Top Ten… Avengers!
When you cosider that in some way or another almost every character in the Marvel Universe has been a member of at least one branch of the Avengers, this list was pretty hard to pin down to just ten. I decided to impose the following two rules:
1. Only include heroes who have been or are full members of the main group (so no Spider-Man or Wolverine or Dr Strange etc)
2. Founding members MUST be on the list
So with that in mind, onward!
10. THE INCREDIBLE HULK
The Incredible Hulk was only a member of Earth’s Mightest Heroes for a single issue of The Avengers, but despite that he is a founder member and therefore deserves a place on the list. Inspired by Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Jolly Green Giant left the Avengers when he learns that the others (Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man and the Wasp) fear his unstable personality. When the others try to find him they are led into a battle with the Sub Mariner which leads to the rediscovery of Captain America. So, in a roundabout way, if not for the Hulk’s short tenure with the Avengers, Cap would never have been brought back and comics history just wouldn’t be the same. So for his being a founding member and for his helping bring Cap back to the Marvel Universe, Hulk kickstarts our list.
9. THE BLACK KNIGHT
Making his first apperance in Avengers #47, Dane Whitman, armed with his trusty lightsaber photonic sword and riding his winged steed Aragorn, joined the Avengers in a very roundabout way. Whilst only a reserve member he fought Kang, who had been given the power to kill the Avengers. Since the Black Knight was only a reserve Avenger he kicked Kang’s ass and was promoted to full membership as a result. Like Lee Falk’s Phantom, the current Black Knight is one of a legacy of Black Knights that stretches back to Medieval England. Despite his awesome armour and lightsaber photonic sword, smarts don’t seem to be the Knight’s strong suit, as he wears the exact same armour as his supervillain predecessor, which has gotten him into fights more than once. But hey, he has a lightsaber photonic sword, so I’m sure that makes up for it.
8. ANT-MAN/GIANT-MAN and THE WASP
Never my favorite Marvel characters, founding members Henry and Janet Pym nonetheless make the list due to their status as founder members of the Avengers. Making his first apperance in a one off sci-fi comic, Hank Pym later became the superheroic Ant-Man, with the power to shrink himself to the size of an ant using “Pym Particles.” Under this guise he and his girlfriend Janet – The Wasp – help found the Avengers. After the first issue, however, Pym changes his alter ego to that of the 12 foot tall Giant Man which, I’m sure you’ll agree is far cooler than Ant-Man. Both went on to become members of the West Coast Avengers. After Janet’s death in 2008, Henry Pym became the new Wasp and leader of the Mighty Avengers.
7. BEAST
More famous as an X-Man than an Avenger, Dr. Hank McCoy is nonetheless a former Avenger and close friend with Wonder Man. Joining the Avengers as a provisional member at first, Beast later gains full membership though he periodically leaves the group to assist the X-Men whenever he is needed by the Xavier crew. It was during his time as an Avenger that Beast decided to reveal his true identity to the world in hopes that it would help ease human/mutant relations – after all, if a mutant was a member of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, how could all mutants be bad? During the time Beast was an Avenger there was a rule in place saying that there could be no more than six in the group at any one time, so Beast decided to leave the team so another member could join as a full time Avenger.
6. THE BLACK PANTHER
Prince T’Challa of the African Nation of Wakanda, the Black Panther was the first black superhero in comics history, predating guys like the Falcon, Luke Cage and Jon Stewart. Debuting in Fantastic Four #55, the Panther joined originally the Avengers in Avengers #52 with the intent of spying on them but soon came to respect and fight alongside them. After helping the Avengers defeat the Sons of the Serpent, T’Challa revealed his true identity to the world and returned to Wakanda. Later the Panther would marry Storm of X-Men fame and, after being defeated by Dr. Doom, passes the mantle of the Black Panther onto his sister Shuri.
