Category: Iron Man

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Marvel Adventures Avengers volume 9: The Times They Are A‘Changin’


By Paul Tobin, Matteo Lolli, Ig Guara, Casey Jones, Christian Vecchia & Sandro Ribeiro (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-3832-7 (PB/Digital edition)

Time for another anniversary shout-out, so let’s celebrate the fact that The Avengers #1 (cover-dated September 1963 but on sale from July 2nd) was sold out on newsstands all over America by today’s date…

In 2003, the House of Ideas created a Marvel Age line updating classic original tales by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko before merging it with remnants of its failed manga-based Tsunami imprint, which was also intended for a junior demographic.

The experiment was tweaked in 2005, becoming Marvel Adventures with core titles Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four and Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man carrying all-original yarns. Additional titles included Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes, Power Pack, Hulk and The Avengers, which ran until 2010 when they were cancelled and replaced by new volumes of Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes and Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man.

This particularly light-hearted digest-sized collection re-presents issues #32-35 of Marvel Adventures Avengers (from 2009), offering stand-alone yarns to delight fans with a sense of humour and iota of wit…

What You Need To Know: this incarnation of the World’s Mightiest Superheroes operates an “open-door” policy where almost every metahuman marvel might turn up for duty. However – presumably because of their TV cartoon popularity – the Wondrous Wallcrawler and Jade Juggernaut are on scene in almost every episode…

Written throughout by Paul Tobin (No Romance in Hell, Plants vs Zombies), an avalanche of fast-paced fun begins with ‘The Big Payoff’ illustrated by Matteo Lolli & Christian Vecchia, wherein the team gets a most unpleasant visit from Special Agent Clark Harvey of the Internal Revenue Service.

This weaselling civil servant is ostensibly there to collect individual Avengers’ taxes, but it’s all a ploy to blackmail the team into forcing a bunch of defaulting villains into paying up…

Smart and deviously hilarious, the clashes between Giant-Girl, Spider-Man and Luke Cage against Whirlwind, the web-spinner and erudite philosophical monster/political activist Oog or Man-Bull versus Iron Man are entertainment enough, but Iron Man and Giant-Girl overmatched against the Absorbing Man and the childlike Hulk convincing assassin Bullseye to do his patriotic duty are utterly priceless…

When jungle king Ka-Zar visits from the Antarctic lost world, all he can think about is learning how to use a car. Sadly Wolverine, Storm, Giant-Girl, Hulk and Spidey all feel safer battling an invasion of super-saurians unleashed by Stegron the Dinosaur Man than sitting in the same vehicle as the Lord of the Savage Land in ‘You’re Driving Me Crazy’, with art by Ig Guara & Sandro Ribeiro…

When ancient Egyptian magicians turn time into an out-of-control merry-go-round, ‘Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos!’ (Lolli & Vecchia) are caught up in the assorted eras of chaos, with Ant-Man, Giant-Girl, Tigra, Storm, the wallcrawler and Hulk frantically fighting just to keep up…

Rendered by Casey Jones, this titanic tiny tome concludes on a romantic note in ‘Lovers Leaper’ when all the female Avengers head off for a vacation break. They foolishly thought Captain America, Cage, Spider-Man, Hawkeye and Wolverine could handle things for a while, but boys will be slobs and soon the HQ is a ghastly mess of “man-cave” madness…

Moreover, since Hawkeye now needs a date for the Annual Archer Awards, he tries an on-line dating service, and uploads not just his but all his buddies’ information onto the site…

With seemingly every eligible lady – super-powered and not – in New York City subscribing to the Lovers Leap site, our unsuspecting heroes are soon being bombarded by an army of annoyed women who think they’ve been stood up by the utterly oblivious Avengers.

… And when they try to get the owner to remove their details, the heroes discover French former bad-guy Batroc the Leaper is in charge and unwilling to do them any favours…

Smart and fun on many levels, bright, breezy and bursting with light-hearted action and loads of solid laughs, this book offers a fabulous alternative to regular Marvel Universe angst and agony. Even with the violence toned down and “cartooned-up” these stories are superbly thrilling and beautifully depicted: a perfect introduction for kids and adults alike to the vast realm of adventure we all love…

These collected stories present an intriguing and perhaps more culturally accessible means of introducing character and concepts to kids born generations away from those far-distant 1960s originating events.
© 2010, 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Iron Man Masterworks volume 16


By Denny O’Neil, Roger McKenzie, Peter B. Gillis, Ralph Macchio, Luke McDonnell, Carmine Infantino, Paul Smith, Steve Ditko, Marie Severin, Mike Vosburg, Jerry Bingham, Michael Golden & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-3029-4920-4- (HB/Digital edition)

One of Marvel’s biggest global successes thanks to the film franchise, Iron Man celebrated his 60th anniversary in March 2023, so let’s again acknowledge that landmark and all who wear the suits offering more of the same…

Tony Stark is a super-rich supergenius inventor who moonlights as a superhero: wearing a formidable, ever-evolving suit of armour stuffed with his own ingenious creations. The supreme technologist hates to lose and constantly upgrades his gear, making Iron Man one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. However, in Iron Man #120-128 (March to November 1979), the unrelenting pressure of running a multinational corporation and saving the world on a daily basis resulted in the weary warrior succumbing to the constant temptations of his (originally sham) sybaritic lifestyle. Thus, he helplessly slipped into a glittering world drenched with excessive partying and drinking.

That dereliction was compounded by his armour being usurped by rival Justin Hammer: used to murder an innocent. The ensuing psychological crisis forced Stark to confront the hard fact that he was an alcoholic …and probably an adrenaline junkie too. Landmark story ‘Demon in a Bottle’ saw the traumatised hero plumb the depths of grief and guilt, bury himself in pity, and alienate all his friends and allies before an unlikely intervention forced him to take a long, hard look at his life and actions…

A more cautious, level-headed and wiser man, Stark resumed his high-pressure lives, but he could not let up and the craving never went away. Then in 1982 author/editor Denny O’Neil made him do it again, with the result that Marvel gained another black superhero at long last…

It was the dawn of a period of legacy heroes inheriting mantles, established roles and combat identities from white, mostly male champions, and was certainly a move in the right direction…

This grand and gleaming chronological compendium navigates that transitional period, re-presenting Iron Man #158-170 and material from Iron Man Annual #5 and Marvel Fanfare #4: episodically spanning cover-dates May 1982-May 1983. It’s accompanied by an Introduction from Luke McDonnell at the front and house ads and Direct Sale promo poster by him at the end, as the title experienced many creative personnel shuffles before settling on a stalwart team to tackle the biggest of changes. Also on show are covers by Bob Layton, Smith, Jim Starlin, Ed Hannigan & Al Milgrom, Jerry Bingham & Brett Breeding, McDonnell, Brent Anderson & Steve Mitchell.

Opening with Iron Man #158, O’Neil, Carmine Infantino, Dan Green & Al Milgrom breeze through the motions as a deranged junior genius attacks modern technology from his literal man-cave by tapping the latent psychic power of his ‘Moms’ after which Roger McKenzie, rising art star Paul Smith & inking collective “Diverse Hands” step in to relate what occurs ‘When Strikes Diablo’. Here the Fantastic Four’s alchemical nemesis infiltrates Stark International to steal the techno-wizard’s resources and obsolete suits, only to unleash a mystic menace beyond all control…

With pressure mounting and threats everywhere, the craving for booze painfully manifests in ‘A Cry of Beasts’ – by O’Neil, Steve Ditko, Marie Severin & Green – as Stark’s party-persona collides with hot, willing babes… until an attack on his factory by the sinister Serpent Squad reminds him of his priorities.

Preceding Iron Man Annual #5 – and by O’Neil, McDonnell, Mike Esposito & Steve Mitchell – a brief encounter with new hero Moon Knight sees Stark at odds with rival rich man Steven Grant (one of four people comprising the edgy crusader) in ‘If the Moonman Should Fail!’

Frenemies at first sight, the Golden Avenger and Fist of Khonshu swallow their rich-boy differences to save mutual friends held hostage by Advanced Idea Mechanics, after which the extra-length Annual extravaganza sees Iron Man in Wakanda where The Black Panther must defeat mysteriously resurrected nemesis and determined usurper Eric Killmonger…

Crafted by Peter B. Gillis, Ralph Macchio, Jerry & Bingham & Green, the action-packed ‘War and Remembrance!’ exposes an old foe methodically manoeuvring Stark and Iron Man into an inescapable trap, which closes tighter in Iron Man #162 as O’Neil, Mike Vosburg & Mitchell expose ‘The Menace Within!’ when a trusted employee sabotages S.I.…

There seems to be more than one campaign to crush Stark, and – as O’Neil, McDonnell & Mitchell become the regular creative team – ‘Knight’s Errand!’ opens an extended gambit with another hidden plotter turning ruthless capitalism, corporate raiding, advanced weaponry and an obsession with chess into a war for control of the company.

