AVENGERS #80-81 (1970): 1st Red Wolf

First appearance of The Red Wolf, one of the first Native American superheroes. Wyatt Wingfoot came earlier, in the pages of Fantastic Four #50, but he wasn’t really “super.”

It’s kind of annoying that every time we get a new hero it’s “The Coming Of…”

Red Wolf’s origin:

He was looking for Red Wolf…but it was inside him all the time!

He’s also got a cute puppy named lobo.

The Avengers get between Red Wolf and revenge.

But of course Comic Code appropriate justice is served in the end. By the end of this story, he stops being Red Wolf. So he’s around for two issues. This is oddly similar to Marvel’s next big Native American hero, Thunderbird, who died in his third comic book issue.

Weird.

Scarlet Witch gets injured in the battle…

…And it looks like Vision is starting to catch feelings for her.

Meanwhile the team is still hunting the Zodiacs.

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1 thought on “AVENGERS #80-81 (1970): 1st Red Wolf”

  1. As cheesy ( and totally non-commercial ) as the character of ‘Red Wolf’ was, these two issues featuring him and his trusty lobo Lobo were produced when Thomas and John Buscema were at the absolute height of their mighty literary powers. Stan’s editorial notations were in strong evidence, as well-stronger than usual. The Scarlet Witch seemed as though she could be around twenty years of age by this time, ( meaning, of course, her twin brother, the meteoric mutant Quicksilver was the exact same age ) and, under Big John’s pen, she was at her all-time most-fetching. Her power-level was also at it’s all-time most interesting, as well. Not every Marvel superheroine need be a ‘Claremont Chick’, with Omega-level power. ( as per the ‘X-Men’s mutant grading-scale ) Three unpredictable mutant-powered “hexes” per hour, is just fine! That’s one per every twenty minutes. That seems plausible, to me. There is nothing even remotely plausible to me about any of the Claremont Chicks. It does seem to me, however, that a well-placed and well-timed hex from Wanda’s lovely hands could take down even Thor, Iron Man, or…………..the Vision………………even for just a brief period of time! We just didn’t NEED all of this post-‘Agatha Harkness’ nonsense- after only just ONE NIGHT under Harkness’ tutelage, Wanda is pulling down METEORS from HIGH-ORBIT-????!!!! ( see ‘Giant-Size Avengers’#2, page 31, panel 5, 1974 ) Shiiiiiiiiiitttt!!!! Even THOR can’t pull off stunts like THAT!!!! Holy absurdity!! No, I loved my little Wanda-Poo just the way she was- when her power-level was somewhat believable, and not ‘Samantha Stevens’ powerful! Grade- B! ( ‘C’- really-?!?-! ) ‘Nuff Said!!

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