5. THE SCARLET WITCH
Sister of Quicksilver and daughter of Magneto, the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) debuted in X-Men #4 as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants but soon saw the light and became an Avenger the following year. After serving in the second generation Avengers alongside Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Cap – the team dubbed “Cap’s Kooky Quartet” by Stan Lee – Wanda and tha the Vision joined the West Coast Avengers, but a series of events transpire to turn her against her former teammates but, of course, soon reverts back to her former superheroic self. During the course of all this, she has romanced an android (the Vision) and a superhero (Wonder Man) and has even had children by the Vision (somehow). The Scarlet Witch makes up for her pretty silly name with some kickass hex powers that affect probability and a rather cool red costume. I’d hate to be invited to her house for Christmas dinner though, what with Vision and Wonder Man glaring at each other, Quicksilver and Magneto not talking and Wanda using a hex to cook the turkey.
4. HAWKEYE
Introduced as a villian in Tales of Suspense #57, Hawkeye becomes an Avenger about a year after his debut. This seems to be something of a recurring theme here, but never mind. Running away from his orphanage home to join the circus, Clint Barton became a master with a bow and arrow and decided to become a costumed hero after seeing Iron Man in action. Deciding to apply for Avengers membership in a manner most unorthodox – breaking into the Avengers mansion and holding the Avengers’ butler Jarvis hostage in order to prove himself to the heroes – he is accepted and becomes a full time Avenger joining Cap’s Kooky Quartet – the second generation Avengers. Hawkeye later became a member of the West Coast team of Avengers and his namesake, the female Hawkeye is a member of the Young Avengers.
3. IRON MAN
Making his debut in Tales of Suspense #39, Iron Man (Tony Stark) is a founding member of the Avengers and has also been a West Coast Avenger, a New Avenger and a Mighty Avenger in his long and storied career. A billionaire industrialist, Tony Stark acts not only as a member of the Avengers, but as their corporate sponsor, donating the Avengers’ Mansion and such gadgets as the Quinjet. Iron Man was also responsible for recruiting many members of thr Avengers including the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and, in a roundabout way, Hawkeye. One of only five heroic characters to appear in the first issue of The Avengers, ol’ Shellhead first appeared as an Avenger whilst still wearing his gold armour (which I love) but soon swapped the bulky gold for the more streamlined red and gold.
2. THE MIGHTY THOR
After Stan Lee created the Incredible Hulk, his next challenege was to create a character stronger than the world’s strongest human. His solution to this seemingly impossible conundrum? Simple. Fuck humanity, make him a god. After the head of the Norse gods Odin decides to teach his son some humility and sends him to earth in the body of the lame Dr. Donald Blake, he discovers the Hammer of Thor in a cave and learns his true identity becoming the superhero Thor. His step brother, the trickster Loki, also comes to earth and it is while battling Loki that the Avengers were born. Along with Iron Man, Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor forms the Avengers but, unlike other members of the group, Thor has not joined any offshoot branches of the Avengers. Not that it matters – he’s a fucking god, he can join any group he pleases.
1. CAPTAIN AMERICA
My second favorite comic book character of all time (rapidly becoming the first due to fans of the Batman films annoying the piss out of me of late) and an “honorary” founder of the Avengers, Steve “Captain America” Rogers was a pussy who wanted to join the army during WW2, but was too weak to enlist. Signing up for an experimental program, he was injected with the Super Soldier Serum and became Captain America, sentinel of liberty! After the death of his sidekick Bucky, Cap is frozen in the waters of the North Atlantic where he remains until Avengers #4 when Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp discover him and thaw him out. Cap quickly becomes the leader of the team and has been an on again off again member since. As well as leading the Avengers, Cap was in the Secret Avengers during Civil War. The secret to Cap’s longevity? Buccaneer boots. Buccaneer boots never go out of style.
So there they are, the ten best members of the best superhero team ever assembled. As ever, if you got comments, post ‘em below. End transmission.
