And then, the Avengers met a team of heroes so strange, yet so familiar, like some sort of League of Justice: The Squadron Supreme!  Your Major Spoilers (Retro) Review of Avengers #85 awaits!

AVENGERS #85

Writer: Roy Thomas/Len Wein
Penciler: John Buscema
Inker: Frank Giacoia
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Mike Stevens
Editor: Stan Lee
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: 15 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $95.00

Previously in Avengers:  And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat.  On that day, they became The Avengers!  On Earth-712, though, things went a little bit differently: Their greatest heroes are a strange visitor from another world, a dark night detective, an amazing amazon and more!  And they all seems strangely familiar…

We begin with The Avengers exiting Arkon’s world after last issue’s battle there.

Thor spins his magic hammer to return them “from whence they came,” depositing The Black Knight home in England, himself and The Black Panther to Manhattan and the remaining four Avengers…  someplace else.  As phantoms, they witness a planet on fire, with every living soul burning in the light of a solar eruption!  Quicksilver realizes that they’ve somehow arrived several weeks in their own future, after which The Scarlet Witch uses her majicks to send them back in time to the correct date.  It’s not until they reach what should be Avengers Mansion that the reality of the situation sets in.

I love John Buscema’s art, but this issue especially impresses me with its depiction of Nighthawk, whose original costume can look VERY goofy.  As The Avengers stave off the attack of a known villain, they’re shocked to find that it’s not Nighthawk who is the invader!

Faced with the reality that they’ve just walked into someone else’s house, the team tries to parley, but it quickly becomes clear that the Squadron Sinister…  Errr, make that the Squadron Supreme aren’t interested.  As The Vision works out that they’ve arrived on the wrong Earth, Clint “Goliath” Barton, the former Hawkeye, has to face a man using his old alias and matching his skill as a marksman.  Tom Thumb, Lady Lark and the American Eagle are likewise dangerous foes, and the outnumbered Avengers have to play defense.

The quartet barely manages to overcome their foes, snagging Nighthawk as they exit, with Goliath declaring him a hostage, but The Vision shockingly declaring him their only ally.  The escaping Avengers have to convince the not-quite-Batman of their innocence and intentions, all the while fighting against time to stop the supernova from destroying a world.  It’s a pretty tall order.

Issue #86 expands upon the story, explaining that the rocket that American Eagle is intent on defending is actually the cause of the supernova that will destroy the world, forcing the team to face the most powerful Squadders (Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum and The Whizzer) to save both their worlds.  All in all, though, the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme is played as just a facet of of a patented Roy Thomas wild-and-wacky doppelgangers plot.  (He was aided and abetted by Len Wein, while Justice League writer Mike Freidrich played the other side of the equation by introducing the Champions of Angor as Avengers analogues at the same time.)  No matter how you slice it, though, Avengers #85 is one of those well-drawn fast-paced ’70s comics that kind of brushes right on by the thing we all want to read it for, but does so with style and personality, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.  If nothing else, kudos is due to Buscema for making Nighthawk and Whizzer look as cool as they ever have in these original costumes.

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AVENGERS #85

70%

70%

Just'a Lotta Awesome

The Avengers get meta (and complex) while introducing the the Squadron Supreme in fast-paced '70s fashion. Worth it for the building blocks of what would become Gruenwald's magnum opus a few years later.

• Writing

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• Art

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• Coloring

  7
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