Avengers (Marvel)

The Avengers in Avengers v8 #1.

The Avengers are a superhero team that feature in Marvel Comics.

History

Origin

Earth's Mightiest Heroes assemble in Avengers v1 #1.

The Avengers were a team of superpowered beings that assembled in the modern age on Earth. (Avengers v1 #1) Previously, Nick Fury had looked to gather a group of super-humans as part of his Avengers Initiative that was operating in 1959. (New Avengers v2 #10) Decades later, a new group of superpowered beings began to emerge in society. Among these included the god of thunder Thor, the armored Iron Man, the gamma powered Hulk, and the size altering Ant-Man and the Wasp.

When Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief, influenced the monstrous Hulk to destroy a railway line, the Hulk's friend, Rick Jones, and his Teen Brigade attempted to radio the Fantastic Four for help. However, Loki relayed the information to his brother instead, the God of Thunder and wielder of Mjolnir Thor, in order to draw him into battle. Circumstantially, other super heroes – namely Iron Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp – also received the intercepted signal unbeknownst to Loki and arrived at the scene to reason with the green goliath. Not falling for the trick, Thor confronted Loki and exposed his scheme to the other heroes. With Loki defeated and captured, the group agreed they had worked well together and should be formalized as a team. The Wasp suggested the name "Avengers", and Earth's Mightiest Heroes were born. Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade became regular informants to the Avengers, being in constant contact during their initial missions. (Avengers v1 #1)

During the first meeting the group was trying to determine who would be the chairman to the group. All the male members wanted to test their might to determine who led, but they all agreed to allow the Wasp to secretly be their chairperson so none of their egos could be bruised. (Avengers Classic v1 #1)

Iron Man invited his fellow Avengers to use his 'employer' Tony Stark's mansion as their headquarters, later dubbed Avengers Mansion. The arrival of the Avengers as tenants, the Hulk in particular, frightened Stark's staff and all quit, except for butler Edwin Jarvis who has looked after the Avengers alone almost ever since. (Avengers v1 #280)

Iron Man later called a meeting to discuss the signing of a charter of the Avengers code of conduct. Iron Man had stressed that winning the public and eventually obtaining government priority clearance would greatly help the organization. After much discussion most of the Avengers signed this charter with the exception of the Hulk, who in angry frustration left the building, but he would later come back. Iron Man was uneasy about the group, finding their clashing personas as a problem in the future. (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes v1 #1)

In the Avengers Mansion, the Avengers faced their next adversity, the alien shapeshifting invader from the extratemporal Limbo known as the Space Phantom, who impersonated the Avengers inciting them to fight each other. Upon his defeat, the Hulk realized his teammates mistrusted his uncontrollable nature and decided to abandon the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #2)

Earth's Mightiest Heroes

In their earliest recorded mission was assisting the United States military in recovering a flying fortress that was stolen back by its creator, the Latverian monarch known as Dr. Doom. Fighting their way aboard the vessel, the Avengers were able to stop Doom from recovering his ship thanks in part to Ant-Man using his newly developed growing powers. While the air fortress was destroyed, the Avengers failed to capture Doom who had actually sent one of his Doombots to capture the fortress for him. (Avengers v1 #1.5)

The Avengers continued their operations, but even with the added strength since Ant-Man's transformation to Giant-Man, the team still had their clashing personalities. This was particularly the case with the Hulk, whom none on the team trusted, and was barely held in check by his sidekick Rick Jones. This was exploited when the alien being calling himself the Space Phantom came to Earth seeking to break up the group for a supposed invasion. The Phantom used his ability to take on the form of any living being, thus shunting the original into the realm of Limbo to sow dissent among the Avengers ranks. The Space Phantom took particular advantage of the collective distrust in the Hulk. However the Space Phantom was eventually revealed, and when the being failed in his task when attempting to take the form of Thor, whose godly physiology was too strong for the Space Phantom to imitate and he was shunted into Limbo instead. Although the Avengers were victorious in their battle, the Hulk had enough and left the group. (Avengers v1 #2)

