Avengers 2.34 - Avengers #135-Giant-Size Avengers #4

To read Avengerous Tales 2.33, go here!

 

Dang, we’ve been having a lot of giant-size specials lately, haven’t we?  Also, instead of Sal Buscema and Joe Staton on artwork, we have our old friend George Tuska instead.  Hi, George!

Avengers 2.33 - Avengers #133-#134

To read Avengerous Tales 2.32, go here!

 

Okay guys, chill out already.  The Secret of the Hooded One really isn't all that exciting.

Avengerous Tales 2.30 - Avengers #129-Giant-Size Avengers #2

To read Avengerous Tales 2.29, go here!

So, uh, remember at the end of my last review when I wanted Marvel to stop picking on the Swordsman?  Well, I think they took that request rather differently than I was hoping…
 

Avengerous Tales 2.29 - Avengers #127-#128

To read Avengerous Tales 2.28, go here!

Between the last issue and this one, Captain America made good on his vow to give up that particular secret identity, so we won’t be seeing him in The Avengers for a while.  You can check out Captain America #176 if you want the details (and/or Cap’s origin story), but the rest of us have tuxes to rent and flowers to sneeze over—there’s a wedding in the offing!

 

(Today’s issues feature art by Sal Buscema and Joe Staton.)

Avengerous Tales 2.28 - Avengers #126-Giant-Size Avengers #1

To read Avengerous Tales 2.27, go here!

It's secret origins time!  Yippee!

Avengerous Tales 2.27 - Avengers #124-#125

To read Avengerous Tales 2.26, go here!

We got ourselves some guest artists for today’s issues—John Buscema and Dave Cockrum.

Avengerous Tales 2.26 - Avengers #122-#123

To read Avengerous Tales 2.25, go here!

I really want a Zodiac story where we see them auditioning someone for Ophiucus but he’s such a loser that they kick him out, and Ophiucus is really mad and wants revenge but he’s still a loser so he doesn’t even try until he gets bit by a radioactive snake charmer and gains the power to control reptiles or something and then he goes on a rampage.

Marvel, you are not allowed to steal this idea.  If you want it, you have to pay me, and by ‘pay me’ I mean ‘gimme an Avengers movie where they don’t spend 50+% of the time hating each other.’  (What, me bitter?)
 

Avengerous Tales 2.25 - Avengers #120-#121

To read Avengerous Tales 2.24, go here!

Grab your horoscopes, nerds and nerdlings, because today’s Avengerous Tale is all about the zodiac and they’ve got some very bad predictions for you.  And me.  And everybody in the world.

Avengers 2.24 - Avengers #118-#119

To read Avengerous Tales 2.23, go here!

Once again we turn to The Defenders—Issue Ten, to be precise—for the next chapter of our ongoing crossover.  Here we see Hulk and Thor reviving their old rivalry, but they don’t get the chance to finally determine who’s stronger before the Defenders and the Avengers show up, together at last and ready to get to the bottom of how their feud began.
 

The Hulk is reluctant to follow orders any more but is eventually persuaded to give up the Evil Eye.  The Silver Surfer has brought along the other pieces, but before they can do anything with them, one of Dormammu’s lackeys sweeps into our dimension just long enough to scoop up the Evil Eye and deliver it to his master.  Dormammu promptly puts it to bad use, shifting Earth into his own dimension so he can conquer it and turning New York into a ghoulish monster-ridden hellscape.  I was gonna make a joke about that last part, but… nah.  Too easy.  Gotta draw the line somewhere.
 

Avengerous Tales 2.23 - Avengers #116-#117

To read Avengerous Tales 2.22, go here!

Before I start discussing the Avengers today, we need to discuss another comic: The Defenders.

See, the previous issue of The Avengers was basically a set up for a big crossover with The Defenders, which focused on the adventures of another set of heroes who defend instead of avenge, I guess?

 

Oh well exCUSE ME.  P.S. Namor, Ken called, he wants his magic earring back.

Avengerous Tales 2.22 - Avengers #114-#115

To read Avengerous Tales 2.21, go here!

Apparently the Swordsman and Mantis have gotten into Hank Pym’s store of growth serum.  So has that bug, for that matter.

Avengerous Tales 2.15 - Avengers #100-#101

To read Avengerous Tales 2.14, go here!

I am going to need so many tags for this.
 

Avengerous Tales 2.4 - Avengers #78-#79

To read Avengerous Tales 2.3, go here!

So we’re still going with the name Man-Ape, huh?

…Sigh.

Avengerous Tales 1.35 - Avengers #65-#67

To read Avengerous Tales 1.34, go here!

You get a triple feature today!  What fun!

Avengerous Tales 1.23 - Avengers Annual #1

To read Avengerous Tales 1.22, go here! 

We’ve got something a little different lined up for today’s review: the very first Avengers Annual, the first of twenty-three specials featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes published from 1967 to 1994.  Obviously that means they weren’t printed every year, so the title of annual will prove false, but anyway.  Because it’s so long, we’re only reviewing this one issue instead of the two I normally cover per post.  Let’s see if this story is worth the extra pages.

Avengerous Tales 1.15 - Avengers #29-#30

 

To read Avengerous Tales 1.14, go here! 

Time for a little back story here, since this is the first time the Black Widow will appear in an Avengers comic, and the context of her appearance won’t make much sense if you don’t know about her previous exploits.

Black Widow debuted in Tales of Suspense #52.  She was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck as yet another “red” adversary for ToS star Iron Man.  After failing multiple times to bring Stark Industries secrets to her superiors behind the iron (hee) curtain, she teamed up with budding criminal Hawkeye, who immediately fell in love with her and agreed to do whatever she wanted, even though he wasn’t a communist himself.  It all went south in Tales of Suspense #60, when Widow’s superiors have enough of her failing and mooning over Hawkeye and take her back behind the curtain for “interrogation.”

As we learn in Avengers #29, Black Widow was taken to “the Orient” where she was brainwashed to eliminate any “weakening” effects her time among those pansy capitalists may have had.

 

Now it’s story time!

Avengerous Tales 1.10 - Avengers #19-#20

To read Avengerous Tales 1.9, go here!

 

Today’s tale begins not with The Avengers but with Strange Tales, which at the time featured stories about Dr. Strange (you probably could have guessed that) and, more importantly for our purposes, about White Nick Fury.

In Strange Tales #135, a historic event occurred: Nick Fury was put in charge of SHIELD.  SHIELD’s nemesis, Hydra, wasn’t too crazy about that and put out a hit on Fury, who spent most of #135-#136 running around in flying cars and stuff trying to defeat them.

Yes, this is relevant, I promise.  Head behind the cut to find out how!  (Was that shameless enough?)