The Marvel Age of Comics--Phase 2

A promotional blurb on the cover of Defenders #10 (Nov. 1973) asked readers, "See For Yourself Why It's the Marvel Age of Comics All Over Again!" In the months that followed, several covers went one step further, directly referencing a second era of Marvel Comics.

Captain America & Falcon #173 (May 1974) prompted readers, "Make Way for the Marvel Age of Comics--Phase Two!" Guest-starred two of the original X-Men, the story pre-dates the "The All-New, All-Different" mutant team billed on the covers of X-Men #94-99, #101-111.

Marvel Chillers #6 (Aug. 1976), featuring Tigra the Were-Woman and Cheyenne hero Red Wolf, reiterated, "It's the Marvel Age of Comics--Phase 2!"

Covers of other Marvel titles during this time frame expressed a similar sentiment. Daredevil #121 (May 1975) announced, "The Mighty Marvel Renaissance Moves Ahead!" Marvel Presents #6 (Aug. 1976), starring the Guardians of the Galaxy, declared, "The New Marvel Mage of Comics!"

This begs the question, What did this new era entail? Although the covers didn't specify, several factors were at work. The 1971 revision to the Comics Code gave publishers renewed leeway in portraying realistic themes in comic books—and creative license to draw inspiration from the genre of horror. In tandem, the Seventies saw an increase in international and multicultural superheroes, as well as superheroines with origin stories and identities independent of male heroes.

In short, the shift initially described as "Phase Two" of Marvel Comics matches what we know more broadly today as the Bronze Age of comics books.

Droom Patrol

Defenders #27 (Sept. 1975) took the non-team to the year 3015 A.D. In that future timeline, Dr. Strange, Hulk, Nighthawk and Valkyrie teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle the Badoon, a species of green-skinned extraterrestrials that had conquered the Earth. Leading the Badoon was a despot named Droom.

That character's name caught my attention for historical reasons.

Amazing Adventures #1 (June 1961) introduced Dr. Droom, a physician from the United States who learned magic in Tibet. The magician's amazing adventures continued each month through issue #4 (Sept. 1961), but Dr. Droom did not become part of the extended superhero universe that cemented with Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961).

That changed, in a way, with the publication of Weird Wonder Tales #19 (Dec. 1976), which reprinted that tale from Amazing Adventures #1 with minor revisions.

The original story depicted Dr. Droom as gaining a stereotypical Asian mustache and slanted eyes as a result of learning magic. The reprint, on the other hand, inked over the original artwork and gave the character a beard and consistent facial features throughout the story.

The reprint also changed the hero's surname from Droom to Druid. Revised versions of other Dr. Droom stories appeared with the renamed Dr. Druid each month through Weird Wonder Tales #22 (March 1977). That issue included an introductory paragraph that gave more cohesion to the eclectic character:

My name is Anthony Druid, and in my time I have been many things. I have the skills of a Yogi—the wisdom of a Lama—and the powers of the ancient Britons! I dwell in a dark, shadowy world—destroying evil, protecting the innocent. Danger is my task … Justice, my goal! DR. DRUID. MASTER of the UNKNOWN!

Guardians of the Galaxy

The last survivors of their respective homeworlds, the Guardians of the Galaxy traveled from the 31st century to present-day Earth to obtain records about the Badoon, extraterrestrials intent on invading the planet. But the mission proved more existential than informative.

Charlie-27 (from Earth's Jupiter colony), was particularly taken aback by the current state of human civilization (Giant-Size Defenders #5).

A temporal distortion that coincided with the arrival of the Guardians of the Galaxy attracted the attention of Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Hulk, and Nighthawk, while calling forth the monstrous Eelar.

An added complication involved a chance meeting between the heroes and young Vance Astrovik (whose adult counterpart would join the Guardians of the Galaxy after taking a thousand-year trek into space).

The adult Vance Astro later tried to persuade his younger self to forego any dreams of becoming an astronaut and thereby avoid the loneliness he would face as a man out of time (Marvel Two-in-One #69). Other original members of the Guardians of the Galaxy were Martinex (from Earth's colony on Pluto) and Yondu (native of Centauri-IV).

The team also made guest appearances in Defenders #26-29.

… Try, Try Again

To save the Earth from annihilation, Wolverine went back through time to kill Henry Pym before he could build the artificial intelligence called Ultron (Age of Ultron #6). Accompanied by the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four, Wolverine arrived as Pym (then Goliath) originally examined the artificial construct known as Dragon Man (circa Avengers #41).

Following Pym's death, Wolverine and Invisible Woman returned to the present. But the divergent timeline that unfolded was no better than the apocalyptic reality they had hoped to prevent (Age of Ultron #7).

Led by Dr. Strange, the Defenders on this grizzled Earth included Thing, Star-Lord (from the Guardians of the Galaxy), Captain Marvel (formerly Wasp), Cable (formerly Cyclops), Hulk (with the mind of Bruce Banner), Colonel America (formerly Captain America), and Wolverine. The group operated out of Defenders Sanctorum (Age of Ultron #8), also referred to as Defenders Headquarters (Fearless Defenders #4AU).

In yet another time-travel attempt, Wolverine went back to stop himself from assassinating Pym. This time, Wolverine suggested that Pym follow through with his idea to build Ultron yet add a time-release program to prevent Ultron from one day devastating the world (Age of Ultron #9).

I would have liked to have seen more of the Defenders from this alternate reality before the timeline was more-or-less restored.

Micro-Management

Before he was Ant-Man, Scott Lang already had one foot in the door to becoming a superhero. In his debut appearance from Avengers #181, Scott Lang was the engineer hired to install a new security system at Avengers Mansion.

Returning from the movies, Wonder Man and Beast were the first to test out these new defenses, as they accidentally triggered a set of mechanical arms designed to stop intruders from entering the headquarters.

But mechanical arms weren't the only security measures introduced that issue. With a ballooning number of heroes coming and going from the mansion, including the Guardians of the Galaxy, the federal government decided to limit the Avengers to seven active members.

Government liaison Peter Gyrich announced the new lineup as Iron Man (chairman), Vision, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Beast, Wasp, and Falcon (recruited specifically to add an African-American to the group).

Of the heroes who didn't stay on, Hawkeye was the most outspoken against the government intervention. In a thought balloon, Wonder Man noted that Moondragon left without even saying good-bye.

When Falcon decided to step down in Avengers #194, Wonder Man filled the open slot (with no mention of maintaining racial quotas).

The team membership remained fairly consistent until Moondragon's abrupt return in Avengers #211.

Avengers. Vol. 1. No. 181. March 1978. "On the Matter of Heroes!" David Micheline (writer), John Byrne & Gene Day (artists), F. Mouly (colors), Elaine H. (letters), Roger Stern (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).