Follow TV Tropes

Following

Comic Book / The Avengers (Kurt Busiek)
aka: Kurt Busieks Avengers

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9cd3b876bc2420d162cfdc888de2f67c.jpg
It wouldn't be a George Pérez cover if it hadn't loads of characters.
Kurt Busiek had a long Comic Book Run in The Avengers, alongside George Pérez and other artists, starting in 1998.

It started with Heroes Return, a massive story that sent all the surviving Avengers that had ever been (up to that date) against Morgan Le Fay. After that, the team was reduced to a more manageable size of seven regular members and two reservists, but Continuity Porn and guest stars continued to appear. Justice and Firestar, former members of the New Warriors, were the newest members of the team, and two new characters, Triathlon and Silverclaw, were introduced and eventually added to the team.

Among other storylines, the Scarlet Witch learns that her mutant ability is actually a power to control chaos magic, which she tries to use to resurrect Wonder Man from the dead, leading her into a Love Triangle with Wonder Man and The Vision. A mysterious cult called the Triune Understanding attempts to stir up bad publicity against the Avengers, and Carol Danvers falls into alcoholism and is removed from the team, though she later returns.

Some specific story arcs set in this period are:


Busiek left the Avengers shortly after the team was reimagined in the Ultimate Marvel universe as The Ultimates, fearing that this new version would overshadow the original group.


Tropes:

  • Air-Vent Passageway: In issue #9, Triathlon and Hawkeye use this trick.
  • All According to Plan: The cross-through "Live Kree or Die" ends with Cap confronting the Supreme Intelligence, pointing out the number of rather suspicious coincidences through the event, and how he figures the SI arranged them for its own benefit. It says nothing, but the narration notes how things have worked out well for it - the Lunatic Legion are gone, and it's got a whole bunch of humans to study at its leisure.
  • Alternate Company Equivalent: To JLA (1997). Much like how that was a return to basics after years of stuff like "Justice League Detroit" and Justice League International was for the Justice League of America, this was to the Avengers after stuff like The Crossing and Heroes Reborn. Both even start off with line-ups with classic members: JLA featuring a return to the Big Seven only with Wally West and Kyle Rayner replacing Barry Allen and Hal Jordan respectively; this run started with Captain America, Iron Man (complete with it being the classic Tony Stark), Thor, Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and Ms. Marvel (albeit going by "Warbird"), and being joined by new members Justice and Firestar as reservists initially.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Justice used to idolize the Avengers, and now he's working alongside them!
  • Back from the Dead: Wonder Man was dead, but the Scarlet Witch is so strong in her magic that she managed to bring him back by sheer power of love.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • Wonder Man only ever tends to appear when Wanda is in danger. After a few issues of this, the implications of using Simon as, essentially, a beat-stick start to bother Wanda.
    • When the Avengers are getting attacked by some of Moses Magnum's goons, one starts crowing about how well they're doing when someone off-screen bellows "I say thee..." The henchman, recognising only one person says that, has just enough time to get out an "aww" before it's Hammer Time.
  • Blessed with Suck: A major source for angst with Firestar is that she isn't immune to the microwave effects of her Mutant powers, and using it too much could sterilize her. Of course, once the Avengers find out about this, Hank Pym manages to fix that no problemo.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: The Squadron Supreme's jerkiness and saber rattling turns out to be because they're being controlled by The Controller.
  • Came Back Wrong: The Grim Reaper resurrects Captain Marvel, Hellcat, Doctor Druid and Thunderstrike to get revenge on the Avengers. They look like animated corpses with glowing eyes, and are under his control.
  • Church of Happyology: The Triune Understanding cult is clearly supposed to be based on Scientology. Their legal reprisal against all public criticism emulates it in particular.
  • Clones Are People, Too: Vision becomes angry and resentful after Wonder Man's resurrection. But not because of the Love Triangle: it's because Vision's mind is based on that of Simon. Jazz, literature, chess... everything he likes comes from him. He could dismiss it and be his own person while Simon was dead, but now that he's alive, he feels like an Expendable Clone.
  • Continuity Nod: When the team goes to visit Project: Pegasus, they have trouble getting in, thanks to the Squadron Supreme's slander. Warbird helps by recognizing a nameless flunky as a guy who tried taking her fingerprints way back when she originally joined the Avengers, and whom she had threatened with grievous bodily harm. And he remembers her, proving the team are who they say they are.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Imus Champion, who the Avengers and the Squadron Supreme face off against, has contingencies for literally everything the teams can throw at him, so much so it can look pretty contrived.
  • Doing in the Scientist: For decades, the Scarlet Witch had been defined as a mutant with a vaguely science-based power to alter probabilities, who supplemented this power with some study of magic. Busiek had Wanda's mentor Agatha Harkness reveal to her that her mutant power was actually to control chaos magic, and that she had been unconsciously using that magic in everything she had done — which may sound familiar because the Marvel Cinematic Universe eventually used a similar explanation from the same character.
  • Dramatic Irony: Carol Danvers initially refuses to tell the Avengers about her de-powering because she figures it'll scupper her chances of joining when the founders are working out the roster. A few pages later, Cap recommends Carol because she clearly wants to be on the team. Had Carol just told everyone about what'd happened, things would've gone so much easier for all concerned...
  • Epic Fail: Issue 4 begins with many Avengers trying to stop Whirlwind robbing a bank. Unfortunately, there's so many Avengers they all trip over one another, and he manages to make a clean getaway. For added humiliation, it's all caught on camera.
  • Exact Words: Vision explains to Wanda that their marriage vows specified "till death do us part". He considers his being smashed by Morgan as sufficient to count as death to release her from her vows. Wanda... isn't tremendously taken with this reasoning and storms out.
  • Foreshadowing: During the Avengers' anniversary celebration, Ultron makes a one-panel appearance declaring his intention to get his latest shot at revenge soon, leading in to Ultron Unlimited.
  • Giver of Lame Names: When Beast and Carol Danvers are talking about her needing a rename now that she's lost her Binary powers, Hank suggests a few new titles for her, then admits that, since he's been going by "Beast", he's probably not the best person to ask. Carol still takes his suggestion of "Warbird" anyway, sticking with it until House of M.
  • Half the Man He Used to Be: Vision is blown to pieces by Morgan Le Fay at the end of the Morgan Conquest storyline. He stays that way a long time after, while being repaired. During this time he can manifest only as an intangible ghost, but still helps as Mission Control.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity:
    • A recurring theme for the first few years of the run is the Triune Understanding's plot to do this to the Avengers (who traditionally don't get this treatment in-universe) by encouraging protests against them and creating fights just for the Avengers to lose.