Up first is fast-flying tech terror The Knight who makes short work of Tony’s bodyguard, pilot, friend and confidante James Rhodes, but the real threat comes from a new acquaintance and future companion, covertly hollowing out Stark at close hand. Rising in the rankings after defeating the hovering horseman, Iron Man barely survives ‘Deadly Blessing’ of The Bishop after his security team digs up leads to the plot in Scotland…

In IM #165, the trail leads to Jamie, Laird of Glen Travail and another deadly duel of devices, where the true purpose is to destabilise Stark by abducting Rhodey in an effort to coerce his capitulation. The resultant ‘Endgame’ seemingly goes Stark’s way, but the battle is fought on many levels by a distanced player secretly commanding the Laird: one with a cruel emotional counterpunch long-prepared to destroy the hero from within…

On ‘One of Those Days…’ old foe The Melter attacks Stark’s New York facility whilst Rhodey still recuperates in Scotland. As Stark yet again faces enforced inactivity in the land of sublime alcoholic beverages, he abruptly abandons his friend to jet home to stop the supervillain. He also learns his brilliant security chief Vic Martinelli has uncovered the identity of one of the hidden players attacking the company: chess grandmaster turned armaments entrepreneur Obadiah Stane…

As Rhodey goes missing again, the newcomer wants all Stark’s creations and, in the most hostile of takeovers, uses every trick in the book – from honey traps to guided missiles and abduction to intoxication – to seize the advantage. ‘The Empty Shell’ sees that nefarious plan bear evil fruit as Stark finally cracks under interminable pressure and one last betrayal, leading to a crushing fall “off the wagon” and into the gutter in ‘The Iron Scream’.

Permanently drunk and deprived of all judgement, Stark dons his armour to clash with Machine Man, even as far away, Rhodey makes his own life-threatening break for freedom and home…

As chaos ensues at Stark’s plant, a major player debuts in the form of junior employee and minor boffin Morley Erwin: on hand for Stark’s reunion with Rhodey and an aghast witness to one of the smartest men alive crawling into a bottle and trying to drown away his pain…

That process begins in #169 as ‘Blackout!’ sees Stark simply give up when confronted by volcanic B-list villain Magma, and sleep through the moment Jim Rhodes steps up – and into – the role and armour of Iron Man…

The new era properly begins in #170’s ‘And Who Shall Clothe Himself in Iron?’ (cover-dated May 1983) as the former military airman promotes Erwin to tech support adviser to help him pilot the most complex weapon he’s ever used to defeat Magma and save a far from grateful Tony Stark…

The Beginning…

Rounding off the wonderment is a short tale by Michael Golden as originally seen in Marvel Fanfare #4 (September 1982) wherein Stark battles his dreams, inner demons and incalculable pride…

As comics companies sought to course correct old attitudes and adapt their wares to a far wider and more diverse readership than they had previously acknowledged, some rash rushed decisions were made that did not suit all the fans. Thankfully, that never stopped the editors and publishers from trying and the wonderful results are here and everywhere in comics because of it. Go read and enjoy and see how it all began to change.
© 2023 MARVEL.

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Secret Invasion


By Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu, Mark Morales & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-3297-4 (TPB/Digital edition Marvel) 978-1-84653-405-8 (TPB Panini/Marvel UK)

The Skrulls are shape-shifting aliens who have threatened Earth since the second issue of Fantastic Four, and have long been a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe. After decades of use and misuse the insidious invaders were made the stars of a colossal braided mega-crossover event beginning in April 2008 and running through all the company’s titles until Christmas. That landmark worlds-shaking epic has since been adapted to the company’s burgeoning, blockbuster Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you were a real fan, you’d have already seen the first episode…

We, however, are all about the comics so let’s revisit the stunning and all-pervasive source material. The premise is simple enough: the everchanging, corruptive would-be conquerors have undergone a mass religious conversion and are now utterly, fanatically dedicated to taking Earth as their new homeworld. To this end they have replaced over an unspecified time a number of key Earth denizens – including many of the world’s superheroes.

When the lid is lifted on the simmering plot, no defender of the Earth truly knows who is on their side…

Moreover the cosmic charlatans have also unravelled the secrets of humanity’s magical and genetic superpowers, creating amped-up equivalents to Earth’s mightiest. They are now primed and able to destroy the heroic defenders in face-to-face confrontations.

With the conquest primed to launch, everything starts to unravel when Elektra dies in battle and is discovered to be an alien, not a ninja. Soon, two teams of Avengers (Iron Man, The Sentry, Wonder Man, Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Ronin, Echo, Cloak and Black Widow) and certain agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  are covertly investigating in discrete operations. All are painfully aware that they have no way of telling friend from foe…

Crisis and confusion are compounded when a Skrull ship crashes in the primordial Savage Land, releasing a band of missing heroes claiming to have been abducted and experimented on. Among them are another Spider-Man, Luke Cage, recently killed Captain America Steve Rogers, Phoenix/Jean Grey and Thor, plus other heroes believed gone forever. Some must be Skrull duplicates but are they the newcomers or the ones facing them…?

As the champions second guess each other, the second strand triggers. Earths space defence station S.W.O.R.D. is blown up and a virus rips through the internet shutting down crucial systems including the Starktech comprising the operating systems of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Iron Man’s armour…

Now all over Earth, Skrulls attack and heroes – and even villains such as Norman (Green Goblin) Osborn – respond and retaliate in a last ditch effort to survive: a war of survival that ends in shock, horror and unforeseen disaster…

Rather than give any more away, let me just say that if you like this sort of blockbuster saga you’ll be in seventh heaven, and a detailed familiarity is not vital to your understanding. However, for a fuller understanding, amongst the other Secret Invasion volumes accompanying this, you should particularly seek out Secret Invasion: the Infiltration, Secret War (2004), Avengers Disassembled, and Annihilation volumes 1-3, as well as the Avengers: Illuminati compilation.

This American volume contains all 8 issues of the core miniseries plus a monumental covers-&-variants gallery (31 in total) by Gabriele Dell’Otto, Steve McNiven, Leinil Yu, Mel Rubi, Frank Cho, Laura Martin and Greg Horn, and a series of chilling house ads imploring us to ‘Embrace Change’, but is just one of 22 volumes comprising the vast number of episodes in convergent storylines of the saga.

Fast-paced, complex, superbly illustrated and suitably spectacular, this twisty-turny tale and its long-term repercussions reshaped the Marvel Universe, heralding a “Dark Reign” that pushed all the envelopes. If you are a comics newcomer, and can find the British edition from Panini, it also includes one-shot spin-off Who Do You Trust? and illustrated data-book Skrulls which claims to provide a listing and biography for every shapeshifter yet encountered in the Marvel Universe (but if they left any out, could you tell?).
© 2017 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Ultimate Collection


By Joe Casey, Scott Kolins, Will Rosado, Tom Palmer & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-5937-7 (TPB/Digital edition)

Time for another 60th Anniversary shout out…

One of the most momentous events in Marvel Comics history occurred in 1963 when a disparate array of individual heroes banded together to stop apparently marauding monster The Incredible Hulk.

The Avengers combined most of the company’s fledgling superhero line in one bright, shiny and highly commercial package. Over decades the roster has continually changed until now almost every character in their universe has at some time numbered amongst the team’s colourful ranks…

For Marvel’s transformational rebirth in the early 1960’s, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby took their lead from a small but growing band of costumed characters debuting or reimagined and revived at the Distinguished Competition. Julie Schwartz’ retooling of DC’s Golden Age stars had paid big dividends for the industry leader, and as the decade turned Managing Editor Lee’s boss (uncle/publisher Martin Goodman) insisted his company should go where the money was.

Although National/DC achieved incredible success with revised and updated versions of the company’s old stable, the natural gambit of trying the same revivification process on characters who had dominated Timely/Atlas in those halcyon days didn’t go quite so well.

The Justice League of America-inspired Fantastic Four indeed featured a new Human Torch, but his subsequent solo series began to founder almost as soon as Kirby stopped drawing it. Sub-Mariner was soon returned too, but as a deadly vengeful villain, as yet incapable of carrying his own title…

So a procession of new costumed heroes was created, with Lee, Kirby and Steve Ditko focussing on all-original inventive and inspired “super-characters”…

Not all caught on: The Hulk folded after six issues and even Spider-Man would have failed if writer/editor Lee hadn’t really, really pushed Uncle Martin…

After nearly 18 months, during which the fledgling House of Ideas churned out a small stable of leading men (but only two sidekick women), Lee & Kirby finally had enough players to stock an all-star ensemble – the precise format which had made the JLA a commercial winner – and thus swiftly assembled a handful of them into a force for justice and higher sales…

Cover-dated September 1963, The Avengers #1 launched as part of an expansion package which also included Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos and The X-Men, and, despite a few rocky patches, the series grew into one of the company’s perennial best sellers.

