Avengers #14

History

The issue was produced by the core creative team of Kurt Busiek (writer), George Pérez (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Smith (colors), and Richard Starkings/Comicraft (letters), with Tom Brevoort as editor and Bob Harras as editor-in-chief — the same tight unit responsible for the entire celebrated third-volume relaunch that began in 1998. Pérez, who had famously drawn Avengers in the 1970s–80s, returned to the title specifically because Busiek was writing it; according to the Marvel Database's series notes, Pérez only agreed to the run because he wanted to collaborate with Busiek, and the feeling was mutual. The issue's cover and interior story both carry a self-aware, playful energy — including in-panel gag caricatures of Busiek and Pérez themselves bickering over the Beast-focused content — reflecting the relaxed creative rapport the team had developed more than a year into their run. It was later collected in the Avengers Assemble Volume 2 trade paperback and is included in the Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez Omnibus.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published March 1999 by Marvel Comics as Avengers Vol. 3 #14 (cover title: 'Hi, Honey… I'm Home!'), part of the 1998 series relaunch.
• Written by Kurt Busiek; penciled by George Pérez; inked by Al Vey; colored by Tom Smith; lettered by Richard Starkings and Comicraft; edited by Tom Brevoort.
• Features the first full appearance of the villain Pagan, who attacks Times Square and defeats the assembled Avengers lineup before withdrawing — establishing the character as a serious physical threat tied to the Lord Templar/Triune Understanding subplot.
• Beast (Hank McCoy) guest-stars throughout, visiting Avengers Mansion to reunite with the recently resurrected Wonder Man (Simon Williams); the two, along with Scarlet Witch and Vision, spend the evening at a jazz club discussing Simon's troubled history before Pagan's attack recalls them to action.
• The issue contains what the Marvel Database and Simon Williams' Marvel wiki entry identify as the first on-panel kiss between two male superheroes in mainstream Marvel history — Beast impulsively kissing Wonder Man on the lips in joyful disbelief at his friend's resurrection, a comedic rather than romantic moment.
• The Avengers roster active in this issue includes Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Vision, Wonder Man, Firestar, and Justice, with Beast as a supporting guest star and cameos by Jarvis, Hank Pym (in shadow), and Ultron (in shadow).
• Lord Templar, introduced in the previous issue (#13), appears here only via screen/communications — his connection to Pagan is hinted at by the Scarlet Witch, threading the larger arc forward.
• The issue was collected in Avengers Assemble Volume 2 and is reprinted in the Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez Omnibus Vol. 1.

Cast · 2 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Avengers

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#4 1st appearance — Duane Freeman

Variants (1)