Mighty Avengers #1
The Mighty Avengers
Note: This story jumps back and fourth between Iron Man and Ms. Marvel’s team selection and the battle with the Mole Man. For the sake of clarity, this summation tells these two moments in their entirety.
Four Hours Ago…
Iron Man (Tony Stark), the new Director of SHIELD, has called Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) in for a meeting where he shows off the new SHIELD helicarrier that he is building.[1] Tony wants her help in forming a new team of Avengers, which will be needed even though the 50-State Initiative is being implemented to station government sanctioned superhero teams in every state.[2] Tony says that they’ll need the Avengers to handle larger national and global threats that the new teams won’t be able to handle. He says that fate always creates a need for the Avengers, pointing to the most recent iteration he previously formed.[3] However, he isn’t as sentimental about the workings of fate as Captain America did, and so Tony wants to use SHIELD’s resources to pick out the ideal team.[4][5]
Going over the list of possible recruits, Carol suggests they go for an all powerhouse team as an intimidation tactic. Tony — while multitasking his duties as SHIELD Director — quashes that idea because a good team needs a variety of skill sets. They need a diverse team that can suits the varied needs of the team, like when they need scientific expertise or street smarts. When she likens this to Luke Cage and Spider-Man being on the New Avengers, this gets a cold response from Tony because they refuse to register. He says part of their job will be bringing in those who have refused to register under the Super Human Registration Act.
Carol takes issue with going after former friends, causing Tony to lean in and whisper to her. Tony tells her that they need to or else they will, but won’t say who they are.[7] However, he doesn’t say anything else about it.
After that ominous warning, the two get to work on selecting members for the new team. Carol’s first pick is the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne). While picking her, Carol suggests that Janet could even lead the team, however Tony wants Carol for that job.[8] Her next pick is Wonder Man (Simon Williams),[9] and is annoyed when Tony insists they also recruit the Sentry (Bob Reynolds), even though he’s mentally unstable.[10] Their next pick is the Black Widow (Natasha Romanov) since she can do what nobody else on the team could bring themselves to do, including taking lives if needed.[11] Still, they need somebody else and Carol suggests someone who could be both their answer to Thor and Wolverine.
They decide to pay a visit to Ares, the Olympian god of war at his civilian job working for Fisk Construction.[12] Ares is annoyed that they have ruined his civilian identity and is about to come to blows with Stark’s insistence that he needs to be consigned to the government if he wants to stay in America. After Ms. Marvel gets between the two, Iron Man manages to convince Ares to join up, offering him comparable pay and a good fight. He accepts the job, impressed by the fact that Tony won’t stand down from a good fight.
Now
The Mighty Avengers — Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Black Widow, Wonder Man, and the Sentry — answer a call to action, arriving in the middle of Manhattan where monsters are coming up from the ground. As this is their first mission together, Tony tells the others to treat this as though it is a training session. [13]
As the new team begins battling the monsters, they recognize them as the various creatures that are under the rule of the Mole Man (Harvey Elder). Ms. Marvel takes command and tells the team to watch what they do and try to minimize as much damage as possible. This order is a hard one to follow for the Sentry, who apologizes immediately after he accidentally knocks one of the monsters into a building. The horde of creatures start overwhelming the Avengers until they start fighting as a team. Carol is pleased to see that their new group is a good fit when they can all work together.
As the battle rages on, Maria Hill — Deputy Director of SHIELD — informs Iron Man that the entire planet is being affected by extreme weather and seismic activity all over the world. Stark realizes that the Mole Man’s creatures coming to the surface are merely a side effect of a much larger threat. Tony tells Carol that they need to find the Mole Man and convince him to stop his attack so they can deal with the real threat.
That’s when Harvey Elder himself arrives, blaming the surface world for what’s happening in his kingdom. When they try to explain what’s going on Tony suddenly shrieks in agony as something compromises his armor’s operating system. Suddenly, Tony’s becomes fluid and starts merging with him. As the transformation completes, there is a blinding flash of light that temporarily blinds everyone around him. When the smoke clears, everyone is shocked to discover that Tony has been transformed into a female form — resembling Janet — that is part flesh, part metal. Tony’s entire body has been compromised by Ultron!