    • Before them, the Squadron Supreme slander the Avengers by claiming they're Skrull imposters. The ensuing fight which occurs when the Squadron attacks them in the middle of a rescue mission doesn't help.
  • Hope Spot: After having been booted off the team, Warbird's sitting and sulking in a bar, when she hears about the Avengers fighting on the Moon. She determinedly storms out and tries to fly to the Moon, where she'll rub her usefulness in everyone's faces by saving the day. Only, thanks to her depowering, she can't break orbit anymore, and she falls back to Earth. Her failure drives her right back to the bar.
  • Insane Troll Logic: Carol resorts to this due to her drinking problem. Cap politely asks her to use her powers in a combat situation (y'know, as you'd expect the team leader to do)? Oh, you don't believe women can think for themselves, huh?!
  • Jumped at the Call: Justice, who'd tagged along for Heroes Return, gets offered a spot on the team, and takes it with dignity and restraint. Hard to blame him for it, though. Firestar, who was romantically linked with Justice at the time, is more reluctant.
  • Kid Hero: Silverclaw, a teenager from South America who's Jarvis's ward. She's also part-god, which is where her powers come from.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Warbird, again due to her short temper. It comes at the worst possible time, when the Avengers are trying to prove they're not evil Skrull imposters.
  • Love Triangle: Wanda wants to go back with Vision, but he rejects her, because he doesn't want her to suffer. Fortunately, Wonder Man is around...
  • Ms. Fanservice: The Scarlet Witch and Warbird. Even more so with Wanda, when Perez alters her outfit to a belly-dancer-like outfit (Wanda claims it's to get in touch with her "gypsy roots", but let's be honest here).
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: One issue begins with Firestar having A Moment examining the new costume Wasp's given her, which has a plunging neckline going down her stomach. She does take the costume, but she fills the gap in so there's no flesh on display.
  • Never My Fault: Warbird is court-martialed over reckless actions that nearly ruined the heroes' plans in several previous issues (and also nearly gets Lockjaw of the Inhumans killed). She defends herself only by claiming that she is being subjected to a Double Standard and that other characters are out to get her, leaving her friends with no choice but to vote her off the team.
  • New Meat: Justice and Firestar, though they do have lots of prior experience superheroing under their belt, being former New Warriors. But considering that the other members of the Avengers were superheroes far longer than them, they would come off as newbies.
  • Nice Guy: Duane Freeman, the team's government liaison, and about as unlike previous liaison Henry Gyrich as it's possible to be. Tony in particular finds his niceness off-putting. He' revealed to be a member of the Triune Understanding, which causes some awkwardness with the Avengers.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The Grim Reaper's latest insane attempt at lashing out at the Avengers actually helps fix his brother Simon's vitality impairment.
  • Not So Similar: Madame Masque thinks that her father Count Nefaria and her former boyfriend Iron Man are both the same scum, feigning concern to steal her stuff. Nefaria is now demolishing the Avengers while she waits unseen in a nearby forest, so that when Nefaria kills the Avengers she can use her own secret weapon to kill him, solving both her problems in one stroke. But her clone had other ideas: she stole the weapon from Masque, shows up to help... and Nefaria kills her (without knowing that she was a clone) in a second with his laser vision. Masque then compares the glee of his father after seemingly killing her with the anguished cry of Iron Man, realizes they are not the same... and jumps to grab the weapon.
  • Oh, Crap!: A henchman working for Moses Magnum is gloating about how the Avengers have been beaten, until he hears someone yell out "I say thee..." The henchman has time to let off an "aww, man" before it's Hammer Time.
  • Poor Communication Kills: Tony catches Carol sneaking a quick drink before a press conference, and quickly figures out exactly what's going on, but doesn't say anything because of his own issues with alcoholism making him think it's "not his place".
  • Power Incontinence: Moses Magnum, earth-shaking supervillain, stays in his private resort / floating fortress. Turns out when Wonder Man body-checks him onto dry land that there was a reason for this - after his tussles with the X-Men back in X-Men #118-119 (February-March 1979) and Deathlok and the Black Panther in Deathlok #22-23 (May-June 1993), his control of his power was stripped from him by Apocalypse. As a result, Magnum can't set foot on land without causing uncontrollable quakes. Like the land he's on at that very moment. He's buried by an avalanche.
  • Put on a Bus:
    • After a few issues, Hawkeye leaves to go take over the Thunderbolts. He doesn't return to the Avengers until Geoff Johns' run.
    • The Swordsman and Magdalene, two supporting Avengers who've been hanging around since The Gathering, leave Earth-616 in the annual. As of 2022, they haven't popped back up again.
  • Retail Therapy: One issue begins with Wanda having gone on a spree, since Jan always advises it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work so well for Wanda, and she's got Pietro carrying a small mountain's worth of boxes.
  • Self-Serving Memory: Grim Reaper goes on a rant about how his brother Simon was their dad's favorite, and gets even more shrieky when Vision, who has Simon's memories, points out this isn't true. Simon backs it up when he comes back for good.
  • Sequel Hook: The first annual has the Squadron Supreme using an interdimensional doorway to go back to their reality.
  • Took a Level in Badass: The Scarlet Witch, with her Chaos Magic, becomes one of the strongest members of the Avengers.
  • Took a Level in Dumbass: Justice was a confident leader when he was with the New Warriors, but here he's portrayed like a Naïve Newcomer who keeps making rookie mistakes. This is lampshaded a few times and explained by his being intimidated by the pressure of being an Avenger and working with more famous heroes.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Carol Danvers, but there's a reason for it. During Busiek's run, she was dealing with a growing alcohol addiction due to her shame over her decreased power levels.

Alternative Title(s): Kurt Busieks Avengers

Top