Chic Stone

Feeling less than appreciated, Ben Grimm leaves town and comes face-to-face with another monster/outcast hero; Can even the Thing take on the Spirit of Vengeance, the Ghost Rider.

When the Thing crash-lands in the middle of the dark foreboding swamp he comes face-to-face with the macabre Man-Thing; Guest-starring the Man-Thing, Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, and the Howling Commandos.

Collects The Uncanny X-Men (1963-2011) 1st Series #109, 120-121 and 139-140; Machine Man (1978-1981 1st Series) #19; Marvel Two-in-One (1974-1983 1st Series) #83-84; The Incredible Hulk (1962-1999 1st Series) #272, #313 and The Incredible Hulk (1962-1999 1st Series) ANNUAL #8; Alpha Flight (1983-1994 1st Series) #1-29; X-Men/Alpha Flight (1985) #1-2; X-Men/Alpha Flight (1998) #1-2; and material from Marvel Team-Up (1972-1985) Annual #7.

First full appearance of Baron Zemo, and first appearance of the second Black Knight in "Masters of Evil!", Baron Zemo, the man behind the cause of Bucky's death discovers that Captain America is still alive; Collecting together the Black Knight, Radioactive Man and the Melter, the Masters of Evil are formed; While the Masters of Evil spray the city with 'Adhesive X', a powerful glue for which there is no solvent, the Avengers attack; Captain America and Giant-Man get trapped by the adhesive and the Avengers withdraw to try and find a solution for it; Wasp remembers that a criminal behind bars called Paste-Pot Pete might be able to help; After receiving the solution they free Captain America and Giant-Man, and attack the Masters again. Special bonus: The letter column in this issue leads off with a letter from Buddy Saunders, the owner of MyComicShop. Oh, for the halcyon days of our callow youth! In the letter Buddy tells Stan and Jack that Avengers #4, with the return of Captain America, was one heck of a great issue. Time has certainly proven him right!

First full appearance of Baron Zemo, and first appearance of the second Black Knight in "Masters of Evil!", Baron Zemo, the man behind the cause of Bucky's death discovers that Captain America is still alive; Collecting together the Black Knight, Radioactive Man and the Melter, the Masters of Evil are formed; While the Masters of Evil spray the city with 'Adhesive X', a powerful glue for which there is no solvent, the Avengers attack; Captain America and Giant-Man get trapped by the adhesive and the Avengers withdraw to try and find a solution for it; Wasp remembers that a criminal behind bars called Paste-Pot Pete might be able to help; After receiving the solution they free Captain America and Giant-Man, and attack the Masters again. Special bonus: The letter column in this issue leads off with a letter from Buddy Saunders, the owner of MyComicShop. Oh, for the halcyon days of our callow youth! In the letter Buddy tells Stan and Jack that Avengers #4, with the return of Captain America, was one heck of a great issue. Time has certainly proven him right!

Rick Jones dons Bucky's costume in "Their Darkest Hour!", In Asgard, the Enchantress and the Executioner are banished to Earth by Odin; There they find Zemo (who had managed to escape the authorities) and they team up with him to stop Captain America; The Enchantress' motive is to get Thor by her side; She successfully lures Thor and hypnotizes him to fight for them; Meanwhile Captain America travels to the Amazon jungle to capture Zemo; Captain America then wins against Zemo's forces and Zemo tries to escape; Captain America grabs onto to the escape ship, however; The other Avengers fight Thor and, thanks to Iron Man, bring him back to his senses; Zemo's ship flies to the Avengers battle to rescue the Executioner and the Enchantress. Roster includes Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp, and Captain America

The Mighty Avengers Meet Spider-Man, Kang creates a robotic Spider-Man and sends him back in time to battle the Avengers. Roster: Captain America, Thor, Giant-Man, Wasp, and Rick Jones. Guest stars the Amazing Spider-Man. Villain: Kang. Cameo appearances by Zemo, the Executioner, Wonder Man, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Mysterio, the Unicorn, and Kraven the Hunter (all in Kang's files). Kang pin-up.

The Mighty Avengers Meet Spider-Man, Kang creates a robotic Spider-Man and sends him back in time to battle the Avengers. Roster: Captain America, Thor, Giant-Man, Wasp, and Rick Jones. Guest stars the Amazing Spider-Man. Villain: Kang. Cameo appearances by Zemo, the Executioner, Wonder Man, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Mysterio, the Unicorn, and Kraven the Hunter (all in Kang's files). Kang pin-up.

Even Avengers Can Die!, In order to save the Wasp's life, the Avengers seek out the help of Dr. Svenson, only to find he's been replaced by an alien from the planet Kallu. Avengers Roll Call: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Giant Man, Wasp, and Rick Jones. First and only appearance of the villainous Ogor and the Kallusians. Guest appearance by the Watcher.

"The Fall of Avalon" Part 1 of 2. Finally, the Black Knight is back! Where has he been? How about fighting evil in the 12th century! After Doctor Druid appears at Avengers Mansion and magically transports Earth's Mightiest Heroes back in time, they join Dane Whitman in the battle to save mystical Avalon! Who are the heroes fighting? The Fomor and its 6 powerful members! The odds don't look good for crumbling Avalon, but, Amergin, the island's aging ruler, has an ace in the hole to beat the Fomor...an ancient weapon from days gone by...the Evil Eye! It's an awesome adventure in Avalon for the Avengers! (Notes: The Black Knight previously appeared in Defenders 11 and Avengers 157. The Avengers earlier encountered the Evil Eye during the classic Avengers-Defenders War in issues 116-118.)

