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Avengers (1963) #123-125, 129-135
Avengers the Complete Celestial Madonna Saga
Follow the fateful saga of the Avenger named Mantis - a tale three decades in the telling! It all begins with the revelations of the Star-Stalker, and soon drags Earth's Mightiest Heroes into a cosmic clash between Captain Marvel and Thanos! But when Kang comes to the present day in search of the Celestial Madonna, Mantis' life is forever altered! In one of the greatest Avengers epics ever told, the besotted Swordsman will go to great lengths to save the woman he loves. Wedding bells will chime, and Mantis will embrace her destiny! COLLECTING: AVENGERS (1963) 124-125, 129-135; CAPTAIN MARVEL (1968) 33; GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS 2-4; AVENGERS: CELESTIALQUEST 1-8
504 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
6 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Steve Englehart
1,395 books97 followersSee also John Harkness.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 24, 2022
3.25 stars. The best bits of this book was the Avengers and Giant-Size Avengers issues by Englehart. 3.5 star material. I’m getting ready to read the Empyre omnibus by Slott and Ewing and read this and Kree Skrull War as some preliminary reading. I learned a lot of Marvel history in this one. Things, places and events that I’ve always known existed in the Marvel universe, I got to see how and why some of those things came to be. Read about the origins of the Kree and Cotati and why they had beef. Learned how the blue area of the moon and Uatu’s city up there came to be. Learned who Mantis father was. Some cool stuff. I had read only the first issue of Empyre back when if first dropped. There was a character in there that I got to see how he came to be in this book. Plus as an added bonus, I got a bunch of Kang the Conqueror action. The Avengers ended up having to take him on multiple times in here. Luckily, they got some help from Rama-Tut and Imortus. The more I read Englehart’s stuff, the more I like him as a writer. Had a lot of fun with his Avengers stories in here and with his Vision and Scarlett Witch book Inread last year. Makes me even more excited to read his West Coast Avengers books I have. The second half of this book contains a more modern story, Avengers: Celestial Quest. While I did like this a little more than most people on here, I still feel it was as just ok. 3 star material.
May 24, 2017
The original Celestial Madonna story took place before I started collecting The Avengers, and I didn't realize there was a sequel series recently produced. I enjoyed seeing all of it in one place- Mantis is a character who never really got the spotlight she was due despite being so prominently featured in this storyline.
It was good to see her, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch in particular then and now. They all went through a lot of changes over the years, and I liked seeing them interact with all their changes behind them.
It was good to see her, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch in particular then and now. They all went through a lot of changes over the years, and I liked seeing them interact with all their changes behind them.
December 21, 2022
Eesh. I wanted to love this so much more than I did. I had fond memories of this tale from my younger comic reading days, and such strong associations of it with "Avengers Forever," Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco's (RIP) brilliant revision and reconstruction of Marvel history, in which the Kree and time traveling aspects of this story figure so prominently. And the cover of Avengers #133, on which a towering Kang demands that we all "bid tomorrow goodbye," is so, so good, and promises so much that the actual story doesn't deliver.
I think the main problem is that, even at this point, most comic writers weren't really planning more than a month or two ahead. I wanted to believe that Steve Englehart had some grand design in mind for the revelation and fate of the Celestial Madonna, but there are so many retcons within such a narrow scope of issues that I can't believe that he did. Why tell one origin for Mantis, and then ten issues later offer a completely different origin, with the thin explanation that she was being manipulated with implanted memories? There was no real sense of mystery created there, not in the way later characters like Wolverine would be shrouded in uncertainty over the course of years. It just happens too fast and comes out too pat. And from dialogue and internal thoughts we get from Immortus make it clear that the revelation a couple issues later, that he's another future iteration of Kang, wasn't always the plan. I'm glad that's where Steve landed! It's infinitely more interesting than just having another, separate tie traveler around, and the tension between Kang's conquering "present" and his philosophical "future" is delicious. Steve does a much better job injecting enduring mystery into Kang's character by hinting that there's a fourth identity for him somewhere in his timeline, in addition to Immortus and Rama-Tut (and one intriguing panel featuring a notable FF villain fueled speculation for years, which is fun even if it turned out to be wrong).
