The problem with super-villain teams is illustrated in a single panel of Avengers 3 (Jan. 1964).
“I’ll string along for a while, then I’ll smash him when he’s off guard,” thinks the Hulk. Meanwhile, the Sub-Mariner muses, “He’s too strong! Too unpredictable! When he’s served his purpose, I’ll destroy him!”
You know, Hitler and Stalin had the same problem.
You’d think Namor might have learned something from his “team-up” with Dr. Doom, who’d promptly hurled him into airless outer space at the first opportunity (Fantastic Four 6, Sept. 1962).
The Hulk’s abrupt switch from teammate to antagonist in Avengers 2 demonstrated the kind of surprise that made the expanding Marvel universe exciting.
Comics historian Don Alsafi wrote, “In Avengers 1, the team was pulled together by the perceived threat of the Hulk, though he was accepted as one of their own by the end — so the twist in their second issue, when he turns his back on them and leaves the group, was rather shocking. (If this was Stan’s method of telling the readers that Anything Could Happen, it was certainly effective!) But he’s too wild and dangerous of a threat to simply let roam, of course, so the Avengers open their third issue by declaring their intention to track him down.”
The Hulk hadn’t been physically gray since his first issue, but he remained morally gray, as did Namor. Both characters could function as hero or villain as circumstances dictated and plots required.
Over at DC Comics, heroes were heroes and villains were villains, period. At Marvel, ethical issues weren’t so clear-cut. And that made the storytelling moves available at Marvel more akin to chess than checkers.
Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men also turn up, meaning that this issue features every Marvel superhero then published with the sole exception of Dr. Strange. The cohesive Marvel universe is now firmly established, providing a cross-pollination that will boost popularity and sales of the Marvel titles.
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| Jack Kirby's original art for Avengers 3 |
Andy Misner wrote, "This story was the first major crossover event. It spanned Avengers 3,4. Then Fantastic Four 25, and 26. I have 3 issues of this story, I just need Avengers 4, and that is probably out of my budget"
ReplyDeleteMark Engblom said, “At Marvel, ethical issues weren’t so clear-cut. And that made the storytelling moves available at Marvel more akin to chess than checkers.”
ReplyDelete"Brilliant observation! I’d never heard it put that way, but it’s a great analogy.
"The Hulk and Namor were, indeed, delightful 'wild cards' whose mercurial moods, blunt-force impulsivity, and even their vast physical range made them the perfect catalyst for the early Marvel Universe (back when you could fit every hero on a single city bus). Whether it was the Hulk impersonating a robotic clown in a traveling circus or Namor creating a fake Hollywood movie studio to trap the FF (not to mention inadvertantly reviving Captain America), these two radical X-factors were the ideal yeast to the unshaped dough of early Marvel."