Avengers #162: Review

Aug 1977

Jim Shooter, George Perez

Story Name:

The Bride of Ultron!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #162 Review by Peter Silvestro (February 27, 2010)

Conclusion of a two-part story. First appearance of Jocasta, though she is not named until AVENGERS #171. Two-Gun Kid is seen reading an issue of RAWHIDE KID (he likes Kirby’s art). Captain America, Scarlet Witch, and Beast are seen only very briefly, being loaded into an ambulance.

Avengers #162 Review by Rob Johnson (July 1, 2014)

Wonder Man hangs back in this fight because he's afraid of dying, having already experienced it once. This theme will continue. Ultron's actions are likened by Black Panther and Iron Man here to an Oedipus complex. He wants to kill his 'father' (Hank Pym) and marry his 'mother' (Jan transferred to the robotic Bride). Which doesn't really explain why Ultron buys into this in #170-171 and names the female robot Jocasta after Oedipus' mother. That is the next appearance for the pair. Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid will guest star in Ghost Rider #27, and then will be dragged into the Collector & Michael storyline in #168. We now have another little break before #163. Captain America will visit Iron Fist #12, while Iron Man is in Godzilla #3 and his own Annual #4. Then they 2 will be joined by Black Panther for the out-of-sequence #169. #163 itself will only feature Shellhead and Beast. The whole gang won't be back together until #164.

Ultron says he caused Henry Pym's memory loss. But Ant-Man's hatred of the Avengers goes far beyond that, so he *is* suffering a breakdown as Jan feared last issue. Iron Man says the 'Stark L I' message refers to Tony Stark's abandoned aerospace research centre on Long Island. However it has been established in eg IM#69 that Stark has his HQ on Long Island. However IM#83 puts the HQ in Queens, whereas the facility here is in Nassau County. So maybe that's 2 separate sites on Long Island, and Stark obviously picked the abandoned 1 because Ultron could hardly be in his HQ. Thor is brought here by Collector again from his space journeying, this time from after Thor #256-257 where he battled Sporr. He will be returned to face Grey Gargoyle (in deep space) in Thor#258-259. Ultron put some of the Avengers in a death-like coma last issue, which will soon kill them unless reversed (but we never see *how* they are saved). He says he gave the same technology to Grim Reaper, who used it in #160. But GR did the same thing to the Avengers in his 1st appearance in #52. Just how *long* has he been working with Ultron?

Wonder Man flies using jets on his belt in this issue. I think this is the only time he does this before it becomes a regular feature of his safari jacket costume from #171.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #162 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Thor arrives at the Mansion and is quickly filled in on events by Black Panther and a recharging Iron Man: Ant-Man was brainwashed into fighting them, then Ultron appeared, destroyed the Vision and killed Captain America, Scarlet Witch and Beast. Now the three of them, plus Wonder Man who recovered from Ultron’s blasts, live to seek vengeance. At Ultron’s lair, the monstrous robot explains to Ant-Man that the evil Avengers nearly killed Jan and to save her life, he must transfer her mind into a robot body. The Avengers are still unable to reach Hawkeye, who is relaxing at a dude ranch with the Two-Gun Kid, so they set out in a desperate search for the villain’s whereabouts. Ultron’s scheme is to play out his warped Oedipus Complex by tricking his "father" into transferring the mind of his "mother" Jan into the body of his bride. During the transfer, Jan awakens and is unable to comprehend what is happening to her as the robot Bride is absorbing her soul. At the Mansion Thor and Wonder Man are startled by a swarm of ants spelling out "STARK L I" on the floor with their bodies. Iron Man recognizes it as a reference to his abandoned research lab on Long Island and the Avengers head out there. As the heroes burst in and surround the mad robot, Ultron reveals that their fallen teammates are alive but in a mortal coma. Ant-Man joins the battle against his comrades and the two prove unbeatable. Unable to defeat their foes or shut down the transference machine, Iron Man seizes the Bride and threatens to destroy her unless Ultron gives them the codes to stop the transference. The process is stopped and Jan is saved and the enraged villain jets off into the sky. In the epilogue, the Avengers hope to learn from Ultron’s equipment how to reverse Hank’s brainwashing and discover that Jan did not send the ants with the message…so who did? Only someone sympathetic to Jan’s plight and possessing the cybernetic circuitry required to contact the ants…perhaps in her brief moments of life, the Bride was more human than anyone had suspected.

Avengers: Thor, Iron Man, Wasp, Ant-Man (Hank Pym), Wonder Man, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Two-Gun Kid, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Beast.