The first issue of Avengers I owned. At the time, it seemed like some random one-off issue about a woman swiping one of Hank Pym's old Yellowjacket costumes, only to eventually run afoul of a fairly irate Wasp. About a year later, Roger Stern and John Buscema would do their "Under Siege" story, and this new Yellowjacket would be part of Baron Zemo's massive Masters of Evil that tore the Avengers Mansion down, put Hercules in a coma, and left Jarvis badly beaten.
A few years after that, that same Yellowjacket would hitch a ride with the Guardians of the Galaxy back to the 30th Century and join the team.
So this issue was part of the build-up towards the "Under Siege" story, but I had no clue of that at the time. It feels like a breather issue, checking in on the status of the team in a quiet moment. What's on their mind, what's troubling them? Dane Whitman (the Black Knight) is starting to get interested in the Wasp. He convinced to let him play "Doctor". No seriously, he was helping her test her powers. Apparently she can maintain the wings at almost her actual size, give or take a foot. Reed, Sue, and Franklin Richards are living at Avengers Mansion (which I remember confusing the heck out of me). Namor is on the Avengers, too, so you know he's trying to flirt with Sue, while wondering whether being an Avenger is enough for him. Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) helps her father rescue one of his firefighters from a burning building.
And that's fine. I didn't know most of these characters from anything at the time, so it was a good way to learn a little about them. Like Dane having spent years stuck in the Crusades (which may have been retconned to something else at some point). Stern is good at juggling subplots, making sure everyone gets some time, let the character show their worth, why they are on the Avengers, or to show us something about them, so we actually care about them.
Buscema and Palmer's art has a very slick feel to it, with a lot of expression. Dane has this hilarious stunned look when Jan, at insect-size, bends a 2-inch diameter steel pipe back on itself. Jan's nonchalant response that she doesn't show off the enhanced strength much because stinging people seemed more efficient and less messy than ripping off their arms is funny, too. But it works for the quiet stuff, Namor standing in front of window, stuff like that. And when there's fighting, well, the Buscemas always know how to someone throwing a punch.
It's strange though, I don't feel like this issue had as much of an impact on my impressions of the Avengers as a lot of other Marvel comics I got at the same time. Other than Captain America, and maybe the Wasp, I don't tend to think of the characters on this roster as core Avengers. I'm more likely to apply that to people who were on the West Coast Avengers in the first issue of that I owned.
A few years after that, that same Yellowjacket would hitch a ride with the Guardians of the Galaxy back to the 30th Century and join the team.
So this issue was part of the build-up towards the "Under Siege" story, but I had no clue of that at the time. It feels like a breather issue, checking in on the status of the team in a quiet moment. What's on their mind, what's troubling them? Dane Whitman (the Black Knight) is starting to get interested in the Wasp. He convinced to let him play "Doctor". No seriously, he was helping her test her powers. Apparently she can maintain the wings at almost her actual size, give or take a foot. Reed, Sue, and Franklin Richards are living at Avengers Mansion (which I remember confusing the heck out of me). Namor is on the Avengers, too, so you know he's trying to flirt with Sue, while wondering whether being an Avenger is enough for him. Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) helps her father rescue one of his firefighters from a burning building.
And that's fine. I didn't know most of these characters from anything at the time, so it was a good way to learn a little about them. Like Dane having spent years stuck in the Crusades (which may have been retconned to something else at some point). Stern is good at juggling subplots, making sure everyone gets some time, let the character show their worth, why they are on the Avengers, or to show us something about them, so we actually care about them.
Buscema and Palmer's art has a very slick feel to it, with a lot of expression. Dane has this hilarious stunned look when Jan, at insect-size, bends a 2-inch diameter steel pipe back on itself. Jan's nonchalant response that she doesn't show off the enhanced strength much because stinging people seemed more efficient and less messy than ripping off their arms is funny, too. But it works for the quiet stuff, Namor standing in front of window, stuff like that. And when there's fighting, well, the Buscemas always know how to someone throwing a punch.
It's strange though, I don't feel like this issue had as much of an impact on my impressions of the Avengers as a lot of other Marvel comics I got at the same time. Other than Captain America, and maybe the Wasp, I don't tend to think of the characters on this roster as core Avengers. I'm more likely to apply that to people who were on the West Coast Avengers in the first issue of that I owned.
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