The Avengers #114
Avengers #114 is the pivotal chapter in which Mantis steps fully into the spotlight for the first time in a complete story role — her brief, tantalizing cameo in #112 and shadow appearance in #113 finally resolved here as writer Steve Englehart reveals her partner to be the reformed villain Swordsman, and both characters formally join the team. The issue also marks the debut of John Romita Sr.'s redesigned Mantis costume, the visual that would define the character for decades and connect directly to the sprawling Celestial Madonna saga to come. Beyond its character introductions, the issue plants seeds for the Avengers/Defenders War — the most ambitious Marvel crossover attempted up to that point — with a closing tease pointing toward the Black Knight's plight and Hawkeye's conspicuous guest appearance in that month's Hulk title quietly setting the crossover in motion. Englehart's decision to frame Mantis and Swordsman's membership bid through a morally ambiguous test — appearing to side with the Lion God before pivoting in the Avengers' favor — established the slow-burn, character-layered storytelling that made his Avengers run one of the most influential of the Bronze Age.
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The issue was written by Steve Englehart and penciled by Bob Brown, with inks by Mike Esposito, colors by Petra Goldberg (Scotese), and lettering by Art Simek; editor-in-chief Roy Thomas also served as editor. The cover is credited to John Romita Sr. (with lettering by John Costanza), though the Grand Comics Database notes that earlier indexers variously attributed interior pencils to Rich Buckler, Ron Wilson, or Sal Buscema before Kevin Nowlan, Bob Ford, and Nick Caputo confirmed Romita on cover art. Mantis's original design had been handled by Don Heck when the character debuted in #112, but Englehart later confirmed via direct correspondence that Romita redesigned her now-recognized costume, which makes its first appearance on the cover and in the story of this issue. The Avengers/Defenders crossover that this issue begins to set up was itself born out of Englehart pitching a hero-vs.-hero story to Roy Thomas after Marvel declined to produce summer annuals for 1973, with the two books staggered on a two-week release cycle to sustain momentum.
Trivia · 9 facts
- Title: 'Night of the Swordsman!' — cover-dated August 1973, on sale May 1973 per The Comic Reader #96.
- First full appearance of Mantis in action (she debuted in a brief cameo in Avengers #112 and a partial appearance in #113); this issue is her first cover appearance and the debut of John Romita Sr.'s definitive Mantis costume design, replacing Don Heck's original from #112.
- Swordsman (Jacques Duquesne) officially rejoins the Avengers after years as a recurring villain; Captain America votes against admission but is overruled by the depleted roster — Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, Vision, and Scarlet Witch.
- The Lion God, an African deity first introduced in Avengers #112, makes his second and final in-continuity appearance; Mantis uses empathic powers and Swordsman a light-show distraction to lure him into an adamantium cylinder created by Tony Stark, after which he is shunted to another dimension.
- Credits: Writer Steve Englehart; penciler Bob Brown; inker Mike Esposito; colorist Petra Goldberg; letterer Art Simek; cover by John Romita Sr. and John Costanza; editor Roy Thomas.
- The issue's closing page foreshadows the Avengers/Defenders War crossover — a multi-title clash running through both Avengers and Defenders across the summer of 1973 and described by Marvel's own collected editions as the first great hero-vs.-hero crossover event in the publisher's history.
- A Mark Jewelers advertisement insert variant of this issue exists, distributed through the military PX/retail jeweler program that ran in select Marvel comics of the era.
- Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 8 (hardcover) and in Essential Avengers Vol. 6 (black-and-white); also collected in the Avengers Epic Collection: A Traitor Stalks Among Us (2021).
- The Celestial Madonna arc — the multi-year payoff to the seeds planted here — ran from Avengers #128–135 and Giant-Size Avengers #2–4, with Mantis as its central figure; the character was later adapted for the MCU in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).
Cast · 26 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Lion God enters Avengers Headquarters.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).