as dangerous outlaws out for revenge on the world. A series of misunderstandings had members of both teams facing off in a variety of locales for possession of the pieces. It even included a now iconic clash between Thor and Hulk, arguably Marvel’s two strongest characters.
Captain America and Sub-Mariner had a memorable reunion that started with a clash and embroiled future Uncanny Avenger Sunfire before the duo’s one-time rapport provided the avenue for rapprochement between the two teams. An epic showdown with the two villains resulted. It was panoramic superhero storytelling, sending characters around the globe in a classic “hunt” scenario that put a lot of emphasis on personal interactions. Retroactively, this might look like fan service, but it’s not as though Marvel is opposed to “hero vs. hero” stories in the modern era. Englehart made it interesting and Marvel bullpen mainstays Sal Buscema and Bob Brown provided clean, classic art that skips the frills but tells the story in an effective way. It’s definitely worth a look. Especially if you’ve ever had a “who’s stronger” debate about Thor and Hulk.
Celestial Madonna (Avengers #129-135 and Giant-Size #2-4)
Englehart was one of the most interesting writers Marvel had in the ‘70s. He’d loaded the series with several dramatic bombs, which he detonated in this saga, one of the title’s most famous and most respected. He’d brought back the long-lost Swordsman, a one-time Avenger who’d betrayed the team (and was revealed as the criminal who’d trained Hawkeye). Swordsman was presented as an ineffective loser, one step removed from a lengthy bender, who was desperate for redemption. Not the typical hero of the era. Accompanying Swordsman was Englehart’s most daring creation, Mantis. A Eurasian martial arts expert and empath, Mantis was one of the most forwardly sexual characters in an era still heavily under the boot of the Comics Code. She had a past as a Viet Nam “bar girl” (a prostitute euphemism), wore a sexy outfit and had no problem coming onto all the male members of the team, furthering the Swordsman’s humiliation. Englehart created a potent romantic clash comprising Swordsman/Mantis and Vision/Scarlet Witch, highlighting the power imbalance in the former relationship and the inability of the latter to be forthright about what they wanted.
Into all that came a newborn star that hung over Avengers Mansion. It indicated that one of the mansion’s inhabitants (Mantis, Scarlet Witch or the Witch’s tutor, Agatha Harkness) was destined to be the Celestial Madonna and give birth to a son who would change the universe. Future-spawned villain Kang arrived, determined to control and mate with the Madonna to possess her child. An epic battle ensued that eventually brought in Pharaoh Rama-Tut and Immortus, the master of Limbo. Englehart revealed how all three characters were basically variations of Kang.
The wide-ranging saga featured Swordsman sacrificing his life to save Mantis and major revelations about the origins of both Mantis and Vision. Questions about the latter had lingered for years and while some of these details would be retconned in the future, they were a watershed, connecting the Vision to the original Human Torch. The saga was a turning point for the Scarlet Witch, who entered a more powerful phase of her career before marrying the Vision. That was a double ceremony with Mantis and the reanimated body of the Swordsman, possessed by an alien tree (again, it was the ‘70s; it was supposed to be weird). The tale brought Hawkeye back to the fold and introduced Moondragon as a regular presence, too. Several classic heroes and villains popped up in various roles. Englehart’s climax brought real, lasting change to the characters, eschewing the “reset” mentality that seemed to reign with other books. The story was deliberately, almost defiantly, bizarre, but in a good way. The presentation of Mantis, forward and not entirely sympathetic, was almost revolutionary, and Englehart’s willingness to delve into the still raw tangle of issues of Viet Nam, even in a cursory fashion, was pretty brave. Brown and Sal Buscema handled most of the art in their usual clean, classic style. Dave Cockrum, whose X-Men stardom was around the corner, contributed some nice work, too. Especially impressive was a full-page shot of Mantis, revealed as the Madonna, with a dazzling prismatic panel background.
Celestial Madonna is a great example of ‘70s Marvel taking real chances with its characters and narrative approach. Any fan of the franchise is well-advised to seek this one out.
The Coming of the Beast (Avengers #137-140 and #145-146)
This edition is mostly a transition stretch between Celestial Madonna and The Serpent Crown. It’s most notable for adding former X-Man the Beast as a probationary member and making Moondragon an official member. Wasp and Yellowjacket returned as regular members, but both received injuries during the course of these few issues that will sideline them for months. Hawkeye took off on a quest of his own and the heroes faced a couple of villains from their past, the Toad and Whirlwind. It’s a decent stretch with art from Marvel vet George Tuska and one sequence is a nice callback to one of the odder moments of Kree/Skrull War. Also included is a two-part fill-in that had been dropped into the middle of the Serpent Crown arc to alleviate scheduling issues. It’s professional but not essential. Fans of the Beast will be most interested in this one. The character’s “hipster” joke machine phase gets going here and would make him a fan favorite for the next several years, but his internal emotional struggles aren’t ignored, either. It was a fine introduction to the team for the blue hero.
