The Wonderful World of One-Shots

The Avengers have starred in several ongoing series of their own: the original Avengers series, Giant-Size Avengers, Marvel Triple Action, Marvel Super Action, West Coast Avengers, Avengers West Coast, Avengers Unplugged and the current Avengers series. They've also starred in limited series such as Avengers: Terminatrix Objective, and in a variety of one-shot publications. A one-shot is a comics title published only once, and the Avengers have starred in quite a few, some of which are detailed below. The listing for each one includes the title, date, principal creator credits, plot synopsis, cast lists and any additional notes required.

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Avengers: Death Trap, The Vault (1991 graphic novel)

By Danny Fingeroth, Ron Lim, Jim Sanders and Fred Fredricks.

Venom leads his fellow super-criminals in a mass escape attempt at the Vault, the United States government's prison for superhuman criminals, but the criminals are all recaptured by the Avengers with the aid of Freedom Force.

Avengers Assembled: Iron Man, Doctor Pym, Wasp, Captain America, Hawkeye, Vision II, Wonder Man, She-Hulk.

Other Characters: Venom, Truman Marsh, Guardsmen, Controller, Rhino, Hydro Man, Mentallo, Moonstone II, Speed Demon, Gorilla Man, Frenzy, Electro, Thunderball, Vapor, Griffin, Orka, Bullet, Freedom Force (Mystique, Blob, Avalanche, Pyro, Crimson Commando and Super Sabre), Ironclad, Goliath III, Titania II, Vermin, Klaw, Piledriver, Grey Gargoyle, Wrecker, X-Ray, Armadillo, Scarecrow, Rhino, Mister Hyde, Nekra, Powderkeg, Radioactive Man.

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Avengers: Emperor Doom (1987 graphic novel)

By David Michelinie (writer), Bob Hall (artist) and Bill Oakley (letterer), with conceptual input from Mark Gruenwald and Jim Shooter, and inking assistance by Keith Williams.

Doctor Doom uses the mind-controlling Purple Man as a means of taking over the entire world, but a small group of Avengers manage to resist Doom's control and overthrow his rule.

Avengers Assembled: Iron Man, Wasp, Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision II, Wonder Man, Tigra, Starfox, Mockingbird, Sub-Mariner (as non-member adversary turned ally), Machine Man (non-member cameo).

Other Characters: Purple Man, Doctor Doom, Edwin Jarvis, Ultron, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Fidel Castro, Power Man II and Hulk. Black Knight III, Captain Marvel II, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Thing, Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Storm, Magneto, She-Hulk, Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman appear in one-panel cameos in the conclusion of the story.

Note: This story takes place before West Coast Avengers # 1.

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Avengers Log # 1 (February, 1994)

This one-shot, researched and written by Peter Sanderson with new wraparound cover art by George Perez, provides a brief history of the Avengers, a complete roster of their members to date (with relatively few errors), and a largely (though not totally) complete listing of the allies and adversaries who have appeared in the Avengers comics over the years. Reproductions of the covers of many past Avengers comics are included.

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Avengers Strikefile # 1 (January, 1994)

By Bob Harras, Jeff Moore, Mike Sellers, Cefn Ridout and Dave Hornsby

This truly odd one shot features a group of vengeful Kree soldiers led by Admiral Galen Kor hiding out on Earth's moon, where they stumble upon a Kree probe that gives a detailed but factually twisted account of the Galactic Storm disaster, representing the events as if the Avengers had conspired with the Shi'ar to destroy the Kree Empire (in fact, the Kree's own leader, the Supreme Intelligence, masterminded the massacre of the Kree Empire for his own purposes). Already convinced that the Avengers were partly responsible for the Kree's downfall, Kor and his troops are so infuriated by the recording that they swear to destroy the Avengers, and begin reviewing files on them. Meanwhile, at Avengers headquarters, Vision detects a Kree energy signature and suggests that all Avengers should beware the Kree in the future.

Avengers Assembled: Vision II and Crystal.

Other Characters: Galen Kor, Dylon Cir, Kona Lor and other Kree soldiers.

