The Avengers Vol.1 #1

22 Sep 1973. Cover price 6p.
36 pages. B&W contents.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Cover montage:

Doctor Strange p:

r: Strange Tales (Marvel Comics) #?? (## ### ####).

Iron Man p: Jack Kirby, i: George Roussos.

r: cover element from The Avengers (Marvel Comics) #04 (1963).

Thor p:

r: Journey into Mystery (Marvel Comics) #?? (## ### ####).

Captain America p: Jack Kirby, i: George Roussos.

r: cover element from The Avengers (Marvel Comics) #04 (1963).

Free Superhero Transfers.

Contents:

.2 Count Dracula's Deadly Secret advertisement for Wall's ice lolly; a: UNKNOWN.

.3 The Avengers Captain America Joins The Avengers! w: Stan Lee; p: Jack Kirby, i: George Roussos (uncredited), lettered by Art Simek.

r: edited from The Avengers (Marvel Comics) #04 (1963).

13 Hi There, Adventure Lover! (three quarter page) introduction. / 144 Different Stamps FREE! advertisement (one eighth page) advertisement. / Free Stamp Collector's Outfit (one eighth page) advertisement .

26 The Insult That Made a Man Out of 'Mac' advertisement for Charles Atlas 'Dynamic Tension' book.

27 Dr. Strange "The Origin of Dr. Strange" w: Stan Lee; a: Steve Ditko, lettered by Sam Rosen.

r: Strange Tales (Marvel Comics) #115 ().

35 The Adventures of the Cresta Bear advertisement; a: UNKNOWN.

36 It's Disneytime Again advertisement for Disney Storybook, and Movees Starter Packs.

The cover, picking out iconic images of featured characters, is surprisingly effective given disparate sources, though the overdose of text is awful. Not only does the text manage to give the issue the appearance of a high street marketing leaflet, it is also done in a range of styles which clash horribly - this is what a comic-book designed by an eight-year-old looks like, and in no way encourages confidence. This is not a good start.

A tale destined to become a milestone in the Marvel age of comics!

Bringing you the great super-hero which your wonderful avalanche of fan mail demanded!

Stan Lee, despite his numerous faults, knew that wowing readers with hype worked. In many ways Lee's style anticipates the trend for "moments" being emphasized above cohesive storytelling, with splash pages and melodrama overshadowing narrative clarity. Thor, Iron Man, Wasp, and Giant-Man stand (in costume) to greet Captain America (also in costume), who has decided to join the Avengers. Do these people live in their costumes? When do they wash them? It is moments such as this opening scene which fundamentally breaks the genre's credibility for me.

Unfortunately we do not get to see Cap being given a guided tour of the Avengers' mansion, as the story immediately goes into a flashback showing Cap's journey from ice-cube to being revived. When he comes to his senses, he has his own flashback to WWII's climax, recounting events that led to him being frozen. Interestingly, he is aware that he was worshiped by Eskimos - a fact he could only have known if he was aware of events around him while frozen. Nestled flashbacks are an extremely difficult writing trick to pull of well, and this shows how not to do it. With each passing panel we are moved further from the beginning of the story, further from immediacy.

When the Avengers are turned to stone, but Captain America's first impulse isn't to investigate the strange statues - checking out the attractive women gathered nearby instead, then wandering off in order to look at modern buildings. A police officer directs Cap to a nearby hotel, where he somehow gets a room despite being in full costume and having no discernible money. The dialogue here really stretches credibility, as he states that he has never seen television, despite WRGB having broadcasted from the General Electric facility in Schenectady since 1928. There were many exhibitions of the technology, and shops had televisions on display - especially in New York, where Cap is from.

Rick Jones breaks into Cap's hotel room (his criminal skills are on a par with Doctor Doom), and despite Rick's insistence that he needs help finding the Avengers, Cap is more interested in the fact that Rick is the spitting image of Bucky. Cap quashes his emotional outburst (resisting the urge to ask Rick to put on Bucky's tights for, uh... nostalgic reasons), and sets off with the youngster to a dark room. Sorry, a darkroom, where they look at perfectly innocent photographs together. They discover that one of the photographers who greeted the Avengers on the docks was wielding a gun of sorts.