The early Avengers yarns became a cornerstone of the company’s crucially interlinked continuity. As decades passed they were frequently revisited and re-examined, and in 2005 Joe Casey and artist Scott Kolins (with colourists Morry Hollowell & Will Quintana) took the occasional exercises in creativity a little further: offering an 8-issue modernising miniseries adding devious – some would say cynically calculating – back-writing to the original stories. The epic was packed with post-modern in-filling for a more mature readership, exposing secrets and revealing how the team actually came to hold its prominent and predominant position in the Marvel Universe…

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #1-8 ran fortnightly from January to April 2005 and was successful enough to warrant a second season. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes II #1-8 repeated the gambit from January to May 2007, and with both epics gathered in this splendid, no-nonsense compilation.

Chronologically set between Avengers #1 and 2, the drama begins as industrialist Tony Stark reviews media coverage of the coalition of mystery men currently residing in his family’s townhouse. He ponders how best to keep such diverse and headstrong personalities as Ant Man, The Wasp, Thor and the Hulk together. Across town in a seedy bar, young troublemaker and pool-hustler Clint Barton can’t understand why folks are so nervous about the “masked freaks”…

Two weeks later, the team has fallen apart and the Avengers are actually hunting their gamma-fuelled former colleague. In the course of calamitous events they unexpectedly recover a legendary form from a coffin of ice floating in sea…

The gradually assimilation of partially amnesiac WWII legend Captain America into a terrifying and seemingly mad new era is not without problems, and the iconic, grimly experienced warrior is soon keenly aware of seething tensions besetting the team he has joined.

Iron Man still fervently pursues an exalted Federal status for the Avengers, but the Army are baulking: clearly set on putting the wilfully independent powerhouses under military jurisdiction. After a ferocious clash with Lava Men from Earth’s deep interior, word finally comes. The powers that be have created an all-encompassing “Avengers Priority Security Status” – but only for as long as the fickle public’s new darling and National Treasure Captain America stays with them…

Self-made scientific genius Hank Pym created the roles of Ant Man and the Wasp (AKA debutante girlfriend Janet Van Dyne) but his inherent and growing mental instability has caused him to push further and harder ever since he joined the ranks of a group that includes a patriotic living legend, an infallible metal juggernaut and an apparent god.

Now operating as Giant Man he is letting feelings of inadequacy drive a wedge between him and his lover, even as the Army ups the pressure to take over the team. Meanwhile, modern-day Rip Van Winkle Steve Rogers increasingly sinks into survivor’s guilt over the comrades he failed to save in the war. That internalised torment kicks into overdrive when Nazi war criminal and archfoe Baron Zemo comes out of hiding to attack the Avenger through his Masters of Evil…

When an invader out of time strikes, the Avengers finally and very publicly prove their worth to the nation and its government, and with Kang the Conqueror sent packing, the team at last secures favoured-but-fully-independent security clearance.

…And in the streets, a wanted vigilante dubbed Hawkeye saves Avengers butler Edwin Jarvis from muggers and they strike up a most irregular friendship…

Missions come thick and fast but the internal tensions never seem to dissipate. In far distant Balkan Transia fugitive mutants Wanda and Pietro desperately search for a place where they can feel safe, whilst in America Cap is increasingly fixated on tracking down Zemo.

After a battle with crime syndicate leader Count Nefaria leaves the Wasp near death, Giant Man also edges closer to a complete breakdown. With a surgeon battling to save her, Pym swears he’s going to quit and take her away from all the madness. Before that can happen, Zemo returns, abducting the Sentinel of Liberty’s teenaged friend Rick Jones…

In response, the team acrimoniously divides, with Cap trailing the monomaniac to Bolivia whilst the majority of Avengers remain for a final battle against the Masters of Evil. Meanwhile below stairs, Jarvis and Clint are concocting a sneaky scheme of their own…

As the death-duel in Bolivia concludes, in Germany two restless young mutants orchestrate their return to America and – with some collusion from Jarvis – Hawkeye “auditions” for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes…

As Cap and Rick wearily and so slowly make their way back to civilisation, Iron Man deals with Government fallout after learning that their Red, White and Blue poster boy is missing. Soon news leaks out that the rest of the team are quitting and that Stark has lined up a wanted vigilante and two outlaw mutants to replace them…

The initial secret history lesson concludes with astounded Captain America’s re-emergence and reluctant accession to leadership: riding herd on a team of obnoxious, arrogant young felons he is expected to mould into true champions…

The rest is history…

The second bite of the cherry (by Casey, Will Rosado, Tom Palmer & Quintana) focuses on a later time when the Avengers are in resurgent form. The Founders have all returned at a time when Pym (now calling himself Goliath), The Wasp and Hawkeye are joined by enigmatic African monarch The Black Panther. The action commences immediately following the expanded team’s being attacked by an android called The Vision – whom they promptly signed up (in Avengers #58, if you’re keeping count). Apparently the density-shifting “synthezoid” was created by robotic nemesis Ultron – a murderous AI created by Pym whilst suffering one of his frequent psychotic breaks – before switching allegiances…

We open as the highly-suspect new Avenger is impounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. for investigation and clearance. Their ostensible reason is that another autonomous murder mechanism – Super-Adaptoid – has escaped from custody and humanity can’t be too careful…

In the Philippines, the real cause of all the anti-technology tension and overweening suspicion are busy. Science terrorists Advanced Idea Mechanics have secretly stolen the Adaptoid and are seeing how they can improve an already ultimate killing machine…

At a clandestine S.H.I.E.L.D. base, interrogator Jasper Sitwell has met his match in The Vision, but perseveres in trying to dig out dirt on the android and its “master” Ultron. The Panther meanwhile has foregone his status as a VIP dignitary to teach at an inner city school under the alias Luke Charles. What he finds there is a true education…

Hawkeye too is under pressure as his lover The Black Widow reveals she’s going back into the spy-game. With Pym close to apoplexy at the government’s quasi-legal rendition of the Vision, nobody is in a particularly good mood when S.H.I.E.L.D.  supremo Nick Fury (the white one who fought in WWII) demands the team head to the Philippines to investigate A.I.M.’s latest enterprise.

With Fury’s carrot-&-stick pep talk ringing in their ears the heroes – rejoined by the just released Vision – jet away, unaware that in Manhattan an assassination plot against King T’Challa/Mr. Charles has brought one of Panther’s greatest enemies to America…

The heroes are challenged over the Pacific skies by a mass-produced army of Super-Adaptoids and are soon engaged in the fight of their lives…

Overwhelmed, they are in danger of being swamped before Goliath valiantly turns himself into as colossal human rampart to stem the tide and save the endangered island population whilst his comrades rush to destroy A.I.M.’s superbase…

Left all alone, Pym fights in maddened frenzy and becomes increasingly obsessed with how human the things he is incessantly slaughtering seem to be. By the time the triumphant team get Goliath home, he is a deeply traumatised shell of a man…

Luke Charles returns to school in time to be deeply embroiled in a bullying case that will inevitably end in gunplay and tragedy. And then the apparently recuperating Hank Pym goes missing…

Soon after, a new, excessively brutal hero named Yellowjacket is making news even as Agent Sitwell again targets the Vision for further debriefing: specifically, Pym’s “massacre” of mechanical lifeforms on A.I.M. Island. This time he’s brought in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top psychologist Agent Carver to try and get under the subject’s artificial skin…

The spies are in heated argument with Hawkeye when Yellowjacket breaks in, claiming to have murdered the Man of Many Sizes and demanding to take Goliath’s place on the team…

Nobody is fooled. Everyone recognises the abrasive stranger as Pym gone far off the deep end, but Carver prevents them from saying anything. She advises that he is clearly inches from being utterly incurable and devises a treatment to cure him which basically comprises “play along and don’t do anything to upset the crazy man”…

That even includes allowing Yellowjacket to kidnap the Wasp and agreeing to let him marry his hostage…

The wedding is held at Avengers Mansion and includes a Who’s Who of heroes along for the ride (The Fantastic Four, X-Men, Spider-Man, The Black Knight and Doctor Strange) but the scheme spirals out of control when The Circus of Crime – not privy to the details of the service – use the gathering as an opportunity to kill all America’s costumed champions in one go…

With Hawkeye and the blushing bride hostages and the first to be despatched, the deadly dilemma shocks Pym back to his rightest senses, but in the aftermath many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are butchered as Wakandan assassin Death Tiger gets ever closer to fulfilling his own mission of murder…

To cap off all the chaos, the still-at-large Super-Adaptoid also attacks, determined to expunge “race-traitor” The Vision who has perpetrated the ultimate betrayal by siding with inferior humanity and denying the innate superiority and inevitable ascension of mechanical and artificial lifeforms…

Politically savvy, wryly trenchant and compellingly action-packed, this extremely impressive Fights ‘n’ Tights chronicle is a superb addition/codicil to the annals of The Avengers and would serve as perfect comics vehicle for movie fans in search of a print-fix for their costumed crusader cravings…
© 2021 MARVEL.

