The Avengers in the ‘60s – A Summary

In 2012, Joss Whedon’s superhero team up film The Avengers became a worldwide phenomenon, garnering more mainstream interest in the characters and their comic book than  ever before in their history. The next year, the comic book celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. And now, in 2015 we are on the eve of the blockbuster sequel to the worldwide phenomenon!
 
With over fifty years and seven hundred issues of history, the Avengers have been through a lot, and carry a lot of baggage for any new fans looking to get into the series (Good thing the comics are getting the ol’ reboot then, huh?) In a universe populated by superheroes, this team is where many of them have been called throughout the years.  Thus, not only are the adventures so numerous, but the roster has also continually shifted. This makes it even harder to follow. There are many places that will give you an overview of this history. But in this series of articles, I intend to create a very comprehensive account of the major occurrences in the Avengers' 50 year history. Hence, we start with the 1960s.
 
Thanks to the wonderful DVD-ROM “The Avengers: 40 Years of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” I have now read through the team’s adventures in the 1960s, comprising the first 73 issues, plus annuals. Also note that while I will be listing things according to cover dates, these were actually two months behind the real date. With that in mind, I will be taking into account the first two issues cover-dated to be in 1970.
 
But first, a history
 
We’ll assume for the moment the audience here has at least seen the movies, so I will only explain the characters insofar as their origins differ importantly.
 
As many know, the beginnings of the Marvel Universe lie with the three main heroes of the Golden Age, of the 1930s and ‘40s,  Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and of course, Captain America, the latter created by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby.  Of course, these characters eventually  waned in popularity, and their series died out in the 1950s.
 
In 1961, writer Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four, and thus introduced Marvel to the Silver Age of Comic Books. The second character they created to have a lasting impact, was Henry Pym
 
Jan. 1962: Tales to Astonish #27 –  First appearance of Henry Pym.
At the time, most of the company's comics, such as this, were still anthology suspense series, with multiple stories told in one magazine. In the story “The Man in the Ant Hill,” Dr. Henry Pym concocts a serum that can greatly reduce any object in size. Using it on himself, he neglects to have the enlarging serum nearby, and is nearly devoured by ants before reaching it. Deciding it is too dangerous, he dumps his serums down the drain. Such was what was meant to be one simple story for Tales to Astonish.
 
 
May 1962: The Incredible Hulk #1 –  First appearance of the Hulk!
Scientist Dr. Bruce Banner is testing the new “G-Bomb” when he notices a clueless teenager wandering into the testing area. Running out and pushing the teenager just out of harm’s way, Banner himself is hit with the harmful gamma-radiation, turning him into the hero we know as the Hulk. The teenager, Rick Jones, becomes his sole confidante.
The Hulk was portrayed as far more intelligent than later incarnations (and was never as clueless or speechless as media adaptations have portrayed him) but certainly had a bad attitude.

At first only changing into the Hulk at night, in the coming issues, Bruce and Rick device a way to control his transformations into the Hulk (the idea of him changing when he was angry came much later).
Due to slow sales, The Incredible Hulk was cancelled after its sixth issue in March of ‘63. In the meantime, Lee has introduced two more superheroes, Spider-Man and Thor.
 
Aug. 1962: Journey into Mystery #83 – First appearance of Thor (a previous version of the Norse God had previously appeared in the 1950s, in what is now retroactively considered canon, but here is the first appearance that matters).
Crippled American medical doctor Donald Blake is visiting Norway when he stumbles across an advance scout for an alien invasion of Earth. Fleeing from the “Stone Men from Saturn,” attempting to hide in a cave, he strikes a stick against the boulder blocking the entrance, and finds that the stick turns into the mythical hammer Mjolnir, while Blake himself turns into the Norse god Thor. With the strength of Thor, Blake vanquishes the aliens, and returns to his normal identity. He thereafter finds that when he strikes his new cane against the ground, he and it turn into Thor and Mjolnir. If Mjolnir is out of his reach for sixty seconds, however, he reverts to Donald Blake.
 

 
As the series progressed, Lee made it more evident that Thor was the actual Norse god. When he changed into Thor, his personality would change as well, with him using his trademark Shakespearan vernacular. Soon, Blake encountered other Norse gods of myth, like Odin and Loki, and, while as Thor, was treated by them as the real deal. I am not entirely clear on all the details, (as I am reading The Avengers, not Thor) but it seems as if this was not adequately explained for some time, until Thor #159 in 1968  (which I will get to).
 
