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Avengers Masterworks Vol 1 1

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Appearing in "The Coming of the Avengers!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #1

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Synopsis for "The Coming of the Avengers!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #1
Avengers Vol 1 1 Title

Loki, having been previously captured by Thor, is being held prisoner at the Isle of Silence in Asgard. His physical form may be confined there, but by means of thought projection his disembodied self travels to Earth in search of revenge. He spots Thor in his human identity of Dr. Donald Blake but resists defeating him as it would be a hollow victory compared to defeating him as Thor.

After hours of searching, Loki happens across the Hulk and devises a wicked plan to entice Blake to transform into Thor. He projects a mental image of dynamite on the tracks of a nearby railway bridge. The Hulk spots the dynamite and attempts to snuff it out, accidentally destroying the bridge. Suddenly, a train appears on the tracks traveling towards the wreckage. Valiantly, the Hulk manages to hold the tracks up long enough for the train to pass safely before allowing it to collapse. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done and Loki's plan was successful.

Hours later, newspapers print articles about the Hulk being on the rampage again and a manhunt begins. The Hulk's friend, Rick Jones, reads the article with disbelief and meets with members of the Teen Brigade in order to find help to track Hulk down to find the truth. They attempt to contact the Fantastic Four but Loki interferes with the radio signal, diverting it to Don Blake. He decides to transform into Thor to help the Teen Brigade. Unknown to Loki, the radio signal is also picked up by Ant-Man, the Wasp, and Iron Man, who also travel to assist.

Later, the Teen Brigade are disappointed that the Fantastic Four hadn't responded to their message when they finally get a reply. They inform the Teen Brigade that they are too busy with another case but they have a hunch that other heroes may have received their distress call. Suddenly Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp arrive. Loki realizes that the other heroes will only interfere with his plans and lures Thor away by creating a mental image of the Hulk. Upon catching up with this fake "Hulk", Thor attacks and realizes it isn't real, and immediately suspects Loki. He then returns to Asgard to face his brother.

Meanwhile, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp track down the Hulk with the help of Ant-Man's ants. He is working at a circus pretending to be a robot called Mechano. They attempt to capture him by causing the ground below him to cave in, by dropping a steel cylinder onto him, and trying to catch him in a net. Hulk manages to escape the circus. Iron Man gives chase but the Hulk cripples his battery, and escapes while Iron Man repairs it.

Avengers Vol 1 1 028

Back in Asgard, Thor asks permission from Odin to meet Loki on the Isle of Silence to question him. Odin accepts but warns that he cannot interfere between the two brothers' quarrel. As Thor sets out across the Sea of Mist he is attacked by Loki's traps. First, he narrowly escapes tangle roots that threaten to drag him down into the depths. Next, a volcano erupts releasing volcanic gas globules capable of sapping the strength of any god. Thor manages to evade these by diving into the sea. On the island, Loki spots Thor's empty boat and wonders with disbelief if Thor has already been defeated. Suddenly, a giant water spout appears in front of him as Thor emerges from the sea to face him. He throws his hammer at Loki, only to have it deflected by a hastily-made ice shield.

Loki calls upon a Rock Troll, which begins to drag Thor beneath the ground. At the last moment, Thor uses his hammer to summon lightning which dazzles the troll, causing it to relinquish his hold. Thor angrily swings his hammer at Loki, who has created multiple mental images of himself to confuse him. Thor counters this by spinning his hammer fast enough to blow all the figures away, revealing the true Loki. Soaking up the magnetic flow from the earth with his hammer, he captures Loki via magnetic attraction and takes him back to Earth to clear the Hulk's name.

On Earth, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp continue to pursue the Hulk to an auto factory in Detroit. Thor appears with Loki to clear Hulk's name. Suddenly Loki makes himself radioactive forcing the heroes to retreat. Luckily, Loki stands over a trapdoor and Ant-Man's ants trigger a switch, dropping him into a lead-lined tank. Upon celebrating their victory, Ant-Man and the Wasp point out how well they could work as a team, and that they should work together in the future. The Wasp suggests they should call themselves the Avengers, and everybody agrees.

And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat! On that day, the Avengers were born, to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand!

Appearing in "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #2

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  • Anthony Stark's Moon Vehicle

Synopsis for "The Avengers Battle... the Space Phantom"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #2

Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk are awaiting Ant-Man and the Wasp in Tony Stark's library so they can begin their meeting. There is already tension among the ranks of this new super-team as Thor and Hulk bicker. Before anything can come of it, Ant-Man and the Wasp make a sudden entrance, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Ant-Man, (now using the name Giant-Man) explains by showing the team his new size-changing capsules.

