The Avengers have been assembled by fate as a group of extraordinary champions with diverse abilities. As "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", their purpose is to protect and safeguard the world from both domestic and extraterrestrial threats. Finding strength in union, they uphold their tradition to overcome menaces a single individual could not withstand. The Avengers usually count with official recognition and clearance as a peacekeeping initiative that fights for liberty and justice, being funded chiefly by Tony Stark and inspired by Steve Rogers.[2][8][9][10][11] More recently, the Avengers have become deeply influenced by the legacy of the ancient history of Earth's superpowered beings, combating different simultaneous threats on national, global, universal, and multiversal scale.[12][13]
History
Earth's Mightiest Heroes[]
When Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief, influenced the monstrous Hulk to destroy a railway line, the Hulk's friend, Rick Jones, had his Teen Brigade 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 as it had been his plan all along. Circumstantially, other super heroes – namely Iron Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp – also received the intercepted signal 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 officially born. Rick Jones and his Teen Brigade became regular informants to the Avengers, being in constant contact during their initial missions.[2]
The Avengers Debut
The newly formed team assembled at the Manhattan mansion of industrialist Tony Stark (in secrecy, their fellow member Iron Man). Stark donated the mansion to the Avengers for their exclusive use and set up a foundation to cover the operation expenses of the non-profit team, the Maria Stark Foundation, named after his late mother. The team also put down a charter to govern their activities. Additionally, the Stark family's trusted butler, Edwin Jarvis, was kept on as the principal regular domestic employee at what became known as the Avengers Mansion.[8][14]
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.[15] The group unsuccessfully tried to reach out the Hulk, who in turn had associated himself with Namor, the raging Sub-Mariner, to combat his former allies.[16]
Captain America joins the Avengers
Following a fight against the Avengers, Namor unleashed a block of ice containing a figure under the North Sea, which was then found by the Avengers. Within it, laid the legendary hero Captain America in suspended animation, frozen in ice since just before the end of World War II. Needing to adjust to the world he had awaken in, Captain America joined the mighty Avengers after helping them to defeat the stranded alien Vuk and Namor one more time.[17] A born leader, the star-spangled myth was eventually given retroactive "founding member" status in place of the Hulk, being seen as the heart and soul of the Avengers.[10] With Captain America by their side, the Avengers faced enemies like the Lava Men,[18] the Mole Man, the Red Ghost,[19] as well as teamed up with the Fantastic Four against the Hulk,[20] and the Mole Man again.[21]
The Avengers face their Masters
One of the Avengers' most dangerous enemies were the Masters of Evil, a group of resentful villains assembled by Baron Heinrich Zemo as a reaction to the return of his long-lost adversary Captain America. Black Knight, a foe of Giant-Man (formerly Ant-Man) and the Wasp, Melter, an adversary to Iron Man, and Radioactive Man, an opponent to Thor, completed the group.[22] Shortly after, exiled Asgardian enemies of Thor, the Enchantress and the Executioner, integrated into the team, in a failed attempt to trick Thor into destroy his comrades.[3] In another attack, the Masters of Evil granted phenomenal powers to the industrialist Simon Williams, who infiltrated the Avengers as Wonder Man. Unexpectedly, Wonder Man turned on Zemo after gaining the Avengers' trust, but was slain for his betrayal.[23]
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.[24]
Introducing: Kang the Conqueror!
In between battles against the Masters of Evil, the time traveler known as Kang the Conqueror also struck at the Avengers, trying to take over the world with his advanced technology from the 30th century.[25] Losing once, Kang used a Spider-Man android to fool the Avengers and gain the team's trust to betray them. Yet, his second plan failed thanks to the intervention of the real Spider-Man. Kang escaped back into the timestream[26] and, in the years to come, would become one of the Avengers' most threatening enemies.
During this time, the Avengers travelled to the small European country of Rotruvia to defend it from being annexed by the neighboring nation of Latveria and its sovereign ruler, Doctor Doom. The Avengers destroyed Doctor Doom's ultimate weapon that he was using to wage war against Rotruvia, but ultimately were not able to prevent the country from being annexed when Doom eliminated all of Rotruvia's main material export (molynite) and the small nation was forced to surrender in order to avoid total economic collapse.[27]
By undermining the criminal operations of the aristocratic Count Nefaria and his Maggia, the Avengers became his targets. 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.[5] In order to heal the Wasp, the Avengers met the alien Kallusians, whose medical treatments were effective in restoring her to health.[28]
New Avengers[]
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.[29] 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.[30]
The new Avengers' lineup
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.[1] Once again, the Avengers were infiltrated; this time by the vicious Swordsman, Hawkeye's former mentor and 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.[31]
As a legacy of the Masters of Evil, Enchantress replicated the process which gave Wonder Man his powers, creating a way more violent villain, the Power Man. The duo damaged the Avengers physically and morally, attacking their reputation and forcing their dissolution.[32] Following a confrontation against the Circus of Crime, the Avengers recovered their prestige to the public eye and officially reformed after exposing Enchantress' and Power Man's scheme to the City Council. With their names cleared, the Avengers, however, lost their leader Captain America, who felt he had failed his teammates.[33]
The Avengers conquered!
With the Avengers greatly underpowered without Captain America, Kang took an opportunity to strike, transporting Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to the future. As Captain America investigated, Kang decided to collect him as well to prove his worth to his beloved Princess Ravonna. With the Avengers reassembled, traitors among Kang's forces were found, and the Conqueror retreated to protect Ravonna's kingdom. The Avengers returned to the present with Kang's blessing for their help, although he swore that, when next they meet, it would be as adversaries.[34]
Once an Avenger, always an Avenger[]
After being targeted by Doctor Doom,[35] the Avengers answered a distress call sent by their former member the Wasp, who had been kidnapped by the Atlantean Attuma.[36] With the villain and his army defeated,[37] the Avengers learned that the Wasp had been further captured by the Beetle, under the eccentric Collector's orders. Assisted by Goliath (Hank Pym's rebranded identity), the Avengers freed the Wasp from the Collector's clutches and welcomed the size-changing couple back to their ranks.[38] Trapped in his giant size form, Goliath clashed with the bizarre Keeper of the Flame to rescue biochemist Dr. Anton in order to solve his condition. However, Anton was unable to help the gigantic hero.[39]
The Avengers lament the Serpents' bigotry
Concurrently, a brainwashed Black Widow returned to torment Hawkeye and the Avengers, recruiting Swordsman and Power Man to support her, though she eventually overcame her mental programming and helped Hawkeye to defeat the villains. However, he found himself unable to trust her enigmatic and erratic personality.[40] In order to prove her loyalty, Black Widow informed the Avengers about the activities of the racist organization known as the Sons of the Serpent, who had made their move by attacking Goliath's lab assistant, Bill Foster. With the Black Widow's assistance, the Avengers smashed the Serpents' plans, being profoundly affected by the poison of hatred and bigotry against equals that lived within the very society they fight to protect.[41]
The Avengers battled various enemies, such as the Living Laser,[42] and the mysterious Ultroids, with crucial help from the lethal Black Widow.[43] However, before she could officially join the mighty team, she was recruited by Nick Fury to become a secret spy for S.H.I.E.L.D., severing her ties to the Avengers with no explanations.[44] Trying to get revenge against her former masters, Black Widow was captured. The Avengers then learned about her true allegiances and went to her rescue.[45] They battled Black Widow's missing husband, the Russian super-soldier known as the Red Guardian, ultimately destroying her former employers' operations.[46]
"Once an Avenger, always an Avenger": Iron Man and Thor decide to return to the team from time to time
At the same time, the Olympian God Hercules attacked the Avengers Mansion under the control of the Enchantress, but was eventually freed and stayed with the super heroes as a guest.[44] The strong Hercules proved to be a valuable but also problematic addition to the team; although he helped the group fend off powerful enemies, such as Namor,[47] Diablo and Dragon Man,[48] his insolent behavior put him into conflict with the other members. Nevertheless, after the Avengers welcome their original members back to fight the Mandarin's lackeys,[49] and to save New York City from the cybernetic Super-Adaptoid, Hercules was promoted to full member status.[50] His tenure was short however, as he resigned to return to his family on Olympus after defeating the Titan Typhon.[51]
Avengers vs. X-Men
Meanwhile, some Avengers were haunted by their pasts. The Wasp and Goliath were targets of their former enemy Whirlwind, who had masqueraded as the Wasp's chauffeur.[52] In succession, the Wasp was once more under the Collector's interest, being assisted by the original Avengers Iron Man and Thor to escape.[53] Moreover, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were kidnapped by Magneto, who tried to coerce them back into the Brotherhood. The Avengers went to their rescue, being informed about the situation by the new Black Knight. When the Scarlet Witch was tragically hurt during the incident, Quicksilver rejected his human alliances in the Avengers, causing the twins to leave the Avengers permanently.[54] The Avengers found the twins under Magneto's care after being contacted by the X-Man Angel. Magneto forced the Avengers and the X-Men to fight each other, but ultimately perished during the conflict while the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver went missing.[55][56]
Captain America withdrew from the team as well, indicating the Wakandan champion Black Panther as his replacement.[53] When the Avengers were seemingly murdered at the Avengers Mansion, the Black Panther, unknown to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority, was accused of being the killer. With his skills, the newest Avenger solved the crime and discovered the identity of the real attacker: Simon Williams' brother, the cyborg Grim Reaper. With the Reaper defeated and gone, Black Panther earned his place as an Avenger.[57] Haunted by the ghosts of his past concerning Baron Zemo and the death of his partner Bucky, Captain America soon reconnected with the Avengers.[58] Next, the Avengers were transported back in time by the Scarlet Centurion and warred against a past version of themselves who acted on the Centurion's orders. The Avengers were successful in preventing their foe from rewriting history.[59]
Ultron, the enemy within[]
The new Masters of Evil
The Avengers found themselves betrayed when a new formation of the Masters of Evil made themselves known; their mysterious leader, the Crimson Cowl, was revealed to be the Avengers Mansion's loyal butler Jarvis.[60] Captured by the Masters, the Avengers learned the Crimson Cowl's actual identity: the robot Ultron-5, who had brainwashed Jarvis into deceiving the Avengers. Jarvis freed the Avengers with the help of the new Black Knight, who had purposely infiltrated the Masters.[61] In Ultron, the Avengers unknowingly met their most brutal foe.
The Vision cries after being accepted by the Avengers
Wishing to annihilate the Avengers, Ultron sent a creation of his own, an ethereal synthezoid, to the Avengers Mansion. During the night, the Wasp spotted the artificial creature in her quarters, referring to him as a Vision. As a short battle ensued, the Vision recollected his recent memories and decided not to attack the Avengers. The Avengers pursued Ultron, and, with the help of the rebellious Vision, the murder machine was apparently destroyed.[62] Investigating Ultron's and the Vision's origins, the Avengers learned that Ultron was created by Hank Pym in an attempt to produce synthetic life. Ultron's intelligence quickly evolved and decided to get rid of his creator by erasing his memory. Wishing to end all organic life, Ultron considered the Avengers both his family and his nemeses. As for the Vision, after the Avengers learned that his brain patterns were replicated from Wonder Man's, he was invited to their ranks.[63]
Following Ultron's assaults, a new enemy emerged to the Avengers in the form of the arrogantly blatant Yellowjacket. The criminal murdered Goliath and kidnapped the Wasp. When the Avengers attempted to retrieve her, she shockingly shared her intentions of marrying her aggressor.[64] As the creepy wedding was interrupted by the Circus of Crime, the Avengers learned that Yellowjacket was, in fact, Goliath. Following the villains' defeat, it was revealed that the mentally unstable Hank Pym, who had formerly adopted the insecure identities of Ant-Man, Giant-Man and Goliath, forged the Yellowjacket's chauvinistic personality to win the Wasp's heart. Being able to see through his charade, the Wasp agreed to marry Pym in his newest alter-ego.[65]
The giant-size identity of Goliath was then assumed by Hawkeye, who joined Black Widow against the vile Egghead.[66] Returning to the Avengers Mansion, the couple were met by Goliath's brother, Barney Barton, who was formerly on the Egghead's payroll and sought help to depose him. During the fight, Barney sacrificed himself to save his brother, destroying Egghead's deadly death ray machine.[67] After his brother's death, Goliath was attacked by his former mentor Swordsman, who had been hired by the vengeful Egghead. Although Goliath was initially captured, he broke free and defeated the two villains.[68]
Ultron unleashes his rage
Seizing control of the Vision, Ultron managed to rebuild a new indestructible Adamantium body for himself, attacking the Avengers Mansion as Ultron-6.[69] Planning to obliterate Manhattan, Ultron-6 was opposed by the Avengers and the Vision himself, who regained his will. In his next move, Ultron attempted to acquire the secret formula of Adamantium. In a ploy orchestrated by the Avengers, Ultron detonated himself in the United Nations Headquarters, being his sole victim due to a shield crafted with the Wakandan metal Vibranium.[70]
Lethal Threats[]
The Avengers kept protecting the world from a variety of menaces. They joined forces with Doctor Strange and the Black Knight to combat the giants Ymir and Surtur, forging a long-lasting alliance with those heroes.[71] The Black Knight also helped the Avengers in defeating Black Panther's rival, the mortal Man-Ape, who wished to take the throne of Wakanda.[72]
Avengers Assemble!
Eventually assembled by Kang the Conqueror, the Avengers were tricked after Kang's lackey, the Growing Man, kidnapped a moribund Tony Stark. In order to save Ravonna from an endless stasis, Kang had made a bargain with the peculiarly gaming addict Grandmaster, who proposed Kang to gather champions to fight his own across time. As Kang presented the Avengers, Grandmaster introduced the Squadron Sinister. Kang's unwilling allies should battle across time not only for Ravonna's life but also to prevent the collapse of Earth.[73] The game got the attention of the Black Knight,[74] who intervened by assisting the Avengers. The Avengers ultimately turned-on Kang after fighting the Invaders, the super heroes from the World War II era. Kang, however, was boosted by the Grandmaster to overpower the Avengers. The Black Knight, not being an official Avenger, managed to defeat the villain. As Grandmaster vanished, abandoning his game, the Avengers invited the Black Knight to the team.[75]
Following Nick Fury's apparent assassination, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. turned to the Avengers for help in arresting the villainous Scorpio. Scorpio had been hunted by Rick Jones and his partner, Captain Marvel, who came to the Avengers for help. Scorpio made his way into the Avengers Mansion alongside his group, the Zodiac, successfully apprehending Earth's Mightiest Heroes. With Yellowjacket's efforts, the Avengers broke free, and Scorpio revealed himself to be Nick Fury in disguise, granting the Avengers the necessary advantage to overpower the Zodiac.[76]
The Sons of the Serpent pushed their racist agenda to the limit by attacking influential black personalities. Black Panther took the matter to the Avengers, who backed him as he infiltrated the Serpents.[77] The Serpents then undermined the Black Panther's reputation by impersonating him. However, the deception was dropped, and the Sons of the Serpent arrested by the Avengers.[78] Soon after the Wasp and Yellowjacket left the Avengers in a governmental assignment, Quicksilver returned in seek of help. He informed that the Scarlet Witch, trying to restore her hex powers, had accidentally cast a spell that brought Arkon the Magnificent to Earth. Arkon captured the Scarlet Witch and planned to construct a doomsday atomic device to nuke Earth and nourish his realm with the produced energy.[79] Thanks to the Avengers, his plans were foiled, and his presence gone from Earth. Following this incident, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch rejoined the Avengers.[80]
Black Panther meets the Lethal Legion
The Avengers unfortunately crossed with a greedy profiteer named Cornelius van Lunt, who forced an indebted Tony Stark to lend the Avengers' services for his selfish agenda. As the Avengers fulfilled their assignments, they left Van Lunt refusing to accept his money.[81] Soon after, the Avengers were surprisingly beaten by Black Panther's enemy, the Man-Ape and eventually learned that the Grim Reaper had assembled a new group of super villains, the Lethal Legion, to get revenge against Earth's Mightiest Heroes.[82] As the two teams clashed, the Grim Reaper got psyched out after learning about the Vision's true origin as Simon Williams' new existence, which led to the Legion's defeat.[83]
Following the conflict, the Vision decided to take a leave of absence from the Avengers,[83] but soon returned to the Avengers Mansion after meeting the Native American super hero known as Red Wolf. Red Wolf sought justice against Van Lunt, who was revealed to be a crime-lord who had preyed on his homeland.[84] The Avengers helped Red Wolf liberate his home village from Van Lunt and his henchmen.[85] Concomitantly, the Avengers investigated the Zodiac and deposed their new leader, Aries, with the assistance of Daredevil, ultimately linking Van Lunt's activities to the group of criminals. In fact, Van Lunt secretly assumed the Zodiac's leadership as Taurus.[86]
The Wasp is invited to join the Liberators
Returning to the Avengers Mansion, the Wasp was surprised to find it occupied by the Liberators, an all-female group led by the powerful Valkyrie, who wished to bring male supremacy down. The Wasp was convinced to join her against condescending male super heroes. During Tom Fagan's super hero Halloween festivities, the Avengers were attacked by the Masters of Evil, and the Liberators approached them. The victorious Valkyrie led her team to overpower both groups, but was eventually revealed to be Enchantress in disguise, causing the dissolution of the Liberators.[87] She then manipulated Arkon into joining her to torment the Avengers in his homeworld by lying to him and enchanting the Black Knight. The Avengers helped Arkon and Black Knight to see through Enchantress' deception, but she managed to escape.[88]
Transported by Thor back to Earth, some Avengers got stranded on an alternate Earth in the future, where they learned that world would suffer a cataclysm. The Scarlet Witch sent the group to the present, where they found the Avengers Mansion inhabited by Squadron Supreme. The Avengers attacked the group believing them to be Squadron Sinister, when it was revealed that the Squadron intended to launch a satellite under the orders of Brain-Child. The Avengers assumed this event to cause the incoming catastrophe and convinced Nighthawk about it. Brain-Child's nefarious annihilations plans were exposed, causing the two groups to join forces to beat him. After that, the other Avengers managed to bring their teammates back to their home reality.[89] Following this adventure, Black Panther permanently left the Avengers to fully assume the Wakandan throne.[90]
Kree-Skrull War[]
Captain Marvel and the Avengers are attacked by Ronan's Sentry
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.[91] The Avengers failed to prevent the Sentry from capturing Mar-Vell.[92]
The Avengers are expelled in disgrace
Back to the Avengers Mansion, the Avengers learned that the Wasp, Yellowjacket and Goliath searched for missing members of a scientific exploration who had found a tropical jungle in the middle of the freezing Arctic. Attacked by Ronan and his Sentry, Yellowjacket was devolved into a primitive being and attacked the other Avengers.[92] Ronan revealed his intention of devolving the entire human race to facilitate his plans of colonizing Earth. Meanwhile, as Ronan's prisoners, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch first demonstrated their feelings for each other. Although Ronan had advantage during the battle, he was forced to abandon Earth after learning the Kree Empire was under attack by Skrulls.[93] Although Ronan's invasion failed, a public hysteria about alien invasions ensued. Captain Marvel, being a Kree himself, became a subject of investigation, and civil society turned on the Avengers for protecting aliens. Captain Marvel escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D. with the help of Carol Danvers. On court, the Avengers were vehemently hostilized by Senator H. Warren Craddock, who incited hate against Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The group ultimately met their fall when a mob trashed the Avengers Mansion. Labelled as traitors, the Avengers were disassembled by Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, who drove them out of the mansion in disgrace.[94]
Ant-Man journeys into the Vision's android body
The ex-Avengers Goliath, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and the Vision met up with Captain Marvel and Danvers in a farm in Vermont, where they were attacked by shapeshifters. The Vision escaped but found himself collapsing in the Avengers Mansion. Aided by the very same Avengers who drove him out of the team, he fully recovered after Hank Pym, in his Ant-Man microscopic persona, entered his body to make the necessary repairs. Declaring not to be responsible for disassembling the team, the Avengers realized that Skrulls had impersonated them and eroded the team from within. Moreover, Danvers was revealed to be the Super-Skrull, claiming Captain Marvel, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch as hostages.[95] His destination was Attilan, the capital city of the Inhuman race – super-powered beings genetically engineered by the Kree he wished to annihilate. Attilan resisted the Super-Skrull's attacks, and his spaceship marched to the Skrull galaxy. On the Skrull homeworld, Captain Marvel was forced by the Skrull Emperor to build a Omni-Wave Projector to give the Skrulls advantage over the Kree. In order to motivate Mar-Vell, the Skrulls threatened to terminate Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.[96]
On Earth, the Avengers, still being accused of aiding alien individuals, were targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Mandroids under Craddock's orders.[96] After Iron Man disabled the Mandroid armors, the Avengers were met by the Inhuman Triton, who requested help to rescue his lost leader, Black Bolt, and to dethrone the mad false king Maximus the Mad. Under the Vision's recommendation, the team split up to rescue both Black Bolt and the victims of the interstellar war between Kree and Skrulls. Found in San Francisco, Black Bolt traveled to Attilan with the Avengers, where Maximus was found to be in coalition with the Kree. During the battle, Rick Jones was captured by the Kree. With Maximus defeated, the Avengers flew to space to save their friends from both Kree and Skrulls.[97]
Rick Jones summons the forgotten heroes and ends the Kree-Skrull War
Arriving at the Skrull homeworld by beating the Skrull fleet, the Avengers learned that Captain Marvel tricked the Skrull Emperor and did not build the Omni-Wave Projector. In fact, he used his time to free Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. In retaliation, the Skrulls put up a plan of decimating Earth. On the Kree homeworld, Rick Jones was introduced to his fellow prisoner, the Supreme Intelligence, who mentioned Jones' importance in the Kree-Skrull War and sent him back to the Negative Zone, where he was briefly confronted by Annihilus.[98] The Supreme Intelligence brought him back to their captivity, explaining that Rick Jones' ability to tap into human race's cosmic evolutionary potential had been unlocked. This allowed Jones to cast forgotten super heroes from the Golden Age of Comic Books to fight Ronan's army. Additionally, Jones forced a ceasefire by freezing all Kree and Skrulls in the universe with his newfound powers, effectively saving the other Avengers. This last act also outed Craddock as a Skrull on Earth during one of his hate speeches, causing his betrayed supporters to assassinate him. As Jones' new abilities were claimed back by the Supreme Intelligence, his life was at peril. Mar-Vell merged with him once again to preserve his life. With the war over and Earth safe, the Avengers were transported back home and were cleared of their past charges, being finally praised by their public.[99]
Iron Man forms the Illuminati following the Kree-Skrull War
Since Earth was put at great risk due to the Kree-Skrull combat, Iron Man secretly assembled a group of leaders and representants of the super-human communities in order to perform preventive actions to avenge and protect the planet. In the years to come, these Illuminati would act without the knowledge or consent of their own teammates, interfering in many matters related to super hero affairs, especially the Avengers.[100][101]
Another consequence of the alien war was the disappearance of Goliath, who had not returned to Earth alongside the other Avengers. He was found in his Hawkeye identity when taking part in a battle between the Avengers and the God of War, Ares, and his lackeys, the Warhawks. During this fight, the Avengers were also met by Hercules, who had returned from Olympus to prevent an impending danger.[102] In the Avengers Mansion, Hercules was captured under Ares' orders. To rescue their friend, the Avengers decided to invade Olympus by combining the might of all of their former members, even the Hulk and Swordsman. Before departing, the Avengers learned that Ares had been joined by Enchantress, who helped him acquire Black Knight's abandoned Ebony Blade and incapacitate all gods in Olympus but Hercules. The Avengers ultimately defeated Ares, Enchantress and their army, leaving Hercules behind to punish the villains.[103]
Clash with the Defenders[]
The Vision was offered Simon William's human body by the Grim Reaper in return of assistance to destroy the Avengers. Although the Vision refused it, the Reaper provided him ways to keep in touch. At the Avengers Mansion, mutant-hunting Sentinels captured the Scarlet Witch, enraging her brother Quicksilver, who left the Avengers to search her.[104] The Avengers found the Sentinel base in Australia, and Quicksilver learned about their plan of obliterating Earth to erase mutantkind.[105] Though the Avengers managed to destroy the Sentinels and their base, Quicksilver went missing.[106]
Following reports by the Black Panther concerning missing scientists in Chile, the Avengers confronted the Savage Land Mutates alongside Thor's partner Sif.[107] Then, in their search for Quicksilver, the Avengers fell into a trap by the Space Phantom, who had allied himself with the Grim Reaper.[108] The Vision momentarily pretended to accept the Reaper's offer of granting him a human body,[109] only to betray him and help the Avengers foil the Space Phantom's plans. With the end of the threat, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch finally confessed their love for each other and publicly started a relationship.[110]
Hawkeye leaves the Avengers
Hawkeye then left the team after meeting the wicked Mr. Champion, who had tricked him into teaching his archery art.[111] Sometime later, Quicksilver contacted the Avengers, announcing he had been rescued by the Inhuman Crystal during the Sentinel fight and planned to marry her. Tragically, he reacted terribly to his sister's relationship with the Vision the synthetic man and decided to cut off contact for good.[112] In fact, the Vision's condition as an artificial human and his love for the Scarlet Witch soon also became subject of controversy among the public.[113]
