Thursday, July 14, 2022

The Avengers Break Up! (Sort of!)

 
While it's true that the West Coast Avengers didn't have the best of endings to their story as a team within a team (or the most dignified), I admit to having been pretty jazzed about the concept in the fall of 1985 when the new team, after being given a successful trial run in its limited series of '84, was launched with all appropriate fanfare in a regular monthly series.


Other than taking the temperature of readers as far as whether a second Avengers book would fly, the limited series also served to introduce and solidify a new team lineup under the leadership of Hawkeye, as well as to prove their effectiveness as a team in battle (and against Graviton, at that, a heavyweight who would certainly be an ample test of their capabilities and resourcefulness). But aside from a solid core Avengers membership of Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Tigra, Wonder Man, and Iron Man (the role at this point in time being filled by Tony Stark's close friend, James Rhodes), only the Shroud among all the floating, teasing heads on the premiere cover would be approached to be the group's sixth member--and though he declined, the topic remained open allowing a writer to have the option of auditioning try-outs if the WCA concept panned out.

Which indeed proved to be the case. And so, following two other appearances of the WCAs in Avengers #250 and the 1984 Iron Man Annual, writer Steve Englehart and artist Al Milgrom* were tapped for the monthly series which went on for a run of over three years for the creative team, eventually leading to the book's second wind under scripter/artist John Byrne.

And as for that sixth member, this new series does a little teasing of its own, first thing:


That would be a firm "no" on signing up. For now.


*Though since Milgrom would often limit his WCA work to breakdowns, it would be the finishing efforts of the book's various inkers (notably Joe Sinnott) which would catch the eye.

This first issue, clocking in at 39 pages, plays to Englehart's strengths and allows him room to gradually put his own touches on Roger Stern's original format (with Rhodes being replaced by Stark, in a striking new suit of armor). The threat that Englehart brings to the team is suitably introduced piecemeal and letting the reader become acclimated to team members at their own pace; in this case, Wonder Man's leisurely flight over the ocean with Tigra is interrupted by a brutal clash with deadly robots (followed by Iron Man's timely intervention), which allows Englehart to begin developing his own approach to Tigra, née the "were-woman."




But the entire team goes into action soon enough when the principal threat shows up and springs a well-laid trap--and given that the issue's perils have been metal-based thus far, it's no stretch of the imagination to learn just who that antagonist turns out to be.





While it's fair to assume that Ultron's presence in Palos Verdes is somehow related to Henry Pym showing up on the WCA's doorstep, we learn that Ultron is currently unaware of that fact; rather, it seems that his interest is indeed in Wonder Man, for reasons as yet unknown.

But, speaking of Pym, Englehart puts his presence to good use as the means for Hawkeye to set a few things straight with the team's east coast branch on the importance of autonomy.



Next, Englehart shows that he has a high regard for Avengers tradition--in this case, that the west coast compound is as lousy at stopping intruders from gaining entry as its east coast counterpart. But hey, at least team members are alerted that people are breaking in.





By this time, Ultron has learned of Pym's presence--and by the time the Man-Ape strolls in ... er, that is to say, barely breaks through the compound's formidable preventive measures that no doubt barred his way and caused him considerable injury, Ultron has adjusted his plan of attack accordingly which now includes Pym as a target for captivity.



As for that plan's effect on the Avengers, there's something to be said for "all hell breaking loose" as a go-to tactic for villains who want to throw a team of battling heroes off-balance.




With the revelation of the Grim Reaper as this crew's mastermind, it at least becomes clear why Wonder Man was abducted--though obviously there's some friction between the Reaper and Ultron, so this appears to be an uneasy alliance. As to the overall goal, the scene we've just witnessed as well as the questions remaining at the story's conclusion have combined with Englehart's treatment of the WCA successfully enough to tempt the reader back to the mag in thirty days (as it did for myself)--and as we would see in its continuation, there were more surprises and guest-stars to come.

BONUS!
The Vision creates an Avengers branch for the west coast.


7 comments:

  1. I was equally jazzed at the idea of a West Coast Avengers team. The Champions sparked a similar interest.

    (A few years later, I was equally intrigued by the arrival of Justice League: Europe. I had zero use for the main JL book of the time.)

    The fact the comic creators had finally recognized we live on a whole planet, and not strictly New York City, was refreshing indeed. It only makes good sense to strategically position emergency responders for maximum coverage and minimum reaction time. The reality of comic book writing, of course, is that superheroes rarely respond to emergencies. Their days are filled with nothing but beating back all the enemies attacking them specifically.

    If I was the mayor of a city, I'd limit the number of superheroes to a couple-three roof-hopping crime fighters. No major powerhouses and no teams. Allow a team of supers to congregate and your city has a catastrophe bullseye painted on it, inviting no end of villain collateral damage.

    While the concept potential of a west coast team seemed huge, the characters in the opening roster roused no special interest for me. I also found the subsequent stories involving them to be uninspiring. So, I never bought more than a couple of WC:A

    ReplyDelete
  2. "He's in a holding cell Iron Man whipped up out back!"