Elsewhere, the eerie Space Phantom arrives on Earth, under the guise of a fragment of meteorite. He plans to destroy the Avengers so that his race can invade the planet. He takes the appearance of a passerby, sending him to Limbo.

Later, the Space Phantom (under the guise of the passerby) approaches the Avengers Mansion. He is spotted by the team and the Hulk goes to investigate. The man takes the Hulk off-guard and assumes his form, sending him to Limbo in place of the man. The Phantom (this time under the guise of the Hulk) returns to the team and taunts Iron Man and Thor, causing a miniature brawl and heightening the tensions in the team before leaving. Outside, he spots the man he replaced earlier trying to warn everybody and decides to cause more havoc as the Hulk. "The Hulk" is approached by his friend Rick Jones, who convinces him to escape before the police arrive. Rick realizes something is wrong with the way "Hulk" is acting and the Phantom reveals himself, before leaving. He arrives at one of Tony Stark's operations plants and, still posing as the Hulk, destroys a new experimental anti-missile defense weapon. Iron Man is told the news and faces off against the "Hulk". Iron Man proves to be too much for him however and the Phantom flees by taking the form of a passing wasp, leaving a confused and dazed Hulk behind. Iron Man and the Hulk continue to battle.

Meanwhile, Rick Jones communicates with Giant-Man and explains the situation to the Wasp and him. They catch up with Iron Man and Hulk and break up the fight. The Phantom, still in the form of a wasp, attacks the Wasp and flees to a nearby factory. After aiding the Wasp, Giant-Man is taken by surprise by the Space Phantom and replaced. This time the Wasp and the Hulk saw it happen and know this "Giant-Man" is fake. They battle and Iron Man eventually catches up only to be replaced. Hulk catches the Space Phantom in the act yet again and the newly-returned Giant-Man teams up with the Hulk to fight the fake "Iron Man".

Across town, it is revealed that the Wasp left to search for Thor. She finds him with the help of Dr. Donald Blake and the duo race back to the factory to assist the rest of the team. The Wasp shrinks down and damages the mechanism of the Iron Man suit and Thor creates a thunderstorm, causing the armor to rust. In a final desperate attempt to succeed, the Space Phantom decides to take Thor's form. Unfortunately for the Phantom his power only works on mortal beings and it backfires, sending him to Limbo instead. After the battle, the Hulk expresses his sadness at his recent treatment in the team and decides to quit.

Appearing in "The Avengers meet 'Sub-Mariner!'"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #3

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Synopsis for "The Avengers meet 'Sub-Mariner!'"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #3

At their next meeting, the Avengers decide they need to find the Hulk before he causes more trouble. Iron Man uses his image projector device to communicate with the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men to ask if they have spotted him, but he has no luck. Thor comes up with the smart idea of asking Rick Jones to help find the Hulk. They contact him, and Rick sets out into the desert to an area where he could be.

A short while later, Rick discovers the Hulk and leads him to a cave they had used in the past as a refuge. There, Rick operates a machine that transforms the Hulk back into Bruce Banner. While asleep, stressful thoughts cause Banner to revert to his Hulk-state and escape. Rick Jones contacts the Avengers, alerting them to the situation, and they travel to the desert to stop him getting out of hand. After a brief battle, the Hulk escapes onto a passing train, and with the help of an empty train carriage, some industrial cable, and a couple of bags of flour, manages to elude the team. After laying low, he reaches the sea and is eventually taken onto a ship on the brink of exhaustion.

Under the sea, Namor the Sub-Mariner watches the scene. After the Hulk leaves the ship, the Sub-Mariner meets him on a small island. After a short fight, Namor suggests they team up and fight the humans together, as they each bear a grudge against humanity. They form an uneasy alliance, each suspicious of the other, and issue a challenge to the Avengers: to battle at the Rock of Gibraltar! The villains use old World War II weaponry to attack the Avengers, but Iron Man deflects the shells with his repulsor rays. Namor disables Iron Man by firing an emery dust pellet at him, clogging up the joints in his armor. Thor holds the duo at bay while the Wasp finds a tank of oxygen, which is used to blow the dust away and bring Iron Man back into the fight. The Avengers chase their enemies through the tunnels. Namor plans to use an old air raid siren he has converted into a weapon, but is caught by Giant-Man and the battle continues. Both the Hulk and Sub-Mariner attempt to lift Thor's hammer but are unable to do so. At an inopportune moment, the stress causes Hulk to change back into Banner when Namor needs his help the most, and is forced to flee. Namor, without help from the Hulk, is quickly outmatched and narrowly escapes into the ocean.

