The Avengers #69
Avengers #69 is the birthplace of two of Marvel's most enduring cosmic concepts: the Grandmaster — the Elder of the Universe whose entire existence revolves around pitting champions against one another — and the Squadron Sinister, a team of super-powered villains who are deliberate, darkly comic pastiches of DC's Justice League. The Squadron Sinister's four members (Hyperion as Superman, Nighthawk as Batman, Doctor Spectrum as Green Lantern, the Whizzer as the Flash) planted the seed for an entire branch of Marvel's multiverse, eventually flowering into the heroic Squadron Supreme of Earth-712 and, later, Mark Gruenwald's celebrated maxiseries that interrogated what happens when the world's most powerful heroes decide they should simply run the planet. The Grandmaster himself became the template for the 'cosmic game' story that Marvel has returned to repeatedly — from Contest of Champions to JLA/Avengers — making this single issue the origin point of Marvel's cosmos-as-chessboard storytelling tradition.
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The issue was written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Sal Buscema (pencils) with Sam Grainger on inks, under editor Stan Lee, and published with a cover date of October 1969. Thomas has recalled in his introduction to the 2008 Marvel Masterworks reprint that he praised Buscema for the 'dramatic yet difficult cover,' noting how hard it is to stage a fight between a normal-sized character and Goliath. Thomas and fellow historian Jerry Bails have both confirmed on record that the Squadron was directly modeled on the Justice League of America. The issue was part of a multi-title story arc that threaded through Iron Man #18–19 as well, with Tony Stark's near-death providing the inciting hook that drew the Avengers into Kang's 41st-century throne room.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Grandmaster (En Dwi Gast), created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema — an ageless Elder of the Universe whose obsession with games of skill and chance became a cornerstone of Marvel cosmic storytelling.
- First appearance (final-panel cameo) of the Squadron Sinister — Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, and the Whizzer — four supervillains deliberately designed as pastiches of DC's Justice League (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, respectively).
- Written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Sal Buscema, inked by Sam Grainger, lettered by Artie Simek, edited by Stan Lee; titled 'Let the Game Begin!'
- The story's central conceit introduces the 'cosmic contest' framework to Marvel: Kang enlists the Avengers as his champions against the Grandmaster's Squadron Sinister, with Ravonna's revival (or Earth's destruction) as the stakes.
- The issue crossovers directly with Iron Man #18–19; Tony Stark's hospitalization is the catalyst, and the Growing Man — Kang's size-absorbing stimuloid — serves as the abduction device that pulls the Avengers to the year 4000 A.D.
- The Grandmaster was later portrayed by Jeff Goldblum in the MCU film Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and appeared in a mid-credits cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).
- The Squadron Sinister's debut here directly spawned the heroic Squadron Supreme (first appearance: Avengers #85–86, 1971) and, ultimately, Mark Gruenwald's acclaimed 12-issue Squadron Supreme limited series (1985–86), widely regarded as a precursor to deconstructionist superhero fiction.
- The issue has been reprinted multiple times, including in Marvel Super Action #30 (April 1981), Essential Avengers Vol. 4 (2004), and the Squadron Supreme Classic Omnibus (2016), which collects the entire lineage of Squadron-related stories beginning here.
Cast · 29 characters
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Vs the Grandmaster and Kang. In a contest between them, the Avengers are pitted against the Squadron Sinister. This is the introduction for Hyperion, Nighthawk, Dr. Spectrum and the Whizzer of the Squadron Sinister.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).