Avengers Re-Read: West Coast Avengers – Part 1

The watchword for Marvel in the 1980s was “franchise.” The publisher found ways to expand its core titles beyond just one or two. As part of the “Absolute Vision” story in Avengers, the writers sent fan favorite Hawkeye and his new wife Mockingbird out to L.A. to start up a new western branch of the team. Thus was born The West Coast Avengers (later re-named Avengers: West Coast). The group received the affectionate nickname “The Wackos.”

Building the new team around Hawkeye was a smart move. He had long been a favorite of Avengers fans. Coming off a successful solo limited series, making him the pivot in a new team book that still kept him in the Avengers family was a canny way to extend two brands. Shortly thereafter, Hawkeye would also become the lead feature in Solo Avengers (later re-named Avengers Spotlight).

Early in its run, West Coast Avengers ranked as one of Marvel’s most popular series. The title crafted some memorable stories. And when auteur John Byrne took the reins, he set in motion some elements that would help re-shape the entire Marvel Universe in the future.

About two-thirds of the West Coast Avengers run has been released in accessible collections. A few additional issues are included in cross-over story collections and a few others are available in an expensive “omnibus” edition that’s not covered here. Let’s go back to the West Coast.

West Coast Avengers Assemble (West Coast Avengers Limited Series #1–4, Iron Man Annual #7 and Avengers #250)

This collection starts out with pages collected from a few issues of the main Avengers title that saw Hawkeye charged with founding the West Coast Avengers and then followed Hawk and Mockingbird as they migrated west and began setting up the team.

The Limited Series opened with Hawkeye and Mockingbird established in the new West Coast Avengers Compound, a sprawling oceanside estate. In short order, former members Tigra and Wonder Man, and replacement Iron Man Jim Rhodes, were all recruited into the fold. After a mishap with hero-masquerading-as-a-crimelord The Shroud, the team encountered odd villain The Blank. That led into the return of classic Avengers villain Graviton, who gave the team its first real challenge. The Iron Man Annual saw the original, villainous Power Man transformed into the new, villainous Goliath. And the West Coast Avengers joined their East Coast counterparts for a fight against Maelstrom. The collection also included a back-up story from the 100th issue of Avengers West Coast that depicted the first visit of Hawkeye and Mockingbird to the future West Coast Avengers Compound.

Written by regular Avengers scribe Roger Stern, the West Coast Avengers LS saw the various members of the new team struggling with various insecurities. Hawkeye was eager to take on the leadership role, but worried that he wouldn’t live up to his role model, Captain America. Mockingbird tried to adjust to the transition from shadowy spycraft to high visibility team heroics. Tigra, Wonder Man and Iron Man all struggled with whether they were cut out for membership. It was a smart choice and gave the heroes a common concern that bound them and forged them into an effective team. Erstwhile Avengers artist Bob Hall handled the art chores with his usual style. The limited series was a winning introduction for the new team. After several additional appearances in other books, their popularity helped them graduate to their own ongoing title.

Family Ties (West Coast Avengers #1–9 and Vision & the Scarlet Witch #1–2)

The West Coast Avengers kicked off their ongoing title with a four-part crossover with the Vision & the Scarlet Witch limited series. Original Iron Man Tony Stark replaced Jim Rhodes on the team as Wonder Man’s mad brother, the Grim Reaper, returned leading a new Lethal Legion that included Ultron-12, Goliath, Man-Ape, Black Talon and Nekra. The Legion succeeded in capturing Wonder Man and a visiting Hank Pym (assiduously avoiding all his costumed personae). Clashes with the other heroes eventually landed everyone in the villains’ clutches. Grim Reaper intended to cull the thoughts and emotions from Wonder Man and Vision that were “common” to both, to get a “pure” version of his brother. In the course of that adventure, the reticent Wonder Man finally found both his confidence and a fraternal bond with the Vision, as Grim Reaper seemingly fell to his death. Afterward, Hank Pym raised the eyebrows of his former teammates by offering to run the compound for them, while Tigra struggled with her dual human/cat nature, especially in a fight with Kraven the Hunter. Latina heroine Firebird arrived in pursuit of the mysterious Master Pandemonium, who would attack the heroes with his demon thralls several times. Also on hand was the Thing, who’d just arrived in L.A. after quitting the Fantastic Four. Hawkeye lobbied hard for the Thing to join the West Coast Avengers, oblivious to Firebird’s strong desire to be asked. Tigra caused waves by getting involved with all the single men on the team. A confrontation with Werewolf led the team to the land of the Cat People, whose king offered to fix Tigra’s conflicted nature if she’d kill Master Pandemonium. Meanwhile, Wonder Man’s public admission of a past misdeed kicked his acting career into high gear. Ultron-12 returned, having “evolved” out of his evil phase, and formed a father-son bond with his creator Hank Pym that was cut short when another version of Ultron emerged and killed Ultron-12. The return of Firebird’s one-time allies The Rangers revealed an unexpected connection to Master Pandemonium. After another clash with the villain, the Thing agreed to join the team.

Writer Steve Englehart was a master at mixing the various superhero and soap opera elements that kept the series engrossing. The various character beats mostly worked, especially Tigra’s anguish and the ascent of Wonder Man. Veteran artists Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott turned in clean, traditional pages that choreographed the action quite well. It wasn’t quite the flashy style that was developing in that time period, but it got the job done. The entire creative team found ways to make use of the western setting, giving the series a flavor that was distinctive from the parent book. Overall, a strong collection that’s recommended, especially for fans interested in an underappreciated chapter of Avengers history.

Sins of the Past (West Coast Avengers #10–16 and Annual #1 and Avengers Annual #15)

The Thing’s sudden disappearance from Los Angeles stymied the team’s desire to add a sixth member and Firebird also departed to think about her priorities. The team contended with a wide variety of new and familiar villains: Headlok, The Griffin, Razorfist, Zaran, Shockwave, Quantum, Halflife and Zzzax. The heroes continued to hunt for information about Master Pandemonium, while Graviton returned. Having fallen in love with Tigra from afar, he took the team hostage and only her reverting to human form saved the day. Wonder Man’s new confidence and the ascent of his movie career made him verge on overbearing, while Tigra created numerous interpersonal complications for herself. After a team-up with the East Coast team that revealed Quicksilver had turned against his former allies, the West Coast Avengers turned to old friends Daimon Hellstrom and Patsy Walker, a/k/a paranormal investigators Hellstorm and Hellcat (the latter of whose costume once belonged to Tigra) for help. Master Pandemonium attacked the team and a rogue demon kidnapped Tigra and Hank. The other heroes followed them into a hell dimension, where they discovered that the Cat People had evolved into cat-like demons. The truth of Tigra’s bargain came out, as did the rest of the story about Master Pandemonium. The villain escaped and Tigra finally achieved integration of her human and cat sides. Tigra and Hank’s relationship ended on a visit to San Francisco where a humiliating encounter with his old foe Whirlwind left Hank in a fragile spot.

The creative team continued to do some strong work. The Tigra story came to a satisfying conclusion and was easily the best use of the character to that point. Master Pandemonium developed into an interesting, powerful foe and the interpersonal drama of the team began to heat up, especially as Wonder Man’s star complex blossomed. It’s a strong collection of especial interest to Tigra fans, but not the place to start for newcomers.

Lost in Space-Time (West Coast Avengers #17–24, Fantastic Four #19 and Doctor Strange #53)

