Welcome back, my loves!

Over the weekend, I did a little shopping at Carol & John’s, and did lots of reading. We’re really starting to get to some good stuff! I’m excited to get into it!! First off, as promised, let me tell you about the trade I got.

Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 3. It contains Avengers 21-30. Now, for those of us who aren’t very familiar with Marvel’s trades, Marvel Masterworks are a bit pricier than most other trades. For example, this paperback version was $25. However, they are worth every penny! (In my opinion, at least!!) They a gorgeous! I mean, take a look at it, it’s so pretty!!

So, obviously, this is how I’m reading Avengers for the next 10 issues. (I’m still reading X-Men on Marvel Unlimited) And speaking of the reading, we’ll be covering things in arcs going forward, instead of going back and forth between Avengers and X-Men each month. I’m reading the titles in their monthly order, but for sake of keeping these posts clear, we’ll talk about them in arcs. So, without further ado…

X-Men 12 & 13!! Here we meet Professor X’s step-brother Cain Marko, better known as the Juggernaut! You guys, I love Juggernaut. He’s just so ridiculous in his hatred for Charles, it’s awesome. Also, he’s crazy powerful. It’s a great combo! These two issues give us Juggernaut’s first appearance, as he shows up at the school to attack Xavier and the battle leaves basically everyone but Jean and the Prof injured. This time, they actually turn the bad guy over to the police too (although how long normal police hope to keep Juggernaut in jail is questionable)!

Some observations from this little arc… First off, let’s talk about Scott’s powers. There seems to be no set level for them. In issue 12, he uses them to gouge a huge trench all along the inside of the school walls in preparation for Juggernaut’s arrival. This monumental feat seems to barely wind our fearless leader, and yet in prior issues, just shooting a bad guy for 2 seconds at full blast has left Scott unconscious! And in Issue 13, he uses his power at full blast against Juggernaut without much problem, but then suddenly needs “a few minutes” for his power beam to recharge. It’s a little confusing, so I look forward to seeing how his powers and their limits take shape as the series progresses. Also, apparently Professor X can use his telepathy to form a “mental shield” around himself strong enough to at least temporarily slow down Juggernaut. This is the first we’ve seen of this power, so let’s keep an eye out for it as we continue. It’s a cool idea, especially since, at least right now, Magneto has the ability to do this using his magnetic powers, and it seems Stan Lee and the rest of the team want to keep the Prof and Mags fairly evenly matched (assuming Mags ever makes it back from his capture by the Stranger! *wink*)

Also cool: in issue 13 we get a quick cameo from Matt Murdock, and a longer one from the Human Torch himself, Johnny Storm, who comes to the X-Men’s aid to help defeat Juggernaut! On a final note, I have a confession to make to you guys. And this is a little embarrassing since I consider myself a huge X-Men fan and a fairly knowledgeable one at that…I had TOTALLY FORGOTTEN that Cain Marko isn’t a mutant, but instead got his powers from black magic. WTH?!? How I forgot that *minor* detail is beyond me. But, it’s true…whoops!

Professor X gives us Juggernaut’s backstory (and also part of his own) in issue 12 as Juggernaut slowly makes his way towards the school. And apparently Cain and Charles stumbled into the lost Temple of Cyttorak in Korea while serving in the war. Once inside, Cain touched the forbidden ruby, which transformed him into The Juggernaut. It’s crazy, and I feel like it’s totally nuts that I forgot that! In fact, I’m so embarrassed, that we must move on now…

Meanwhile, over at Avenger’s headquarters, our fab four have been really busy. Issues 19 & 20 have the team battling the Swordsman. (Who, incidentally, happens to have trained Hawkeye!) These issues have Cap being duped yet again (Seriously, someone needs to tell the star-spangled Avenger he can’t be so trusting), this time by the Swordsman. He is attempting to kidnap an Avenger to prove he is worthy of joining the team. He captures Cap and holds him hostage, tied up on the top of a building, and threatens to push him to his death if the other Avengers don’t agree to make him the team leader. In very typical Cap fashion, Steve throws himself off the building to save his teammates from having to surrender! And that’s how issue 19 ends! Talk about a cliff-hanger!