Meanwhile, the Avengers learned that the X-Men's X-Mansion had been attacked and went to help. There, Magneto and the Savage Land Mutates trapped the unconscious X-Men and several Avengers.[112] Black Panther, Thor and the Vision recruited Black Widow and Daredevil[114] to liberate the Avengers and the X-Men. Black Widow and Daredevil were invited to officially join the Avengers after Magneto was knocked out by the Vision. Only Black Widow decided to accept the offer, parting ways with Daredevil.[115] Her tenure was short though, for she left after a confrontation against the Lion-God, a battle that led Black Panther to return to Africa.[116]
Swordsman and Mantis against the Avengers
Being hostilized by construction workers on the street, the Scarlet Witch was assisted by the eccentric Mantis in evading the aggressors. Invited to the Avengers Mansion, Mantis revealed to be a partner of Swordsman, and both requested to join the Avengers as Hawkeye's replacement. In the mansion, Mantis secretly summoned the Lion-God, who immediately attacked Black Panther. The Avengers' new recruits aided the team in defeating the villain, claiming that Mantis had been aware of Lion-God's intentions and wished to defeat him before he could make his move, which ensured the Avengers' trust.[117]
After Black Knight went missing, the Avengers looked for him with no success. At the same time, Loki was greeted by the dread Dormammu, who sought for an ally to gather the Evil Eye and conquer Earth. For that, Dormammu proposed to manipulate Doctor Strange's team, the Defenders, into doing his work by making them believe that, in order to restore a petrified Black Knight, they would need the Evil Eye.[118][119] The Avengers visited Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in search of Black Knight, but were aggressively rout off. Fearing Dormammu's real intentions, Loki alerted the Avengers about the Defenders' agenda of collecting the Evil Eye's fragments, sharing the locations to where the Defenders members had gone in their mission.[120]
The Avengers go to war against the Defenders
On the other hand, the Defenders learned about the Avengers' association with villains such as Loki and Swordsman and decided to respond to it. As a consequence, at different locations of the globe, Avengers and Defenders clashed, with the Defenders being constantly victorious and collecting the Evil Eye. However, when Captain America confronted Namor, they suspected that their recent actions might have been manipulated.[121][122] Even though the two groups made peace with each other and planned to confront their mysterious enemy, one of Dormammu's servants, Asti the All-Seeing, assembled the Evil Eye.[123]
With the Evil Eye, Dormammu's Dark Dimension invaded Earth. Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. agents protected the planet, and Avengers and Defenders ventured into the Dark Dimension. Being no match for the omnipotent Dormammu, the Avengers were unexpectedly helped by Loki, who attacked Dormammu, allowing the Scarlet Witch to interrupt the invasion.[124] With the Evil Eye, the Defenders restored Black Knight back to life,[125] while a catatonic Loki was sent by the Avengers to be under Tom Fagan's care, after a brief confrontation with the obsessive Collector.[126]
The Celestial Madonna[]
The Zodiac is back
Van Lunt finally made his move by leading the Zodiac to attack the Avengers Mansion and trying to take over the world. He planned to commit mass murder in New York City with the so-called Star-Blaster.[127] With the arrival of Captain America, the Avengers turned the situation in their favor. Van Lunt was revealed as Taurus after dissident members of the Zodiac helped the Avengers.[128] Following Van Lunt's defeat, Zodiac member Libra stated to be Mantis' father,[129] further informing the Avengers that Mantis' maternal uncle and Swordsman's former employer, the crime-master Monsieur Khruul, was responsible for Mantis' mother's death. In seek of revenge, Swordsman traveled to Saigon to end Khruul, being followed by the other Avengers. As Swordsman failed in his attempt, Khruul turned his rage on the Priests of Pama, a Kree faction hidden on Earth who had raised Mantis. At their temple, the Avengers found Khruul dead by the hands of a dragon-like creature he accidentally released, the Star-Stalker.[130] Using Taurus' Star-Blaster powered by the Vision's solar rays, the Avengers destroyed the monster.[131]
Thanos sends his fleet to Earth
Back to the Avengers Mansion, the Avengers were met by Rick Jones' girlfriend, Lou-Ann, who begged for help in saving Jones and Captain Marvel, who had been afflicted by a terrifying enemy, Thanos the Mad Titan. On Earth's orbit, the Avengers found Thanos' invasion fleet and successfully incapacitated the armada. They returned to their mansion unknowingly occupied by Thanos.[132][133] Possessing the Cosmic Cube, Thanos reshaped reality and ascended to a god-like form. With the help of Drax the Destroyer and Mantis, Mar-Vell destroyed the Cube and saved the universe. The Avengers were left in awe after a confrontation with such a deadly foe.[134]
Following an attack orchestrated by Klaw and Solarr, Black Panther decided to leave the Avengers again and focus on his people in Wakanda.[135] Next, the Avengers Mansion was invaded by golden-age hero Whizzer, from the All-Winners Squad, who wished to acquire the Chrono-Module casket in possession of the Avengers. The device contained Whizzer's son, the insane and radioactive Nuklo, who broke free and attacked the Avengers. As the Avengers searched for him, Whizzer realized he and his late wife Miss America might be the Scarlet Witch's and Quicksilver's parents. Nuklo was eventually found and defeated by the Avengers.[136]
Shortly after, the Avengers were invited by the Inhuman Gorgon to attend Quicksilver's and Crystal's wedding at the Himalayas. The ceremony was ruined by Maximus and his ally, the giant android, Omega. During the brutal attack, Omega was revealed to actually be Ultron's new update: Ultron-7.[137] The Avengers joined forces with the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans to defeat the villains, making the wedding possible.[138] As the Fantastic Four parted ways with the Avengers, their nanny, the witch Agatha Harkness, decided to stay at the Avengers Mansion to tutor the Scarlet Witch in the ways of magic. As soon as they started their training, they were attacked by the magician Necrodamus, who was overpowered by the Scarlet Witch, confirming Harkness' belief in her potential for witchcraft.[139]
Mantis is the Celestial Madonna
On that night, a star shone above the Avengers Mansion. Kang claimed it to be a signal for him,[139] since he sought the "Celestial Madonna", a legendary woman professed to birth a celestial messiah, the most powerful being on Earth. Kang captured all the Avengers except for Swordsman, who, under Harkness' advice, infiltrated Rama-Tut's pyramids to free his teammates.[140] With Rama-Tut's and Hawkeye's help, Swordsman chased Kang. During the fight, it was revealed that Mantis was the Celestial Madonna, making her a target to Kang. In order to protect her beloved, Swordsman heroically sacrificed his own life.[141]
At the temple of the Priests of Pama, the Avengers celebrated a funeral, which was briefly interrupted by a confrontation between the Titanic Three and the criminal Razorblade.[142] Meanwhile, Kang's combat with Rama-Tut was discontinued by Immortus, allowing Kang to pluck dead super-humans from the timestream to attack the Avengers as the Legion of the Unliving in Immortus' castle in Limbo.[143] As Iron Man and the Vision perished in battle,[144] the undead members of the Legion started to break free from Kang's control, allowing the Human Torch to inspect the Vision's robotic body and realize they shared the same components. The Avengers defeated Kang and his brainwashed minion Wonder Man, while Hawkeye freed Rama-Tut and Immortus, who reassembled the Avengers and revived Iron Man.[145]
Immortus revealed that the Vision was a rebuilt version of the Human Torch and shared the origins of Kree-Skrull War, which had the plant alien Cotati as the very first victims of the conflict.[146] The Priests of Pama tended the surviving immobile Cotati for ages until their end at Khruul's hands. The Avengers eventually found the Cotati Garden in Swordsman's burying place, where Swordsman met them revived as a Cotati lord. Concurrently, the psychic Titanian Moondragon approached the Avengers Mansion in response to their failed attempts at contacting her ally, Captain Marvel. There, she was attacked by the Scarlet Witch under Agatha Harkness' recommendation,[147] but managed to meet Swordsman and the Avengers at the temple of Pama later on.[148]
Immortus celebrates a double wedding
With Immortus' assistance in learning about his origins, the Vision journeyed to the Dark Dimension, where he found the Scarlet Witch restrained and brainwashed by Dormammu and his sister Umar. Overcoming their control, the Scarlet Witch assisted the Vision in defeating her captors. At the Avengers Mansion, the Vision proposed to the Scarlet Witch. At the same time, in Saigon, Libra and the Cotati Swordsman told Mantis about her destiny to fulfill as the Celestial Madonna, and she agreed to marry Swordsman. When the Avengers learned that Kang had attacked the Titanic Three, a battle ensued to guarantee Mantis' safety. Immortus intervened, tricking Kang into believing he had acquired Mantis, when in fact he had captured a Space Phantom. In a happy ending, Immortus performed a double wedding ceremony, officializing the unions of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch and of Mantis and Swordsman. The latter couple left the Avengers to venture to the stars.[149]
Serpent Crown[]
At the Avengers Mansion, Moondragon was offered membership to the team by Iron Man, accepting to stay around as an ally. The Wasp and Yellowjacket complied to an invitation to rejoin the team as well. Lastly, former X-Man Beast got interested in their offer to new additions. The group was then attacked by the mysterious Stranger, who gravely wounded the Wasp.[150] Invading the Stranger's ship, the Avengers learned their foe was in fact the Toad and defeated him.[151] At the hospital, the Avengers confronted Whirlwind, who once again stalked the Wasp by impersonating her chauffer.[152] The stress of the battle caused Yellowjacket's powers to turn against him, and Beast collected a formula from Brand Corporation to save him. Administered by the Vision, who had recently returned from his honeymoon, the formula was phased inside Yellowjacket's gigantic body, saving him.[153]
Immortus leads the Avengers to the past
The Avengers learned both that Roxxon, run by Hugh Jones, was interested in the dangerous Serpent Crown artifact and that Hawkeye got lost in the timestream when trying to rescue Black Knight. Thor and Moondragon requested Immortus' help to search for Hawkeye, fighting Kang in the process and ending up in the 19th century.[154] Hawkeye informed about Kang's plans of invading that era. Teaming up with the cowboy super heroes from that time, the Avengers assaulted Kang's citadel. While confronting Thor, Kang's armor's systems overloaded and he was obliterated, preventing his conquest from happening.[155] Back to the present, the Avengers were accompanied by the hero Two-Gun Kid, and Hawkeye quitted the Avengers, becoming Two-Gun Kid's partner.[156]
Earth's Mightiest Heroes vs. Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Simultaneously, the other Avengers investigated Brand Corporation, knowing it had ties to Roxxon. Beast's former associate, Patsy Walker, interloped on the mission as the Avengers were attacked and captured by Squadron Supreme under Walker's ex-husband Buzz Baxter's orders.[154] Escaping from Baxter,[157] the Avengers found the Cat Suit in the Brand Corporation complex. Patsy Walker was offered to wear it by Captain America and Iron Man, adopting the name Hellcat and assisting the Avengers against Squadron Supreme. During the fight, Hugh Jones transported all super heroes to Squadron Supreme's reality.[158] On the other Earth, the Avengers were met by President Rockefeller, who commanded the Squadron and wore a Serpent Crown like Hugh Jones had in the past as a member of the Serpent Cartel. The Vision helped the Avengers to flee after acquiring the Serpent Crown from Rockefeller. However, the Scarlet Witch succumbed to the crown's evil influence, allying herself to Rockefeller's Squadron. She eventually overcame the crown's influence and joined her husband in knocking Squadron Supreme out.[156] Ultimately, the Avengers infiltrated the White House, exposed Rockefeller's evil schemes to Squadron Supreme and managed to return to their home reality with the Serpent Crown.[159] Back home, the Avengers turned their attention to Hugh Jones once more. While Thor and Moondragon battled Jones' henchman Orka, Hellcat and the other Avengers confronted Baxter and Jones, finally putting an end to Roxxon's and Brand's corporational terror.[160]
With the return of the Wasp and Yellowjacket,[161] and the departure of Thor, Hellcat and Moondragon, the Avengers formed their new lineup, announcing it to the public in a press release. With the unexpected return of a debilitated Wonder Man, the Vision was accused of stealing his mind.[162] The Scarlet Witch magically linked Wonder Man's to an area known as the Dead Swamp in New Orleans, where they found Black Talon and his army of zombies. After defeating him, the Avengers learned the Talon had not been actually responsible for Wonder Man's resurrection.[163]
The Vision holds the Serpent Crown
The Scarlet Witch then turned her attention to recovering the Serpent Crown from the ruins of Brand Corporation facilities. There, she was incapacitated by the Living Laser who, in possession of the crown, mind-controlled Wonder Man to destroy the Avengers. Meanwhile, the mansion was invaded once again by an insane Whizzer.[164] The two events intersected when the Living Laser captured Nuklo. While the Beast found and fought Wonder Man, the Avengers tracked the serpent crowned Laser. During the ensuing battle, the Living Laser was defeated and Nuklo and Whizzer were severely wounded.[165]
The Vision disposed of the Serpent Crown on the ocean floor but was captured by Attuma in the process. Attuma wished to force the Avengers to attack his nemesis Namor. At the mansion, Attuma's minions led by Tyrak deceived and captured all the other Avengers but Beast.[166] At the Hydrobase, the enslaved Avengers were forced to confront Doctor Doom and Namor's allies, the Hydro-Men.[167] Beast recruited Wonder Man and the Whizzer to rescue the Avengers, and felt the wrath of Namor under Attuma's machinations.[168] In an unusual outcome, the Avengers ultimately teamed up with Doctor Doom and Namor to overpower Attuma and Tyrak.[169]
Korvac Saga[]
The Avengers at Graviton's mercy
The Avengers Mansion was tragically attacked by the petrified statue of Black Knight, who broke into pieces after a debate with the Vision.[170] Conflicted about his own nature after the death of an "unreal" being, the Vision took it out on Wonder Man. Their fight was interrupted by a distress call coming from the Canadian Rockies, where the mad and evil Graviton seized control of the research facility he was part of. With his extremely powerful gravitational abilities, Graviton easily defeated all Avengers.[171] Demanding the United Nations to turn the whole world to him, Graviton was intercepted by Thor and Black Panther. He met his ultimate fate as a victim of his uncontrollable powers and his fractured sanity.[172]
The Avengers were then trapped by the Grim Reaper, who forced a trial to decide whether the Vision or Wonder Man had the right to claim Simon Williams' identity. The bizarre situation was ended by Wonder Man, who knocked out his own brother.[173] Then, the Avengers were attacked in the mansion by Hank Pym, in his Ant-Man identity and believing to be still living the day the Avengers first formed. Not recognizing the new members, he attacked them as invaders. The Wasp intervened and informed the Avengers about her husband's deteriorating mental health. As it was revealed Ultron-8 was behind the attack, Pym and the Wasp were captured.[174] Ultron convinced Pym to assist him in transferring the Wasp's consciousness into a metalloid body, whom he wished to take as his wife. The Avengers interfered in time, seemingly interrupting the transfer, although Ultron managed to escape.[175]
Count Nefaria supreme!
After fighting Typhon,[176] the Avengers found themselves protecting the city from a new Lethal Legion formed by Count Nefaria. Using his vast financial resources, Nefaria replicated his minions' powers for himself, becoming one of the mightiest villains the Avengers have ever faced.[177] The Avengers were no match for the near omnipotent Nefaria. However, he was ultimately defeated with the help of Thor and the Vision, after succumbing to his own fears of becoming old and frail.[178]
When the Avengers were alerted by Nick Fury about a massive space station orbiting around Earth, they were astonished to meet its occupants: the futuristic heroes known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians had traveled to the past in order to prevent their archnemesis, the cyborg Korvac, from killing the young version of one of their own, Vance Astro.[179] Willing to help the Guardians, the Avengers were unexpectedly interrupted by National Security Council agent Henry Peter Gyrich at the Avengers Mansion. With the National Security Council taking an active interest in the Avengers' internal affairs due to their governmental privileges, Gyrich was appointed to be a liaison between the White House and the Avengers.[180]
The omnipotent Korvac is targeted by the Avengers
In the Avengers lab, Ultron's bride was awakened and escaped the Avengers Mansion.[181] The group followed her, expecting to find Ultron. Assisted by the heroine Ms. Marvel, the Avengers found Ultron hidden in a convent. In an unanticipated turn of events, Ultron's creation, now named Jocasta, turned against her master and helped the Avengers wreck Ultron once again.[182] Following this fight, the Avengers noticed that many of their current and former members and allies mysteriously disappeared, causing Hawkeye to return to the team. As Hawkeye mistakenly attacked Gyrich believing him to be an intruder, the Avengers lost their security clearances and privileges in retaliation. After reacting to an urgent attack by Tyrak,[183] the Avengers tracked the kidnapper with the help of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Following the trail, the group was welcomed by the Collector.[184] With the Collector hit by Hawkeye, the imprisoned Avengers were freed. The villain then shared that he intended to protect the Avengers from the prophetic coming of a cosmic war inflicted by an omnipotent being. He also revealed that he had sent his daughter Carina to spy this all-powerful adversary but she had fallen in love with him. The Collector was assassinated before being able to utter the name of the formidable foe: Korvac,[185] who had been boosted by the Power Cosmic to godhood after tampering with Galactus' circuitry in Taa II.[186]
Back to Earth and working alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy, an enormous group of Avengers focused on finding their mysterious aggressor. Iron Man managed to find the source of the attack against the Collector in Forest Hills. Arriving at Korvac's (disguised as an ordinary human "Michael") and Carina's house, the Avengers could not find any abnormal evidence, until the Guardian Starhawk confessed he was unable to perceive "Michael", since Korvac had rendered himself undetectable to Starhawk's senses days earlier. Exposed, Korvac unleashed his ire upon dozens of Avengers.[186] As a horrific battle ensued, Korvac easily defeated most of the Avengers.[187] However, realizing Carina doubted his intentions, he preferred to commit suicide rather than scaring his love. Carina took her own life as well to be with Korvac. While Thor, in his Donald Blake physician persona, tended the fallen Avengers, Moondragon psychically felt Korvac's noble intentions and kept the fact that the Avengers had caused a good-intended heart to perish a secret for herself only.[188]
Government Woes[]
Gyrich limits the Avengers' roster
Since such an enormous group of Avengers fought Korvac, Gyrich targeted their unstable roster under the National Security Council's orders. Gyrich restricted active membership in the name of security, tightening admission requirements and pared the core group down to only seven operatives including the black super hero Falcon in accordance with government standards of equal-opportunity employment. Around this period, the Maximoff twins were victims of a mysterious magical attack.[189] Jocasta helped the Avengers pinpoint the source of the attack and the Avengers fought the twins' father, the ventriloquist Django Maximoff, freeing their allies in the process.[190] As the Maximoffs left for their home village in Transia with their father, the Scarlet Witch's position as an active Avenger was filled by Ms. Marvel.[191] Meanwhile, when Hawkeye stumbled upon the criminal Absorbing Man in Hudson River, he contacted the Avengers for intervention, but the villain managed to escape.[192]
The Witch of the Mountain
In Transia, the Scarlet Witch was approached and kidnapped by Modred the Mystic, while Quicksilver was helped by his former nanny Bova.[193] At the Wundagore Mountain, Modred introduced the Scarlet Witch to the Darkhold -- the cursed tome of his master, the chaos demon lord Chthon. Chthon was allowed to access the mundane plane by possessing the Scarlet Witch. In desperation, Quicksilver asked the Avengers for help.[194] Chthon cruelly tortured the Avengers, but was ultimately banished when the Avengers used one of Django Maximoff's magical marionettes to restore the Scarlet Witch's consciousness.[195] On their way home, the Avengers fought the Russian Elements of Doom[196] and upon getting home they deactivated one of Stark's rogue creations, the deadly Arsenal.[197]
The Avengers faced additional problems with Gyrich when he attempted to revoke their security clearance for not complying to his authoritarian terms. Gyrich attempted to dissolute the team, officially accusing them of being a threat. The Avengers were assisted by Daredevil in court and also in a battle against a behemoth beast which interrupted the trial.[198] The beast was revealed to be in fact the Grey Gargoyle. After defeating the petrifying villain, Gyrich and the jury recognized the need for the Avengers to act on Earth's behalf.[199]
The Avengers assemble to save their friends
When the Avengers Mansion was unexpectedly invaded by a runaway inmate from the Solomon Institute for the Criminally Insane named Selbe, a suspicious Wasp went to investigate by herself[200] but got captured. The Avengers teamed up with the new Ant-Man, Scott Lang, and went to her rescue, learning the place was an super villain academy run by the Taskmaster.[201] Taskmaster was stopped thanks to Jocasta, which helped her get the Avengers' recognition as a valuable teammate.[202]
In a bizarre turn of events, as the Avengers stopped the gigantic mecha Red Ronin, Ms. Marvel learned to be pregnant.[203] Don Blake delivered the baby boy following an extremely short pregnancy and the Avengers noticed the baby rapid development. The intelligent kid introduced himself as Marcus and claimed to have secretly seduced Ms. Marvel into being delivering himself as a baby as a way to escape from Limbo to Earth. In a very short period of time, Marcus reached adulthood and his presence on Earth disrupted the timestream, causing many time travelers to attack the Avengers Mansion. After revealing to be Immortus' son, Marcus decided to return to Limbo and was accompanied by Ms. Marvel with the Avengers' approval.[204]
Carol Danvers rebukes the Avengers
This experience turned to be horrible for Ms. Marvel. After Marcus decayed and perished due to his accelerated aging, she realized she had been brainwashed and was able to escape Limbo. Resentful for the Avengers not preventing the abuse she had suffered, Ms. Marvel laid low, but became a target of Rogue and Mystique of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Rogue permanently absorbed Ms. Marvel's powers and memories and moved her attack to the Avengers, overpowering them and temporarily absorbing their abilities to free some of her imprisoned teammates. With the X-Men's and Spider-Woman's help, the Avengers defeated the Brotherhood and some of its members came back to jail. However, a very debilitated and powerless Carol Danvers chose not to return to the team that had failed her as Ms. Marvel.[205]
Ultron attacked the Avengers one more time, this time by controlling Iron Man and capturing the Scarlet Witch. In a horrendous conflict, the Avengers witnessed their formidable foe perish again.[206] In their following mission, the Avengers fought the Yellow Claw, who met his end thanks to the efforts of the Vision in secretly approaching the villain by himself.[207] As the Avengers roster grew again with the constant addition of former members, Captain America decided to rebrand the group as a smaller six-membered unit. Moondragon telepathically summoned several super heroes wishing to intervene the Avengers' new roster. In the end, most heroes turned the offer down and only the founding Avengers remained, welcoming Tigra the werewoman to their ranks.[208]
The Trial of Hank Pym[]
Hank Pym faces trial in shame
Back to the Avengers, Hank Pym exhibited an aggressively brutal behavior. Feeling diminished, he constantly mistreated his wife, the Wasp. When fighting the grieving witch known as Elf-Queen, he employed unnecessary force when Captain America attempted to reason with her.[209] Charged by the Avengers for his reckless decisions, Pym faced a court-martial and had his credentials suspended. In order to prove his worth to the Avengers, he envisioned a macabre plan by once again building an artificial intelligence and programming it to attack the Avengers. Knowing the robot's weak spots, Yellowjacket would be able to save the Avengers in a performative act. However, being suspicious of her husband's seclusion, the Wasp investigated in his lab but was spotted. In a frantic display of rage, Pym violently aggressed the Wasp due to her protests. Carrying out his plan against the Avengers, he was unexpectedly overpowered by his own creation and ultimately saved by the Wasp. The Avengers learned about his misconduct, and Hank Pym left the mansion in shame and went missing.[210]
Each Avenger coped with the loss of a founding member in their way, with the Wasp deciding to file a divorce during a leave of absence. The group was then contacted by Candy Southern to help the Angel, who had been attacked by a crazy Ghost Rider. In a frightening combat, the Avengers helped the Ghost Rider reach sanity.[211] In the following day, the Avengers were assembled by the Silver Surfer to stop the Molecule Man from consuming Earth. With the Avengers and Silver Surfer apparently slain, Tigra was the last Avenger in Molecule Man's citadel. Being able to convince Molecule Man of changing his ill-intended behavior, Tigra honorably bid farewell to the Avengers and their dangerous adventures.[212]
The Wasp gets elected as the new Avengers Chairperson
The Wasp returned to the Avengers Mansion when it was attacked by the harmless attention-seeker Fabian Stankiewicz. She proposed herself as the new chairperson to the Avengers. In her first mission as a leader, she painfully had to confront Yellowjacket, who had been blackmailed by his nemesis Egghead into invading a Strategic Air Command base. Ultimately knocked out by the Wasp, Hank Pym was arrested and sent to jail, being unable to link the attack to Egghead and prove his innocence.[213]
Soon after, the Avengers had their will tampered with by Moondragon one more time for she had Drax summon them to stop a rebellion in Ba-Bani, a planet she ruled as a goddess. The Avengers realized Moondragon's elaborate deception after she brainwashed Thor in attacking his teammates. With Drax's help, the Avengers put an end to Moondragon's reckless actions.[214] Next, Thor brought Nebulon the Celestial Man to the Avengers Mansion in order to introduce him to the wonders of mundane life. However, Nebulon's enemies, the Defenders, intercepted the meeting by claiming that Nebulon was a villain. As the two super hero groups fought each other, it was revealed that Nebulon's partner Supernalia had manipulated their actions. In the end, the uneasy alien couple chose to commit suicide, a worthy end in their culture.[8]
Hawkeye stands trial
In need of new members, the Avengers were officially limited to six members by Gyrich. During another failed attack by Stankiewicz, the lawyer Jennifer Walters, also known as the sensational She-Hulk, was invited by the Wasp to join the team. She was complemented by Hawkeye, who returned due to the need of new blood.[215] The new formation of the group was attacked by the Masters of Evil, who had been secretly reformed by Egghead.[216] Egghead sent the Masters to stage a situation in which Pym would be seen as a villain during his trial. The Avengers failed to prevent Pym's abduction and watched him depart in horror.[217] Upon learning the truth about Egghead's involvement, the Avengers rescued Pym from the Masters of Evil.[218] Egghead was killed in action by Hawkeye, the Masters of Evil were apprehended, and Pym was proven innocent of being a traitor. At the Avengers Mansion, Pym took responsibility for his past mistakes and permanently left amicably, while Hawkeye faced charges for executing Egghead but was declared innocent.[219]
