Avengers (1963) #47

Cover by Don Heck

Cover Date: December 1967

On-Sale Date: October 1967

Synopsis: Magneto is summoned back to Earth via magnetic rays, and captures Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES    

I should have covered this with the comics from 1967, but I forgot about it.  This run of Avengers is pretty vital set-up for the upcoming X-Men/Avengers crossover, so I should definitely include it.

Page 2

Magneto and the Toad are still imprisoned on the Stranger's world.  Magneto mentions that this has happened twice previously, in X-Men (1963) #11 and #18.  For days he's been sensing ever-stronger magnetic rays being beamed into space from Earth; these rays are the result of experiments being conducted by Dane Whitman, soon to be the new Black Knight.  On page 4, panel 4, Whitman's assistant Norris complains that they've been copped up in his castle doing experiments for "weeks on end".

Page 3, panel 1

The Stranger has apparently lost interest in Magneto since he acquired the Abomination.  This happened in Tales to Astonish (1959) #91, which was released concurrently with X-Men (1963) #32.  There's a short gap between #31 and #32 that it can slot into.

Page 4

This flashback to the death of the villainous Black Knight isn't terribly relevant to the X-Men, but I'll cover it here anyway.  His final battle with Iron Man happened "months ago" in Tales of Suspense (1959) #73, released around the same time as X-Men (1963) #16.  The Black Knight's death wasn't shown at the time, so this is the first time it's depicted.  Nathan Garrett's death was reported at the time, but not the fact that he was the Black Knight. Afterwards, his nephew Dane Whitman swore to make up for his uncle's criminal misdeeds by using his scientific discoveries for good.

Page 12, panel 1

Magneto says that he was held captive by the Stranger for "all those months".  By my timeline, he's been a prisoner of the Stranger for almost two years (from November of XY0 to September of XY2).  It's no wonder he's had enough of the Toad, really.

Page 12, panels 2 and 3

Page 13

Page 14, panel 1

This isn't the first flashback we've had to Magneto saving the Scarlet Witch, but it is by far the most detailed.  It adds in the detail that Magneto was specifically searching for other mutants, and that Wanda and Pietro had only come to the village the day before.  It also shows what had happened to Quicksilver, who was notably absent from the previous flashbacks.

Page 20

The issue ends on a cliffhanger, with Magneto having captured Wanda and Pietro, and imprisoned the new Black Knight.

COUNTING THE DAYS:

This story takes place in a single day, probably at some point after X-Men (1963) #40.