Libra is another character Steve didn't seem to know what to do with, fobbing us off with some explanation in the final pages about how no one but a master of balance could be better to help the Madonna find her destiny. But we saw very little indication that Libra had anything to do with that process, except lamely claiming he instigated a battle between the Avengers and the Zodiac to aid in Mantis' development somehow. The various attempts to rectify Mantis' character and her treatment of Swordsman read like a belated realization that making her a hamfisted, amoral sexpot was maybe not a great look. The issue with the Titanic Three is a clear space-filler. Wanda's tutelage as a "true witch" happens in he space of, I dunno, a day, and feels very unfulfilling. Dropping Dormammu in as a major villain in the final chapter feels out of nowhere in a conclusion to the whole arc that was already quite random.
I'm heaping a lot of scorn on this, which is mainly because in my mind's eye I had made it into something more akin to the Dark Phoenix Saga than it is. But where Steve excels is in the worldbuilding he gets to indulge in in the last four or so issues of the arc, where Mantis and Vision go on separate journeys through space and time in search of their origins. You have the sense that this is the kind of wide-angle storytelling he'd prefer to be doing, as it has very little to do with the actiony adventures of the Avengers (and the three Assemblers who accompany Mantin on her voyage even hang a lampshade on how useless and extraneous they are, which I appreciate); the history of the Kree and the Cotati is very interesting, and makes some telling parallels with then-contemporary American political conflicts between races and philosophies. I'm not as sold on Vision's origin, and in fact most of it would be called into question by John Byrne and then retconned away by Busiek, but at least I can appreciate how it sets up Vision's need for familial connection and his later self-doubt when it's all wiped away.
As I said, the climax is a mess, but I do like the Attack of the Four Kangs that gives our Regular Avengers something to do, finally, while Mantis puts a bow on her destiny. It finally makes use of the idea that time traveling villains don't have to act linearly. And Vision and Scarlet Witch's rapprochement and wedding is sincerely sweet.
The art is serviceable to kinda "blech" throughout, with the best work done by Sal Buscema, of course. But even his pencils suffer from some muddy, rushed-seeming inking. Not the pinnacle of comic work on any level here. But hey, it's ambitious, it's multi-pronged, and I'm sure everyone was doing the best they could under tight deadlines.
I think the main problem is that, even at this point, most comic writers weren't really planning more than a month or two ahead. I wanted to believe that Steve Englehart had some grand design in mind for the revelation and fate of the Celestial Madonna, but there are so many retcons within such a narrow scope of issues that I can't believe that he did. Why tell one origin for Mantis, and then ten issues later offer a completely different origin, with the thin explanation that she was being manipulated with implanted memories? There was no real sense of mystery created there, not in the way later characters like Wolverine would be shrouded in uncertainty over the course of years. It just happens too fast and comes out too pat. And from dialogue and internal thoughts we get from Immortus make it clear that the revelation a couple issues later, that he's another future iteration of Kang, wasn't always the plan. I'm glad that's where Steve landed! It's infinitely more interesting than just having another, separate tie traveler around, and the tension between Kang's conquering "present" and his philosophical "future" is delicious. Steve does a much better job injecting enduring mystery into Kang's character by hinting that there's a fourth identity for him somewhere in his timeline, in addition to Immortus and Rama-Tut (and one intriguing panel featuring a notable FF villain fueled speculation for years, which is fun even if it turned out to be wrong).
Libra is another character Steve didn't seem to know what to do with, fobbing us off with some explanation in the final pages about how no one but a master of balance could be better to help the Madonna find her destiny. But we saw very little indication that Libra had anything to do with that process, except lamely claiming he instigated a battle between the Avengers and the Zodiac to aid in Mantis' development somehow. The various attempts to rectify Mantis' character and her treatment of Swordsman read like a belated realization that making her a hamfisted, amoral sexpot was maybe not a great look. The issue with the Titanic Three is a clear space-filler. Wanda's tutelage as a "true witch" happens in he space of, I dunno, a day, and feels very unfulfilling. Dropping Dormammu in as a major villain in the final chapter feels out of nowhere in a conclusion to the whole arc that was already quite random.
