The Avengers #7
Avengers #7 marks the first time the Enchantress (Amora) and the Executioner (Skurge) crossed over from Thor's corner of the Marvel Universe into the Avengers title, dramatically expanding the Masters of Evil roster and setting up one of the most enduring villain factions of the Silver Age. The issue also contains a quietly powerful character moment when Rick Jones tries on Bucky's uniform, crystallizing Captain America's unresolved grief and making him emotionally vulnerable enough to walk into Baron Zemo's trap — a nuanced storytelling choice that showed Lee and Kirby developing Cap as a psychologically complex figure rather than a simple boy-scout hero. It also stands as the first issue published on a monthly schedule after the series had run bimonthly through #6, signaling growing reader demand and editorial confidence. The cross-title continuity threading — pulling consequences from Tales of Suspense #56 and Journey Into Mystery #103 into a single story — was an early demonstration of Marvel's interconnected universe approach functioning at full power.
In "Their Darkest Hour!", the Avengers face their most perilous test yet—not from a single villain, but from within, as internal strife threatens to shatter the team. With the Enchantress, the Executioner, and the sinister Zemo poised to exploit their weakness, unity may be the only thing standing between them and total collapse. Written by Stan Lee and masterfully illustrated by Jack Kirby, with dynamic cover art by Kirby and Chic Stone, this landmark issue captures the team at their most vulnerable—and their most compelling.
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The issue was produced by the core Silver Age creative team of writer-editor Stan Lee and penciler Jack Kirby, with inks by Chic Stone, colors by Stan Goldberg, and letters by Art Simek, under publisher Martin Goodman. It was on sale June 9, 1964, with an August 1964 cover date. Kirby penciled the first eight issues of the series, making #7 his penultimate issue before departing the title after #8; Don Heck succeeded him from #9 onward. The deliberate weaving of story threads from at least three concurrent Marvel titles in a single issue reflects the editorial continuity strategy Lee was building across the line during this period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Amora the Enchantress and Skurge the Executioner in the Avengers title and as members of Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil (the characters' overall debut was in Journey Into Mystery #103).
- First appearance of Rick Jones wearing Bucky Barnes's costume — a scene that triggers Captain America's emotional relapse and drives the plot.
- Written by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby (his penultimate issue on the series before departing after #8), inked by Chic Stone, colored by Stan Goldberg, lettered by Art Simek.
- Cover date August 1964; on-sale date June 9, 1964 — the first issue published on a monthly schedule after the title ran bimonthly through issue #6.
- The story explicitly continues consequences from Tales of Suspense #56 (Iron Man's one-week suspension from the Avengers) and Journey Into Mystery #103 (Odin's banishment of Enchantress and Executioner to Earth), demonstrating Marvel's early shared-universe continuity.
- The Enchantress's pose from this issue's cover was later reused as her 1974 Series 'A' Marvel Value Stamp #43.
- Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1 (multiple editions from 1988 through 2023), Essential Avengers Vol. 1 (1999, black-and-white), Avengers Classic #7 (February 2008), The Avengers Omnibus Vol. 1 (2011), Avengers Epic Collection: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (2013), and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1 (2021), among international editions.
- The villain trio of Enchantress, Executioner, and Baron Zemo retreat at the story's end when Thor generates a space warp around their escape ship, sending them to an unknown dimension — a cliffhanger resolved in Avengers #9.