The Avengers #1

Featuring: Avengers
Release: July 2, 1963
Cover: September 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inking: Dick Ayers
22 pages

Previous	#94	Next
Marvel Boy #1	PRELUDE
X-Men #1	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #48
	Avengers	Avengers #2

I pity the guy who tries to beat us!

We reach the 100th story in our Marvel reading. Quite the milestone. And what a story it is. Coincidentally, the 100th Marvel Universe story, by my count, is Avengers #1. Did I plan it that way? No. Well, at least not exactly. Six different comics came out this very same day, and it was mostly up to me what order to read them in. The 100th story could just as easily have been X-Men #1 if I’d wanted. But I made that #99. Because.

[Big asterisk on the last paragraph. I have since edited my own reading order to make this story an unexciting story #94. But it was #100 when I first posted it. Now that honor goes to Journey Into Mystery #97]

And what a day for comics. The first Fantastic Four annual had Namor find his people and declare war on the surface world. That’s cool. Sgt. Fury met Reed Richards for the first time. That’s cool. The X-Men were introduced! We read the worst story yet as Thor battled Merlin. That’s… less cool. But overall an exciting day.

Including this. Really, what it’s all been building up to. Why I’ve been intermixing Thor and Iron Man stories, acting like they’re somehow connected even though they clearly haven’t been. This is the heart of it all. Five heroes we’ve been reading about team up. Also, the Fantastic Four show up for good measure.

And, as we’ve discussed, my first comic ever was an Avengers comic. So I’m excited to have reached this milestone.

I just wish it were a better comic.

I’m not sure when I last read this comic. Probably several years ago. Before rereading it a couple months ago to prepare for this post, I tried to remember the most iconic panels. Fantastic Four #1 is a darn flawed comic, but at least a half dozen panels from that comic are burned into my brain due to their iconic status. Including the rocket ship getting hit by cosmic rays that’s my website’s icon. If you’re using a desktop browser, you may even see it in the browser tab. On my Android, I see it when I click in the little url box.

For Avengers, all I could really close my eyes and picture was the very final panel.

Writing this post about 10 weeks after my recent reread (that’s a hint about how far behind I am on these blog posts) that’s still the only panel that particularly stands out. The other I could recall in detail is the panel where Hulk is juggling animals disguised as a robotic clown in a circus.

We’ll come back to that.

Before my recent reread, I had a version of this story in my head. The version in my head is what the story should be, which is not what the story is.

The story in my head, after years without reading the comic, is this. Loki tricks Thor and Hulk into fighting each other. Ant-Man, Wasp, and Iron Man intervene. After a brawl, Loki’s scheme is exposed, and the heroes all team up against Loki (like on the cover). Victorious, they decide they worked well together and should form a team.

That’s a perfectly solid story I’ve just described, but it’s not an actual story from the comics.

What happens instead? Loki attempts to manipulate Thor and Hulk into fighting, in the hopes this will somehow lure Thor to Asgard, where his plan is to have a Troll kill Thor. But instead, Hulk battles the other three heroes. Thor never fights Hulk because he sees immediately through Loki’s ruse and goes to battle Loki by himself. Thor then explains the situation to the assembled heroes, so everybody stops fighting. And, having at no point worked together in this story, they decide they should all form a team.

Ant-Man makes a speech about how if they combined forces, they would be almost unbeatable. Thor is already almost unbeatable (unless he drops his hammer). So is Iron Man (unless he forgets to charge his armor). Ant-Man has been nearly defeated by a vacuum and sticky paper. Thor + Ant-Man is approximately as powerful as Thor by himself.

For comparison, I refer you to the classic British sketch comedy series, The Mitchell and Webb Look, and their sketches which team Angel Summoner–who can summon a horde of invincible angels to do his bidding– with the BMX Bandit–who does wicked stunts on his bike.

But Thor decides to humor Ant-Man anyway. Iron Man does as well; or– who knows–maybe he thought Ant-Man was generally handy in a fight; they are the only heroes that actually teamed up this issue, so it at least makes sense that Iron Man has an opinion.

Hulk I figure just wants friends. Joining the Avengers beats pretending to be a robot.

Wait, why was Hulk pretending to be a robot? Ah, so a circus would hire him as a clown. That makes sense. I was curious what Hulk had been up to since his rather disappointing series got cancelled.

Why was the Hulk series so disappointing? Because Lee and Kirby had no idea what to do with the character? But now they’ve cracked the formula: robot clown disguise.