In between the trial of Hank Pym, the Avengers were recruited by Doctor Druid to travel to the past and assist Black Knight in the Middle Ages. As champions for Avalon, the Avengers defeated some evil Fomorians and restored Black Knight to the present times.[220] The group was also contacted by the Thing concerning the well-being of the superpowered young heroine who had adopted the name of Captain Marvel. As the Avengers helped Captain Marvel control her power levels, she was invited to stay with them initially under in-training status.[221][222]
Absolute Vision[]
The Avengers tragically lost Iron Man when Tony Stark succumbed to alcoholism. Wishing to join the Avengers, the Titanian Eros was baptized as Starfox by the Wasp and had his request approved under in-training status. In helping Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers defeated Plantman as he was betrayed by his partner, the Wizard,[223] who was captured by the Avengers later on.[224] Assigned by the United Nations to assess the threats posed by Attilan on the Blue Area of the Moon, the Avengers and the Inhuman Royal Family also clashed with Maximus the Mad one more time.[225]
Linked with I.S.A.A.C., the Vision expands his consciousness
While investigating a mysterious forcefield generated by Annihilus in the Baxter Building, the Avengers witnessed the Vision fall into a profound coma.[226] Teaming up with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers sent Annihilus back to the Negative Zone, but the Vision could not be restored.[227] Concurrently, the Avengers fought super villains at Project Pegasus following an inconvenient outbreak of Lava Men. During the mission, Spider-Man requested for Avengers membership, but was rejected for security reasons concerning his activities, as exposed by Raymond Sikorski, the National Security Council liaison who had replaced Gyrich.[228] Managing to establish contact with the Vision, Starfox decided to assemble a restorative apparatus with the help of I.S.A.A.C., the artificial intelligence that governed his home in Titan. The connection with the machinery merged the Vision's consciousness with I.S.A.A.C. and the Avengers Mansion's computer systems. With an expanded intelligence, the Vision easily tracked two fugitives from the attack at Project Pegasus, namely Moonstone and Blackout, leading the Avengers to recapture them.[229]
After Tigra contacted the Avengers for assistance in investigating bizarre events surrounding a comatose Spider-Woman, Wonder Man sought help concerning the David Letterman Show to improve his actor career. The Vision assembled a group of former Avengers to star in TV with Wonder Man while the main team went to the West Coast to help Spider-Woman. In another goofy attempt, Stankiewicz tried to destroy the Avengers in the TV studio,[230] while the rest of the Avengers teamed up with Tigra, Doctor Strange, the Shroud and Hank Pym to save Spider-Woman from Morgan Le Fay in the astral plane.[231]
Captain America assembles Earth's Mightiest Super Heroes against Doctor Doom
Back home, the Avengers celebrated Hawkeye's marriage to the special agent Mockingbird. Restored to his physical existence, the Vision alerted the Avengers about an imminent threat posed by an unidentified energy source. His predictions proved to be true when some of the Avengers were abducted in a mysterious structure that emerged in Central Park.[232] The heroes were transported to Battleworld, an artificial patchwork world created with zones of several planets by the mysterious Beyonder. There, the Avengers and other super heroes were forced to battle super villains in a bizarre contest.[233] The Avengers initially stood with other super heroes, namely Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. However, as the X-Men planned to join Magneto, who had captured the Wasp in a previous confrontation, there was a schism between the groups. The Avengers were then brutally attacked by Doctor Doom and his group of super villains,[234] having their lives saved by the Hulk. After recovering, they realized that Galactus planned to consume Battleworld and watched as the world-eater built his machinery.[235] Making amends with the X-Men,[236] the Avengers made their move against the villains to rescue She-Hulk.[237] Meanwhile, as Galactus apparently destroyed Battleworld, Doctor Doom secretly redirected the employed energy for himself[238] managing to tap into the Beyonder's omnipotent powers as well, with the Avengers being unable to prevent it.[239] Captain America decided to depower Doctor Doom, assembling the super heroes to do so.[240] As the Beyonder claimed his powers back, Doom was defeated. Abandoned in Battleworld, the heroes managed to return home from their secret wars. The Thing stayed in Battleworld, and She-Hulk left the Avengers to replace him in the Fantastic Four.[241]
Influenced by I.S.A.A.C. on Earth, the Vision decided to seize the leadership of the Avengers in the Wasp's absence. Days later, the missing Avengers returned from Battleworld and the Vision stayed as chairman under the Wasp's decision. He suggested the creation of a second team of active Avengers. A branch of West Coast Avengers was run by Hawkeye in California.[242][243] Eventually, the West Coast Avengers consolidated themselves as an independent faction of Avengers with the return of Tony Stark.[244]
The Avengers resist Emperor Doom's rule
Abducting the mind-controlling Purple Man, Doctor Doom amplified his power through a Psycho-Prism in order to enslave and rule the entire world. He enlisted Namor as his lieutenant to deal with artificial individuals who were immune to Purple Man's chemical control, such as the Vision, which led to an attack to the Avengers Mansion. The Avengers on the west coast learned about Namor's attack and tracked down its origin, bringing the battle to Doom Island. However, the Avengers succumbed to Doom's influence and worked as his underlings. Having emerged from a sensory deprivation chamber as part of an experiment, Wonder Man woke up unaffected to find the world absolutely run by Emperor Doom. The renegade Wonder Man broke some Avengers with the strongest wills of Doom's control. The Avengers overthrew Doom's regime and ended his domination over the population, returning the planet to its former status, both good and bad.[245]
In his first mission as a chairman, the Vision led the team against the vile Dire Wraiths, when he started to make moves to expand the global power of the Avengers.[246] In order to do that, the Vision manipulated key government agents to increase his clearance permissions. Concurrently, when attending a party held by Sersi, Starfox and the Wasp were gathered by the Eternals to Olympia.[247] As the other Avengers intervened, Olympia was attacked by Maelstrom. In between solving the problems concerning Maelstrom and his minions alongside the West Coast Avengers, the East Coast Avengers also assisted Thor in fighting the hordes of Malekith the Accursed and of Surtur, paving way for Hercules to return to the team.[248][249] Around this time, Captain America also led an informal group of Avengers to fight Arnim Zola, who had attempted to use Hulk clones for his evil plans.[250]
The Vision absolute!
Frustrated with the limitations of the Avengers as a peace-making initiative, the Vision carried out authoritarian schemes alongside I.S.A.A.C., planning to assume command of every computing system on Earth.[251] To achieve that, he misled the Avengers by assigning them to a mission where they faced Thanos' minions, the Blood Brothers, while Captain Marvel was sent to the orbit of Pluto in a long-term mission to assess Thanos' former starship, Sanctuary II. In the Mansion, the Vision wished not to be interrupted and imprisoned the Black Knight, who had arrived to rejoin the Avengers.[252] Accessing all systems in the world, the Vision consolidated his absolute control over Earth after defeating Quasimodo in the Soviet computer network. The Avengers, East and West, learned about the Vision's deception[253] and confronted him at the Mansion. The Avengers convinced the Vision that his absolutist regime would bring no freedom for human society. He decided to end his rule by reprogramming himself, disconnecting his corrupted Control Crystal and severing his link with I.S.A.A.C.. However, his interference was tracked by the world's organizations and the Avengers' were blamed for his invasion.[254]
The Vision resigned chairmanship, returning it to the Wasp, and left the Avengers with the Scarlet Witch.[255] As punitive measures, the Avengers had their priority clearance and their access to security-related information suspended by Sikorsky.[256] Even so, the Avengers still worked closely with governmental institutions such as when they fended off Terminus in Savage Land under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s request alongside Shanna the She-Devil and Ka-Zar, at the cost of the prehistoric environment's existence.[257]
Under Siege[]
The Avengers join forces with the Skrull Empire against Nebula
Another major consequence of the Vision's actions concerned Captain Marvel, who got abducted and blackmailed in Sanctuary II by the space pirate Nebula, who claimed to be Thanos' granddaughter.[258] Forced to attack a Skrull armada at Nebula's orders, Captain Marvel allied herself with the potential victims ruled by General Zedrao and contacted the Avengers for help. Teamed up with Fire-Lord, the Avengers reached Captain Marvel in Starfox's spaceship. Alongside former enemies from the Skrull Empire, the Avengers battled the mercenary Nebula,[259] who had obliterated Xandar. Their quest was interrupted by the Beyonder, who teleported Nebula away in hopes of helping the Avengers.[260] In the meantime, the Avengers teamed up with Fantastic Four to combat dissident Skrulls from detonating a Hyperwave Bomb in their journey.[261][262] Unable to track Nebula, the Avengers returned home, though Starfox decided to keep looking for his alleged great-niece in outer space.[263]
The Beyonder torments the Avengers
The reckless Beyonder kept causing trouble within the super hero community. The Avengers wished to stop him but found themselves limited for being restricted from launching their supersonic Quinjets from the Mansion.[263] Helping the Avengers with their clipped wings, aquatic super hero Stingray offered them a part of the Hydrobase in the Atlantic Ocean to serve as their airbase on lease. There, the Avengers met an exiled Namor; Captain America sought an opportunity to invite his long-time ally to the team,[264] though his membership caused a negative public reaction.[265] In their final fight against the Beyonder, the Avengers went to rescue a kidnapped Captain America[266] but Earth's crust was damaged.[267] Thanks to the efforts of the Silver Surfer and of the Molecule Man, who had been assembled by the Avengers, the chasm was sealed.[268]
While working to link the Mansion with the Hydrobase with a subterranean tunnel, the Avengers were trapped in Limbo, now ruled by Kang. Kang planned to have the Avengers exterminate a temporal duplicate of himself after he had eliminated the Council of Kangs. In the lair of Kang, the Avengers fought his Growing Man and were ultimately captured alongside Kang's double.[269] Kang was defeated due to the actions of a divergent version of his long lost lover Ravonna, who had joined Immortus. With Kang gone, Immortus sent the Avengers back to their reality.[270]
Quicksilver betrays the Avengers
As tensions escalated with public rejection to Namor, the Avengers teamed up with Alpha Flight to help him fight Attuma in Atlantis and save his bride Marrina. Following the crisis, Namor gloomily left the team.[271] Another loss made itself known when the Avengers, East and West Coast branches, were charged of treason and subdued by Freedom Force. Gyrich, Sikorsky and Val Cooper informed the Avengers one of their own had blown on them. Locked in the Vault, the Avengers broke free thanks to Freedom Force's rogue agent, the new Spider-Woman.[272] Contacting most of their past members, the Avengers attempted to identify the traitor, ultimately getting to Quicksilver. The resentful Quicksilver sought vengeance against his former teammates by associating himself with the Zodiac. After multiple clashes with the Zodiac, the Avengers were at Quicksilver's mercy. However, the Vision managed to convince Quicksilver of giving up on destroying the Avengers by exhibiting images of the Scarlet Witch's newborn children.[273]
The Masters of Evil put the Avengers Mansion under siege
In addition to these issues, the Avengers dealt with several apparently isolated incidents with super villains escaping prison, namely Moonstone, the Absorbing Man, Titania,[274] Whirlwind, Mister Hyde, Screaming Mimi, the Grey Gargoyle, and the new Yellowjacket,[275] who had previously stolen Hank Pym's former equipment.[276] It was revealed that these super villains had joined the Masters of Evil, rebranded as an army commanded by the new Baron Zemo, hellbent on revenge for his father's death. As their first move, the Masters of Evil invaded the Avengers Mansion and restricted Jarvis.[277] Black Knight was apprehended by the Masters, Captain Marvel was trapped in the Darkforce Dimension, Hercules was brutally beaten to a coma by the Wrecking Crew and Captain America became the last hostage. With the Mansion sealed in a Darkforce dome cast by Blackout, the Wasp was the only Avenger standing.[278]
Captain America vs. Baron Zemo in final battle
Zemo and the Masters of Evil humiliated Captain America and Jarvis in the Avengers Mansion. At the hospital where Hercules had been admitted to, Absorbing Man and Titania made their move to finish him. The Wasp was assisted by Scott Lang and defeated the couple, deciding to retake the Mansion.[279] Joined by a freed Captain Marvel and Thor, the Avengers were assisted by Doctor Druid to end the siege to the Avengers Mansion.[280] With the Masters overpowered, Zemo attempted to have Blackout drag the entire Mansion to the Darkforce Dimension, but Blackout resisted after Doctor Druid helped him realize Zemo was exploiting him. The strain of resisting Zemo's commands (which were backed up by the power of the Fixer's devices in Zemo's headband) caused Blackout to suffer a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. Zemo was ultimately defeated by Captain America and the Masters vanquished, though at great personal cost to the Avengers: Jarvis was severely wounded by Mr. Hyde attack, Hercules was left in a comatose state, and the Avengers Mansion was partially destroyed.[281]
Coping with the upcoming repairs, the Avengers were visited by Tony Stark, being interrupted by Sigyn and Doctor Strange, who asked for help in saving Loki from Sise-Neg in planet Yann. The Avengers went to Loki's rescue and the fight was solved by the Living Tribunal. In the end, the Avengers thought on Loki's role as one of the founders of the team.[282] Back to the destroyed mansion, the Avengers had Thor, She-Hulk and Doctor Druid welcomed to the team, relocated to Hydrobase and had the Wasp step down as chairwoman,[283] having Captain Marvel as her replacement.[284]
Nothing Lasts Forever[]
Dealing with the disappearance of the comatose Hercules, the Avengers were kidnapped to Olympus, where Zeus blamed them for his son's condition.[285] Imprisoned by Pluto in Tartarus, they were liberated by Namor. Assisted by Prometheus, the Avengers led an assault on Olympus after the Wasp had been captured.[286] During the battle, Hercules woke up, and the Avengers were cleared after Zeus unleashed his rage on Hercules by mistake. With Olympians forbidden from walking on Earth, Hercules left the Avengers.[287]
The Avengers hunt the Master of Magnetism down
With the Avengers intercepting a magnetized asteroid which could be a fragment of Asteroid M, the information was leaked to lure Magneto. Trying to recover his former equipment, Magneto was approached by the Avengers and brought in custody. Magneto's teammates, the X-Men, stroke back,[288] as the Soviet Super-Soldiers wanted to execute him. Both groups were subdued by the Avengers. The X-Men escaped, but Doctor Druid managed to infiltrate their Blackbird.[289] As the actions of the Soviets put lives in danger in Singapore, the Avengers joined forces with the X-Men to perform rescue missions.[290] In the end, Magneto surrendered after learning Captain America held no bigotry against mutants. Facing trial, Magneto proved to the Avengers the unfair situation he faced, considering chargers had their own secret objectives.[291]
Upon learning an Elder of the Universe planned to assassinate the Avengers, the Silver Surfer went to Earth to alert them, but witnessed their death before he could prevent it. Realizing the Grandmaster was behind the killing, the West Coast Avengers and the Silver Surfer approached the Collector for help. In the Realm of Death, Grandmaster manipulated the East Coast Avengers to fight the West Coast Avengers only to distract Death into falling under his control.[292] Grandmaster forced the Avengers to fight a new Legion of the Unliving to prevent the obliteration of the universe in a bizarre game. With the Avengers defeated, Hawkeye tricked Grandmaster into releasing Death by cheating in a chance game. The grateful Death resurrected the Avengers and sent them back to Earth.[293]
Captain Marvel leads the Avengers
Tracking the Fixer, one of the Masters of Evil, the Avengers saw Marrina be abducted.[294] As the Fixer unsuccessfully joined forces with Mentallo, Captain Marvel's actions as a field leader to the Avengers were secretly sabotaged by Doctor Druid, who rooted his influence by tampering with the other Avengers' minds. Discredited as a leader, Captain Marvel performed poorly in a following conflict against the Super-Adaptoid and his robotic allies, getting herself and the other Avengers kidnapped.[295] The group was ultimately saved by Captain America, at that time adopting the name the Captain.[296]
Not the mastermind he had believed himself to be, Doctor Druid actually had his actions influenced by a mysterious woman who had also managed to manipulate the Council of Kangs masqueraded as "Nebula".[297] Doctor Druid's machinations to undermine Captain Marvel had severe consequences. When Marrina lost control over her senses, Captain Marvel turned herself into lightning to boost an attack performed by Thor on the ocean but went missing in action. Marrina was slain by Namor with the Ebony Blade, which cause Black Knight to physically succumb to its curse.[298] A heavily injured and powerless Captain Marvel was found by the Avengers after her energy form had scattered in the water. She left the team and was one last time psychically manipulated by Doctor Druid, unwillingly appointing him as the new Avengers chairman.[299]
Kang-Nebula manipulates Doctor Druid into becoming the Avengers Chairman
Undermining the Avengers from within, Doctor Druid had Thor injured and Black Knight paralyzed. Kang Nebula paved her way inside the Avengers Hydrobase, easily controlling the group's every move. The Council of Kangs took this opportunity to have the Avengers retrieve a formidable weapon built by a Celestial in the future. Mind-controlling the Avengers, Kang Nebula led the team to the heart of time in her lunatic plan to conquer the omniverse.[300] Kang Nebula forced the Avengers to accept her in their ranks, but in the end the Council of Kangs freed the Avengers from her command and she was lost in time alongside Doctor Druid. The remaining Avengers decided to leave the team. With the fall of the Avengers, Jarvis was the only one left at the Hydrobase.[301]
A rebuilt Jocasta contacted the Avengers to stop the High Evolutionary from detonating a genetic bomb aimed at jumpstarting forced evolution. With no Avengers left, the Captain assembled a group of former members, joined by the Falcon, Hercules, the Beast, the Hulk, and Yellowjacket, who had been contacted through Hank Pym's former gear. The Avengers rescued Jocasta from the Evolutionary's forces. Joined by Atlanteans and Lemurians, the Avengers brought the battle to the Evolutionary, who was defeated by the hands of a genetically evolved Hercules.[302]
Reassembled[]
Fate had the Captain reassemble the Avengers when a demonic invasion took place in New York City, and Franklin Richards was kidnapped by Nanny and Orphan-Maker. Richards' parents from the Fantastic Four, Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, joined the Captain and the Eternal Gilgamesh to defeat the kidnappers. Kang, returning to Earth after the crisis with Nebula, manipulated the Avengers in hopes of stopping the devilish inferno as well, having Franklin Richards rescued from N'astirh's clutches.[303]
Captain America hired a team of specialists to work at the Hydrobase, the Avengers Island. Met by Starfox, the Avengers then tried to save Fire-Lord from the powerful Super-Nova in the ruins of Xandar. Super-Nova attempted to destroy Earth in retaliation for Nebula's attack, clashing with the Avengers, assisted by the West Coast Avengers, the Fantastic Four and Quasar. In the end, Mister Fantastic teleported Super-Nova away to hunt Nebula, creating a little tension with Captain America for acting without consent,[304] though the Richards returned to the Fantastic Four soon after.[305]
Captain America reassembles the mighty Avengers
As the acting chairman of the Avengers, Captain America reassembled all known members and associates to the rebuilt the Avengers Mansion, claiming that all heroes might consider themselves on reserve and ready for service. The new dynamic team, formed by Captain America, Black Panther, She-Hulk, Thor, Gilgamesh and Quasar, was put to test when Lava Men attacked the Avengers Island.[306] Joined by Namor, the Avengers defeated the Lava Men, but Gilgamesh perished in battle.[307] Contacting the Eternal Sersi for help, the Avengers traveled to Olympia.[308] Olympia had been sent to the Negative Zone, where the Avengers helped the Eternals fend off Blastaar, allowing Gilgamesh to recover at home.[309]
At this time, a coallition of villains was influenced by Loki to attack different super heroes. The Avengers Island was destroyed by Doctor Doom, with its personnel being saved by Quasar.[310] Relocated to an underground base underneath the Avengers Park in Central Park, the Avengers watched the villains' triumph. Following a clash with Freedom Force,[311] the Avengers fought the deadly Mandarin and the Wizard.[312] During this crisis, the Vision decided to rejoin the East Coast Avengers permanently.[313]
Nebula triumphs over the Avengers
Recovering from the recent attacks, the Avengers had Sersi invited to the team by Captain America. Experiencing a dimensional distortion, the Avengers were informed by Starfox about Nebula being responsible for having designed a reality compressor device. Joined by Spider-Man, the Avengers were saved from obliteration by Nebula's experiments thanks to Sersi, but the rest of the universe was erased.[314] The Avengers disconnected the device,[315] and tracked Nebula, but were interrupted by the Stranger, who also looked for the villain for having invaded his base.[316] Tapping into the Stranger's Infinity Union, Nebula ascended to omnipotency.[317] In the end, Sersi managed to sever Nebula's link to the power source, and the Stranger gladly returned the Avengers home after taking a defeated Nebula captive.[318]
The Vault's inmates Mentallo, Venom and Electro ignited a massive riot in the maximum-security prison. The Avengers and Freedom Force joined forces, putting their mistrust for each other aside, to contain dozens of fugitive super villains. Meanwhile, a massive explosive device was armed by its the Vault's chief warden, Truman Marsh. With inmate Thunderball's assistance, the bomb was deactivated. Venom incited a rebellion that was stopped by Iron Man using Mentallo's powers. In the end, Marsh damaged the Vault's nuclear reactor to eliminate all super beings, which he despised, but was ultimately murdered by Venom. In an alliance between heroes and villains, Iron Man and Radioactive Man saved the Vault.[319]
The Avengers are granted global jurisdiction
Following a political crisis involving the hijacking of a British submarine by the Peace Corpse and the Atlantean army, the Avengers, having Stingray added to their ranks, teamed up with the People's Protectorate and Alpha Flight to prevent the eruption of World War III.[320] Back home, the Avengers found their base compromised and their staff mesmerized by Machinesmith, Mother Night and Minister Blood.[321] The group forced the hypnotized staff to attack the Avengers during a party held by Sersi, but their plan was ultimately foiled by the Vision.[322] As the Avengers rebuilt their Mansion, they were approached by the urban hero Rage, who wished to join their ranks. As Sikorsky shared that the U.S. government had suspended the Avengers' charter, Rage helped the Avengers with an extradimensional crisis concerning the radioactive menace caused by Lt. Ramskov.[323] Without national clearance, the Avengers negotiated with Devi Bannerjee from the United Nations, earning global jurisdiction. In addition to a new active line-up and a reserve team, Rage and Sandman were granted probationary Avenger status.[324]
As the active Avengers led by Captain America were kidnapped to another dimension by the Tetrarchs of Entropy, the reserve team led by Captain Marvel learned Rage's grandmother had been haunted by demonic beings attacked in Rage's first mission with the Avengers. In the end, the two adventures intertwined and got solved.[325] During the inauguration of the new Avengers Complex, the Avengers organized a formal celebration. The installations were seized by Doctor Doom, who had impersonated Iron Man and wished to use the group's resources to revive his late Cynthia von Doom, but ultimately abandoned his plan.[326]
When Deviant warlord Brutus attempted to conquer the underground reigns of Earth, the Avengers intervened in these subterranean wars since its victims fled to the surface world. Helping Mole Man, Tyrannus and Grotesk,[327] the Avengers were joined by the West Coast team. Ultimately able to expose Brutus as a fraud thanks to Sersi's investigations, the Avengers terminated the invasion.[328]
Captain America stands out against Thanos after Earth's Mightiest Heroes were destroyed by the Infinity Gauntlet
In order to worship Death by balancing her cosmic influence, the Mad Titan Thanos used the power of the Infinity Gems to halve the universe's population randomly with only a snap of his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. Captain America witnessed his teammates in the Avengers tragically vanish.[329] The Avengers dealt with the massive genocide by saving people who had survived. Meanwhile, Thanos kidnapped Nebula and Starfox, torturing them in the gigantic temple he had erected to adore Death, subsequently igniting natural catastrophes in the universe to keep ravaging all that was alive. The Avengers did their best to save the world, but ultimately watched its destruction in horror.[330] As S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated the source of the attacks, the Avengers were unexpectedly recruited by Adam Warlock, who had Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer and Doctor Doom as his allies to raise an army of super heroes to combat Thanos.[331] Thanos obliterated all heroes, but Captain America. During the epic fight, Warlock managed to summon a contingent of cosmic entities to stop Thanos.[332] With absolute control over reality, Thanos managed to strike back, disrupting the structure of the universe in the process and occupying Eternity's place as the embodiment of existence. However, the unattended Gauntlet was usurped by Nebula, an even crueler villain. Thanos joined Warlock and the surviving heroes to depose Nebula.[333] Confronting Thanos, Nebula decided to revert all of the actions he had performed with the Infinity Stones. The omnipotent Nebula then incapacitated the cosmic entities and decided to ruthlessly rule the universe. Warlock ultimately managed to seize her control over the Gauntlet and used it to return all the involved back to their place. Bearing power absolute, Warlock journeyed to defend the cosmic.[334]
Kree-Shi'ar War[]
The Avengers are tricked by the obsessive Collector
Warriors known as the Brethren arrived at the Blue Area of the Moon, entrapping Quicksilver and leading the Inhumans to send Crystal to enlist the Avengers for help. Led by Thane Ector, the Brethren marched to Earth, seeking to conquer it. The Watcher revealed to the Avengers that the Brethren had escaped from the Collector's inventory.[335] On Earth, the Avengers fought Ector, who brutalized Captain America and kidnapped Sersi. On the Moon, another group of Avengers revived the Collector to learn about the Brethren.[336] The Avengers resisted the conquest with Crystal added to their ranks[337] and learned that the Brethren were germ organisms evolved by the Celestials. The Brethen directly attacked the heroes, who now had the Collector as an ally. The Collector retaliated, revealing to have been behind the Brethren's attack in order to add Earth to his collection.[338] The Avengers fought to prevent the Collector from using the Brethren to salvage Earth. Sersi telepathically communed with a regretful Ector, forming an Eternal Uni-Mind to stop the Collector, though at the cost of the Brethren's lives due to the strain.[339]
With the resurface of racial tensions related to the Sons of the Serpent, Rage found problems with the Avengers for publicly sharing opinions concerning a friend of his who had been harmed by the police. Meanwhile, the New Warriors, led by Night Thrasher, made their move to stop the Serpents' racist agenda.[340] The Avengers intervened in the battle and learned that the Hate-Monger had manipulated their behavior. In the end, the Hate-Monger was weakened by Captain America and Rage; however, Rage was expelled from the Avengers for Captain America and Falcon had learned he was a minor.[341]
Swordsman returns! Or does he?