Note: The probe's recorded presentation is represented by a combination of clip art (from the original Galactic Storm comics) and new computer graphics. The Kree's ìstrikefilesî on the Avengers and their allies are depicted as a series of full-page pin-ups featuring Vision, Crystal, Giant-Man, Deathcry, Black Widow, Hercules, Black Knight, Sersi, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Thunderstrike, Force Works (Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, USAgent and Spider-Woman), The X-Men (Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm and Gambit), The Inhumans (Black Bolt, Gorgon, Karnak, Lockjaw, Medusa and Triton), The Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch II, Thing and Invisible Woman) and The Shi'ar Imperial Guard (Gladiator, Titan, Manta, Oracle, Smasher and Starbolt).

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Avengers: The Crossing # 1 (September, 1995)

By Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh and the Mike Deodato Studio

Rita DeMara, the former criminal and one-time Avenger also known as Yellowjacket, is on a time trip returning from the 31st century to the present after her stint with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Along the way, she phases in and out of several near-future periods in which she sees: a repressive police state where the Avengers are hunted down as criminals (something that era's Black Widow says began with DeMara, whom she warns against returning to Avengers Mansion); greatly changed future versions of Thor and Iron Man; news reports of Captain America being accused of treason; and the Avengers assaulting their own Mansion. When DeMara finally arrives in the present, she is warned against approaching Avengers Mansion by a mystery woman who vanishes moments later. DeMara enters Avengers Mansion anyway, though, only to be blasted dead by a mysterious attacker before the eyes of Crystal's daughter, Luna.

The next day, past and present Avengers members Giant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Beast and Crystal stop a mugger en route to a party at Avengers Mansion celebrating the anniversary of the team's founding. Meanwhile, Avengers founder and financier Tony Stark (Iron Man) tours the recently restored Avengers Mansion and recalls growing up there with his parents and the family butler, Jarvis. He encounters the Scarlet Witch--a fellow former Avenger and current leader of Force Works, a team he founded and financed more recently--and apologizes to her for his recent boorish, domineering behaviour towards her. Elsewhere, the mystery woman who tried in vain to warn DeMara appears to Hercules, warning him of ìthe Twinsî and their mistress, and of the oldest Avenger being near death, but the mystery woman fades away prematurely and Hercules forgets the conversation since she wasn't quite in synch with his timeline. Back at Avengers Mansion, Black Widow leads the Avengers in investigating the impenetrable door that materialized in the basement when Ute the Watcher reconstructed the formerly demolished Mansion, but the door resists all penetration or analysis and the Avengers adjourn to start their anniversary party.

In addition to Tony Stark, Giant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, Black Widow, Beast and Crystal, those in attendance include Luna's nanny, Marilla; the team's ward, Deathcry; the team's butler, Jarvis; and former AWC member USAgent (of Force Works). Most of the Avengers play poker until the game breaks up during an argument between Hawkeye and Tony Stark, whom Hawkeye resents for abandoning the AWC just before Mockingbird's death. Just then, the Vision arrives, back from his recent leave of absence (covered in the Vision limited series) and once more endowed with the capacity for human emotion, a state that prompts him to seek a reconciliation with his estranged wife, the Scarlet Witch, though she rejects his overtures. Minutes later, a horde of hostile superhumans swarm an old man outside and the Avengers rescue him, driving off his attackers. To their shock, the feeble old man turns out to be Gilgamesh, a past member of the Avengers who is a millennia-old Eternal, supposedly immune to physical aging.

While Beast and Giant-Man try in vain to improve Gilgamesh's condition, the mystery woman fades in again just long enough to try to deliver a warning to Marilla, but she fades away again before she can do so. Meanwhile, Black Widow tries to convince Tony and Hawkeye to end their feud, and Quicksilver helps Crystal comfort their troubled daughter, Luna; but when Marilla goes into the basement to retrieve one of Luna's toys, she stumbles across Iron Man, who has opened the mysterious door, and he promptly kills her.

Avengers Assembled: Thor (in DeMara's future vision only), Iron Man (as adversary), Giant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, Vision, Black Widow, Beast, USAgent, Yellowjacket II (honorary), Gilgamesh, Crystal, Deathcry (honorary).

Other Characters: mystery woman (adult Luna of an alternate future), Luna Maximoff, Edwin Jarvis, Marilla.

