The Avengers Project - Vol. 1 No. 10
Nov. 11th, 2006 02:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrier
AVENGERS Vol. 1 No. 10
November, 1964
"The Avengers Break Up!"
Story superbly written by: Stan Lee
Art adorably drawn by: Don Heck
Inked by darlin' Dick Ayers
Lettered by stalwart Sam Rosen
The story opens with the Avengers having a training session at their mansion headquarters; the other heroes have to catch and subdue Captain America. Iron Man snatches Cap's shield away by reversing his magentic repulsors, and Thor grabs Cap from behind, pinning him with his hammer. Giant-Man observes that Cap lasted for 47 seconds... a new record. Cap is disappointed, though, since he felt he should have been able to evade them for a full minute.
The team sits down for their regular meeting. Iron Man suggests that they make Rick Jones a full-fledged member, but Captain America rather testily insists that such a decision is for him to make. After the meeting, he talks to Rick, telling him that he still feels guilty over the death of his first partner Bucky, and he's not sure if he's ready to put another teenaged boy in harm's way.
Meanwhile, in a hidden castle in the Amazon jungle, Zemo, the Executioner, and the Enchantress are licking their wounds after their previous defeat by the Avengers. Suddenly, the Enchantress feels a strange sensation... a mental force contacting her. Seconds later, a cloaked figure appears, announcing himself as Immortus, master of time and ruler of Limbo. Immortus declares that he is joining the Masters of Evil... one day he plans to take control of this century, and the villains will make useful underlings when that happens.
The Executioner doesn't take kindly to this, and attacks. Immortus vanishes, and sends a proxy to fight in his place -- the legendary giant Paul Bunyan. The gargantuan lumberjack and the Asgardian warrior fight briefly, but Zemo tells Immortus to call off the battle before they destroy his entire castle. He concedes that Immortus has proven his power, but now he wants to test his loyalty by having him destroy one of the Avengers. Immortus boasts that he will defeat the entire team, and then vanishes. The Executioner still doesn't trust the newcomer, but Zemo points out that they have nothing to lose by letting him attempt to kill the Avengers.
Back in New York, Rick Jones sees an ad in the back of a comic book that promises to give people genuine super-powers. Thinking that this will enable him to finally become a true Avenger, Rick goes to the company's address -- only to find it was a trap laid by Immortus. Immortus has his lackey, none other than Attila the Hun, subdue the boy. Rick tries to fight back, and even Attila is impressed by his courage, but in the end he is captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London in the year 1760.
When Captain America realizes that Rick is missing, he contacts Rick's friends in the Teen Brigade. They tell him about the ad that Rick saw, and Cap in turn goes to the office where he finds Immortus waiting for him. Immortus claims that it was the Avengers themselves who instructed him to capture Rick, and says that he can prove it if Cap will bring his teammates to him. With Rick's life in danger, Cap reluctantly agrees.
Back at Avengers' Mansion, an angry Cap lashes out at his fellow heroes, demanding to know why they betrayed Rick. The Avengers try to subdue their out-of-control teammates, but Cap swats Iron Man aside with his shield, then uses it to deflect Thor's hammer-throw. Cap uses the spray from a fire extinguisher to blind Iron Man. Giant-Man steps between Cap and Thor, trying to stop the battle, but Cap kicks him in the legs, knocking him down. The Wasp tries to use her sting on Cap, but he blocks it with his shield. Giant-Man gets back up, and this time is able to separate the combatants. The Avengers agree to go with Cap to see Immortus and get to the bottom of things.
The Avengers confront Immortus in his lair, and he tells them that he will free Rick Jones if each of them can defeat an enemy that he summons from the past. First up, Giant-Man is attacked by the evil giant Goliath. They seem evenly matched, so Giant-Man tries to gain advantage by shrinking down and tying his enemy's feet together with a nylon cord. But Goliath easily snaps the bindings and threatnes to squash the tiny hero with his foot. The Wasp intervenes, distracting the enemy long enough for Ant-Man to form another plan. Taking his cue from Goliath's foe David, Ant-Man improvises a slingshot to hurl himself at the giant; he strikes in just the right spot to knock Goliath out.
Next, Immortus summons Merlin the magician to fight Iron Man. The wizard creates a steel cage around Iron Man, which he easily smashes out of. Then he hurls a lightning bolt, which Iron Man dodges. Going on the offensive, Iron Man uses the gadgets in his armor to create blinding lights and loud screeching noises, which stun Merlin into unconsciousness.
