Synopsis / Summary / Plot
The Avengers return from Viet Nam in their quinjet and Moondragon's spaceship, after the marriages of Mantis & the elder Cotati and Scarlet Witch & Vision in Giant-Size #4. They find that the mini-star heralding the Celestial Madonna (Mantis) is still hovering over Avengers Mansion, and they figure they'll never know how it got there. (But a footnote directs the reader to "The trial of the Watcher" in Captain Marvel #39.)
Jarvis greets them, still worried about the disappearance of Scarlet Witch and Agatha Harkness in #135. The sight of Miss Harkness makes him relieved that Wanda must be OK too. Agatha says that Wanda has learned all of witchcraft she can teach. She won't be a great witch but she will be very good.
Later Thor calls a meeting. With Swordsman dead, Mantis gone off into space, and Vision and Wanda off on honeymoon, that just leaves himself, Iron Man and Hawkeye as the Avengers. He recommends that they seek new members. Iron Man proposes Moondragon, who returned with them from the last stages of the Celestial Madonna saga. She accepts, but warns them that she is nothing like Mantis despite their similar upbringing.
Thor then suggests that, rather look for more new people, they ask previous members if they'd like a return engagement. On the last out, 1st in basis Iron Man contacts Black Panther who declines because his kingdom Wakanda needs him. Quicksilver also says "No", preferring to stay in Attilan with his Inhuman wife Crystal than to come back to the Avengers and watch his sister Wanda cavorting with the android Vision. Especially now he's just been told they've got married.
Hawkeye isn't happy with the idea of recruiting new members. (Always insecure about his relatively weak powers, he probably thinks he'll have more chance to shine in a smaller team.) But if they have to get bigger he leaps to call Captain America. Back in #131 Cap (as Nomad) had promised to return when he'd dealt with the Serpent Squad. But Steve Rogers (now back as Cap) says that the Red Skull had attacked straight after that, so he has to delay the reunion.
Continuing their trek back through old Avengers, Iron Man talks to Black Widow asking if she's still with her partner and lover Daredevil. Widow says their relationship is even more confused than it was, but she's not ready to call it a day yet. Thor also gets turned down by his pal Hercules.
Then Thor turns to the last duo on their list, and Janet Pym (née Van Dyne) answers. She says that hubby Hank recently spent time with the Defenders. And now Wasp has a hankering for adventuring again, so they'll both rejoin their old team.
We take a little break now with the honeymooning Scarlet Witch and Vision, where we get to see the red-skinned Vision in swimming trunks, and a distant glimpse of Wanda in a bikini. They are on Rurutu where the islanders have granted them exclusive use of a beach, to make up for trying to sacrifice the Witch to their volcano in #116.
Back at the Mansion they can't think of any more old guard to try (except Hulk, who nobody wants to risk). Wasp and Yellowjacket arrive. They explain that Henry Pym doesn't want to risk size-changing too much these days, since he discovered (after playing Ant-Man in Captain Marvel #35&37) that he was still suffering from the microbe that trapped him at ant-size in Marvel Feature #4-10.
Hawkeye has been bad-mouthing the Defenders, who he temporarily joined in the Avengers/Defenders War. (He's probably over-compensating again after rejoining the Avengers.) He and the also-temporary-Defender YJ get into a heated argument over it, and Hank uses the opportunity to demonstrate his new Cellular Disruptor Gun - the kind of thing he'll be using instead of his size power.
YJ says he'd rather be home doing research, but Jan wanted to rejoin the team so he's along for the ride. He suggests they advertise for new members. This annoys Hawkeye some more, and he storms off saying there's 1 former Avenger they've forgotten about. He's going to use Dr Doom's time machine (as they did in Annual #2) to go fetch Black Knight from the 12th Century (left there in Def#11).
The Avengers put out a television appeal for new members, which we saw on page 1.
The scene now shifts to the deserted Yankee Stadium where the team intend to hold auditions. Only 1 applicant turns up - the blue-furred Beast disguised as Edward G Robinson. Iron Man recognises him from Amazing Adventures #12 (reprinted last issue), and wonders why he wants to swap the X-Men for the Avengers.
Beast explains how he left the X-Men after their original series finished to pursue a career in science. But in Amazing Adventures #11 he evolved himself into a furry form as a disguise to fight some villains, but then found he couldn't change back. He's since become reconciled to his new look - he's openly Hank McCoy the Beast.
Just then a mystery voice challenges the Avengers, and reveals that they are surrounded by previously-invisible hovering mines, densely filling the stadium to a height of 50 yards - 1 in 5 of them is armed with 'unearthly power'. They have 6 minutes to reach a disarmament lever before all the live mines detonate. Beast and Thor both recognise the voice as that of the Stranger.
Thor tries to batter his way through the mines by hurling himself in a straight line through the air with his hammer Mjolnir. But the live mines prove dangerous even to an immortal god, and the 2nd such lays him low.
Iron Man tries to fly a dodging path. But Thor has set the mines drifting and eventually he gets downed by 1 too.
Wasp tries next, hoping her small size will enable her to dodge them better. She tells Yellowjacket he can't do it because he mustn't shrink. But she's out of practice flying, and she hits a live mine too. YJ starts to rush in full-size to rescue his wife, but Moondragon stops him with her mind.
Beast has been watching these attempts, and thinks he can succeed where the Avengers failed. He uses his enhanced speed, agility and eyesight to leap, dodge and dive his way through the minefield. And reaches the off-switch in time.
The mines now fly away, and Iron Man and Thor recover. But Henry Pym finds Jan deeply unconscious with a very weak pulse. The Stranger reveals himself, and Moondragon engages him in a duel of minds. Iron Man expects her to lose, but suddenly Stranger flees threatening to return.