I'm heaping a lot of scorn on this, which is mainly because in my mind's eye I had made it into something more akin to the Dark Phoenix Saga than it is. But where Steve excels is in the worldbuilding he gets to indulge in in the last four or so issues of the arc, where Mantis and Vision go on separate journeys through space and time in search of their origins. You have the sense that this is the kind of wide-angle storytelling he'd prefer to be doing, as it has very little to do with the actiony adventures of the Avengers (and the three Assemblers who accompany Mantin on her voyage even hang a lampshade on how useless and extraneous they are, which I appreciate); the history of the Kree and the Cotati is very interesting, and makes some telling parallels with then-contemporary American political conflicts between races and philosophies. I'm not as sold on Vision's origin, and in fact most of it would be called into question by John Byrne and then retconned away by Busiek, but at least I can appreciate how it sets up Vision's need for familial connection and his later self-doubt when it's all wiped away.
As I said, the climax is a mess, but I do like the Attack of the Four Kangs that gives our Regular Avengers something to do, finally, while Mantis puts a bow on her destiny. It finally makes use of the idea that time traveling villains don't have to act linearly. And Vision and Scarlet Witch's rapprochement and wedding is sincerely sweet.
The art is serviceable to kinda "blech" throughout, with the best work done by Sal Buscema, of course. But even his pencils suffer from some muddy, rushed-seeming inking. Not the pinnacle of comic work on any level here. But hey, it's ambitious, it's multi-pronged, and I'm sure everyone was doing the best they could under tight deadlines.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2025
Its overall pretty good. The beginning arcs of the classic avengers have fun if chaotic plot lines and decent melodrama. But they are very wordy and take quite a while to read. That isnt necessarily a problem and its the style of the time.
The more modern arc I was not a big fan of. The romances were weak, the plot was merely ok, and in general it felt unfulfilling.
The origin of Mantis and Vision were fun issues.
The more modern arc I was not a big fan of. The romances were weak, the plot was merely ok, and in general it felt unfulfilling.
The origin of Mantis and Vision were fun issues.
March 31, 2021
The earlier part of this saga is terrific, and as someone who didn't read much Avengers, it made me want to check out more classic Avengers tales.
The latter 1/3 of this book, however, is a bit of a chore. The art is flashier and escapes beyond the confines of a 4 or 6-panel grid, but that's about it. The story is nowhere near as deep, interwoven, or nuanced.
The latter 1/3 of this book, however, is a bit of a chore. The art is flashier and escapes beyond the confines of a 4 or 6-panel grid, but that's about it. The story is nowhere near as deep, interwoven, or nuanced.
March 15, 2019
[Read before I restarted my Goodreads. Adding it now to count towards my reading challenge.]
I didn’t really enjoy the art of the older issues in this saga. It simply just wasn’t for me or my eyes. I do love Mantis enough that I powered through it though. So good. Mantis is hella powerful and I wish Marvel had adapted more of her comic power in the movies, but oh well.
I didn’t really enjoy the art of the older issues in this saga. It simply just wasn’t for me or my eyes. I do love Mantis enough that I powered through it though. So good. Mantis is hella powerful and I wish Marvel had adapted more of her comic power in the movies, but oh well.
April 18, 2017
The Avengers most divisive story gets the deluxe treatment in time for the second Guardians film which features the one who knows, Mantis, one of Marvel's most unpopular characters ever created. Among Avengers members perhaps only rivaled by 70's female Moondragon. Early on we're lead to believe to expect some universe-shattering epic that never quite materializes. Parts of the saga are enjoyable. And it would be remiss of an Avengers fan to pass over the Celestial Madonna story just because it's not top flight material. It's still Bronze Age Avengers and it delivers on Bronze Age-ness in buckets-full.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews