Exit: The Masters Of Evil! Exit: The Avengers!

 

If you were an Avengers reader in April of 1965, you might not have thought that anything was amiss with the team, judging by the optimism and normalcy exuded in their fifteenth issue. The Wasp had recovered following a near-fatal injury; Thor, during the time when the team was rotating its Avengers chairmanship on a monthly basis, was wrapping up an Avengers meeting that from all appearances had proceeded routinely and smoothly with nothing pressing; and afterward, everyone went back to resuming their normal lives, their only reason for getting together in those days being those times when they had such business to conduct or cause to assemble.

(Well, Jan, that coat would be coming off once you two were seated at your restaurant--but who am I to spoil your mood?)

Yet we wouldn't know until the cryptic final panel of this issue that what we were seeing were the last hours of the (remaining) original Avengers on active duty, the preparations for their exit already in the works by the time the issue went to press--with their "high note" being a final all-out battle with the Masters of Evil, the group of super-villains gathered by a wartime enemy of Captain America's, Baron Zemo. From the beginning, Zemo's super-powered associates knew that they were only a means to an end for their leader, who craved revenge against Cap--the same motivation which preoccupied Zemo's son, the erstwhile Phoenix, who would form his own band of Masters against the Avengers. But in what would be the final appearance as well for the group that had added the Executioner and the Enchantress to its ranks, the original Zemo would at last meet his fate at the hands of his mortal enemy--in the shadow of a banner which appeared to be watered down slightly* to perhaps appease the Comics Code Authority.

*The title on the issue's splash page would be adjusted to replace the word "perish" with "die"--still a startling declaration in comics of the '60s, one which in this case implies a hero in the story is willfully taking the life of a villain. But hold that thought.

By this time, readers have likely noted that Zemo's group has also made another change to its ranks by ditching the Radioactive Man, who would not reappear with another lineup of Masters until much later when the villain Egghead had formed his own group (Henry Pym, in this case, being Egghead's Cap, and, as it turned out, the means to Egghead's end). But Zemo still has enough manpower to launch a credible attack against the Avengers--as soon as he's initiated the steps needed to reassemble them.

Meanwhile, Steve Rogers has already spotted the Enchantress and her partner in crime in a city cab--but even as he alerts the Avengers, Zemo makes the first move by having his men abduct Rick Jones by jet in broad daylight, with the Avengers proving helpless to prevent it.  And the attack is on!

The Black Knight obviously believes that Iron Man, alone, doesn't stand a chance against the Melter's heat beam, which he currently has no defense against. News to some of you will also be the fact that the Melter has a "balanced" cloak which safely allows him to defy gravity to an extent and leap from building to building. Visually, it might look like Iron Man has the Melter on the run, so to speak--but it looks like the Melter is simply distracting his target until the opportunity arrives to focus his beam precisely.

Looks like it's curtains for Iron Man, virtually rooted to the spot and a sitting duck for a heat beam which can make short work of him. Elsewhere, Giant-Man and the Wasp decide to go after the Executioner and the Enchantress--and while only one of these Avengers can fly under their own power, it looks like Giant-Man has his own way of surviving a plummet other than shrinking and summoning a flying ant.

Shame on letterer Artie Simek, who avoids inserting a deafening and tremor-inducing sound effect that would normally accompany a heavy object 100 feet in height landing on two buildings. Something along the lines of...

(Giant-Man might have also taken a moment to warn the occupants of that building to evacuate a.s.a.p., since the building likely took more of a hit from that landing than the legs of Henry Pym. It wouldn't hurt to be on the lookout for cracks and/or falling rubble on his way down, either.)

What Giant-Man lacks in foresight, however, he makes up for in a daunting and almost fear-inducing attack meant to intimidate his team's foes. Not many villains would stand their ground when facing an advancing, virtual colossus who threatens them with the Avengers' retribution.

It's a strange scene involving the Melter, who, when last we saw him, had Iron Man in his crosshairs and had unleashed a melting beam directly at him. Yet if we're going by writer Stan Lee's dialog, we're left to assume that Iron Man had somehow avoided the attack and has been searching for the Melter ever since--while the artist, instead, appears to show Iron Man being saved at the last second by Thor, who draws the Melter's fire and allows Iron Man the moments he needs to break free of the welded surface holding him in place.

At any rate, the Avengers are successful in corralling their foes--and while the Executioner hasn't exactly pulled his weight in this fight, he attempts to hold the Avengers at bay with a stratagem meant to take advantage of their concern for innocents still in the area of their conflict.

(There goes Giant-Man again, making it clear to the Masters that the AVENGERS! are ready to throw down when they are. Somebody get this man some pom-poms and a big letter "A" for his chest. :) )

As for Captain America, who diverted from this fight to travel to South America in order to free Rick Jones and confront Zemo, the battle between these two enemies finally comes to an end--though this story's foreshadowing of Zemo's life being taken in cold blood proves to be inflated under the circumstances, with Cap punting to destiny instead.

Back in New York, however, as we come to Part Two of this story, it looks like the Avengers aren't as ready as it seemed they were to dismiss concern over the fate of innocents should their battle with the Masters proceed. But they do have an ace up their sleeve--and even the cheerleading of Giant-Man serves a purpose in goading the Masters to attack.

The rest of this issue of course turned out to be quite historic, as Iron Man, Giant-Man and the Wasp come to a decision to disband in favor of naming replacements for themselves to continue the Avengers tradition, with Captain America returning to lead the new team. Thor's part in that development can be found in a separate post; however, they would all reunite in the 1966 Spider-Man Annual, and again later in the celebrated first Avengers Annual.

Really, Hawkeye? And what super-power are you bringing to the table?

NEXT: Another Costume in Crisis! (And you've already gotten a preview.)