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AVENGERSFOREVER.ORG
A massive trove of information regarding Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

AVENGERSASSEMBLE.US
Another big and bad website devoted to the Avengers!

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In which it starts to feel like a family!

The Fantastic Four is the ultimate "family" book, because, well...they're a family! But any time youget a group of people together, bonded as one for a united purpose, it is inevitable that there willbe intimacy and warmth between them. And not just intimacy and warmth, but ill will, squabbling andhyperactive bouts of angst! And so it is with the Avengers, as you will read in this block of Avengers comics. More than anything else, Avengers Masterworks Vol. 2,which reprints Avengers #11-20, highlights the personal developments that occur between Earth's MightiestHeroes. Sure, there's lots of slam-bang action, but one gets the feeling that for this era, Stan reallywanted to make the action the backdrop to the human dynamics, and not the other way around. It also showcases for the first time one of the Avengers enduring traits: how the old order changeth. In Avengers #16, there is a cataclysmic shift in the lineup, with a wholesale roster change that stands asthe first occasion that the Avengers did a little housecleaning and lived to tell about it...but barely!

The old school group is featured in the first half of the book. Avengers #11-15 has the prototype Avengers roster still in action. The "familydynamic" rears its head when Iron Man is absent from the proceedings in #11, and the Avengersmust make do without him. Concerned that perhaps Tony Stark is dead and that Iron Man off tendingto grave duties and obligations, they are forced to put him under a "leave of absence" so they can continue their work as a team. Chairmanship is switched around from issue to issue, with Thor or Cap or Giant-Man presiding over team meetings. The amity of the team in the first issues begins to break down,with Thor getting belligerent over the merit of Giant-Man's emergency call to action (well, I guess I would, too, ifI was being inconvenienced to fight on behalf of a bunch of scared ants!) Too, we also witness the firsttraumatic breakdown of Hank Pym. In issue #15, after the Wasp was accidentally shot in a fight which lefther critically wounded, ol' Hank simply can't take the stress, and is an emotional basket case for therest of the proceedings. Little did readers know this was only the first glimpse into the psychologicalproblems of the Master of Many Sizes.

In the second half of the book, starting with Avengers #16, we see the first of many roster changesthat would become a trademark of the Avengers. With Thor disappeared and Captain America offin the Amazon jungle, the rest of the team shares their similar feelings of "avenging fatigue", and theyeach desire to focus on matters involving their personal lives and ambitions. This begins the preparationsto keep the Avengers afloat while they are gone, and that means recruiting new members! It justso happens that when Captain America returns, he is expected to lead a rabble of three new members,ironically all of them being former "bad guys!" Hawkeye, a pest from Iron Man's feature stories in Talesof Suspense, and Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, a pair of siblings who's only previous team affiliationwas in Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, join together in an earnest attempt to fight alongsidethe great heroes of the day. Their credibility and goodwill ascertained by the outgoing Avengers,a new order is ushered in to carry the banner that says "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"

But you ain't seen squabblin' yet! No sir, not until you've read the audible emanations of un-egalitarianism that spew out of the mouths of this new foursome, later affectionately dubbed the "Kooky Quartet" by fans. Rightfrom the get-go, it becomes apparent that there is more to the proceedings than avenging justice. BothQuicksilver and Hawkeye have eyes on the leadership of the Avengers, and Captain America is carryinga big chip on his shoulder trying to effectively lead this disparate group to effective fighting skills. Andthe Scarlet Witch? When she's not busying siding with her brother in all disputes, she's got her witchy andwomanly eyes all up and down Cap! (Would it be too much to ask for Captain America to notice a fine lookin' womanlookin' at him? In this Masterworks...yep! Too much to ask!)

This volume continues the team's evolution under the guiding hand of Don Heck. With Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers providing only layouts as a periodic assist,all art chores for this book (and the next couple year's worth of Avengers comics) are dispensed byDastardly Don Heck. Even though he isn't recalled as one of the visionary elites of Marvel's days of yore,Don was as steady as she came and consistently turned in quite a few breathtaking panels, many ofwhich you'll see scattered through the issue feature pages on this website.

Also in this volume, a significant figure in Avengers history would appear: the Swordsman! In issue #19,this villain comes onto the scene trying to barge into the Avengers lineup with only mischief and mayhemon his mind. His reconciling with the more sensitive and life-affirming human traits (as well asbona fide Avengers membership!) would come later, but for now he's (pretty much) all villain! Showcase villains include the Mole Man and the Masters of Evil,who stick their heads up for air long enough to see Baron Zemo I get his at the hands of Captain America(remember what I said about Cap having a loooong memory?) Kang makes a single appearance in issue #11, which also features the only guest appearance of the long run of issues, by Spider-Man!

Enjoy Avengers #11-20! It's crackin' good fun!

-- by Gormuu with Dum Dum Dugan

-- panel images provided by Avengers Assemble

Issues Reprinted
Avengers #11-20

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.

All cover images are courtesy of the Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Gallery.

Website design by Doug Roberts and John Thomas. All images on this site are copyright of Marvel Comics. This site is for reference purposes and promotion of the Masterworks line of books as well as Marvel Comics and their properties.