Thor's opponent turns out to be none other than Hercules. He proves to be the strongest foe Thor's ever faced, but he manages to manuver the brute towards the window. Knocking Hercules off-balance, Thor dangles him out the window and threatens to drop him; Hercules has no choice but to surrender.
As the other Avengers defeat his minions, Immortus grabs Captain America, and the two of them are whisked back to 18th century London. Immortus challenges Cap to fight his way through his army of medieval knights and rescue Rick from the Tower.
Watching events from Zemo's castle, the Masters of Evil decide to attack the Avengers while their strength is reduced. The heroes have returned to their headquarters and are pondering the disappearance of Captain America. But their musings are interrupted when the Executioner smashes down the front door. As he squares off against Iron Man, the other Masters of Evil target individual heroes. This time, Zemo says, they will settle for nothing less than victory.
The Enchantress casts a spell at Giant-Man, forcing him to shrink to the size of a small child. Meanwhile, the Executioner pounds away at Iron Man with his special meteorite metal gloves, and is able to actually put dents in his armor. Zemo uses a gun to spray "liquid ore" at Thor, which solidfies and traps his hands. The Wasp flies around the Enchantress' head, hoping to disrupt her concentration and allow Giant-Man to regain his normal size. Iron Man tries to fight back with his repulsor rays, but the Executioner's pounding has damaged his circuits, and his weapons no longer function.
Zemo has almost completely covered Thor in solid rock, but before he can finish the job, his weapon is shattered by Captain America's shield. Zemo is stunned to see his old foe returned. Cap explains that once he defeated his guards, Immortus kept his word and returned him and Rick to the present. Cap attacks the Executioner, drawing him away from the damaged Iron Man by bopping him on the head with his shield, followed by a shield-throw to the midsection. A recovered Giant-Man grabs the Executioner and hurls him into the wall. At that moment, Thor manages to break free from the solid stone imprisoning him. The Enchantress prepares to cast another spell, but the Wasp stops her by yanking her hair.
With the Avengers recoverd and reunited, the Masters of Evil know they haven't a chance. The Enchantress manages to get off a spell, which will take them several days into the past, before they met Immortus. Thus events are reset to the beginning of the story. The Avengers are back at their meeting table, debating the membership of Rick Jones. And the Masters of Evil are back in Zemo's castle. Unlike the Avengers, the villains still remember the battle that occured, and this time, when Immortus tries to mentally contact her, the Enchantress breaks the connection.
--
This is a strange issue in a number of ways, not the least of which is the fact that the whole story is declared null and void by the end! It seems odd that Stan and co. would introduce Immortus, another time-travelling villain, so soon after the debut of Kang (Later writers would establish a connection between the two). His modus operandi is slightly different, though, and his gimmick of summoning famous warriors from the past is reminiscent of the golden age hero Kid Eternity.
Speaking of Immortus' minions, I believe this is the first appearance of Hercules in a modern Marvel comic. He looks somewhat different from the way he would later appear in THOR -- he's clean-shaven, and wields a wooden club instead of the more familiar mace. But his arrogant personality is much the same, and since everyone has forgotten about this meeting by the time it's over, I suppose there's no reason it couldn't be the same guy. Didn't Thor also fight Merlin at some point?
Wasp Watch: Jan gets a new hood this issue -- it's now a Batman-esque cowl that covers her upper face, and her hair is no longer visible. It also has a "W" insignia on the forehead, which seems to double as antennae. For the first time, she uses her "Wasp's sting" against a foe, although it ends up not being effective. Here it's described an an "air gun", though in later stories it will be electrical in nature, and eventually becomes a natural power instead of a gadget. The Wasp does her usual "fly around the enemy's head to distract them" bit a couple of times this issue, and adds a new combat manuver to her repertoire: pulling hair. I suppose that's progress...
The letter column includes a note from Gene Day of Lansdowne, Ontario -- I'm guessing this is the same Gene Day who went on to draw MASTER OF KUNG FU and other books for Marvel before his untimely death. He praises various recent Marvel titles, and declares "Around my school, Marvels are top choice!"
The Special Announcements Section reveals that Marvel is starting their own club, The Merry Marvel Marching Society. The list of upcoming titles is now boxed off in its own section and officially labelled "The Mighty Marvel Checklist"; FANTASTIC FOUR #33, SPIDER-MAN #19, X-MEN #8, STRANGE TALES #127, THOR #110, SUSPENSE #60, ASTONISH #62, and SGT. FURY #12 are listed.