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Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis volume 1


By Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Tom Palmer& various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-4500-4 (HB/Digital Edition) 978-0-7851-4501-1 (TPB/ Digital Edition)

Probably Marvel’s biggest global franchising success, The Avengers celebrate their 60th anniversary in September 2023, so let’s again acknowledge and anticipate that landmark event with another glorious past triumph…

Once upon a time Norman Osborn was America’s Security Czar: an untouchable “top-cop” in sole charge of a beleaguered nation’s defence and freedom, especially in regard to the USA’s costumed and metahuman community.

When the former-but-still-deranged Green Goblin at last but inevitably overplayed his hand, a coalition of outlawed champions united to defeat him, and his fall from grace was staggering and total.

The chaos and carnage led to a new Age of Heroes, and as part of that resurgence, original Captain America Steve Rogers was appointed Supreme Commander of US metahuman resources. He promptly set about redefining the what, who and how of the World’s Mightiest Heroes which launched a flotilla of new teams and titles, with Avengers volume 4 being the official spine of the comic book franchise.

Available in a number of formats, this initial collection gathers issues #1-6 as written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by John Romita Jr. with inkers Klaus Janson & Tom Palmer colourist Dean White and letterer (VC’s) Cory Petit adding to the spectacle and wonderment. The book spans cover-dates July to December 2010) and opens with a peek at a terrifying future before skipping back to Now where a triumphant, reunited army of heroes is trying to democratically decide just who goes where and does what…

Those deliberations are rudely interrupted in ‘Next Avengers Part One’ when time-tyrant Kang the Conqueror beams in with a frantic warning. He barely opens his mouth before he’s blasted across the city by the wary, twice-shy heroes, but as they converge to press their attack the Conqueror stops all hostilities by brandishing an ultimate weapon.

Iron Man Tony Stark prevents his comrades from finishing off Kang as he recognises the Dark Matter Accelerator. It’s something he thought up and swore never to build. The only way the future Fuhrer can have it is if Stark made it and gave it to him…

In the cautious ceasefire that follows, Kang explains he’s come to beg the aid of the Avengers. In his current future he is one of a team that includes the children of the Avengers, united to stop life-loathing Artificial Intelligence Ultron from exterminating humanity.

They have at last succeeded in destroying the mechanoid marauder but the children are now an even greater menace. Moreover, Kang’s attempts to stop them have resulted in time itself shredding… and all of reality is now collapsing…

The arrogant time-terrorist expects the Avengers to stop their errant offspring, but as Rogers heads off all debate to arbitrarily assemble teams, back in the future Kang and his hidden allies make preparations to carry out their true scheme…

Not every past Avenger is keen to answer the call to reassemble. Simon Williams has come to believe the team has done more harm than good and threatens to stop them if they start up again. ‘Wonder Man Attacks?!!’ sees him make good on his warning whilst a small squad locate Kree outcast Noh-Varr The Protector to request his expertise in time travel.

As the alien and Stark’s efforts finally bear fruit, Wonder Man brutally engages the entire team. In the resultant blockbusting battle, something goes terribly wrong, and an alternate Apocalypse and his horrendous Horsemen materialise, intent on ending mankind.

As the embattled titans swiftly mobilise to tackle the next crisis, a ‘Menace from Beyond Time’ manifests as various time-streams and realities begin to coalesce and overlap in New York City. With All of Everything endangered, a unit of heroes heads into the unhappy future leaving their harried comrades to hold back a tidal wave of time-tossed menaces – and the occasional misplaced hero such as Killraven and Devil Dinosaur…

Far away from now, Iron Man, Wolverine, replacement Captain America James “Bucky” Barnes and Noh-Varr witness first-hand the cataclysmic war against Ultron before being ambushed by the next generation in ‘Only the Good Die Young’.

Back in their home era, a multitude of past menaces – from cavemen to cowboys to cosmic devourer Galactus – are keeping the majority of Avengers busy, whilst in the foredoomed tomorrow the questing quartet are painfully discovering they’ve been played by Kang yet again…

Full explanations are promised by an incredibly aged Tony Stark and the architect of the chronal rescue plan: Bruce Banner in his gamma-charged arch-villain persona of ‘The Maestro’…

With two Starks, an incredibly sagacious and experienced Banner and new element Noh-Varr all intent on fixing the problem, the sorry story soon comes out. All of creation’s future is stuck in a temporal loop: a cosmic “Groundhog Day” with Kang interminably trapped battling Ultron. Now, with the odds altered by the historical Avengers, there’s a real chance to make things right in one final ‘Battle for the Future’…

Tragically, as Thor’s clash with Galactus escalates and the assembled Avengers resolutely resist Apocalypse and his minions in the now, there may not be a past to return to…

Layers of murderous duplicity are peeled back in ‘Next Avengers Part 6: Conclusion’ as a cunning solution to the Ultron-Kang impasse is conceived. However, even as reality reasserts itself and four weary heroes return home, old man Stark takes the risky chance of giving his younger self a deadly device and a portentous warning from the future…

Epic in scale, vast in scope and overflowing with action, this a magnificently rendered tale that might bewilder new readers looking for a post-movie fix, but will delight dyed-in-the-wool Fights ‘n’ Tights fanatics. It comes with a gallery of covers-&-variants by Romita Jr., Janson & Dean White, John Romita Sr., Greg Land & Morry Hollowell, Jim Cheung & Justin Ponsor, Alan Aldridge, Phil Jimenez & D’Armata, plus a massive combined variant cover by Marko Djurdjevic.
© 2018 MARVEL.

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Captain Carter: Woman Out of Time


By Jamie McKelvie, Marika Cresta, Erick Arciniega, Matt Milla & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-3029-4655-5 (TPB/Digital edition)

Comics fans are a strange breed. We funnybook cognoscenti have always wanted lesser, non-enlightened mortals to understand why our addiction to convoluted continuity and printed pamphlets are the best of all possible worlds, but then carp and whine when the greater world catches on via a major movie franchise, and embrace what we churlishly declare is not the “right “Avengers or Batman…

We also wish more girls read X-Men and The Hulk…

Seriously though, now that superheroes are a common global currency, us paper purists just need to accept that other media not only exploit our preferred area of delight, but inevitably affect and reinforce it. After all, does it really matter when comic book stories come from, if they are as good as possible and just as entertaining as any classic in-continuity romp?

It’s not as if comics didn’t already have an in-built mechanism for incorporating outlandish elements. We call it The Multiverse…

The Marvel Cinematic Universe bound together many beloved but radically reinterpreted elements of historical comics innovation into a separate reality (more than one, actually), and here that pays off big for movie icon Peggy Carter as her subsequent solo TV series and animated What If? appearances are finally parlayed into a comic series.

Written by Jamie McKelvie (Phonogram, The Wicked + The Divine, Catwoman, Batman, Young Avengers), illustrated by Marika Cresta (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Power Pack, Fearless, X-Men and Moongirl) and colourists Erick Arciniega & Matt Milla, all lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles, her debut 5-issue series (cover-dated May-October 2022) is collected here: offering a glimpse at a possible world where the super-soldier serum that created Captain America transformed not passionate idealistic kid Steve Rogers, but a potent, competent, highly trained and educated woman of the world…

Mirroring mainstream continuity, it begins with the finding and thawing of a WWII legend who supposedly perished battling arch-Nazi Baron von Strucker. Margaret “Peggy” Carter quickly adapts to the many changes of a new century: appreciating how far women – and minorities – have advanced even as ambitious men and untrustworthy governments squabble over who will control her. Some things never change…

Ultimately she agrees to work for British Intelligence, taken under the wing of Prime Minister Harry Williams, who sees her a living symbol of a go-getting country on the move again. He’s going to personally manage and supervise the career of the UK’s only superhero extremely carefully and very closely…

To that end, and over her grudging protests, he’s placed the Captain with new agency S.T.R.I.K.E. (Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies) and appointed operative Lizzie Braddock as her liaison/minder. She’s not what she at first appears to be, but then again, neither is the PM…

Before Carter can get her bearings, a string of deadly attacks hurls her back into the bloody superhero spy game when a mysteriously resurgent Hydra targets their oldest enemy and turn London into a war zone…

The hero quickly falls into old habits, living her new life on a war footing, but something just doesn’t feel right. Facing an endless barrage of missions against foes like people-smuggler Batroc, Carter slowly realises that the government has been massaging the political messages she’s been learning, and might not be acting on behalf of all the people.

