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Quote1 Who was he? An Avenger, Cassie. An Avenger. Quote2
Ant-Man after Jack of Hearts' death

Appearing in "Full House"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers (Vol. 3) #76

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Synopsis for "Full House"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers (Vol. 3) #76

Cassie Lang scares off two boys from killing an ant in the schoolyard by telling them what fire ants are capable of doing when a man approaches her and says he is picking up his daughter. When she suggests that they tell a teacher, it becomes clear what the man's true intention was.

As the clock ticks down before Jack of Hearts enters the Zero Room, the rest of the Avengers are debating whether She-Hulk or Jack of Hearts must leave the team with Ant-Man arguing in favor of Jack of Hearts leaving while claiming that he is a wild card just as he enters the room. After a brief standoff between the two, Jack of Hearts leaves and tells Captain America to do what he has to do. Ant-Man heads up to the roof to apologize but is called away due to his daughter's disappearance with Jack of Hearts following.

Jack of Hearts arrives on the scene and learns that the culprit is Charles Cooley, who murdered his own daughter. Meanwhile, Cassie is held at gunpoint by Cooley in an abandoned apartment while he rants about wanting to keep her innocent, clearly projecting his previous experience with his own daughter. Suddenly, Cassie smiles as ants appear from the walls. Cooley shoots Ant-Man in the shoulder but bees prevent him from doing anything else. Now, Ant-Man has the gun aimed at Cooley's head and saying he is tired of people taking his daughter.

The wall is blown open signaling Jack of Hearts' arrival and he talks Ant-Man down from doing anything rash. As he prepares to leave, Cooley picks up the gun and Jack blasts his hand off. Jack of Hearts grabs Cooley and tells Ant-Man that he finally understands it all and it is about making the world safe. Jack says "I'm an Avenger, so I'm Avenging", says goodbye to Ant-Man and takes off into space with Cooley. As the clock reaches expiration for his body's stability, Jack of Hearts tells his father to deal him in. There is an explosion and Ant-Man and his daughter view the flash in the sky as he briefly eulogizes his departed teammate.

The final page is in the border of a Jack of Hearts playing card as the man slowly dissipates in space with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that reads "Trust men, and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great."

Appearing in "...The Trial!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #160

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Synopsis for "...The Trial!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #160

Following their battle against Graviton, a number of the Avengers depart on their personal business: Iron Man takes the ailing Whizzer back to the hospital. Yellowjacket and the Wasp head back to their home in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Thor takes Captain America to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters before departing on personal business. En route, Cap takes note that Thor seems quieter, more reserved than normal.

The remaining Avengers are surprised by the intrusion of their old adversary the Grim Reaper, the insane brother of Wonder Man.

The Vision tells a shocked Simon (Wonder Man) that his brother Eric (the Reaper) has pursued a vendetta against the Avengers for years, blaming them for Simon’s supposed death. He once even attempted to coerce the Vision into helping him as it was Simon’s brainwave patterns which the Vision's mind are based upon. But now that Simon is alive once more, the Reaper cannot determine whether he or the Vision is truly his brother. The Avengers attack, but the Reaper easily defeats them all, even his super-powered brother Wonder Man.

When the heroes revive, they find themselves seated around their meeting table and locked into shock bracelets. The Reaper states that he is holding a trial to determine whether Wonder Man or the Vision is really his brother. He appoints the Black Panther to be the council for the defendants but declares he will have the final decision on which being is the true Simon Williams.

First, the Grim Reaper demands that the Vision tell his origins, and the synthezoid complies: He explains that he was created by the evil robot Ultron, who used the inert body of the original Human Torch as a physical shell and the previously recorded brainwave patterns of Wonder Man (whom everyone thought was dead at the time) as a model for his psyche. Based on this, the Reaper contends that the Vision may in fact be Simon.

The Grim Reaper then “reveals” to those gathered that the Vision had once before taken part in a scheme by he and the Space Phantom to place the Vision’s mind into Captain America’s body, and how he had shielded the Grim Reaper from an assassination attempt by Hydra agents. But the Reaper is the one who’s surprised when the Avengers reveal they know all about the scheme. The Vision confesses to the villain that the real reason for going along with the plan was that Captain America himself had overheard the Reaper proposal and signaled to the Vision to pretend to go along with it in order to get the drop on the villains later on.

The Black Panther then goes on to explain that the Vision has gone on to have his own life, including marrying the Scarlet Witch. The idea that his brother could marry a mutant disgusts the bigoted Grim Reaper, and he then turns his attentions to Wonder Man. When the Scarlet Witch asks the Vision why he is not defending himself, the Vision responds by saying that he is not Simon Williams and he would not wish a second death upon a man who has suffered so much already.

When Wonder Man is asked to tell his origins, he explains how he was exposed by the Masters of Evil to Baron Zemo's ionic ray and used in a plot to defeat the original team of Avengers. He then explains about his subsequent resurrection at the hands of the voodoo sorcerer Black Talon. The Reaper confesses he paid Black Talon to revive him.

With the testimony over, the Black Panther disputes the notion that Simon was ever truly dead and states that he has been able to sense something different about Wonder Man, that he is more than the man he used to be. Admitting it, Wonder Man takes off his goggles to reveal that his eyes are crackling with ionic energy. Wonder Man had not died after his first encounter with the Avengers as everyone believed, he merely went into an inert state as his physical body transitioned into an entirely ionic energy form!

