Featuring: Avengers
Release: October 11, 1966
Cover: December 1966
12 cents
Edited (ecstatically) by Stan Lee
Scripted (surprisingly) by Roy Thomas
Drawn (dynamically) by Don Heck
Lettered (legibly) by Sam Rosen
20 pages
| Previous | #628 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Avengers #34 | Reading order | Daredevil #22 |
| Avengers #34 | Avengers | Avengers #36 |
To be an Avenger is to surrender a part of one’s life… to be ever at the beck and call of humanity! Still, in these quiet moments, each of the others has another human being to whom he can reach out… only I have no one… no life, except behind the mask of the Red-White-and-Blue Avenger!
This begins a 70-issue run on Avengers by Roy Thomas. Thomas will have his highs and lows over those 70 issues, and it will take him a minute to warm up and get into the groove, but on the whole I think his Avengers will be much better than Stan Lee’s.
We’ll try to note along the way milestones marking an increase in quality. I’ll offer a hint that a new artist is going to help a lot.
The slow move of Stan off scripting duties, and the expanding bullpen of artists… this is a transition into the next era of Marvel Comics. Where it’s not Stan and Jack and Steve making most of the comics.
Living Laser has left Cap and Hawkeye, not waiting the few minutes to ensure his inescapable deathtrap worked. It didn’t. They escaped.
But in the process of escaping, Captain America’s shield was disintegrated. Is that a big deal?
Originally, he had a triangular shield, reminiscent of Archie Comics’ character, the Shield.
To avoid lawsuits, he switched to a circular one. But did he only have one of them, or several identical shields? He had one with him when he fell into arctic waters. Is that the one which was just destroyed?
Tony Stark had attempted enhancements on the shield over the years, adding magnets and such, but none of the gimmick additions seemed to stick. And Cap tended to revert back to using one of the more ordinary versions.
He’s picked up another shield by the time they go to Costa Verde, so hopefully the destroyed one wasn’t one of the copies with sentimental value. We do know the destroyed one was (ironically) coated with a laser-resistant alloy. So maybe it’s not his original.
Living Laser has decided to conquer the nation of Costa Verde. Maybe it’s still part of his plan to impress the Wasp and win her hand.
We do finally get the promised big change for Goliath. His experiments with Bill Foster have been a success, and he is back in control of his size-changing powers. At will, he can become normal-sized, or the size of Ant-Man again.
In the end, the people of Costa Verde are set up with a democracy and free and fair elections. Presumably, they’ll be allowed to maintain that democracy as long as they elect leaders favorable to US interests and allow a McDonald’s to open.
The Marvel Chronology Project suggests Captain America’s adventure in Asia takes place between the pages of this issue, after the return from Costa Verde, but before the cliffhanger ending. Which is fine with me. But given my choice to move the Living Laser story to after the defeat of AIM and the Secret Empire, it seems like the story fits just as easily before the Living Laser story.
The issue ends with a cliffhanger. Captain America is surprised by someone . We don’t see who. We’ll have to wait until next issue to learn that. But first, we’ll check in with the rest of the Marvel Universe.
Next up is Daredevil, as we try to come to terms what he was up to during the AIM/Secret Empire affairs.
Here’s this month’s bulletin. This one welcomes Jim Steranko, Morrie Kuramoto, and Ron Whyte to the team.
And here are the letter pages.
If not for a helpful commenter, I might have let it go unsaid that this includes a letter from future superstar artist Dave Cockrum!
Not the first time we’ve seen a letter from him, as he was a prolific letter writer. For example, see Fantastic Four #22.
The next issue blurb at the end of the letters page may spoil who the mysterious figure confronting Cap was. My character listing below may also spoil it.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆, 38/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Characters:
- Hawkeye
- Captain America
- Goliath
- Living Laser
- Wasp
- Valdez
- Carlos
- The General, Dictator of Costa Verde
- Lucy Barton
- Bill Foster
- Black Widow
- Scarlet Witch (unseen)
Story notes:
- Cap’s shield disintegrates in the laser beams, as Stark’s alloy has worn off.
- Living Laser has taken the captive Wasp with him.
- Goliath in aero-car following emergency signal from Wasp, using the directi-finder in his belt.
- Laser plans to cause random destruction then move to second headquarters.
- Goliath mad at Cap and Hawkeye for not saving Jan. In fairness, they were trapped in laser beams at the time.
- Wasp may be out of range of directi-beams.
- Living Laser makes deal to help with coup in Costa Verde for 10 million dollars in gold. Valdez and Carlos plan to betray the Laser after.
- Living Laser confesses his love to Wasp.
- Laser’s power takes out Costa Verde tanks, bazookas, jets…
- New laser cannon attacks Avengers aero-car as it approaches Costa Verde.
- Avengers battle rebel troops, but retreat into water before laser cannon.
- Laser reveals to Jan his identity is Arthur parks. Wasp recognizes Lucy’s ex-boyfriend.
- Laser plans to betray Valdez and rule Costa Verde himself.
- Goliath had bathed himself in the rays of the experimental molecular space transformer, to allow him to reduce size again. He shrinks to the size of Ant-Man.
- Again, Laser captured a hero he could have just killed, then left him unguarded.
- Goliath sabotaged mechanism, so the Laser was knocked out by the feedback. The rebels flee.
- National Army arrests Valdez and claims control of the government to create a democratic republic with free elections.
- Goliath can again change size at will as is now back to normal size.
- Jan updates Lucy on what happened with Arthur. They recommend he be turned over to a doctor’s care.
- Black Widow sad she wasn’t invited to Costa Verde, leading to a lover’s spat with Hawkeye.
- Someone surprises Captain America.
| Previous | #628 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Avengers #34 | Reading order | Daredevil #22 |
| Avengers #34 | Avengers | Avengers #36 |
That last entry in the letters page is definitely notable. First, because Marvel actually seems to have used his idea for Avengers Annual #1. And second, because it’s from Dave Cockrum, the artist who helped relaunch the X-Men in 1975! I like when future big names at Marvel show up in the letter pages.
I usually try to point out the notable letters. Dropped the ball this time. I blame trying to put this post out during holiday travel. I may edit to make that note. Thanks!
The funny thing is, we’ll see Costa Verde again in a very next Thor story… And its political situation hasn’t improved much. At least not until a herald of Galactus joins the revolutionaries xD.
When I was a kid I hated Heck monster stories, but his Avengers is when I started reading that title and I thought he did okay. The Sons of the Serpent two-parter was a minor classic. I liked that the women looked better. But Thomas and John B. do have a great, great, even classic run as we shall soon see.
Heck’s drawing of faces is quite good, and certainly not my issue. It’s the storytelling. Which I think will improve greatly under John B.