A different and uncomfortable truth comes via neighbour Harley Davis: a young black girl who explains what “processing” illegal migrants and asylum seekers actually means…

Appalled and now informing herself from a variety of sources, Carter refuses to be a flashy propaganda tool any longer, provoking an immediate and lethal response from the headline-obsessed government. As bodies drop and attacks intensify, she finds a welcome ally in Tony: grandson of genius inventor (and Carter’s closest WWII comrade) Howard Stark…

He’s just as smart as grandpa and also despises tyrants and fascists…

As the government go into spin mode, blaming and framing everybody else for their sins, Carter, Stark, Braddock and Davis take the fight to them, only to discover an ancient and unholy secret aristocracy at the heart of the conspiracy, one that has been feeding on Britain’s life blood for centuries…

Now it’s time the people saw the light and our assembled heroes cleaned house…

Backed up by a cover gallery and costume/uniform designs by McKelvie, this tome includes a wealth of variant covers from Sara Pichelli & Matthew Wilson, Marvel Studios, Jen Bartel, Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg, Paco Medin & Jesus Aburtov, Marc Aspinall, Ashley Witter, and Romy Jones.

Fun, fast, furious, filled with the kind of in-joke riffs veteran fans love and telling a fresh new tale featuring a truly forceful “fighting female”, Captain Carter is also a wry and barbed political and social statement on the responsibilities of rule, and a damn fine read as well. She’s not The Captain, but she’s just as good – and maybe even better…
© 2022 MARVEL.

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Invincible Iron Man Epic Collection volume 10: The Enemy Within 1982-1983


By Denny O’Neil, Roger McKenzie, Peter B. Gillis, Ralph Macchio, Carmine Infantino, Steve Ditko, Paul Smith, Luke McDonnell, Jerry Bingham, Mike Vosburg, Marie Severin & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-8787-5 (TPB/Digital edition)

Tony Stark is a super-rich supergenius inventor who moonlights as a superhero: wearing a formidable, ever-evolving suit of armour stuffed with his own ingenious creations. The supreme technologist hates to lose and constantly upgrades his gear, making Iron Man one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe.

However, in Iron Man #120-128 (March to November 1979), the unrelenting pressure of running a multinational corporation and saving the world on a daily basis resulted in the weary warrior succumbing to the constant temptations of his (originally sham) sybaritic lifestyle. Thus, he helplessly slipped into a glittering world drenched with excessive partying and drinking.

That dereliction was compounded by his armour being usurped by rival Justin Hammer: used to murder an innocent. The ensuing psychological crisis forced Stark to confront the hard fact that he was an alcoholic …and probably an adrenaline junkie too.

That crux landmark story ‘Demon in a Bottle’ saw the traumatised hero plumb the depths of grief and guilt, bury himself in pity, and alienate all his friends and allies before an unlikely intervention forced him to take a long, hard look at his life and actions…

A more cautious, level-headed and wiser man, Stark resumed his high-pressure lives, but he could not let up and the craving never went away. Then in 1982 author/editor Denny O’Neil made him do it again, with the result that Marvel gained another black superhero at long last…

It was the start of a period of legacy heroes inheriting the mantles, established roles and combat identities from white and mostly male champions, and was certainly a move in the right direction…

This grand and gleaming chronological compendium navigates that transitional period, re-presenting Iron Man #158-177 and Iron Man Annual #5: episodically spanning cover-dates May 1982 through December 1983, as the title experienced an uncomfortable number of creative personnel shuffles before settling on a steady team to tackle the biggest of changes…

It starts with Iron Man #158 as O’Neil, Carmine Infantino, Dan Green & Al Milgrom breeze through the motions as a deranged junior genius attacks modern technology from his literal man-cave by tapping the latent psychic power of his ‘Moms’…

Roger McKenzie, rising art star Paul Smith & inking collective “Diverse Hands” stepped in to relate what occurs ‘When Strikes Diablo’, as the Fantastic Four’s alchemical nemesis infiltrates Stark International to steal the techno-wizard’s resources and obsolete suits, only to unleash a mystic menace beyond all control…

With pressure mounting and threats everywhere, the craving for booze painfully manifests in ‘A Cry of Beasts’ – by O’Neil, Steve Ditko, Marie Severin & Green – as Stark’s party-persona collides with hot, willing babes …until an attack on his factory by the sinister Serpent Squad reminds him of his priorities.

Preceding Iron Man Annual #5, and by O’Neil, Luke McDonnell, Mike Esposito & Steve Mitchell, a brief encounter with newcomer hero Moon Knight sees Stark at odds with rival rich man Steven Grant (one of four people comprising the edgy new crusader) in ‘If the Moonman Should Fail!’

Frenemies at first sight, the Golden Avenger and Fist of Khonshu swallow their differences to save mutual friends held hostage by Advanced Idea Mechanics, after which the extra-length Annual extravaganza sees Iron Man in Wakanda where The Black Panther must defeat mysteriously resurrected nemesis and determined usurper Eric Killmonger…

Crafted by Peter B. Gillis, Ralph Macchio, Jerry & Bingham & Green, the action-packed ‘War and Remembrance!’ reveals an old foe methodically manoeuvring Stark and Iron Man into an inescapable trap, which closes tighter in Iron Man #162 as O’Neil, Mike Vosburg & Mitchell expose ‘The Menace Within!’ as a trusted employee sabotages S.I.…

There seems to be more than one campaign to crush Stark, and – as O’Neil, McDonnell & Mitchell become the regular creative team – ‘Knight’s Errand!’ opens an extended gambit with another hidden plotter turning ruthless capitalism, corporate raiding, advanced weaponry and an obsession with chess into a war for control of the company.

Up first is fast-flying tech terror The Knight who makes short work of Tony’s bodyguard, pilot, friend and confidante James Rhodey, but the real threat comes from a new acquaintance and future companion, covertly hollowing out Stark at close hand. Rising in the rankings after defeating the hovering horseman, Iron Man barely survives the ‘Deadly Blessing’ of The Bishop after his security team digs up leads to the plot in Scotland…

In IM #165, the trail leads to Jamie, Laird of Glen Travail and another deadly duel of devices, but the true purpose is to destabilise Stark by abducting Rhodey in an effort to coerce his capitulation. The resultant ‘Endgame’ seemingly goes Stark’s way, but the battle is fought on many levels by a distanced player secretly commanding the Laird: one with a cruel emotional counterpunch long-prepared to destroy the hero from within…

After a brief interlude offering original art pages from issues #161, 163 & 165, the stories resume and tensions mount on ‘One of Those Days…’ as old foe The Melter attacks Stark’s New York facility. Rhodey is recuperating in Scotland and Stark yet again faces enforced inactivity in the land of sublime alcoholic beverages, so he abruptly abandons his friend and jets home to stop the supervillain. He also learns his brilliant head of security Vic Martinelli has uncovered the identity of one of the hidden players attacking the company: chess grandmaster turned armaments entrepreneur Obadiah Stane…

With Rhodey missing again in Scotland, the newcomer wants all Stark’s creations and in the most hostile of takeovers, has used every trick in the book – from honey traps to guided missiles and abduction to intoxication – to seize the advantage…

‘The Empty Shell’ sees that nefarious planning bear evil fruit as Stark finally cracks under interminable pressure and one last betrayal, leading to a crushing fall “off the wagon” and into the gutter in ‘The Iron Scream’.

Permanently drunk and deprived of all judgement, Stark dons his armour to clash with Machine Man, even as far away, Rhodey makes his own life-threatening break for freedom and home…

As chaos ensues at the Stark plant, a major player debuts in the form of junior employee and minor boffin Morley Erwin, who’s on hand for Stark’s reunion with Rhodey and an aghast witness to one of the smartest men alive willingly crawling into a bottle and trying to drown away his pain…

That process begins in #169 as ‘Blackout!’ sees Stark simply give up when confronted by volcanic B-list villain Magma, and sleep through the moment Jim Rhodes steps up – and into – the role and armour of Iron Man…

The new era properly begins in #170’s ‘And Who Shall Clothe Himself in Iron?’ (cover-dated May 1983) as the former military airman promotes Erwin to the role of tech support adviser to help him pilot the most complex weapon he’s ever used to defeat Magma and save a far from grateful Tony Stark…

In the aftermath, the inventor just walks away: letting a new hero flounder even as, in the shadows, Stane gradually completes his takeover. Alone, isolated and under resourced, Rhodey and Erwin stumble into a heist in ‘Ball and Chain’, after seeking to arbitrate a domestic hostage situation triggered by Asgardian-powered supervillain Thunderball not knowing when no means no…

They are then duty-bound to intervene when Stark – completely off the rails – is arrested. However, his drunken debacle is only the start of their woes, as one the souse’s most murderous enemies tries to exact ‘Firebrand’s Revenge!’ and an entire hotel goes up in flames.

Thankfully Captain America is on hand to give the new guy in the suit a helping hand, but the distraction is just what Stane needs to seal his deal…

Homeless, broke and close to death on the streets, Stark is then accidentally saved by his conqueror, who lays the seeds of his own eventual downfall by dragging the lush to a grand takeover ceremony. Also attending is the new Iron Man who gets a lead to the woman who tempted and crushed Stark: an operative of freelance espionage ring The Sisters of Ishtar. This time both Stane and Rhodey learn that ‘Judas is a Woman’…

During this period every effort to turn Stark around fails: shot down by his self-sabotage. Now however, his friends must pause their personal interventions as the national and international repercussions of Stane’s triumph grows. Refusing to let a ruthless war profiteer benefit from Iron Man tech, Rhodey and Morley take drastic steps: stealing all the old kit and prototypes from Stane International. They are blithely unaware Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. share those opinions and are making their own clandestine arrangements in ‘Armor Chase’ (inked by Sam de LaRosa)…

A three-way clash escalates in O’Neil, McDonnell, & Mitchell’s Iron Man #175 as all ‘This Treasure of Red and Gold…’ ends up dumped deep in the ocean: purportedly beyond human reach. Nobody seemed to think that maybe water breathers like bellicose Atlantean renegade Warlord Krang might be in the market for a weapons upgrade dropped right in his lap…

Still operating under what can only be described as trial-by-fire period, Rhodey dives right in, triumphs again and even makes a new friend…

Stark’s own deep descent is marginally arrested after befriending an elderly “un-homed” guy on the streets in ‘Turf’, even as far away Iron Man meets the Sisters of Ishtar again and has his first encounter with something not of this Earth…

This tome pauses for now with a transitional tale loaded with portents of bad times to come. After meeting Erwin’s even smarter sister Clytemnestra, Rhodey looks – after a chat with Heroes for Hire Luke Cage & Iron Fist – into forming a rather unique start-up company in ‘Have Armor Will Travel’. The idea only truly gels after he’s hired to bodyguard an officious unflappable official in South America and encounters – and survives – deadly armoured mercenary Flying Tiger. However, in all the furore, our hero barely notices that he’s having headaches almost constantly these days…

To Be Continued…

With covers by Bob Layton, Smith, Jim Starlin, Ed Hannigan & Al Milgrom, Bingham & Brett Breeding, McDonnell, Brent Anderson & Mitchell, the bonus section includes ‘Original art and covers’, the cover for The Many Armors of Iron Man collection by McDonnell, Mitchell, & Frank D’Armata and contemporary House ad from Marvel Age #12.

As comics companies sought to course correct old attitudes and adapt their wares to a far wider and more diverse readership than they had previously acknowledged, some rash rushed decisions were made that did not suit all the fans. Thankfully, that never stopped the editors and publishers from trying and the wonderful results are here and everywhere in comics because of it. Go read and enjoy and see how it all began to change.
© 2017 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin: The Complete Collection


By Jim Starlin, Mike Friedrich, Steve Gerber, Steve Englehart & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-1-30290-017-5

50 YEARS!! It’s been five decades since this tale was first told! If you don’t know why, you have a real treat in store…

As much as I’d love to claim that Marvel’s fortunes are solely built on the works of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, I’m just not able to. Whereas I can safely avow that without them the modern monolith would not exist, it is also necessary to acknowledge the vital role played by a second generation of creators of the early 1970s. Marvel’s eager welcome to fresh, new, often untried talent paid huge dividends in creativity and – most importantly at a time of industry contraction – resulted in new sales and the retention of a readership that was growing away from traditional comics fare. Best of all, these newcomers spoke with a narrative voice far closer to that of its rebellious audience…

One of the most successful of these newcomers was Jim Starlin. As well as the topical and groundbreaking Master of Kung Fu – co-created with his equally gifted confederates Steve Englehart & Al Milgrom – Starlin’s earliest success was the epic of cosmic odyssey compiled here.

Captain Marvel was an alien on Earth, a defector from the militaristic Kree. He fought for Earth and was atomically bonded to professional sidekick Rick Jones by a pair of wristbands allowing them to share the same space in our universe. When one was here, the other was trapped in the antimatter dimension designated the Negative Zone.

After meandering around the Marvel Universe for a while, continually one step ahead of cancellation (the series had folded many times, but always quickly returned – primarily to secure the all-important Trademark name), Mar-Vell was handed to Starlin – and the young artist was left alone to get on with it.

With many of his fellow neophytes, he began laying seeds (particularly in Iron Man, Sub-Mariner and Daredevil) for a saga that would in many ways become as well-regarded as the Jack Kirby Fourth World Trilogy that inspired it. However, the Thanos War, despite many superficial similarities, would soon develop into a uniquely modern experience. And what it lacked in grandeur, it made up for with sheer energy and enthusiasm…

This epic compendium gathers and collates Iron Man #55, Captain Marvel #25-34, Marvel Feature #12 and pertinent extracts from Daredevil #105. It collectively spanning February 1973 to September 1974, and concludes with the landmark Marvel Graphic Novel #1 from 1982: thus re-presenting Starlin’s entire input into the legend of the Kree Protector of the Universe and one of the company’s most popular and oft-reprinted sagas.

The artistic iconoclasm began in Iron Man #55 (February 1973) where Mike Friedrich scripted Starlin’s opening gambit in a cosmic epic that would change the nature of Marvel itself.

Inked by Mike Esposito, ‘Beware… Beware… Beware the… Blood Brothers!’ introduces formidable and obsessive Drax the Destroyer: an immensely powerful apparent alien trapped under the Nevada desert and in dire need of rescue thanks to the wiles of even more potent extraterrestrial invader Thanos…

That comes when the Armoured Avenger blazes in, answering a mysterious SOS, but only after brutally dealing with the secret invader’s deadly underlings…

All this is merely a prelude to the main story which begins unfolding a month later in Captain Marvel #25, courtesy of Friedrich, Starlin, & Chic Stone wherein Thanos unleashes ‘A Taste of Madness!’ and exiles Mar-Vell’s fortunes change forever…

When ambushed by a pack of extraterrestrials, Mar-Vell is forced to admit that his powers have been in decline for some time. Unaware that an unseen foe is counting on that, he allows Rick to manifest (from the Negative Zone) and they check in with sagacious scientific maverick Dr. Savannah. Suddenly, Rick is accused by the savant’s daughter (and Rick’s beloved) Lou-Ann of her father’s murder…

Hauled off to jail, Rick brings in Mar-Vell who is suddenly confronted by a veritable legion of old foes before deducing who in fact his true enemies are…

Issue #26 then sees Rick freed from police custody to confront Lou-Ann over her seeming ‘Betrayal!’ (Starlin, Friedrich & Dave Cockrum). Soon, however, he and Mar-Vell realise they are the targets of psychological warfare: the girl is being mind-controlled whilst Super Skrull and his hidden “Masterlord” are manipulating them and others in search of a lost secret…

When a subsequent scheme to have Mar-Vell kill The Thing spectacularly fails, Thanos takes personal charge. The Titan is hungry for conquest and needs Rick because his subconscious conceals the location of an irresistible ultimate weapon.

Jones awakens to find himself ‘Trapped on Titan!’ (Pablo Marcos inks) but does not realise the villain has already extracted the location of a reality-altering Cosmic Cube from him. Rescued by Thanos’ hyper-powered father Mentor and noble brother Eros, the horrified lad sees first-hand the extent of the genocide the death-loving monster has inflicted upon his own birthworld. Utterly outraged, he summons Captain Marvel to wreak vengeance…

Meanwhile on Earth, still-enslaved Lou-Ann has gone to warn the Mighty Avengers and summarily collapsed. By the time Mar-Vell arrives in #28 she lies near death. ‘When Titans Collide!’ (inks by Dan Green) reveals another plank of Thanos’ plan. As the heroes are picked off by psychic parasite The Controller, the Kree Captain is assaulted by bizarre visions of an incredible ancient being. Fatally distracted, he becomes the malevolent mind-leech’s latest victim…

Al Milgrom inks ‘Metamorphosis!’ as Mar-Vell’s connection to Rick is severed before the Kree is transported to an otherworldly locale where a grotesque eight billion-year-old being named Eon reveals the origins of universal life whilst overseeing the lifelong soldier’s forced evolution into an ultimate warrior: a universal champion gifted with the subtly irresistible power of “Cosmic Awareness”…

Iron Man, meanwhile, has recovered from a previous Controller assault and headed for Marvel Feature #12 to join Ben Grimm in ending a desert incursion by Thanos’ forces before enduring ‘The Bite of the Blood Brothers!’ courtesy of Friedrich, Starlin, & Joe Sinnott, after which the story develops through an extract first seen in Daredevil #105.

