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Description
Part three of my Avengers line-up series.

This piece roughly covers The Avengers #51-109. While the roster of the team fluctuated during this chunk of issues, it can be categorized as an era due to the bulk of these comics being written by Roy Thomas. At its largest, the roster consisted of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, the Vision, Black Panther, Wasp, Hank Pym (first as Goliath, then as Yellowjacket and finally as Ant-Man), Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Clint Barton (as Hawkeye, then Goliath, then Hawkeye again). The founding members largely rotated in and out of the team, which meant that the nucleus ended up being Black Panther and Vision.

Black Panther was inducted onto the team in The Avengers #52, when he helped the team combat the Grim Reaper. The Wakandan King had previously adventured with the Fantastic Four, but had taken up residence in the United States since then. With his presence on the team, Roy Thomas took a more socially conscious approach to storytelling. He became particularly interested in tackling racism in the United States during the 1960s, as well as covering the failing education system for African-Americans at that time. In fact, Black Panther adopted a pseudonym and worked as a teacher for a time. Thomas debuted Black Panther's nemesis Man-Ape during this run and also utilized Klaw as one of the hero's signature villains.

In The Avengers #57-58, the Vision was introduced. He made his debut as an android built by Ultron with the intention of using him to destroy the Avengers. Despite Ultron's insidious intent, the Vision went against his master's wishes and ended up fighting alongside the very people he was sent to destroy. As one of the most well-written and complex characters of this era, writer Thomas spent a lot of time exploring the melancholy of being so human-like without having the necessary parts. It really begged the question of what it truly means to be human. Of course, Thomas also introduced one of the oddest and most controversial ships - that of the Vision and Scarlet Witch. Their attraction became evident during The Kree-Skrull War storyline (more on that later). The simmering chemistry between them heated up in the issues that followed this event, eventually leading to their professions of love for one another.

Another notable two-parter during this time was The Avengers #59-60, which featured the debut of the anti-hero Yellowjacket. This gruff vigilante made his first appearance claiming that he had killed Hank Pym and demanded to be inducted into the Avengers. He was aggressive and abrasive, but despite this the Wasp agreed to marry him. After a spectacular wedding featuring just about every hero in the Marvel Universe as wedding guests (and some villainous wedding crashers), it was revealed that Yellowjacket was in fact Hank Pym. When Jan had kissed Yellowjacket prior to their engagement, she knew instantly that it was Hank. As it turns out, Hank had a bit of a mental break. He realized that times were "better" prior to him being the colossal Giant-Man/Goliath and that the particles he'd been using to grow had affected him deeply, so he constructed the Yellowjacket persona to bring the good times back.

A development worth mentioning during this era was that Clint Barton went from being Hawkeye to Goliath. When his one-time lover Black Widow was captured during a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D., a powerless Clint desperately takes Hank's Pym Particles in order to rescue her under the new identity of Goliath. Clint would become more confident under this new role, enjoying very much that he went from the powerless archer to one of the team's most powerful heroes. During the aftermath of The Kree-Skrull War, Clint returned to being Hawkeye. He pursued Scarlet Witch relentlessly and aggressively at this time. He made several passes at her before eventually forcing himself on her. An enraged Wanda set him straight by telling him that she doesn't love him and that she loved the Vision. The idea that Wanda would love an android without human parts or a soul disgusted him (and bruised his ego) to the point where Clint abruptly left the Avengers. He went out west, where he attempted to rekindle his romance with Black Widow. However, since she was dating Daredevil at that time, things didn't work out in his favour. He skulked off with his tail between his legs, further cementing his general distaste for the Avengers and Daredevil.

The Avengers fought many foes during this era. Of course, there were the ol' standbys Ultron and Kang. They featured prominently. However, Thomas also focused heavily on some rather intriguing villains. Notably, there was the crime syndicate known as Zodiac. This twelve person organization featured criminals dressed up as each of the twelve signs within the zodiac and were financed by the crooked Cornelius Van Lunt. There was also the Squadron Sinister, who were villainous analogues of DC Comics' Justice League of America.

As referenced a few times in this description, this era was largely defined by the epic event known as The Kree-Skrull War. It was a massive event that spanned the course of nine issues, going from The Avengers #89-97. It was really one of the first of its kind, which meant it essentially became the blueprint for many of Marvel's larger scale stories that would occur in the decades that followed. In this nine parter, the Kree and Skrull races declare war on one another (duh), with Earth becoming their ultimate prize. The likes of the Inhumans and the Fantastic Four made appearances, as well as Captain Marvel, Ronan and S.H.I.E.L.D. One of the more memorable elements of this saga featured Thomas alluding to McCarthyism when he introduced the "Alien Activities Commission," which was meant to investigate the illegal activities of aliens on Earth at this time. Sympathizers with aliens, such as the Avengers, were denounced as anti-American.

For this piece, I decided to do two rosters that reflect the beginning and ending of this era. The top line-up roughly covers issues #52-74, while the bottom one roughly covers #75-109. As some of you will notice from previous pieces in this series, some of these drawings a repeats. The new guys/costumes are Vision, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Goliath, Wasp, Black Panther and Scarlet Witch. It's also worth mentioning Quicksilver got a palette swap. The toughest of them all to draw was the Wasp. Her primary outfit from this era was a gold sequinned tunic worn over a red full-body suit. I really wanted to try my hands at trying to do sparkly sequins and I hope I was able to pull off that effect. Even still, I actually think Scarlet Witch and Iron Man look the best.

As always, I absolutely love hearing from you guys. Please feel free to leave a thoughtful comment below with feedback on the art and your thoughts on this particular era below.

Thanks! Enjoy!