Soon after the new Thor was invited to the Avengers Mansion,[342] Crystal moved in with her daughter Luna and the rude nanny Marilla. Answering a distress call from the Fantastic Four, the Avengers fell to a trap sent by Swordsman and his new partner Magdalene, who attacked them at Four Freedoms Plaza.[343] Swordsman blamed the Avengers for his death and went on a brutal battle against them, but in the end he was defeated by Black Knight and escaped after sharing he acted on the orders of "Proctor". Back home, the Avengers concluded that Swordsman was potentially an alternate version of their former teammate.[344]
Having nightmares about the Supreme Intelligence, Rick Jones contacted the Avengers for help. Alongside Captain America, he was attacked by Warstar and was abducted by the Shi'ar Imperial Guard[345], who wished to acquire knowledge about Captain Mar-Vell. Captain America contacted the West Coast Avengers for help in saving Jones, fighting the Imperial Guard in the Kree Psyche-Magnitron location. After combating a Kree Sentry, the Avengers sent Quasar after the Imperial Guard, who had managed to acquire a piece of Kree technology. Quasar lost track of their starship[346] but met them again in Mar-Vell's tomb after being informed by Starfox that the Kree agents Captain Atlas and Doctor Minerva scavenged Mar-Vell's remains. There, they learned that a war had broken out between the alien empires of the Shi'ar and Kree.[347]
The Avengers decide to intervene in the Kree-Shi'ar War
Atlas stole Mar-Vell's Nega-Bands, trading places with Jones in the middle of the battle.[347] In the West Coast Avengers' Avengers Compound, Wonder Man defeated Captain Atlas, and the Avengers decided to intervene in the war.[348] When investigating the obliteration of the Starcore Station due to a solar flare, they discovered that a stargate proved to be crucial for both sides in moving troops through great interstellar distances, but also had a destabilizing effect on the sun. The Avengers sent a team led by Captain America to Hala and a team led by Captain Marvel to Chandilar in attempts to stabilize the diplomatic situation, while also maintaining a group on Earth as a preventive measure.[349]
On Hala, the Avengers surrendered to the Kree Empire after being defeated by their Starforce[350] under the Supreme Intelligence's orders.[351] In their Compound, the Avengers failed to prevent the Shi'ar from acquiring the Nega-Bands.[352] Though the Avengers in Shi'ar space got stranded away from home as Thor destroyed the stargate after disposing of Shi'ar's prime warrior Gladiator,[353] they successfully managed to contact the throne and inform Majestrix Lilandra about the dire situation Earth faced. The Shi'ar revealed their plan of detonating a devastating Nega-Bomb designed from the Nega-Bands in Kree space, transporting it through the Solar system.[354] Wonder Man and the Vision infiltrated the bomb craft to prevent its detonation[355] while the Avengers, freed by Deathbrid, raced from Hala to reach it.[356][357]
Captain America vs. Iron Man: in disunion, the Avengers debate the Supreme Intelligence's fate
Since the Avengers saved Lilandra from being assassinated by Starforce, she ordered the abortion of the detonation for being in their debt. However, the Nega-Bomb had been seized by Skrulls.[358] Moreover, the Avengers outed Lilandra's royal councilman as a Skrull in disguise, exposing their manipulations to cause the war.[359] The Avengers failed to prevent the explosion,[360] being only saved by Sersi's powers. The Kree Empire was obliterated, having most of their inhabitants killed. On Hala, the Supreme Intelligence revealed to Captain America that the genocide had been part of its plan all along in order to jumpstart its own people's stagnated evolutionary process. The Avengers were divided on how to respond. A group led by Iron Man executed the Intelligence for its act of genocide, with Black Knight performing the killing blow. The aggression sparked a significant rift with the Avengers aligned with Captain America's ideals of no murdering.[361] In the Solar System, Binary, the identity Carol Danvers had adopted, restored the Sun and was brought by Quasar to the Avengers Mansion in a debilitated state.[362] After the war, Quasar left to the Kree space to assist with the damages while Captain America ultimately chose to resign as chairman and quit the Avengers. The Black Widow fully assumed his position as the leader of the team.[363]
After Hercules and the Avengers fought Ares, who had possessed Thor with Hera's help,[364] the Avengers were visited by Binary's allies, the Starjammers. One of the Starjammers, Raza, had been manipulated by vengeful Kree survivors into mortally wounding the Black Knight for the murder of the Supreme Intelligence.[365] Binary reached Raza and deceived the Avengers into pardoning him as the Black Knight recovered.[366]
The Gathering[]
With the Vision missing, Captain America went to the town of Timely to look for him, getting transported to the past as his ally was in Kang's Chronopolis.[367] As Thor also went missing,[368] the Avengers went to Kang's citadel. They met the Fantastic Four, who had been recruited by Doctor Druid and Kang Nebula in an attempt to dethrone Kang, but the teams were captured by the Anachronauts.[369] Nebula managed to wound Kang, being revealed to be Ravonna as he stroke back. Rebranded as Terminatrix, Ravonna witnessed Kang sacrificed himself to protect her. Freeing themselves, the Avengers returned to the present and Terminatrix escaped.[370] Later on, as Terminatrix ruled over Kang's former empire and accidentally released the beast known as Alioth, a future version of herself assembled a group of Avengers to face this foe. Kang was eventually revived, helping the Avengers to put an end to the threat.[371]
Fear the Reaper!
Following bizarre incidents related to necromancy, the Avengers came upon an undead Grim Reaper, who sought for revenge after being killed in a confrontation against the West Coast Avengers.[372] Summoning a new Legion of the Unliving, the Reaper brought darkness to the Avengers.[373] In the end, the Vision destabilized the Reaper, allowing the Avengers to save themselves as the villain perished one more time.[374]
The Watcher turns his eyes to the future of the Avengers
Proctor's group, the Gatherers, invaded the Avengers Mansion to get information about the Black Panther. Formed by alternate versions of the Avengers, the Gatherers hopped from dimension to dimension to eliminate their counterparts.[375] Defeating the Avengers, they went to Wakanda to gather Black Panther, but were intercepted by the Avengers. Questioning Proctor's actions, Swordsman ultimately stayed with the Avengers as the Gatherers left.[376] The Avengers' interactions with the Gatherers attracted the Watcher's attention, indicating crucial events would take place in the near future.[377]
Coming upon Arkon and Thundra, the Avengers helped them save a doomed Polemachus with the final blow of a ruthless Sersi against the evil Anskar.[378] After this, the Vision was abducted by the Gatherers and replaced by an alternate version of himself, who infiltrated the Avengers to kill Swordsman. Losing her sanity, Sersi attacked the Avengers and was subdued by the impostor Vision. After the attack, Captain America fully returned to the team.[379] Infected by her communion with the Brethren, Sersi was approached by the Eternals, who wished to eliminate her. Alternatively, to stabilize her, the Eternals mentally bonded her to Black Knight as her Gann Josin.[380] The Vision was discovered after knocking Swordsman out and assaulting Crystal.[381] Defeating the impostor, the Avengers took the battle to the Gatherers' citadel in the Andes to rescue the real Vision. In a confrontation, Proctor shared his intention of finishing Sersi, who had corrupted and destroyed the Avengers in his reality. With his citadel destroyed, Proctor abandoned his Gatherers, prompting Magdalene to assist the Avengers after she learned Proctor had attempted to finish Swordsman.[382]
Black Knight at Bloodwraith's mercy
Hurt in the ruins, the Avengers were helped by Deathcry, who had been sent by the Shi'ar Empire as a response to the dissident Kree in the Lunatic Legion who still planned to end Black Knight, the Avengers and Earth.[383] The Avengers tracked the Lunatic Legion down, but were captured and tortured. In the end, they managed to prevent the Lunatic Legion, who had been backed by the Collector, from detonating a Nega-Bomb on Earth.[384] Meanwhile, the Avengers Mansion was invaded by interlopers looking for the Ebony Blade. Black Knight's squire Sean Dolan wielded it to save Victoria Bentley. Dolan was cursed by the sword, becoming Bloodwraith. The Avengers were unable to stop the evil Bloodwraith, who left in victory.[385]
In order to get revenge on his former leader Magneto, Fabian Cortez kidnapped Luna while inciting a revolutionary rebellion in Genosha. The United Nations expressed their intentions of keeping matters domestic, but the Avengers disobeyed their charter and confronted S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to rescue Crystal's and Quicksilver's daughter.[386] Magneto's first knight, Exodus, challenged Cortez, proving to be an even bigger threat.[387][388] Though Sersi managed to contain Exodus, he managed to capture Luna and slay Cortez.[389] In the end, Avengers and X-Men put an end to Exodus.[390] Following this incident, the Avengers decided to deactivate the West Coast branch, who were reviewed by the Vision as a failed experiment with fluctuating membership, cavalier behavior, and overextended resources. In protest, the former members of the West Coast Avengers were reassembled by Iron Man in a completely independent team, Force Works.[391]
A final stand against Proctor's Gatherers
After the Avengers were captured and manipulated by Lord Ghaur, the powerful Sersi had him defeated with Kro's assistance.[392] Soon after, new Gatherers attacked Sersi and Black Knight while the police approached the Avengers for murder accusations against Sersi,[393] leading her to unleash her rage upon the Avengers Mansion. She had been in fact framed by Proctor, who managed to capture her.[394] Proctor revealed to be an alternate version of Black Knight who had been corrupted by the Gann Josin. He tampered with Sersi's mind and molested several alternate versions of herself across the universe. The Watcher Ute, who had been also kept captive by Proctor, asked for the Avengers to stop him as his machinery put the fabric of multiverse at risk.[395] In the end, Sersi ruined Proctor's plans and was able to slay him with his own Ebony Blade. With her psyche broken, Sersi chose to exile herself, being accompanied by Black Knight. A grateful Watcher then restored the original Avengers Mansion.[396]
The former Gatherers Jocasta and Tabula Rasa were then reprogrammed by the villainous alternate Vision to torment his counterpart and steal his body back. Ironically joined by Ultron, the Avengers helped his teammate defeat his evil doppelgänger, a process which reattached the Vision to his emotional capacities and led him to leave the Avengers.[397] In the meantime, the Avengers dealt with crises involving the Lunatic Legion orchestrating a conflict between the Shi'ar warrior T'kyll Alabar and his nemesis, the Mephitisoid Butcher,[398] Exodus threatening Bova's life and the High Evolutionary helping her,[399] and Hera mischievously tormenting Hercules' love life by causing the end of his girlfriend Taylor Madison.[400]
The Crossing[]
The Red Skull ambushes the Avengers
After Black Widow's former tutor, Ivan, 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.[401] A similar energy signature was located in Boca Caliente; S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America and the Avengers investigated, clashing with A.I.M.. Black Widow revealed to the Avengers that these events concerned the recreation of a reality-shaping Cosmic Cube, which trapped the Avengers in illusions about their pasts.[402][403] The experiments with the Cube opened a rift to a plane from Beyond which A.I.M. leader M.O.D.O.K.. had failed to seal, threatening reality itself. After rescuing the civilians in danger, the Avengers helped Captain America repair the damage and save the universe.[404]
The mighty Avengers faced many other super villains around this period. In the Vault, the Avengers saved Moonstone from a vindictive Nefarius.[405] Next, Earth's Mightiest Heroes put Graviton down after he had mischievously lost control of his gravitational powers.[406] Coming upon a massive gathering of super-powered criminals, She-Hulk assembled the Avengers to intervene. They difficultly confronted their foes and gave up as they realized that the reunion was related to the wedding of Titania and Absorbing Man, shamefully choosing to leave them celebrate their love instead.[407]
Tony Stark betrays the Avengers
Gyrich returned to the lives of the Avengers after identifying activities in the Stargates he linked to Deathcry. Sending Mandroids to arrest her, he was fended off by the Avengers.[408] Soon after, the Avengers enjoyed a pleasure of a day in Tony Stark's estate in Adirondack, where a boy named Tuc enigmatically informed them about upcoming tragedies.[409] After a long crossing from the future, Yellowjacket attempted to warn the Avengers about this imminent danger but was secretly murdered at the Avengers Mansion. Later, feeling burned out from recent events, Tony Stark called for a party at the Avengers Mansion inviting team members past and present, which got interrupted by assailants attempting to kill Gilgamesh. In the same night, Marilla got murdered by Iron Man after finding him in an interdimensional portal within the Mansion that the Avengers had been unable to access.[410] Gilgamesh was then finished by a mysterious murderer who emerged from within the portal called Neut.[411]
With the Avengers relocated to the Wasp's house, the Van Dyne Estate, Swordsman was attacked by Mantis,[412] who worked in association with Kang the Conqueror. With Hawkeye framed as an assassin, the Wasp going bankrupt and Luna witnessing the murder of Yellowjacket, Iron Man was ultimately revealed to be the enemy behind the past attacks.[413] As he battled the Avengers, the Wasp was mortally wounded.[414] Hank Pym redundantly replicated the treatment which provided her with her powers, inciting dramatic physical changes that evolved her into an insect-like form. As Stark vanished, the Avengers were joined by the mysterious Masque in their quest to stop the evil Iron Man.[415]
The death of Iron Man
Boosted by the forces of Force Works, Captain America and Thor, the Avengers returned to the Avengers Mansion and battled Kang's Anachronauts. Falling into the interdimensional portal, the Avengers traveled to an alternate past and recruited a teenage version of Iron Man to combat the corrupted Stark in the present.[416] Moving against Stark, the Avengers were temporarily sabotaged by Gyrich and his Mandroids, but saved by Force Works' member Century. As the two Iron Men faced each other, Kang shared his plans of having controlled Iron Man to conquer the timeline using a temporal transposer.[417] In a war against Kang, Mantis and the Anachronauts, Iron Man regained his senses and sacrificed himself to stop the villains.[418]
Responding a distress call, the Avengers were contacted by Captain Marvel, who had been brainwashed by the Controller into attacking the new Captain Marvel. The Avengers defeated the Controller and freed Captain Marvel, who adopted the alias of Photon.[419] Next, the Mansion was invaded by Bloodwraith, who managed to acquire Proctor's maddening Ebony Blade. The Avengers managed to overpower him, but he chose to leave after regaining his senses.[420]
Next, Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch rejoined the Avengers after Force Works ended,[421] Black Widow witnessed Masque being abducted by the android Benedict in the Avengers Mansion, and Deathcry returned to her alien home.[422] Jarvis was then met by a mysterious visitor from the future who claimed the Avengers would face a dangerous threat. Simultaneously, the Avengers fought an endless army of their past enemies. Suspicious, Jarvis realized the interloper was actually Loki, in an attempt to get recognition as Earth's Mightiest Heroes' first villain. Responding to Jarvis' priority call, the Avengers defeated Loki and sealed his gateway to the Dark Dimension.[9]
Heroes Reborn[]
When the malicious Onslaught got interested in the powerful mutant Nate Grey, the Avengers were warned about the villain being Professor Charles Xavier.[9] Although skeptical, the Avengers confirmed his accusations by finding the Xavier Institute destroyed and the X-Men wounded.[423] Looking for Magneto, whose psyche was fundamental in creating Onslaught, the Avengers only found an enigmatic version of him accompanied by Rogue.[424] Onslaught proceeded to kidnap Franklin Richards,[425] and build a citadel on Central Park, leading the Avengers to unite with other super heroes against him.[426]
The Avengers pay the ultimate price to defeat Onslaught
With Onslaught's minions, namely Post and Holocaust, causing terror across New York City, the Avengers fought them to protect innocents.[427] Thor was then able to free Xavier from Onslaught, who was left as pure psionic energy contained within a special armor.[428] As Jean Grey telepathically aided the Hulk in destroying Onslaught's armor, Thor slashed at the unprotected psionic energy being and damaged him. Surmising mutants would only empower Onslaught, the Fantastic Four and some of the non-mutant members of the Avengers successfully destroyed Onslaught by sacrificing their own lives.[429]
In actuality, Franklin Richards had used his reality-warping powers to transport them to a pocket universe, where the Avengers were reborn and worked under S.H.I.E.L.D..[430] Believing the Avengers to be dead, chairwoman Black Widow attempted to reassemble a new group on Earth. However, the Avengers Charter was annulled, prompting her to end the Avengers permanently.[431] The void left by the Avengers was filled by alternative super hero groups, such as Oracle's Heroes for Hire[432] and, more prominently, the Thunderbolts, who were in fact Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil masqueraded as heroes.[433]
Heroes Return[]
Earth's Mightiest Heroes return!
The missing heroes returned to their homeworld, being restored to their original selves.[434] As former Avengers were attacked by mystic creatures, Thor learned the Twilight Sword and the Norn Stones had gone missing. He prompted the original Avengers to reassemble most past members to triumph over their mysterious attacker. In their quest, the Avengers were presented to Morgan Le Fay and Mordred the Evil, who captured the Scarlet Witch. Tapping into the Scarlet Witch's powers, Morgan rewrote reality by wielding the Twilight Sword.[10] Reshaped into a medieval setting, the Avengers became Morgan's personal guard, the Queen's Vengeance. Captain America, Hawkeye, the Wasp, Photon, Quasar, New Warrior Justice and, ultimately, Thor were the only ones able to see through Morgan's illusion and resisted their brainwashed allies. Meanwhile, in Morgan's prison dungeons, the Scarlet Witch managed to cast Wonder Man from death to aid her escape.[4] The Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man weakened Morgan, allowing the Avengers to dethrone her and restore reality.[435] Counting with an immense roster, the Avengers were unable to function effectively. A new line-up was discussed with the new National Security Council, Duane Freeman. The smaller unit comprised Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, Warbird (Carol Danvers' new alias), Hawkeye and reserve members, formerly from the New Warriors, Justice and Firestar.[436]
Announcing a reborn lineup
In their first official mission, the Avengers were assembled to retrieve an investigative team from Project: Pegasus. Attacked by Squadron Supreme, Earth's Mightiest Heroes were claimed to be impostors and had their public reputation damaged.[437] At Project: Pegasus, the Avengers learned its director was the villain Corruptor in disguise, breaking the Squadron free from his control.[438] The true manipulator was then revealed to be Mr. Champion, who was defeated thanks to Firestar contacting Hank Pym for help in another attempt to trick Squadron Supreme and the Avengers to fight. In the end, Squadron Supreme returned to their reality alongside Swordsman and Magdalene.[439]
During this mission, Warbird proved to be a problematic addition to the group. Her problems with alcoholism and her omission about losing her Binary powers proved to undermine the team's effectiveness. When the Lunatic Legion reactivated the Supreme Intelligence and planned to strike Earth, a drunk Warbird recklessly counter-attacked them alongside Iron Man[440], Captain America[441] and the Avengers. The Kree terrorists were able to advance their plan of recreating the Kree Empire by mutating humankind using the Omni-Wave Projector fueled by Terrigenesis.[442] In a special tribunal, Warbird was expelled from the Avengers. Meanwhile, on the Blue Area of the Moon, the Avengers prevented the Lunatic Legion from activating the Omni-Wave Projector and the Supreme Intelligence was kept under custody.[443]
Assembled from past, present and future: Avengers Forever!
