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Avengers Re-Read: The 2000s - Part 1 1/6/2015 7:48:34 AM
This post originally appeared on thunderalleybcp.com
The Avengers Re-Read finally hits the new millennium.
The 2000s began with The Avengers still going strong, as the Kurt Busiek/George Perez team brought their much lauded run to a conclusion. Only a couple of short years later, the bottom fell out of the title, setting the stage for the controversial Brian Michael Bendis era. Some fans may have grumbled, but under Bendis’s pen, New Avengers became the most popular comic book in the world.
Note that, by the end of the decade, Avengers began to metastasize into a franchise with an ever growing number of titles. While many are quite good and I’ve read just about all of them, in the interests of time and sanity, my general plan from here on out is to focus on the core titles at any given time. That doesn’t mean there won’t be room for the odd detour, especially for books that are particularly interesting or relevant.
And if you want to see how we got to this point, check out the Avengers Re-Read Archive.
Avengers Assemble Volume 3 (Avengers vol. 3 #23-34 and 1 ½ and Thunderbolts #42-44)
The last year of the Busiek/Perez partnership is featured in this extra-sized volume. It commenced with the tension between Vision and Wonder Man over their shared brain patterns erupting into a violent confrontation. Afterward, Vision took off to think about his life. Justice settled into his role on the team, as the Avengers remained assailed by protests engineered by the Triune Understanding. Quicksilver returned as Juggernaut sought the heroes’ help. The Exemplars, a group of humans transformed into beings of vast power by various cosmic entities, hunted Juggernaut as their wayward member. The Avengers clashed with the Exemplars as they drifted their massive stone construct over New York. In addition to Wasp and Giant Man, Hercules, Spider-Man and Nova all joined in the attack on the Exemplars’ fortress in a first rate action sequence. In the end, Captain America used his wits to defeat the foes, then quit the team when he felt his old-fashioned approach to running the group had become a handicap. Stuart Immonen filled in on an issue that found someone alleging to be Cap leading Avengers associates Warbird, Silverclaw, Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and Captain Marvel (Genis) in an assault on the Triune Understanding’s New York building. All was not what it appeared and the resulting destruction of the TU facility left the Avengers looking bad. After a clash with a reporter, a furious Thor quit the team rather than apologize publicly, and Justice and Firestar elected to go on leave to focus on their relationship. Wonder Man also declined full active status, so he could focus on reviving his acting career. Wasp and Giant-Man returned to regular duty, as did Warbird (now on the wagon and looking to make amends) and, as a pinch hitter, She-Hulk. The TU maneuvered the team into accepting a hostile Triathlon as its newest member.
This tense new line-up accompanied reservist Silverclaw to investigate a distress call from her South American hometown. The team discovered that sorcerer Kulan Gath had seized control of the area and planned to sacrifice the volcano goddess, also Silverclaw’s mother, as his price to enter the realm of the old gods. In thwarting the plan, something happened to Hank Pym and on the ride home, a tiny hitchhiker in the form of another Yellowjacket was seen. Back home, Hank checked out okay, as his rowdy doppelganger started enjoying himself in New York. Vision summoned the team to Chicago, where he’d tracked the Grim Reaper engaged in some mob business. A violent confrontation broke out. Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch learned that Wonder Man had disappeared upon returning to New York from a trip to L.A. Wonder Man and Atlas of the Thunderbolts both fell under the sway of Count Nefaria, who used their ionic powers to take control of their brains. The two teams uneasily teamed to oppose Nefaria, with Black Widow returning to play a key role. Captain America also returned during the course of the story. Busiek heroically picked up a dangling thread from a few years earlier as the team pursued a paranoid Madame Masque into the desert, where Grim Reaper, Nefaria and his minions attacked. A reluctant Madame Masque allied herself with the Avengers and Thunderbolts to oppose Nefaria, her mad father. Nefaria launched an attack potentially lethal to the entire globe that required the efforts of both teams and Madame Masque to stop. The fallout left both Wonder Man and Atlas in rough shape.
The Busiek/Perez team remained strong straight to the end of Perez’s tenure on the book. Busiek kept a firm grasp on his large and ever mutating cast, doing some very nice character work, especially with the Vision/Scarlet Witch/Wonder Man triangle. Though Vision asking Warbird out on a date while his ex-wife was literally standing between them was somewhat awkward. Hank and Jan’s return to active status pushed their ever-complicated relationship into the spotlight and the doppelganger story would prove to be one of Busiek’s more interesting ideas. The Thunderbolts cross-over made an already-crowded cast even bigger, but Busiek and Fabian Nicieza coordinated well to handle the massive story. Perez, with some assists from Immonen and Paul Ryan, continued to do strong work as he marched toward an exciting climax of his time on the book. It’s always sad to see Perez exit a series, but he concluded this chapter of his long Avengers association on a high note. This collection is highly recommended for fans of the franchise and especially for Perez fans.