Sept. 1962: Tales to Astonish #35 – First appearance of Pym as Ant-Man (when Lee decided to turn the character into a superhero) After having previously destroyed his reducing and enlarging serums, Dr. Pym changes his mind and recreates them. Having also researched ants more, he creates a helmet that allows him to communicate with them, and even command legions of them. When his next experiment is almost stolen by communist spies, Pym dons his costume and helmet to defeat the spies. Following this, Pym would continue to don the costume, and become known as the superhero Ant-Man!

 
Mar. 1963: Journey into Mystery #39 – First appearance of Iron Man (his origin is essentially the same as the movie, albeit in Vietnam rather than the Middle East). Starting the next issue, he utilizes a gold-colored version of the armor he escaped with and creates the idea that Iron Man is Tony Stark’s bodyguard.
 

Jun. 1963: Tales to Astonish #44 – First appearance of Janet Van Dyne, A.K.A. The Wasp.
 After recollecting how he lost his wife, Maria, Hank Pym decides that in order to continue his career as Ant-Man, he will need a partner. Shortly after, he encounters a scientist, Dr. Vernon Van Dyne, who comes to him with his young daughter Janet, to ask him to take a look at his invention, a “Gamma Ray Beam,” which will allow him to make contact with other planets. Pym dismisses the chance, as his field is biology, Soon after, Dr. Van Dyne uses the device, and encounters an alien being, which then kill him. Jan contacts Hank, who defeats the villains and ends up revealing to her his secret identity, and asking her to become his partner, which she does. Together, Ant-Man and “The Wasp” defeat the alien.
 
 
Jan becomes totally taken with Hank, although he dismisses her advances, finding her grating. In later issues (although I can't pinpoint it for sure, or as, again, that’s not the series I am reading), Hank and Jan would become an item. (I can't even tell if this happend before or after the debut of The Avengers. Either way, the pair were portrayed as constantly bickering. This seems mostly the fault of Jan, who was portrayed as ditzy and materialistic, always fretting about what to wear, her makeup, or how good-looking any male character they encountered was. It comes off as rather sexist now, but such was her characterization at the time.
 
And now, we can get to the actual Avengers stuff!
 
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!!
 
1963
 
The Avengers made their first appearance in September’s Avengers #1
After having been defeated five times by Thor, Loki sits o n the Asgardian isle he is exiled on, trying to think of some way to lure Thor to him. Gazing at the Earth below, he sees the Hulk, and decides to use him as a tool. Using his powers of manipulation from afar (does Odin know he still has those?) he takes out a set of train tracks near the Hulk. Although the Hulk manages to save the train, he is framed for the accident, and hunted. His friend Rick Jones reads about the incident in the paper, and brings together his Teen Brigade (a group of ham radio enthusiasts gathered in the Hulk's final issue) to contact the Fantastic Four. While the FF are busy, their signal reaches Thor, Iron Man, and Ant-Man & Wasp, who convene at their meeting place. Loki uses his powers of illusion to make Thor see the Hulk nearby and go after him. When he realizes it is an illusion, he takes off for Asgard to confront Loki, while Iron Man, Ant-Man and Wasp move to confront the Hulk. After drawn out battles on both ends, Thor takes Loki to Earth and stops a battle between Iron Man and Hulk by explaining what Loki has done, before returning h8im to Asgard (which was where he was at the beginning of all this, so…)  
 
The five heroes then decide they could serve humanity better by banding together. The Wasp passively mentions the name The Avengers, which Ant-Man enthusiastically sanctions. From then on, the team would assemble for adventures, using a downtown mansion owned by Tony Stark as a base, and be helped out by Rick Jones, often (at least at first) with his Teen Brigade! For the vast majority of the first part of their existence, the Avengers’ secret identities would still remain secret to each other.
 

 
The Avengers #1 was written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, who would remain the creative team on the series for the time being.
 
The Avengers contained, at the time, most of the superheroes of the Marvel Universe. Besides the Fantastic Four, already a team, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange were the only superheroes not included. The Avengers also debuted the same month as another Marvel superhero team, the X-Men.
 
In Tales to Astonish #49 (Nov.), creating a new serum that can make him grow to greater heights, Hank Pym forsakes his identity as Ant-Man to become Giant Man!
 

Giant Man’s first appearance in The Avengers came that same month with issue #2 . In that issue, after defeating their second threat, an alien invader calling himself the Space Phantom, the Hulk realizes how much the other Avengers seem to dislike him, and angrily leaves the team. He would find himself at odds with the team in the very next issue.
 
