Avengers and Philosophy: Earth's Mightiest Thinkers, The (27 page)

27.
Hawkeye
, vol. 1, #4.

28.
Tao Te Ching
, chapter 69. This is similar to the teachings of Sun Tzu in
The Art of War
, considered to be a Taoist classic in its own right.

29.
Avengers
, vol. 3, #502 (November 2004), reprinted in
Avengers Disassembled
(2005).

30.
Tao Te Ching
, chapter 7.

31.
Young Avengers
#12 (August 2006), reprinted in
Young Avengers: Family Matters
(2007).

32.
For more on superhero mantles, see the chapter by Stephen Nelson titled “Superhero Identity: Case Studies in the Avengers” in this volume.

33.
Tao Te Ching
, chapter 74.

34.
Hawkeye
, vol. 3, #1–6 (December 2003–May 2004).

35.
House of M
(2006).

36.
Clint finds the Scarlet Witch in
New Avengers,
vol. 1, #26 (January 2007), appears (unidentified) as Ronin in issue #27 (April 2007), and is shown (in flashback) assuming the Ronin identity in #30 (July 2007), all reprinted in
New Avengers Vol. 6: Revolution
(2007). He becomes Hawkeye once more in
Enter the Heroic Age
(July 2010), reprinted in
Hawkeye & Mockingbird: Ghosts
(2011).

37.
Chuang Tzu, chapter 2, 65, in
The Taoist Classics
. A similar argument was put forward by philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650) to question our knowledge of reality; see his
Meditations on First Philosophy
(1641), Meditation 1. And it’s not too much of a stretch to extend this to the Skrull who impersonated Mockingbird for so many years! (For Mockingbird’s side of the story, see
New Avengers: The Reunion
.)

38.
Ibid., 64.

39.
Hawkeye & Mockingbird
#1 (August 2010).

40.
Tao Te Ching
, chapter 77.

APPENDIX

Why Are There Four Volumes of
Avengers?

Since there are so many
Avengers
titles, which seem to be relaunched or renumbered as often as Iron Man updates his armor, here is a “simple” guide to delving into the Avengers canon, covering the main ongoing titles (and by necessity leaving out many miniseries and one-shots).

The first volume of
Avengers
started in September 1963 and lasted for over four hundred issues (and annuals) until September 1996. In 1984, the
West Coast Avengers
appeared in a self-titled miniseries (an obvious ploy to get Hawkeye out of Avengers Mansion), followed in 1985 by an ongoing series that lasted until 1994 (after changing its title to
Avengers West Coast
in 1989). In order to keep busy, Hawkeye also headlined the
Solo Avengers
title (which featured another Avenger in the backup story) starting in 1987 and lasting until 1991 (also changing its title to
Avengers Spotlight
in 1989).

The first
Avengers
run ended when the Avengers were “Heroes Reborn,” thrown into a pocket dimension of distorted anatomy and even worse costume design. The second volume of
Avengers
mercifully lasted only thirteen issues (from November 1996 to November 1997). You will notice that this run is never cited in this book—for a reason. (’Nuff said.) The third volume of
Avengers
started in February 1998 when our heroes returned to the normal Marvel Universe with a near-classic lineup (and the Avengers spotlight now focused on the Scarlet Witch’s navel). In September 2004, the series was renumbered starting with issue #500 to reflect the original volume’s numbering (as if it had been followed throughout all the volumes). However, this was also the beginning of “Avengers Disassembled,” as the team and mansion were decimated by a very angry Scarlet Witch. (You connect the dots, my friend.)

Then the fun started: after much soul-searching on the part of Iron Man and Captain America, the first volume of
New Avengers
launched in January 2005 (yes, the same month that the original Avengers disbanded
forever
!). It was followed by
Young Avengers
in April 2005, which lasted a year and told the story of a group of second-generation heroes (including another upstart archer). Then the
Civil War
happened in 2006, and the New Avengers reemerged afterward as an underground ragtag band of renegades fighting against superhero registration—and yes, Clint Barton was there. But the pro-registration forces, led by Iron Man, had their own team. The
Mighty Avengers
title started in May 2007, followed soon by
Avengers: The Initiative
in June 2007, detailing the training of young heroes (not including the Young Avengers, who continued on in a series of one-shots and miniseries).