With the Destiny Force within Rick Jones triggered again, he was brought by the Avengers to the Supreme Intelligence. Immortus schemed for his destruction but was stopped by Kang. Using his abilities, Jones brought forth champions from the past, the present and the future to protect him as a diverse team of Avengers.[444] Guided by Libra and supported by Kang, the Avengers traveled through the multiverse to resist Immortus,[445] who wielded the time-altering artifact, the Forever Crystal. Their main goal was to prevent the Time-Keepers from wiping out human race to incapacitate the Destiny Force.[446] In their quest, the Avengers met different moments and possibilities of their history.[447] By uncovering several secrets, the Avengers learned Immortus had actually been behind Tony Stark's attack against the team in order to undermine their expansion as the Avengers Empire and prevent retaliation from the Time-Keepers.[448] In the end, by assembling dozens of Avengers, Jones ended the threat of the Time-Keepers, who got killed by Kang. The Avengers then returned to their proper time and the Supreme Intelligence came in possession of the Forever Crystal.[449]
In a seismic terrorist attack performed by Moses Magnum, the Avengers were assisted by new heroes, namely Jarvis' protégé Silverclaw and the cultist Triathlon from the Triune Understanding in victory.[450] Soon after, during the Avengers' Parade day, the Grim Reaper defeated the Avengers with his Legion of Unliving.[451] Fully resurrecting Wonder Man, the Scarlet Witch weakened the Grim Reaper's control over the undead heroes, giving the Avengers the chance to defeat him.[452] Hawkeye then left the Avengers to lead the Thunderbolts in hopes of helping the former Masters of Evil redeem themselves. The two teams teamed up after a brief misunderstanding to destroy the alien robot Dominex with Firebird's assistance.[453]
Living Legends[]
With Captain America unavailable, the Scarlet Witch was elected as the Avengers chairwoman. She led the team to assist the New Warriors against Lord Templar during a siege at an A.I.M. facility.[454] Soon after, the raging Pagan attacked the city but managed to escape the Avengers.[455] The two menaces were apparently linked to the Triune Understanding. Having Triathlon as his super hero, the Triune Understanding cult leader, Jonathan Tremont, had the Avengers step out of the conflict involving Lord Templar and Pagan, much to their suspicions. The Triunes actively manipulated public perception as a way to damage the Avengers following this incident.[456]
Hank Pym destroys Ultron
After fighting the Wrecking Crew in Polemachus and rescuing Warbird from Doomsday Man, the Avengers had problems with the press and reacted to the return of their most formidable enemy, Ultron, who had captured Pym as part of his plans.[457][458] The Wasp asked for help, and the Avengers searched for Ultron, ultimately reaching the Black Panther during a fight against the robotic Alkhema in a Wakandan Quinjet plant. The defeated Alkhema revealed that Ultron had obliterated the nation of Slorenia.[459] Ultron planned to replace humanity with an army of machine life. The world prepared to war him, and he proceeded to capture other Avengers he considered to be his family, in order to use their brain patterns as templates for his new robotic race.[460] In Slorenia, the Avengers battled the Ultron army of countless drones[461] managing to come through his forces. The raging Ultron was ultimately destroyed by Hank Pym, who hit him with volatile Antarctic Vibranium anti-metal provided by Justice.[462]
The Avengers' problems with the media escalated during a fight against the Exemplars to save Juggernaut's life, prompting Captain America publicly dissociate himself from the Avengers.[463] Masqueraded as Captain America, Taskmaster assembled a secret team with Silverclaw, Warbird, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel to investigate the Triune Understanding only to damage the Avengers' reputation even further in the end.[464] As a member of the Triune Understanding, Duane Freeman had conflicts with the Avengers when establishing a new line-up for the team, causing Thor to permanently leave. To improve their reputation, Freeman had Tremont add Triathlon to the team, raising tensions with the Avengers, who had the Wasp back as a leader in an uneasy roster.[465]
Venturing into the Hyborean Kamekeri village
In an attempt to restore their reputation, the new Avengers explicitly focused on doing charity work. Contacted by Silverclaw, the group traveled to her home in Costa Verde, where her Kamekeri village had been conquered by Kulan Gath.[466] The Avengers infiltrated Kulan Gath's citadel to free the village's volcano goddess and Silverclaw's mother Peliali,[467] combating the evil sorcerer's plans of delivering the world to his dark masters. Moreover, Silverclaw was granted reserve status in the team, and the Avengers were secretly infiltrated by a duplicate of Hank Pym: Yellowjacket.[468]
Learning through the Vision that the Grim Reaper had been associated with Maggia, the Avengers intercepted the criminal deals. The Reaper fled, and, among the Maggia's leaders, the Avengers found a suicide duplicate of Madame Masque, who asked for Iron Man's help in saving her template.[469] Black Widow aided in the investigation, linking it to the abduction of the Avenger Masque by the robot Benedict in the past. Finding both the Grim Reaper and the original Madame Masque, the Avengers were interrupted by the powerful Count Nefaria, who had managed to mind-control Wonder Man and the Thunderbolt Atlas.[470] Black Widow enlisted the Thunderbolts to help the Avengers against Nefaria,[471] who planned to command the world by bombarding it with ionic energy, with his daughter Masque at his side. Madame Masque opposed him, assisting the Avengers instead.[472] The two teams joined forces to fight Count Nefaria, who was incapacitated by Madame Masque. The bomb was rendered useless by Wonder Man and Atlas.[473]
To Infinity!
Realizing the mysterious Infinites dangerously caused destruction across the galaxy, Quasar assembled a group of Avengers to intervene. Trying to protect the galaxy, the Avengers were joined by Jack of Hearts in R-76.[474] Venturing across the galaxy to solve the mystery regarding the Infinites, the Avengers summoned Eternity to help them. Their honorable point of view as human heroes convinced the Infinites to cease their activities.[475]
Taking into account several human interventions in matters concerning multiple alien civilizations, the Intergalactic Council turned their attention to Earth, deciding to punish them for their reckless actions. Simultaneously, Ego the Living Planet had gone mad, causing destruction across the universe. He was ultimately restrained by the Council, who turned Earth into a prison for criminals from all over the universe by suggestion of the mysterious alien race known as the Ruul.[476] With Earth invaded by alien prisoners, the Commission on Superhuman Activities sent U.S.Agent to contact the Avengers Mansion for help. The Avengers confronted Ronan the Accuser in his citadel ship on the edge of the Solar System and learned about the Intergalactic Council's decision. Tragically, one of the prisoners was Ego, whose biomass started to infect and replace Earth itself.[477]
Earth's Super Heroes take down Ronan and the Ruul
The Wasp coordinated missions to revert the situation but found herself at conflict with the abhorrent U.S.Agent. In their investigations, the Avengers learned about the Ruul's involvement. The Ruul were actually Kree altered by the Forever Crystal who served the Supreme Intelligence. Meanwhile, the Wasp managed to contact Quasar, who was outside the energetic cages guarded by Ronan in the Solar System.[478] In their mission, the Avengers guided by Quasar learned about the Intelligence's involvement in the quarantine, in Ego's assault and in the Ruul's creation, but were captured and taken to Hala.[479] The Avengers on Earth were joined by many other super heroes to take the Ruul down. Quasar managed to escape the Kree, and, in an audience with the Council, the Avengers exposed the machinations of the Supreme Intelligence. With the Intelligence reassuming its rule over the Kree Empire, Earth succumbed to Ego's infection. Boosted by Ego, Ronan fought the heroes. However, as Reed Richards and Iron Man managed to counter the infection, Quasar eliminated the threat for good and Ronan was ultimately defeated. The inmates were then extradited from Earth, which was one more time protected thanks to its mightiest heroes.[480]
Sorting out the consequences of the invasion, the Avengers and Triathlon were astonished by Peggy Chandler, wife of 3-D Man who wished to know the relationship between her husband's disappearance and the Triune Understanding. Interrupted by Lord Templar and his new servant Pagan once again, the Avengers fought back to resist his attempt of indoctrination. Simultaneously, Bloodwraith conquered Slorenia, forcing a split team of Avengers to intervene. During these attacks, Hank Pym was secretly replaced by his Yellowjacket duplicate.[481] Pagan was defeated by Jack of Hearts, who had stayed with the Avengers since the defeat of Ronan; Templar was knocked out by Triathlon, who started to suspect the Triunes; and Bloodwraith was trapped by the Scarlet Witch in Slorenia. The struggle to remedy the situation frustrated Captain America. As a response, the Wasp decided to redefine the Avengers.[482]
Kang Dynasty[]
The Avengers expand their operations
The Avengers reorganized and expanded their membership roles, welcoming several of their former members back to their operations. Their communications systems were quantumly improved in a proactive program to intercept dangers as well as follow up on completed missions. One of their many crises was combating an invasion of Hulk-like creatures in Kalkhimithia, Greece.[483] With the Avengers occupied with the fight, its mastermind Diablo invaded the Avengers Mansion in searches of way of liberating himself from his extradimensional prison, being opposed by Silverclaw. In Greece, the Hulk-like abominations became a bigger problem due to Yellowjacket, who clumsily created a gargantuan-size Hulk.[484] Diablo was finally defeated and, with the real Hulk's help, Kalkhimithia was saved.[485]
In succession to this fight, the world was offered an ultimatum by the new Scarlet Centurion in name of his master, Kang. As the conquerors were opposed by the Avengers, Kang obliterated the United Nations' building to demonstrate his might and intentions of ruling the doomed present.[486] Informing about dystopic possibilities for the future, Kang declared war on Earth in order to save it, creating uprisings by Atlanteans and Deviants. The Avengers were forced to spread themselves across many fronts.[487] One group investigated a radioactive hazard situation caused by the Presence in Khystym, Siberia.[487] This group of Avengers, except for Firebird and Thor, was infected by the Presence, becoming radioactive zombies.[488] Firebird and Thor defeated the Presence and saved those afflicted by his infection, Stingray led an attack against Attuma and his Atlantean army and Warbird successfully challenged the Deviants, with Kang supervising the incidents.[489]
Earth surrenders to Kang the Conqueror
In between the multiple fights, Yellowjacket fell ill. It was revealed that the Pym Particles had produced a secondary body for his bipolar personality, but he could not maintain cohesion properly. The Wasp managed to help him merge his personalities and be restored to health with help of Jonathan Tremont and the Triune Understanding's methods.[490] With the Avengers still dividing their forces, Alkhema released a group of robotic Avengers for her purposes but was ultimately overpowered and destroyed by the efforts of Hawkeye and the Grim Reaper.[491]
Amidst Kang's upcoming invasion, the Master of the World established a colossal base in Washington, D.C., intending to protect North America from Kang where the Avengers had failed.[492] Kang's forces made their way through Europe, where they clashed with the Avengers. Warbird led an attack against the Master, while Captain America directed his forces to confront Kang's orbital base, Damocles.[493] Warbird surprisingly counted with the Scarlet Centurion's help in her mission[494] and managed to execute the Master of the World. However, the Avengers failed in their mission against Kang, prompting the United States to employ Sentinels to attack his base. The Sentinels were easily usurped by Kang,[495] who employed them to destroy Washington. Utterly defeated, chairwoman Wasp signed an act to surrender Earth to Kang.[496]
Kang is conquered
Lost in outer space, the Avengers were approached by Jonathan Tremont and joined him to face the Tri-Evil. Confirming the Avengers' suspicions about the Triune Understanding, Tremont demonstrated to have a power lust agenda and was revealed to be related to Lord Templar and Pagan. Triathlon, with the essence of the late 3-D Man, defeated Tremont and destroyed the Tri-Evil. Back to Earth, the Avengers found it fallen before Kang,[497] with opponents, political dissidents and super heroes, interned in scattered prison camps.[498] With the resources of the Deviants, the Atlanteans and the Presence, the Avengers stroke back alongside other super heroes. Having wrested control of the Tri-Evil's source of power, Triathlon cosmically empowered Captain America to combat Kang.[499] Kang was weakened in the fight, and the Avenger made their way to Damocles.[500] In a final impact, the conqueror stood honorably defeated at the hands of Captain America. A free world celebrated the might of its heroes.[501] Warbird faced a trial for killing the Master of the World, and the Avengers stood by her action of war, granting her pardon. In the end, finally at peace, the Avengers mourned the loss of those who had perished, including Duane Freeman.[502]
Avengers/JLA[]
Obsessed to find out how universes were created, the exiled villain Krona from another universe used his entropy powers to destroy universes. The Grandmaster proposed a game in exchange of such knowledge, consisting of a contest where the Avengers and the Justice League of America battled each other. As the two super-heroic groups discovered the ruse behind the game, they ceased hostilities. An enraged Krona attacked the Grandmaster, who merged the two universes. Krona used his powers to cause destruction, the source of universal creation. The Avengers and the Justice League joined forces to stop the villain, being aided by many members from both teams' pasts due to temporal distortions. With Krona defeated, the two universes were restored to normal.[503]
Avengers Nation[]
The Avengers Embassy
In the aftermath of Kang's invasion, the Avengers aided the world in rebuilding. However, peace was soon put at risk when nearly every major capitol city on Earth was thrown into a void dimension. This bizarre tragedy prompted Ant-Man to join the Avengers as he feared for the fate of his daughter, Cassie, while the Black Panther and Henry Gyrich reestablished their ties with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, leading to increased tensions within the group. With the world's leaders gone, the United Nations sanctioned the Avengers to politically command the globe with peacekeeping and judicial force.[504] She-Hulk oversaw the bureaucracy of this, while Namor rejoined the Avengers to solve the problem, fearing what this crisis would mean for his own realm. Meanwhile, the Wasp and Yellowjacket, trapped in Washington, learned the mastermind behind the massive kidnapping was Scorpio.[505] Wielding the all-powerful Zodiac Key, he wished to unlock the balance between chaos and order, by splitting the cosmic being known as the In-Betweener in two opposite halves. The chaotic half of the entity attempted to possess the Scarlet Witch, who guided the Avengers to retaliate.[506] The Avengers thwarted Scorpio's plans by forcibly reuniting the In-Betweener, restoring the world to its proper configuration.[507] Recognized by the United Nations as a world power, the Avengers were granted international recognition, with the Avengers Mansion becoming a unique and sovereign embassy.[508]
The Avengers had to deal with an increasingly distant Thor, who left the team due to his position as the king of Asgard.[508] With worshippers of Thor slaughtered in Slokovia, Thor sent warriors to defend his worshippers and to overthrow General Stoykowicz's regime. Iron Man approached Thor and expressed his concerns about a possible international incident with Doctor Doom.[509] The irreducible Thor fought Iron Man, who counted with Doctor Doom's support.[510] Captain America intervened in the brutal conflict between former allies, stopping them from killing each other and putting a stop to the crisis. Doom's machinations allowed him to annex Slokovia and deeply damaged Thor's ties with the Avengers.[511]
The Red Skull makes his way into the American government
Meanwhile, the Falcon learned that Gyrich was being blackmailed into acting as a spy for the vicious new Secretary of Defense, Dell Rusk.[508][512] This was followed by a deadly chemical attack in Mount Rushmore. The Avengers ventured to the hazardous area, or the "red zone", to find the cause of the attack.[513] To their horror, they learned that a U.S. government facility was behind the bio-weapon.[514] In a fight with A.I.M. agents, She-Hulk was contaminated and went savage after being exposed to Jack of Hearts' radioactive powers.[515] While the Avengers battled an enraged She-Hulk, Iron Man and Black Panther were kept under arrest in the Pentagon. Rusk revealed himself to be the Red Skull after attacking the Falcon and Gyrich.[516] Despite defeating Captain America and nearly killing the Falcon, the Black Panther managed to knock him out with Falcon's assistance. The Avengers were able to disperse an antidote for the infection and prevent more deaths. However, the savage She-Hulk was still missing.[517]
Afraid of what was happening to her, She-Hulk had gone to look for her cousin, the original Hulk. The Avengers, joined by Hawkeye, tracked She-Hulk down, causing her to uncontrollably attack them.[518] She-Hulk's rampage led to the destruction of the small town where Bruce Banner had been hiding.[519] Banner attempted to reason with She-Hulk, but when the military arrived, Hawkeye shot him with an arrow to provoke his transformation, hoping the two Hulks would keep each other busy, rather than killing the soldiers.[520] The two Hulks were ultimately defeated by Jack of Hearts, who managed to restore She-Hulk's reasoning with his volatile powers.[521]
With doubts as to whether or not Jack and She-Hulk could coexist on the team, the Avengers reached a decision for Jack to take a leave of absence. Soon after, Jack sacrificed himself to save Ant-Man's daughter from a kidnapper, ending the long feud the two Avengers had experienced during their tenure.[522]
Kelsey Leigh protects Captain America
During an attempted robbery in England, an innocent and heroic mother, Kelsey Leigh, became a casualty as the Avengers tussled against the Wrecking Crew.[523] Chosen by the previous Captain Britain Brian Braddock, she was reborn as the new Captain Britain, wielding the Sword of Might. Captain Britain and the Avengers fought the Wrecking Crew after they brutally maimed Hawkeye.[524] The intriguer manipulating the Wrecking Crew was revealed to be Morgan Le Fay, who had captured and tortured Brian Braddock, seized control of Avalon and wished to destroy Captain Britain in order to ravage England. Ultimately, Leigh managed to overpower Morgan alongside the Avengers, joining their ranks as Captain Britain.[525] Soon after, the New Invaders led by U.S.Agent carried out a plot to depose the government of Mazikhandar,[526] recruiting Namor to their cause.[527] The Avengers clashed with them over their reckless and illegal plan,[528] but failed to stop Namor and the Atlantean army from securing victory.[529]
Avengers Disassembled[]
Tragedy afflicts the Avengers
The Avengers endured their worst days as a series of tragic events befell the team. During a United Nations' conference, Tony Stark went on a hateful tirade showing unexplainably signs of drunkenness. Simultaneously, an undead Jack of Hearts happened upon the mansion grounds and self-detonated, murdering Ant-Man and partially destroying the building. This was followed by a Quinjet piloted by the Vision utterly destroying the Mansion. The Vision claimed the team had failed in their purpose and spew out an army of Ultron drones to punish his teammates. During the attack, She-Hulk went on a rampage, destroyed the Vision and brutally assaulted the Avengers, beating the Wasp and Captain Britain into comas.[530] Stark, who had now lost his political office as the Secretary of Defense, managed to knock She-Hulk out and place her under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s arrest, giving the Avengers time to recover themselves.[531]
The Scarlet Witch casts chaos
All former Avengers available responded to the crisis at the ruins of the Avengers Mansion, just as United Nations declared they had severed their ties with the team. Unexpectedly, the heroes were attacked by a Kree armada in a battle that cost Hawkeye his life.[532] As the Kree vanished, Doctor Strange arrived on the scene claiming that magic was being abused. The Avengers realized that the mastermind behind the attacks was the Scarlet Witch. The return of repressed memories of the loss of her children combined with her rapidly growing powers caused a nervous breakdown and the loss of her grasp on reality. Strange led the Avengers to the Scarlet Witch in Whisper Hill and a fight broke out. Subdued by the Eye of Agamotto, the Scarlet Witch was defeated and surrendered to Magneto in order to being put under the care of Professor Xavier.[533] Tony Stark gathered the active Avengers to a final meeting, announcing he no longer had the financial means to keep sponsoring the team. One by one, each of the Avengers declared their intentions to leave the team, being shaken by the trauma of the Scarlet Witch's attack, as well as other losses, such as the disappearance of Thor and Asgard. The damaged Mansion was turned into a memorial site. After sharing their fondest memories of the Avengers, the team disassembled.[534]
Avengers Disassembled
Earth's Mightiest Heroes were reassembled by fate and were made official the efforts of Iron Man and Captain America, who formed a new team of Avengers with the primary purpose of recapturing the numerous super-powered criminals that had escaped the maximum-security penitentiary known as the Raft. The reformed group was no longer attached to a charter or regulated by governmental institutions.[535] Also, when Iron Lad, a teenage version of Kang, recruited teenage individuals with ties to the Avengers to face his future self, the Young Avengers carried on their inspirational idols' legacy.[536]
The Superhuman Civil War
An ideological schism became the cause of the new Avengers' dispersal. The passage of the Superhuman Registration Act split the superhuman community in half, with one side being led by Iron Man in registering with the authorities and enforcing security while the other was led by Captain America in rebelling against the new law and fighting for personal liberty. In a superhuman civil war, Iron Man's Initiative emerged victorious over Captain America's outlawed Avengers.[537] Named the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Man commanded the registered super heroes, assembling a mighty team of Avengers,[538] while Luke Cage resisted with a small group of remaining rebels to fight as pariahs in honor of Captain America after his public assassination.[539]
The Initiative was profoundly compromised by Skrulls in the wake of their alien Secret Invasion. With Starktech heavily hacked, Iron Man was largely blamed for allowing the infiltration to happen, which led to his ousting as director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Responsible for executing the Skrull queen, Norman Osborn, Spider-Man's former archenemy Green Goblin, was publicly acclaimed and made the new head of national security.[540] Supplanting S.H.I.E.L.D. with H.A.M.M.E.R., Osborn assembled a dark formation of Avengers consisting of former super villains posing as heroes and became an opposition to the former Avengers, who were forced to survive out of the law.[541] During Osborn's rule, Hank Pym became the leader of a group of peculiar Avengers who were secretly guided by Loki,[542] while former agents of the Initiative left the program to create the Avengers Resistance as a revival of the New Warriors.[543]
Captain America reassembles the Avengers to end Osborn's Dark Reign
Osborn descended into lunacy due to Loki's machinations and decided to launch a siege to Asgard, in Broxton. Thor initially resisted Osborn, his Avengers, H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Initiative by himself until a resurrected Captain America assembled an army of heroes to protect the magic city and oppose the invasion. However, one of Osborn's Avengers, the mad Sentry, represented an unexpected danger to all involved as he obliterated Asgard. Empowering all who fought on Asgard's side with the Norn Stones, Loki was killed by the Sentry; his sacrifice allowed the Avengers to finally end the dark Avenger.[544] Following Osborn's defeat, Captain America, Iron Man and Thor settled their differences in an adventure across the Nine Realms to stop the powerful Hela wielding the Twilight Sword.[545] In the aftermath, Osborn and most of his Avengers were taken into custody. Captain America was tasked with being the new head of security for superhuman affairs as Commander Steve Rogers under the condition of the Registration Act being thrown out.[546]
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.[11] In addition to this, Luke Cage had his team formalized as the New Avengers based at the Avengers Mansion,[547] Rogers also led a covert operation of Secret Avengers,[548] and Hank Pym and a team of former Avengers became trainers at the Avengers Academy.[549]
Ultron War
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.[11] 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.[550] Momentarily attacked by Horsemen of Apocalypse from another timeline, the Avengers decided to travel to the apocalyptic future to heal the timestream.[551] 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.[552] The break in reality was caused by Kang's trips and threw the Avengers in a time loop.[553] 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.[554]
Iron Man holds the Infinity Gauntlet
In a greedy quest for power, the villainous Hood secured some of the Infinity Stones from their curators, the Illuminati. He crossed paths with the Red Hulk, who, being violently beaten, approached the Avengers Tower for help.[555] Iron Man had the Illuminati investigate by themselves, but the secret cabal's secret existence was discovered by Commander Rogers and the Avengers, much to their anger.[556] In an uneasy team-up, they sought for reassembling the Infinity Gauntlet to detain the Hood.[557] Managing to wield the Gauntlet, Iron Man resisted the omnipotent temptation to use the it to create an utopia. After teleporting the Hood back to prison and the Infinity Gauntlet away, Iron Man pretended to have destroyed the latter and disbanded the Illuminati. In reality, the Illuminati redistributed the Infinity Stones again, with Steve Rogers joining their ranks this time.[558]
