"The Monstrous Master Plan of the Mandarin!"

 

OR: "It's Every Avenger For Himself!"

It was probably about five years past its original publication date of September, 1967* that I purchased a copy of the first Avengers Annual--a bargain at 10¢ from a used book store and, surprisingly, no missing pages, though its cover was tattered having apparently been passed around a bit. In those days, I was still collecting comics solely for the reading experience rather than with any intent to preserve them, so I considered the store owner's pile of late '60s comics (yes, a literal pile where old comics were tossed) quite a find in my area. That copy has since been bagged and boarded, even in its near-dilapidated state--a reminder of more innocent times, with no thought given to seeking out a more presentable copy to shelve by its side.

*The Annual's story takes place at the time of issues 43-44 of the regular series.

Of course, that eye-catching cover by regular Avengers artist John Buscema--along with the cover of the book's second annual in '68--unfortunately carried the distinction of being an example of textbook bait-and-switch, with Buscema's cover art being used to sell the annual while artwork by former book artist Don Heck awaited the reader within. Yet considering that the annual took four years from the series' launch to appear on the stands, and given that it clocks in at a whopping forty-nine pages (not including a few pages of bonus material), its story by Heck and writer Roy Thomas, featuring a fiendish plot by the Mandarin that included a host of past Avengers villains, was likely well received (though your mileage may vary if you opened the issue at home and were looking forward to Buscema handling the story).

(Yikes! No wonder the Avengers are in danger--their foes have become giants! Not to worry, however--this first page of the issue proudly took its place among other symbolic splash pages the Avengers were featured in.)

It's indeed the return of the Mandarin that happens to involve Iron Man in this story, as he responds to the prison breakout of Arthur Parks, the Living Laser (who faced the Avengers in his debut toward the end of 1966). And when Iron Man discovers that Parks might be working with his old enemy, he has sufficient cause to alert the team that he took a leave of absence from over two years prior.

Meanwhile, we're given a peek at the cause of Parks' mysterious disappearance, which proves that the Mandarin is indeed still alive--and whatever he's planning now, it will involve several other super-powered hirelings, as well as a device which will bring him closer than ever to world conquest.

(No, I don't know why Parks, teleported in his prison uniform, arrives at the Mandarin's lair in costume--and an upgrade from his old outfit, at that. My short answer is that the Mandarin may have been averse to having anyone else around him wearing a cape, and arranged to have his teleportation device outfit Parks in transit.  Somehow.)

As for the Avengers, they're also contacted by Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D., who requests their assistance with worldwide attacks that are out of SHIELD's jurisdiction as an American agency. (The "International Law Enforcement" part of his organization's acronym apparently having slipped his mind.)

The Mandarin doesn't look too worried, does he? He seems to be embracing the time-tested phrase "divide and conquer"--and before long, the Avengers will find themselves included in that adage.

Other than the Enchantress having designs on Hercules as well as a seemingly perpetual desire for revenge against the Avengers, it's not particularly clear what dog the Executioner and herself have in this fight--but here they are again, showing up to use their powers on behalf of some mortal's master plan. As Asgardian immortals, why would schemes for power on Midgard hold any interest for them, to say nothing of compelling their cooperation? Yet for whatever reason, when mortals such as Zemo and the Mandarin go after the Avengers, this pair drops whatever it is they're doing to sign on and carry out their leader's instructions.

The Mandarin's plan involves his operatives taking control of those regions of the world which Fury's brief to the Avengers made mention of--and so the story laid out by Heck and Thomas splits the book to show each sub-team of Avengers meeting the threat in whatever region they're assigned to. For Goliath, the Wasp, and Iron Man, their destination is South America, where Power Man and the Swordsman, along with an armed mercenary task force, move to take control of "the most modern capital in the hemisphere"--by means of a giant scimitar under the control of the Swordsman, which hangs in the air above the city and will explode upon impact should the Swordsman trigger its fall.

