Retro Comic Review – Avengers #4
December 23, 2010
Avengers #4
Cover date: March 1964
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: George Roussos as “George Bell”
Cover: Jack Kirby
“Captain America Lives Again!”
The Avengers #4, cover dated March, 1964 arrived on the comic book racks of my neighborhood Rexall Drug Store in December 1963 when I was 8 1/2 years old.
“The Avengers” had debuted 3 issues earlier as Marvel Comics’ “group” book (although, initially, The Fantastic Four was conceived as a “group” book by Publisher Martin Goodman to go up against DC Comics’ Justice League of America) and more accurately reflected the intent of such a “group” book by teaming up the company’s top individual heroes rather than the almost family-like grouping of the Fantastic Four. Stan Lee conceived the group as a gathering of Marvel’s five most popular heroes at the time; The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man and, the only female in the group at the time, The Wasp.
In issue #1 the heroes were brought together by the evil scheming of Thor’s nemesis Loki, who magically influenced the Hulk to join a traveling circus as a clown and diverted the other heroes to pursue the Hulk while Loki fought with Thor in Asgard; but Loki’s plans backfired, and the heroes ended up forming a team of unusual composition, given their various backgrounds and The Hulk’s sometimes mindless actions and violence. The Justice League of America NEVER looked like this!
In fact, it was The Hulk’s actions that brought them to the point they were at in issue #4. Issue #2 ended with The Hulk returning to his life as a misunderstood fugitive. In Issue #3 he teamed with Namor, The Sub-Mariner to attempt to destroy the Avengers and that issue ended with Namor swimming toward the Arctic Circle and the Avengers returning to New York City in their submarine.
Issue #4 opens with Namor, still angered by his defeat moments earlier (in comic book time a month may have passed since the last issue, but not in the story), coming across a group of Eskimos worshipping a dimly human figure encased in a block of ice. Enraged, he uses his super-human strength to lift the ice block and hurl it miles away into the ocean. As fate (or writer Stan Lee) would have it, the block of ice lands in the water near The Avengers submarine and begins to melt. Spying what looks like a human figure sinking in the water toward the ocean floor, they retrieve the figure and wonder aloud why an almost frozen man is floating in the ocean. Suddenly, the Wasp cries out in recognition of the costume and shield in which the nearly frozen figure is shrouded.
A few moments later, warmed by the air in the submarine, the figure begins to stir, his eyelids fluttering open as he slowly regains consciousness. Suddenly and without warning, he leaps from the table, screaming a warning to Bucky, his former (though not to him at this point) sidekick 20 years ago. After a quick fight (the standard comic book way to meet new heroes) to check that he is who he says he is, the Avengers call on him to recount his story. He explains how he and Bucky were trying to stop a plane laden with explosives and sent towards the United States by Baron Zemo. Bucky was killed in the airborne explosion and Captain America fell into the sea. Frozen in the icy waters, he has been in a state of suspended animation all these years, until revived by The Avengers and, unwittingly, by The Sub-Mariner.
The rest of the story is almost anti-climatic in comparison to the momentous event that has just occurred. Returning to New York City and leaving Captain America in the submarine, the Avengers are turned to stone by an unseen attacker. Cap ventures out minutes afterwards and mistakenly thinks that the city must have statues of the team on the waterfront! He wanders off into the city to see how it has changed in 20 years. After a bit of sightseeing he is discovered by Rick Jones (friend of The Hulk) who asks him to find the Avengers assailant.
Tracking him down Cap makes short work of his guards and learns that he is an alien armed with a petrification ray. He crashed to earth in classical times and started the legend of the Medusa. Namor has offered to find his ship if he deals with the Avengers.
The Avengers are quickly freed and go in search of the aliens ship. Namor meets them with a force of Atlanteans and a battle ensues. Captain America decides to watch the fight to gauge the skills of the Avengers, as well as The Sub-Mariner.
Apparently Cap’s memory is not fully recovered since he seems to have forgotten that he and Namor were once part of a WWII team known as The Invaders. As the alien launches his ship Namor thinks it is an earthquake and runs away from the team yet again. The Avengers are impressed with Captain America and induct him into the team.
I too, at almost 9 years old, was impressed with Captain America. This would be my first story that I read that featured or involved the Star-Spangled Avenger, but it would certainly not be the last. He personified bravery, fairness, dedication, and unflinching belief in doing what was right. In battles he was a master strategist; in crisis a leader of unmatched ability. He was, in short, a hero of heroes and would be one of my favorite characters through the years. If Superman was first and Spider-man was second, Captain America was bumping up against both of them in third place. At least in this little boy’s mind.
Here’s a little piece of trivia. Back during the Golden Age of Comics, Timely (before it became Marvel Comics) had three big super-heroes; Captain America, The Sub-Mariner and The Original Human Torch. When Stan Lee reintroduced The Sub-Mariner, it was in Fantastic Four #4; when he reintroduced Captain America, it was in Avengers #4; and when he reintroduced the Original Human Torch it was in Fantastic Four Annual #4. Almost assuredly an amusing coincidence, but still it makes for an interesting, if useless, bit of trivia.
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