Recurring Characters
Mighty Avengers (Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Wasp, Black Widow, Wonder Man, Sentry), Mole Man, Maria Hill, Moloids, Godzilla, Ultron
Continuity Notes
Following the events of Civil War #1-7, Tony Stark decided to take over as Director of SHIELD in New Avengers #25. He will hold this role until Secret Invasion #8. Here, Carol asks Tony if she can have the old helicarrier. While this is a joke, she is later assigned her own mini-carrier when she forms Operation: Lightning Storm in Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #13.
This story happens after the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) which requires all superhumans to register with the government in Civil War #3. This also led to the creation of the 50-State Initiative in Civil War: The Initiative #1, to create teams for every State in the Union. This law will remain on the books until Siege #4.
The original Avengers disbanded after the Scarlet Witch went mad and decimated the group in Avengers #500-503/Avengers: Finale #1. Not long after this, Iron Man and Captain America were compelled to form a new team after a massive breakout at the Raft super-max prison in New Avengers #1-5. Following Civil War, the majority of the New Avengers were against the SHRA and now operate as outlaws, as seen in New Avengers #26.
There is a casual mention about how Captain America was once frozen in ice. He spent decades after World War II in a state of suspended animation before being found by the OG Avengers and getting thawed out, as seen in Avengers #4.
Here we get a big ol’ two page splash of a SHIELD monitor showing potential Avengers recruits. Some are past Avengers, some are not. This list is current up to June, 2024. Characters that have never been Avengers will simply have NBA next to their name to save myself some writing. Lets break it down:
Aegis (Trey Rollins): NBA
Asylum: NBA
Atlas: NBA
Beast (Hank McCoy): Became an Avenger back in Avengers #137.
Black Bolt: NBA
Black Cat (Felicia Hardy): NBA
Black Knight (Dane Whitman): Joined the team way back in Avengers #71.
Black Panther (T’Challa): Joined the Avengers way back in Avengers #52
Blade (Eric Brooks): The legendary vampire hunter was never an Avengers at the time of this story. However, he will go on to join a later iteration of the Mighty Avengers in Mighty Avengers (vol. 2) #1.
Blizzard (Donny Gill): NBA
Beetle (Elizabeth Vaughn): NBA
Bengal (Duc No Tranh): NBA
Elisa Bloodstone: Has not been affiliated with the Avengers at the time of this story. That said, she will later go on to be part of Doctor Doom’s Avengers in Avengers World #15.
Boom-Boom (Tabitha Smith): Has yet to be affiliated with an Avengers team.
Bullseye: This criminal assassin will later become a part of Norman Osborn’s team in Dark Avengers #1.
Captain Britain (Brian Braddock): Was never an Avenger prior to this story. He will join up with Captain Marvel’s War Avengers in War of the Realms #3.
Captain Marvel (Khn’nr): Everyone believes that this is the original Captain Mar-Vell who had been pulled forward in time in Civil War: The Return #1 sometime before his death in Marvel Graphic Novel #1. As we’ll learn in Captain Marvel (vol.6) #6, this is actually a Skrull impostor. The real Mar-Vell had been affiliated with the Avengers since Avengers #89.
Captain ****: Member of the Nextwave, he has yet to be affiliated with the Avengers.
Cloud 9 (Abigale Boylen): Is an Initiative recruit at the time of this story, per Avengers: The Initiative #1. To date, she has not become a proper member of the Avengers.
Constrictor (Frank Payne): NBA
Dagger (Tandy Bowen): Was a part of Cap’s “Secret” Avengers starting in Civil War #4. She will later join the Savage Avengers in Savage Avengers (vol. 2) #3.
Darkhawk (Chris Powell): Had an ever so brief reserve membership on the west coast team starting in Avengers West Coast #93.
Deadpool (Wade Wilson): Had not been a member of any time at the time of this story. He will later join up with the Avengers Unity Division in X-Men (vol. 6) #25 and was part of the Hydra backed Avengers in Secret Empire #1.
Death Adder (Theodore Scott): NBA.
Debrii (Deborah Fields): She was part of Cap’s “Secret” Avengers in Civil War #4, but has never held any official membership on any Avengers team.
Doc (Leonard) Samson: NBA
Falcon (Sam Wilson): Sam Wilson had been affiliated with the Avengers since he joined in Avengers #184.
