Favorite Scenes: The Avengers! (1973-1987)

 

The PPC's look at some of the finest moments of Earth's Mightiest Assemblers continues, as we pivot from the years 1965-1972 and flip the pages of The Avengers to find some of their most memorable scenes that saw the team through nearly fifteen years of Bronze Age history during the period between 1973-1987. And to get the ball rolling, we first circle back to their tradition of considering applicants with criminal records for Avengers membership, established in 1965 with the induction of Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Yet it wasn't long before that team of Avengers saw their trust abused when another prospective member sought to take advantage of their good will and betrayed them.

And now, eight years later to the month (our time), that man returns to the fold, claiming to be reformed--only this time, Captain America has strong reservations against laying out the welcome mat.

The Swordsman received his own week of PPC posts that focused on his early appearances in the book while still a criminal. Ultimately, however, he indeed went on to redeem himself and become an Avenger of distinction--though his time on the team would end tragically when his partner, Mantis, became involved in a plot launched by Kang the Conqueror in a bid to seize power through, of all things, marriage.

Yet unknown to Kang at the time, his future self has travelled back through time to put an end to his ambitions of conquest--but in the end, it would be a single Avenger who pays the price for Kang's incursion.

How unfortunate that Captain America wasn't present to witness the Swordsman's moment. (Though someone failed to clue in the cover artist on that point.)

Another Avenger of distinction turned out to be the Vision, who rated his own post of favorite scenes but who kindly loans out his tremor-inducing battle with Wonder Man, another individual who betrayed the Avengers in the past but went on to become one of their most valued assets... and, despite appearances here, a trusted friend to the Vision.

It bears mentioning that, unlike other team members, I don't recall Wonder Man ever being formally made an Avenger, though in his initial appearance he was vocally considered for membership by the others. And so readers likely took in stride the fact that, when he reappeared in their midst once again among the living, his membership on the team seemed almost seamless as he began fighting alongside them without being prompted to do so. It wasn't until the return of Ultron that the Avengers began to recognize his status as an Avenger as a given.

Unlike the other Avengers who fell to their presumed deaths from Ultron's attack here, Wonder Man's unique body chemistry allowed him to recover and join the remaining members in retaliation--and though his experience gave him second thoughts about putting his life on the line as an Avenger, he goes on to be a part of one of the team's most hard-fought battles against a character who rose here to take his place among their deadliest enemies. And as far as Wonder Man's Avenger status, Thor appears to make it official at the battle's conclusion.

As we know from past issues, Avengers can also have tense moments behind closed doors. One such incident occurred as a result of a battle which laid bare the team's lax security measures when it came to their own base of operations--a fact that a member of the N.S.A., the federal agency under which they operate with a priority status, made clear to them as part of a review which could have serious implications for them. During the altercation, Captain America's growing intolerance for Iron Man seemingly splitting his time between his chairmanship of the team and his duties as Stark's bodyguard resulted in a public airing of his grievances and a developing rift between the two--but later, an imminent battle with Ultron saw them resolve their differences for the sake of the team, at least for the time being.

(Come on, Cap--you can't tell me that bulky, rolling, swiveling piece of machinery "circles and maneuvers like a living opponent." Not even the talented Mr. Perez was able to pull that off. Did Stark cut a promotional deal with you?)

Of course the Avengers reading experience is heightened when picking up an issue where all hands are on deck and the team is fighting for their lives. In the following scenes, they're joined by Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the kitchen sink (well not really the kitchen sink, but suffice to say that just about everyone's in the mix here) when they confront a powerful enemy who has designs on universal control--and it seems that not all their power can save them.

Yet of course the Avengers (barely) lived to fight another day, thanks in part to their own foe pulling them back from the brink. But while Ms. Marvel would go on to join the Avengers, she would leave the team when the peculiar circumstances of their 200th issue brought her into contact with her "son," Marcus, with whom she would depart our dimension, presumably forever.

Unfortunately, none of the people involved realized the mistake in judgment that was made here on the part of Carol Danvers as well as her teammates. It was only during an uncomfortable reunion, following an attack where Carol fell victim to the mutant Rogue who had drained her of her powers and memories, that the Avengers came to understand the consequences of their actions, however well-meaning.

One of my favorite moments for the team was the introduction of their newest member--Monica Rambeau, whose name for herself, Captain Marvel, initially became a source of brief confusion among those who associated the name with the Kree warrior, Mar-vell. Initially assigned trainee status, Monica adeptly learned the ropes on how to acquit herself as an Avenger and very quickly earned her place in their ranks.

The Avengers would face a test of their ability to rally in a crisis when a new and powerful grouping of the Masters of Evil lay siege to their mansion, timed to catch them at their most vulnerable. The hard-fought battles that followed saw the Avengers eventually prevail, but left their mansion in near-ruin and wasn't without casualties.

Which brings us to our final scene during this time period--and a struggle where Captain Marvel, who had risen to Avengers chairmanship following Captain America's nomination, led her team against no less than the gods of Olympus, who had captured the Avengers and brought them to face the justice of Zeus for injuries suffered by Hercules while in their service. The furious Zeus was deaf to the Avengers' claim that Hercules, in a drunken state, failed to heed a warning to stay clear of their captured mansion where the Masters overwhelmed him--and so the true battle (and an uphill one when considering the rage of Zeus) came down to getting the lord of Olympus to listen to the truth.

Following this storyline, and with the departure of writer Roger Stern, The Avengers swiftly went downhill for me for reasons I've explained elsewhere. Yet I stuck with the book until the bitter end, as well as taking a leap of faith to pick up its second volume in 1998--so it's very possible there are more favorite scenes of the team to be mined by the PPC at some point down the road. :D