In Our Midst... Two Immortals!

 

After squaring off on Earth with two of Marvel's heaviest hitters--the mighty Thor in March of 1966 and, two months later, the Incredible Hulk--Hercules, the Prince of Power, apparently decided to ditch his self-appointed publicity agent and the world of mortals altogether and return to the spires of Olympus, where we find him sparring with Ares--not realizing that the Olympian war god has made an arrangement with the exiled Asgardian known as the Enchantress to seal not only the fate of Hercules but also that of the mighty Avengers.

It will become clear soon enough that the Enchantress has only enlisted the might of Hercules as a tool of revenge against the Avengers, a team of mortal heroes that she persists in maintaining a vendetta against. Though if she were privy to their current state of affairs, she might be delighted to see that their internal strife over a proposed new member could be doing some of her work for her.

(Gee, Cap--you really can't tell the difference between the voices of Pietro and Wanda?)

It's not particularly clear why writer Roy Thomas has Henry Pym, in his guise as Goliath, virtually (and verbally) beating his chest here, ready to take on any and all who might go up against him--while it's equally curious that it's the Black Widow's proposed membership that has set him off, considering he doesn't even have good reason to raise an objection. Concerning the latter point, mostly it seems Thomas's way of continuing to take advantage of the seed he planted in the previous issue, where the Widow was prepared to act against their foe, Ixar, in a way that no Avenger would consider:

We might also assume that Hawkeye's blowup at the membership meeting has something to do with the fact that, as the only Avenger to witness the scene, he realizes that disclosing the Widow's behavior would likely sink her chances of being granted membership.

Also interesting to note (though not a deal-breaker) is that, with their current six-member lineup here, the Avengers are at what both Captain America and the N.S.C. have generally considered to be the team's ideal number--something brought to light perhaps for the first time here in so many words, though not surprisingly it's a point that Hawkeye is quick to brush aside.

At any rate, the point is a moot one, since, unknown to the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. has swooped in and recruited the Widow for a mission in the far east--a task which she can't discuss with the Avengers or even Hawkeye but gives the impression that she is returning to her roots as an enemy agent, which serves to remove her from consideration. And with Cap being called away to battle a threat from Power Man and the Swordsman (not to mention the Red Skull), and Hawkeye and the Wasp deciding to ditch the meeting in protest of Goliath (who's acting like "a stuffed shirt" on this issue as far as the Wasp is concerned) casually moving on with Avengers business as if nothing had happened, there arguably couldn't be a better time for the Enchantress to arrive with an ally who now resurfaces in the book's 38th issue from 1967--including prominent exposure on that issue's cover by Gil Kane, though a rare instance of the work of this artist perhaps falling short of expectations.

In a sharp pivot for the character by writer Roy Thomas that would serve to bring Hercules into the mainstream of interaction with Marvel's growing stable of characters, we get right to it. (But let's all give Goliath the reply to Quicksilver that Thomas was apparently reticent to add: "Thank you for the 411, Pietro. But if you'd done your reading of the Avengers' past battles, you might have noticed I and the other Avengers have gone up against the Enchantress on more than one occasion.")

Once again, this team's idea of teamwork turns out to be perplexing, as the decision is made (and supported by, of all people, the seasoned Goliath) to go after Hercules one member at a time--even when it appears that Quicksilver is helpless. If you end up wondering why both Goliath and the Scarlet Witch stand on the sidelines while leaving the Enchantress and Hercules free to choreograph the death of Pietro, join the club.

Quicksilver manages to barely escape, though he eventually falls to the force of exploding machinery thanks to Hercules. That leaves Goliath to face Hercules on his own while Wanda goes to the aid of her brother--but while Goliath takes a well-deserved thrashing from the more formidable Hercules who's dealt with Titans twice Pym's size, the Enchantress isn't about to ignore a helpless foe who's taken her eye off the ball here and neglected to watch her back.

As for that Avengers alert, the still-peeved Hawkeye and Wasp are reading less into that alert than more*--which leaves the rest of their team on the verge of defeat, and, very likely, worse.

*"What menace would dare confront [the Avengers at our headquarters]?" Oh for the days when Avengers considered their glorified townhouse to be villain-proof...

Fortunately, the Wasp and Hawkeye return in the nick of time--and though Hawkeye only has a chance to grab a single untested arrow which explodes sulfurous fumes, that just happens to be the one thing to counteract the Enchantress' spell. Consequently, it falls to Hercules to end her threat, as well as his own--but there is one other immortal who has something to say in this matter, a god who isn't interested in technicalities when it comes to his will being disregarded.

And so for a time, Hercules is set to join the Avengers in their conflicts as an ally--that is, until seven months later, when his status is officially upgraded to full membership.

As for the Black Widow, her mission would require the intervention of the Avengers once Hawkeye and Hercules, going after her on their own, necessitates a rescue mission (something the Widow would facilitate). Once she recovers from her injuries, she would continue to accept missions from SHIELD, her membership as an Avenger put on hold until she accepts their offer in 1973 following the team's defeat of Magneto.