By this time the Avengers activities got the attention of the National Security Agency. They sent Special Agent James Murch to meet with Iron Man to tell them that unless the Hulk was dealt with, the Avengers would never get any favors from the government. Iron Man vowed that they would capture the Hulk no matter what. (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes v1 #1)

The Avengers then continued their hunt for the Hulk, which took them to the Nevada desert where their search turned up dry, unaware that the Hulk was heading to New York looking to get revenge against the Avengers. (Fantastic Four v1 #25) Returning to Avengers Mansion the Avengers found the Hulk waiting for them, but they failed to stop him. Following after the Hulk, the Avengers got into a brief clash with the Fantastic Four, before the two teams worked together to go after the Hulk. They succeeded in stopping the Hulk's rampage through New York City, but the Hulk evaded capture once again. (Fantastic Four v1 #36)

The Masters of Evil were unexpectedly assisted by Immortus, the master of time, who had his own plans for the Avengers. To prove his might, Immortus kidnapped Rick Jones and tricked Captain America into believing the Avengers had been responsible for the boy's disappearance. Eventually, Immortus' minions were overpowered by the Avengers and he chose to abandon the fight. The Masters of Evil saw this as an opportunity to strike but met defeat. Enchantress then decided to travel back in time to a moment before meeting Immortus. As such, the Avengers had no recollection of a battle where they were victorious against both Immortus and the Masters. (Avengers v1 #10)

By undermining the criminal operations of the Maggia, the Avengers came to be the target of their leader the aristocratic Count Nefaria. Being invited to his castle, they were abducted and had their reputation damaged to the media. Assisted by the Teen Brigade, the Avengers retaliated, though the Wasp was gravely wounded in the battle. (Avengers v1 #13) In order to heal the Wasp, the Avengers met the alien Kallusians, whose medical treatments were effective in restoring her to health. (Avengers v1 #14)

The Avengers ultimately witnessed the end of the Masters of Evil when Zemo perished in a fatal rockslide triggered by his own weaponry during a fight against Captain America. (Avengers v1 #15) Without their leader, the other Masters were easily subdued. Due to the stressful battles against Kang, Nefaria and the Masters of Evil, the Wasp proposed a leave of absence to Iron Man and Giant-Man. The trio was surprised by Hawkeye, an expert marksman and wielder of trick arrows who had fought Iron Man in the past and sought to avenge the apparently death of his partner, the Black Widow. Hawkeye exhibited his skills by restricting Jarvis and was welcomed to the Avengers as a replacement. Then, the Avengers shared their intentions of recruiting more new members, attracting the attention of the mutant twins Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, who wanted to change course following their forced time in Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. As Captain America returned to the Mansion, the new team was announced to the public having him as chairman. (Avengers v1 #16) Thor resigned along with the other founders and the new foursome became known as Cap’s Kooky Quartet. Public perception was tainted since they were considered not as powerful as their predecessors and had terrorist backgrounds. However, the new Avengers proved their might by defeating the Mole Man when trying to locate the Hulk. (Avengers v1 #17) Once again, the Avengers were infiltrated this time by the vicious Swordsman, Hawkeye's former mentor and now a minion of the Mandarin. Although Swordsman actually planned to defect, he was outed by the Avengers and expelled from the group before he could reveal his true intentions. (Avengers v1 #20)

