West Coast Avengers #1
Avengers Assemble
With a brand new headquarters set up in Los Angeles, Hawkeye — the leader of the West Coast Avengers — shouts the team battle cry “Avengers Assemble!” to an empty property.[1] His wife, Mockinbird, points out that this would be more impressive if they had a team to work with, and expresses her concern that she doesn’t have what it takes to be an Avenger. Clint finds this preposterous, pointing out that he and Captain America — two heroes without super-powers — have been Avengers in good standing for a long time and that with her SHIELD training Bobbi will be a perfect fit. They then go down to the communications room to tell the Vision that their new headquarters is up an running. Unable to physically be there himself, the Vision commends them on a job well done and informs them that he has sent word out to potential recruits.[2]
An hour earlier, Tigra was visiting her old friend Jessica Drew — formerly Spider-Woman — who has set up a private investigation firm in San Francisco.[3] That’s when Lindsay McCabe — Jessica’s friend and secretary — tells Tigra that there is a call for her on the phone. Answering it, the cat-woman is caught off guard by the caller and his request. Ending the call, Tigra tells Jessica that something important has come up in Los Angeles and she has to go.[4] Unaware that her friend has been asked to rejoin the Avengers, Jessica worries that Greer might be in trouble and puts in a call to the Cat’s Jazz Club and a friend in LA who can look into things for her.
Meanwhile, in the Mojave Desert, a car chase scene is being shot for an upcoming action film. The lead actor is racing a sports car being chased by armed men driving in jeeps. One of the jeeps is blasted by a weapon, crashes, and then explodes into flames. However, the driver is unhurt because he is Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man. When the director calls cut, Williams pulls himself out of the burning wreck and has buckets of water dumped on him to put out the flames. His friend Freddy, a fellow stunt man, tells Simon that he did a good job and jokes that he’s going to put everyone else out of business. When one of the production assistants tells him that something has started buzzing in his trailer. He goes to check it out and, moments later, emerges in his old Avengers costume. Simon tells Freddy that duty calls and he’ll be back on set tomorrow for his next scene before taking to the sky with his rocket belt.
An hour later, Iron Man is flying high above the city, testing out his armor’s capabilities. This is actually Jim Rhodes, who took over the role from Tony Stark and he is loving every minute of it.[5] That’s when he gets a call from the Vision telling him that the Avengers need him. Jim is excited by the idea of officially joining the Avengers and heads to their new Compound, just as Tigra is arriving. As Tigra strips off her overcoat and hat she talks to Jim like she knew the old Iron Man. They are then greeted at the main gate by Hawkeye and brought inside the compound, little knowing that they are being observed by a mysterious cloaked figure.
They are taken down to the communications room beneath the compound where Hawkeye asks them to join his team, the West Coast Avengers. Clint is getting ahead of himself by going over details when he is interrupted by Tigra, who tells him that she isn’t sure she wants to join the team because she doesn’t feel qualified. Iron Man also speaks up and is about to tell them that he’s not the man they think he is but is interrupted when the alarm goes off. Checking the security monitor, Hawkeye is surprised that the intruder has plunged the upper levels of the compound in darkness. Switching to infrared, he watches in astonishment as the unknown intruder takes out a stunulator weapons with his bare hands.
The four would-be Avengers split up and search the main building for the intruder. Mockingbird is the first one to encounter him, but can’t get a good bead on him thanks to a cloud of absolute darkness that begins filling the room like a thick pea soup fog. When Hawkeye arrives to help his flare arrow does little to illuminate the room but drives off the intruder with a sonic arrow. In another part of the compound, Tigra encounters the dark fog and realizes that the source is her old friend the Shroud, and begins calling out to him.[6] Unfortunately, Iron Man finds the Shroud first. Realizing that he is out of his league, the Shroud tries to escape through a window but is ambushed by Wonder Man, who is just arriving on the scene. Luckily, Tigra is able to find her way outside and gets her friends to stand down.
With the battle over, Mockingbird gives the Shroud medical attention for his injured ribs. Hawkeye is impressed with the Shroud’s ability to hold his own against the entire team since it’s not all that different from how he first joined the Avengers all those years ago.[7] However, when he offers the Shroud a spot on the team, he declines.[8] The Shroud explains that he has gone under deep cover as a crime boss in order to attack organized crime from within and that joining the Avengers would deeply compromise this role. As he disappears into a cloud of darkness, the Shroud says he will keep in touch and if they ever need him, he can be found at the Cat’s Jazz Club.
In the aftermath of the battle, Wonder Man asks why he was summoned to the Avengers Compound for. This annoys Clint as he has to start his recruitment pitch from the top…
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Tigra), Vision, Edwin Jarvis, Shroud, Jessica Drew, Lindsay McCabe
Continuity Notes
The Vision — leader of the Avengers at the time of this story — decided to expand the group’s effectiveness by setting up a new branch on the west coast, sending Hawkeye and Mockingbird to set things up in Avengers #243.
The Vision states here that he is returning a earlier call from Clint. He called Vision in Avengers #246, but was unavailable.
Jessica thanks Tigra for helping get her business going while she got back up on her feet. Jessica had been in the hospital fighting for her life against Morgan le Fay. She won this battle with the help of Doctor Strange and the Avengers but at the cost of her powers. See Avengers #240-241. Her powers will fluctuate over the years until they are completely restored in Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.
Tigra is reluctant to rejoin the Avengers because of her last stint on the team. This ran from Avengers #211 to 216. After experiencing the types of menaces the Avengers face she felt inadequate on the team, especially beside seasons members like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America.
This story takes place following the events of Iron Man #167-170, wherein Tony Stark falls off the wagon and his alcoholism gets so bad that he cannot operate as Iron Man anymore. Jim Rhodes reluctantly takes on the role and will operate as Iron Man until Iron Man #195.
Tigra first met the Shroud back in Spider-Woman #50.
Hawkeye tried to prove his value to the team by breaking into Avengers Mansion and tying up their butler, Edwin Jarvis. See Avengers #16.
Hawkeye offers the Shroud a spot because he read one of Captain America’s case files in which he worked with the Shroud and gave a glowing commendation. Captain America and the Shroud worked together and tried to stop a clash between Doctor Doom and the Red Skull. See Super-Villain Team-Up #10-12.
Topical References
Mockingbird jokes that Hawkeye was thinking of setting the new team up at Knott’s Berry Farm. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world amusement park.
Tigra states that the Avengers will be paid a weekly stipend of $1000 as active members. Adjusting for inflation this would be about $2700 in 2022 money.
