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Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers #14
Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers, Vol. 14
Collects Avengers (1963) #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 and material from FOOM #12.
Prepare yourself for one of the greatest sagas in Avengers history: the Celestial Madonna! Throughout his AVENGERS run, writer Steve Englehart slowly built the mysterious Mantis into one of the '70s most intriguing characters. Here, her tale reaches its cosmic climax in a series of adventures spanning space and time! The action begins when Kang the Conqueror arrives on the scene - and before it's over Hawkeye will return; an Avenger will die; the Legion of the Unliving shall rise; and Kang, Rama-Tut and Immortus will have time-twisted you in two! And that's just for starters, as this volume presents the origin of the Vision and the android Avenger's wedding to the Scarlet Witch!
Prepare yourself for one of the greatest sagas in Avengers history: the Celestial Madonna! Throughout his AVENGERS run, writer Steve Englehart slowly built the mysterious Mantis into one of the '70s most intriguing characters. Here, her tale reaches its cosmic climax in a series of adventures spanning space and time! The action begins when Kang the Conqueror arrives on the scene - and before it's over Hawkeye will return; an Avenger will die; the Legion of the Unliving shall rise; and Kang, Rama-Tut and Immortus will have time-twisted you in two! And that's just for starters, as this volume presents the origin of the Vision and the android Avenger's wedding to the Scarlet Witch!
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2014
13 people are currently reading
102 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 11, 2021
So, here we have one of my least favourite storylines in Avengers history: the Celestial Madonna. I never liked Mantis in the Avengers (I think she fits in much better with the Guardians of the Galaxy), I never liked Swordsman and this story features them both rather heavily.
The only reason I'm rating this one so highly is because it also features the revelations about the Vision's origins and his wedding to Wanda.
The other members of the team (Hawkeye, Iron Man and Thor) feel like bystanders in this volume. Oh, and Iron Man's faceplate should NEVER have a nose! Thank goodness that design faux pas didn't last long...
My next book: Love-Life
The only reason I'm rating this one so highly is because it also features the revelations about the Vision's origins and his wedding to Wanda.
The other members of the team (Hawkeye, Iron Man and Thor) feel like bystanders in this volume. Oh, and Iron Man's faceplate should NEVER have a nose! Thank goodness that design faux pas didn't last long...
My next book: Love-Life
April 4, 2018
This one was good too. Really love the art (as always) and I think I may be biased on this, but I really like Kang so, I may be liking it a bit too much for my own good, maybe it wasn't that good story-wise but I liked it either way because I'm a sucker for Kang. Oh well \o/
June 4, 2022
This book collects the 1974 and 75 issues of the Avengers (nos. 129-135 and Giant-Size Avengers 2, 3, and 4). Back when I was 15 and 16, I bought many, but not all of these issues off the racks, and while I eventually acquired them all as back issues, reading the story of the Celestial Madonna combined with the origin of the Vision and three different attacks by Kang out of order meant I didn't quite grasp the whole thing.
Englehart was one of my very favorite comic book writers, and the Avengers was always my favorite book. I'm glad to say they hold up almost 50 years later. The artwork is better than I remembered - you've got Sal Buscema and Joe Staton as a team on many of these issues, Dave Cockrum on a couple of the Giant-Size ones, George Tuska and Don Heck on one each. Lots of different story-telling methods, a ridiculous amount of characters to show, and it all hangs together nicely.
The Celestial Madonna story is fundamentally a little ridiculous, but I still enjoyed the way Englehart unfolded it, and the time traveling and limbo elements were very enjoyable. The best parts, though, were just the way the characters interacted - Englehart wrote the Avengers based on their personalities, and what would be the most interesting things to see them do. A lot happens in these comic books, but mostly I just enjoy hanging around with these people.
Englehart was one of my very favorite comic book writers, and the Avengers was always my favorite book. I'm glad to say they hold up almost 50 years later. The artwork is better than I remembered - you've got Sal Buscema and Joe Staton as a team on many of these issues, Dave Cockrum on a couple of the Giant-Size ones, George Tuska and Don Heck on one each. Lots of different story-telling methods, a ridiculous amount of characters to show, and it all hangs together nicely.
