The issue of Marvel Comics’ Avengers that we’re discussing today is the first ever of the title to have had not only its interiors, but also its cover, pencilled by artist George Pérez (though we should note for the record that John Romita is alleged to have done some touch-ups on the piece, and that the inks were provided by Frank Giacoia). That seems quite appropriate, given that Avengers #149 also brings to a close the storyline that kicked off with Pérez’s first outing on the title, in issue #141; besides that, it’s a really attractive piece of work (especially if you’re as big a fan of the Mighty Thor as is your humble blogger)… and, of course, the first of many fine George Pérez Avengers cover to follow.
Moving on to the book’s opening splash page, and the resumption of our continuing narrative following the events of last issue, we find longtime regular scripter Steve Englehart still at the helm, while Pérez’s pencils are here finished by Sam Grainger:
Yeah, I’m with Thor, here; I don’t care how many times Monndragon says she’s a god, I ain’t buyin’ it. (For what it’s worth, I felt the same way in 1976, and that was before the inhabitants of Titan [where she grew up] were retconned from being kin to the Greek Gods to being “mere” Eternals.)
After Jarvis explains to Thor and Moondragon that there’s been no word from the other Avengers since they headed out to Long Island, Thor assures him that he’ll investigate. “And of course, you won’t mind a bit of help, now will you, Thor?” inquires Moondragon.
Still in only the second full year of his professional comics career (at least in the sense of having credits under his own name), George Pérez was already a master at depicting crowded fight scenes, providing all the detail you could ask for without skimping on either dynamism or clarity; and Sam Grainger’s clean, crisp inking ensures that none of the penciller’s painstaking effort goes to waste.
As Hellcat notes. the Avengers ventured to Long Island in the first place to investigate the Roxxon Oil and Brand Corporations, an investigation which had allowed writer Steve Englehart to follow up on two originally unrelated plotlines from books he wasn’t writing any more — namely, the Beast’s short-lived series in Amazing Adventures, where Brand had first appeared, and Captain America, where Roxxon Oil and its CEO Hugh Jones had been introduced. That said, the specific mysteries that had aroused the Avengers’ suspicions — Jones’ tipping off Cap about the whereabouts of the Red Skull in CA #185, followed by the subsequent assault on the Skull’s base by Roxxon troops in the following issue of that book, and finally topped off by the ambush of former Brand employee Hank “Beast” McCoy by more Roxxon goons at the beginning of Avengers #141 — never do get any real resolution, as we never learn just why Roxxon/Brand was doing all those things.
One possible reason for this seeming lapse is that the story’s resolution may well have been rushed, following the unplanned use of unrelated fill-in content in both #145 and #146, and the subsequent need to wrap things up quickly in time for the special milestone issue due just a month after this one, i.e., Avengers #150. In the end, maybe the unanswered questions concerning Roxxon and Brand aren’t really that important; after all, if we’ve learned anything about these shady corporations and their ruthless leaders over the last nine months, it’s that they’re Really Bad Guys, and that it’s high time for the Avengers to take them down.
Back at the battle, the Avengers are holding their own against overwhelming odds — but then, a double-barreled tank comes crashing through a wall. “You’ve seen our advanced weaponry before, Captain America!” shouts a Roxxon trooper (presumably in reference to Captain America #186). “Now, surrender, or die!”
Jones orders his men to toss the unconscious Avengers onto a transport vehicle called a “tracto-mek“, which they’ll use to carry the heroes deeper into the complex — where, as he remarks to Captain Robert “Buzz” Baxter, “We’ve a hundred ways to kill these Avengers here — and we both know which of them’s the most painful!”
My younger self hadn’t caught Orka’s debut back in Sub-Mariner #23 and #24, though I had been around for his later outing in S-M #66-67. Given that he’d gotten his start working for the Atlantean renegade known as Warlord Krang — who, like Hugh Jones, has worn and served the Serpent Crown — his appearance here, while unexpected, makes a kind of sense.
