''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers'' is a four-issue

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

from July to October 2009. It was followed up by the four-issue limited series ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed'' from May to August 2010. Both series were written by

Chris Eliopoulos Chris Eliopoulos (born September 30, 1967) is an American cartoonist and letterer of comic books. Early life Eliopoulos attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City from 1985 to 1989. He majored in graphic design and minored in ...

with art by Ig Guara.

Plot

Fantastic Four member

Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and ...

visits

Attilan The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places f ...

, city of the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

, seeking the six

Infinity Gems The Infinity Gems (originally referred to as Soul Gems and later as Infinity Stones) are six fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of existence. The gems (Mind, Pow ...

(each an artifact of great power). Lockjaw, an oversized

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

and pet of the Inhuman Royal Family, finds the

Mind Gem The Infinity Gems (originally referred to as Soul Gems and later as Infinity Stones) are six fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of existence. The gems (Mind, Po ...

, which increases the animal's intelligence. Using telepathy to read Mr. Fantastic's mind, Lockjaw decides to find the remaining Gems. The pet encounters and recruits a number of other animal companions to heroes, including the

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

Hairball A hairball is a small collection of hair or fur formed in the stomach of animals, and uncommonly in humans, that is occasionally vomited up when it becomes too big. Hairballs are primarily a tight elongated cylinder of packed fur, but may inclu ...

, the diminutive dragon Lockheed, the

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

Redwing The redwing (''Turdus iliacus'') is a bird in the thrush family, Turdidae, native to Europe and the Palearctic, slightly smaller than the related song thrush. Taxonomy and systematics This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in h ...

, the

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

Throg Throughout the stories published in Marvel Comics since his first appearance in ''Journey into Mystery'' #83 (Aug. 1962), the Thor character has accumulated a number of recognizable supporting characters. Like Thor, many of these characters ar ...

, the

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into F ...

, the rabbit Super Rabbit, the ferret Nosie, the monkey Hit-Monkey, the

squirrels Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

Monkey Joe and Tippy-Toe, and the puppy Ms. Lion (actually a character from the animated series ''

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends may refer to the following shows: * ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 cartoon series * ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021 TV series), a 2021 Disney Junior cartoon {{Disam ...

''). Courtesy of Lockjaw's ability to teleport, the group visit the prehistoric

Savage Land The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It has appeared in many story arcs in ''Uncanny X-Men'' as well as other related books. ...

and acquire the Time Gem and the aid of the sabretooth tiger Zabu, and the ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

Devil Dinosaur Devil Dinosaur is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as resembling an enormous, crimson colored ''Tyrannosaurus''-like theropod dinosaur. Created by Jack Kirby, the chara ...

. The

Space Gem The Infinity Gems (originally referred to as Soul Gems and later as Infinity Stones) are six fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of existence. The gems (Mind, Po ...

is found in the past, and after an underwater encounter and being swallowed by the whale-like

Giganto Giganto () is the name of a fictional monster appearing in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Giganto has been seen across two separate instances in the Marvel Universe. Publication history The Deviant Mutate version of Giganto ...

, the group collect the Soul Gem and the Reality Gem. The animal team converge on the final Gem, the Power Gem, which is in the possession of the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

' dog, Bo. The Titan

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...

, a previous owner of all six Gems when united as the

Infinity Gauntlet ''The Infinity Gauntlet'' is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. In addition to an eponymous, six-issue limited series (comics), limited series written by Jim Starlin and Penciller, pencilled by George Pérez and Ron ...

, intervenes and kills Ms. Lion. The other animals are angered by this act and use the Gems to strand Thanos in an alternate dimension and subsequently revive their comrade. Retrieving the final Gem, the group decides to separate, but not before Throg advises that they now share a

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

link and will reunite if needed. Ms. Lion (resurrected by Hairball via the Soul Gem) dubs the group the Pet Avengers. The series concludes with Lockjaw presenting the Gems to a surprised Mr. Fantastic.

Reception

The first series received mixed reviews, with

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

rating the first issue a 6.5 out of 10. The first issue sold out and went to second printing. The story of the team continued in a second series, ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers: Unleashed'' (May – August 2010), followed by a third limited series ''Avengers vs. the Pet Avengers'' (December 2010 – March 2011) and a guest appearance in the ''

Power Pack Power Pack is a superhero team consisting of four young siblings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman, they first appeared in their own series in 1984, which last ...

'' all-ages miniseries title ''Thor and the Warriors Four'' (April 2010). They also appeared with

Rocket Raccoon Rocket Raccoon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #7 (Summer 1976). He is an intelligent ...

and Cosmo of the

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

in '' Guardians Team-Up'' #5 (June 2015).

Collected editions

The stories have been collected into two trade paperback volumes: * ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers'' (collects ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers'' #1-4, the ''Tails of the Pet Avengers'' digital comic, and the ''Marvel Pets Handbook''), 176 pages, May 2010, (hardcover, November 2009, ) * ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed'' (collects ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed'' #1-4, the ''Tails of the Pet Avengers: The Dog Days of Summer'' one-shot issue, and a ''Hulk-Pet Avengers'' single-page story), 120 pages, February 2011, (hardcover, September 2010, ) * ''Avengers vs. Pet Avengers'' (collects ''Avengers vs. Pet Avengers'' #1-4 and ''Spider-Man Family'' #6), 128 pages, July 2011, Previous appearances by the animals have also been collected into trade paperback: * ''Pet Avengers Classic'' (collects ''

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...

'' #4, '' Captain America'' #220, '' Ka-Zar the Savage'' #14-15, ''

X-Men Unlimited ''X-Men Unlimited'' was the title of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The purpose of this title was to run stories that fit between the main X-Men comics. The stories included all characters (heroes and villains) from the X-tit ...

'' #43, '' Marvel Comics Presents'' #72, '' Speedball'' #6, '' Marvel Tales'' #100, '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #8, '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15, '' Fantastic Four'' #94, ''

New Defenders The Defenders are a set of superhero groups with rotating membership appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders" who, in their prior adventures, are known ...

'' #150, ''

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subs ...

Annual'' #4, '' Franklin Richards: Happy Franksgiving'', ''

New Warriors The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...

'' #2, and ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s. ...

'' #57), 208 pages, October 2009,

In other media

Video game

* The Pet Avengers are playable in ''

Marvel Avengers Academy ''Marvel Avengers Academy'' was a freemium mobile game for iOS and Android, based on the characters featured in Marvel Comics. It was released on February 4, 2016. The game was shut down three years later. Despite the name, the game was not rel ...

''. This team also includes

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various sp ...

, Zabu, and

References

External links

* * * {{Avengers publications Animal superheroes Avengers (comics) titles Comics about dogs 2009 comics endings