Note: In this issue, as in all her appearances around this time, the Wasp appears only in normal civilian clothing. Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow and Crystal adopt new costumes for no particular reason in this issue. This issue has a chromium foil cover. This story continues into Avengers 391, and related issues of Avengers, Iron Man, Force Works and War Machine for months afterward.

Further Note: While it represented a well-intentioned attempt to revitalize the Avengers series with a major event, The Crossing storyline proved to be a disaster that drove Avengers readers away by the tens of thousands. Incoherently plotted and often badly drawn, the story brought back several key Avengers characters--which was good--but did so in a story that alienated a lot of fans. In a nutshell, the time-traveling Kang is plotting against the Avengers yet again--this time with old Avengers member Mantis as his willing consort (for reasons as yet unexplained) and the lost twin children of Vision and Scarlet Witch as his principal warriors (also as yet unexplained); turns out Kang has been mentally manipulating Iron Man for years, too, gradually twisting him into a mad killer in Kang's service, and Kang claims that a failed attempt to similarly manipulate Hank Pym produced Giant-Man's past mental breakdowns. An adult version of Luna from an alternate future timeline was also part of Kang's court, though she betrayed him by trying repeatedly to warn the Avengers, and soon paid for it with her life. Where Gilgamesh figures into all this is unknown, though Kang's minion Neut eventually killed him to keep him from talking. For more on the Crossing plot, see the sequel one-shot Avengers: Timeslide.

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Avengers: The Korvac Saga (January, 1991)

By Jim Shooter, David Michelinie, Bill Mantlo, George Perez, David Wenzel, Sal Buscema, Tom Morgan and assorted inkers.

This is a trade paperback collection of Avengers (v1) # 167, 168 and 170-177, featuring the Avengers' conflict with the mad man-god Korvac, one of the most memorable and critically acclaimed Avengers stories of all time.

Avengers Assembled: Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Beast, Iron Man, Wonder Man (provisional), Thor, Vision II, Charlie-27 (honorary), Nikki (honorary), Vance Astro (honorary), Martinex (honorary), Starhawk (honorary), Yondu (honorary), Wasp, Yellowjacket, Two-Gun Kid, Hawkeye, Aleta (honorary), Captain Marvel (unofficial), Quicksilver, Jocasta (unofficial), Ms. Marvel (unofficial), Moondragon, Whizzer (honorary), Black Panther, Black Widow II, Hercules.

Other Characters: Nick Fury, Nighthawk II, Michael Korvac, Carina Korvac, Porcupine, Edwin Jarvis, Henry Peter Gyrich, Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Crystal, Vance Astrovik, Ultron, Tyrak, Uatu the Watcher, Odin, Zeus, Mephisto, Eternity, Django Maximoff, Collector, Master Order, Lord Chaos, Death.

Note: A new four-page epilogue drawn by Tom Morgan is added to the original material. The book also has a new wraparound cover by George Perez.

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Avengers: The Yesterday Quest (October, 1994)

By Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, David Michelinie, John Byrne and assorted inkers.

This is a squarebound, book format reprinting of material from Avengers (v1) # 181-182 and 185-187, depicting the search for the true origins of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch and their conflict with the demon Chthon. The new wraparound cover is by Steve Epting and Tom Palmer.

Avengers Assembled: Thor (as Don Blake only), Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision II, Beast, Jocasta, Ms. Marvel, Falcon II, Wonder Man.

Other Characters: Django Maximoff, Henry Peter Gyrich, Modred the Mystic, Chthon.

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Avengers: Timeslide (February, 1996)

By Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh, Roger Cruz, Luke Ross, Fabio Laguna, Frank Toscano, Manny Clark, Oclair Albert, Scott Koblish and Rene Micheletti.

This story continues from the events of the Crossing storyline running through the Avengers series and related comics at this time (for the early plot of the storyline, see Avengers: The Crossing). After the deaths of Yellowjacket II, Marilla and Gilgamesh, the Avengers evacuated their headquarters for safety considerations, only to have the minions of Kang occupy it in their stead. Now, aided by Century of Force Works, they storm the mansion and open the mysterious door in the basement, a temporal portal that takes them to an alternate past timeline of ten years ago. There they recruit the aid of a nineteen-year-old Tony Stark (the youth who would grow up to be Iron Man) to help them battle their traitorous comrade, the present-day Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man (the younger Stark would be morally and intellectually pure by comparison to the elder, and untouched by the influence of Kang, so he would be a reliable ally against his corrupt older self). The young Stark's parents are killed by Kang's minion Tobias in the process, though, and young Stark vows vengeance, journeying to the twentieth century with the Avengers.

