Avengers #113: Review

Jul 1973

Steve Englehart, Bob Brown

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

Story Name:

Your young men shall slay visions

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #113 Review by Rob Johnson (September 4, 2013)

This issue's cover almost doesn't count as misleading given the huge number of times characters have been declared dead on a cover only to turn out to survive inside, so no-one expects it to be true anyway. Bob Brown takes over the pencilling from Don Heck, and will last through most of Swordsman's time with the team. He's another artist from the 50's, recently transferring from DC Comics. His art is certainly not as stiff as Heck's. The title is a modified Biblical quotation "Your young men shall *see* visions" from the New Testament Acts of the Apostles, itself a quote from the Old Testament Book of Joel. Secret identity stakes:- Iron Man and Thor now know each others other ids. Even though Captain America (with help from the Space Phantom) had restored his own secret identity, the Avengers were some of the people still in the know. But Cap doesn't know who IM and Thor are. The Living Bombs are a 1-off terrorist group, notable by the fact that they *aren't* the pawns of a supervillain (as last issue's protesters were under the control of the Lion God). Wanda's anger will lead to her meeting with Mantis next time. And it will continue as an undercurrent through succeeding issues. But still this feels like a filler that deserves my 3.5.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #113 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

The Avengers are repairing the Statue of Liberty, damaged by Gog in the Ka-Zar story in Astonishing Tales #18. Vision saves Scarlet Witch from some falling masonry, and the public get their 1st sight of the 2 kissing. Soon it's all over the news. The public reaction is mostly favourable. But there are some crank letters amid the fan mail. And one particular group takes violent objection.

They hold a secret meeting where they air their fears about androids being given rights and then rising to rule humans. Allowing an android to marry a human (even a mutant) would be the thin end of the wedge. So Vision must die, and the group reveal themselves to be suicide bombers calling themselves the Living Bombs.

The Avengers are next seen fighting another hate group - Nazis beating up Jews. But their victory is cut short when one of the Living Bombs detonates herself next to Vision. She caught him by surprise and he wasn't able to save himself by going intangible. He hardened his body but his internal circuitry is heavily damaged.

The Avengers know a lot about Vision's internal workings, after Ant-Man explored his insides in #93. Thor and Iron Man think Dr Donald Blake and Tony Stark could fix the android, so they go off to 'alert' their other identities. The operation will take place at Stark Industries. Black Panther, also a scientist, will help.

They rig up a solar amplifier to feed power to the jewel on Vision's forehead. Wanda talks to the comatose android, to persuade him to turn his flesh back from rock-hard. And the operation begins.

After a brief interlude with Mantis and her mystery companion heading to New York to meet the Avengers, we return to find the remaining Living Bombs attacking the SI plant, and facing Captain America. One of them blows himself up, but the blast is channeled through the roof by Scarlet Witch's hex.

As usual Wanda's power is temporarily drained after use. Leaving Cap to hold off the Bombs (who won't want to use up all their explosives before getting to the Vision), she heads back to the operation room to alert the others. Stark says Blake and T'Challa have the current stage of the operation covered, so he'll go find Iron Man.

The Golden Avenger joins Cap in keeping the Living Bombs too dazed to find their detonators. But eventually one prepares to set himself off behind Cap. So Shellhead grabs him and flies him up through the hole Wanda made, to explode futilely in the sky.

Next Tony returns to the operating theatre, where the next stage requires engineering rather than medical knowhow. As Blake leaves to find Thor, Tony subtly lets Don know that his secret identity isn't quite so secret as he thought. And Blake realises who Stark is as well.

Panther, Thor and Witch join Cap in fighting the last 4 Living Bombs. But they also have super-guns which are able to affect Thor as well as the other 2 male Avengers. However Wanda's hex magnetises a wall, attracting the guns, giving Thor chance to raise a tornado to whirl the villains into the sky. There the fanatics trigger their bombs rather than face defeat and capture.

Tony Stark appears to announce that Vision will be OK. But Wanda is sick of the world's hatred of those who are different. Even her brother mutant Quicksilver is rabidly against her relationship with the heroic android. So she vows to stand with him against everyone.

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::