Avengers 1963 Issue 66

After the last issue where Vision became part of the team and Ultron was destroyed (well all but his head), I jumped ahead a bunch of issues to the next story in my reading list.

Issue: Avengers 1963 Issue 66

Name: Betrayal!

Published by Marvel July 1969

From Comixology: Long absent members Iron Man and Thor rejoin the Avengers after personal leave. The team must destroy an Adamantium cylinder created by mad scientist Myron MacLain.

Creators:

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Barry Smith
Inker: Syd Shores
Letterer: Artie Simek
Cover Artist: John Buscema
Editor: Stan Lee

Characters:

The Good: Thor, Iron Man, Goliath, Wasp, Yellowjacket, Doctor MacLain
The Bad: Ultron
The Undecided: Vision

Betrayal seems to be a big part of the story lines for the Avengers in these issues. In the first set of comics (issues 54 and 55) Jarvis is a betrayer now we have Vision as the betrayer.

But first, Dr. MacLain has the team test out their powers on the new material Adamantium and it proves impervious to Thor's Hammer, Iron Man's Repulsor Beams, and Goliath's giant sized fists. While this is going on, Vison starts behaving strangely and goes off on his own to visit Wonder Man's grave where he hears voices that drive him to betray the Avengers. He goads them into a fight and while he distracts them, Ultron reassembles himself using the adamantium. Ultron is reborn as Ultron-6!

So somehow Ultron convinced Vision to help him steal the adamantium and to fashion a new body out of it. I'm not too sure what Vision hopes to gain, but he does act strangely and a bunch of things seem to have happened in the issues I didn't read. Clint Barton, Hawkeye from the previous issues, is now Goliath while Hank Pym who was Goliath is now Yellowjacket. And in this issue I see adamantium for the first time and SHIELD and their helicarrier are present which I know from the movies but haven't seen in the comics so far. Could something have happened to Vision to make him turn on the Avengers like this? And to bring back Ultron of all betrayals.

The art in this issue is done by a different team, but I think Barry Smith does a good job of keeping up with John Buscema's presentation from the previous issues I read. And he has a couple of really nicely drawn panels. The full page depiction of Vision's power as he becomes partly solid when sharing the same space as a SHIELD agent sent shivers up my spine as it really made me think of what it might feel like. Truly freaky.

So now we get another piece of the Ultron puzzle and how he became so formidable. While the adamantium is practically indestructible, I also know it's powerful properties from Wolverine who is infused with the substance. Ultron must be pretty badass to be fully made of it.

In the next issue we learn more about what motivates Vision and perhaps he will provide a suitable reasoning for the betrayal like Jarvis did in the earlier issues.

You can read this issue on Comixology or Marvel Unlimited.

Morning Ramble #61 | Ultron Reading List #6