Avengers Assembled: Thor, Giant-Man, Wasp, Captain America, Hercules, Vision II, Black Widow II, Yellowjacket II (cameo while shifting through time periods), Crystal, Iron Man III (young alternate timeline Tony Stark).

Other Characters: Edwin Jarvis, Century, Tobias and Malachi; and alternate timeline versions of Edwin Jarvis, May Parker, Ben Parker, Peter Parker, Willie Lumpkin, Matt Murdock, Howard Stark, Maria Stark, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm and Doctor Doom.

Note: Avengers: Timeslide was a chromium-covered one-shot, like the first chapter in this storyline, Avengers: The Crossing. The story in this comic continued into Avengers and related comic books as follows: young Tony Stark helped the Avengers fight his evil elder counterpart, who repented at the last moment and sacrificed his life to defeat Kang. Just what Kang, Mantis and their allies sought through this latest scheme against the Avengers is unclear, though Kang said he was preparing to confront a horrible threat and that the Avengers' interference had ruined his plans, dooming them all. The young Tony Stark adopted the Iron Man identity and took his older counterpart's place in the Avengers.

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Avengers/Ultraforce # 1 (October, 1995)

By Glenn Herdling, Angel Medina, M.C. Wyman and assorted inkers.

The Grandmaster comes to the Ultraverse in search of his stolen mind gem and encounters Sersi, who makes a proposal to him. Grandmaster then visits Loki, who holds the mind gem and all the other Infinity Gems, which grant him infinite power. Grandmaster offers to play a game with Loki; if the Grandmaster wins, he gets his mind gem back--and if Loki wins, Grandmaster will reveal the location of a seventh Infinity Gem to Loki. Loki agrees, and they stage a tournament of champions, with the Avengers fighting for Grandmaster and Ultraforce fighting for Loki. The two villains take the Black Knight as a hostage to motivate both groups, and tell each group that the other group is a deadly threat for good measure. Captain America persuades Hardcase to talk rather than fight; Black Widow and Crystal defeat Siren and Topaz in a cosmic mud-wrestling match; Iron Man and Prototype incapacitate each other; Starfox and Contrary end up making out thanks to their respective pleasure powers; Ghoul defeats Vision; and Thor defeats Prime. Loki declares victory based on a series of technicalities and Grandmaster concedes, presenting the seventh gem, which has possessed Sersi and used Grandmaster as a distraction to get close to Loki. The seventh gem frees Sersi from its control and then merges with the six other Infinity Gems to form a single being, Nemesis, who proceeds to recreate the universe in her image. This story continues in Ultraforce/Avengers # 1.

Avengers Assembled: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Vision II, Black Widow II, Starfox, Crystal, Black Knight III (as member of Ultraforce), Sersi (as adversary)

Other Characters: Grandmaster, Loki, Ultraforce (Contrary, Ghoul, Siren, Hardcase, Prototype, Topaz and Prime).

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Greatest Battles of the Avengers (August, 1993)

By Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Jim Shooter, George Perez, Jim Starlin, Chris Claremont and Michael Golden.

This is a trade paperback reprinting Avengers (v1) # 54-55 (in which the Avengers defeat Ultron and his Masters of Evil with the aid of the Black Knight); Avengers (v1) # 79 (in which the Avengers defeat the Grim Reaper's original Lethal Legion); Avengers (v1) # 160 (in which the Grim Reaper confronts his resurrected brother, Wonder Man); Avengers Annual # 7 (in which the Avengers help Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock defeat Thanos); and Avengers Annual # 10 (in which the Avengers defeat Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and make their peace with former member Carol Danvers). The book's new wraparound cover is by Tom Raney and Gina Going.

Avengers Assembled: Yellowjacket (also appears as Goliath), Wasp, Hawkeye (also appears as Goliath II), Black Panther, Black Knight III (as non-member ally), Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision II, Swordsman (as adversary), Beast, Whizzer (honorary), Wonder Man, Moondragon, Captain Marvel (unofficial), Jocasta, Ms. Marvel (as non-member Carol Danvers).