The next month, in Tales of Suspense #48 (Dec.) – Iron Man upgrades his armor the more well-known Mark III version, which he would first wear in The Avengers comic in issue #3 in January.
 

 
 
1964
 
In #4 (Mar.) – While on a mission in a submarine, the Avengers come across the frozen body of Captain America. Upon being revived, Cap explains that on his and Bucky's last mission, they were to chasing a drone plane loaded with explosives. Bucky made it onto the plane and was (apparently) killed when it exploded, while Cap fell into the freezing water. Cap is stricken by how much the Avenger's friend Rick Jones resembles Bucky, and begins to form a bond with the boy. At the end, he makes the decision to join the Avengers.
Note: Captain America did not become the leader here. Rather, at this point, the Avengers rotated chairman on a periodic basis.
 

 
That same month, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch made their first appearance in the pages of, X-Men #4. This issue saw the X-Men’s nemesis Magneto form a group of his own, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, also including Mastermind, and Toad. Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, AKA Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, are shown to be a pair of European mutant siblings who found themselves the victims of a violent mob, only to be saved by Magneto. Now feeling they are in his debt, they reluctantly serve his purposes in the Brotherhood, although they are wary of his motives.
 
The next month, in Tales to Astonish #52 (Apr.), Iron Man meets his latest villain, a costumed Russian spy who called herself the Black Widow (for the extent of the 1960s, the Black Widow’s costume is quite different from the one we know, as you can see).
 


In The Avengers #6, the team meets the Masters of Evil for the first time. Here, it was shown that Captain America’s old enemy Baron Zemo had been the one responsible for Bucky’s death, and he, upon learning of Cap’s continued existence, gathers the villains Black Knight, Melter, and Radioactive Man to form the new supervillain team.
The Masters of Evil seem to have been designed to be the Avenger’s main enemy, as they are essentially their opposite, and at first made quite numerous appearances.

With that initial group defeated, in the next issue, #7 (Aug. ’64), Baron Zemo recruits Thor’s Asgardian villains the Executioner and The Enchantress to be his new Masters of Evil.
 
In issue #8 (Sept.) the group took on Kang the Conqueror for the first time. This villain had previously menaced the Fantastic Four as Rama-Tut, a time-traveler from the 30^th century who had become pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Now utilizing technology gathered from the 40^th century, Kang plans to conquer Earth, but the Avengers damage his suit containing all of his tech, forcing him to flee back across time.
 
That same month, in Tales of Suspense #57, Iron Man’s actions inspire a circus performer called Hawkeye (no civilian name given), known for his mastery of archery, to become a costumed superhero. However, when he attempts to stop a jewel heist, the police mistakenly think him to be the thief. While running, he encounters the Black Widow. In her third time menacing Iron Man, she manages to enlists Hawkeye’s aid against him. The two battle Iron Man, before escaping to menace him again. Iron Man would face the team of Black Widow and Hawkeye, now a couple, twice more.
 


In issue #9 (Oct. ’64), the Masters of Evil recruit a new member in Wonder Man. Simon Williams is a former Stark Industries employee who has been arrested for embezzling. He joins them to get revenge on Stark by striking at his “bodyguard” Iron Man. The Masters of Evil use a special device to give Williams great strength, but, to keep him under control, also give him a slow-acting poison for which they have the antidote. Under his new identity of Wonder Man, Williams manages to trick the Avengers (with the Enchantress’s hypnotic help) into thinking he is their ally, and helping him find a cure for his poison. The Masters of Evil attack, and subdue the Avengers. However, when it becomes apparent they are going to kill, not simply capture them, Wonder Man turns against the Masters of Evil. He saves the Avengers, but dies from the poison shortly after.

In Nov. 1964, in Thor’s adventures in Journey into Mystery Annual #1, Thor takes on the Greek god Hercules. (this ignored the fact that a different version of the mythical character had appeared in Avengers #10, as a group of mythical/historical warriors summoned by the villain Immortus to fight the team. Decades later, the former would finally be retconned as an imposter).
Hercules would continue to have recurring adventures with Thor, and even one with the Hulk, before ultimately encountering the Avengers.
 
1965
 
In issue #15 (May ’65), the Avengers face the Masters of Evil for the fourth time. The Black Knight and Melter rejoin, and while the rest of the groups battle it out in New York, Cap, with Rick Jones, ends up battling  Baron Zemo in South America.  In the fight, Zemo’s weapon accidentally triggers a rockslide, killing him.
 
In X-Men #11 (Jun.), Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, finally becoming completely disenchanted with Magneto’s methods, and feeling their debt to him paid, leave the Brotherhood.
 