Soon the Enchantress resurfaced and sought to get revenge against the Avengers as well. To this end, she empowered one of Baron Zemo's former minions with the same technology that created Wonder Man. With her thrall Powerman, the Enchantress succeeded in ruining the Avengers public image forcing them to disband briefly. (Avengers v1 #21) While they were apart, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were almost tricked into joining the Ringmaster's Circus of Crime but busted up the group instead. Meanwhile, Captain America gathered evidence exposing the deception. The reunited Avengers attacked, but the Enchantress fled leaving Powerman to apprehended. It was anything but a perfect victory, as Captain America decided to quit the team, having finally grown fed up of the constant bickering. (Avengers v1 #22) Not long after this the Avengers were targeted by Kang the Conqueror who captured Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch and brought them to his future world where he was trying to conquer the kingdom of the woman he desired, Princess Ravonna Renslayer. Learning of the Avengers capture, Captain America returned to the Mansion and learned what happened. In challenging Kang, he was transported to the future as well where he freed the Avengers and helped prepare Ravonna's people to resist Kang's forces. (Avengers v1 #23) When Kang showed mercy toward Ravonna and her father, his minions saw this as a weakness and turned against him. Kang then grudgingly accepted the Avengers aid in fighting back against his own forces, stopping them from crushing Ravonna's nation. This proved Kang's love for Ravonna and the Avengers were sent home. However, as they were being transported back to the past they witnessed tragedy when one of Kang's men attempted to shoot him in the back, but Ravonna got in the path of the blast, putting her in a death like coma. (Avengers v1 #24)

Shortly thereafter the Mandarin gathered an army of super-villains in a bid to conquer the world. With super-villain activity on the rise, Iron Man and Thor returned to the Avengers temporarily to boost their ranks. With information from SHIELD the Avengers learned that the villains were active in three different locations and split up into groups to stop them. In South America, Goliath, the Wasp and Iron Man stopped the Swordsman and Powerman; In the Middle East, Hercules and the Scarlet Witch defeated the Enchantress and Executioner; while in Northern Africa, Thor and Hawkeye stopped the Living Laser from resurrecting the robot known as Ultimo. The Avengers then regrouped and joined Captain America and Quicksilver in battling the Mandarin aboard a space station. Although the Mandarin escaped capture, the Avengers stopped his doomsday weapon from being used to destroy the planet Earth. (Avengers Annual v1 #1)

The Avengers were next targeted by the Grim Reaper who sought revenge against the Avengers whom he blamed for the death of his brother, Wonder Man. Attacking the Avengers at their headquarters his scythe put the heroes in a death like state. This attack coincided with the arrival of the Black Panther who was sent by Captain America to fill in with the Avengers. The Panther happened upon the "murder scene" under investigation by SHIELD and was accused of killing his would be comrades. The Panther fled the authorities and managed to track down the Grim Reaper, defeating him in battle and restored the Avengers back to full health. The Black Panther was then welcomed into the ranks of the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #52)

Kree-Skrull War

Seeking to free Rick Jones from the Negative Zone, Captain Marvel invaded the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building and caught the Avengers' attention. In their intervention, the Avengers witnessed the accidental escape of the terrible Annihilus, who was immediately pushed back through the Negative Zone portal. A disoriented Mar-Vell took the opportunity to escape in one of the Avengers' Quinjets, with the intention of returning to his home, the Kree Empire. Captured by the Avengers with the help of Jones in Cape Canaveral, Mar-Vell was shown to be afflicted by deadly radiation from the Negative Zone. In the Kree Galaxy, Ronan the Accuser staged a power coup against the Supreme Intelligence. As the new supremor of the Kree Empire, Ronan sent a Kree Sentry to attack Mar-Vell. (Avengers v1 #89)

The Crossing

After Black Widow's former tutor, Ivan Petrovich, tipped her about a mysterious organization tampering with a volatile energy source in Canada, the Avengers got brutally defeated by its leader, the Red Skull. (Avengers v1 #386)

Heroic Age

The Avengers were reassembled as free and independent heroes. Commander Steve Rogers recruited Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Bucky, the new Captain America, to operate at the Avengers Tower as part of a team run by former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill. (Avengers v4 #1)