Above and Beyond (Avengers vol. 3 #36-40, 56, Annual 2001 and Avengers: The Ultron Imperative)
Superstar artist Steve Epting, who’d done a lengthy Avengers stint in the ‘90s, filled in for two issues in the post-Perez era. That story found the Avengers chasing down some random aliens loose on Earth after the “Maximum Security” event. Templar and Pagan attacked the already damaged Avengers Mansion and had the team on the ropes. At the same time, over in Slorenia, a missionary helping with the aftermath of Ultron’s devastation of the country who also possessed the Black Knight’s old sword was transformed into the massive, deadly Blood Wraith. Hank Pym’s doppelganger took advantage of an unguarded moment to kidnap him and switch places. Stretched on multiple fronts, the Avengers barely pulled through and decided they needed to change their approach.
Another superstar art team joined Busiek on the book: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer came aboard as the Avengers significantly expanded the team in an attempt to monitor and take a proactive approach to various threats. Triathlon finally began to gel with his teammates, while Hank Pym’s sudden cheerfulness worried Wasp. Thor and Quicksilver officially returned and Jack of Hearts joined the team, while Quasar, Photon and Living Lightning became the “space squad.” The team responded to an odd biological attack that turned the people of a small Greek town into Hulk replicas. Bruce Banner himself showed up to assist, after Hank’s recklessness made the problem worse. Back in New York, the villain Diablo was revealed as responsible for the Hulk virus, intended as a distraction. Reservist Silverclaw fought the villain solo, until the timely arrival of Wonder Man and Triathlon. Vision and Warbird drew closer, just as Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch started to realize they might not be suited for one another. The Ultron Imperative followed up on some dangling threads from the last Ultron saga. A team of artists portrayed Alkhema making use of the brain pattern recordings she’d stolen from Ultron. A story from the following year’s Annual featured Jarvis answering federal questions that attempted to address confusing aspects of the lives of various team members. And Busiek’s final story, which appeared more than a year after the main story in this collection, also appeared, an amusing tale that saw various Avengers answering questions about a mission for Stark Foundation accountants.
Busiek soldiered on without Perez quite effectively. Epting did his usual strong work on his fill-in issues, before the Davis/Farmer team turned in some nice work at the start of what would end up a short stint. This was a transitional period for the series, winding down from the Perez stint and warming up for one of the biggest stories in Avengers history. It sets up the new status quo and is mostly entertaining, but not of the highest priority for fans.
The Kang Dynasty (Avengers vol. 3 #41-55 and Annual 2001)
The Kurt Busiek Era came to an epic conclusion with a massive 15-part story that made the most effective use of long-time Avengers villain Kang ever. Kang and his grown son, Scarlet Centurion, hovered over Earth as a series of crises hit, propelling an Avengers team to respond to an attack in Russia. Centurion picked that moment to descend on the U.N., declaring that the Earth had been conquered by Kang, drawing an Avengers contingent. While Centurion was instantly smitten with Warbird, she was chilled that he was a dead ringer for Marcus, the son of Immortus who had once raped her. To punish the resistance, Kang destroyed the U.N. from his space-based HQ, Damocles. Kang’s offer of spoils for anyone attacking Earth governments in his name induced Atlanteans, Deviants and various villains to launch assaults.
The team in Russia encountered soldiers transformed into nuclear-radiated zombies by the powerful Presence, much to the dismay of Presence’s companion, Starlight. Scarlet Witch led an Avengers squad against the Atlanteans in Nova Scotia, while Warbird led another against the Deviants in China. The Presence’s attack transformed several Avengers into his zombies, except for Thor and Firebird, both of whom were immune. Thinking his friends were doomed, Thor began to question the wisdom of an immortal having relationships with humans.
Hank Pym collapsed in Nova Scotia. Wasp gambled on trusting Triathlon and took him to the Triune Understanding, where TU leader Jonathan Tremont helped figure that neither version of Hank Pym that was running around was an impostor. They were part of the same man, but had been separated during the Kulan Gath mission. Hank found a way to reintegrate his selves. Meanwhile, Photon discovered that Justice and Firestar weren’t off on vacation, but had been sent by Iron Man to infiltrate the TU. The duo discovered a space vessel that would be powered by the faith of the TU’s followers, possibly draining them to death in the process. Photon ‘s info troubled Triathlon, who wanted to get to the bottom of the mysteries surrounding the TU and follow up on the pleas of the wife of the 1950s hero 3-D Man, whose powers and costume were similar to Triathlon’s and who had gone missing just before Triathlon got his abilities from the TU.
Warbird quelled the Deviants by beating their leader’s delegate in single combat. Thor and Firebird defeated Presence and then Starlight forced him to drain his energies from the various infected humans, leaving them all alive, if somewhat weakened. With Kang’s threat looming, the U.S. Government prepared a host of robotic Sentinels as a possible defense, if the Avengers didn’t stop Kang. A team of Avengers coordinated with the U.S. military and were alarmed at the Sentinel plan. Firebird aimed to prove to Thor that his friendships with mortals were important. Triathlon, Jack of Hearts, Vision and Warbird all bonded, and Triathlon agreed to help Vision gain access to the TU headquarters to look for information. A series of ringed fortifications suddenly sprung up around major cities in North America. The mysterious Master of the World, who claimed proprietorship of Earth, announced he would protect it from Kang’s attack.
