Avengers #1

Cover Date: September 1963

Plot Overview: Loki is looking to cause some mischief to draw out Thor for another battle. He comes across the Hulk and tricks him with a mental projection of TNT on a train track. The Hulk smashes the tracks by mistake and has to quickly save an oncoming train. People mistake his actions and think the Hulk was in fact trying to destroy the train.

Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade try to contact the Fantastic Four for help but Loki intercepts their radio transmissions and sends them to a band that Thor listens to. Thor picks up the transmission as well as Ant-Man, the Wasp and Iron Man. They all head to the southwest independently. Meanwhile, the Teen Brigade finally contacts the FF and Reed says they're busy but that he thinks other people should be able to help them.

Just then, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp all arrive on the scene. Rick Jones explains the situation to them and asks that they help the Hulk if he is indeed innocent. Loki is not amused by the appearance of other heroes and uses his mental powers to trick Thor into leaving the group with an image of the Hulk. Thor realizes it's just a mental projection and that Loki must be behind it.

Thor heads to Asgard as the scene changes to a circus. The Hulk is posing as a robotic act named Mechano. An ant on the scene relays the info to Ant-Man and the remaining heroes head off to face off with the Hulk.

The ants chew up the ground and the Hulk falls into a giant hole. Ant-Man tries to reason with the Hulk but the Hulk just wants to leave. The ants drop a giant steel drum onto the Hulk which enrages him. The Hulk escapes the drum as Ant-Man has the Wasp try to lure him under a net. The Hulk takes out the Wasp with a bellows and captures her. Iron Man arrives on the scene and the Hulk forgets about the Wasp. The Hulk breaks through the net that Ant-Man had used and Iron Man pursues. The Hulk manages to damage Iron Man's power source and he's forced to break off the chase.

Meanwhile on Asgard, Thor has received permission to travel to the Isle of Silence to confront Loki. Thor arrives at the Isle to be greeted by a volcanic eruption created by Loki. The volcano spews these bubbles that can drain a god of his powers so Thor swims for it. Loki greets Thor on land and tricks him into getting attacked by a troll. The troll tries to pull Thor under ground but he blinds it with lightning from his hammer. Loki makes multiple images of himself but Thor blows them away by swinging his hammer. Thor captures Loki and returns to Earth with him.

Back on Earth, Iron Man and the Hulk continue to battle one another. Thor arrives and explains that Loki framed the Hulk. Loki becomes radioactive suddenly and commands Hulk and Iron Man to leave so that he and Thor continue their battle. Just then, a group of ants release a trap door and Loki falls into a lead lined tank. Thor explains that Loki won't be radioactive for very long and then he can return him to Asgard for punishment.

Ant-Man and Wasp stop everyone from leaving. Ant-Man thinks they should continue teaming up due to how powerful they are together. Everyone agrees and the Wasp comes up with the name the Avengers on the spot. The issue ends with them proclaiming that no one will be able to stop the Avengers.

My Take: This book is historic for a lot of reasons. There have been some crossovers before this issue but pretty much the entire Marvel Universe appeared in this issue. Spider-Man was really the only hero that was absent during this book. It feels like the Marvel Universe has suddenly come together in a huge way for this book and it makes a good deal of sense.

The story is kind of a mixed bag here. A lot happens in the 22 pages of story and that's a good thing and a bad thing. I really like how they brought the team together in this issue. There's something very realistic about the Teen Brigade wanting the Fantastic Four and circumstances bringing them a different group of heroes. I also liked the battle between Iron Man and the Hulk in this issue. Loki also made sense as being the first antagonist for the Avengers to face. I don't think say, Namor would've worked as well in this issue. I also really like the team of the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp. I think it's a good mix of personalities and powers and you want to check out the next issue to see how the Hulk is going to work within the confines of a team.

What I didn't like was the Asgard portion of the story. It felt needless and it really secluded Thor from the other heroes in this book. It was really good when they all stormed into the Teen Brigade HQ but the book splits them up almost immediately. I wanted to see them working together, not all wandering off and doing their own thing. It also made the story drag a bit at that point. It just felt like you were reading one book and kind of wandered into a different book.

The art was good in this issue. Everyone looked good. Iron Man wasn't doing any of his weird contortions in his gold armor. It's a Jack Kirby drawn book. So what can you really say bad about it?

