The First Avengers Team and Marvel Hierarchy

The Story I read: “The Coming of the Avengers” (The Avengers #1 Sept, 1963)

Even the cover feels reverential.

It occurred to me today that my readers on the Marvel wikia are in the dark as to the reason I decided to launch this journey through the complete Marvel comic universe. As my blog followers are already aware, I am an avid DC fan and write often for a lot of fan blogs on DC related topics, particularly Hellblazer. Recently, I became interested in some of the work of Marvel, namely the additions to X-Men, which stirred in me a want to become more familiar with the Marvel Universe as a whole. Not knowing where to start, I plunged into the full comic library and began to write reviews for each one. That was 72 issues ago. 

If there is checkpoints in this quest, the premiere of the Avengers would be the first. It is this moment that a loose knit group of ragtag characters became beings that inhabited a whole far reaching world. Sure, there had been crossovers before this, but they always seemed to be special events that were often hastily written exhibitions stemming from fan requests. This issue, however, is the moment that showed Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and the other Marvel creatives wanted to construct a vast comic gallery that would be able to compete with the massive and older DC counterpart. Reading this story felt almost like a religious moment; if comic fandom could be considered such. 

This story reveals a glimpse into how the Silver Age Marvel world works. On the face of  this, it is a caper flick, not unlike The Dirty Dozen. A group of rag tag Superheros come together to defeat a common enemy.

 Thus enters the Incredible Hulk. 

...Wait a minute. The antagonist is actually Loki. Never mind that, neither Ant-Man, Wasp, or Iron-Man can pose any threat to the trickster god so only Thor confronts him. The rest pursue the supposed villainous Hulk only to find out that he is not such a bad guy. He’s just a circus performing monster who was the victim of an Asgardian plot. I waster 20 pages on this? Is not every Hulk story to date?

This is the problem of Hulk and probably the reason for his lack of success in the period; he is too believable as the villain. He is a selfish, violent monster, who is out for his own survival. Not to mention he is a malady to Bruce Banner. Hulk is difficult to spin as a legitimate hero, for he lacks humanity and a moral code, the two prerequisites for a superhero. It is telling that the Disney Marvel film franchise has had such trouble translating the character to film, till Joss Whedon of course figured it out by making Jekyll and Hyde one: “I’m always angry.” - Says Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce. In the Silver Age, Hulk was not the result of rage as depicted in modern Marvel but is a character that bares more resemblance to Jekyll/Hyde. Perhaps, it was pages devoted to Thor’s solo adventure that happened proper development for Big Green. 

Thor’s contribution to this story bares more similarity to an issue of Journey Into Mystery then as a team up with the Avengers. The moment he found out that Loki had a plot to capture him he flew away to Asgard to fight. The three others duked it out on Earth. This is not the actions of a team mate. There is no group cohesion in this story and I blame it on haphazard writing. The group comes together out of happenstance which results in a themeless issue. Weirdly, this is not the case with the film, which was vaguely inspired by this plot, because of the creation of the S.H.I.E.L.D. assemblage. 

I felt empty at the end of what should have been a fantastic experience. 

I also wonder why it was these five characters that were chosen to be a part of the first Avengers crew. It makes sense that Dr. Strange is not included as he has only had two stories devoted to him by this point and frankly they were very odd. I doubt Stan Lee intended the good Doctor to be a common fixture. The Fantastic Four, though creatively mentioned in the story, have really nothing to do with the creation of the Avengers. This is strange as some time has been spent making the Four (particularly Jonny Storm) the flag ship line. Perhaps, their was a fear that the Four’s egos, the topic of my last review, would over power these less established characters. I for one would have enjoyed a Tony Stark comic lashing of Thing. I know it will come in the future. 

Overall, this is a very messy issue with some really great action with Hulk, and some brilliant use of Ant-Man and Wasp, also some wonderful art by Kirby. Yet, there is an absence of Iron-Man, wasted focus on Rick Jones and his Teen Brigade, and confusion as to the plot. I give this one a 3 out of 5. I flirted with a lower mark but it felt sacrilegious as this Issue is so important and a gamble of an undertaking. This makes the endeavour as a whole, respectable.  

The Power of Legend: Thor vs. Merlin

Story I Read: "Defying the Magic of Mad Merlin" (Journey Into Mystery #96 Sept 1963)

I am now a good way into the early mythos of Thor and many questions are beginning to flood my mind. Of the many niggling ones, one over arcing macro query haunts me every time I read Mighty Thor. That question is: what is the nature of an Asgardian? Are they aliens as later comics attest, other dimensional beings or Gods and therefore divine? Thankfully this story begins to expand upon the difference between the legend and actuality. 