"An Eye for an Eye" Part 2 of 2. The Fomor have unleashed Balor, the giant one-eyed monster, on Earth's Mightiest Heroes! After Thor and She-Hulk are transported back to Avengers Mansion, only three avengers remain to fight Balor and defend the dimensional portal between Avalon and Earth! So the 12th century battle lines are drawn: Captain America, Hawkeye, the Wasp, Amergin, and the Black Knight vs. Balor and the Fomor! But which side has the Evil Eye? That's the key to victory! And in the midst of the all-out action, can Dane Whitman finally find his way back home to the 20th century? An inspiring finish for the Black Knight! (Note: The Black Knight's next adventure takes place in Doctor Strange (2nd series) 68 and 69.)

This annual features four reprint stories and a new cover by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia. First story reprinted from Avengers (1st series) 4: "Captain America Joins the Avengers!" The first silver age appearance of Captain America! With inadvertent aid from the Sub-Mariner, the Avengers find the frozen body of Captain America drifting aimlessly in the North Sea! And at that very moment...the legend of the star-spangled avenger is born! Second story reprinted from Tales of Suspense 66: "The Fantastic Origin of the Red Skull" The Red Skull tells his origin to his star-spangled prisoner, Captain America. Third story reprinted from Tales of Suspense 67: "Lest Tyranny Triumph!" Under the mental control of the skull, Captain America invades the Allied Headquarters in London! But his loyal partner, Bucky, will try to stop him from accidentally shooting the Allied Supreme Commander! Fourth story reprinted from Tales of Suspense 68: "The Sentinel and the Spy!" The shield-slinger and Bucky foil the Red Skull's plans...not once but twice!

This annual features two reprint stories and a new cover by Sal Buscema. First story reprinted from Avengers (1st series) 5: "The Invasion of the Lava Men!" The Avengers travel to the Southwestern United States to investigate mysterious underground tremors! Who's causing the subsurface vibrations? The Lava Men! And they want to conquer the surface world! But the Avengers stand in their way! Cameo appearance by the Hulk. Second story reprinted from Avengers (1st series) 6: "Masters of Evil" It's the first epic clash between the Masters of Evil and the mighty Avengers! Baron Zemo, the Melter, Black Knight, and Radioactive Man vs. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp! (Notes: This annual includes an Avengers pin-up gallery featuring the covers of Avengers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This annual also contains full-page ads for X-Men Annual 1 & Amazing Spider-Man Annual 7 and Thor Annual 3 & Marvel's Greatest Comics 29.)

This annual features two reprint stories. First story reprinted from Avengers (1st series) 8: "Kang the Conqueror!" The first appearance of Kang the Conqueror! The master of time begins his life long quest to destroy the Avengers! Second story reprinted from Avengers (1st series) 11 (minus page 4): "The Mighty Avengers Meet Spider-Man!" Kang has another plan to eliminate the Avengers! And this one involves the web-slinger...or at least someone bearing a close resemblance! (Notes: The cover by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone is reprinted from Avengers 11. This is the last reprint Avengers Annual. The next one published 4 years later features a new story.)

Collects Iron Man (1968-1996 1st Series) #55, Captain Marvel (1968-1979 1st Series Marvel) #25-33, Marvel Feature (1971-1973 1st Series) #12, Daredevil (1964-1998 1st Series) #105-107, Avengers (1963-1996 1st Series) #125, Warlock (1972-1976 Marvel 1st Series) #9-11 and #15, Avengers (1963-1996 1st Series) Annual #7, Marvel Two-in-One (1974-1983 1st Series) #2, and material from Logan's Run (1977 Marvel) #6. Eternal. Nihilist. Madman. Would-be lover of Death itself. Thanos of Titan is all these things - and even before he created the Infinity Gauntlet and decimated half the universe, he was still a mighty force to be reckoned with. Here, collected in one volume for the first time, is the complete story of Thanos' first life - and first death. Witness as Thanos targets Captain Marvel and the Avengers in a bid to become a god, manipulates Adam Warlock, and finally lays siege to the Earth itself! Guest-starring Daredevil, Spider-Man, the Thing, Moondragon, Drax the Destroyer and more!

Professor X calls the X-Men when his Radar-Image Beam picks up the energy signature of a very powerful being. However, before they can get a better analysis, the being suddenly disappears in a flashing explosion. Suspecting this being to be a super-powerful mutant, the Professor and Scott concern themselves with the potential of such a powerful being. Iceman and Beast however, don't take this finding very seriously and begin horsing around again, prompting Marvel Girl to use her powers to break up their rough housing. This leads to the Professor scolding Bobby for inciting the situation.

Elsewhere in New York, the object of the X-Men's concern is a strange man in a suit that has taken up residence in a rooming house. When the landlord comes by and demands a full week's rent in cash up front, the man pulls a large wad of money out of his coat and hands it to her. Deciding to explore the city, this man, this Stranger, walks in the very air over the city to avoid traffic. The citizens of New York are shocked to find that there is a man walking right up in the sky. Not wishing to attract anymore undue attention, the Stranger flees the scene, but feels himself compelled to enter a particular building.

Walking through the wall, the Stranger finds Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants inside waiting for him. As the Stranger meets the Brotherhood, the X-Men search the city for this supposed new Mutant. As Angel scours the sky, the rest of the X-Men search the ground. Scott searches the streets and attracts the unwanted attention of the police who find is skulking about suspicious. In a scuffle, Scott's ruby quartz glasses are removed causing his optic beams to fire wildly, smashing a fire hydrant and one of the officers guns. Scott is then pulled out of the harry situation by Beast and Iceman who reunite him with Marvel Girl. The group then decides to continue looking for their query together.