That same month came the Avenger’s biggest changeup yet in #16, which completely revamped the team.  After defeating the rest of the Masters of Evil, Thor rushes back to Asgard for the “trial of the gods” (part of his own series), from which they have no idea when he will get back (this shouldn’t make him leave the team permanently, but that seems to be how it was treated). While awaiting Cap’s return, Iron Man, Giant Man, and Wasp all decide they are exhausted from life as Avengers, and need to take a leave of absence.  Just then, Hawkeye arrives at the Avenger’s mansion, wanting to join the group. He explains that he never wanted the life of an outlaw, but was led into it by the Black Widow. Apparently, she had decided to desert her Soviet bosses, who had then found and shot her. Hawkeye says the ambulance took her away, but he was too afraid to learn what happened after that. Iron Man believes him, and they accept him into the Avengers.
With word out that The Avengers are taking on new members, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch write in for their candidacy, and are soon taken to New York. Captain America and Rick Jones arrive just in time to learn of all the news. Captain America is named the leader of a new team of Avengers.
 

 
The strange thing about this move is that, in the beginning, The Avengers was designed to be a book combining the popular heroes, those with their own series, from across the Marvel Universe. Now, with the exception of Cap as leader, it became about its own group of heroes. It seems clear that Lee wanted to tell stories of these three characters, who didn’t qualify for their own series. This roster of four Avengers has come to be given the nickname “Cap’s cooky quartet.”
 
Hawkeye stood out as the malcontent of this group. Sarcastic, undisciplined, and hot-tempered, he especially didn't get along with Captain America. Much of the following issues revolved around the two of them bickering. He also got on Quicksilver's nerves, as he was constantly hitting on Scarlet Witch (no romantic tension, just him being a loud-mouthed jackass). For her part, she occasionally hinted at a one-sided attraction to Captain America. The idea of Scarlet Witch's attraction Cap was used little, and the idea was soon dropped.
As far as secret identities go, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch had none, while Captain America had apparently shared his with this group, often featured unmasked and being called "Steve." Although Hawkeye's first name remained unknown for the longest time, he was often shown unmasked in front of his fellow Avengers.
 
Lastly, in addition to the roster change, #16 was also the final issue drawn by Jack Kirby. Don Heck would take over with the following issue.
 
Avengers #19 (Sept.) introduced the villain the Swordsman, a thief with a connection to Hawkeye. When Hawkeye was younger (still no name given), it was the Swordsman, at the time a circus act, who inspired the young man to use his skills join the circus. When Hawkeye caught the man stealing, the Swordsman attacked him and left him for dead. In the next issue, the Swordsman teams up with the Mandarin, and manages to convince the Avengers that he is a changed man who should join their ranks. He is instructed to plant a bomb to destroy the team, but feels it wrong to destroy them in such a cold manner, outside of personal battle. He is ultimately found out and escapes, but the seeds of respect of the team are shown as planted in his mind.
 
In issue #21 (Oct.), the Enchantress uses the same machine used to create Wonder Man, in order to transform a former disciple of Baron Zemo, Erik Josten, into the supervillain Power Man, who menaces the Avengers for the first time in this two-parter.
 
The Avengers fight Kang for the second time in a two parter spanning issue #23-24 (Dec.-Jan.), in which he transports them to his own time as he attempts to conquer a kingdom. When his own troops turn on him, he and the Avengers join forces to now liberate the kingdom, the princess of which Kang has fallen in love with. The day won, Kang sends the Avengers back to their own time just as the princess jumps in front of a gun blast meant for Kang, her fate unrevealed.
 
1966
 
In issue #28 (May), Hank Pym contacts the Avengers, even revealing his own secret identity to them, to tell them that the Wasp has been captured. Joining forces with the team, he takes the new name of Goliath (claiming he always thought Giant-Man sounded “corny.”). The Wasp’s captor is The Collector, in his first appearance, a strange and mysterious man who claims he is collecting the most rare and unique items in existence. The Wasp is rescued, but the Collector uses a time-traveling device he has collected to escape to another time. In future issues after this, it would be indicated that Hank and Jan carry publically known identities (which may or may not have been covered in their own series)

Although it is never explicitly stated in this issue that they are officially rejoining the team, Goliath and Wasp are treated as such from here on.  However, at the end of the issue, Goliath has remained in his giant form for too long, and upon trying to shrink back, collapses at the end of the issue. At the beginning of issue, #29 (Jun.), he learns that he can never again shrink to under ten feet tall.