But of course, in issue 20, the other Avengers save Cap by working together and they all go after the Swordsman. Just as they get him pinned down, he suddenly disappears. Turns out the Mandarin transported him to China! He wants Swordsman to join the Avengers and then plant a bomb in their HQ so that Mandarin can blow them up whenever Iron Man decides to show up again. Yeah, it’s a pretty silly plan. But, they go through with it, convincing the Avengers to accept Swordsman by projecting an image of Iron Man to tell them he vouches for Swordsman. He plants the bomb, but at the last minute, changes his mind and attempts to stop the plan for no real reason. He gets the bomb out of there just as the Mandarin is detonating it (having chosen to attack immediately instead of waiting for Iron Man, again for no reason)

This was a fun, if silly, arc. I was struck by how much fighting goes on between the Avengers, with Wanda always playing peace-keeper. All three of the guys have hot tempers and all three feel they should be the leader. What’s also interesting is that, despite the fact that she’s the only one with a cool, level head, no one ever even mentions the idea of Wanda leading. (Can’t imagine why that would be.) It seems to me the Scarlet Witch would be a more rational leader than Hawkeye or Quicksilver! Just saying… Also, can we talk about the ridiculously politically-incorrect racial stereotypes in ‘60’s comics? I mean, the Mandarin’s depiction as a crazy, sneaky, Fu Manchu is particularly dissonant to a modern reader. This is something else I look forward to following. It will be cool to discuss the evolution of these racist stereotypes throughout the years. How does the depiction of the Mandarin change from 1965 to 2015? What do you guys think? I’d love to hear your feedback or questions. You can give me your question and opinions at the “Ask Me Anything” tab at the top of the page.

The next arc in Avengers was a good one as well. Issues 21 & 22 saw Enchantress create Power Man using the same technology that created Wonder Man (Avengers #9) and the two of them successfully frame the Avengers and split them apart. Remember how I mentioned the in-fighting going on at Avengers HQ in the last arc? Well, it’s SO. MUCH. WORSE. in this arc, making if fairly easy for our dastardly duo to frame the Avengers and let them come apart at the seams, blaming each other for their failure to stop the frame-job. Issue 21 ends with the City Council of NYC declaring the Avengers illegal and forcing them to disband. The Avengers go their separate ways, and eventually Wanda, Pietro, and Hawkeye end up getting jobs at the circus. What they soon realize is that this isn’t a normal circus, but one run by the Masters of Menace. A fight breaks out, and when the cops show up, Ringmaster convinces the cops that the Avengers are robing them. It’s a little nuts to think that, even with the frame-job Enchantress and Power Man pulled off, the cops would believe a group of ex-cons over the Avengers, but whatever. The Avengers are forced to flee.

Meanwhile, Cap has gone undercover to try to get evidence that Power Man and Enchantress framed the Avengers. He gets a confession on tape, and then he and Power Man fight. The rest of the Avengers show up just in time to help. In the midst of the battle, Enchantress disappears, leaving Power Man to surrender because he apparently has no reason to continue without her. So, the Avengers take him and the tape to the police and have their names cleared. And then the police AND the Avengers just LET POWERMAN GO. Seriously guys. The guy is as strong as Wonder Man, and a criminal, and they just let him go. I can’t even. And then, just when you think everything is back to normal, Cap quits the Avengers!! No joke. He just up and quits, telling them to find themselves a new leader to fight with!!!

Some notable things I noticed in this arc: In past issues, we’ve been told that the Avengers keep their identities secret even from each other (for example, none of the Avengers know that Iron Man is actually Tony Stark). But, everyone seems to know that Captain America is Steve Rogers, and that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. On the flip side, Hawkeye’s identity is never mentioned, and we never see him out of costume, so no one seems to know he’s Clint Barton. This is interesting to me. Let’s keep this in mind as we move forward, and see how this plays out. Also, I just want to re-state that ‘60’s Hawkeye is a HUGE dickhead. Like, I can barely stand reading him. I constantly want to punch him in the face, and keep hoping that Cap is finally going snap and beat the crap out of him. Now, I know that he evolves into a much more likable character, so I can’t wait to get to that point. But for now, I’ll just relish in my hatred for him!

That’s all for now my loves. Come back next time, when we’ll meet one of the X-Men’s central foes and witness the beginning of a war that will define the X-Universe for decades to come!! (I can’t wait!!!) So, until then…keep searching!!

Original Tumblr Post: here