Origin/First Appearance: Kang (as Kang, first appeared as Rama-Tut in FF #19)

Villain: Kang

Guest Appearance: Rick Jones, Teen Brigade, Undersecretary of Defense

Innovations: sub-space

Gadgets & Technology: molecular time-drive, anti-matter screen, neutrino missile, radiation mask, power ray

Letters Page: Page One

They fly into immediate action to investigate Kang, and when they arrive at the scene, he is lounging on an invisible chair. They engage him in dialogue, andKang explains that he has come simply to conquer their planet. He begins a demonstration of his powers: he floats the Avengers up into the air with an anti-gravitydevice, and when Thor throws his hammer at him, he causes it to vanish in front of him, only to reappear full-force in front of Thor. Before the Avengerscan break free of the anti-grav device, it impolitely throws them back down to the ground.

Once they gather themselves, the Under-Secretary of Defense has come to talk with Kang. He demands Kang explain himself and his demands further. And so, Kangregales the assemblage with the story of his coming: Kang explains that he was born in the year 3000, where he mastered time travel. He went back in time and took on the identity of Rama-Tut, where he took on the FF (see FF #19,) and met Dr. Doom (see FF Ann. #2.) His journeys through time are all part of a sequence of events in which he engages in warfare to dominate civilizations. Bored with the future and its powerful weapons, he has once again returned to the past to proclaim himself ruler of the 20th Century. Having heard enoughof Kang's out of control ego, Giant-Man grabs him by the ankles and lifts him up, but this only incites Kang to defend himself vigorously. His suit emanates a forcefield that kocks the team out of the way. Thor tries to stop him with his hammer, but an anti-matter screen pops up to block it. The Wasp tries to sneak into thecircuitry of his helmet, but he catches her before she can gain entry. While he wrestles with her, the rest of the team tries to get tactical advantage, but he is tooquick: he uses an attractor ray to pull Cap, Iron Man, Giant-Man and Thor into his ship, where they are imprisoned in cells beneath a paralysis beam. Only Rick and the Wasp are free!

While Kang repeats his demands to the Under Secretary, the Wasp and Rick Jones redouble back to the mansion to find a secret weapon and to rally the Teen Brigade to help. World tension mountsas people panic in the face of Kang's domination. The United Nations meets and decides to take unanimous and decisive military action against Kang. Meanwhile, the Teen Brigade, led by Rick Jones, puts theirplan into action. They approach Kang and offer their services to him to help betray the Earth. He accepts and allows them to enter his ship. While some of the Teen Brigade complies with Kang's requests, they are buying time for Rick, who has found the control panel that keeps the Avengers stuck in paralysis. He frees them from their bonds, and back at Henry Pym's lab, the Wasp hasfound a powerful weapon Tony Stark helped put together. She carries it back to the scene, and by that time, the Avengers are disembarking from Kang's ship to face him. While his teammates keep Kang busy, Giant-Man fires the gun at Kang and scores a direct hit with an acid-base solvent that "eats away at any fabric," thus destroying Kang's weapons suit. In retaliation, Kang fires a neutrino missile at them, but Iron Mandeflects it into the sky where it explodes harmlessly.

In a last ditch attempt to gain victory, Kang emanates enormous amounts of radioactivity to kill them, but Thor's uru hammer absorbs all the rays and throws them back at him. He runs away, worried that the Avengersare too strong for him, and makes his escape in his UFO, vanishing from sight. The Avengers resolve to be on guard for Kang the next time he comes to menace the Earth.

-- synopsis by Gormuu

-- panel images by Avengers Assemble

Issues Reprinted
Avengers #1-10

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.