After the Skrulls’
Secret Invasion
ended in January 2009, the lineups of the New and Mighty Avengers were shaken up (but the titles continued, without even renumbering them!). More important,
Dark Avengers
launched in March 2009, featuring evil doppelgängers for key Avengers like Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel, and led by none other than Norman Osborn. After Osborn’s Siege of Asgard in summer 2010, all the Avengers titles—
New
,
Mighty
,
Dark
, and
Initiative
—ended. In the new
Heroic Age
, not only was a second volume of
New Avengers
launched, but we also saw a fourth volume of
Avengers
as the classic title was revived for the first time in fifteen years. Add to this
Secret Avengers
(Steve Rogers’s black ops team, later headed by Hawkeye),
Avengers Academy
(the latest young-heroes-in-training title), and
Avengers Assemble
, which began in March 2012—not to mention the live-action movie, cunningly titled
Avengers
, and the animated TV show
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
—and the Avengers are truly Earth’s mightiest comics, television, and film franchise.

Contributors

Avengers Academy

Adam Barkman
has a PhD from the Free University of Amsterdam and is associate professor of philosophy at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario. He is the author of
C. S. Lewis and Philosophy as a Way of Life
,
Through Common Things
, and
Above All Things
, and is the coeditor of
Manga and Philosophy
and
The Philosophy of Ang Lee
. However, to his kids, Heather (Waspie-Turtle) and Tristan (Hulk-Puppy), he is simply known as Thor-Lion, and this is their song: “Avengers: Assemble! Always, we will fight as one, the battle boo-boo-boo . . .”

Arno Bogaerts
is currently finishing his studies in philosophy and ethics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, where he has written several essays focusing on the superhero and its genre. He also writes for the Belgian comic book site Brainfreeze and will contribute a chapter to the upcoming
Superman and Philosophy
. Convinced that Belgian beer can easily beat the best mead Asgard has to offer, he and his buddies plan to challenge both Thor and Tony Stark to a local drinking contest.

Roy T. Cook
is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, a resident fellow at the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, and an associate fellow at the Northern Institute of Philosophy–University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He is the author of
A Dictionary of Philosophical Logic
, editor of
The Arché Papers on the Mathematics of Abstraction
, and has published numerous academic articles on paradoxes, the philosophy of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, and, more recently, the aesthetics of comics. He is also coeditor (with Aaron Meskin) of
The Art of Comics: A Philosophical Approach
. Despite the best efforts of artists and writers, his early romance with Jennifer Walters was censored by the Comics Code Authority, and as a result the steamy details will forever remain a secret.

Sarah K. Donovan
is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Wagner College in New York City. Her teaching and research interests include feminist, social, moral, and Continental philosophy, and she has coauthored articles for books in the present series on Batman,
Watchmen
, Iron Man, and Green Lantern. While performing research with the Dark Avengers, she became friends with Lindy Reynolds, but now feels guilty about assuring her that helicopter rides are completely safe.

Andrew Zimmerman Jones
is the physics guide at
About.com
and author of
String Theory for Dummies
. He lives in central Indiana with his wife and two young sons, occasionally writing essays in august collections such as
Heroes and Philosophy
and
Green Lantern and Philosophy
. In his spare time, he searches for Jones Particles, theoretical particles that will shrink your waistline.

Charles Klayman
is a term instructor of philosophy at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois. Since Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning rejected his application, he is completing his doctoral studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His research interests include classical American philosophy and aesthetics. Despite possessing the ability to befuddle minds, he was denied Avengers membership; apparently, carrying a thick philosophy book is not the same as carrying a mystical hammer or an indestructible shield.

Daniel P. Malloy
quit the Avengers in protest after the Scarlet Witch married the Vision, maintaining (against Klayman’s chapter) that walking toasters don’t have the right to marry. There was also a slight dispute with Jarvis, which has since been settled out of court. Since then, Daniel has spent his time as a lecturer in philosophy at Appalachian State University, teaching introductory courses and writing about the intersections between philosophy and popular culture.

Louis P. Melançon
dresses like Captain America and asks for super-soldier serum at every medical appointment he has. So far it’s only resulted in flu and anthrax vaccinations. While he has no experience (yet) in fighting the Skrulls, Kree, or any time-traveling villains bent on world domination, as a U.S. Army officer Louis has had a wide variety of tactical and strategic combat arms and intelligence experience. He has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal and holds master’s degrees from the Joint Military Intelligence College (now National Intelligence University) and King’s College, London. His greatest achievement, however, is teaching his two-year-old daughter to identify all the Pet Avengers by name.

