The Avengers #73
Avengers #73 marks the first appearance of Monica Lynne, an outspoken African-American singer who would become T'Challa's most enduring romantic partner across decades of Black Panther stories and whose debut directly catalyzed his shift from team-oriented superheroics toward confronting systemic racism. The issue also reintroduces a revamped second incarnation of the Sons of the Serpent — Roy Thomas's update of Stan Lee's KKK-coded hate group — now targeting prominent Black citizens in New York City, giving the story a direct engagement with the civil rights tensions of 1970 that was unusual for mainstream superhero comics at the time. Clint Barton's appearance here as Goliath (rather than his signature Hawkeye identity) and the issue's recap of the Vision's unfamiliarity with the Serpents also make it a useful snapshot of the Avengers roster in a period of deliberate creative transition. Together, the introduction of Monica Lynne and the racially charged Sons of the Serpent storyline gave writer Roy Thomas a springboard that Don McGregor would later build into the celebrated 'Panther's Rage' arc in Jungle Action.
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Roy Thomas was the primary writer shepherding the Avengers through its early Bronze Age transition, and this issue — titled 'The Sting of the Serpent, Part 1' — was produced with Stan Lee as editor-in-chief. Interior pencils are credited to Frank Giacoia with inks by Sam Grainger, while the cover was painted by Marie Severin and Grainger. The Grand Comics Database notes, citing Roy Thomas himself from the letters page of X-Men #61, that Grainger also colored many of the inked Avengers stories of this period; a later letters page in Avengers #77 additionally confirmed that Herb Trimpe penciled one page of this issue. The story is a direct continuation of the Sons of the Serpent threat first introduced by Stan Lee and Don Heck in Avengers #32–33 (1966), with Thomas recapping that earlier encounter for the benefit of the Vision, who was not yet a member when it occurred.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Monica Lynne, African-American singer and social activist who becomes T'Challa's long-term romantic partner and eventual fiancée across multiple decades of Marvel continuity.
- Introduces the second incarnation of the Sons of the Serpent, now led by two co-Supreme Serpents — television talk-show host Dan Dunn (a white right-winger) and civil-rights figure Montague Hale (a Black activist) — both ultimately revealed as power-hungry manipulators rather than true ideologues.
- Written by Roy Thomas with interior pencils by Frank Giacoia, inks by Sam Grainger, cover art by Marie Severin and Sam Grainger, and edited by Stan Lee; the Grand Comics Database notes Herb Trimpe penciled one page (page 4), as confirmed in Avengers #77's letters column.
- The story is titled 'The Sting of the Serpent' and is Part 1 of a two-part arc concluded in Avengers #74; it includes a full in-story recap of the Serpents' original appearance in Avengers #32–33 (1966), delivered for the Vision's benefit.
- Bill Foster (later to become the size-changing hero Giant-Man/Goliath) appears only in flashback in this issue, referenced as an earlier Black victim of the Sons of the Serpent.
- Clint Barton appears here under the Goliath identity rather than as Hawkeye, reflecting the frequent code-name changes that characterized Marvel's roster during this era.
- The issue carries a February 1970 cover date and is considered an early Bronze Age Marvel comic, representing Marvel's conscious effort to address contemporary racial politics through superhero storytelling.
- Reprinted in Essential Avengers Vol. 4 (2004), Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 8 (2008), Avengers Epic Collection Vol. 4: Behold… The Vision (2015), and The Avengers Omnibus Vol. 3 (2018).
Cast · 13 characters
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Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).