Firebird (Bonita Juarez): Had joined up with the west coast branch back in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17.
Flatman (Val Ventura): A founding member of the Great Lakes Avengers in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #46. Has never been part of an official team.
Gargoyle (Isaac Christians): Is presently a member of the Initiative at the time of this story, as seen in Avengers: The Initiative #2. To date, he has never been a member of a proper Avengers team.
Gauntlet (Joseph Green): Drill instructor at the Initiative (Avengers: The Initiative #1). Never been an official Avenger.
Green Goblin (Norman Osborn): Will later go on to form his own team in Dark Avengers #1.
Hardball (Roger Brokeridge): Joined the Initiative in Avengers: The Initiative #1, however he has yet to be on an official Avengers team.
Hellcat (Patsy Walker): Had been affiliated with the Avengers back in Avengers #141. However, she has never been officially granted membership.
Hellion (Julian Keller): NBA
Howard the Duck: NBA
Hulk (Bruce Banner): Was a founding member circa Avengers #1.
Hulkling (Teddy Altman): Is a founding member of the Young Avengers, joining that group in Young Avengers #1. He will later go on to join Avengers Idea Mechanics in New Avengers (vol. 4) #1.
Human Torch (Johnny Storm): At the time of this story, Johnny had no direct affiliation with the Avengers. He will later join the Avengers United Division in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 3) #1.
Humbug (Buchanan Mitty): NBA
Justice (Vance Astrovik): Became an Avenger back in Avengers (vol. 3) #4.
Misty Knight: NBA
Komodo (Melati Kusuma): Joined the Initiative in Avengers: The Initiative #1. However, she has yet to become a proper Avenger.
Living Lightning (Miguel Santos): Joined up with the west coast roster back in Avengers West Coast #74.
Machine Man (Aaron Stack/X-51): The real Machine Man joined up with the OG team back in Avengers #288. However, the robot everyone things is Machine Man in this story is actually an impostor, as will later be revealed in Marvel Comics #1001. To date, his motivations for posing as X-51 has yet to be revealed. He began this masquerade in Nextwave #1.
Mantis: Mantis has had a long association with the Avengers starting when she joined the group in Avengers #114.
Mathemaniac (Thomas Sorenson):
Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards): The patriarch of the Fantastic Four was briefly an Avenger, joining the team in Avengers #300.
Mister Immortal (Craig Hollis): A founding member of the Great Lakes Avengers in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #46. Has never been part of an official team.
Moon Dragon (Heather Douglas): Became an Avenger back in Avengers #137.
Network (Valerie Martin): Joined up with the Initiative in Avengers: The Initiative #1, but has yet to be a member of a proper team.
Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond): Joined up with Cap’s “Secret” Avengers in Civil War #4. However, he has not been an official member.
Patriot (Eli Bradley): A founding member of the Young Avengers in Young Avengers #1. Was a part of Cap’s “Secret” Avengers in Civil War #4.
Alex Power: NBA
Puma (Thomas Fireheart): NBA
Quasar (Wendell Vaughn): Quasar first officially joined the Avengers in Avengers #305
Radioactive Man (Chen Lu): NBA
Rage (Elvin Haliday) joined the OG Avengers back in Avengers #326.
Monica Rambeau: aka Captain Marvel, aka Photon, aka Pulsar, she had joined up with the OG team back in Avengers #277
Rattler (Gustav Krueger): NBA
Red Wolf (Will Talltrees): NBA
Rocket Racer (Robert Ferrell): Hadn’t been affiliated with the Avengers at the time of this story. He would later enroll in the Avengers Academy in Avengers Academy #21, but has yet to become a member proper.
Rockslide (Santo Vaccarro): NBA
Shang-Chi: Had yet to be an Avenger at the time of this story, will later join up in Avengers (vol. 5) #1.
She-Hulk (Jen Walters): Was a member of the OG Avengers, joined in Avengers #221.
Shooting Star (Victoria Star): NBA
Silhouette (Silhouette Chord): Joined up with Captain America’s “Secret” Avengers in Civil War #4. Has yet to become affiliated with an official team.
Silverclaw (Maria de Guadalupe Santiago): Had been affiliated with the group since Avengers (vol. 3) #8.