The recently reassembled Avengers were contacted by Kang the Conqueror, who alerted them that in the future Ultron would be able to establish a ruthless and artificial empire. The children of the Avengers would oppose his rule but threaten the fabric of reality by doing so. (Avengers v4 #1) In need of a time machine, the Avengers were advised by Wolverine to recruit the Kree interdimensional expeditioner Noh-Varr. In their research, the Avengers learned the timestream was damaged. (Avengers v4 #2) Momentarily attacked by Horsemen of Apocalypse from another timeline, the Avengers decided to travel to the apocalyptic future to heal the timestream. (Avengers v4 #3) In the future, some of the Avengers witnessed a brutal war against Ultron with the resistance being led by Iron Man and Bruce Banner as Kang's allies, while in the present the rest of the team were joined by Killraven as transtemporal threats invaded Earth. (Avengers v4 #4) The break in reality was caused by Kang's trips and threw the Avengers in a time loop. (Avengers v4 #5) They contacted Ultron instead, asking him to preserve space time by surrendering to Kang; Ultron let Kang and his army of Avengers destroy him. The Avengers returned to the present and Iron Man started to prepare himself for Ultron's upcoming rise. (Avengers v4 #6)

Avengers Machine

Under the pre-tense the Avengers needed reshaping, Iron Man presented Captain America with a chart to expand its roster: the Avengers Machine. (Avengers v5 #1) In reality, Iron Man sought a powerful team to handle any overt threat while the Illuminati focused on solving the incursions. (Avengers v5 #28) The Avengers Machine was implemented when Earth's Mightiest Heroes Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and the Hulk responded to the terraformation of an area in Mars. The evolutionary mechanisms known as Ex Nihilo and Abyss wished to transform Earth from their Garden as an experiment. The Avengers were unable to stop them, being captured. Captain America was sent back to Earth as a message to the world. Upon his recovery he went to his team's rescue, with his recruits being Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, Falcon, Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Wolverine, master of kung fu Shang-Chi, universal teleporter Manifold, mutants Sunspot and Cannonball, Shi'ar Imperial Guardswoman Smasher, incursion survivor and supreme super hero Hyperion, and the embodiment of creation Captain Universe. (Avengers v5 #1) The Avengers' mightiest team ever confronted the mad interlopers as they attempted to make Earth itself alive by installing evolutionary systems in different locations. Out of respect for the image of Captain Universe, Ex Nihilo and Abyss agreed to stop tampering with Earth, secluding themselves in their Martian Garden. (Avengers v5 #3) Their systems, however, kept being an interest to the Avengers. As a result of a White Event, one of Ex Nihilo's creations ascended as the Nightmask while a college student named Kevin Connor became the Starbrand in a catastrophic awakening. (Avengers v5 #7) Confronted by the Avengers, they approached Ex Nihilo and Abyss, but ultimately surrendered upon realizing the immense destruction they had been causing on Earth. (Avengers v5 #9) In Regina, the Avengers assessed a situation in which another system caused the destruction of Omega Flight. (Avengers v5 #10)

Overview

In appearance, the Avengers were a team of superpowered heroes that gathered to defend the world. (Avengers v1 #1) Due to their membership, they came to be regarded as Earth's Mightiest Heroes. (Avengers v1 #1) They had also been referred to as being the Mighty Avengers. (Avengers v1 #7)

The Charter came to be created by the founding Avengers who had also signed it. (Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes v1 #1) One iteration was put forth to the United Nations Security Council which set specific procedures into place for the team along with requirements for what was by then a respected and powerful superteam. (Avengers v1 #329) Under Order 834.23, Avengers could be recalled back to active service. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could apply this order and that people having served into the Initiative fall under that order. (Fantastic Four v1 #642)

An Avengers Code Omega emergency were threats that could bring an end to the world. (Marvel Team-Up v1 #60)

After gaining sovereign nation status, Embassy ID cards gave them top-level security clearance in over a hundred countries and 10% off at Starbucks. (Avengers v3 #61)