All things considered, Goliath and the Wasp do pretty well against their opposition--yet the Wasp's so-called "stings" appear to have only a stunning effect on a normal-strength foe rather than rendering him unconscious. (Talk about a design flaw, Dr. Pym.) And so the Swordsman is still able to play the winning card in this struggle--and the fate of an entire city is now literally in the hands of Iron Man.

As we can see so far, both Thomas and Heck are earning their pay here, while the other people listed in this story's credits are also doing exemplary work. Letterer Artie Simek's contribution is obvious, with not only well-placed dramatic emphasis but also an abundance of sound effects that have meshed with Heck's panels and enhanced the action scenes nicely--while inker George Bell (née Roussos) has turned out to be a fine match for Heck's pencils, a surprise for me given that I didn't have a favorable opinion of the work he and Jack Kirby turned in on the Thing/Hulk fight in the FF title three years earlier.

In the region in south Asia referred to as the Indian subcontinent, we find Hercules and the Scarlet Witch facing the Executioner and the Enchantress (and their troll army), a battle as well-matched as you could ask for given that Wanda is at the height of her abilities while also considering the fact that, with this issue, Thomas has begun formally associating her "hex power" with a measure of control over the laws of probability. As for Hercules, the trolls quickly realize they're outmatched against him and flee, leaving him and the Executioner to pit their formidable strength against one another. In monitoring the situation, however, the Mandarin angrily instructs his super-powered lackeys to tend to their orders rather than indulge their battle lust against Hercules and the Witch--effrontery which prompts the pair to sever ties with him and transport themselves and the Avengers to a deserted dimensional realm where their struggle will play out.

To his credit, Thomas (if after the fact) has the Mandarin chide himself afterward for conscripting gods, "who will obey no mortal," to do his bidding. (Though it sidesteps the question of why these gods agreed to help him at all.)

Our globetrotting finally comes to an end with the Living Laser, who has been assigned to purloin from Africa the diamonds which the Mandarin needs (apparently to power his synthetic diamond, though that's just guesswork at this point)--while Thor and Hawkeye have been dispatched to meet his threat and that of whoever he's partnered with. Once Hawkeye has helped to deal with the Laser, they don't have long to wait to discover the greater, more massive foe which has long been a pawn of the Mandarin.

(As we know, Donald Blake's luck would run out in the '68 Annual as far as being able to pull victory from defeat.)

Which brings us to this story's final chapter, when Cap and Quicksilver trace the Mandarin's transmissions to a space station and arrive to confront him there--delaying the Mandarin long enough for the cavalry to arrive in the form of their teammates.

It's at this point that we finally learn the reason why the Mandarin sent his hirelings on raids to acquire the diamonds to be found in three areas of the world, and, equally important, the purpose of his synthetic gem as the means by which he'll gain control of the entire world--details which the Avengers will unfortunately discover the meaning of firsthand.

The Mandarin admittedly takes quite a risk here, unleashing the Avengers in all-out hostilities against themselves in the confines of a space station that is designed for survival in the void rather than as an arena for battle. But if we look closely at this tableau, we might spot the absence of one Avenger who is not part of the melee but is instead in the proximity of the Mandarin and, prodded by his device, attacks him on sight. Ultimately, however, it would be the Mandarin himself who sets in motion his own defeat.

It's a satisfactory end to this sprawling story, and certainly appropriate for a What If twist that might instead see this device of the Mandarin successful in not only destroying the Avengers but leaving the world ripe for his rule (though it would be awhile yet for the What If concept to be realized (and by Thomas himself).

In the here and now, however, the final panels of this tale allow Thomas the opportunity to end the indefinite leaves of absence of both Thor and Iron Man from the team and bring them back occasionally for future Avengers stories (including the next annual)--a fine upbeat note to end on, and serves as well to point the way for new readers to the monthly book.

BY THE WAY....
Just how tattered was the cover of my own copy?

Still worth all ten pennies I paid for it.