Sleepwalker: NBA
Solo (James Bourne): NBA
Songbird (Melissa Gold): Had not become an official Avenger at this point. She will later join up with Robert DaCosta’s Avengers Idea Mechanics in New Avengers (vol. 4) #10.
Speed (Tommy Shepherd): Joined the Young Avengers in Young Avengers #10, was part of Cap’s “Secret” Avengers in Civil War #4. Never had official membership.
Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green): Joined the Great Lakes Avengers in G.L.A. #1. She will become affiliated with the New Avengers when she takes on the job of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’ nanny in New Avengers (vol. 2) #7. She’ll later officially join a team when she becomes a member of Avengers Idea Mechanics in New Avengers (vol. 4) #1.
Stature (Cassie Lang): Joined up with the Young Avengers in Young Avengers #2. She a member of the Initiative (per Avengers: The Initiative #1) at the time of this story. She will join Hank Pym’s iteration of the Mighty Avengers in Mighty Avengers #21.
Stingray (Walter Newell): Joined the OG Avengers in Avengers #319.
Storm (Ororo Monroe): Had not been a member of the Avengers at the time of this story. She will eventually join the group in Avengers (vol. 4) #19.
Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie): Joined up with the team in Avengers #262.
Swordsman (Andreas Von Strucker): NBA
Tarantula (Maria Vasquez): NBA
Texas Twister (Drew Daniels): NBA
Thing (Ben Grimm): Had a very brief stint on the west coast roster starting in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #9.
Thor Girl (Tarene): She seemingly joined the Initiative in Avengers: The Initiative #1. However, in issue #18 of that series it was revealed that a Skrull imposter had taken her place. However, it’s unclear when the swap took place. Regardless, she has yet to be a part of an official team.
Tiger Shark (Todd Arliss): NBA
Tigra (Greer Grant): Became a member of the OG Avengers back in Avengers #211.
Toxin (Patrick Mulligan): NBA
Trauma (Terrance Ward): Joined the Initiative in Avengers: The Initiative #1, however has yet to be part of an official team.
Triathlon (Delroy Garret, Jr.): Joined the OG Avengers back in Avengers (vol. 3) #27.
Two-Gun Kid (Matt Hawk): This time displaced gunslinger was briefly an Avenger, joining the group back in Avengers #142.
Ultra-Girl (Tsu-Zana): Is part of the Initiative as per Avengers: The Initiative #1, but has yet to be affiliated with an official team.
Venom (Mac Gargan): Was not affiliated with the Avengers at the time of this story. He will become part of Norman Osborn’s team in Dark Avengers #1.
Vision (Jonas): Joined the Young Avengers in Young Avengers #5. He will join Hank Pym’s iteration of the Mighty Avengers in Mighty Avengers #21.
War Machine (Jim Rhodes): Has been affiliated with the Avengers since he joined their west coast roster back in Avengers West Coast #94.
Whirlwind (Dave Cannon): NBA
White Tiger (Angela Del Toro): NBA
Wiccan (Billy Caplan): Is a founding member of the Young Avengers, joining that group in Young Avengers #1. He will later go on to join Avengers Idea Mechanics in New Avengers (vol. 4) #1.
Colleen Wing: NBA
Yellowjacket (Criti Noll): Everyone believes that this is Hank Pym, who was a founding member of the team in Avengers #1. However, it’ll later be revealed that this is actually a Skrull spy who took Hank’s place at the time of this story. See Mighty Avengers #15.
Luke Cage was always against registration and has been an outlaw since New Avengers #22. While Peter Parker initially supported the new law, going as far as revealing his identity to the world in Civil War #2, he later retracted his support in issue #5, leading to his becoming an outlaw as well.
Tony’s concern is due to the fact that he discovered that people inside SHIELD and Hydra are up to something rotten, as seen in New Avengers #1-5 and New Avengers #11-13. What he doesn’t know is that these conspirators are Skrull invaders, something that won’t become apparent until Secret Invasion #1-8.
Here, Carol hopes that Janet will have a new costume. A fashionista, Janet is probably best known for having a lot of different costumes over the years. Literally look at any of her past appearances and you’ll see what I’m talking about. As for Janet’s qualifications for leadership, she was first made chairwoman of the original team in Avengers #221.