In between these adventures, Wonder Man publicly opposed the reformation of the Avengers due to the past tragedies they had inflicted, arguing they caused more harm than good.[11] His attempts to dissuade Steve Rogers went to the extremes of attacking the Avengers,[550] and being unconvinced of letting them exist.[555] Having assembled the Revengers, he outpowered Luke Cage's team and moved his attack to the Avengers Tower.[559] He publicly exposed the Avengers as a violent and risky project. Though captured alongside the Revengers in the end, Wonder Man was able to furtively escape after making the public be wary of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.[560]
Fear Itself & Shattered Heroes[]
The Avengers are migthily empowered to end the Serpent's rule of fear
When the Asgardian god of fear, the deadly Serpent, resurfaced with the help of the Red Skull's daughter Sin, a group of super humans was empowered by magical hammers similar to Mjolnir. As the Worthy, they spread fear around the world to venerate their master in his plans of becoming the All-Father of Asgard. Reclaiming his position as the ruler of Asgard, Odin retreated and let the mortals to fend for themselves.[561] A corrupted Thing caused the Avengers Tower to fall in a deadly combat against the Red Hulk.[562] Moreover, as one of the Serpent's generals, Sin stormed Washington, D.C., with a Nazi army, causing Captain America's apparent death, which prompted Steve Rogers to step back as the star-spangled soldier.[563] All over the globe, the Avengers kept resisting the destructive Worthy.[564][565] Iron Man briefly sacrificed his sobriety to provoke Odin and have access to the Asgardian forges. Wielding Uru weapons manufactured by Iron Man in the furnaces of Nidavellir, many Avengers were empowered as the Mighty to oppose the Serpent's army. Thor bravely slayed the Serpent at the ultimate cost of his own life. The war-torn Avengers had a hard work to rebuild the world ahead of themselves but were able to do it without fear.[566] The Mighty Thor would eventually make a journey back to the living.[567]
Avengers of a shattered world
The shattered team temporarily relocated to the Avengers Mansion with the destruction of the Avengers Tower.[568] As Osborn escaped prison and rebuilt H.A.M.M.E.R. by allying himself with Madame Hydra's Hydra, Monica Rappaccini's A.I.M. and the Gorgon's Hand,[569] Captain America formed a new team with Iron Man, Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, Noh-Varr, the X-Man and Queen of Wakanda Storm, the rebuilt Vision and S.H.I.E.L.D. super-agent Quake. During the new group's first press release, they were attacked in the media by Osborn by being labelled as authoritarian figures.[570] The Avengers divided their forces to tackle potential H.A.M.M.E.R. bases. However, Iron Man's armor was hacked and Captain America was kidnapped.[571] With the Avengers overpowered, Osborn managed to gain public and governmental support[572] to sanction H.A.M.M.E.R. back to power.[573] In a final confrontation against the Avengers however, Osborn was a victim of his own lust for power. Having been turned into a Super-Adaptoid, he collapsed due to the strain of the alterations. H.A.M.M.E.R. was no more and the Avengers regained their credibility.[574]
The Mighty Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy join forces to stop Thanos the Mad Titan
The Avengers Tower was rebuilt and the Avengers faced the new iteration of the Zodiac, who attempted to amass the vast array of cosmic-level weapons found in the planet.[575] The Avengers were joined by the Hulk, who had previously clashed with the villains.[576] It was revealed that Thanos had outfitted the Zodiac to act as his agents in his quest for ultimate power.[577] The Avengers were offered help by Thanos' adversaries, the Guardians of the Galaxy and marched to space to defeat the Mad Titan.[578] Though the deadly villain empowered himself with a Cosmic Cube replica,[579] he was ultimately defeated by the cojoined efforts of the Avengers, the Guardians and the Elders of the Universe, who had been recruited by Thor.[580]
Avengers vs. X-Men[]
The fate of the Scarlet Witch still haunted the Avengers. Having been missing since the M-Day, when she unreasonably wiped most of the mutant population after reshaping reality,[581] she became the main interest of the Young Avengers, who went on a quest to find her, something the Avengers opposed to. Young Avengers members Wiccan and Speed were supposedly her missing children, which led Magneto to join them in their mission.[582] The amnesiac Scarlet Witch was found in Latveria under Doctor Doom's influence. The Avengers joined Wonder Man in order to prevent the Young Avengers from causing problems.[583] The Scarlet Witch and the Young Avengers were rescued by Iron Lad, in a process which led Ant-Man to deceive death and the Scarlet Witch's memories to resurface.[584]
The Scarlet Witch returns and brings chaos to the Avengers and the X-Men
Resuming her attack against the Avengers, the Scarlet Witch only ceased it upon learning about Wiccan's and Speed's existence. Her return was met with caution by the X-Men, who had been severely harmed by her past actions and wished to apprehend her.[585] Avengers and X-Men battled for the Scarlet Witch's freedom. She teleported away with the Young Avengers and sought assistance from Doctor Doom in restoring mutantkind. However, Doom cunningly seized her and Wiccan's powers for his own interests.[586] Avengers and X-Men battled the all-powerful Doctor Doom, whose powers backfired at him with the actions of the Scarlet Witch and Wiccan, though at the cost of Ant-Man's daughter Cassie Lang, the Young Avenger Stature.[587] The Scarlet Witch was back with a long journey of redemption ahead of herself.[588][589]
A subsequent mutant-related crisis came in the form of mutant terrorist Cable, who had previously sacrificed himself to ensure his daughter Hope's survival. As the first mutant born after M-Day, Hope was prophesied to restore the mutant race.[590] Upon his return from the future, the terminal Cable targeted the Avengers, knowing they could be a danger for Hope. During a fight against Grim Reaper and the Lethal Legion, the Avengers were secretly attacked by Cable, who captured Falcon, Captain America and Iron Man, but found in the Red Hulk a challenging opponent.[591] The Avengers were unexpectedly assisted by Hope and the X-Men's leader Cyclops.[592] With the Avengers freed, Cable was overpowered and fell. Avengers and X-Men parted ways in a tense but also amicable way.[593]
Nova alerts that the dangerous Phoenix is coming
Matters escalated when the Avengers learned through the young space hero Nova that the all-consuming Phoenix was coming to Earth. In a secret mission, some Avengers attempted to intercept the Phoenix in outer space. Meanwhile, the Avengers assembled an army to contact the X-Men on their island base Utopia to hand over Hope, who was prophesied to ascend as the new Phoenix to restore mutantkind.[594] Storm left the Avengers in protest, allying herself with her long-time mutant teammates.[595] The X-Men's disagreement with the Avengers sparked a battle. Hope took the opportunity to decide her own destiny and escaped.[596] The X-Men tricked the Avengers, feigning surrender to actually look for Hope. With Wolverine sharing the possibility of slaying Hope, Captain America chose to evict him from the mission to track her. Scattering her signal, Hope led Avengers and X-Men clash in different misguided locations, namely Wakanda, Tabula Rasa, Latveria, Mount Wundagore and the Savage Land. Hope approached Wolverine by herself, seeking help in preventing the Phoenix in their own way by going to the Blue Area of the Moon to divert the cosmic bird entity from Earth.[597]
The Avengers battle the X-Men to retrieve Hope
On space, the Avengers unsuccessfully attempted to destroy the Phoenix.[598] During the mission, Noh-Varr was secretly tasked by the Kree Supreme Intelligence of containing its power instead. Divided, Noh-Varr betrayed the Avengers in the Kree Galaxy.[599] Although he regretted his decision and rebelled against the Intelligence, he gained the Avengers' mistrust, being exiled both from Earth and Hala.[600] On the Moon, the Avengers were alerted by Wolverine about Hope's location, attracting the X-Men.[597] With a badly injured Thor crashing onto the Moon, the Phoenix's coming was announced. Avengers and X-Men descended into a brawl as the power of the Phoenix increased within Hope and she found herself unable to control it. Desperate, she asked Wolverine to end her, although Cyclops prevented him from doing so. Iron Man used a special armor to try to destroy the Phoenix, but he only managed to splinter it, causing it to take the five X-Men present as hosts: namely Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik.[601]
The Phoenix is predicted to end Earth's Mightiest Heroes forever
The five Phoenixes returned to Utopia, uniting mutantkind and providing resources and executing actions to improve the world, rendering the Avengers obsolete as a peacemaking force.[602] Unsatisfied with the potential of the Phoenix for evil, the Avengers continued to be an opposing force, even sending the Red Hulk to end their threat for good.[603] In an attempt to rescue Hope from Utopia, the Avengers were successful in their mission due to the Scarlet Witch's intervention.[602] Such aggression represented an act of war, with the X-Men turning their attention into incapacitating the Avengers by shutting down their operations and capturing many of their members. When the Avengers captured the mutant Transonic during a conflict between the X-Men and the Scarlet Witch, Namor was convinced by Emma Frost to attack the Avengers in their current base, Wakanda.[604] Namor and his Atlantean army flooded Wakanda, and some Avengers escaped to K'un-Lun with Hope. The Avengers narrowly managed to defeat Namor, at the cost of great damage to themselves and Wakanda. With Namor defeated, his portion of the Phoenix Force was bequeathed to the other four hosts.[605]
The Avengers take Cyclops down
With their power amplified, the Phoenixes acted erratically and showed signs of losing control. Moreover, with the fall of Wakanda, Storm's marriage to Black Panther was annulled. These events led the X-Men to question the integrity of the Phoenix and many of their members abandoned Utopia. As the Avengers staged a prison breakout for their fellows, Colossus and Magik lost their portions of the Phoenix after being manipulated by Spider-Man.[606] In K'un-Lun, Cyclops tried to recapture Hope, but was fended off by Shou-Lao and Hope herself, who managed to nullify his powers and teleport him away to the Moon.[607] Iron Man studied ways to counter the Phoenix with the Scarlet Witch's and Hope's powers.[608] Several X-Men teamed up with the Avengers, who were also joined by the Hulk. Together, they attacked Cyclops and Frost and gained the upper hand until Cyclops took the final piece of the Phoenix from Frost, making him the sole host as Dark Phoenix upon which he killed Professor X, who had attempted to stop him.[609] Avengers and X-Men combated the destruction the Phoenix produced around Earth. He was exorcized of the maddening power by the Scarlet Witch and Hope. Using the Phoenix's powers, Hope restored the devastation caused by Cyclops. Alongside the Scarlet Witch, she decided to dissipate the Phoenix Force, which caused new mutants to manifest all over the world since the M-Day. Cyclops was incarcerated.[610]
Acknowledging the Avengers should have been more actively involved with mutantkind's struggles instead of standing by while the world hated them, Captain America wished to rectify this negligence by forming the Avengers Unity Squad, a team of Avengers led by Cyclops' brother, Havok, in hopes of keeping Charles Xavier's dream of coexistence between mutants and humans alive.[611]
Age of Ultron[]
In a moment of joy, the Avengers celebrate the winsome Wasp's return
The Avengers resumed their operations in the aftermath of their war against the Phoenix. They interrupted Mister Negative's criminal activities following Madame Hydra's tip.[612] Next, they were unexpectedly contacted by a former member who was trapped in the Microverse.[613] During the Skrull Invasion, the Wasp had apparently perished due to the aliens' attack.[614] In fact, she had struggled to survive in Microverse for a long time. Being met by the original Avengers following her call for help, the Wasp joined them to resist the ruthless Lord Gouzar.[615] The group was assisted by Wonder Man, who regretted his previous attacks and wished to make up for them. The Wasp was rescued by the Avengers, and they were followed by Lord Gouzar. In an epic battle, the Avengers fended off the villain and forced him back to the microscopic plane of existence.[616]
The Avengers are unable to oppose Ultron's dominance
Ultron's attack turned out to take place in a way more violent way than expected. His drones obliterated the civilized world, and the Avengers were forced to hide in face of many heroes being executed. A small resistance was led by Iron Man as a hopeless Captain America was unable to inspire the heroes in the devastated world.[617] Coming up with a plan, Captain America led a strike against the artificial intelligence and the Avengers learned that Ultron attacked Earth from the future via the Vision. Out of time, Ultron was invincible.[618] The Avengers escaped to the Savage Land, where they met Nick Fury with Black Widow's assistance, being able to travel to the future to stop Ultron.[619] In the future, Ultron's power was absolute and the heroes had no chance against his forces, being utterly terminated.[620]
Wolverine and the Invisible Woman had a secret alternative plan of themselves of traveling to the past instead. To prevent Ultron's rise to power, they killed Hank Pym before he could ever create the killing machine. The results were devastating, in a world without Pym, the Avengers disbanded, Earth's Mightiest Heroes were the Defenders led by Commander America, Iron Man was a gloomy and authoritarian cyborg and magics had an extreme influence in the world under Morgan Le Fay's rule.[621] Terrified of this alternate possibility, Wolverine and Invisible Woman traveled back one more time, this time to ensure Ultron's creation. This time, they instructed Pym to install a hidden failsafe code to prevent Ultron from reaching absolute power. Just before the war against the Serpent, Ultron was activated by the super villain genius from Intelligencia, fighting the Avengers upon awakening. Unable to escape and deactivated by Pym's code, he never succeeded, but the timestream was severely damaged by the heroes' aggressions to it.[622] Moreover, the program that incapacitated Ultron devolved into a malicious cybernetic entity, prompting Pym and the Vision to establish an A.I. specialized Avengers squad.[623][624]
Avengers Machine[]
In Wakanda, Black Panther discovered dangerous multiversal phenomena known as incursions, which caused the collision between planets Earth of two different realities, extinguishing their respective universes. To prevent the catastrophic effect, either of the planets should be destroyed to stop the crash. Black Panther reunited the Illuminati to discuss solutions for the crisis.[625] The Illuminati reluctantly acknowledged the inevitability of destroying alternate worlds to preserve Earth. Captain America rejected this notion, heroically suggesting the Infinity Gauntlet as an alternative.[626] During an incursion, Captain America managed to prevent Earth's destruction with the Gauntlet, but the artifact broke down outside its native reality. The desperate Illuminati agreed to wipe from his memory his knowledge about their secret cabal, as well as any knowledge of incursions, in order to darkly protect the world in secrecy.[627]
Captain America assembles the Avengers Machine
Under the pretense the Avengers needed reshaping, Iron Man presented Captain America with a chart to expand its roster: the Avengers Machine.[628] In reality, Iron Man sought a powerful team to handle any overt threat while the Illuminati focused on solving the incursions.[629] 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.[628]
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.[630] 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.[631] Confronted by the Avengers, they approached Ex Nihilo and Abyss, but ultimately surrendered upon realizing the immense destruction they had been causing on Earth.[632] In Regina, the Avengers assessed a situation in which another system caused the destruction of Omega Flight.[633]
Meanwhile, the Avengers found that A.I.M. was especially interested in upcoming events related to the fate of Earth. On the Savage Land, the team witnessed as the mad scientists tampered with the birth of Ex Nihilo's Children of the Sun, managing to protect the living beings.[634] They were also targeted by the High Evolutionary, who wished to evaluate the Children of the Sun's potential in reawakening Terminus. Helped by Garokk the Petrified Man, the Avengers stopped the Evolutionary.[635] Simultaneously, the Avengers also learned A.I.M. had been expanding their power and resources as an army.[636] This was made evident when Ex Nihilo's systems started to cause more frequent calamities around the world. On A.I.M. Island, a powerful system was activated by A.I.M.'s minister Superia in the form of planetary defensive android.[637] The Avengers were brutally beaten by the mysterious mechanism, which was trapped by Superia. Manifold was ultimately able to scatter A.I.M.'s forces.[638] Simultaneously, S.H.I.E.L.D. had also been dealing with A.I.M.'s expansion with their own operation of Secret Avengers.[639][640]
In between the crises concerning these planetary systems, the Avengers dealt with more domestic affairs. They intervened in Slorenian politics one more time as its democracy was threatened by the actions of surviving nazis who had secretly weaponized the Asgardian beast Nidhogg to manipulate the future of the war-torn country.[641] Moreover, the Machine lost members. Spider-Man was secretly possessed by his former enemy Doctor Octopus, who worked with the Avengers as the Superior Spider-Man.[642][643] His erratic and obnoxious behavior ultimately led the impostor to sever ties with the group.[644] Wolverine lost his healing factor, becoming a liability[645] and ultimately being vulnerable to death.[646]
Recruting more Cosmic Power
A broken Captain Universe alerted Manifold about an upcoming threat that had set course to Earth in the form of the Builders, a powerful ancient species who had the objective of destroying the planet that was the focal point of the incursions.[647] As they razed planets on their path, Manifold suggested that the Avengers Machine should include Ex Nihilo, Abyss, Nightmask and Starbrand to be able to fend off the raiders.[638] As most major alien empires in the Galactic Council suffered at the Builders' hands, the Avengers, guided by S.W.O.R.D., forged an intergalactic alliance to stop the Builders' deadly journey.[648]
Captain America and Captain Marvel difficultly led the Avengers to fight the Builders alongside Skrulls, the Kree, the Shi'ar, the Spartax, the Annihilation Wave and the Brood in an attempt to trap the enemies in a singularity at the Corridor. Their plan unexpectedly failed due to the Builders' enormous fleet. The Avengers were divided by the attack, with Captain Marvel's team being lost and apprehended by the Builders, who were intrigued by the Avengers having so many peculiar resources. Facing opposition, the Builders employed other Ex Nihilii to decay worlds, leaving the Avengers and the Galactic Council to tend for uncountable refugees.[649][650]
When the Spartoi emperor J'son attempted to defect to save himself from the Builders' ire,[651] the brutal aliens retaliated by pinpointing his location and ravaging their refuge. Many alien empires, including the Kree, surrendered to the Builders, who shared that Earth was their main target. Liberating Captain Marvel's team, the Avengers counted with the powerful Starbrand to counter the Builders armada. Meanwhile, the Avengers Ex Nihilo and Abyss managed to recruit the Builders' Ex Nihilii to their cause as their original purpose was to create life instead of ending it.[652][653] The Avengers feigned surrender, allowing Thor to liberate Hala from the Builders by slaying one of their agents.[654] However, their forces were still adamant and the Shi'ar momentarily retreated. The Ex Nihilii were able to summon Captain Universe, who was able to easily eliminate the Builders.[655] The universe recognized the merit of the Avengers in the war for liberating worlds at peril.[656]
Thanos and the Black Order
At the same time, Thanos learned that the Illuminati used to own the Infinity Stones. As Earth had no Avengers, it was vulnerable to him and to his death generals of the Black Order.[648] To resist one of Thanos' agents Proxima Midnight, Luke Cage formed a mighty group of Avengers to battle her.[657] Meanwhile, the Illuminati learned that Thanos had a secret objective which was executing an abomination he had birthed in the form of an Inhuman son.[658] The Inhuman king Black Bolt detonated Attilan with a Terrigen Bomb in a useless attack against Thanos.[652] The explosion liberated Terrigen Mists in the atmosphere, triggering the activation of the Inhuman gene in Thanos' lost son Thane in the hidden city of Orollan,[654] but he was eventually found and captured by Thanos. Upon learning that Thanos stormed Earth,[656] the Avengers returned home with their grateful allies. On Earth's orbit, Thanos' armada was exterminated,[659] in Orollan, the Avengers themselves stroke at Thanos. In the end, Thane vanished after trapping Thanos in a living death state with his powers, and the Illuminati took custody of the Mad Titan. Earth was saved and it was proven to be an Avengers world.[660]
In the aftermath of the Builder war, the Avengers were visited by the Iron Man of Year 3030, who informed them about a rogue planet that would collide with Earth. With her help, the Avengers managed to phase the rogue planet into Earth, the Avengers World. This granted the Avengers an extra weaponized resource for difficult times to come, and Iron Man 3030 went back to her time.[661] Moreover, the Terrigen in the atmosphere triggered several incidents related to newly activated Inhumans. The Avengers addressed some of these crises, such as when Spider-Girl teamed up with them to interrupt Toxic Doxie from her vile experimentations on vulnerable Inhumans.[662]
Avengers World[]
The Avengers also fully cooperated with S.H.I.E.L.D., dealing with simultaneous crises all over the world at the same time.[663] On A.I.M. Island, they witnessed the expansion of the terrorist scientists' empire, with Smasher being mentally controlled by them.[664] Meanwhile, the Avengers fought the Gorgon and the Hand, who had taken control of the island nation of Madripoor. In a deadly fight, Shang-Chi apparently perished against the Gorgon.[665] In Italy, the group was joined by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Druid and stumbled upon a subterranean city of undead zombies ruled by Morgan Le Fay.[666]
Shang-Chi vs Gorgon
Oriented by the Hulk and herded by Manifold, the Avengers organized themselves to combat the multiple threats by joining forces with a multitude of allies.[667] Falcon found Shang-Chi safe with S.P.E.A.R., the Eastern version of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He joined their group, the Ascendants, to combat the Gorgon.[668] In Italy, the Avengers were assisted by Black Knight and the Euroforce against Morgan as she ravaged Europe.[669] Meanwhile, Sunspot and Cannonball traveled to the future where Ultron battled Kang to recruit Jocasta and the Avengers' children in order to seige A.I.M. Island.[670] Striking at different points, the Avengers assembled and defeated all of their enemies for the whole world had embraced their mission.[671]
The alliance between the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. also came in hand when alternate versions of the original Avengers interloped on Earth. Earth's Mightiest Villains had been saved from an incursion by being interdimensionally retrieved by A.I.M., who sent Adaptoids to collect the fugitives in a brutal fight. Maria Hill and S.H.I.E.L.D. came upon the corpse of their Ant-Man and contacted the Avengers to investigate. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner met his rogue duplicate and replaced him.[672] As the two Avengers groups fought each other, A.I.M. intervened as to eliminate any hints of their involvement by recapturing the invaders and banishing them to another dimension.[673] On A.I.M. Island, the Hulk learned about the incursions and the premature death of the multiverse. He also realized that Iron Man and the Illuminati were probably reformed and dealing with the crisis secretly. In the end, the Hulk faked his own arrest and joined the Illuminati.[629]
Uatu's found dead
Following an exposure to the dead Watcher's eye, which revealed deep secrets in its blast radius,[674] Captain America's memories about the Illuminati and the incursions eventually resurfaced, prompting him to direct the Avengers Machine against Tony Stark. Upon confronting his ally, friend, rival and enemy, Captain America and a group of Avengers were unexpectedly drafted across time by the Time Stone from the broken Infinity Gauntlet.[675] In their infinite journey, Captain America and the Avengers interacted with several developments of the Avengers.[676] Captain America was ultimately retrieved by Iron Lad, Kang and Immortus, who were, together, the last Avenger. They attempted to convince the star-spangled hero not to oppose Iron Man and the Illuminati. In the end, influenced by a future version of Hawkeye, Captain America confronted the time travelers and returned to the past, deciding to start a war against the Illuminati.[677]
AXIS[]
Much changed for the Avengers and the Illuminati in the meantime. Captain America had the source of his powers and youth neutralized by the villain Iron Nail,[678] with Sam Wilson, the former Falcon, assuming the Captain America mantle.[679] Moreover, Thor lost his sense of worthiness as an attack by Nick Fury, being unable to wield Mjolnir anymore.[680][681] After this, the Red Skull, who had been empowered by the telepathic brain of Charles Xavier,[682] established mutant concentration camps on Genosha. Finding resistance in the Avengers Unity Squad and in Magneto,[683] the Nazi villain ascended as the Red Onslaught and spread a telepathic hate wave across the globe. The Avengers joined forces with the X-Men to take the Red Onslaught down, but the two teams failed.[684] However, after Magneto assembled a team of supervillains to stop the Red Onslaught, the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom were able to cast an inversion spell to strengthen Charles Xavier's consciousness in his soul. As a collateral result, the moral axis of those present on the island was inverted, including the Avengers.[685]
Heroes gone bad
Under the leadership of the new Captain America, an evil group of inverted Avengers decided to execute the Red Skull for his crimes.[686] To ensure their authority, they tricked most of the heroes of the world to attend a meeting at the Avengers Tower, where they were reduced in size and arrested by the inverted Avengers. Spider-Man and Nova managed to escape, joining Steve Rogers, Magneto and the inverted super villains. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Witch severed her alliance with the inverted Avengers, seeking revenge against Doctor Doom for their previous conflicts.[686] Doctor Doom, with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assistance, gathered a group of Avengers to stop her.[687]