Easily the most important saga in the early West Coast Avengers run, “Lost in Space-Time” started with the team headed to Albuquerque, hoping to convince Firebird to join officially. The team found their friend had gone missing before fending off an attack by the minions of the alien conqueror Dominus. Dominus ambushed the team with a broken time machine that would only move backward in time. Meanwhile, back at the compound, Hank Pym had fallen into a deep depression and was planning his suicide. The arrival of Firebird, in a new costume and calling herself La Espirita, saved Hank’s life. The Avengers first landed in the Old West of the 1880s, where Hawkeye reunited with the western heroes he’d befriended on a previous jaunt to the era. After helping the heroes against some colorful villains, the team intended to head further back in time, hoping to get Pharaoh Rama-Tut (an alternate version of their foe Kang) to fix their time machine. But as the others were leaving, the crazed Phantom Rider seized Mockingbird from the time machine platform, knocking her out and making off with her. The heroes wound up back another century, where Wonder Man’s carelessness resulted in severe injuries for Hawkeye, while his tension with Iron Man threatened to tear the team apart. Helped by a young woman whom Hawkeye recognized as someone who’d appeared in a vision Firebird had once had, he left a note in her family Bible, hoping it would somehow survive the 200 years into the future. The team narrowly missed Doctor Strange in 1770s Philadelphia, before heading to Egypt. Their first encounter with an older Rama-Tut was pointless, so they went back further, only to run afoul of the more villainous, younger Rama-Tut. Both Doctor Strange and the Fantastic Four were on hand at that moment (the collection includes relevant archive issues as a bonus). Back in the future, Espirita played life coach to Hank and helped him devise a new persona as a non-costumed “scientific adventurer.” Back in Egypt, Hawkeye communed with Konshu, the Egyptian god who was the patron of the modern hero Moon Knight. Moon Knight, Hank and Espirita went to the Fantastic Four, only to find their time machine had been vandalized by Dominus’s minions. Hank got to work fixing it. Back in Egypt, the West Coast Avengers despaired, after missing out on two chances to get back to the present. And in the Old West, Phantom Rider had drugged Mockingbird into believing they were in love. Once she’d broken free of that influence (it was strongly indicating at the time that the Rider had raped her), Mockingbird went in search of revenge. After a dramatic cliff-side battle in a driving storm, the Rider slipped off the cliff. Instead of pulling him up, Mockingbird let the Rider fall to his death. Eventually, all the heroes made their way back to the present for a final battle with Dominus.

This arc truly was the pinnacle of the Englehart/Milgrom run on West Coast Avengers, featuring a twisty plot that mined Marvel Comics history for intriguing guest characters and challenging obstacles for the team. But as interesting as the complex, multi-time period plot was, it truly was the personal drama that made this story so memorable. Wonder Man’s confidence sprouted into full egomania and put him at odds with the team, especially Iron Man. Hawkeye struggled with leadership, especially after his injury. And the Mockingbird sequences were jaw-dropping. Previously depicted as the voice of reason on the team, her fury after Phantom Rider assaulted her was almost frightening and her choice to allow him to drop to his death, and subsequently to lie about it, would have consequences for years to come.

Sadly, there was one major flaw with the story and it’s a hard one to get around. Hank’s depression and near-suicide were colossally mishandled. It was kind of a shock, since Englehart was an empathetic writer who usually had a good feel for developing character beats. Hank certainly was the right choice for exploring a potential suicide scenario, given his extensive history of mental illness. But the story didn’t feel properly set up. Maybe it’s the effect of reading the story in short order in collected format, and not on a monthly remove, but it felt rushed. While the others had expressed concern about Hank taking a subservient role for them and he had an almost pathological aversion to putting on a costume again, at the outset of the series he seemed to be in a decent place. The sudden bonding with and loss of Ultron-12, his overinvestment in his doomed relationship with Tigra and his humiliating encounter with Whirlwind all could have been beats in a downward depressive spiral, but those links never seemed to join together to add up to suicidal depression. Worse was the aftermath of his attempt, where Espirita basically talked him out of it in about an hour and he was suddenly “over it.” That’s just not how depression and the treatment of depression work. Comic books can employ “comic book logic shortcuts” in other areas, but mental illness was too important an issue to treat that lightly. Its use here almost amounted to a cheap stunt and both Englehart and the series were better than that.

Still, even with that unfortunate flaw, Lost in Space-Time is a great chapter in West Coast Avengers history and is highly recommended.

See Also: Avengers Re-Read: The 1970s – Part One Avengers Re-Read: The 1970s – Part Two Avengers Re-Read: The 1980s – Part 1 Avengers Re-Read: The 1980s – Part 2