Several Avengers were on the front lines as Kang unleashed his rabid armies on Europe. After the Master kidnapped several state and civic leaders in North America, Warbird led a squad of Avengers to his Arctic base, hoping to acquire his technology to use against Kang. Vision and Triathlon ventured to Triune HQ. After the Master’s defenses left Warbird weakened and almost powerless, a smitten Centurion, who’d been monitoring her from space, teleported to the Arctic to assist her (behind his father’s back). Warbird resisted his help and he soon experienced an equipment malfunction that forced the duo to team up to survive. Before their brief truce ended, Centurion convinced Warbird he was a different man from the one who’d violated her. Meanwhile, in deep space, Quasar and Living Lightning spotted a massive black pyramid making its way toward Earth.
Captain America led a team of Avengers in an unsuccessful attack on Damocles base, while Warbird’s squad made its way through the Master’s base and the European forces engaged in a ferocious battle with Kang’s army. Tremont sensed the approach of the black pyramid and revealed that his “faith” ship was intended to fight it. Vision, Triathlon, Justice and Firestar accompanied Tremont into space. As the Avengers’ attack on Kang floundered, the U.S. launched the Sentinels at him. Facing stiff resistance from the Master, Warbird stabbed him to death to get control of his technology. In space, Kang revealed that he was able to control the Sentinels and turn them against the Earth. His attack left several Avengers floating in space, though he captured Scarlet Witch.
In a dialogue-free issue, the Avengers faltered in the face of Kang’s assault. They evacuated the President to the Master’s secret base, where several Avengers worked to unravel his technology. A vicious attack from Kang devastated Washington, DC, killing thousands. Kang forced Earth to surrender, compelling Wasp to sign the surrender declaration on its behalf. Quasar and Living Lightning rescued the Avengers who’d been attacked by Kang in space and they met up with Tremont and the Avengers who’d accompanied him. Tremont’s history was revealed, as well as the nature of Templar and Pagan and Triathlon’s connection to the 3-D Man. Tremont revealed the major threat of the black pyramid, which the Avengers reluctantly faced instead of going back after Kang. Triathlon was able to take control of the pyramid, which contained the essences of numerous planets it had previously destroyed. The Avengers thought they might be able to use it against Kang, as they learned of Earth’s surrender. Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch briefly reunited in a prisoner-of-war camp, before engineering his apparent death so he could escape and re-join the resistance, while she stayed behind to help the prisoners.
Having figured out the Master’s technology, the Avengers rallied a massive counter-strike against Kang’s army on Earth. The space-based Avengers used the pyramid (to the extent it felt ethical) to allow Captain America and Kang to fight one-on-one on a cosmic scale. With the tide turned against them, Kang evacuated Centurion back to the future and then crashed to Earth himself. After an epic final battle with Cap, Kang was defeated and captured. Warbird struggled with guilt for killing the Master. Thor disappeared after the battle ended. Centurion returned to rescue Kang, unknowingly angering him and proving himself unworthy as Kang’s heir.
The Avengers cleared Warbird of any wrongdoing in killing the Master. The Avengers helped with the massive clean-up and participated in the memorials for the numerous fallen. Among the deceased was Duane Freeman, who’d been the team’s enthusiastic national security liaison. Thor returned with an Asgardian feast to help the Avengers celebrate their victory. The saga ended on a quiet note, with Cap, Iron Man and Wasp visiting the DC memorial.
On scale alone, The Kang Dynasty was rivaled only by The Korvac Saga as the biggest Avengers story to that point. Busiek flawlessly orchestrated a complex, multifaceted story that wove together numerous plot streams into a cohesive, compelling whole. He paid off plot strands that had been building for years and used the grand saga to do some excellent character work, especially with Warbird, Hank Pym, Wasp, Captain America and Triathlon. But more importantly, Busiek may have written Kang better than any other writer before or since. He brought out a kind of operatic, elemental force of personality that transformed what had often been a cartoonish villain into a convincing epic threat. Kang’s complicated relationship with his son was deftly handled and came to a shocking and tragic conclusion.
A varied array of artists saw duty on this saga. Davis and Farmer did some very cool work in the opening installments, but the duo didn’t stick around for very long. Kieron Dwyer and Rick Remender would eventually come aboard as regular artists. Their detailed, angular style served the story well. In and around those two “regular” teams, the saga featured strong contributions from notable talents like Manuel Garcia, Ivan Reis, Brent Anderson and Patrick Zircher. The individual styles weren’t too far apart, so while the shifts in artists were noticeable, they never disrupted the flow of the story. It was classic, bold comic book storytelling, professional and compelling.
This grand epic was a fitting capstone for Busiek’s run on Avengers. It encapsulated everything that was great about his approach to the series and gave Kang his best showcase ever. It was a fitting conclusion to a celebrated stint and one that fans of the franchise should seek out.