The plug for next issue promises the return of Kang, and a guest-appearance by none other than Spider-Man.
November, 1964
"The Avengers Break Up!"
Story superbly written by: Stan Lee
Art adorably drawn by: Don Heck
Inked by darlin' Dick Ayers
Lettered by stalwart Sam Rosen
The story opens with the Avengers having a training session at their mansion headquarters; the other heroes have to catch and subdue Captain America. Iron Man snatches Cap's shield away by reversing his magentic repulsors, and Thor grabs Cap from behind, pinning him with his hammer. Giant-Man observes that Cap lasted for 47 seconds... a new record. Cap is disappointed, though, since he felt he should have been able to evade them for a full minute.
The team sits down for their regular meeting. Iron Man suggests that they make Rick Jones a full-fledged member, but Captain America rather testily insists that such a decision is for him to make. After the meeting, he talks to Rick, telling him that he still feels guilty over the death of his first partner Bucky, and he's not sure if he's ready to put another teenaged boy in harm's way.
Meanwhile, in a hidden castle in the Amazon jungle, Zemo, the Executioner, and the Enchantress are licking their wounds after their previous defeat by the Avengers. Suddenly, the Enchantress feels a strange sensation... a mental force contacting her. Seconds later, a cloaked figure appears, announcing himself as Immortus, master of time and ruler of Limbo. Immortus declares that he is joining the Masters of Evil... one day he plans to take control of this century, and the villains will make useful underlings when that happens.
The Executioner doesn't take kindly to this, and attacks. Immortus vanishes, and sends a proxy to fight in his place -- the legendary giant Paul Bunyan. The gargantuan lumberjack and the Asgardian warrior fight briefly, but Zemo tells Immortus to call off the battle before they destroy his entire castle. He concedes that Immortus has proven his power, but now he wants to test his loyalty by having him destroy one of the Avengers. Immortus boasts that he will defeat the entire team, and then vanishes. The Executioner still doesn't trust the newcomer, but Zemo points out that they have nothing to lose by letting him attempt to kill the Avengers.
Back in New York, Rick Jones sees an ad in the back of a comic book that promises to give people genuine super-powers. Thinking that this will enable him to finally become a true Avenger, Rick goes to the company's address -- only to find it was a trap laid by Immortus. Immortus has his lackey, none other than Attila the Hun, subdue the boy. Rick tries to fight back, and even Attila is impressed by his courage, but in the end he is captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London in the year 1760.
When Captain America realizes that Rick is missing, he contacts Rick's friends in the Teen Brigade. They tell him about the ad that Rick saw, and Cap in turn goes to the office where he finds Immortus waiting for him. Immortus claims that it was the Avengers themselves who instructed him to capture Rick, and says that he can prove it if Cap will bring his teammates to him. With Rick's life in danger, Cap reluctantly agrees.
Back at Avengers' Mansion, an angry Cap lashes out at his fellow heroes, demanding to know why they betrayed Rick. The Avengers try to subdue their out-of-control teammates, but Cap swats Iron Man aside with his shield, then uses it to deflect Thor's hammer-throw. Cap uses the spray from a fire extinguisher to blind Iron Man. Giant-Man steps between Cap and Thor, trying to stop the battle, but Cap kicks him in the legs, knocking him down. The Wasp tries to use her sting on Cap, but he blocks it with his shield. Giant-Man gets back up, and this time is able to separate the combatants. The Avengers agree to go with Cap to see Immortus and get to the bottom of things.
The Avengers confront Immortus in his lair, and he tells them that he will free Rick Jones if each of them can defeat an enemy that he summons from the past. First up, Giant-Man is attacked by the evil giant Goliath. They seem evenly matched, so Giant-Man tries to gain advantage by shrinking down and tying his enemy's feet together with a nylon cord. But Goliath easily snaps the bindings and threatnes to squash the tiny hero with his foot. The Wasp intervenes, distracting the enemy long enough for Ant-Man to form another plan. Taking his cue from Goliath's foe David, Ant-Man improvises a slingshot to hurl himself at the giant; he strikes in just the right spot to knock Goliath out.
Next, Immortus summons Merlin the magician to fight Iron Man. The wizard creates a steel cage around Iron Man, which he easily smashes out of. Then he hurls a lightning bolt, which Iron Man dodges. Going on the offensive, Iron Man uses the gadgets in his armor to create blinding lights and loud screeching noises, which stun Merlin into unconsciousness.