The Vision then denies being Simon Williams and asserts that he is a distinct individual. Enraged, the Grim Reaper activates the shock bands, knocking the assembled Avengers unconscious again. He rants about his intention to execute the Vision but Wonder Man steps in. Due to his new ionic energy form, he is immune to the Grim Reaper's weapons. He destroys his brother's scythe and knocks him out with a single punch.

With the battle over, the Avengers are freed and leave Wonder Man alone to mourn his now permanently ruined relationship with his brother.

Appearing in "Beware the Ant-Man!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #161

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Synopsis for "Beware the Ant-Man!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #161

Most of the regular team are gathered together to appraise Wonder Man’s new superhero costume (designed and stitched by the Beast!) The casual gathering is interrupted by the arrival of… Ant-Man?!?

Hank Pym, wearing his original costume, claims he’s arriving for the first official meeting of the newly-formed Avengers. He dismisses the Vision, Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man as “Johnny-come-latelys” and declares that Iron-Man must be a fraud as he’s wearing the wrong armor. He’s particularly incensed that someone would impersonate the legendary and (to his mind) deceased WWII hero Captain America.

The Avengers are simply too perplexed to respond. Getting no answers, Ant-Man dispatches an army of ants to attack them. The Beast and Black Panther are nearby and hear the sound of melee and investigate. By using the element of surprise, Pym has overpowered the team. However, the Wasp arrives on the scene to knock him out with a sting.

Mortified, Jan explains that Hank has been teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown for a long time. She even secretly consulted a psychiatrist on his behalf and believed he was getting better. But after the battle with Graviton, he seriously backslid and disappeared after trashing his own lab.

Iron-Man and the Vision are determined to examine Ant-Man to figure out what is happening. The Beast is instructed to take Jan home in order to find things that might help jog Hank’s memory. The sudden level of distress the team feels is exhibited when the Beast makes a wisecrack and both Wanda and Cap yell at him for his “clowning around.”

En route back to New Jersey, the Wasp assures the Beast she isn’t put off by his joking around. He in turn admits his jovial nature is partly a defense mechanism to deal with his odd (and still very new to him) physical appearance.

Meanwhile, the Avengers have no luck trying to snap Hank out of his current mental state. Thinking seeing some of his old allies might help, Captain America puts out a call to Thor, Quicksilver, and Hawkeye, but none of them answers Cap's summons.

Out West, Hawkeye and the time-displaced Two-Gun Kid have taken up jobs as ranch hands at the Cherry-O Dude Ranch, where Two-Gun is having a hard time getting used to the 20th Century, however he does take a liking to women and is more than happy to go for soda with some of his female co-workers.

Back at the Mansion, the team are still trying to get through to Hank when a gravely injured Beast returns, barely able to relate that Jan has been captured. Before anyone can react, they are attacked by the being responsible: Ultron! The evil robot ridicules their stunned reaction to his return. They fight back against him, but the villain easily takes them down one by one, meting out the worst attack on the Vision. Iron-Man’s armor is drained, leaving him helpless, while the Black Panther is rendered unconscious. Then, Ultron subjects the rest of the team to an encephalo-ray attack that seems to kill them on contact.

The Scarlet Witch’s mutant hex ability is the one attack that does serious damage to Ultron, but Captain America inadvertently gets in the way before she can finish him off. Ultron uses the distraction to subdue both of them. Ant-Man is still oblivious to what is truly going on, but upon hearing that the weird robot has his beloved Jan as a hostage, he attacks him. It does no good, however, as Ultron easily takes him prisoner as well and departs.

Some time later, Jarvis returns to the Mansion from grocery shopping and is shocked to find the damage done to the headquarters and all of the Avengers laying around, seemingly dead.

This story continues in the next issue.

Appearing in "The Mighty Thor and the Stone Men from Saturn!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Journey Into Mystery #83

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Synopsis for "The Mighty Thor and the Stone Men from Saturn!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Journey Into Mystery #83

Donald Blake, a doctor from the United States, is visiting Norway. At the same time, a ship from Saturn lands nearby as advance scouts for a planned invasion. A local fisherman spots them and alerts the villagers, but they dismiss him. Blake overhears and goes to look for himself. When he steps on a twig, the aliens notice him. He flees into the hills, where he loses his cane. He runs into a cave, but the other entrance is blocked by a giant boulder. A secret door opens, revealing a chamber where Blake finds a walking stick. He tries to move the boulder with the stick but is unable to get leverage. Frustrated, he hits the boulder with the stick, and, in a flash of light, the stick transforms into a hammer, transforming Blake into Thor, the mythical Norse God of Thunder.

Part 2: The Power of Thor!

Thor Odinson (Earth-616) from Journey Into Mystery Vol 1 83 0001

First appearance of Thor

Thor easily lifts the boulder and leaves the cave. He verifies that the hammer has all the powers of Mjolnir, Thor's legendary weapon. He discovers it gives him the power to create storms and that the hammer is indestructible and will come back to him if thrown. Meanwhile, the alien armada shows up on Earth's radar screens. When fighter jets scramble to meet them, they project an image of a huge dragon and frighten away the pilots. When the ground forces fire missiles, they explode harmlessly against the ships' force fields. Thor speeds to the defense of the Earth.

Part 3: The Mighty Thor Strikes Back!

When Thor attacks the aliens, they drop a cage over him, but he tears the bars open. They aim their disintegration beams at him, but his hammer smashes their guns. They unleash their Mechano-Monster, but he smashes it to bits. The aliens return to their ships and give up their invasion. Thor changes back to Dr. Blake, whom the soldiers ignore when they come to look for the invaders.

Notes

This is a UK title that features reprints of American Avengers titles.

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