Certainly not the Merlin of Disney

Stan Lee presents us with two characters, that are quite well known throughout literature, and attempts to subvert our understanding of them. In the comics thus far, we have already come to know one of them, Thor, and have only vaguely heard of the other, Merlin. The Norse Thor is the benevolent and sometimes wrathful thunder god; an oxymoronic character, but show me a religious icon that isn’t. His religious self is infallible and unable to be faulted. Marvel’s Thor however, speaking from only what has been offered in Silver Age Marveldom thus far, is a heightened being that is in no way divine. In this story we learn that he needs to breathe. This seems like a self evident idea but serves as a kind of revelation considering  he does occasionally venture into space without the aide of oxygen. We learn, here, that Thor can hold his breath for a long time. Lee successfully busts this god’s divinity with this one idea and puts him on a playing field that is equal to the other mortal superheroes with which he shares Earth-616. He is not omnipotent and therefore able to have other nemeses other then his own kind. 

When Merlin vacates his sarcophagus in 1963, we are presented with a second character that not only equals Thor in his supernatural powers, but also, what is more important, in his legend. Merlin, up to this point in literature, the 60s the being time of the renaissance of T.H. White and the popularity of the musical Camelot, is often depicted as a kind and wise magical sorcerer that prompted the mythical King Arthur to ascend and found the throne of England. Lee on the other hand depicts him as a malevolent Machiavellian wizard who uses human puppets to consolidate his “master plan,” which appears to be world domination. What a fantastic idea and wholly creative. Not only does this story call Merlin’s oft-believed motivations into question, it also suggests that there is nothing magical about his composition but that he is a human mutant, like the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man. Some suggest he a maybe a forerunner to the genetic mutants of X-Men. I’m not sure the back story presented here backs up that claim. Not to mention Uncanny X-Men is still very far in the Silver Age future and the idea of mutants in that sense is not yet present in Marveldom. I think the conjecture of the creation of Merlin as the first genetic mutant and therefore the basis for his later X-Men appearances is the work of over zealous fanboys.   

The subversion of Legend vs. Reality is further used in the climax of the story. Thor usually beats his non divine enemies by using brute strength or some fancy hammer play. A strategy like this against Merlin is easily shot down, literally. After this failure, Thor, instead uses his dubious human identity, Dr. Donald Blake, to fool Merlin into thinking that Asgardians are omnipotent and can change into any form they see fit.  This not only brings the mad wizard to prostrate in surrender it what it more important plays with the power of icons. Thor’s possible and largely unsubstantiated divinity defeats Merlin. Thor’s reputation is more mysterious and ancient than Merlin’s so it causes the wizard to doubt himself. Thor’s legend is stronger. What an idea. 

I know I spend many of these reviews harping on the hasty and often poorly thought out writing of Stan Lee but do not assume that these criticisms come from a disrespect for the father of Marvel. Sometimes he writes stories like these that show the far reaching literary power that comics can possess. This one is a 5 out of 5. It is an essential read that explains the difference between Marvel and DC. Whereas DC is all about the legend, Marvel is all about the reality.  This story has far reaching impact and should be on all essential reading lists. 

Sloppy Story Telling: A Review of Journey Into Mystery #95

Story I Read: The Mighty Thor "The Demon Duplicators" (Journey Into Mystery#95 Aug 1963)

The astounding thing I have discovered as I journey through the Silver Age Marvel comics is the bipolar nature of the quality of these stories. Those of you who read my last review of Tales of Suspense know that that story was wildly terrible because of it’s disregard for furthering the development of Tony Stark. This story of Thor follows that model. 

In a former article about Thor I noted his similarities to DC’s Superman. One of the major issues with that Kryptonian has always been his power and the fact that the balance between him and his villains is often tipped extraordinarily in his favour. This is because of his vast powers and the villain’s mortality. Thor suffers the same issue.  Contemporary comics heroes, like Iron Man and Spider-man, often fight mortals who use their own ingenuity. Thor on the other hand needs a threat that is equal to his abilities, which are supernatural, meaning he needs an equally supernatural threat. Of course, this need is amply balanced by Loki, but his adopted brother cannot always be the antagonist. We can all agree it would get boring. 

Stan Lee in this story answers this conundrum by creating a great villain who is Thor himself. Well, not Thor himself but an equal evil duplicate. This I have no problem with. I find it interesting as it opens: up the question how do you defeat your exact equal? A fascinating and frightening idea. The problem I have with this story is how the duplicate comes about.

