Super-Villains: Loki
and his ally, a Troll of the Isle of
Silence
Supporting Characters:
Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade, Jane
Foster (Cameo)
1st Appearances:
The Avengers (as a
team)
The Troll of the Isle of
Silence
Significance of Avengers
#1:
--This issue featured the
origin and first appearance of the Avengers as a
superhero team
--Rick Jones plays a hand in the
formation of the Avengers. He will play a
significant role in the history of the Avengers, as
well as of the Hulk, Captain America, and Captain
Marvel
--Loki appears as the first
Avengers villain
Avengers # 1 Story
Synopsis:
Loki Plots
Revenge from the Isle of Silence in the splash page from
Avengers # 1
Loki, the evil half-brother of Thor,
previously exiled to the Isle of Silence by Thor, wiles
away his imprisonment devising plots with which to get
revenge on the God of Thunder. Using his powers, Loki's
mind's eyes rove the Earth, spying upon Thor as he treats
young patients in his mortal guise of Dr. Donald Blake,
assisted by his girlfriend/nurse, Jane Foster. Loki's
mind then wanders the Earth, seeking something he can use
to exact his revenge against Thor.
Eventually, as his mind's eyes hover
over the American Southwest, he espies the Incredible
Hulk. Believing that his do-gooder brother would seek
revenge for innocent deaths, Loki seeks to cause the Hulk
to destroy a train through deception. Loki plants the
image of a bundle of dynamite upon a railroad trestle
where the Hulk can see it. Thinking he needs to rescue
the oncoming train from the explosives, the Hulk instead
smashes through the trestle, just as Loki planned. But,
since this version of the Hulk is not quite as stupid as
other, later versions, the green-skinned man-monster
instead manages to employ some fancy engineering and
muscle-bound construction skills to prop the bridge up
long enough for the train to safely cross. Of course,
since the Hulk is well known as a brutish public menace,
the people on the train believe he intentionally damaged
the bridge. Despite the lack of civilian deaths, Loki's
plan began to bear fruit.
Newspaper headlines announce the news
that the Hulk is once again on a rampage, and Rick Jones,
the only person who, at this point in history, knows that
the Hulk is actually the good-hearted but mutated
scientist Dr. Bruce Banner, calls upon his comrades in
the Teen Brigade, a collection of young ham-radio
hobbyists, to put out the call to the Fantastic Four to
come and help either capture the Hulk, or prove his
innocence. Loki, who is still mentally observing all that
transpires in this little drama, frets that the call to
the Fantastic Four will prevent Thor from chasing after
the Hulk, uses his mystical powers to divert the radio
call to the Fantastic Four to a radio within earshot of
Dr. Blake, who then transforms himself into his Asgardian
alter-ego, the Mighty Thor. Thor then flies off to find
the source of the radio call. Unfortunately for Loki, his
diversion of the radio call toward Thor also sent it to
three other heroes. Wealthy playboy Tony Stark picks up
the signal and dons his golden Iron Man armor, and sets
off for the long flight to the southwest. Meanwhile the
tiny twosome of Ant-Man and the Wasp hear the signal and
take off on relays of flying ants (controlled
telepathically by Ant-Man's cybernetic helmet), to, you
guessed, it the southwest.
All four heroes arrive nearly
simultaneously at the headquarters of the Teen Brigade,
where Rick Jones updates them on his suspicion that the
Hulk may not be the menace everyone thinks he is. Loki,
meanwhile, again worries that his plans will be upset if
Thor meets the Hulk with other heroes at his side. Once
more using his powers of deception, Loki makes Thor
imagine that he sees the Hulk outside the window (and
Thor never stops to think what a coincidence that is!),
and takes off on his own, flying after the imaginary
Hulk.
After chasing after the Hulk phantasm,
Thor sees that he was fooled into attacking the Hulk,
Thor finally realizes that Loki must be responsible. Thor
then travels back to Asgard to seek permission from his
father, Odin, to deal with Loki. Odin grants permission,
and Thor then journeys to the Isle of Silence to confront
the God of Mischief.