“I say let’s zap ’em right now!” exclaims Baxter. When Jones questions his bloodthirstiness, given that he’s talking about killing his own ex-wife, Baxter remains adamant. “She turned against me — divorced me, didn’t she? She didn’t like how I took to Brand’s ways so quickly — but I like it, and I’m going to like it best when I show her I was right!” Still, his boss is determined to remain cautious. “We’ll wait till we see how this fight comes out!”
The notion of Thor needing to strike Mjolnir’s handle against the ground twice to summon a thunderstorm goes all the way back to his debut in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug., 1962) — though I’m pretty sure it had been a long time since we’d seen the bit actually used in a story, whether in Avengers or in the Thunder God’s own title. (I could be wrong, though.)
We discussed earlier how this issue served to wrap up plotlines Steve Englehart had initiated years earlier in Amazing Adventures and Captain America — but the relationship drama of Patsy and Buzz goes back way farther than that — back not just to the “Patsy Walker” romance comics of the 1960s (which is where Englehart appears to have discovered the characters), but all the way back to the 1940s teen-humor comics where they both first debuted. Not that you have to know all that history to enjoy Hellcat’s thorough takedown of her rotten ex — but if you do, it adds a little extra weight to the proceedings.
In keeping with tradition, while two taps from the hammer’s handle summoned the storm, three taps send it packing.
Unresolved mysteries or no, “The Gods and the Gang!” still stands for your humble blogger as an eminently satisfying conclusion to what, half a century later, is still probably my favorite multi-issue Avengers story arc. If I had any quibbles about this one fifty years ago, it was probably due to my impression (a correct one, as it happened) that Steve Englehart was setting up my favorite Avenger, Thor, to leave the group — something I wasn’t in favor of at all. Ironically, Thor’s exit (which of course proved to be in no way permanent) would, in the long run, cause my younger self considerably less distress than another major change which was rapidly approaching… but that’s a discussion we’ll leave for next month, when we’ll be looking not only at the title’s milestone 150th issue (a bit of a dud, frankly), but its immediate follow up, as well. I hope to see you then.
Gotta agree with you, Alan, I’d rate this as my favorite multi-issue Avengers epic too and this was a pretty satisfying conclusion. I’d missed Orka’s previous appearances, although I’d at least read references to him somewhere before. Kind of apt given the Serpent Crown’s connection to Atlantean baddies as well as to provide an actual evil giant for Thor, a giant-killer in the myths, to put down. Patsy’s confrontation with Buzz, however, was the emotional highlight of the mag. I hadn’t read any of those old comics Patsy & Buzz had appeared in, but even at 13 in 1976, I could understand Patsy’s heartbreak at love gone wrong and appreciate her strength in taking him on. Actually, it resonates with me more now as I have one good friend, a few years older than me, but whose high school romance and subsequent marriage fell apart due to her husband’s drug abuse and general moral decline (never met him but she’s told me about him). And, of course, in recent times we’ve seen plenty of real people – men and women – whose lust for power and prestige led them down dark paths of corruption and murder.
Moondragon does come off as insufferable and full of herself, maybe less so than in her introduction In Iron Man as Madame McEvil (which I actually did get new off the racks), but she seems to have entirely forgotten that she’s not a “goddess” but a mortal Earthling who happened to be adopted by people from Titan who gave her specialized training through which she gained her powers. She’s no more a deity than, say, Dr. Strange, who for all his own considerable powers, was never shown to forget that he’s still a human being. Still, Englehart used her as a means to bring up points about Thor’s considerable powers and status as an actual god. It just occurred to me while writing this that at this point, Englehart had written many more issues of the Avengers featuring Thor as a member than either Lee or Thomas. Thomas still held on to the title of having written the most issues of the Avengers, which as far as I now held for at least the first 300 issues of the title, but Thor wasn’t a regular member for most of that run, mainly due to Lee’s orders, at least up through 1972, when the Avengers’ Big Three rejoined the fold in Avengers #93, during the gang’s first big epic multi-issue storyline. Despite his comings and goings over the next several years, Thor would retain his status as part of the Big Three of the group an at least while I kept collecting the mag, wouldn’t stay away for any considerable stretch of time, at least not as long as from issues 17 through 50 in the Silver Age.