West Coast Avengers #1-9
Originally released in 1985
Written by Steve Englehart
Art by Al Milgrom
The Avengers have had a few spin-off teams over the years, with the West Coast team being one of the better-known. Set in Los Angeles and led by Hawkeye (Clint Barton, not Kate Bishop), the team is a rather eclectic bunch, consisting of Mockingbird (Hawkeye's wife, though they met and married shortly before this; a biologist turned agent of SHIELD), Iron Man (Tony Stark, one of the founding Avengers), Tigra (Greer Nelson, a woman who was transformed into a were-cat), and Wonder Man (Simon Williams, a businessman turned supervillain turned superhero turned stuntman).
The team needs a sixth member in order to be considered a full team, though six is the limit, apparently. (there was a four issue miniseries that detailed the team's origin; it's presumably explained there, but it seems rather arbitrary, seemingly only existing for the sake of drama) Going from the classic Avengers comics to this makes for a rather amusing contrast; when he joined the team back in Avengers 16, Hawkeye was constantly butting heads with Captain America, feeling like he could do a better job and not following orders. Now that he is running a team, Hawkeye has to deal with the same sort of problems that Cap did.
The series starts off with a crossover with the Vision and Scarlet Witch series, as Ultron (mark 12, the newest model) has teamed up with the Grim Reaper (Wonder Man's brother) to kill Wonder Man and the Vision. The Grim Reaper reveals a side to himself that I previously wasn't aware of - he's openly and blatantly racist.
Why he decided to hire multiple black men (including the unfortunately-named Black Panther villain M'Baku the Man-Ape) to work for him is unclear, though the original Masters of Evil was founded by a literal Nazi who did something similar, so maybe they relish in the opportunity to boss people around. The climax of the story is handled in the Vision and Scarlet Witch series, though Ultron mark 12 manages to escape.
In the middle of all of this, Hank Pym arrives on the West Coast, serving purely in a support role. This story comes after his divorce with Janet and the incident that tainted his character to the point where he's never truly recovered from it; he's in a better state of mind now, but when he starts getting menacing phone calls from Ultron, it doesn't help.
This run also introduces a new villain called Master Pandemonium. (though given a panel from a later story involving Scarlet Witch's magically-created children, I tend to refer to him as "Babyhands") He can summon demons by removing his limbs or through a star-shaped hole in his chest. This doesn't exactly result in an intimidating figure when he can wind up like the Black Knight from Monty Python as a result of his abilities.
Tigra is struggling with her feline side, which seems to be overtaking her mind. This manifests itself in her being extremely territorial (and difficult when new people are around), along with her being so affectionate that she produces about three soap operas worth of romance plots. (she hits on Hank, Wonder Man, a cat man from another dimension...) Naturally, this leads to them seeking out Doctor Michael Morbius so he can use a magic ritual to send the team to the dimension of the cat people.
While the West Coast Avengers are there, Hank discovers that Ultron has changed his ways and wants to form a legitimate father-son bond with Hank, rather than the twisted and violent Oedipal complex that they've usually had. This doesn't quite go as planned, though it gives hope that even Ultron of all characters can find redemption.
As for the sixth member, Hawkeye really wants the Thing to join, since Ben Grimm is currently separated from the Fantastic Four. (Johnny Storm got into a relationship with Alicia Masters; I'm pretty sure Alicia was replaced by a Skrull at this point, though neither Johnny or Ben know that) However, another hero is drawn to the Avengers - Firebird, a newcomer to the scene. She wants to be an Avenger, but she's too nervous to ask and Hawkeye's too caught up in wanting Ben to join that he doesn't consider it.
Despite Ben's constant refusal in no uncertain terms, Hawkeye gradually wears him down as he starts to have fun with the superhero life again. It doesn't seem like it will last long, though, so maybe Firebird will get her chance soon enough.
West Coast Avengers was a fun alternative to the Avengers; I was expecting it to be a little more silly, but I enjoyed what I read. Hawkeye and the Thing definitely feel like cases where the writer has their voices down right away, while Mockingbird and Wonder Man are fun additions to the Avengers. (Iron Man doesn't really get much to do here) Aside from Wonder Man's acting career, it hasn't done much with the Los Angeles setting yet, but the various plots that this book covers are interesting and it's got an entertaining line-up.
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