I understand in this early period of the Marvel Universe it was still unclear to the creatives if they wanted to establish a world in which all the hero’s share or individual worlds following their own streams. It therefore makes sense that canonicity in geographic location and macrocosmic influence are uncertain. However canonicity of character should at least be adhered to. It has been established in many former Thor stories that Dr. Don Blake (Thor’s absurd and unclear alter-ego) is a mild mannered General Practitioner MD. In this story Stan Lee establishes him as an MD who also invented an android and is preparing to announce the invention of artificial intelligence. This comes out of left field. Since when did the good doctor have an interest in AI? Where did he get his knowledge of “advanced robotic engineering?” Most importantly why is he suddenly at the forefront of this field. This makes absolutely no sense and is purely something created just to explain the connection between Don and Zaxton. I am sure in the next Thor, none of this will ever be mentioned and Dr. Blake will go back to treating patients quietly. 

This lack of thought is further shown in the reason for Thor’s presence at the

Apparently This Android Was Created by Blake

demonstration. He’s only there to open a safe. I kid you not. He is a glorified stage hand. 

Though the battle between Thor and his duplicate is thoroughly entertaining as most battles in Thor are, the narrative conveniences and disregard for canon really make one wonder why any of this happened in the first place. 

There are some clear changes going in the conception of the god as well. Don only occupies 3 panels. The creatives are clearly tired of that human drama and create a convenient Asgardian weather trauma just to cameo them in for entertainment. The soap opera with Jane is also given the back seat treatment. Thor saves her in one panel out of nowhere however we are not given a back story nor the location of her entrapment. She’s an after thought. It is sloppiness like this that cheapens the really exciting moments. That’s what I can say of my Marvel experience thus far. Sloppy. 

This story is 2 out of 5. An exciting story mired by the sloppiness in narrative and the inexplicable convenient malleability of the Dr. Don Blake character.  

Review of Journey Into Mystery #94

"This is a review of The Mighty Thor's Story-  Journey Into Mystery #94 that I wrote for The Marvel Comic Wiki." 

Once again that old trickster brother:Loki attempts to beguile Thor. Interestingly Loki’s plot                           at hand is not one that attempts to unseat him as the proper heir to Asgard but to gain Thor as an ally to Loki’s plans. 

Journey Into Mystery #94 (July 1963)

Though the science behind Thor’s loss of memory and personality change is quite hilarious it begs to the question the true two dimensionality of the Early Silver Aged heroes. Thor’s character, unlike his Silver Age counter parts the Fantastic Four and Anthony Stark, still remains basic in that he is a god who wishes to protect humanity. Essentially he is the Jesus figure that DC had reveled upon for so long with Superman.  There is nothing to him other then valor and responsibility. Loki is again the vice figure who wants chaos and revenge. Evil for the sake of evil and in this story he does his job admirably. He is actually quite wry in his sense of humour about the whole thing. An aspect of his developing personality that comes to the forefront in later characterizations.  This story begins to shine light on the shear power of the Asgardians and that they are a frightening possible threat to Earth. If death was allowed in this comic writing period bloody humans would litter the landscape. Alas, only tomfoolery occurs. 

Even though the story is quite simple and light this story does alot to set up Loki as something more then the ultimate foil to Thor. There is desperation and dare I say loneliness here. Loki needs a partner in crime. It could be read that Loki is attempting to besmirch Thor and ruin his golden boy image but I prefer to read it as a need to be vindicated by his own kind. Thor vindicates him in his confused amnesiac way as  being rightfully an equal. Something he has not done until this story. This is bittersweet in its own way. 

As for Dr.Don Blake and the alter-ego blah blah blah I can see that Stan Lee may be getting tired of that. This has to be least page time Thor’s alter-ego gets and Jane does not even appear. Perhaps he see’s his error in following the Superman model and perhaps there is more to this character?

The inking is really quite entertaining and sleek in this one. The images of the landmarks being blasted into the sky and the museum Dinosaurs being animated are classic Silver Age melodramatic images.  

All these positives aside, it is a shame that Odin wipes the action from the consciousness of Earth. If this were a later publication, something would be made of the disregard and threatening power of the Asgardians versus Midgardians. 

Overall, out of 5 stars, Journy Into Mystery #94: Thor and Loki attack the human race”  is a 3. It has a great sense of humour and begins to expand upon the relationship of Loki and Thor but the ending is simple and ultmitately empty.