The decision to re-incorporate Hank and Jan into the team probably had something to do with the fact that their own solo adventures in Tales to Astonish had ended that July, just two months after leaving the Avengers.
 
Also in issue #29, the Black Widow appears again, having been taken back behind the iron curtain and brainwashed to fight the Avengers, and teams up with Power Man and the Swordsman. When Hawkeye fails to be able to shoot at his lost love as the trio gets away, he chides himself, but Cap tells him he did what he could. This exchange marks the end of the two's rivalry. In fact, Hawkey’s relationship with Cap takes a complete 180, with him greatly admiring his leader and largely singing his praises. Although he never loses his sharp tongue or bad attitude, his relationship with everyone improves from here on out.
 
No sooner have Goliath and Wasp rejoined than Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch leave for a time. In the beginning of #30 (Jul.), the two reflect on how their powers seemed diminished in their last battle. Thinking their power may have something to do with their homeland, they decide to return there for a time. Hawkeye finds himself once again engaged against the Black Widow, Swordsman, and Power Man. But when his life is threatened, the brainwashing on Black Widow wears off, and she saves his life.
 
In that same month, Stan Lee was elsewhere introducing The Black Panther in Fantastic Four #52. The first of a two-parter, this issue saw the Fantastic Four travel to the small African nation of Wakanda, where they met that nation’s leader, T’Challa, whose position was called The Black Panther, and who acted through a ceremonial costume that resembled the animal. Despite its inhabitants’ primitive tribal appearance, Wakanda was home to great technology and the hardest metal (at that time) known to man, Vibranium, which gave it a degree of power in trade. The Black Panther himself fed on special herbs which gave him incredible strength and agility. After having an adventure with the national leader, the FF return home.
 
In Avengers issue #32 (Sept.), while searching for a cure for his size, Hank partners with fellow scientist Bill Foster, who will become a recurring character (and was another of the first black characters in mainstream comics).
 
That issue was the first of a two-parter featuring the Avengers going up against the Sons of the Serpent, a racist and xenophobic hate group. Appropriate enough for the times, it shows how Lee was actually tackling world issues, which made his comics more relatable and popular.  The issue featured the Black Widow actively participating in the adventure, even walking off with the team at the end.
 
The next issue, #34 (Nov.) , the first of a two-parter seeing the Avengers combat a new (and self-explanatory) villain called The Living Laser. This was Stan Lee’s final issue on the title. The story was concluded in #35 by the series’ new writer, Roy Thomas (Lee would remain as editor on the title, often adding zingy notes to the text for the reader.)
 
At the end of that issue, Hank and Bill’s work finally succeeds, and he is able to once again change size at will, either growing or shrinking (thus, what had seemed like a semi-permanent plight for the character only lasts a whopping seven issues).
 
1967
 
Immediately following that, in a two-parter spanning #36-37 (Jan.-Feb.), Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch reunite with the Avengers to combat an alien menace known as the Ultroids in their native Balkans. The Black Widow accompanies the team on the adventure.  Hawkeye pushes for his girlfriend to become an official member, (although they keep secret that she was willing to break the Avengers’ code of taking life in order to win the battle). That aside, with the twins now having rejoined, the team is once again a sextet!
 
In #38, on her way to a meeting over whether or not to make her an Avenger, the Black Widow is abducted by SHIELD, who ask her to undertake a mission to go back behind the Iron Curtain, which she accepts. Then, Hercules, under the influence of a love potion administered by The Enchantress, attacks the team. The love potion is counteracted during the fight, and the Enchantress departs. Hercules’ father Zeus is ashamed of his son’s actions, and as punishment, banishes him to the Earth for one year. The Avengers agree to let him stay in the mansion (though not yet making him an official member).


Issues #39-42  feature a prolonged absence of Captain America, on his own missions, while Hercules consistently joins the team on their adventures, and Black Widow’s mission to China is played out. The Avengers have their first encounter with the Cosmic Cube (the Tesseract for fans of the movie) in #40, wrestling it away from Namor before losing it to the depths of the Earth. This was artist Don Heck’s final issue. John Buscema became the artist the next month.
 
#41-42 (Jun.-Jul.) was a two-parter featuring the Avengers taking on the villain Diablo, who has taken control of Dragon Man, a powerful robotic monster who had previously fought the Fantastic Four. They end up taking possession of Dragon Man (the machine would later connect to another major character).
 