Other Characters: Edwin Jarvis, Ultron-5, Masters of Evil (Radioactive Man, Melter, Klaw and Whirlwind), Lethal Legion (Grim Reaper, Swordsman, Power Man, Living Laser and Man-Ape), Monica Lynn, Adam Warlock, Gamora, Pip the Troll, Thanos, Spider-Woman, X-Men (Professor X, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Kitty Pryde), Edwin Jarvis, Mrs. Arbogast, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Mystique, Destiny, Blob, Avalanche, Pyro and Rogue).

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Marvel Milestone Edition: Avengers # 1 (September, 1993)

This comic is an exact reprint of the original 1963 Avengers # 1, complete with ads, except for two things: silver borders are added to the front and back covers (with the Marvel Milestone Edition logo on the front cover border), and black borders are added to the interior advertisement pages with notes about how the ads are no longer valid.

Avengers Assembled: Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Wasp, Hulk, Rick Jones (honorary).

Other Characters: Loki, Teen Brigade, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Thing and Human Torch II), Odin, Silent Ones

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Ultraforce/Avengers # 1 (1995)

By Warren Ellis, George Perez, Paul Neary, Art Thibert and assorted additional inkers.

This story continues from Avengers\Ultraforce # 1, in which the seven Infinity Gems merged to form a being called Nemesis who tried to recreate the universe. Instead, she created a small pocket universe of sorts with its own alternate Avengers group that mingled aspects of the Avengers and Ultraforce together. This makeshift world begins to fall apart, though, and Nemesis prepares to wipe out the ìrealî world and start completely fresh in its space with a new universe. The Avengers, Ultraforce and their alternate reality counterparts join forces to oppose her and triumph, though all the alternate reality heroes are destroyed in the process. In the final confrontation, the Black Knight cleaves the gems asunder once more and Nemesis ceases to exist, restoring reality to normal, but altering the history and status quo of the Ultraverse dimension in the process, causing the transformed Ultraforce that emerges to forget the previous state of their universe and most of what just happened. The Avengers are returned to their own Earth and Ultraforce to theirs, taking the Black Knight with them.

Avengers Assembled: Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Captain America, Quicksilver, Vision II, Black Knight III (with Ultraforce), Black Widow II, Starfox, Sersi, Crystal.

Other Characters: Ultraforce (Contrary, Topaz, Siren, Prototype, Hardcase, Prime, Ghoul), Mantra II, Night Man and various alternate universe heroes and villains.

Note: The reality-warping climax of this story served as the springboard for a revamping and relaunching of the Ultraverse line of comics; the revamp failed and the Ultraverse line was soon terminated, with most of its characters relegated to publishing limbo since then. Sersi, while seemingly back on Earth with the Avengers at the end of this story, actually remained stuck in the Ultraverse according to later stories. She and Black Knight recently returned to their own Earth, as seen in Black Knight: Exodus and recent issues of Heroes for Hire. In the Ultraverse reality that emerges at the end of this issue, Hardcase, Siren and Contrary are no longer members of Ultraforce, while Bob Campbell has replaced Jimmy Ruiz as Prototype.

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Ultraforce/Avengers Prelude # 1 (July, 1995)

ìThe Swords Are Drawn...î By Terry Kavanagh, John Statema and assorted inkers.

When Black Knight and Sersi left the Avengers in Avengers (v1) # 375, they ended up in the alternate dimension known as the Ultraverse, a dimension whose Earth had only begun to produce its first few super-heroes (known as ìUltrasî). In this world of novice heroes, the Black Knight hooked up with the Ultraforce team and quickly became their de facto leader. Sersi was lost in transit to the Ultraverse, though, until she turns up here possessed by some powerful and malevolent force, killing the Ultraforce's ally, Diane, before fleeing to another plane. Meanwhile, the Norse god of evil Loki has also come to the Ultraverse and obtained the all-powerful Infinity Gems, which he uses to torment Ultraforce as a prelude to a greater plot.

Avengers Assembled: Black Knight III (as member of Ultraforce), Sersi (as adversary).

Other Characters: Ultraforce (Topaz, Prime, Prototype, Contrary, Hardcase, Ghoul and Siren), Diane, Loki.

Note: This story continues into Avengers/Ultraforce # 1.