In the Clutches of... the Collector!

MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION — Issue no. 43, May 1978

Book: Marvel Triple Action

Issue No.: 43

Published: May 9, 1978

Title: “In the Clutches of... the Collector!” (reprint of Avengers no. 51)

Cover Price: 35¢

I am realizing with these bi-monthly 1978 comics (like Marvel Triple Action) that I have trouble remembering where the previous issue left off. In fairness, it’s taking me a couple of months to read one 1978 month’s worth of comics, so these bi-monthly books are more like triannual books for me. And in this case, Marvel Triple Action is an Avengers reprint book (in 1978 it was republishing Avengers stories from the late 1960s), and I might be getting some details mixed up with the new-as-of-1978 Avengers stories. Because the 1978 Avengers are contending with the Collector, and the title of this reprint story indicates the Collector will be making an appearance here, too.

The story starts out with Hank Pym (AKA Ant-Man, AKA Goliath) experimenting on himself in an attempt to regain his turn-into-a-giant super-powers. The experiment immediately goes south, and Hank’s fellow Avengers Wasp and Hawkeye have to rescue him. Then we meet the Collector who explains his evil plan — he’s going to collect (imprison) an entire set of Avengers. He starts with Wasp and gets a three-for-one (triple action, as it were) when Hawkeye and Goliath are also captured in his tractor beam and brought on board his space ship.

It turns out the Collector has already captured and brainwashed Thor (via a spiked drink — Thor should know better!), and he sends the thunder god to capture Iron Man. The Collector also doesn’t want any “broken” Avengers in his collection, so he starts experimenting on Goliath in an attempt to restore the Avenger’s super-powers.

Wasp manages to escape from her cage and free Hawkeye and Goliath. This prompts the Collector to attack them with a “robotoid” from his collection. But the robotoid is something of a loose cannon and ends up turning on the Collector who escapes with some kind of time travel device. Goliath does indeed regain his powers, and he uses them to defeat the robotoid. And when the Collector disappears into the past or future or whatever, Thor is freed from his brainwashing.

And if all that’s not enough, Captain America (who is not an Avenger at this point in Marvel history) calls the Avengers at the end of the story and suggests they bring on a new member, a hero known as Black Panther.

The Collector as a villain seems ahead of his time. I tend to associate collector culture with the comic book sales boom (and eventual bust) of the 1990s. But I suppose the Collector could just be seen as a metaphor for conspicuous consumption, which has been around forever.

Next time — I’ll catch up with the Master of Kung Fu!