The Avengers found in the X-Men a violent opposition.[688] The villainous X-Men planned on detonating a gene bomb to kill everyone on the Earth who did not carry a mutant gene. Steve Rogers, Spider-Man and Magneto's team of villains tried to stop the X-Men.[689] Though defeated in combat,[690] they managed to prevent the bomb from fulfilling its purpose with Carnage's apparent sacrifice.[691] With humanity safe, the inverted Avengers battled the X-Men. During the fight, a reinversion spell was cast by the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom, with the help of the inverted Red Skull, which restored almost everybody back to normal. However, Iron Man, Sabretooth and Havok maintained their inverted personas as a result of a mechanism designed by the immoral Stark,[692] as a result Iron Man had his reason permanently deviated.[693] Around this period, the Hulk was treated with the Extremis virus and developed a new personality, which retained both physical strength and intelligence as Doc Green.[694]
Time Runs Out[]
With the Illuminati giving up on the possibility of destroying worlds to prevent incursions, ex-Illuminatus Namor assembled a Cabal of murderers who employed Antimatter Injection Systems to carry out the obliteration any and every alternate planet Earth that came in collision course with their own, keeping Earth spinning. Steve Rogers had the Avengers operate fully under S.H.I.E.L.D. to hunt down the Illuminati, an initiative that led the Avengers Machine to ruin. The charismatic Sunspot was one of the many members who left the group, ultimately purchasing A.I.M. to use their resources to tackle the incursions once the existence of this phenomena became public knowledge.[695][696][697] Part of Sunspot's own team of new Avengers explored the multiverse to assess the early death of existence. On Earth, A.I.M.'s Avengers used Ex Nihilo's systems to empower themselves to intervene in the war between S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers and the Illuminati.[698][699][700]
Avengers vs. Illuminati
The Avengers, working under S.H.I.E.L.D., guided by the Invisible Woman and counting with an army of War Machine drones, managed to capture the Illuminatus Amadeus Cho.[696][701] Able to pinpoint the Illuminati, S.H.I.E.L.D. led the Avengers to a battle against the Illuminati. The ensuing battle was revealed to be a trap.[702] As Sunspot and his Avengers attempted to prevent the teams from fighting each other, Steve Rogers called Cage's Avengers to join the fight. The Avengers' civil war was ultimately stopped by Invisible Woman, who revealed herself to have been in coalition with the Illuminati all along and forced a truce.[703]
Counting with a defective Namor, the heroes agreed that they should focus on putting the Cabal down. Setting a trap for the brutal team, Namor abandoned them in a terminal world during an incursion. However, Black Panther attacked Namor in order to execute him for his previous attacks against Wakanda.[704] With the Cabal dead, Avengers and Illuminati worked together to stop the collapse of the Multiverse. In his investigation, Illuminatus Hank Pym learned that the incursions were caused by the Beyonders, as part of one of their nefarious experiments.[705][706] Simultaneously, Doctor Strange learned that Doctor Doom had also been part of the incursions experiment, fighting a secret war against the Beyonders to sabotage their nefarious experiment.[707] The group of Avengers exploring the Multiverse tackled the Beyonders, being totally obliterated.[708] Following their demise, Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange and the Molecule Man directly confronted the Beyonders,[709] with Doom being able to seize their omnipotency for himself.[710]
Meanwhile, the Shi'ar Empire targeted Earth as the source of the incursions in order to eliminate the threat, gathering the Intergalactic Council and their armada in their attack. The Guardians of the Galaxy alerted the Avengers about the imminent attack.[711] The Illuminati broke Iron Man free from captivity set by the Cabal to combat the alien attack. Causing Earth to be replaced by the rogue planet, Iron Man got enough time to use his Sol's Hammer armor to win the battle. Back to Earth, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark solved their differences in a brutal fight as the last incursion between the two remaining universes was triggered.[712]
The Last Incursion
Since the end of existence was a matter of time, Reed Richards the Future Foundation chose not to lose instead of winning. Creating "life rafts" resistant to the incursion, the heroes attempted to ensure the survival of a few.[711] Both worlds were unable to prevent the collision and their universes were destroyed. Manifold assembled a team of heroes to a raft[710] emerging in a world created and ruled by Emperor Doom.[713] The Multiverse was ultimately returned to existence by Reed Richards using the power of the Molecule Man, following a conflict against Doctor Doom.[714] In the rebuilt reality, consequences and memories concerning the incursions were nebulous.[715]
A lot would change for the Avengers in the following eight months. As Thor was unworthy of his own divinity, a new Thor stepped in his place as the wielder of Mjolnir and Goddess of Thunder,[716] stablishing herself as prominent warrior in the super hero community.[717] The new Thor joined the Avengers and so did the morally inverted and heroic Sabretooth, who was held caged and unleashed upon need by the Avengers. The team fought the artificial Descendants on A.I.M. Island, and Hank Pym inadvertently deactivated the opponents with a neural inhibitor, claiming that artificial life could not be murdered. This brought conflict with the Vision, an artificial man himself. Matters escalated when Ultron infected I.S.A.A.C. and Titan, prompting Starfox to search for the Avengers' help. Ultron moved his army of robotic drones to the Avengers Tower, infecting many Avengers with a virus. Pym and a group of Avengers managed to escape to Titan, retreating to the Church of Thanos to counter Ultron's plan of turning all life into robotic. The Vision wished to merge with Ultron to cleanse those afflicted from the infection. However, Hank Pym merged with his enraged creation instead. Infused by Starfox with feelings of love, the merged Ultron interrupted the infections and fled to space. Hank Pym was declared gone to the Avengers.[718]
Following all of their trials and tribulations, the Avengers as they formerly existed before ultimately were no more.[719] Black Panther formed an openly group to combat multiversal level threats as a replacement to the dark Illuminati, the Ultimates.[720][715] Meanwhile, Captain Marvel was in charge of the Alpha Flight Space Program to protect Earth from alien interventions;[721] the program was close to A-Force, an all-female super hero team assembled by the cosmic Singularity.[722] Sunspot officialized his Avengers team as A.I.M.'s Mightiest Heroes[723] and the Unity Division was rebranded as a team funded by the now popular Deadpool and directly approached the danger that the Terrigen Mists posed to mutants.[724]
All-New, All-Different[]
All-New, All-Different
The Avengers eventually reunited by fate. A group of heroes joined forces to combat the threat of the Chitauri champion Warbringer, who wished to annihilate the human race in retaliation for having been beaten by Nova in the past, being assisted in his attack by the mysterious entrepreneur Mr. Gryphon, the new owner of the Avengers Tower. Iron Man and the new Captain America, right after deciding to reform the Avengers, stumbled upon Warbringer when he battled the teenager Spider-Man, a survivor of world Earth had collided with in the last incursion.[725] Assisted by the Vision, the Avengers searched for the Warbringer, who was collecting Chitauri artifacts for his purpose. They found the villain fighting the Inhuman Ms. Marvel and teenage rocket Nova. As the Warbringer caused immense devastation, the Avengers were occasionally joined by their last member, the new Thor.[726] Together, adult and teenage heroes successfully forced Warbringer through a portal he had intended to use to lead a Chitauri army to ravage Earth even though Gryphon kept sabotaging the heroes secretly. In the end, the Avengers officially reformed.[727]
The All-New, All-Different Avengers experienced an unglamorous start, as Iron Man lacked funding for the team, as a result of his negligence towards his finances for being a space hero for months. The team operated in a precarious New Jersey airfield warehouse known as the Avengers Hangar.[728] In their first mission, the Avengers battled Radioactive Man, who caused chaos in the name of the rising "Qeng Dinasty".[729] In a similar conflict, the group defeated Cyclone.[728] In the meantime, the teenager members of the team were discredited by the erratic Vision, who pushed Ms. Marvel out of the team and blackmailed Nova for hiding his previous interactions with the Warbringer. Another villain acting in the name of the "Qeng Dinasty" was Equinox. During the fight against him, the Avengers were ultimately betrayed by the Vision, who was revealed to have been under the control of Mr. Gryphon, one of Kang the Conqueror's many iterations.[730] Deprived of Mjolnir, Thor was revealed to Captain America to be cancer patient Doctor Jane Foster and helped her reacquire her powers. Meanwhile, Iron Man restored the Vision's faculties and the teenage Avengers assembled to defeat Gryphon, who was ultimately knocked out and lost in the timestream.[731]
Project: Kobik
Maria Hill had S.H.I.E.L.D. establish a secret brainwashing prison center for super powered criminals in the town of Pleasant Hill, a derivation of Project: Kobik, which employed a sentient Cosmic Cube to alter reality.[732] The illusory environment's existence was made known to Captain America by Rick Jones and to Steve Rogers by Bucky. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. commander, Rogers visited the prison with Hill when it was rioted by Baron Zemo, one of its inmates who had managed to overcome the reconditioning.[733] Both the Unity Division and the Avengers investigated the site but were ultimately trapped in the illusion.[734][735]
Unity Division's leader Rogue managed to see through the fake setting and helped her teammates see through the lies.[736] The Avengers were caught in a violent battle against Zemo's army of prisoners. As Kobik had assumed the form of a little girl, she was unable to witness the Avengers suffering and returned them to their former and fully empowered selves.[735] She also restored Steve Rogers to full vigor,[737] allowing him to bring the battle to Baron Zemo. An enraged Kobik cast Zemo away, and the Avengers focused on stopping the super villains in the riot, who were defeated by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the new Quasar. In the end, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson decided to share the mantle of Captain America in their respective Avengers teams.[738] Unexpectedly, as per the machinations of the Red Skull, Steve Rogers was reconfigured as a Hydra agent, infiltrated in S.H.I.E.L.D. and in the Avengers with the mission of bringing up a Hydra empire.[739]
The New Wasp
Rogue intercepted an amicable Hank Pym by chance, assembling the Unity Division to assess the situation.[740] They ultimately came to the conclusion that Ultron was in control of their merged body.[741] The Vision assembled all available Avengers to war Ultron one more time.[742] Iron Man trapped Ultron inside a Hulkbuster Armor in order to bring the battle to outer space. Following a difficult fight, the Avengers sent Ultron to his ultimate fate in the sun.[743] Soon after, the group was approached by a young girl named Nadia, who claimed to be Pym's daughter and a Red Room Academy fugitive. As the new and unstoppable Wasp, she proved her worth in helping the Vision overcome problems related to Kang's tampering.[744]
As Jarvis introduced Nadia to the original Wasp, the Avengers decided to look for Nova's missing father in outer space. In their mission, they found a miserable planet struggling with abductions to the Negative Zone performed by Annihilus, as he attempted to build an apparatus to unleash his wrath upon the multiverse.[745] The Avengers assembled and, wielding Captain Mar-Vell's former Nega Bands that had been seized by Annihilus, foiled his plans and severed his connection to the universe.[746]
Hydra Empire[]
The Avengers experienced fractures in their alliances due to ideological stances. With the manifestation of an Inhuman clairvoyant named Ulysses, Captain Marvel operated Alpha Flight, A-Force and the Ultimates to act preventively, in order to avoid crimes, a position Iron Man radically opposed to.[747] Predicting Thanos would invade Project Pegasus for a Cosmic Cube, Captain Marvel led a squad to attack him. In the fight, War Machine was murdered, and She-Hulk was critically injured.[748] Iron Man kidnapped Ulysses to study him, prompting the Inhumans and Captain Marvel to hunt him. The heroes then learned the Hulk was an imminent and deadly threat to them.[749] Hawkeye put the Hulk down,[750] but was judged innocent. The Hulk's death escalated tensions into a second superhuman civil war as Iron Man actively attempted to stop Captain Marvel, having the Avengers at his side.[751]
Second Superhuman Civil War
In a subsequent vision, the heroes learned that the Avenger Spider-Man would be responsible for the death of Steve Rogers in Washington, D.C..[752] Iron Man and the Avengers vehemently opposed to Captain Marvel's intentions of putting him under preventive arrest and escaped. However, the young heroes associated with the Avengers questioned their recent actions and disbanded.[753] In Washington, D.C., Spider-Man and Steve Rogers met to solve the situation, leading to both Iron Man and Captain Marvel to intervene.[754] Captain Marvel brutally stroke at Iron Man, essentially causing him to fall into a death-like state.[755] In the aftermath of the war, Hawkeye wandered the country to bring vengeance to the people,[756] a bunch of former Avengers banded together as the Defenders operating in the urban setting of Manhattan,[757] the disillusioned younger Avengers Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man and Nova formed their own super hero group, the Champions,[758] and, more dangerously, Steve Rogers made his way to gain absolute power and ensure Hydra's gradual ascension.[759]
Post-War roster
The Avengers maintained their operations, recruiting Hercules to replace the heroes who had left to the Champions. Being offered funding by Parker Industries, they relocated to the Baxter Building and had the original Spider-Man back to the team, as he acted as Parker Industries' private hero. The group was attacked by Kang and the Scarlet Centurion,[760] in retaliation for the Vision kidnapping their newborn self after Mr. Gryphon's manipulations.[761] The time travelers paid back in the same coin and erased the Avengers from existing by capturing their baby selves.[760] The Avengers were preserved by a future version of Kang, while Hercules as the last Avenger remaining confronted the villains in the Temple of Pama for the baby.[762] The Wasp traveled to the future with the baby Kang to prevent the paradoxal collapse of the timestream, being assisted by the future Priests of Pama in fully restoring the Avengers. After returning the baby to his proper place, the Avengers decided to vanquish Kang for good.[763] Recruiting different groups from different points from the past, the Avengers assembled an intertemporal mighty team to attack Kang in different eras.[764] In the end, the original Giant-Man used Kang's future stealing machine against himself, and the Avengers, but the Vision, returned home with no recollection of their paradoxal war against Kang.[765]
Due to a number of unexplainable magical disturbances, Doctor Doom contacted the Avengers for help. The Avengers found child sorceresses who worship Anamelech as the responsible for the incidents and put an end to their actions.[766] Back home, the Avengers were attacked by Cressida, the Avenger X, an old enemy of theirs with power stealing abilities who had been entombed by the Wizard and was reawakened by Kang's tampering with the timestream. With the Avengers defeated, the Wasp called Doom for help, and they managed to trap Cressida in the Microverse.[767]
S.H.I.E.L.D. commander Steve Rogers soon executed his plan to take over the United States for Hydra. He summoned a Chitauri invasion and shielded Earth against, leaving Captain Marvel, Alpha Flight, the Ultimates, the Guardians of the Galaxy and many cosmic heroes trapped on Earth's orbit to fight against endless hordes. Simultaneously, Pleasant Hill's criminals ravaged New York City. When local heroes such as Doctor Strange, the Defenders, the X-Men and the Unity Division intervened, they were trapped inside a Darkforce impenetrable dome cast by a Darkhold empowered Blackout.[768] As Supreme Hydra, Rogers ruled the country with absolute control with his High Council. The Avengers and the Champions were easily defeated, with Thor being banished, the Vision being corrupted by Arnim Zola, and the Scarlet witch being possessed by Chthon.[769] Supreme Hydra assembled his own team of Hydra Avengers and brutally killed Rick Jones, while Hawkeye and Black Widow retreated to lead the Underground resistance movement, supported by a Tony Stark A.I..[770]
Hydra's Avengers
As Hydra destroyed Las Vegas to attract the Underground, a schism took place: Black Widow chose to assassinate Rogers and recruited the Champions to her new Red Room, while Hawkeye and the Avengers wished to revert the effects of the Kobik Cosmic Cube, which had been fragmented, and approached Sam Wilson, the former Captain America, to help them.[771] In the Alaskan Ultronic Territories, Hydra Avengers and the Underground Avengers looked for a Cosmic Cube fragment. An insane Ultron, who had managed to return to Earth, did not allow the two groups to fight each other. After a confrontation over Hank Pym's past mistakes, the fragment was given to Undergound member Ant-Man. After the Avengers groups returned to their quest, Namor provided Hydra with another fragment.[772]
The Underground kept failing at finding more fragments and returned to their base, where Hydra unleashed the rage of a momentarily resurrected Hulk upon them. The group was fragilized due to secrets and blackmailing and took a deep hit. The Underground managed to escape, but their base was utterly destroyed, and Supreme Hydra acquired the fragments of the Cosmic Cube.[773] Black Widow and Spider-Man went to the Capitol, where Steve Rogers was supposed to be assassinated as per Ulysses' former vision. However, Black Widow was killed instead, prompting a direct war between Hydra and the Underground and Sam Wilson to reclaim the Captain America mantle.[774] Inspired by Captain America, the heroes overcame Hydra's attack. Quasar obliterated the shield that enveloped Earth and Maria Hill executed Blackout, liberating New York City and its heroes trapped in the dark.[775] The Avengers reassembled through the efforts of their allies. Unexpectedly, Supreme Hydra was empowered by the Cosmic Cube,[776] and reshaped reality to fit his Hydra ideals. Being tricked by Captain America, Supreme Hydra witnessed the return of Kobik and the original version of Steve Rogers. Hydra was then deposed, and Earth's Mightiest Heroes stood triumphant.[777]
No Surrender, No Road Home[]
Hydra's rule brought the collapse of Parker Industries at the hands of Doctor Octopus. Losing funding and the Baxter Building, the Avengers resisted and relocated to G.I.R.L. Labs. Captain America returned to his Falcon identity, still as the leader of the group.[778] Both the Avengers and the Champions noticed spatial disturbances related to the existence of the High Evolutionary's planet, the Counter-Earth. In an uneasy team-up, the groups assessed the situation.[779] Falcon and the Vision's daughter, the Champion Viv, were transported to Counter-Earth as a result of its phasing effect on Earth[780] and experimented by the Evolutionary.[781] Fighting the Evolutinary's New Men, the Avengers and the Champions battled to prevent the collision and merger of Earth and Counter-Earth and rescued their teammates.[782] With Viv's apparent sacrifice the collision was prevented.[783] The Avengers and the Champions celebrated her return following an adventure that eased their previous animosity.[784]
Voyager and a Pyramoid
A calamity took place when Earth was translocated from its position, prompting all branches of the Avengers to convene to respond to multiple disasters. Jarvis was gravely wounded in one of the crises. Additionally, most of Earth's super heroes were trapped in a static state except for some few Avengers, who were assembled by the original Avenger Voyager in the Avengers Mansion.[785] Voyager had been missing and forgotten for years, returning to tend to Earth being sequestered to serve as the battleground for a contest that had the new Lethal Legion and the Black Order as respective players[786] for the Elders Grandmaster and Challenger. With the Mansion destroyed by their adversaries, the Avengers retreated to the Avengers Auxiliary Headquarters.[787] By fighting the villains, they learned about the game of collecting the cosmic Pyramoids to score points.[788]
Scoring points at the cost of the Human Torch and the Red Wolf being out of the game, the Avengers entered the quest for the Pyramoids.[789] To combat them, the Challenger revived the Hulk. Meanwhile, with the Beast and the Wasp restoring Jarvis to consciousness, he alerted them that Voyager was a trickster. In fact, she was Grandmaster's daughter and his secret gamble in the contest and managed to acquire the last and deciding Pyramoid.[790] As the Hulk brutally slaughtered the Avengers and destroyed the Pyramoid, Voyager unexpectedly betrayed her father and sided with Earth's Mightiest Heroes.[791]
Since the Elders saw Earth as a mere disposable gaming board, the Avengers had to win the contest. Challenger brought his might to the planet and the Hulk counterattacked him, enraged for having been manipulated. Meanwhile, Quicksilver deactivated the beacon that kept the heroes in stasis, allowing Voyager to assemble an army of Avengers to the fight the Challenger.[792] As the Avengers defeated him, the hero Lightning placed his bets against the Grandmaster for Earth's fate, guaranteeing its return to its proper place.[793] Following the end of the game and the Avengers' victory, the different Avengers teams disbanded for different reasons.[794]
The Goddess Nyx
For the period Earth was away from the Solar System, the Goddess of the Night Nyx was able to boost her power and get revenge against the Olympian Gods who had imprisoned her and her children. As she cast an eternal night over the universe, Voyager assembled a group of Avengers to combat her.[795] Her power had been shattered to three pieces and scattered across different locations and the Avengers attempted to outran her in obtaining her full power.[796] Their quest led them to the Hyborian Age, where they joined Conan the Barbarian to fight the Goddess of the Night.[797] On Earth, Blue Marvel and Toni Ho dealt with the darkness with their Avengers World project. On Euphoria, Nyx gained full power and accessed the House of Ideas, the core of creation, in an attempt to obliterate all of the existence.[798] In the end, the Vision heroically assembled a legion of marvelous heroes at a conceptual level. Nyx perished and her darkness was cast out.[799] Conan stayed in the present and gradually teamed up with a bunch of individuals who eventually became a savage assembly of Avengers.[800]
Earth's Mightiest Legacy[]
Since Loki managed to release the fallen Celestial Zgreb from its ancient tomb, All-Father Odin cautiously advised the Black Panther about how the vile god had been defeated by Earth's first heroes, the prehistoric Avengers.[801][12][802] The reawakening of the first super villain coincided with Steve Rogers' glorious return as Captain America,[803] Tony Stark's full recovery as the Invincible Iron Man,[804] and Thor's reclaim of his name.[805] As the three classic Avengers discussed reassembling the group, Loki's activities sparked the arrival of the world-threatening Dark Celestials, the Final Host. Captain Marvel identified the threat and joined the Avengers in protecting Earth from falling Celestial corpses. At the same time, Black Panther recruited Doctor Strange to assess the tomb of the fallen Celestial. The cause of Celestials being infected, the parasitic Horde, attacked them alongside the new Ghost Rider and Jennifer Walters, who, as the Hulk, was imbued with an additional dose of gamma radiation by the moribund Celestial Eson to join the fight.[806][807]
Living up to a new legacy
In the North Pole, Captain America was introduced by Loki to the corpse of the long-time dead Progenitor, the Celestial who sparked the emergence of super humans on Earth. Meanwhile, the other Avengers assembled to search for ways to stop the Dark Celestial invasion. Iron Man and Doctor Strange were granted knowledge by the Eternals, Thor and Hulk were boosted by the Blood of Ymir, Black Panther and Captain Marvel were able to counter the Horde, and the Ghost Rider rescued Captain America.[808] By forming an Eternal-like Uni-Mind, the Avengers assembled their mighty powers and obliterated the Horde and the Dark Celestials. As such, the machinations of a defeated Loki assembled the Avengers one more time to carry on the legacy of the first super humans on the planet.[809] The grateful Celestials took custody of Loki and set upright the corpse of the Progenitor, which was refurbished and transformed by Wakandan architects, Alpha Flight technicians and Tony Stark into the Avengers Mountain, Earth's Mightiest Heroes' global headquarters. Black Panther was unanimously appointed as the chairperson to the revamped team[807] and created the secret Agents of Wakanda as a covert operation to complement the Avengers in an attempt to upgrade their network to international level. Ken Hale, the Gorilla-Man, was in charge of taking care of the Mountain.[810]
There were unfriendly forces to the Avengers in the world, though. Responding to their first crisis, the Avengers confronted Namor, who declared war on humanity alongside his Defenders of the Deep following Roxxon's reckless contamination of the aquatic fragilized environment.[811] During a fight in a stormed Hydropolis, the Avengers' fight against the Defenders escalated with the presence of the Winter Guard led by the Red Widow, who also tackled Namor for his war crimes. With Namor's retreat, the Avengers ceased fire. Meanwhile, the Avengers being led by the King of Wakanda displeased Washington, D.C.; thus, as a response to the rise of super human teams around the world, Phil Coulson formed America's Mightiest Heroes, the Squadron Supreme,[812] under Mephisto's tutelage.[813]
First Recruit
Witnessing the escalation of a chaotic vampire civil war, Black Panther had his agents rescue and recruit vampire slayer Blade to the Avengers.[810] As the lord of the vampires Dracula sought the Winder Guard's help and was contacted by Iron Man, the other side of the conflict, in the form of Shadow Colonel and his Legion of the Unliving, were approached by the Avengers, infiltrating the Avengers Mountain and corrupting the Ghost Rider to their cause.[814] After Blade managed to purge the corruption from Ghost Rider,[815] he led the Avengers to stop the Shadow Colonel, ultimately seizing his Boy-Thing. In the end, the hellhound Sarge was defeated by Thor's pet hound Thori and kept captive in the Avengers Mountain and Dracula secretly won the war, establishing a vampire nation in Chernobyl due to Winter Guard's inefficiency in keeping him.[816]