Here enigmatic and emotionless super scientist Madame MacEvil tells her origins and foreshadows her future role in the cosmic catastrophe to come. When Thanos killed her family, the infant Heather Douglas was adopted by Mentor, taken to Titan and reared by psionic martial artists of the Shao-Lom Monastery. Years later when Thanos attacked Titan and destroyed the monks, she swore revenge and took a new name – Moondragon…

Subsequently returned to Earth and reconnected to his frantic atomic counterpart, the newly-appointed “Protector of the Universe” confronts The Controller, thrashing the monumentally powerful brain-parasite in a devastating display of skill countering exo-skeletal super-strength in #30’s ‘…To Be Free from Control!’ after which #31 celebrates ‘The Beginning of the End!’ (inked by Green & Milgrom) as the Avengers – in a gathering of last resort – are joined by psionic priestess Moondragon and Drax. The latter is revealed as one more of Thanos’ victims, but one recalled from death by supernal forces to destroy the deranged Titan…

The cosmic killer is then revealed as a lover of the personification of Death: determined to give her Earth as a betrothal present. To that end he uses the Cosmic Cube to turn himself into ‘Thanos the Insane God!’ (Green inks) who, with a thought, imprisons all opposition to his reign. However, his insane arrogance leaves cosmically aware Mar-Vell with a slim chance to undo every change, and the last hero brilliantly outmanoeuvres, defeats and apparently destroys ‘The God Himself!’ in the cosmically climactic Captain Marvel #33 (inked by Klaus Janson)…

With the universe saved and a modicum of sanity and security restored, Starlin’s run ended on a relatively weak and inconclusive note in #34 as ‘Blown Away!’ – inked by Jack Abel and dialogued by Englehart – explored the day after doomsday…

As Rick strives to revive his on-again, off-again musical career, a new secret organisation called the Lunatic Legion sends Nitro, the Exploding Man to acquire a canister of deadly gas from an Air Force base where old pal Carol Danvers (long before her transformations into Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird and ultimately Captain Marvel) is head of Security…

Although the Protector of the Universe defeats his earth-shattering enemy, Mar-Vell succumbs to the deadly nerve agent released in the battle. The exposure actually kills him but he will not realise that for years to come…

In 1982, The Death of Captain Marvel was the first Marvel Graphic Novel and the one that truly demonstrated how mainstream superhero material could breach the wider world of general publishing.

Written and illustrated by Starlin with lettering by James Novak and colours from Steve Oliff, this tale concluded the career of the mighty Kree Champion in a neatly symmetrical and textually conclusive manner – although the tale’s success led to some pretty crass commercialisations in its wake…

As previously stated, Mar-Vell was an honoured soldier of the alien Kree empire dispatched to Earth as a spy, who went native: becoming first a hero and then the cosmically “aware” Protector of the Universe, destined since universal life began to be its stalwart cosmic champion in the darkest hours.

In concert with the Avengers and other heroes, he defeated death-worshipping Thanos, just as that villain became God, after which the good Captain went on to become a universal force for good.

That insipid last bit pretty much sums up Mar-Vell’s later career: without Thanos, the adventures again became uninspired and eventually just fizzled out. He lost his own comic book, had a brief shot at revival in try-out title Marvel Spotlight and then just faded away…

Re-enter Starlin, who had long been linked to narrative themes of death. He offered a rather novel idea – kill Mar-Vell off and actually leave him dead. What no fan realised at the time was that Starlin was also processing emotional issues thrown up by the passing of his own father and the story he crafted echoed his own emotional turmoil.

In 1982, killing such a high-profile hero was a bold idea, especially considering how long and hard the company had fought to obtain the rights to the name (and sure enough there’s always been somebody with that name in print ever since) but Starlin wasn’t just proposing a gratuitous stunt. The story developed into a different kind of drama: one uniquely at odds with contemporary fare and thinking.

Following the Thanos Saga, Mar-Vell defeated second-rater Nitro but was exposed to experimental nerve gas during the fight. Now years later he discovers that, just as he has found love and contentment, the effects of that gas have inexorably caused cancer in his system. Moreover, it has metastasized into something utterly incurable…

Going through the Kree version of the classic Kubler-Ross Cycle: grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, the Space-Born hero can only watch as all his friends and comrades try and fail to find a cure, before death comes for him…

This is a thoughtful, intriguing examination of the process of dying observed by a being who never expected to die in bed, and argues forcefully that even in a universe where miracles occur by the hour sometimes death might not be unwelcome…

Today, in a world where the right to life and its intrinsic worth and value are increasingly being challenged and contested by special interest groups, this story is still a strident, forceful reminder that sometimes the personal right to dignity and freedom from distress is as important as any and all other Human Rights.

No big Deus ex Machina, not many fights and no happy ending: but still one of the most compelling stories the House of Ideas ever published.

Augmenting the sidereal saga, a number of now-mandatory bonus bits include Starlin’s exploded-view map-&-blueprint of Thanos’ homeworld Titan; original cover art from Captain Marvel #29 plus original art and the 3-page framing sequence for the reprint issue #36.

Other extras follow: the all-cosmic hero cover to fan-magazine F.O.O.M. #19; the all-new covers, back covers and bridging pages for prestige reprint miniseries The Life of Captain Marvel (as well as the humorous introductory ‘Editori-Al’ strips cartooned by Al Milgrom) and much, much more.

A timeless classic of the company and the genre, this is a tale no full-blooded Fights ‘n’ Tights fan can be without.
© 1972, 1973, 1974, 1982, 2016 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Marvel Adventures Iron Man volume 1: Heart of Steel


By Fred Van Lente, James Cordeiro, Ronan Cliquet, Scott Koblish, Amilton Santos, Gary Erskine & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-2644-7 (Digest PB/Digital edition)

In 2003 the always-experimenting House of Ideas instituted the Marvel Age line: an imprint updating classic original tales and characters for a newer, younger readership. The enterprise was tweaked in 2005, with core titles morphing into Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four and Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man. The tone was very much that of the company’s burgeoning TV cartoon franchises, in delivery if not name.

Supplemental series included Super Heroes, The Avengers, Hulk and Iron Man. These all chuntered along merrily until 2010 when they were cancelled and replaced by new volumes of Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes and Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man.

Most of the re-imagined tales were collected in gleefully inviting digest-sized compilations and digitised: thus was the case with this engaging ensemble featuring the first four forays starring the gadget-laden Golden Avenger.

In original mainstream continuity, supreme survivor Tony Stark has changed his profile many times since his 1963 debut when, as a VIP visitor in Vietnam observing the efficacy of weaponry he’d designed, the arch-technocrat wünderkind was critically wounded and captured by a local warlord.

Put to work with the spurious promise of medical assistance upon completion, Stark instead built an electronic suit to keep his heart beating and deliver him from his oppressors. From there, it was a small jump to a second career as a high-tech hero in Shining Super-Armour…

Conceived in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, at a time when the economy was booming and “Commie-bashing” was America’s favourite national pastime, the emergence of a suave new Edison using Yankee ingenuity, wealth and invention to safeguard the Land of the Free and better the World seemed an obvious development.

Combining the era’s sacrosanct tenet that technology and business in unison could solve any problem with the universally enthralling imagery of noble paladins battling evil, Invincible Iron Man proved an infallibly successful proposition.

Over subsequent decades Stark has been depicted as a liberal capitalist, eco-warrior, space pioneer, civil servant, statesman, and even spymaster: Director of Earth’s most scientifically advanced spy agency – the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate.

For most of that period his best friend and frequent stand-in was James Rhodes, a former military man who acted as pilot, bodyguard, advisor, co-conspirator and occasional necessary conscience. “Rhodey” even replaced Iron Man when Stark succumbed to alcoholism and eventually carved out his own chequered career as remorseless mechanised warrior and weapon of last resort War Machine…

Here Rhodey is reduced to a technical support role and joined by a supporting cast member of a much earlier vintage. Secretary and hyper-efficient factotum Pepper Potts has been in the picture since the seventh IM adventure (way back in October 1963): evolving from love-struck typist into a businesswoman and hero in her own right. Here a middle ground is struck and she’s Stark’s trusted Executive Administrator, confidante and general dogsbody…

Culled from Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1-4 (July-October 2007) this machine-tooled tranche of explosive yarns is written throughout by Fred Van Lente, with colours from Studio F’s Martegod Gracia and lettered by Blambot’s Nate Piekos. It also serves up a ‘Cover Gallery’ by comics legend Michael Golden.

As ever, these stories are intended to bring newcomers up to speed on key points and characterisation whilst updating the material and opens with ‘Heart of Steel’ – winningly illustrated by James Cordeiro & Scott Koblish – which once again modifies the technological wizard’s origin in tune with modern sensibilities…

When a huge robotic monster attacks Manhattan, Stark suits up in his latest miracle-armour to tackle the terror. The clash sends his mind racing back six months to the moment when the spoiled multi-billionaire idol and (non-superhero) smug brat was publicly challenged by esteemed scientist Gia-Bao Yinsen.