#43 provides a climax to the Black Widow’s storyline, as she has been captured by communist forces during her mission, and the Avengers travel to rescue her. They combat a villain called the Red Guardian, who ends up being revealed as Black Widow’s husband After he is killed, and the Black Widow rescued, we see her origin. Her husband was a famous test pilot for the Soviet Union, who she was told was killed in an explosion. Soviet forces then convinced her to become a spy for the government to honor his memory.
 
Following a major team up with Iron Man and Thor in The Avengers Annual #1, the two former Avengers agree to become reserve members, joining forces with their old friends when the occasion calls for it.
 
The following issue, Hercules is finally made an official member of the team in issue #45. In #46 (Nov.), Natasha announces her retirement from life as the Black Widow, and Goliath re-adds his old Ant-Man antenna to his costume to regain his control over insects. Although he had already been referred to as “Ant-Man” when he shrank, here the name becomes somewhat official, although still secondary to Goliath. This issue also adds to the idea of a budding attraction between Hercules and the Scarlet Witch, which never actually comes to fruition.
 
Also that month, in his own adventure in Tales to Astonish #95, Captain America, in love with Agent 13 and tired of living life as Captain America, retires and reveals his identity to the world.
 
In The Avengers #47 (Dec.), he announces that he is leaving the Avengers. Although he is convinced to once again become Captain America in “Tales” #96, he does not return to the Avengers, for reasons never explained (at least not in that magazine).
With Cap’s exit, The Avengers fully becomes simply another book of its own characters without individual series. One can gather that this was the Marvel staff’s intention at the time, even though it was completely different than the very reason the magazine was created in the first place.
 
That same issue introduces Dr. Dane Whitman, a scientist and nephew of the now-deceased villain Black Knight, determined to atone for his uncle’s crimes. This issue also sees Hercules traveling back to Mount Olympus and having an adventure there that lasts the next four issues, while, in the first of a three-part story, Magneto kidnaps Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (at this point not revealed to be his children) and tries to convince them to join his side.
 
1968
 
In this arc, the Black Knight aids the Avengers, who initially mistake him for his villainous relative, making him angry enough to fly away bitter after lending a hand. In #49, Magneto and the Avengers end up in a battle at the UN, where he purposefully directs a discharged bullet to graze Scarlet Witch’s head, injuring her. As he planned, Quicksilver believes this to merely be the human’s fault. Pietro takes his sister, and decides the two of them will rejoin Magneto, leaving the Avengers.
At the same time, Hank realizes that, after years of using his growing power, the tax on his body has become too much, and he can no longer become Goliath, only Ant-Man. Then, in issue #50, after Hercules finally crushes the threat of the villain Typhon, his father welcomes him back to Mount Olympus, and he too leaves the Avengers.
 
Although it happened over four issues, the departure of Captain America, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Hercules, were all part of the same shake-up to the Avenger’s roster. At the end of their milestone fiftieth issue, the Avengers are at the weakest they have ever been, with only three members, all of them with relatively weak powers. They are left to wonder if the team will even last.
 
The next month, in the pages of Captain America #100, Cap travels to Africa and has an adventure with the Black Panther (who now goes simply by “The Panther,” probably in an attempt to be more politically correct). At the end, he offers the Panther the chance to return with him to America, and join the Avengers, which the he  agrees to.
 
The same month, In #51 (Apr.), the Avengers team up with reserve members Iron Man and Thor. They battle the Collector, who tries to “collect” Ant-Man. Not wanting a “flawed Avenger” in his collection, he restores his growth powers. Of course, the Avengers win, but the Collector gets away. At the end, they are contacted by Captain America in Africa, who petitions for the Panther to join the team as his “replacement.” The team agrees, and in the following issue, the Panther travels to America to become an Avenger (thus fully completing the roster shake-up begun in #47). It wasn't long before he again begins to be referred to as the Black Panther.



Then came Ultron!
 
Possibly the Avenger’s greatest enemy. Ultron, or Ultron-5 as he was initially known, first appeared in the two part story in issues #54-55 (Jul.-Aug.).
 
In that story, Tony Stark’s butler, Jarvis, who served the Avengers in their mansion and had had an increasing presence in the comic book, betrays the Avengers to a mysterious shrouded figure called the Crimson Cowl. This new villain has recruited a new group to call the Masters of Evil, including Radioactive Man and the Melter, as well as Klaw (Panther’s nemesis) and Whirlwind. The new Black Knight, mistaken by the Cowl for his predecessor, is also among them, acting as a spy before being discovered and barely escaping. Avenger’s Mansion is raided, and the Avengers are all captured.
 
