Issue(s): Avengers #227
Cover Date: Jan 83
Title: "Testing... 1... 2... 3!"
Credits:
Roger Stern - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Brett Breeding - Inker
Mike Carlin - Assistant Editor
Mark Gruenwald - Editor

Review/plot:
Roger Stern's first issue of the Avengers is a fun downtime introduction to the team. It starts off with the Avengers testing out the new Captain Marvel's powers and offering her a slot on the team as an Avenger-in-training.

Some great characterization scenes. Hawkeye's having trouble adjusting to all the strong women on the team.

Thor is considering quitting the team so that he can spend more time in his mortal identity, Donald Blake.

As part of her tour of the Avengers Mansion, Captain Marvel watches a video to learn about the original Mar-vell.

She-Hulk is especially belligerent, even being rude to Jarvis.

Janet has a lunch date with Reed and Sue Richards at a Tavern on the Green in Central Park. They show up in cute Fantastic Four jogging suits.

There's concern about how Janet is holding up after her divorce. She's putting up a good front...

...but is she "strong enough to bend with the pressure... and not break?" as Reed puts it.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark sends a psychiatrist to evaluate Henry Pym's mental state in jail.

A good portion of this issue is dedicated to recapping Pym's history. Pym (correctly) believes that he's being manipulated by Egghead, but everyone believes that Egghead is dead, suggesting that Pym is delusional.

Stern's writing is strong on characterization and includes plenty of enjoyable lighthearted scenes that don't downplay some of the serious drama that's going on. He also has a good grasp of the Marvel Universe as a whole; its history, and the relationships of the characters. Scenes like Janet having lunch with the Richards feel so natural, and yet it's not something that we've seen a lot so far.

Sal Buscema's has a very distinct (and at this point, familiar) style, but with Brett Breeding's inks, it's totally transformed. Still within the boundaries of the 1980s house style, but a little more... photorealistic, maybe? On the other hand, Breeding drew the cover of this issue solo, and it's a little cartoony and primitive looking (i especially don't like the She-Hulk drawing).

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 4 - Captain Marvel joins the Avengers as a trainee

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Captain Marvel was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man annual #16.
  
• Tony Stark is still beating himself up about dating the Wasp without letting her know that he's also Iron Man in Avengers #224.
  
• The Wasp says she hasn't seen Sue Storm since the brunch in Avengers #221. We'll assume she means socially, because both appeared in Contest of Champions after that issue.
  
• This issue has a run-through of key moments in the life of Henry Pym. No footnotes, but it includes:
  • Henry Pym's invention of Pym Particles in Tales To Astonish #27.
    
  • Becoming Ant-Man (Tales To Astonish #35) and fighting Egghead (Tales To Astonish #38).
    
  • Meeting Janet Van Dyne in Tales To Astonish #44.
    
  • Formation of the Avengers in Avengers #1.
    
  • Pym becoming Giant-Man in Tales To Astonish #49.
    
  • Switching to the name Goliath in Avengers #28.
    
  • Inventing Ultron in Avengers #54-55.
    
  • Having a mental breakdown and becoming Yellowjacket in Avengers #59.
    
  • Marrying Janet in Avengers #60.
    
  • Getting manipulated by Ultron into attacking the Avengers in Avengers #161.
    
  • Leaving the Avengers after the government forced the roster down to seven members in Avengers #181.
    
  • Rejoining the team in Avengers #211.
    
  • Attacking an enemy from behind after she'd already surrendered in Avengers #212
    
  • His major fall from grace - hitting Janet and getting kicked off of the Avengers in Avengers #213.
• Egghead is assumed to have died in Defenders #43.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Couldn't RS make Captain Marvel becoming an avenger more special or interesting.
Then again she isn't really special or interesting beside her powers.

I don't think Captain Marvel was that bad. She was "special" enough to become leader of the Avengers. That's no small thing, IMO. The real problem I had with this issue was She-Hulk. I never liked her anyway. But being rude to Jarvis is inexcusable. Plus, she's too cocky for my tastes. All she is is a poor imitation of her cousin. And a bad one at that.

I don't like SH or CM for different reasons. CM is the basic definition of a pet character, while SH is a annoying and unnecessary character.

Eh; I think Shulkie has her reason and purpose myself but it wasn't necessarily something she was created for. Its something that evolved over time and I think that it made her extremely different compared to the Hulk that she stood out on her own. But that's being a Shulkie fan and honestly she isn't that an obvious derivative compared to a lot of others like her.

As for Monica; let's face it, if he didn't create a new Captain Marvel someone else would have thanks to the original sort of having the legacy he did (mostly due to Starlin but it was there). Stern at least made her different enough from the original (or Carol) that at least he could get away with it due to his writing skills.

It would have been better if Stern put Spider-Woman on the team instead of She-Hulk.

Sorry Fnord12 to keep complaining about your favorite writer and character.

Your opinion is welcome, doomsday, and it's not an uncommon one. I've explained on a few posts why i like Stern's development of Captain Marvel, but you are free to disagree.

It's been a while (can any post I write here be understood to have "It's been a while" as the opening?), but I remember only really liking She-Hulk when Byrne wrote and drew her, first in FF and then in her own graphic novel and series, which could be a hoot. I was terribly disappointed at the time that he had (1) abruptly quit the Superman titles and (2) not even gone back to make FF readable again if it just had to be a Marvel return, so that She-Hulk series was at least a balm.