This book had it's ups and downs but ultimately I enjoyed it. It was an easy read, I wasn't page counting like I do with some of the weaker books I've read for this. And that's always a sign that I'm into what I'm reading. It has a lot of historical value as well.

I'd give this *** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Avengers as a team. The Avengers will be a consistent top team in the Marvel Universe from here on out. A huge number of Marvel super-heroes will have stints with the team over the years. Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp all become the founding members of the Avengers in this issue.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #45

Incredible Hulk #6

Cover Date: March 1963

Plot Overview: The Hulk returns to his hideout and once again becomes Bruce Banner. Banner is getting weaker with each dose of gamma radiation. He sees on the view screen where a military test is interrupted by an alien calling himself the Metal Master. He can control metal with his mind and he's come to Earth to conquer it. Rick breaks away and comes to find Banner. Banner uses his gamma ray gun to become the Hulk but his face doesn't change for some reason. He puts on a Hulk mask and heads off to battle the Metal Master.

The Metal Master keeps the Hulk at bay with various attacks until he knocks the Hulk out with a giant piece of metal. The military captures the Hulk as a result and the Hulk blames Rick for betraying him. Rick leaves dejected and the Hulk starts pounding on the prison walls.

Rick meets up with his old friends and they show him their new ham radio. This gives Rick the idea to form the Teen Brigade. The teen Brigade will become a nation wide group of teenage ham radio operators that will help out the Marvel superheroes.

Meanwhile the Hulk breaks out of his prison and returns to his hideout. He once again becomes Bruce Banner but he's even weaker than before. Rick arrives and Banner calls out to him. Banner is grateful for Rick's help and Rick realizes that it was the Hulk talking. Banner has an idea and they enlist the help of the Teen Brigade. Teenagers all across the country send Rick and Banner transistors and other parts.

Banner becomes the Hulk again and the Teen Brigade gathers to see what Banner and Rick have come up with. The Hulk walks out with a giant gun and confronts the Metal Master. The Metal Master is stunned that he cannot alter the gun with his mind. As a desperation move he tosses a piece of metal at the Hulk but the Hulk quickly captures him. The Hulk threatens the Metal Master until he changes all of the damage he caused back. The Metal Master then departs as the Teen Brigade is thrilled to have helped defeat him. The Hulk and Rick depart as the military arrives on the scene. Banner tries to change back but this time he's still the Hulk. The Hulk goes into a rage but suddenly turns back into Banner. The gamma radiation is getting more unpredictable with each usage. Banner goes to see Betty Ross and the issue ends with him telling her that he can't reveal his secret because he cares about her too much.

My Take: This issue felt like they were finding a groove with the Hulk issues. Banner continues to struggle with the Hulk when in the Hulk form and now the gamma ray gun is causing some odd side effects in him. It's also becoming clear that the transformation is slowly killing him each time he does it. It was nice to have 3 issues of building in a direction instead of the first 3 issues where the direction of the book changed every issue.

The strength of this Hulk series, to me, was the strong cast around Bruce Banner and the Hulk. And the cast became even stronger with the addition of the Teen Brigade. Most of the other titles have a supporting character or two while the Hulk has about 4 or 5 right now. It helps to develop both characters and lay the groundwork of the dichotomy of the Banner/Hulk personalities. It's really a shame that the book is cancelled with this issue. It feels like they had just figured out how to make this comic work.

The art was pretty good in this issue. I always have a soft spot for Steve Ditko's work. It felt like the art wasn't rushed. The Hulk also looked better than he usually does. I like the Metal Master character design a lot. He's not out there or cool, I just enjoy his design. And the effects for his metal altering were pretty good in my opinion.

I'd give this issue *** for *****

Notes: This is the last issue of the Incredible Hulk series. From here he kind of becomes a villain and antagonist for various heroes. After awhile, he'll become a co-feature in Tales to Astonish. This is the first appearance of the Teen Brigade. They will be an important part of the Avengers forming later this year and will play a role in several comics throughout the 60s.

I wanted to take a moment and look at why the Incredible Hulk failed as a book. I think it has to do with the lack of direction to the first 3 issues. It felt like Stan Lee had a really good initial idea and then didn't know where to go with it from there. The book also struggled from an identity crisis. It didn't know if it wanted to be a sci-fi horror book or a superhero book. I also think this book was a few years ahead of it's time. The anti-hero concept maybe wasn't quite ready to take off with the readers. The 60s needed to take hold a little bit more before that kind of a concept would be more widely accepted. Just my two cents though.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #1