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in: Comics, Avengers Annual Vol 1, Sal Buscema/Cover Artist,
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Avengers Annual Vol 1 4

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Quote1 You are a coward, Molto! When we sent you to the surface months ago, you were defeated by the one named Thor! Now you fear them all! Quote2
—Jinku

Appearing in "The Invasion of The Lava Men!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #5

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  • Avengers' Helicopter

Synopsis for "The Invasion of The Lava Men!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #5
The Avengers return to their mansion to inspect the damage caused by the battle with the Hulk. They disband for the time being and Captain America teaches Rick Jones some acrobatic maneuvers.

Days later, a mysterious high-pitched sound destroys a computer in one of Tony Stark's Long Island factories and Iron Man is informed. Meanwhile, Giant-Man and the Wasp are conducting experiments inside a large anthill. They are also affected by the noise and escape before the anthill collapses. In his medical office, Don Blake reads about the effects of the noise in the newspaper. Thor meets Captain America and Rick Jones, who are still training, and they witness another shockwave. The six heroes investigate the source of this new unknown threat.

Meanwhile, in an army base in the west of the country, a strange rock breaks the surface of the earth and the soldiers investigate. Overseeing the events is General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. They are interrupted by his daughter Betty, accompanied by Bruce Banner. Banner is deep in thought, mentally reliving the accident that changed him into the Hulk, as well as battling against his former allies the Avengers. His daydream is broken by General Ross, who demands that Banner investigate the giant rock. Banner deduces that the rock is actually being pushed to the surface by something underneath.

Beneath the ground, it turns out that Banner was correct. The Lava Men have created a machine that slowly pushes the "Living Rock" to the surface. Molto, one of the Lava Men, pleads with Basallo, the king of the Lava Men. Molto wishes for the Lava Men to stop raising the rock, as the humans are not evil and do not deserve this. He is however struck down by Jinku, the Lava Man witch doctor, and accused of cowardice because of his defeat by Thor.

Back on the surface, the army is about to destroy the rock with missiles when the Avengers arrive. Iron Man tries to cut through the rock, only to discover it is actually alive. He blasts underneath the rock to see what is below it and stumbles across some Lava Men. They overwhelm him with sheer numbers and begin to overheat his armor. At the last minute, Iron Man is saved by Thor and Captain America. Due to his immortality, Thor decides he is the only one that can continue. As he approaches, the Lava Men melt the earth below him, changing it into lava. Thor casually walks through it, to the Lava Men's amazement. Thor finds Basallo and Jinku, and demands that they stop raising the rock. Basallo explains the origin of the rock and that if anybody attempts to destroy it, it will explode with tremendous power. Their only hope is to push it to the surface before it explodes so that it will only destroy the surface life and not the entire planet. Thor tries to think of a way to save both the planet AND the life on the surface.

The Lava Men attempt to invade the surface and come face to face with Captain America. He fights bravely but is stopped when the Lava Men bind him with cinders. Rick Jones rushes to his aid and begins to break Cap free while Iron Man faces the Lava Men.

Elsewhere, Giant-Man and the Wasp have been analyzing the living rock and they find a patch that isn't pulsating. If this spot is struck with enough power, it should cause the rock to implode, rather than explode. They rush to find Thor and find Iron Man, Captain America and Rick Jones. Giant-Man lifts the Avengers' helicopter and blows back all the Lava Men with the spinning rotors. Rick Jones finally sets Cap free and they travel underground to find Thor.

Back on the surface, Bruce Banner is still carrying out his research when he turns into the Hulk. He hears the voices of his enemies, the Avengers, and proceeds towards them. The Avengers panic and try to lure Hulk away from the living rock. Thor attempts to join in the fight but is ambushed by Jinku. He points his witch doctor's rod at Thor and miraculously changes him back into Don Blake, as well as causing the tunnel to collapse. He flees, thinking that Thor is bewitched and able to change his form, leaving Blake injured in the rubble.

On the surface, the rest of the Avengers attempt to deal with the Hulk. Cap, Giant-Man and the Wasp have a plan. Using their growth capsules, Giant-Man and the Wasp taunt and tease the Hulk, luring him onto the living rock. They take him to the correct spot to strike and coax him into striking it, causing the living rock to implode.

Underground, Don Blake uses the last of his strength to change back into Thor as the tunnel completely caves in around him. He breaks free and confronts the Lava Men, convincing them to stop their invasion and to return to their own land.

Outside, General Ross declares the threat to be over and Betty rushes off to look for Bruce, finding him injured, but alive. As the Avengers leave, they receive a "condition red" distress call from the Teen Brigade.

Appearing in "The Mighty Avengers Meet The Masters Of Evil!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #6

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  • Zemo's heli-overcraft

Synopsis for "The Mighty Avengers Meet The Masters Of Evil!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #6
En route to respond to the Teen Brigade's distress call, Captain America gives the other Avengers a demonstration of skill with his shield. Cap thanks Iron Man for upgrading his shield with transistors, making the shield even easier to use. He thinks of Bucky and begins to dwell on the past.

Prior to the Teen Brigade's distress signal, over the jungles of South America, a pilot flies a plane along a perilous route to bring supplies to his master, Baron Zemo. Zemo examines the latest scientific journals, looking for a formula to dissolve the mysterious "Adhesive X," which has permanently bonded his hood to his face. He angrily discovers in a newspaper that Captain America is alive, and explains to the pilot that Captain America caused his hood to be glued to his face. The pilot leaves Zemo, with instructions to find three people...

In present day New York, the Teen Brigade are still waiting for the Avengers to arrive. Tom arrives and explains that the situation has escalated and that the Black Knight is flying over the city, spraying a mysterious chemical onto the streets below. After a brief time, the city is brought to a standstill, with people and vehicles alike stuck on the spot. The Melter appears, bragging about how Zemo has upgraded his melting ray so that it affects all metals, instead of only iron. Radioactive Man joins him, and they continue to spray adhesive and stamp out any resistance from the police. Suddenly, the Avengers appear and battle the villains. Unaware of the trap, Captain America and Giant-Man are stuck to the ground by the Adhesive X. As the Wasp and Thor hold off the villains, Iron Man cuts through the ground beneath the trapped heroes and drags the pavement away with a tow truck, heroes still attached. The Black Knight appears and charges the truck. Thor leaps ahead and knocks the Black Knight off-balance. As the Avengers escape, Zemo arrives and is updated by the other villains. He realizes that if anyone can find a solution to Adhesive X, it is the Avengers, so he decides to wait until they have found one.

Back in the Avengers HQ, the heroes try in vain to remove the adhesive. The Wasp remembers that the villain Paste-Pot Pete is an authority on pastes and adhesives. He helps the Avengers, in an effort to reduce his prison sentence. Iron Man retrieves the "super-dissolver" and frees Cap and Giant-Man. They realize that each of the villains had been gathered because they had an advantage against certain members of the team, and decide to switch enemies to confuse them and gain the upper hand. Cap contacts the Teen Brigade, as they are also vital to the plan.

Elsewhere, Zemo and his newly-formed Masters of Evil prepare for their next attack on the city. The pilot is left alone to refill Adhesive X canisters, but is ambushed by the Teen Brigade, who replace the adhesive with the super-dissolver. Unknowingly, the Masters of Evil take the dissolver and spray it over the city, freeing all the previously-trapped citizens. Thor leaps into action, and targets the Black Knight. After a brief duel in the air, Thor captures him.

Down on the street, Giant-Man approaches Radioactive Man. With Iron Man's help he outwits the villain and encases him in lead to nullify his radioactive powers. Iron Man is suddenly attacked by the Melter but manages to escape. Tricked into melting a fire hydrant, he is captured when the water short-circuits his melting device.

Back at the Masters of Evil's base, Zemo discovers the Teen Brigade and hypnotizes them with his Hypno-Ray. Before he can instruct them, Zemo is attacked by Captain America. They are equally matched, until the pilot recovers and shoots Cap from behind, grazing his temple. Before they escape, the pilot decides to finish Cap off. He is thwarted however, when the Wasp secretly pushes a nail into the barrel of his pistol, causing the bullet to miss its target. Giant-Man pursues the fleeing pilot and captures him, while Zemo escapes. The Avengers are annoyed that they didn't capture Zemo, but Cap confidently informs the team that the canister that Zemo stole wasn't the dissolver but is in fact tear gas, swapped earlier by the Teen Brigade. They see Zemo's heli-ship crash in the distance, and leave the police to pick him up.

Solicit Synopsis

The Avengers at their mightiest - with Thor - the Hulk - Captain America - Iron Man - and the long-remembered Giant-Man! A blast!

Notes

  • The splash page for "The Invasion of the Lava Men!" has been slightly widened from the original to fit the page properly.

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