Thor's opponent turns out to be none other than Hercules. He proves to be the strongest foe Thor's ever faced, but he manages to manuver the brute towards the window. Knocking Hercules off-balance, Thor dangles him out the window and threatens to drop him; Hercules has no choice but to surrender.
As the other Avengers defeat his minions, Immortus grabs Captain America, and the two of them are whisked back to 18th century London. Immortus challenges Cap to fight his way through his army of medieval knights and rescue Rick from the Tower.
Watching events from Zemo's castle, the Masters of Evil decide to attack the Avengers while their strength is reduced. The heroes have returned to their headquarters and are pondering the disappearance of Captain America. But their musings are interrupted when the Executioner smashes down the front door. As he squares off against Iron Man, the other Masters of Evil target individual heroes. This time, Zemo says, they will settle for nothing less than victory.
The Enchantress casts a spell at Giant-Man, forcing him to shrink to the size of a small child. Meanwhile, the Executioner pounds away at Iron Man with his special meteorite metal gloves, and is able to actually put dents in his armor. Zemo uses a gun to spray "liquid ore" at Thor, which solidfies and traps his hands. The Wasp flies around the Enchantress' head, hoping to disrupt her concentration and allow Giant-Man to regain his normal size. Iron Man tries to fight back with his repulsor rays, but the Executioner's pounding has damaged his circuits, and his weapons no longer function.
Zemo has almost completely covered Thor in solid rock, but before he can finish the job, his weapon is shattered by Captain America's shield. Zemo is stunned to see his old foe returned. Cap explains that once he defeated his guards, Immortus kept his word and returned him and Rick to the present. Cap attacks the Executioner, drawing him away from the damaged Iron Man by bopping him on the head with his shield, followed by a shield-throw to the midsection. A recovered Giant-Man grabs the Executioner and hurls him into the wall. At that moment, Thor manages to break free from the solid stone imprisoning him. The Enchantress prepares to cast another spell, but the Wasp stops her by yanking her hair.
With the Avengers recoverd and reunited, the Masters of Evil know they haven't a chance. The Enchantress manages to get off a spell, which will take them several days into the past, before they met Immortus. Thus events are reset to the beginning of the story. The Avengers are back at their meeting table, debating the membership of Rick Jones. And the Masters of Evil are back in Zemo's castle. Unlike the Avengers, the villains still remember the battle that occured, and this time, when Immortus tries to mentally contact her, the Enchantress breaks the connection.
--
This is a strange issue in a number of ways, not the least of which is the fact that the whole story is declared null and void by the end! It seems odd that Stan and co. would introduce Immortus, another time-travelling villain, so soon after the debut of Kang (Later writers would establish a connection between the two). His modus operandi is slightly different, though, and his gimmick of summoning famous warriors from the past is reminiscent of the golden age hero Kid Eternity.
Speaking of Immortus' minions, I believe this is the first appearance of Hercules in a modern Marvel comic. He looks somewhat different from the way he would later appear in THOR -- he's clean-shaven, and wields a wooden club instead of the more familiar mace. But his arrogant personality is much the same, and since everyone has forgotten about this meeting by the time it's over, I suppose there's no reason it couldn't be the same guy. Didn't Thor also fight Merlin at some point?
Wasp Watch: Jan gets a new hood this issue -- it's now a Batman-esque cowl that covers her upper face, and her hair is no longer visible. It also has a "W" insignia on the forehead, which seems to double as antennae. For the first time, she uses her "Wasp's sting" against a foe, although it ends up not being effective. Here it's described an an "air gun", though in later stories it will be electrical in nature, and eventually becomes a natural power instead of a gadget. The Wasp does her usual "fly around the enemy's head to distract them" bit a couple of times this issue, and adds a new combat manuver to her repertoire: pulling hair. I suppose that's progress...
The letter column includes a note from Gene Day of Lansdowne, Ontario -- I'm guessing this is the same Gene Day who went on to draw MASTER OF KUNG FU and other books for Marvel before his untimely death. He praises various recent Marvel titles, and declares "Around my school, Marvels are top choice!"
The Special Announcements Section reveals that Marvel is starting their own club, The Merry Marvel Marching Society. The list of upcoming titles is now boxed off in its own section and officially labelled "The Mighty Marvel Checklist"; FANTASTIC FOUR #33, SPIDER-MAN #19, X-MEN #8, STRANGE TALES #127, THOR #110, SUSPENSE #60, ASTONISH #62, and SGT. FURY #12 are listed.
The plug for next issue promises the return of Kang, and a guest-appearance by none other than Spider-Man.