The Crimson Cowl reveals himself to be a robot, who identifies himself as “Ultron-5, the Living Automaton.”  The Avengers are placed inside a giant hydrogen bomb, which will be placed over the Empire State Building to hold the city hostage. The Avengers escape and foil the plan, although Ultron-5 gets away. Jarvis reveals that he was convinced to do what he did to pay for his mother’s medical bills, but he only did it because he thought the Avengers would win anyway.  The Avengers forgive him, and he continues to serve.
As for Ultron-5, besides being a robot with a burning hatred for the Avengers, a thirst for destruction, and technological resources at his disposal, his origins remain a mystery.
 

In October of that year came The Vision!
 
Debuting in issue #57, The Vision was a synthetic being who first appeared by attacking the Wasp in her home, before suddenly stopping and collapsing in front of her. The Avengers take him back to headquarters, and there he awakes and attacks them, before ceasing again. He states he was sent to destroy them, but now finds that he does not wish to. He reveals that the one who sent him was Ultron-5. Vision leads the Avengers back to Ultron-5’s base, where the villain traps them. Vision confronts and defeats his master, who perishes in an ensuing explosion, his intact head left lying out in the middle of nowhere.
 
 
The next month, the reserve members Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor guest star in order to vote on Vision as a member. Vision manages to conjure memories of his creation by Ultron. Goliath ponders that Ultron-5 was a sun-powered robot similar to a machine he had been working on, and it suddenly occurs to him he cannot remember whatever happened with that project. The Avengers   travel to his old laboratory, which he cannot remember fixing up after his battle there with Dragon Man. Using his device called an “electronic memory bank,” Hank manages to recall a lost memory. Based on his experiments with Dragon Man, he had been working on a robotic intelligence. Upon awakening, the device turned against him. It implanted a suggestion in his mind to forget the incident and the entire experiment, and to abandon his workplace. The machine then departed to upgrade itself into what would eventually become Ultron-5. Hank and the Avengers also reminisce that after the death of Wonder Man (in issue #9), they had preserved his brain patterns in the electronic memory bank. They realize those tapes are gone, and infer that Ultron-5 used them to create the Vision’s mind.
Satisfied with what they have learned, they make Vision an official Avenger, and in a rare display of emotion, the android sheds a tear.
 
In December’s Thor #159 by Lee & Kirby, Thor’s origin was finally revealed.  With Donald Blake himself wondering about his true identity, Odin finally reveals the truth to him: Years ago, the Thunder-god Thor was arrogant and reckless. On one occasion, he wandered into the forbidden realm of Nifhleim, breaking a truce they held with Asgard by getting into a fight with a horde of native Frost Giants, and, upon his return home, immediately got involved in a bar brawl. Odin then decreed that, to teach his son humility, he would banish him to Earth, making him forget who he really was and placing him in the body, with the fake memories, of a cripple. His hammer, however, would be placed on Earth for him to find when he discovered humility, which of course he did. Now understanding his true identity, Thor vows never to forsake it.
 
Beginning that same month, the next two issues of Avengers changed things up even further. In a two-parter beginning in #59,  a new superhero arrives in town named named Yellow Jacket, who projects rays of stunning energy from his hands, and has a smug, boisterous attitude that puts Hawkeye to shame. He makes his way into Avengers headquarters and demands to be made a member, claiming that he has killed Giant Man. He then kidnaps Wasp. However, Jan’s attitude toward him changes when he kisses her, and when the Avengers arrive, she declares to the Avengers that she is going to marry him!
 

1969
 
In #60, the Avengers bizarrely decide to respect Jan’s wishes, and attend the rushed wedding (this harkens back to the rather silly type of storytelling the series had seemed to outgrow to an extent since its very early issues). In fact, most of the Marvel Universe of superheroes attends! When Marvel supervillains The Circus of Crime crash the wedding and threaten Jan’s life, Yellow Jacket, in his furor, suddenly grows in size to reveal….Goliath!
All is then made clear, then, that Hank had been experimenting with chemicals, pondering about how his life’s work kept him from proposing to Jan, when a spill occurred. Breathing in the fumes, Hank had an induced schizophrenic episode, his subconscious creating a new personality, in many ways his opposite, to be the man that could marry Jan, even constructing the memory of defeating Goliath. Of course, she realized the truth when he kissed her. Now, whatever identity it was done under, the two are now legally married.
 