The tagline is “Some of Earth’s greatest super-heroes”. The cover is the bolder assertion, “Earth’s mightiest super-heroes”. I assume Lee decided to be more honest for the interior pages, once people had bought the issue already. He retains that honesty until the end, when the final line calls them “one of the greatest super-hero teams”. After all, they’re no Fantastic Four.

The Teen Brigade was introduced in Incredible Hulk #6. Rick Jones is the leader, and they don’t really bother to name any of the others. The idea is that they’re kids with a ham radio who can communicate with various superheroes when there are emergencies. This time, they seek out the Fantastic Four to help capture Hulk, but the message ends up received by Thor, Iron man, and Ant-Man and Wasp as well.

When last we saw Hulk, Banner was in control of Hulk’s mind; but in Hulk form, he doesn’t seem quite like Banner. He’s intelligent, but pretty gruff and short-tempered. He also had a machine that would just change him back and forth between Hulk and Banner. Not clear why he doesn’t just change back into Banner when Hulk gets in trouble this time. Seems easier than disguising oneself as a robot clown.

As far as I can tell, the plan of Ant-Man and Wasp is to take flying ants from New York to the Southwest. How long will that take? Do ants even live long enough to make the trip?

Wasp is very focused on the attractiveness of the men around her. She finds Thor handsome and Iron Man hideous. She’ll find the man under the armor far less hideous, as we’ll see if we ever make it to Avengers #224.

Thor just went to see Loki before his battle with Merlin. It seemed much easier than it does this time. Maybe Loki’s prison has moved. We’ve never seen the Isle of Silence Loki is imprisoned on before. Last we checked, he was chained to a rock with uru chains, supposedly until the end of time. Loki’s entire plan here was to lure Thor to him. But, again, Thor just went to see Loki because a rocket went off course. So… it really shouldn’t require that much effort to get Thor to visit. Visiting Loki is Thor’s go-to move whenever anything weird happens.

Besides the Avengers, this issue is most notable for introducing Trolls.

Let’s peek at the top of the cover one more time.

A whole section dedicated to the logo. Marvel Comics Group. 12 cents. Approved by the Comics Code Authority. 1st issue. September. And that box with pictures featuring all 4 members of the Avengers, as well as Ant-Man’s trusted partner–an ant. And then, above the logo, we get the names of all 4 members of the Avengers.

I see nothing sexist about any of that.

Reportedly, this comic was thrown together at the last minute due to delays in getting Daredevil #1 ready. And tight deadlines are to blame for it being rubbish.

Rating: ★★★☆☆, 57/100
Significance: ★★★★★

I mean, it introduces the Avengers. That’s cool. But otherwise it’s rubbish. I figure that averages to a high 3 stars.

I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers vol. 1.

Characters:

• Loki
• Dr. Don Blake/Thor
• Jane Foster
• Hulk/Mechano
• Rick Jones
• Janet van Dyne/Wasp
• Henry Pym/Ant-Man
• Anthony Stark/Iron Man
• Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
• Susan Storm/Invisible Girl
• Ben Grimm/Thing
• Johnny Storm/Human Torch
• Odin

Minor characters:

• Bobby (Dr. Blake’s patient)
• Charlie (train operator)
• Willie (Teen Brigade member)

Story notes:

• Loki described as “god of evil”.
• Loki imprisoned on Isle of Silence.
• Loki thinks Hulk is flying, then realizes he is leaping.
• Loki notes there is no evil in Hulk’s heart, and suggests mankind’s fear of him is baseless.
• Hulk supports the tracks to save train. This takes intelligence.
• Rick Jones assembles Teen Brigade.
• Baxter Building depicted because Rick tries to contact the Fantastic Four; Loki diverts his message.
• Ant-Man and Wasp seemingly use ants to fly from New York to the Southwest.
• FF currently wrapped up in another case. What case? Perhaps one we don’t see details of. This should be taking place after their war against Namor, but before Rama-Tut transports them back in time.
• Heroes briefly assemble at Teen Brigade headquarters.
• Loki lures Thor away with projection of Hulk. Thor deduces Loki is responsible and leaves for Asgard.
• Odin grants Thor permission to see Loki.
• Only major absences are Sgt. Fury and the Ditko characters.
• Trolls are also called Silent Ones.
• Trolls inspired legend of “Old Man and the Sea”.
• Loki can turn radioactive.
• Wasp suggests Avengers name.
• Chronology notes: Jane Foster is working for Dr. Blake at this time. Henry Pym is still Ant-Man.

Previous	#94	Next
Marvel Boy #1	PRELUDE
X-Men #1	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #48
	Avengers	Avengers #2