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The Avengers #83

Dec 1970

Roy Thomas, John Buscema

Story Name:

Come on in, the revolution's fine

Synopsis

The Avengers #83 synopsis by Rob Johnson

Rating:

Wasp is back in Avengers Mansion for a visit from Alaska (where she and husband Yellowjacket went in #75) but she finds the Meeting Room occupied only by Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Medusa of the Inhumans and an unknown char named Valkyrie who call themselves the Liberators. Val recounts her origin as a female scientist ignored or disparaged by her male colleagues. So she worked long and hard to prove her work valid until it accidentally gave her superstrength. She persuades the others that they too suffer from male chauvinism. Scarlet Witch and Wasp live in the shadow of Quicksilver and Yellowjacket. Black Widow was rejected for Avengers membership more than once while Black Panther and Vision were accepted 1st time. And Medusa is consigned to being the voice of Black Bolt. Strangely the women are immediately convinced and join Valkyrie in her chariot drawn by 2 wingless flying horses (which she claims are another product of her scientific experiments).

The 4 male Avengers have gone to the Annual Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont which is populated by fans in (Marvel) superchar costumes. They are greeted by organiser Tom Fagan dressed as Nighthawk and meet fans Roy and Jeannie Thomas (as Spider-Man and Invisible Girl). The team occupy 1 of the Parade floats but they are also there to protect Dr T W Erwin (on the following float) of Miskatonic University and his Parallel Time power source. He is attacked by the Masters Of Evil (last seen in #55 where all but Whirlwind were imprisoned - Klaw has since broken them out). This results in 1-on-1 fights. Melter buries Vision in molten tarmac which he can't go ghostly to escape because the boiling tar would damage his body during the transformation. Klaw buries Black Panther under a falling wall. Whirlwind and Quicksilver rush around each other inconclusively. Goliath falls foul of Radioactive Man's paste gun.

Then the Liberators arrive and take on the villains. Wasp blinds Melter temporarily with her sting. Black Widow takes out Klaw with her 'bite' and a kick. Medusa tangles Whirlwind up in her hair. And Scarlet Witch's hex causes a tree-trunk (which Goliath had uprooted to use as a weapon) to fall on Radioactive Man's head. The male Avengers applaud them until the females turn on *them*. Medusa's hair is equally good at dealing with Pietro as his sister Wanda cheers. Sting and bite combined are too much for BP (who can't bring himself to hit women). And at last Valkyrie joins in as her power-lance takes down Goliath and Vision.

The Liberators take Dr Erwin and the shackled Avengers to Erwin's lab in Miskatonic U and his Parallel-Time Projector which his energy-unit will power. He says he's never tested it yet - it might work or it might explode. Then Valkyrie reveals that she's really the Asgardian Enchantress, and she explains what's really going on.

In Hulk#102 she and Executioner attacked Asgard. Now we learn that Odin banished them to a barren dimension saying that if they ever escaped to another realm their powers would be halved. They survived together there until the female ruler of the place appeared and asked Executioner to be her consort. He gladly left Enchantress alone. She eventually found her way to Earth with her power halved and a hatred of males.

She wants to use Erwin's Projector to take her back to Asgard where her full power will be restored. She used spells to disguise herself, to affect the Liberators' minds and to bind the male Avengers. She prepares to kill the men but Scarlet Witch's hex surrounds her with a sphere which rebounds her spell back on her and causes an explosion. When the smoke settles there's a big hole and no Enchantress. Wanda explains that she'd become suspicious when Valkyrie called Wasp a 'wench' so she didn't use her hex power in the battle but reserved it all to use against her.

Review / Commentaries

The Avengers #83 Review by Rob Johnson (October 7, 2022)

Inside the issue the female team is called just the Liberators, it's only on the cover that 'Valkyrie' uses the phrase Lady Liberators. But it is as the Lady Liberators that they are known even though this group never appears again. In 2008 She-Hulk will use the title for a totally new group (except it does include the *real* Valkyrie).

Wasp hasn't been seen since she left the team with Yellowjacket in #75.

Black Widow has been more busy since breaking off her relationship with Clint Barton in #76. She switched to her new look in Amazing Spider-Man #86 and has had her 1st solo adventures in #1-4 of the new split book Amazing Adventures.

Medusa is here after the Inhumans apps in Silver Surfer #18 (its last issue) and its retconned 1999 sequel Webspinners: Tales Of Spider-Man #4. Black Bolt can't speak because his voice would cause destruction. Chronologically the Inhumans haven't yet begun their own adventures in the other half of AA.

Enchantress hasn't been seen since Hulk #102 as mentioned in the synopsis.

The Rutland Halloween Festival full of fans in supercostumes is a real thing and Tom Fagan was for a long time its organiser. The Avengers comment and he agrees that his Nighthawk costume is that of a villain (a member of the Squadron Sinister in #70 and solo in Daredevil #62). Roy Thomas is of course the Avengers current scribe and Jeannie was then his wife. Miskatonic University is fictional from H P Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos but Dr T W Erwin is invented here.

The Rutland Halloween Festival will turn up next year in DC's Batman #237, and the following year in a 3-issue 'crossover' Amazing Adventures #16, DC's Justice League Of America #103 and Thor #206.

Dr Erwin will probably reappear for 1 app as Prof Erwin in Marvel Two-In-One #67 where he uses his Transdimesional Viewer to show Thundra an alternate version of her home timeline's Femizonia.

The woman who takes Executioner away will be named Queen Casiolena in Defenders #4 which is where we'll see them next.

Enchantress will reappear immediately in Arkon's world next issue.

She'll reuse the Valkyrie persona again in Hulk #142 but by bestowing it temporarily on someone else. The real Valkyrie will appear along with Enchantress in Def#4.

These Masters Of Evil will disperse.
Klaw will face his foe Black Panther again in Fantastic Four #119.
Whirlwind will face *his* nemesis Ant-Man again in Marvel Feature #6.
Radioactive Man will ally with Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man in our #130.
Melter will ally with Man-Bull and Whiplash in Iron Man #72.

The core Avengers will be on hand to help Hercules in his backup tale in Ka-Zar #1 (otherwise reprinting early KZ apps) before getting involved along with Captain America, Iron Man and Thor in the 2001 retcon FF World's Greatest Comic Magazine maxi-series. And then they'll be back for next issue.

Medusa and other Inhumans will appear in FF#99 before playing a large role in FFWGCM.

Wasp will be in FFWGCM#11 and behind the scenes in its #12 before being seen with hubby Hank again in Alaska in our #90.

Black Widow will also be bts in FFWGCM#12 before having the 2nd half of her run in AA. And then she'll start teaming up with Daredevil who will become the next love of her life.

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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Main/1st Story Full Credits

Roy Thomas

John Buscema

Tom Palmer

John Buscema (Cover Penciler)
Tom Palmer (Cover Inker)
Tom Palmer (Cover Colorist)

Additional Credits

Letterer: Sam Rosen.
Editor: Stan Lee.

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Avengers

Black Panther
(T'Challa)

Black Widow
(Natasha Romanoff)

Enchantress
(Amora)

Klaw
(Ulysses Klaw)

Medusa
(Medusa Amaquelin Boltagon)

Quicksilver
(Pietro Maximoff)

Radioactive Man
(Chen Lu)

Scarlet Witch
(Wanda Maximoff)

Vision

Wasp
(Janet Van Dyne)

Whirlwind
(David Cannon)

Plus: Goliath (Clint Barton), Melter (Bruno Horgan).

Thor

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