Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels

(vip2019) #1
40 AVENGERS, THE

the Vision, an android created by
Avengers arch-foe Ultron, and
bringing in the team’s fi rst African
American member, the Black
Panther. With John’s brother
Sal and later with Neal Adams ,
Th omas created the book’s fi rst epic
in the Kree-Skrull War storyline, a
10-issue galaxy- spanning storyline
that brought together various
Marvel elements including the In-
humans and the alien Skrulls and
Kree.
In 1972, Steve Englehart took
over the writing chores and gave
the Avengers a sense of social rel-
evance fi tting with their times.
He introduced Mantis, a half-
Vietnamese woman and martial
arts expert. Englehart’s storylines
often dealt with issues of racism,
corporate America, and personal
identity. His classic arcs are the
Avengers-Defenders War, pitting
two of Marvel’s teams against each
other, and the Celestial Madonna
storyline, which focused on
Mantis’s personal exploration and
self-fulfi llment.
Jim Shooter was the next writer to have an extended run on the book (beginning
in 1977), creating a cosmic storyline that arrayed almost every Avenger against the
mysterious “Michael Korvac,” a godlike being who could kill and recreate the Avengers’
allies almost at his whim. After this “Korvac Saga,” David Michelinie took over with a
series of stories themed around government interference and the individual Avengers’
histories, after which Shooter returned with a series of stories dealing with individual
responsibility, culminating in Ant-Man (then Yellowjacket) striking his wife, the
Wasp, during a complex plot intended to manipulate the Avengers into forgiving him
for his misdeeds.
By 1983, Roger Stern had come aboard as the Avengers’ writer, and his stories would
send the Avengers across the universe from the Savage Land to the Skrull Empire. He
introduced a new female Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) and developed her from
rookie to team leader; during this period the Vision established a second Avengers team

In the fourth issue of The Avengers writer Stan Lee
re- introduced Captain America, March 1964. Marvel Comics
Group/ Photofest

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