Hank and Jan sit out the next two issues, with the Black Knight helping out the Avengers for a third time in #61.  When the couple return from their honeymoon in  #63, Hank, believing his constant growing created his psychotic episode,  permanently adopts the identity of Yellow Jacket, forsaking his growth, but still shrinking, and using his stingers and a new power of flight.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye, after his bowstring breaks in the middle of a crisis, believes his skills as an archer aren’t on par with the rest of the teams. When the Black Widow, on a mission for SHIELD, is once again captured, Hawkeye joins the other Avengers in rescuing her by taking Hank’s growth potion and becoming the new Goliath.
 

In #64, the villains who captured her, a group led by Egghead, use a gigantic death ray to hold entire cities for hostage. The Avengers are aided in defeating them by a gangster, Barney Barton, a figure from Hawkeye/Goliath’s past who has learned of the location of the villain’s space station and wants to be known as a hero. The Avengers take their rocket ship there, and, when Barton actually dies valiantly thwarting Egghead’s scheme, it is revealed that he was Goliath’s brother. Hence, the character’s real name was revealed in this issue as Clint Barton. Although Egghead gets away, Goliath manages to apprehend him, and even his old nemesis the Swordsman, in the following issue.
 
Ultron menaces the Avengers for the third time in a three parter from #66-69. Guest starring Thor and Iron Man, while Black Panther is off quelling a rebellion in his native Wakanda, The Avengers are called to the SHIELD Helicarrier and asked to test a newly developed, indestructible metal: Adamantium. Try as they might to even dent it, they discover the metal is truly indestructible. Just then Vision is called away by some external will exerting control over him. He later breaks into the Helicarrier and steals the sample of Adamantium, then attacks the Avengers in their mansion, revealing his controller: Ultron, now re-formed out of the Adamantium and calling himself Ultron-6.
 
The next issue, it is revealed that Vision still had some a sort of subliminal suggestion left by Ultron in his mind to retrieve his lost head and reconstruct him when the time was right. With the discovery of Adamantium, that time was now. When Vision, now recovered from his trance, attacks his old master, Ultron demonstrates an ability to transform his body into a wave of pure energy.


With Ultron bent on destroying as many lives as possible, the Avengers come up with a plan. After getting a supply of Vibranium from  the Black Panther, they make announced that Myron MacLain, the creator of Admantium, will address the UN on Ultrons' threat. Ultron shows up at the UN building and attacks the scientist, attempting to drain the formula for the metal from his mind. However, the process backfires, and Ultron is driven into a panic. Dr. MacLain is revealed to actually be Hank in disguise, and in the process has implanted a subliminal message into Ultron's mind: Thou Shall Not Kill. In a last ditch effort, Ultron attempts to use his power to turn into pure energy to level the city. But when he uses it, the Avengers use a collapsible Vibranium shield to contain the blast, and Ultron, it appears at least, is permanently defeated.
 
The 60s, at least as far as the official cover-dates indicate, ended on a three-parter from #69 to 71 guest-starring the Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, is the first appearance of The Grandmaster, a cosmic being who likes to play games with combatants throughout the universe. In this instance, he chooses the Avengers and their old enemy Kang, pitting them together against his own chosen” champions,” (characters  who are clearly a parody of the Justice League). If they win, Kang is promised the chance to either bring death or restore to life his beloved Ravonna, who, mortally wounded, he now keeps in suspended animation.
This adventure involves the Black Knight once again coming to the team’s aid, and members of the team traveling back in time to the WWII era to fight The Invaders  (Captain America, Namor, and the Human Torch).
The good guys win, but Kang chooses the ability to wield against the Avengers. However, with the Black Knight’s aid, the Avengers manage to defeat the villain once again. Grateful for his help again, although the Black Knight operates out of England, the Avengers decide to make him a reserve member.
 
 
“1970”
 
#72 (Jan.) guest-starred Rick Jones, now bonded with Captain Marvel, and featured the Avengers first going up against the criminal team called the Zodiac, including the villain Scorpio, actually Nick Fury’s brother Jake.
 
#73 (Feb.) was the first of a two-parter re-introducing the Sons of the Serpent. The racist organization begins making attacks again, including against a singer named Monica Lynne, whom the Black Panther rescues. He decides to try and infiltrate the organization, but is captured in a cliffhanger.
 


Tune in next time when we can explore their adventures in the 1970s. Groovy!
 
Avengers of the ‘60s
Iron Man
Thor
Ant-Man / Giant-Man / Goliath / Yellow Jacket
Wasp
The Hulk
Captain America
Hawkeye / Goliath
Quicksilver
Scarlet Witch
Hercules
Black Panther
Vision
 
Regular Writers                Regular Artists
Stan Lee                              Jack Kirby
Roy Thomas                       Don Heck
                                              John Buscema