Loki, expecting Thor's arrival,
prepares a trap. Thor arrives at the exile island,
confronts Loki, and then is attacked by a troll who is
allied with Loki. Thor defeats the troll, uses the
mystical properties of Mjolnir, his enchanted hammer to
attach Loki to the hammer itself and take him to Earth to
reveal his duplicity.
Meanwhile, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the
Wasp find the Hulk at a travelling circus, disguised as a
clown-faced circus strongman (who the circus workers and
audience all believe to be a robot named Mechano). They
engage the Hulk and the battle is on. The fight is
interrupted by the appearance of Thor with Loki, and
everyone is informed of Loki's plans.
After returning Loki to imprisonment,
Thor and the other heroes (the Hulk included), are about
to depart, when Ant-Man and Wasp propose that they band
together to deal with threats that no one hero alone can
face. They agree to give it a try, but in the discussion,
the question of a team name is brought up. Wasp suggests
a name like "The Avengers," and all of them agree to
adopt that name for the world's newest group of
superheroes.
Avengers # 1 Story
Analysis:
Marvel took their best-known heroes
who were not part of a team and who did not have their
own self-named comic book titles (sorry Spider-Man!), put
them all together, and tried to repeat the success of the
Fantastic Four. The Avengers title has been, over the
decades, a success for Marvel, and, as we have seen in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Avengers brand is a
huge money-maker, and has brought the Avengers into
mainstream fame. But the origin story of the Avengers,
while pretty well known, is a bit clunky, and not
dissimilar to the origin of DC Comics' Justice League of
America. In other words, here we see heroes band together
to deal with a threat. But Marvel, (meaning creators Stan
Lee and Jack Kirby), would become well-known for doing
things differently.
At the time of Avengers #1, the Hulk
was, to the public eye, a brutish menace to be hunted
down. With this book, the menace becomes a hero. This is
a theme revisited many times in Avengers history, as
former villains and threats to society are given a second
chance and given the opportunity to redeem themselves as
Avengers. And, as with so much of life, things are not
what they seem, and true villains are not always
apparent. Loki, who was established in his encounters
with Thor in the preceding Journey Into Mystery books,
fights his battles through trickery and deceit, rarely
engaging in combat himself if he can help it. As seen in
other encounters with his brother, Loki underestimates
Thor. While the Hulk is certainly a being who can and
does fight Thor on many occasions, often to a draw, Loki
believed that he had found the perfect vehicle to destroy
Thor. Even if the other Avengers had not interrupted his
plans, later battles between Thor and Hulk prove that
while they can engage is some of the best classic battles
in Marvel history, there can be no assumption that the
Hulk would have destroyed, or even defeated Thor in
combat. Loki was wrong on that point. Also, Loki
constantly thinks Thor is a big, dumb lummox, who is
easily fooled. The events of Avengers #1 show that Thor
is wise enough to recognize Loki's handiwork when he sees
it (at least once in a while).
Wasp and Ant-Man
converse in Avengers # 1
While we do not see much of Iron Man's
personality in this issue, the personalities of the Wasp
(socialite, fashion designer, and heiress Janet van Dyne)
and her scientist boyfriend Ant-Man (Dr. Henry "Hank"
Pym), show themselves, and seem to foreshadow future
developments between them and their relationship. In
dealing with the Wasp, Ant-Man is more than once abrupt,
commanding, and somewhat condescending toward the Wasp.
As seen in future storylines in the Avengers, this
behavior perhaps presages his mental problems and his
abuse of Janet. The Wasp for her part is portrayed as
somewhat flighty, petty, and man-hungry. She makes snap
judgments based on appearance, considering Iron Man as
"horrible," and is visibly and verbally lusting after
Thor. The Wasp's future flirtations and flings (and Pym's
perceptions of her actions toward other men), lead to
serious problems in the history of the Avengers and for
the Marvel Universe as a whole.
The Avengers
Assemble for the first time, and the Wasp provides the
name of the team