Cap says they need to find the man, and Rick alerts the Teen-Brigade. These eager teens start snapping candid photographs of men for Cap to peruse at his leisure, but Cap finally discovers the man he is after by staring through windows like a peeping Tom. Smashing his way into the room, the strange man's gunsels open fire, but Cap's shield quickly dispenses with their weapons. They flee when they discover that their employer is an alien, then we are privy to another flashback in which the alien's story is laid out - from a far distant galaxy, the alien's ship crashed on Earth centuries before, embedding itself in into the bottom of the sea.

During the narrative, Cap works out that the gun - which can turn people to stone for one hundred hours - and the alien's hair were responsible for the Medusa legend, and that Namor was behind the attack, convincing the alien he would free his ship in return for taking out the Avengers. Cap convinces the nameless alien to restore his new friends, promising that he will free the ship in exchange for his assistance. The Avengers are restored, then set out to get the ship from its location under the sea, which Thor accomplishes easily. Before they can celebrate, Namor and his warriors attack the Avengers.

Captain America, however, merely sits back, enjoying the spectacle - imagining what he could have done with a man such as Namor back in the day.

Namor reveals that he has taken Rick hostage, which finally prompts Cap to stop daydreaming and enter the fight. It is a battle swiftly concluded as the alien has concluded his repairs, and is readying his ship for take-off. Iron Man scolds Cap for waiting so long to use his his fists, and Wasp reveals that she was 'powdering her nose' during proceedings. And yes, that is actually the phrase she uses.

Iron Man then proposes to Captain America. That he join the Avengers, that is. Meanwhile, Rick is conflicted: "He's the greatest guy I ever met - and I can tell he wants me to be his partner! But what about - the Hulk? He's sure to return some day... and when he finds out that Captain America has replaced him - will anything be able to stop him then??!"

There is no more infuriating opening that one which is never revisited. Without the splash page of Captain America entering the mansion this could have been a straight-forward story, but by framing it as a flash-back builds in the notion that events of the past will have bearing on that moment. To completely disregard the present in favour of staying with what has happened previously means we are left wondering what occurred past that moment. I'd like to imagine that Cap asked if he could have a room near Rick's. Or Wasp - he isn't too choosy.

Bad plotting is bad plotting, irrespective of medium or genre. The Avengers story here is lumbered with an over-abundance of easy get-out clauses for characters to enjoy - had they simply sat around chatting with Namor and his forces instead of engaging in fisticuffs the outcome would have been identical. The actions of the alien through the ages isn't explored in any detail, nor the fate of Eskimos at the beginning of the story, leaving far too many loose ends.

Without pausing, the issue moves on to another reprint:

In answer to an avalanche of requests, we present:

"The Origin of Dr. Strange"

Who is he? Where does he come from? How did he get his powers?

In India, land of mystic enchantment, we find a haggard figure entering a strangely silent chamber - Doctor Stephen Strange, for it is he, asks the man inside if he is "the Ancient One," who is said to have healing powers. Strange is told that he has has to prove himself worthy, as the power of magic must not be wasted on those who are undeserving. Ancient One uses his powers to peer into Strange's brain, into his memory, to learn the truth, seeing his life in America as a famous surgeon.

Having completed a successful operation, Stephen celebrates by lighting a cigarette and disregarding a colleague who tells him that his patient wants to thank the surgeon who saved his life. Moving forward in time, Ancient One sees the car crash which changed Stephen's life - nerve damage to his hands leaving him unable to perform surgery ever again. One day, when hanging around on the docks (as he does) he hears two men talking about a man with the ability to cure any manner of affliction.

Having seen enough, the Ancient One tells Strange that he sees within the surgeon a spark of decency which he might be able to fan into a flame. Ancient One offers Strange the opportunity to study with him, but is refused. A convenient snowstorm means Strange can't walk out on the offer, and he soon witnesses the proof of the Ancient One's magical abilities - and happens upon Mordo using black magic to attack his master. Bound and gagged, he is unable to warn about the threat within, but the Ancient One sees and knows all...

An effective and well-paced story which reveals pertinent details of Strange's past without overdoing the magic elements. Use of nine-panel pages works well, with enough variation to maintain visual interest. Although Mordo is too one-note villainy to convince as a rounded character, the personalities of characters are all clearly defined, with scenes set in Strange's past - being hilariously rude - the highlight. If there's one strip calling out to be written, it is Strange's story prior to his accident.