Tony asks Carol if there is something going on between her and Simon. Starting in Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #6, it is apparent that Wonder Man has developed a thing for Carol. The two even share a kiss in issue #16, but that was more to free Simon from MODOK’s control than anything else. Simon’s feelings for her are unrequited.
The Sentry has been plagued with mental health issues due to childhood and substance abuse. This has manifested in the Void, his exact opposite which represents these past traumas. See Sentry #1-5, Sentry/The Void #1, New Avengers #6-8 and Sentry (vol. 2) #1-10.
At first, Carol suggests they pick Daredevil (Matt Murdock), but Tony says that DD is more trouble than he is worth. This is because Matt has been in all kinds of legal trouble since his double life was leaked to the press in Daredevil (vol. 2) #32.
At the time of this story, Ares has become more reluctant about being the god of war and has been trying to maintain a normal life so he can raise his son Alex. See Ares #1-5. He also makes mention of the fact that his father, Zeus, is dead. Zeus bit the biscuit in that same limited series. However, as you can guess, death doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot when it comes to gods, and he’ll be rescued from Hades by Hercules in Incredible Hercules #130-132.
Among the monsters is Godzilla, which isn’t a topical reference since Godzilla does exist in the Marvel Universe (As seen in Godzilla #1-24). However, he looks different here from his last appearance, see below for the details.
Topical References
Tony Stark jokes about tossing the old SHIELD helicarrier up for auction on eBay, an online auction site that has been around since 1995. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world business.
Ares states that he makes $44 an hour working in construction. That was a comparable price for such work in 2007 when this story was originally published. It should be considered topical due to inflation. For example, in 2024, that same job would pay about $66 an hour.
The Initiative Reading Order
Civil War: The Initiative #1, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Thunderbolts #112, 113, 114, 115, Omega Flight #1-5, Moon Knight (vol. 3) #13, Captain America (vol. 5) #26, 27, 28, 29, 30, New Avengers #27, 28, 29, 30, 31, New Warriors (vol. 4) #1-8, Black Panther (vol. 4) #27, 28, 29, 30, Iron Man: Agent of SHIELD #15, 16, 17, 18, Avengers: The Initiative #1, 2, 3, Fantastic Four #547, 548, 549, 550, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #6-11, Mighty Avengers #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sub-Mariner (vol. 2) #1-6, The Order (vol. 2) 1-4, Penance: Relentless #1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Godzilla and the Marvel Universe (a Licensing Nightmare)
In the 1970s, Marvel was started going all-in on licensing out other properties. The works of Robert E. Howard (Conan and the like), Sax Rhomer (Fu Manchu in Master of Kung Fu), Micronauts, Rom the Spaceknight, Shogun Warriors, Team America, The Human Fly, and of course Godzilla. During this period, Marvel incorporated these characters into their pre-existing universe. This has created headaches down the road when those licenses would expire, limiting the company’s ability to later reprint many of these stories until more recently (it’s all about that Disney money, baby!)
In a lot of cases, Marvel owns rights to the stories and the ideas, just not the characters — at least in their original forms — and when it has come to referencing these tales they usually don’t mention characters by name or, especially in the case of Godzilla, change their appearance enough that they are legally distinct. Case in point, Godzilla was mutated into a new form back in Iron Man #193 and made a few appearances after the original Godzilla comic book ended.
When the character appears here, I believe that artist Frank Cho was just tossing in a cheeky cameo just for the fun of it by choosing the draw the King of the Monsters in his pre-mutated form. Here he looks closer to how he did in the later Show Era movies (Godzilla movies prior to 1989)
Later, in Uncanny X-Men #506-507, Matt Fraction and artist Terry Dodson have Godzilla return in a story that involves supporting cast members of the old Godzilla comic. Since Marvel did not do the licensing thing there, they mutated the monster again and renamed him Leviathan.
However, there is no explanation provided and I doubt there ever will be, either. I think probably the best explanation is one that has been used with characters who have been inconsistently depicted in various alternate forms. Tiger Shark is a great example as the character has often shifted back and forth from his classic appearance to something more akin to an anthropomorphic shark depending on the creative team using the character, often without explanation. His more recent entries in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe explain this away by stating that Tiger Shark’s genetic mutation is unstable. Once could easily assume that the process that Doctor Demonicus used to mutate Godzilla further was unstable, leading to sudden and unexplained changes in appearance.