For data gathering purposes, the Avengers maintained a Status Board that was a holographic display of the globe listing all the villains loose in the world. This allowed the Avengers to direct their efforts in capturing dangerous threats making the team more effective by taking the fight to their foes. (Avengers v3 #38)

Humanoid robots known as Mechatrons were used by members for sparring sessions. (Mighty Thor v1 #458)

Originally, members made use of an Avengers Communicator that was a small disc-shaped device with an 'A' logo on it with these being made by Stark Industries. It was capable of multiple functions but was an older piece of equipment and said to be only used for emergencies. (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur v1 #10)

A fail-safe plan developed by Bruce Banner in case the Hulk ever went on a rampage was the Icarus Protocol. This involved placing the threat in a shuttle and launching it into the sun in the hope it would be destroyed. (Uncanny Avengers v3 #12) Vision had secretly created the Avengers Failsafe Program that was a database of new young heroes to become the next wave of Avengers should the hero team be destroyed or disbanded. (Young Avengers v1 #3)

A secondary hidden headquarters was also used by the Avengers in times of need. (Avengers v1 #13) This Avengers Auxiliary Headquarters was an underground warehouse set up by Tony Stark in case of emergencies. (Avengers v1 #677)

Hank Pym came to create an extradimensional headquarters named the Infinite Avengers Mansion that resided in Underspace and was accessible through Pym Portals. Though not infinite, it possessed a million different floors that were styled on the Avengers Mansion with portraits of its various members decorating the walls. (Mighty Avengers v1 #27)

Later on, the Avengers moved to a new headquarters based in the corpse of the Celestial Progenitor that was placed in the Arctic Circle and came to be known as Avengers Mountain. (Avengers v8 #8)

Quasar later helped establish a deep-space monitoring system in the asteroid belt designed to warn the Avengers of threats from space. (Avengers v3 #38)

Members

• Iron Man :
• Thor :
• Hulk :
• Hank Pym :
• Janet van Dyne :
• Captain America :
• Hawkeye :
• Scarlet Witch :
• Quicksilver :
• Black Panther :
• Hercules :

Notes

• The Avengers were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where they made their first appearance in Avengers v1 #1 (September 1963).

Alternate Versions

• In What If...? v1 #105 (1997), an alternate version of the Avengers appeared in the Marvel Comics 2 reality that was designated as Earth-982 in the Multiverse.
• In Avengers v3 #2 (1998), an alternate version of the Avengers were created by Morgan Le Fay in a altered reality designated as Earth-398 in the Multiverse. In this world, Le Fay came to rule and the Avengers were her enforcers where they were known as the Queen's Vengeance.
• In Mutant X v1 #30 (2001), an alternate version of the Avengers appeared in the Mutant X reality that was designated as Earth-1298 in the Multiverse.
• In Ultimates v1 #2 (2002), an alternate version of the Avengers appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality that was designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse. This version were a government sponsored team that were referred to as the Ultimates.
• In Secret Avengers v1 #33 (2012), an alternate version of the team called the Undead Avengers appeared in a reality that was designated as Earth-666 in the Multiverse.
• In X-Men: Days of Future Past - Doomsday v1 #1 (2023), an alternate version of the Avengers appeared in the Days of Future's Past reality that was designated as Earth-811 in the Multiverse.

In other media

Television

• In The Avengers: United They Stand, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the animated television series.
• In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the animated television series.
• In Avengers Assemble, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the animated television series.

Films

• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Avengers made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
  • In The Avengers, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the 2012 live-action film.
  • In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the live-action film sequel.
  • In Avengers: Infinity War, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the live-action film.
  • In Avengers: Endgame, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the live-action film.

Video games

• In Avengers in Galactic Storm, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the fighting video game.
• In Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the 2012 video game.
• In Marvel's Avengers, the Avengers appeared in the setting of the video game.

Appearances

• Avengers v1: (1963)
• Avengers v3:
• Avengers v5:
• Infinity v1:
• Avengers World v1:
• Avengers: No Road Home v1:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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