The Celestial Madonna story is fundamentally a little ridiculous, but I still enjoyed the way Englehart unfolded it, and the time traveling and limbo elements were very enjoyable. The best parts, though, were just the way the characters interacted - Englehart wrote the Avengers based on their personalities, and what would be the most interesting things to see them do. A lot happens in these comic books, but mostly I just enjoy hanging around with these people.
February 16, 2016
The Marvel Masterworks volumes are fantastic reprints of the early years of Marvel comics. A fantastic resource to allow these hard to find issues to be read by everyone. Very recommended to everyone and Highly recommended to any comic fan.
September 25, 2023
Us old guys like to bemoan the crossovers. Things were so much better way back when, we say as we sit around the Internet equivalent of playing checkers on checkerboard on top of a barrel at the general store. This book is proof positive that these sort of sales gimmicks are nothing new, as fans were required to buy both the monthly title and the double-sized, twice as expensive Giant-Size issues as well every month in order to get the complete story.
I think that I enjoyed the story more this second time reading it, as the Swordsman/Cotati/tree marriage bit was harder for me to swallow the first time around. Whenever I see stuff like that now I just shake my head and think Ah...the '70s. To be fair, none of these guys expected to have their work dissected in deluxe hardcover decades later or to ever appear on the big screen. We've come a long way, folks.
I am sucker for Kang and all of his timeslip ret-con goodness. This is nowhere near as confusing as all of the timeslips in Avengers: Endgame, though.
I think that I enjoyed the story more this second time reading it, as the Swordsman/Cotati/tree marriage bit was harder for me to swallow the first time around. Whenever I see stuff like that now I just shake my head and think Ah...the '70s. To be fair, none of these guys expected to have their work dissected in deluxe hardcover decades later or to ever appear on the big screen. We've come a long way, folks.
I am sucker for Kang and all of his timeslip ret-con goodness. This is nowhere near as confusing as all of the timeslips in Avengers: Endgame, though.
September 29, 2023
This volume features a lot of my favourite things.
It has one of my favourite plotlines in Steve Englehart's run, the Celestial Madonna Saga. It features the origin of probably my favourite Avenger, the Vision, and it heavily features one of my favourite Avengers villains, Kang the Conqueror.
Not only that, the story of the enigmatic Mantis and the Swordsman's redemption arc is tragically bittersweet and learning more about the Kree, Skrull and Cotati origins is fascinating.
Sal Buscema's art is fantastic too.
A complete joy for me to read!
It has one of my favourite plotlines in Steve Englehart's run, the Celestial Madonna Saga. It features the origin of probably my favourite Avenger, the Vision, and it heavily features one of my favourite Avengers villains, Kang the Conqueror.
Not only that, the story of the enigmatic Mantis and the Swordsman's redemption arc is tragically bittersweet and learning more about the Kree, Skrull and Cotati origins is fascinating.
Sal Buscema's art is fantastic too.
A complete joy for me to read!
July 28, 2018
The Celestial Madonna saga is a story that's better to read about than to actually read. Clunky at the beginning, it devolves into issue after issue of flashbacks that barely pertain to the Avengers at all.
November 27, 2020
Very fun with well done characters.
The way Steve Englehart and Roy Thomas reach back into the past to frame their stories is commendable and really brings the Marvel Universe together and fills out it's history nicely.
The way Steve Englehart and Roy Thomas reach back into the past to frame their stories is commendable and really brings the Marvel Universe together and fills out it's history nicely.
January 11, 2024
Love Steve and Roy. Sal is a legend (albeit lesser well known than his brother, Big John). However, this is a pretty mid Avengers arc.
Lots of fun cameos and appearances, but not my favorite storyline.
Lots of fun cameos and appearances, but not my favorite storyline.
March 24, 2017
One of my favorite eras of The Avengers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews