I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read.

“The Old Order Changeth!”

Whenever that seismic transformation of the Avengers roster was promised in a new issue of the monthly mag feature the Earth’s mightiest heroes, I was sure to plunk my silver down. During the nineteen-eighties, when I was at my most devoted as a comic book consumer, most superhero adventures were defined by relative stability. With rare, fleeting exceptions, for example, the Fantastic Four was always comprised of the same quartet. The Avengers were different. They were prone to scrambling their lineup from the very beginning. (The Defenders were yet more dynamic in their assemblages of personnel, but that’s a matter for a different day.) I found the big narrative swerves to be thrilling, and that’s precisely was I expected to get when I claimed by copy of The Avengers #211.

Written by Jim Shooter, who was then Marvel’s editor-in-chief and kept reassigning himself scribe duties on The Avengers, and pencilled by Gene Colan, the issue begins with the declaration that change is coming. Captain America is the chairman of the group, and he insists the roster has gotten too bloated. He wants to reduce the number of active Avengers down to a tidy six. The preliminary plan is to simply cut a few members, but then a whole slew of applicants literally come through the front door of Avengers mansion.

As Moon Knight grumpily explains, the crew of costumed prospects didn’t show up because they saw Avengers openings in the want ads and were looking for work. Instead, they were compelled to stroll over to Fifth Avenue by unknown forces. Before the agitated do-gooders can determine who’s pulling the strings, they are further manipulated to start using their powers.

It’s one of the sturdiest tropes in all of superhero comics. When the good guys encounter each other, they need to duke it out between themselves before they get down to the business of disposing of the bad guy. Some straining of logic is often required to make the fisticuffs happen, so Shooter goes right ahead and makes logic immaterial in his plotting. The superheroes are fighting each other because someone is making them do it, like a kid smashing action figures together.

In short order, it’s revealed that the outside figure treating the valiant heroes like playthings is the mysterious Moondragon. A powerful telepath who hails from Los Angeles but spends most of her time engaged in intergalactic adventures, Moondragon is herself a former Avenger. She has evidently decided to take it upon herself to assume a consultant role to assist her former teammates in addressing their HR issues. Like most outside consultants, she’s more of a nuisance than a help. Pay attention, kids. There’s a good lesson there for all you little future business leaders.

After Moondragon makes her exit, the Avengers get back to the nitty gritty of roster management. As with any workplace reorganization, interpersonal concerns and professional aspirations come into play (Wonder Man, for instance, exits the team because he wants to concentrate on his acting career). Like a ruthless hedge fund bro, Cap gets the downsizing he demanded. The Avengers are down to a compact half dozen. As countless organizations have discovered over the years, major change isn’t all that easy. Just ten issues later, the Avengers would go through the same process all over again.

Previous entries in this series (and there are a LOT of them) can be found by clicking on the “My Misspent Youth” tag.