When Hank Pym first debuted in the Silver Age, he was a widower whose late first wife Maria had been killed while on a visit to her native Hungary. Janet Van Dyne amazingly resembled her, and the 2 of them subsequently fell in love with each other. As she aspired to join Hank as a crimefighter and adventuress, he helped her run an experiment to become the Wasp. And Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver first learned about the chance to become recruits to the Avengers after reading a newspaper article that spoke about the team's offer to consider other potential members as well.
This is the Black Widow in one of her first appearances, when - at least it seemed - she was working as a Russian spy but soon defected to the United States where she became much more of a success. And here's also a picture of the "Kooky Quartet" as they were affectionately nicknamed when Cap took Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver under his wing.
It's Carol Danvers versus a giant lizard! Look out, here comes the dinosaur! The lizard beast strikes poor little Carol with his tail, but she won't be taken down so easily, and lets him have it back with a nice good knuckle sandwich!
During the Silver Age, when the Avengers began, Tony Stark hosted Wanda and Pietro at a press conference to announce their acceptance to the team. Janet had quite a girly crush on Thor. And when Scarlet Witch (and Quicksilver) first joined the Avengers, she initially bore a foolish view that it's not worth fighting on after losing a battle. Cap taught her how this just isn't so, and since then, she's had a much better view of how to be selfless and courageous.
Back in the old days, when Scarlet Witch first appeared, she had difficulty in staying conscious after delivering a really powerful blast with her hexes. Today, she's way past that and can handle many things without even batting an eyelash.
It's a shame this picture has the top part of the word balloons cut off, but anyway, here's a scene of the Vision rescuing Wanda from some technological cuffs. Or something like that. And Tigra might've had an allergy to becoming wet, not unlike some real cats, which may explain why she asks Wonder Man to hold on tight while in flight!
On one of her superhero assignments Janet makes good use of her ability to communicate with insects, leading a fleet of bees against some crooks. In the other picture, Ebenezer Wallaby, her lawyer, comes to announce the great news that having turned 23, she's acquired the full inheritance from her late father, in Avengers #43, 1967.
There were a few times in the Silver Age when Scarlet Witch really developed a crush on Captain America, and felt very sad when he left for more solo missions, leaving the leadership up to other members. Since then, she moved on, and had more serious affairs with the Vision and Wonder Man.
This is the splash page from one of Tigra's earliest adventures. Will Meugniot, who drew the story, did a very good job.
The splash page from Ms. Marvel 14, with our heroine on a job in her native Boston.
In the Serpent Crown affair (Avengers #147 in 1976), Patsy Walker took up the role of Hellcat, and really got some action going! So too did Iron Man and Vision, of course.
The Serpent Crown story was also where Wanda and the Vision's love affair really took off.
In the late 1980s, when Tigra and Hellcat were working with the West Coast Avengers, they managed to capture Tiger Shark. In the other picture, from The Sensational She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters is sunning herself on a beach vacation when a telegram delivery interrupts it just 4 issues in! And that's just a taste from the rest of the awesome 4th-wall-breaking parody John Byrne mastered in that series!
Go to next page
Copyright Avi Green. All rights reserved.Homepage Introduction Profiles Extras Links
