Issue(s): Avengers #19, Avengers #20
Cover Date: Aug-Sep 65
Title: "The coming of... the Swordsman!" / "Vengeance is ours!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Don Heck - Penciler
Dick Ayers / Wally Wood - Inker

Review/plot: The Swordsman shows up and Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch kick the crap out of him without anyone else's help, because he is a loser. Hawkeye recalls that he was trained by the Swordsman but turned against him when he found out he was a crook.

Meanwhile, Hydra steals the letter Cap sent to Nick Fury, hoping to get some inside information but they throw it away when they realize it's just a request for employment (the Hydra agent complains about his "blasted hood", which i thought was funny).

Some local stooge finds the letter and gives it to the Swordsman, who apparently wants his ass handed to him again so he sets up a trap for Cap by pretending he is Fury.

I don't know how a guy with a sword thought he could handle four super-heroes. Quicksilver alone should have been able to take this guy apart.

But luckily, the Mandarin suddenly spirits him away.

The Mandarin powers up the Swordsman's sword and uses an image projector to trick the Avengers into thinking that Iron Man is vouching for the Swordsman to join them. The Swordsman in the end refuses to set off a bomb to kill the Avengers, but while he is defusing the bomb the Avengers think he is setting it and they attack him. He escapes and the Mandarin vows never to use a partner again.

Here's a nice shot of Quicksilver racing Hawkeye's arrow in a training session. Quicksilver won.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 5 - first appearance of the Swordsman. Hawkeye/Swordsman origin.

Chronological Placement Considerations: Cap is surprised to see Iron Man because he is supposed to be fighting the Titanium Man in Europe.

References:

• Cap wrote a letter to Nick Fury seeking employment in Avengers #15.
  
• Fury left the CIA to take over SHIELD in Strange Tales #135 - Strange Tales #136.
  
• Iron Man fights Titanium Man during Tales Of Suspense #70.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Triple Action #13, Marvel Triple Action #14

Does the Swordsman refer to the Mandarin as "Fu Manchu"? Could this serve as the first reference to Doctor Fu Manchu at this publisher?

Mike Friedrich has a letter in #20.

I don't know if you've mentioned it on any of the entries from this period but I've noticed that, starting around August/September of this year, Marvel started putting "Pop Art Productions" in the corner box. I think it only lasted through the end of 1965 though.

Thanks Robert. I've added a little mention on the 1965 category page.

A Conflicted and tortured mind like the Swordsman's, makes for a great character to introduce into the Avengers or prospective Defenders offerings. The computer Tech used in film and TV, combined with the fans need to see realistic hand to hand weaponry conflict, makes The Swordsman an excellent candidate for current movie/TV genre. His Hawkeye, Mantis and Valkyrie association's lend to plot potential and his Clark Gable good looks are legendary!

Wally Wood inked #20 I believe and you can see it in that Quicksilver shot you posted.

@Bobby Sisemore - You can also see what I might call "Wood tech" shadowing in that panel directly above the Quicksilver shot. Compare the shadowing there with the other panels inked by Dick Ayers, the difference is striking. You can see very similar shadowing in Wood's 1960s work for THUNDER Agents, and in his 1950s work for EC's science fiction stories.

Good eye, James. I lived the THUNDER Agents and of course the classic EC horror and sci fi books.

Swordman was an avenger in the end, but no one know 😢 very shakesperian.

I think the Swordsman might be one of the only non-powered characters to get the better of Cap in a fair fight (this was before he got his sword powered-up). There might be other normal humans who have beaten Cap (without technology) but none come to mind.

From temporary Marvel staffer Larry Ivie in Yancy Street Journal #9:" It is reported that the Swordsman will join the Avengers. And he stands a good chance of being replaced by the Submariner if he is not liked by the fans."

While I'm pretty sure the Swordsman was meant to resemble Errol Flynn, Heck's rendering of the character sans mask looks more like Walter Pidgeon.