Mighty Avengers, The #1: Review

The comic describes the flashback of selecting and recruiting the team as occurring a few hours before the main event, which is the Mighty Avengers 1st outing. But the Iron Man Official Index suggests that parts of this issue happen at widely different times, and the Marvel Chronology Project is even more specific. To achieve this they have to ignore the reports of volcanic eruptions that Tony Stark receives while choosing the team - which in the comic are early indications of the worldwide chaos to follow. This monster fight isn't the team's 1st action, and lots happens between the flashback and the current stuff. But more on that later. Tony Stark was made Director of SHIELD at the end of Civil War #7. I don't think his egoistic helicarrier colour scheme is seen anywhere else. Stark suggests that no Avengers team has ever been *picked* before, they always just came together by accident like New Avengers (and of course the original Avengers lineup). This may actually be true. Even when they've apparently chosen from many candidates, such as in #150-151 of the original Avengers run, they've actually wound up accepting everyone who wanted to be in. And even when the government determined the team in #181, their choice was immediately undermined by Scarlet Witch quitting (temporarily). When Tony asks her to be Avengers team leader, Carol Danvers says she already has a job. I thought she'd quit Homeland Security/Commission on Superhuman Activities after House of M to become Ms Marvel full-time in her new series, which isn't exactly gainful employment.

I don't think Ms Marvel and Wonder Man are in a relationship already in the flashback scene (although they were reportedly an item in the House of M reality). But they spent a lot of time together during Civil War and she'll ask him out in her #13. And they'll be a full-blown (but secret?) couple by #6 of this mag. And they *did* start flirting almost from the 1st time they met in Avengers #171 (but that was before Simon's Scarlet Witch fixation). I don't think Tony Stark and Black Widow have had an affair, apart from a possible 1-night-stand in IM#317, though she did try to seduce him in her 1st appearance in Tales of Suspense #52. I don't know what makes Carol think of Ares - I can't remember her meeting him, especially not since he stopped being simply a villain. And Iron Man really only knows him from that period ending in the 1990's. Since then he reappeared in his own mini-series with a semi-mortal son in tow. The new lineup isn't a big surprise apart from Ares. All the other recruits are ex-Avengers who featured in Civil War on the Registration side. (Ares says here he didn't get involved in such a minor disagreement.) Harvey Elder discovered the underground peoples in Marvel Universe #7 and became ruler of the Moloids as Mole Man. A short man with a Napoleon complex, he spent his time warring with other underground nations, and trying to invade the surface world (starting with Fantastic Four #1). However he has sometimes tried more peaceful ways (as far back as Marvel Treasury Edition #25 in 1980), and even let Warlock and the Infinity Watch use Monster Island as a base. Lately he's mostly only reacted to perceived attacks on his home, as here. We'll learn next issue that the 'female' villain is Ultron.

The origin flashback takes place immediately after Civil War: Initiative. I give the Mighty Avengers 4 team appearance between the flashback and the main story, slightly different from how the OI arranges it as I explain in my comments on New Avengers #28. NAv#28-30 also have a large flashback component which I split in the middle of #29. This is a proposal I put before the Marvel Continuity Project which they have accepted. The MAv's 1st mission, as predicted here, is to pursue the NAv in NAv#28fb-29fbA. Then in Fallen Son #2 (Avengers) they fight Tiger Shark and some sea monsters (rather like this issue), followed by confronting Danny Rand (Iron Fist) in his office in part of NAv#29fbA. They attend the ground-breaking ceremony for Camp Hammond in a flashback in Avengers: Initiative #8. And then have a 2nd attempt to get the NAv in their #29fbB-30fb. But Iron Man is busier, as is Ms Marvel, and occasionally some of the others. The Golden Avenger is there before FS#2 in FS#1 (Wolverine) where Logan checks that Captain America is really dead. After FS#2 IM offers Hawkeye the job of Cap's replacement in FS#3 (Captain America). In FS:5 (Iron Man) IM, MsM and Wasp attend Cap's funeral, and IM, MsM and Wonder Man are seen at the wake in CA#26. After the Camp Hammond Ceremony, Sally Floyd and Ben Urich confront Tony Stark with what they uncovered about his secret activities during CW in CW: Front Line #11. Stark rehires G W Bridge for SHIELD in Punisher War Journal #11, and has a confrontation with the reborn Thor in Th(2007)#3. Meanwhile MsM and WM are both in MsM#13-14 where Carol starts up her SHIELD strike force and they apprehend Arachne. Then in Omega Flight #2 IM and MsM make Arachne part of that Canadian team along with Michael Pointer as Guardian. And IM gets involved in some episodes of Guardian's strip in the revived Marvel Comics Presents.

The last part of that is as the OI has it. But another proposal I have made (not yet accepted) puts Iron Man and the rest of the MAv in Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel limited series between Th#3 and OF#2, and IM in the Sub-Mariner: Revolution mini-series after OF#2, plus Penance: Relentless after MCP. See #6 and #11 for the reason why. Then at last we come to the 2nd half of the flashback in NAv#29fbA-30fb. This immediately leads into the main story in NAv#27-32 which overlaps with the tale that starts here. But MsM manages to accidentally give the new Ant-Man a lift to the Mole-Man fight in Irredeemable Ant-Man #6-7.