That venerable sage accused Stark of selling war-weapons to anybody with enough money, thereby letting them be used to destroy the island of Madripoor…

Upset by the confrontation, the young genius shrugged it off until summarily abducted by techno-terrorists Advanced Idea Mechanics. They wanted him to build more death-toys for them and were pretty sure he would cooperate. Tony’s heart was grievously damaged in their attack and only AIM’s doctors could keep him alive…

Locked in a top-of the line lab/workshop, Tony found old Yinsen was also a prisoner and together they devised mobile, weaponised life-support units to fight their way to freedom. Ultimately, Yinsen didn’t make it, but his final words changed Stark’s life forever…

As also illustrated by Cordeiro & Scott Koblish, Iron Man’s greatest enemy is then reintroduced in ‘Enter the Dragon’. When Stark’s Chinese factory is suddenly depleted of its entire workforce, he charges to the rescue, clashing with supreme mech-genius the Mandarin. He is a direct descendent of Genghis Khan who intends topping his ancestor in the world-conquest stakes…

Employing his monumental mechanical wyrm to attack the Great Wall, the maniac makes a pretty good start until Iron Man gets heavy…

Potts takes centre-stage in ‘The Creeping Doom’ (illustrated by Ronan Cliquet & Amilton Santos) as the Stark jet touches down in a desert wilderness to interview genetic engineer and botanist Samuel Smithers. The recluse has a few radical ideas about revolutionising global Agribusiness, but sadly, by the time they arrive, he’s moved beyond the need for investors, having merged with his verdant creations to become a marauding Plantman intent on seizing the world for the floral kingdom.

The only use he has for meaty organic matter is as mulch and compost, but underestimates the sheer animal cunning of his adversaries…

Wrapping up the mechanical marvels is ‘Hostile Takeover’ (with Cordeiro & Gary Erskine making the pictures) wherein Stark Board member Justin Hammer tries to maliciously manipulate stock and gain control of the company.

His method is flawless. Hire the infallible Spymaster to hack Iron Man’s armour, sending Tony’s “bodyguard” on a destructive rampage through the city – with Stark helpless inside it – and just watch the stock price fall until it’s time to make his killing.

Hammer’s big mistake was assuming Pepper and Rhodey are the sort of servile flunkies he preferred to hire for Hammer Industries…

Rocket-paced, spectacularly exciting and enthralling with plenty of sharp wit to counterpoint the drama and suspense; these riotous super-sagas are a splendid example of Iron Man’s versatility to delight Fights ‘n’ Tights fans of all ages and vintage.
© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Mighty Marvel Masterworks The Avengers volume 2: The Old Order Changeth


By Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Larry Ivie, Don Heck, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Chic Stone, Mike Esposito, Wallace Wood & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-3029-4613-5 (PB/Digital edition)

Probably Marvel’s biggest global franchise success, The Avengers celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2023, so let’s again acknowledge that landmark event and offer a promise of more of the same…

These stories are timeless and have been gathered many times before but here we’re enjoying an example of The Mighty Marvel Masterworks line: designed with economy in mind and newcomers as target audience. These books are far cheaper, on lower quality paper and smaller – like a paperback novel. Your eyesight might be failing and your hands too big and shaky, but at 152 x 227mm, they’re perfect for kids. If you opt for the digital editions, that’s no issue at all.

After a period of meteoric expansion, in 1963 the burgeoning Marvel Universe was finally ready to emulate the successful DC concept that had cemented the legitimacy of the Silver Age of American comics. The notion of putting a bunch of all-star eggs in one basket had made the Justice League of America a winner and subsequently inspired the moribund Atlas outfit – primarily Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko – into conceiving “super-characters” of their own. The result – way back in 1961 – was the Fantastic Four…

After 18 months, the fledgling House of Ideas had generated a small successful stable of costumed leading men (but still only 2 sidekick women!), allowing Lee & Kirby to at last assemble a select handful of them into an all-star squad, moulded into a force for justice and soaring sales…

Cover dated September 1963, and on sale from Early July, The Avengers #1 launched as part of an expansion package which also included Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos and The X-Men. This sequel edition collects The Avengers #11-20 (cover-dates December 1964 to September 1965): a stellar sequence of groundbreaking tales no lover of superhero stories can do without…

The tense action resumes with the team supreme of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Ant-Man & the Wasp still together after numerous attempts to destroy them or shatter their unity. An eagerly anticipated meeting delighted fans when #11 declared ‘The Mighty Avengers Meet Spider-Man!’: a clever and classy cross-fertilising tale from Lee and Don Heck, inked by Chic Stone. It features the return of the time-bending tyrant Kang the Conqueror, who attempts to destroy the team by insinuating a robotic duplicate of the outcast arachnid within their serried ranks. It’s accompanied by Heck’s Marvel Master Work Pin-up of ‘Kang!’ and preceded a cracking end-of-the-world thriller with guest-villains Mole Man and the Red Ghost, doing their very best to avoid another clash with the Fantastic Four.

This was another potent Marvel innovation, as – according to established funnybook rules – bad guys stuck to their own nemeses and didn’t clash outside their own backyards…

Inked by Dick Ayers, ‘This Hostage Earth!’ is a welcome return to grand adventure with lesser lights Giant-Man and the Wasp taking rare lead roles, but is trumped by a rousing gangster thriller of a sort seldom seen outside the pages of Spider-Man or Daredevil. The saga premiered Marvel universe Mafia analogue The Maggia and another major menace in #13’s ‘The Castle of Count Nefaria!’

After crushingly failing in his scheme to frame the Avengers, Nefaria’s caper ends on a tragic cliffhanger as Janet Van Dyne is left gunshot and dying, leading to a peak in melodramatic tension in #14 – scripted by Larry Ivie (as Paul Laiken) & Larry Lieber over Stan’s plot – as the traumatised team scour the globe for the only surgeon who can save her.

‘Even Avengers Can Die!’ – although of course she doesn’t – resolves into an epic alien invasion tale with overtones of This Island Earth, with Kirby stepping in to lay out the saga for Heck & Stone to illustrate. This only whets the appetite for the classic climactic confrontation that follows one month later as the costumed champions finally deal with the Masters of Evil and Captain America at last avenges the death of his dead partner Bucky.

‘Now, by My Hand, Shall Die a Villain!’ in #15 (laid-out by Kirby, pencilled by Heck and inked by Mike Esposito) features the final, fatal confrontation between Cap and Baron Zemo in the heart of the Amazon, whilst the other Avengers and the war-criminal’s cohort of masked menaces (Enchantress, Executioner, Black Knight and The Melter) battle once more on the streets of New York City…

It all ends as ‘The Old Order Changeth!’ (broken down by Kirby before being finished by Ayers) presages a dramatic change in concept for the series; presumably because, as Lee increasingly wrote to the company’s unique strengths – tight continuity and strongly individualistic characterisation – he found juggling individual stars in their own titles as well as a combined team episode every month was just incompatible if not impossible…

As Cap and substitute sidekick Rick Jones fight their way back to civilisation, the Avengers institute changes. The big-name stars retire and are replaced by three erstwhile villains: Hawkeye, Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch.

Eventually, led by perennial old soldier Captain America, this relatively powerless group with no outside titles to divide the attention (the Sentinel of Liberty did have a regular feature in Tales of Suspense but at that time it featured adventures set during WWII) evolved into another squabbling family of flawed, self-examining neurotics, enduring extended sub-plots and constant action as valiant underdogs; a formula readers of the time could not get enough of and which still works today…

Acting on advice from the departing Iron Man, the neophytes seek to recruit The Hulk to add raw power to the team, only to be ambushed by Mole Man in #17’s ‘Four Against the Minotaur!’ (Lee, Heck & Ayers), after which they fall foul of a dastardly “commie” plot ‘When the Commissar Commands!’ – necessitating a quick trip to thinly-disguised Viet Nam analogue Sin-Cong to unwittingly battle a bombastic android…

These relatively low-key tales are followed by an ever-improving run of mini-masterpieces, the first of which wraps up this compilation with a 2-part gem providing Hawkeye’s origin and introducing a roguish hero/villain.

‘The Coming of the Swordsman!’ introduces a dissolute, disreputable swashbuckler – with just a hint of deeply-buried flawed nobility – who attempts to force his way onto the highly respectable team to avoid outstanding international arrest warrants. His immediate and total rejection leads to him becoming an unwilling pawn of a far greater menace after being kidnapped by A-list would-be world despot The Mandarin.

The conclusion comes in the superb ‘Vengeance is Ours!’ – sublimely inked by the one-&-only Wally Wood – wherein the constantly-bickering Avengers finally pull together as a supernaturally efficient, all-conquering team…

These are immortal tales that defined the early Marvel experience and are still a joy no fan should deny themselves or their kids. How can you survive without them?
© 2022 MARVEL.