Stephen M. Nelson
is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. He teaches courses in a variety of areas, and his research centers on the philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and metaphysics. Being a direct descendant of Odin through his Icelandic side (which he can prove with detailed genealogical records), Stephen has always felt a distinct—almost brotherly—bond with Thor, and, by extension, the ragtag band of superheroes Thor runs with.

Robert Powell
—or “Troy” when he’s under the influence of a special top-secret serum—is a master’s candidate in the Conflict Analysis and Management Program at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, with an undergraduate background in psychology and philosophy. Troy is also a research analyst with the Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention, a Toronto-based NGO, working on an open source early warning system for genocide—or what Troy likes to think of as the “Cerebro of ethnic conflict.” What fewer people know is that Troy is secretly working on an upgrade to the serum that created the Sentry, believing we all must learn to rein in our darker natures before we can rise and shine as heroes of the world in our own domains.

Nicholas Richardson
is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Sciences at Wagner College in New York City, where he teaches general, advanced inorganic, and medicinal chemistry. He has coauthored articles for books in the present series on Batman,
Watchmen
, Iron Man, and Green Lantern. He was initially asked by Norman Osborn to join the Dark Avengers, but somehow the paperwork got lost, and Osborn had to step in at the last minute to become the Iron Patriot himself.

Christopher Robichaud
is a lecturer in ethics and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The Avengers often consult him on matters of moral and political philosophy. Well, Nick Fury forces them to. Captain America politely listens. Iron Man totally ignores him. Black Widow threatens to kill him if he doesn’t shut up. Hawkeye echoes that sentiment. Thor simply laughs and invites him out for a beer. And Hulk, mercifully, never shows up.

Jason Southworth
is an adjunct professor of philosophy at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. He has written chapters for many Philosophy and Pop Culture volumes, including ones on
Inception
, X-Men, and Final Fantasy. He is curious about the application process for the Pet Avengers; if Miss Lion is a member, surely it was a mistake not to invite Hepzibah, the fierce defender of the Southworth-Tallman household.

Tony Spanakos
was never invited to join the Avengers despite being recognized by his wife, friends, and students as “positively inhuman.” Having emerged from the Terrigen Mists with no useful power other than the ability to read dry texts comfortably on a crowded subway car, he has pursued scholarship for several years, teaching politics at Montclair State University in New Jersey and New York University. He published a number of articles on political economy and democratization in Latin America before being called to join the Defenders. While holding out for an Avengers gig (if Hank Pym can do it, why not him?), he has written essays for
Batman and Philosophy
,
Watchmen and Philosophy
,
Iron Man and Philosophy
, and the forthcoming
Spider-Man and Philosophy.

Ruth Tallman
is an assistant professor of philosophy at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. She has written chapters for other popular philosophy volumes on Sherlock Holmes, the Rolling Stones, and Christmas. She’s not wild about the relationship between Tigra and Hank Pym because it sends the wrong message to impressionable young cats like Hepzibah, the fearless protector of the Southworth-Tallman household.

Andrew Terjesen
earned his PhD in philosophy from Duke University and taught for a number of years at Austin College, Washington and Lee University, and Rhodes College. His philosophical interests include moral psychology, early modern philosophy, and the philosophy of law. He also enjoys writing about the intersections of philosophy and pop culture with essays in this series about the X-Men,
Watchmen
, Iron Man, Green Lantern, Spider-Man, and Superman. Andrew has recently enrolled in law school, but was disappointed that his criminal law professor did not cover the issue of transtemporal jurisdiction in the landmark case of
Kang v. Immortus v. Scarlet Centurion v. Rama Tut
. (Andrew suspects that the professor is a Skrull.)

Mark D. White
is the chair of the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, where he teaches courses that combine economics, philosophy, and law. He is the author of
Kantian Ethics and Economics: Autonomy, Dignity, and Character
(Stanford, 2011), and has edited (or coedited) books for the present series on Batman,
Watchmen
, Iron Man, Green Lantern, and Superman. If he had the Scarlet Witch’s ability to alter reality, he’d make sure he got to edit this book too.