    Is that constitutional, Comicsfan?
    Surely the Avengers - West Coast or otherwise - can't just hold someone like that without letting them have a phone call and access to legal representation, not to mention medical attention?

    And don't even get me started on the ethics of allowing a mad scientist like Hank Pym access to a prisoner for research!

    -sean

    ReplyDelete
  3. Throwing my unasked for reaction into the question, Sean (it's a fascinating one)...

    1) As the bonus panels in this post show, the Avengers have Official Government Sanction. I fully suspect there are items and protocols in their agreement document allowing Avengers certain "deputy G-Man" powers of arrest and containment.

    2) Super villains have to be a case-by-case migraine for law enforcement regulations. "We've got a criminal who is 10 meters tall, virtually indestructible, and with plenty of violence on his record. Should we bring him to the 12th Precinct nearby or downtown to the 1st?" "No...could you just hang on to him until SHIELD gets there, please."

    My only comparison is from the fictional world of movies, but it was a "realistic" world, not a super-fantasy type planet. In Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lector is in straitjacket and bite mask and kept in a cage situated in the middle of an empty warehouse. I don't recall anyone championing Hannibal's rights at such harsh imprisonment. I reckon any supervillain rates the same specialized attention.

    3) How do we know Goliath hasn't had his call for a lawyer? Defence lawyers and prosecutors could be burning up the phone lines on the matter even as the Avengers are chatting. Not exactly prime action to waste on a panel.

    4) Likewise, medical attention could have come and gone off-camera.

    5) As to why Dr. Pym gets a crack at the prisoner...that's a little touchier for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Murray, I'd think those mayors would want to think twice about imposing limits on the number of heroes in their cities, since villains in large numbers would likely take advantage of the opportunity to swoop in, off the handful of average heroes patrolling the roofs, and seize power (and whatever else was there for the taking). ;)

    sean, you cover all the bases, but I have to agree with Murray that the Avengers' arrangement with the N.S.A. would trickle down to any number of law enforcement agencies (including SHIELD) which would reach out to coordinate with the Avengers' procedures for captive super-beings and make sure due process was being followed in a timely manner. After all, any weapons normal criminals carry are confiscated following their arrest--I would think that for perps like Goliath et al., methods for nullifying their power(s) in the short term would pass legal muster. Pym, of course, is a tricky subject--someone previously expelled from the Avengers for misconduct being cleared to have access to a suspect before even an arraignment took place would raise an eyebrow or two during a deposition, I would think!

    ReplyDelete
  5. WELLLL CF, that's the paradox of comics.

    On Marvel Earth, we've rarely seen the 6:00 news reporting: "The Absorbing Man and Titania went on a looting rampage down 'the Magnificent Mile' in Chicago. Creel was heard to laugh 'Sure easier without a lot of blamed heroes underfoot!' Meanwhile, the besieged city of Dallas capitulated and paid the Masters of Evil a ransom rumoured to be in the vicinity of 100 million dollars."

    On the flip side, there's never been a scene with Avengers or SHIELD or whoever stating with clenched teeth "Every small, medium, and large city in the USA is open and vulnerable! We've got to get them some sort of protection!"

    Generally speaking, it doesn't seem like any supervillain takes interest in an unprotected town. Meanwhile, visiting NYC is probably listed under "Xtreme Danger Holiday Excursions!", while walking within four blocks of the Baxter Building is downright suicidal.

    Criminal action has spread out geographically in recent years, but in the day of 1985 West Coast Avengers, this was like a law.

    (This isn't limited to Marvel. Over in DC, Smallville was apparently the crime capital of the USA, despite Superboy making his home there. How many banks in how many towns did criminals drive by in order to rob the one in this little prairie community?)(A similar case could be argued for normal crime happening in Metropolis with Superman)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved the original West Coast Avengers limited series. Very fun. I too looked forward to seeing them more, and liked it when I saw them again in Avengers # 250 and 253. Roger Stern has always been my favorite Marvel superhero writer. So when the regular series came out, I bought it.

    Not as good. Englehart doesn't excite me as a writer. He has some interesting ideas, but his execution is often subpar, and his writing ticks are more annoying than Claremont's. His WCA run had some good issues (the first few of the series are some of them), some bad issues, but mostly mediocre ones.

    It was only years afterward that I learned that Stern intended to keep using the WCA in the Avengers. It was his way to cheat the "no more than 6" rule and keep key characters in his control so editorial wouldn't let any person just write a one shot or limited series and ruin his plans. But then Englehart returned from DC, and editorial gave him WCA in the hopes he could repeat his run from the seventies. That forced Stern to dump most of his plans and rework his plots for the next year plus.

    I think Stern would have used these characters far more effectively, either in Avengers or if they had given him the spin-off title to write as well. Oh well.

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  7. Never liked Al Milgrom’s pencils, despite some rather heroic work by Joltin’ Joe on these pages. At times it looks great, but other panels it’s embarrassingly amateurish.

    Yoyo

    ReplyDelete