September 1963

Now that we've reached the launch of The Avengers title, I'll be dialing back the synopses of the individual titles (Journey Into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense).  These will be much quicker overviews, highlighting any notable events.

Journey Into Mystery #96

Writers: Stan Lee and R. Berns
Artist: Joe Sinnott
"Defying the Magic of Mad Merlin!"
Synopsis: The crypt of the magician Merlin (he of King Arthur's court) is discovered in England and sent to the New York Museum for some experts to study.  Unfortunately for our scientists, Merlin awakens from his slumber (which was apparently some spell he cast).  We learn that Merlin is actually a mutant.  And we learn that he wishes to take over the world.  First stop, President Kennedy (there's some nice Camelot parallels here).  Meanwhile, Don Blake and Jane Foster bicker, followed by Thor racing off to battle Merlin.  After a brief battle, our hero defeats Merlin and convinces him to cast a new spell to return to his comatose state.

Tales of Suspense #45

Writers: Stan Lee and R. Berns
Artist: Don Heck
"The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost"
Synopsis: With this issue we are introduced to two long-standing Iron Man supporting cast members: Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan.  Happy enters our tale when Tony crashes a race car and Happy jumps in to rescue Tony.  With an enormous sense of gratitude, Tony offers Happy a job as his chauffeur/bodyguard.  Happy is introduced to Pepper Potts (whose name may actually be Kitty if this issue is to be believed) and she introduces him to a very cold shoulder.  Thus begins a long sub-plot of bickering/flirting between the two of them and a love triangle (along with Tony, of course).  A bit later, Iron Man discovers an employee trying to steal from Stark.  The man is fired, but don't worry, dear reader, he returns in short order as "Jack Frost", now with a freeze gun ala Captain Cold.  Iron Man defeats the enemy fairly quickly, mostly by using heat.

Tales to Astonish #47

Writers: Stan Lee and HE Huntley
Artist: Don Heck
"Music to Scream By"
Synopsis: This month, Ant-Man and Wasp run afoul of a man named Trago with a magical trumpet.  When played correctly, the trumpet can hypnotize whomever hears it.  After our heroes fall under the sway of the trumpet, their friendly ants drag them away to safety.  Armed with some ear discs (which block the sound, I suppose), Ant-Man and Wasp prevail and manage to trick Trago into playing the wrong tune, which casts amnesia upon the player.  Yup.

The Avengers #1

September 1963
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers

"The Coming of the Avengers"

Thor!
Ant-Man!
Hulk!
Iron Man!
Wasp!

(well, the cover unfortunately omits a declaration of the Wasp, but I felt I should rectify that)

After a few years of telling the tales of individual heroes, Stan, Jack and Marvel Comics deliver the first issue of The Avengers (a formula that Marvel Studios would replicate 50ish years later).  I doubt I'll go too deep into synopsizing this first issue, as I suspect that most know the details already.  Either way, here we go.

Our story begins with the villain of the piece, the lord of mischief, half-brother to Thor, the deceiver himself: Loki.  We open on Asgard, where we last saw Loki in the pages of Journey Into Mystery, in chains and plotting vengeance upon Thor.  While peering in upon his brother, as Loki is wont to do, he notices Hulk leaping through the air.  Deciding that he has found an unwitting pawn, Loki frames the Hulk for an attack on a train.  News spreads quickly and Hulk becomes (once again) wanted by the military.  Fortunately, for the green-skinned one, he has a friend named Rick Jones, who knows the Hulk must be innocent.  He puts out a call to his Teen Brigade (after failing to contact the Fantastic Four).  Loki siezes another opportunity and diverts the call for help to the radio of Doctor Donald Blake.

Blake quickly takes action and changes into the powerful form of Thor.  He takes off to meet Rick Jones.  And he isn't the only one.  Ant-Man, Wasp, and Iron Man all hear the message, as well.  All four arrive (just after Rick gets off the phone with Mr. Fantastic - apparently the FF are just too busy).  Despite the fact that Loki only wanted Thor, he continues his plan apace.  A mental image of the Hulk appears.  Thor flings his hammer at the creature.  Immediately after Mjolnir flies through the image, Thor decides Loki is to blame and flies off to Asgard to have words.  Meanwhile, Iron Man, Ant-Man and Wasp look for the real Hulk (who is now working at a circus and calling himself Mechano - no kidding - his clown makeup is great).



Ant-Man and Wasp discover the Hulk and engage him in battle.  It's a pretty short battle and the Hulk emerges victorious.  He has very little time to gloat, however, as Iron Man attacks.  Our scene shifts to Asgard, where we find Thor pleading to allfather Odin.  Odin grants him permission to visit Loki on the Isle of Silence.  The journey there is quite treacherous and traps aplenty beleaguer our hero.  Eventually he finds the villain (then knocks out a Troll).  Thor brings Loki to Earth.

Back on Earth, the battle between Iron Man and Hulk continues.  After nearly destroying an auto manufacturing plant, Iron Man defeats the green giant, trapping him in a metal cage.  At that moment, Thor arrives with a captive Loki.  Loki bursts free and is moments away from defeating the trio (by turning himself radioactive), when the diminutive duet of Ant-Man and Wasp save the day by trapping Loki in a lead-lined tank.

With the day won, the quintet decide to join forces, for then they would be unbeatable.  Thus, the Avengers are born.









Next month: The Space Phantom!