Appearing in "Captain America Joins... The Avengers!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #4

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  • Stark Industries Prototype Bathyscaph
  • Vuk's Spaceship (Main story and flashback)

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Synopsis for "Captain America Joins... The Avengers!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #4

After escaping his battle with the Avengers, Namor angrily continues his search for his missing people. He eventually finds his way to the North Sea, where he discovers a tribe of Inuit people worshiping a dead man frozen in a block of ice. Still angry at humanity Namor approaches the Inuit, causing them to flee as he throws the ice block into the water. It drifts away, slowly beginning to thaw.

By chance, the Avengers are in the area in their undersea craft. They spot the figure in the water and Giant-Man pulls him onboard. Upon inspection they notice that he wears the clothing of long-lost World War II hero Captain America. Suddenly, he awakens and, in a fit of panic and confusion, charges at the Avengers before realizing his surroundings and calming down. Iron Man asks the mystery man who he is and the Avengers are skeptical when he tells them he is indeed Captain America. After a brief demonstration of his ability they quickly change their minds.

Captain America explains his last memories: he speeds towards an experimental plane on a motorcycle with his sidekick Bucky. Unknown to the duo, the plane had been sabotaged by Nazi agent Baron Zemo. Bucky manages to get on board while Captain America slips and falls from the plane. The last thing he remembers is the plane exploding with Bucky on it as he falls through the sky into the frozen waters off Newfoundland.

Back in the present day, the Avengers have docked in New York City and are greeted by a crowd of journalists looking for interviews about the battle with Sub-Mariner and the Hulk. Suddenly, a camera flashes and turns the team into stone. The journalists think it is a publicity stunt and leave. Aboard the sea craft Captain America awakens and exits onto the dock. He also spots the statues but dismisses them as statues made to honor the heroes. Cap finds the modern world very unusual and alien but finds his way to a hotel.

Later, Cap is awoken by a vision of Bucky, but it is revealed to be Rick Jones. He has been following Cap's trail across town, looking for clues to the Avengers' whereabouts. They team up to solve the mystery and examine photos taken at the dock. Cap discovers one of the photographers carrying what looks more like a weapon than a camera, and Rick sends his Teen Brigade to search around the city to find the mystery man. Eventually Captain America finds the man in question and approaches him. His gang overhears his entrance and a fight breaks out. Cap easily defeats them despite being heavily outnumbered, and exposes the leader as an alien. The alien, a member of the race called the D'bari, explains that his spaceship crashed into the ocean and the Sub-Mariner promised to help him return to his planet if he turned the Avengers to stone. Captain America offers to help the D'bari if they reverse the stone effect on the Avengers and he complies, freeing the Avengers once again.

In his palace, the Sub-Mariner angrily observes the scene and plans another tactic to defeat the Avengers. As if by luck, a troop of his Atlantean Elite Guard pass nearby and Namor rallies them to his side.

Back on land, the D'bari leads the Avengers to the area where his ship is stuck on the seabed below. After Giant-Man and Iron Man attach a camera to the ship's hull, Thor manipulates his hammer, causing a torrent of magnetic waves that wrench the ship free. The D'bari dives to make any necessary repairs to his ship. On the surface, Giant-Man and Captain America are suddenly attacked by Namor and his elite guard, sending them into the water. Namor duels with Iron Man, slowly gaining the upper hand. The Wasp flies in to distract Namor, giving Iron Man essential recovery time. Namor's elite guard plead for aid against the mighty Thor, who is making short work of them. Thor deflects the Atlanteans' weapons back at themselves, scattering the troops. Namor now battles one-on-one against Thor.

Meanwhile, under the water, Giant-Man is ensnared by a massive net. However, he escapes by taking a shrinking capsule before he suffocates. He emerges near Iron Man, and they take care of the remaining Atlantean elite guard. Namor again attempts to take Thor's hammer from him, to no avail, and soon has to deal with Giant-Man and Iron Man as well. Captain America watches, trying to get a feel of what sort of team the Avengers are. The fight is brought to a standstill when some of the Atlanteans reveal a hostage - Rick Jones! With his uncanny reflexes, Cap leaps in and frees Rick and the fight begins anew.

Suddenly an earthquake strikes the island and the Sub-Mariner leaves, believing the Avengers to be consumed by it. Little does he know, the tremors were actually caused by the launching of the D'bari spacecraft. The Avengers watch the D'bari leave and then officially offer Captain America a place on the team, which he readily accepts. Nearby, Rick looks out on the ocean deep in thought, torn between his loyalty to the Avengers, and to his old friend the Hulk.

Appearing in "The Invasion of The Lava Men!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #5

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  • Avengers' Helicopter

Synopsis for "The Invasion of The Lava Men!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #5

The Avengers return to their mansion to inspect the damage caused by the battle with the Hulk. They disband for the time being and Captain America teaches Rick Jones some acrobatic maneuvers.

Days later, a mysterious high-pitched sound destroys a computer in one of Tony Stark's Long Island factories and Iron Man is informed. Meanwhile, Giant-Man and the Wasp are conducting experiments inside a large anthill. They are also affected by the noise and escape before the anthill collapses. In his medical office, Don Blake reads about the effects of the noise in the newspaper. Thor meets Captain America and Rick Jones, who are still training, and they witness another shockwave. The six heroes investigate the source of this new unknown threat.

Meanwhile, in an army base in the west of the country, a strange rock breaks the surface of the earth and the soldiers investigate. Overseeing the events is General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. They are interrupted by his daughter Betty, accompanied by Bruce Banner. Banner is deep in thought, mentally reliving the accident that changed him into the Hulk, as well as battling against his former allies the Avengers. His daydream is broken by General Ross, who demands that Banner investigate the giant rock. Banner deduces that the rock is actually being pushed to the surface by something underneath.

Beneath the ground, it turns out that Banner was correct. The Lava Men have created a machine that slowly pushes the "Living Rock" to the surface. Molto, one of the Lava Men, pleads with Basallo, the king of the Lava Men. Molto wishes for the Lava Men to stop raising the rock, as the humans are not evil and do not deserve this. He is however struck down by Jinku, the Lava Man witch doctor, and accused of cowardice because of his defeat by Thor.

Back on the surface, the army is about to destroy the rock with missiles when the Avengers arrive. Iron Man tries to cut through the rock, only to discover it is actually alive. He blasts underneath the rock to see what is below it and stumbles across some Lava Men. They overwhelm him with sheer numbers and begin to overheat his armor. At the last minute, Iron Man is saved by Thor and Captain America. Due to his immortality, Thor decides he is the only one that can continue. As he approaches, the Lava Men melt the earth below him, changing it into lava. Thor casually walks through it, to the Lava Men's amazement. Thor finds Basallo and Jinku, and demands that they stop raising the rock. Basallo explains the origin of the rock and that if anybody attempts to destroy it, it will explode with tremendous power. Their only hope is to push it to the surface before it explodes so that it will only destroy the surface life and not the entire planet. Thor tries to think of a way to save both the planet AND the life on the surface.

The Lava Men attempt to invade the surface and come face to face with Captain America. He fights bravely but is stopped when the Lava Men bind him with cinders. Rick Jones rushes to his aid and begins to break Cap free while Iron Man faces the Lava Men.

Elsewhere, Giant-Man and the Wasp have been analyzing the living rock and they find a patch that isn't pulsating. If this spot is struck with enough power, it should cause the rock to implode, rather than explode. They rush to find Thor and find Iron Man, Captain America and Rick Jones. Giant-Man lifts the Avengers' helicopter and blows back all the Lava Men with the spinning rotors. Rick Jones finally sets Cap free and they travel underground to find Thor.

Back on the surface, Bruce Banner is still carrying out his research when he turns into the Hulk. He hears the voices of his enemies, the Avengers, and proceeds towards them. The Avengers panic and try to lure Hulk away from the living rock. Thor attempts to join in the fight but is ambushed by Jinku. He points his witch doctor's rod at Thor and miraculously changes him back into Don Blake, as well as causing the tunnel to collapse. He flees, thinking that Thor is bewitched and able to change his form, leaving Blake injured in the rubble.

On the surface, the rest of the Avengers attempt to deal with the Hulk. Cap, Giant-Man and the Wasp have a plan. Using their growth capsules, Giant-Man and the Wasp taunt and tease the Hulk, luring him onto the living rock. They take him to the correct spot to strike and coax him into striking it, causing the living rock to implode.

Underground, Don Blake uses the last of his strength to change back into Thor as the tunnel completely caves in around him. He breaks free and confronts the Lava Men, convincing them to stop their invasion and to return to their own land.

Outside, General Ross declares the threat to be over and Betty rushes off to look for Bruce, finding him injured, but alive. As the Avengers leave, they receive a "condition red" distress call from the Teen Brigade.

Notes

Reprints Avengers #1-5

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