Description
Part three of my Avengers line-up series.

This piece roughly covers The Avengers #51-109. While the roster of the team fluctuated during this chunk of issues, it can be categorized as an era due to the bulk of these comics being written by Roy Thomas. At its largest, the roster consisted of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, the Vision, Black Panther, Wasp, Hank Pym (first as Goliath, then as Yellowjacket and finally as Ant-Man), Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Clint Barton (as Hawkeye, then Goliath, then Hawkeye again). The founding members largely rotated in and out of the team, which meant that the nucleus ended up being Black Panther and Vision.

Black Panther was inducted onto the team in The Avengers #52, when he helped the team combat the Grim Reaper. The Wakandan King had previously adventured with the Fantastic Four, but had taken up residence in the United States since then. With his presence on the team, Roy Thomas took a more socially conscious approach to storytelling. He became particularly interested in tackling racism in the United States during the 1960s, as well as covering the failing education system for African-Americans at that time. In fact, Black Panther adopted a pseudonym and worked as a teacher for a time. Thomas debuted Black Panther's nemesis Man-Ape during this run and also utilized Klaw as one of the hero's signature villains.

In The Avengers #57-58, the Vision was introduced. He made his debut as an android built by Ultron with the intention of using him to destroy the Avengers. Despite Ultron's insidious intent, the Vision went against his master's wishes and ended up fighting alongside the very people he was sent to destroy. As one of the most well-written and complex characters of this era, writer Thomas spent a lot of time exploring the melancholy of being so human-like without having the necessary parts. It really begged the question of what it truly means to be human. Of course, Thomas also introduced one of the oddest and most controversial ships - that of the Vision and Scarlet Witch. Their attraction became evident during The Kree-Skrull War storyline (more on that later). The simmering chemistry between them heated up in the issues that followed this event, eventually leading to their professions of love for one another.

Another notable two-parter during this time was The Avengers #59-60, which featured the debut of the anti-hero Yellowjacket. This gruff vigilante made his first appearance claiming that he had killed Hank Pym and demanded to be inducted into the Avengers. He was aggressive and abrasive, but despite this the Wasp agreed to marry him. After a spectacular wedding featuring just about every hero in the Marvel Universe as wedding guests (and some villainous wedding crashers), it was revealed that Yellowjacket was in fact Hank Pym. When Jan had kissed Yellowjacket prior to their engagement, she knew instantly that it was Hank. As it turns out, Hank had a bit of a mental break. He realized that times were "better" prior to him being the colossal Giant-Man/Goliath and that the particles he'd been using to grow had affected him deeply, so he constructed the Yellowjacket persona to bring the good times back.

A development worth mentioning during this era was that Clint Barton went from being Hawkeye to Goliath. When his one-time lover Black Widow was captured during a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D., a powerless Clint desperately takes Hank's Pym Particles in order to rescue her under the new identity of Goliath. Clint would become more confident under this new role, enjoying very much that he went from the powerless archer to one of the team's most powerful heroes. During the aftermath of The Kree-Skrull War, Clint returned to being Hawkeye. He pursued Scarlet Witch relentlessly and aggressively at this time. He made several passes at her before eventually forcing himself on her. An enraged Wanda set him straight by telling him that she doesn't love him and that she loved the Vision. The idea that Wanda would love an android without human parts or a soul disgusted him (and bruised his ego) to the point where Clint abruptly left the Avengers. He went out west, where he attempted to rekindle his romance with Black Widow. However, since she was dating Daredevil at that time, things didn't work out in his favour. He skulked off with his tail between his legs, further cementing his general distaste for the Avengers and Daredevil.

The Avengers fought many foes during this era. Of course, there were the ol' standbys Ultron and Kang. They featured prominently. However, Thomas also focused heavily on some rather intriguing villains. Notably, there was the crime syndicate known as Zodiac. This twelve person organization featured criminals dressed up as each of the twelve signs within the zodiac and were financed by the crooked Cornelius Van Lunt. There was also the Squadron Sinister, who were villainous analogues of DC Comics' Justice League of America.

As referenced a few times in this description, this era was largely defined by the epic event known as The Kree-Skrull War. It was a massive event that spanned the course of nine issues, going from The Avengers #89-97. It was really one of the first of its kind, which meant it essentially became the blueprint for many of Marvel's larger scale stories that would occur in the decades that followed. In this nine parter, the Kree and Skrull races declare war on one another (duh), with Earth becoming their ultimate prize. The likes of the Inhumans and the Fantastic Four made appearances, as well as Captain Marvel, Ronan and S.H.I.E.L.D. One of the more memorable elements of this saga featured Thomas alluding to McCarthyism when he introduced the "Alien Activities Commission," which was meant to investigate the illegal activities of aliens on Earth at this time. Sympathizers with aliens, such as the Avengers, were denounced as anti-American.

For this piece, I decided to do two rosters that reflect the beginning and ending of this era. The top line-up roughly covers issues #52-74, while the bottom one roughly covers #75-109. As some of you will notice from previous pieces in this series, some of these drawings a repeats. The new guys/costumes are Vision, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Goliath, Wasp, Black Panther and Scarlet Witch. It's also worth mentioning Quicksilver got a palette swap. The toughest of them all to draw was the Wasp. Her primary outfit from this era was a gold sequinned tunic worn over a red full-body suit. I really wanted to try my hands at trying to do sparkly sequins and I hope I was able to pull off that effect. Even still, I actually think Scarlet Witch and Iron Man look the best.

As always, I absolutely love hearing from you guys. Please feel free to leave a thoughtful comment below with feedback on the art and your thoughts on this particular era below.

Thanks! Enjoy!