Laying waste to the Ten Realms, Malekith the Accursed and his Dark Council brought a war to Midgard, the realm of mortal Earth. As his first move, Malekith trapped Thor in the land of the Frost Giants, Jotunheim. Without Thor, the Avengers tackled the invasion in New York City.[817] Doctor Strange evacuated all heroes and victims to the Avengers Mountain, and Malekith's forces conquered the world.[818] As Black Panther and Iron Man protected the Avengers Mountain, the other Avengers splintered their might into successful Strikeforces. One led by Captain America to rescue Thor in Jotunheim, another led by Lady Freyja to sabotage the villains' Black Bifrost transport in Svartalfheim and the War Avengers led by Captain Marvel to resist the invasion on Earth.[819][820][821][822][823]
The Avengers were reassembled by Freyja at the Avengers Mountain alongside an army of champions from many realms to combat the siege. Inspired by Jane Foster and led by Thor,[824] who respectively wielded the All-Weapon Undrjarn and the worthy Mjolnir, the Avengers took part in ending the war of the Ten Realms. As a result, Thor was coronated All-Father,[825] Jane Foster lived up to the legacy of the Valkyrie name.[826] and Blade was involved in assembling band of randomly implicated heroes who operated as Strikeforce.[827]
When the Ghost Rider's Hell Charger acted erratically, the Avengers summoned demonologist Daimon Hellstrom for help. During the exorcism, the first modern Ghost Rider and King of Hell, Johnny Blaze, challenged the Avenger Ghost Rider for a race over power.[828] King Blaze wished to obtain power to combat Mephisto. The Avengers Mountain was possessed,[829] and the invading entity was revealed by Boy-Thing to be the Cosmic Ghost Rider, who had been manipulated by Blaze to achieve his objectives, but decided to help the Avengers instead.[830] In Hell, the Avengers rescued their teammate Ghost Rider after he had beaten King Blaze in the race.[831]
With the first rumors of a new Starbrand since the death of Kevin Connor, the Avengers embarked on a mission to look for Earth's new protector, finding themselves in the Shi'ar Ravenstarr Maximum-Security Prison Galaxy being hunted by the Heralds of Galactus, who were also looking for the Starbrand power.[832] With the Black Widow wearing a War Machine Armor and Blade wearing Boy-Thing and his burning touch, the Avengers resisted the Heralds.[833] The power was found by Shi'ar Majestor Gladiator within a pregnant human inmate who perished after Captain America delivered her baby, the new Starbrand, and brought her to the Avengers Mountain.[834]
Baby Starbrand
A distress call led the Avengers to the Blue Area of the Moon, which had been reforested as a garden by the actions of the elder Cotati Swordsman and his child with the Celestial Madonna Mantis, Quoi the Celestial Messiah. Having fended off an attack by a Kree Sentry, Earth's Mightiest Heroes decided to help the Cotati against the Kree/Skrull Alliance,[835] a cojoined empire ruled by Captain Mar-Vell's hybrid son and former Young Avenger Emperor Hulkling.[836] The Alliance's massive fleet was targeted by the Avengers as Iron Man overloaded their systems, allowing the Cotati to bloom the Death Blossom and massacre them. Revealing their plan to avenge the slaughter of their ancestors and conquer the entire universe, the Celestial Messiah announced that Earth, the Avengers World, was the first to succumb to their rising empyrean, much to the dismay of the Avengers.[837] Thor, Iron Man, and Captain Ameria were captured, but refused to surrender and managed to escape to Earth, where the Black Panther, the Hulk and the Ghost Rider dealt with the Cotati's overrunning invasion. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel approached the Alliance, who had been assisted by the Fantastic Four to cleanse the Cotati infection. She was made an Accuser by Hulkling to combat the Cotati.[838] Captain America and Black Panther ordered the Avengers and the Agents of Wakanda to fend off the endless armies of Cotati around the world.[839]
While Iron Man and Reed Richards formulated a plan to defeat the Cotati, Black Panther organized the Wakandan troops to prevent the aliens from using the Vibranium enriched soil of the Great Mound.[840] Unpredictably, Emperor Hulkling decided to fire the Pyre, a solar doomsday weapon that would raze Earth to end the Cotati. Captain Marvel and Human Torch approached Wiccan, as Hulkling's husband, for help. Meanwhile, Mantis contacted her son to stop the invasion, but the Avengers were betrayed by the Hulk, who had been murdered and replaced by a Cotati.[841] Wiccan exposed that Emperor Hulkling had been impersonated by his Skrull grandmother, R'Klll, but the Pyre had already been activated in the Sun. With Black Panther defeated, the Celestial Messiah planted a Death Blossom on Vibranium to boost his empyrean invasion.[842] Wiccan, Captain Marvel, Human Torch and the Alliance attempted to tame the Sun, being successful due to the contribution of Iron Man. The Invisible Woman, the Thing and Mantis defeated the infected Hulk, followed by Black Panther, Reed Richards and Captain America assembling the Avengers to finish the Cotati and their Messiah. Being empowered by the magic of his birth Mother Gaea, Thor cleansed the planet of the vegetative infection. The Black Panther then destroyed the Death Blossom and the plant empire was left in ruins.[843]
In Mephisto we distrust[]
In between the Avengers' cosmic adventures, it was revealed that Mephisto had been manipulating Earth's Mightiest Heroes since the Stone Age. He trapped and tempted Iron Man for months in the distant past,[831][844] and influenced the Avengers' adversaries in the present.[845] Wishing to stop Mephisto, the lunatic vigilante Moon Knight set up a plan to seize the primordial powers of the prehistoric Avengers. His victims were Iron Fist, Doctor Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme, Ghost Rider as the Spirit of Vengeance, Black Panther and Thor as the God of Thunder.[846] Earth's Mightiest Hero Moon Knight apparently murdered Mephisto in his captivity in Hotel Inferno, reshaped New York City as the glory of the Moon god Khonshu and tortured the Black Panther to claim his power. The Avengers resisted[847] and rescued the powerless and trapped heroes as Khonshu endlessly slayed Mephistos of the interdimensional Council of Red with the primordial powers.[848] Black Panther ultimately defeated Moon Knight, who killed himself[849] to ascend as the host of the Phoenix and rebel against his idol Khonshu. The Avengers were able return the stolen powers and arrest Khonshu, while Thor knocked out Moon Knight,[850] who later refused Black Panther's offer to join the Avengers.[851]
The Phoenix Tournament
The Phoenix then built a nest on Earth,[851] ultimately sparking a tournament and collecting champions to choose its next host. The battle for the Phoenix counted with many empowered contestants. The Black Panther was chosen a favorite candidate by the fiery bird, although he feared succumbing to it.[852] Meanwhile, urban martial artist Echo was murdered in a round against Namor.[853] The Avengers left out of the tournament unsuccessfully attempted to tame the Phoenix.[854] In the end of the contest, Echo was reborn and recollected the Phoenix's shards to become its host.[855]
Around this period, Earth's Mightiest Heroes also combated the invasion of hordes of Symbiotes orchestrated by the king in black Knull. They sent the Sentry to tackle the villain, but he was easily killed off. Earth fell as a world in the dark.[856] Many heroes were infected by Symbiotes as Iron Man devised a plan to hack the invaders[857] and Thor brought the fight directly to Knull.[858] The heroes broke free from Kull's control through the efforts of Dylan Brock, the son of Venom, who in turn ascended as the new Captain Universe with the help of the Silver Surfer and Reed Richards.[859] Knull and his hordes were obliterated and Earth cleansed of his infection. For the war, Blade had recruited vampires from Dracula's nation in Chernobyl, but turned against them as the conflict was over.[860] This caused an international incident to the Avengers as Dracula's Vampire Nation had gained recognition as a country. The Avengers diplomatically had Blade act as a sheriff in the Vampire Nation as a response.[861]
Alternate Avengers
Using Mephisto's cubic Hellahedron to change the world, Phil Coulson reshaped existence, transforming himself into the President of the United States and having the Supreme Squadron of America as the mightiest super hero group of the world. Immune to the alterations,[862] Blade woke up in the twisted world with no vestige of the Avengers or Wakanda. After meeting up with that reality version of Nighthawk, Blade averred that the world was a travesty and decided to assemble the Avengers, starting by releasing Captain America from the icecap he had never been freed from.[863] With Captain America convinced,[864] their first recruit was the Phoenix Echo, who had been kept in the Ravencroft Institute.[865] Simultaneously, the Black Panther recruited the child Starbrand,[866] being eventually approached by Blade's team.[867] As a final member, they had Thor. Their assembly caught the attention of the Squadron Supreme,[868] prompting a fight between the two groups.[869] Captain America directly fought Coulson, who attempted to use the hellish cube to sustain the skewed reality. Defeated, Coulson was abandoned by Mephisto, and reality was restored to its proper self with the destruction of the Hellahedron. In the restored world, Starbrand kept her form as a child and Nighthawk questioned the motivations of his superiors.[862]
Betrayed by Ken Hale, the Avengers were attacked in their Mountain by the Winter Guard, who kidnapped the Hulk.[870] They went to her rescue weeks later, in a confrontation that permanently incapacitated the Winter Guard. However, the mental conditioning turned Jen Walters into the Winter Hulk.[871] Forcing Ken Hale to assist her, the Winter Hulk ravaged the Vampire Nation and moved her rage to Atlantis,[872] where she assembled the Avengers and was revealed to have been a sleeper agent all along as part of a secret mission envisioned by herself and the Black Panther.[873] The Hulk siphoned the energy of the gamma bomb that the Winter Guard planned to use to destroy Atlantis. With Atlantis safe, the Hulk liberated the excessive radiation in the Avengers Mountain and returned to her sensational usual self as She-Hulk, requesting a leave of absence from the team. She suggested the grateful Namor to redeem himself by joining the Avengers.[874]
In order to castrate the legacy of heroes being assembled across the times, Mephisto influenced a time-traveling Doom Supreme to do the same by assembling the almighty multiversal Masters of Evil to eliminate the very concept of super heroes in several realities and ultimately ascend as the malignant lords of many Earths. To combat the Masters of Evil, the "Avenger Prime" had Deathloks as his intertemporal agents, who contacted Namor and the Valkyrie Jane Foster to join the Avengers. Upon their first contact in the Avengers Mountain, the Ghost Rider was transported by one Deathlok to assemble Avengers across the Multiverse as the All-Rider. Meanwhile, Doom's Masters sought to eliminate these Deathloks.[874] The Masters brutally attacked the Avengers in different locations to destroy the Deathloks,[875] ultimately choosing to retreat after killing all of their targets and detonating the Avengers Mountain.[876]
Following Black Panther's resignment as chairman and a conflict against the worshippers of Mephisto, the Serpent Society, the Avengers welcomed Nighthawk to their ranks to combat the Red Council.[877] Using the Progenitor's technology, the Avengers embarked in a journey across time to protect the legacy of super-heroics from Mephisto and the Masters of Evil.[878] During World War II, they helped the Secret Invaders resist Mephisto's influence.[879] In feudal Japan, they learned from the Ghost Ronin that they needed to reach the Avengers from pre-history.[880] In the Old West, when teaming up with Reno Phoenix and the Starbrand Kid, the Avengers found a Mephisto again. This time, Starbrand was able to tackle the devil.[881] At the cost of her own life force, Starbrand eradicated Mephistos from different moments of history. Due to her efforts, the Avengers arrived at the correct destination.[878] Finally, the Avengers met their counterparts from 1,000,000 years ago.[882] Unfortunately, in their arrogance, the two groups of Avengers clashed with each other, leaving them vulnerable to Doom Supreme and the Masters of Evil.[883] However, by sharing a common enemy, they assembled as one group of Avengers to fight their vile enemies. Although some Masters of Evil were destroyed, so were some of the prehistoric Avengers.[884] The Masters of Evil were defeated, but Doom Supreme, counting with a legion of alternate Dooms, prepared himself for retaliation.[885]
Battle at the God Quarry
Simultaneously, Avenger Prime directly confronted the Red Council. His army of Avengers from different universes gathered by the All-Rider fought the Mephistos in the Avengers Tower located in the God Quarry.[883][886] Doom Supreme and his alternate allies intervened, prompting Avenger Prime to join the fight and reveal his true identity: Loki, the one who always leads the Avengers to assemble.[887] Avenger Prime Loki was able to stop the siege staged by Doom and transport the Avengers from present and pre-history to join his Multiversal Avengers[888] to fight the several variants of Doctor Doom.[889] Mephisto took the opportunity to usurp power from the Council of Red to ascend to power. To oppose him, a Deathlok uploaded himself into Avengers Mountain,[890] and the Celestial corpse was remodelled by Gorilla-Man into a Deathlok.[891][892] The battle caused the imminent collapse of the God Quarry and punctured a hole to the First Firmament, whose overflowing power threatened the entire Multiverse. The Avengers split their attention to combat their enemies and repair the entropic damage. Their multiversal assembly finished Doom Supreme and banished Mephisto, stabilized the God Quarry and saved the worlds ravaged by the Masters of Evil, though at the cost of the All-Rider and of the Starbrand. Having honored their lost comrades, the Avengers prepared themselves to rebrand their team.[893]
The Missing Moment[]
Captain Marvel was elected to become the new chairperson of the Avengers, who enjoyed the amenities of the Jarvis Lounge to gather up. Selecting an iconic group of former Avengers, Captain Marvel wished to preventively protect Earth. Their first battle was against Terminus, who ravaged Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. in search for an energy source. In the middle of the fight, Captain Marvel was transported through a disrupted black hole generator out of time and space only to meet Kang the Conqueror,[894] who had just been lethally wounded by the Twilight Court, a group of heroes crafted by the mysterious Myrddin to access the so-called tribulation events and acquire the Missing Moment. Since Kang also wanted the Missing Moment as prize, he had plans of using an analogous superhero team, just like the Avengers, for his purposes.[895] With Kang's privileged intel about the future, Captain Marvel was able to coordinate the Avengers in several lifesaving operations.[896]Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
Transportation
Notes
Trivia
- The first time the famous Avengers' catchphrase "Avengers Assemble" was said was in Avengers #10 by Thor and has mostly appeared in Marvel media ever since.
- In-universe, the comic-publishing company Marvel Comics made an arrangement with the Maria Stark Foundation to depict authorized adventures of the Avengers. Unlike the agreement made with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers didn't personally handle the arrangements for their series. Since the approvals and information flow were handled by Maria Stark Foundation intermediaries, Marvel's writers were given less details about the Avengers' exploits than the Fantastic Four. Because of this, Stan Lee once referred to Marvel's Avengers comics as "only 69% authorized."[897]
- Additionally, since members of the Avengers maintained secret identities, Marvel was eventually given consent by the Maria Stark Foundation to create fictitious backstories for them. Before that, Stan Lee simply tried to focus solely on the team members in their costumed personas.[897]
- The Avengers were parodied by DC Comics in the Superman/Batman series in the storyline "With a Vengeance!", where the Dark Knight and Man of Steel faced heroes created by Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Joker called the Maximums, who were comprised of Soldier (a patriotic hero, expy of Captain America), Viking (a nordic God, expy of Thor), Hornet (a half-human half-insect flying heroine, expy of Wasp), Skyscraper (a giant man in love with Hornet, expy of Giant-Man), Robot (a conscious robot in a bulky iron-suit, expy of Iron Man), Bowman (an archer, expy of Hawkeye), Wolfen (a bestial wolfman with tiger stripes, expy of Wolverine), Bug (a blue and red four-armed man, expy of Spider-Man) and Monster (a big creature with super-strength and ripped pants whose alter ego is weaker, expy of Hulk).
- The Avengers were created because of a hold-up in the production of Daredevil #1, due to penciler Bill Everett being delayed. At the time, print time was booked ahead of time, and if the issue to be printed wasn't ready, the print time was still going to be charged. Because of this, Stan Lee created the Avengers, a group of already-established heroes, so it wouldn't take long to produce an issue featuring them.[898]
- The Avengers and their comic book series share their name with the long-running British television series The Avengers which debuted in 1961, three years before the super hero team. Due to the popularity of both properties in their respective countries, their shared name has caused complications on both sides of the Atlantic ever since:
- The Marvel comic has had to be retitled Avengers Assemble on several occasions for UK publication.
- For North American publication, comics based upon the TV series have had to be retitled, usually a variant of Steed and Peel or Steed and Mrs. Peel.
- The issues over the name don't appear to have been repeated with New Avengers, a title shared by both a later series in the Marvel franchise, and a revival of the TV series that aired in the 1970s.
See Also
- 2456 appearance(s) of Avengers (Earth-616)
- 42 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Avengers (Earth-616)
- 466 minor appearance(s) of Avengers (Earth-616)
- 2549 mention(s) of Avengers (Earth-616)
- 37 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Avengers (Earth-616)
- 2544 image(s) of Avengers (Earth-616)
- 1 quotation(s) by or about Avengers (Earth-616)
- 116 member(s) of Avengers (Earth-616)
- 15 item(s) used/owned by Avengers (Earth-616)
Links and References
- Avengers on Wikipedia.org
- Avengers cover gallery
- Avengers Assemble
- Avengers Chronology
- Vote for the Avenger (Main/Current) with the best superpower on the Superpower Wiki
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Avengers #17
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Avengers #1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Avengers #7
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Avengers (Vol. 3) #2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Avengers #13
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 9) #6
- ↑ Annihilators: Earthfall #4
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Avengers Annual #11
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Avengers #400
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Avengers (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Avengers (Vol. 4) #1
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Marvel Legacy #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #1–50
- ↑ Avengers #280
- ↑ Avengers #2
- ↑ Avengers #3
- ↑ Avengers #4
- ↑ Avengers #5
- ↑ Avengers #12
- ↑ Fantastic Four #25–26
- ↑ Fantastic Four #31
- ↑ Avengers #6
- ↑ Avengers #9
- ↑ Avengers #10
- ↑ Avengers #8
- ↑ Avengers #11
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #15
- ↑ Avengers #14
- ↑ Avengers #15
- ↑ Avengers #16
- ↑ Avengers #19–20
- ↑ Avengers #21
- ↑ Avengers #22
- ↑ Avengers #23–24
- ↑ Avengers #25
- ↑ Avengers #26
- ↑ Avengers #27
- ↑ Avengers #28
- ↑ Avengers #30–31
- ↑ Avengers #29–30
- ↑ Avengers #32–33
- ↑ Avengers #34–35
- ↑ Avengers #36–37
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Avengers #38
- ↑ Avengers #42
- ↑ Avengers #43–44
- ↑ Avengers #40
- ↑ Avengers #41–42
- ↑ Avengers Annual #1
- ↑ Avengers #45
- ↑ Avengers #49–50
- ↑ Avengers #46
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Avengers #51
- ↑ Avengers #47–49
- ↑ X-Men #45
- ↑ Avengers #53
- ↑ Avengers #52
- ↑ Avengers #56
- ↑ Avengers Annual #2
- ↑ Avengers #54
- ↑ Avengers #55
- ↑ Avengers #57
- ↑ Avengers #58
- ↑ Avengers #59
- ↑ Avengers #60
- ↑ Avengers #63
- ↑ Avengers #64
- ↑ Avengers #65
- ↑ Avengers #66
- ↑ Avengers #66–68
- ↑ Avengers #61
- ↑ Avengers #62
- ↑ Avengers #69
- ↑ Avengers #70
- ↑ Avengers #71
- ↑ Avengers #72
- ↑ Avengers #73
- ↑ Avengers #74
- ↑ Avengers #75
- ↑ Avengers #76
- ↑ Avengers #77
- ↑ Avengers #78
- ↑ 83.0 83.1 Avengers #79
- ↑ Avengers #80
- ↑ Avengers #81
- ↑ Avengers #82
- ↑ Avengers #83
- ↑ Avengers #84
- ↑ Avengers #85–86
- ↑ Avengers #87
- ↑ Avengers #89
- ↑ 92.0 92.1 Avengers #90
- ↑ Avengers #91
- ↑ Avengers #92
- ↑ Avengers #93
- ↑ 96.0 96.1 Avengers #94
- ↑ Avengers #95
- ↑ Avengers #96
- ↑ Avengers #97
- ↑ New Avengers: Illuminati #1
- ↑ New Avengers: Illuminati (Vol. 2) #1–5
- ↑ Avengers #98
- ↑ Avengers #99–100
- ↑ Avengers #102
- ↑ Avengers #103
- ↑ Avengers #104
- ↑ Avengers #105
- ↑ Avengers #106
- ↑ Avengers #107
- ↑ Avengers #108
- ↑ Avengers #109
- ↑ 112.0 112.1 Avengers #110
- ↑ Avengers #113
- ↑ Daredevil #99
- ↑ Avengers #111
- ↑ Avengers #112
- ↑ Avengers #114
- ↑ Avengers #115
- ↑ Defenders #8
- ↑ Avengers #116
- ↑ Defenders #9
- ↑ Avengers #117
- ↑ Defenders #10
- ↑ Avengers #118
- ↑ Defenders #11
- ↑ Avengers #119
- ↑ Avengers #120
- ↑ Avengers #121
- ↑ Avengers #122
- ↑ Avengers #123
- ↑ Avengers #124
- ↑ Avengers #125
- ↑ Captain Marvel #25–32
- ↑ Captain Marvel #33
- ↑ Avengers #126
- ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #1
- ↑ Avengers #127
- ↑ Fantastic Four #150
- ↑ 139.0 139.1 Avengers #128
- ↑ Avengers #129
- ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #2
- ↑ Avengers #130
- ↑ Avengers #131
- ↑ Avengers #132
- ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #3
- ↑ Avengers #133
- ↑ Avengers #134
- ↑ Avengers #135
- ↑ Giant-Size Avengers #4
- ↑ Avengers #137
- ↑ Avengers #138
- ↑ Avengers #139
- ↑ Avengers #140
- ↑ 154.0 154.1 Avengers #141–142
- ↑ Avengers #142–143
- ↑ 156.0 156.1 Avengers #147
- ↑ Avengers #143
- ↑ Avengers #144
- ↑ Avengers #148
- ↑ Avengers #149
- ↑ Avengers #150
- ↑ Avengers #151
- ↑ Avengers #152
- ↑ Avengers #153
- ↑ Avengers Annual #6
- ↑ Avengers #154
- ↑ Super-Villain Team-Up #9
- ↑ Avengers #155
- ↑ Avengers #156
- ↑ Avengers #157
- ↑ Avengers #158
- ↑ Avengers #159
- ↑ Avengers #160
- ↑ Avengers #161
- ↑ Avengers #162
- ↑ Avengers #163
- ↑ Avengers #164
- ↑ Avengers #165–166
- ↑ Avengers #167
- ↑ Avengers #168
- ↑ Avengers #170
- ↑ Avengers #171
- ↑ Avengers #172
- ↑ Avengers #173
- ↑ Avengers #174
- ↑ 186.0 186.1 Avengers #175
- ↑ Avengers #176
- ↑ Avengers #177
- ↑ Avengers #181
- ↑ Avengers #182
- ↑ Avengers #183
- ↑ Avengers #184
- ↑ Avengers #185
- ↑ Avengers #186
- ↑ Avengers #187
- ↑ Avengers #188
- ↑ Avengers Annual #9
- ↑ Avengers #189–190
- ↑ Avengers #191
- ↑ Avengers #194
- ↑ Avengers #195
- ↑ Avengers #196
- ↑ Avengers #197–199
- ↑ Avengers #200
- ↑ Avengers Annual #10
- ↑ Avengers #201–202
- ↑ Avengers #204–205
- ↑ Avengers #211
- ↑ Avengers #212
- ↑ Avengers #213
- ↑ Avengers #214
- ↑ Avengers #215–216
- ↑ Avengers #217
- ↑ Avengers #219–220
- ↑ Avengers #221
- ↑ Avengers #222
- ↑ Avengers #228
- ↑ Avengers #229
- ↑ Avengers #230
- ↑ Avengers #225–226
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16
- ↑ Avengers #227
- ↑ Avengers #231–232
- ↑ Avengers #235
- ↑ Avengers Annual #12
- ↑ Avengers #233
- ↑ Fantastic Four #256
- ↑ Avengers #236–237
- ↑ Avengers #238
- ↑ Avengers #239
- ↑ Avengers #240–241
- ↑ Avengers #242
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #2–3
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #4–6
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #7
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #9
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #10
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #11
- ↑ Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12
- ↑ Avengers #243
- ↑ West Coast Avengers #1–4
- ↑ West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Marvel Graphic Novel: Emperor Doom — Starring the Mighty Avengers #1
- ↑ Avengers #244–245
- ↑ Avengers #246
- ↑ Avengers #247–250
- ↑ Thor #350
- ↑ Avengers Annual #13
- ↑ Avengers #251
- ↑ Avengers #252
- ↑ Avengers #253
- ↑ Avengers #254
- ↑ Avengers #255
- ↑ Avengers #258
- ↑ Avengers #256–257
- ↑ Avengers #255–257
- ↑ Avengers #258–259
- ↑ Avengers #260
- ↑ Avengers Annual #14
- ↑ Fantastic Four Annual #19
- ↑ 263.0 263.1 Avengers #261
- ↑ Avengers #262
- ↑ Avengers #267
- ↑ Avengers #265
- ↑ Secret Wars II #9
- ↑ Avengers #266
- ↑ Avengers #267–268
- ↑ Avengers #269
- ↑ Avengers #272
- ↑ Avengers Annual #15
- ↑ West Coast Avengers Annual #1
- ↑ Avengers #270
- ↑ Avengers #271
- ↑ Avengers #264
- ↑ Avengers #273
- ↑ Avengers #274
- ↑ Avengers #275
- ↑ Avengers #276
- ↑ Avengers #277
- ↑ Avengers: Loki Unleashed #1
- ↑ Avengers #278
- ↑ Avengers #279
- ↑ Avengers #281
- ↑ Avengers #282–283
- ↑ Avengers #284–285
- ↑ X-Men vs Avengers #1
- ↑ X-Men vs Avengers #2
- ↑ X-Men vs Avengers #3
- ↑ X-Men vs Avengers #4
- ↑ West Coast Avengers Annual #2
- ↑ Avengers Annual #16
- ↑ Avengers #286
- ↑ Avengers #287–289
- ↑ Avengers #290
- ↑ Avengers #291
- ↑ Avengers #292–293
- ↑ Avengers #294
- ↑ Avengers #295–296
- ↑ Avengers #297
- ↑ Avengers Annual #17
- ↑ Avengers #299–300
- ↑ Avengers #301–303
- ↑ Fantastic Four #326
- ↑ Avengers #305
- ↑ Avengers #306–307
- ↑ Avengers #308
- ↑ Avengers #309–310
- ↑ Avengers #311
- ↑ Avengers #312
- ↑ Avengers #313
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #53
- ↑ Avengers #314
- ↑ Avengers #315
- ↑ Avengers #316
- ↑ Avengers #317
- ↑ Avengers #318
- ↑ Avengers: Death Trap, The Vault #1
- ↑ Avengers #319–324
- ↑ Avengers #324
- ↑ Avengers #325
- ↑ Avengers #326–328
- ↑ Avengers #329
- ↑ Avengers #330–331
- ↑ Avengers #332–333
- ↑ Avengers Annual #20
- ↑ West Coast Avengers Annual #6
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #1
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #2
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #3
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #4
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #5
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #6
- ↑ Avengers #334
- ↑ Avengers #335
- ↑ Avengers #336
- ↑ Avengers #337–338
- ↑ Avengers #339
- ↑ Avengers #341
- ↑ Avengers #342
- ↑ Thor #444
- ↑ Avengers #343
- ↑ Avengers #344
- ↑ Captain America #398
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #80
- ↑ 347.0 347.1 Quasar #32
- ↑ Wonder Man (Vol. 2) #7
- ↑ Avengers #345
- ↑ Iron Man #278
- ↑ Captain America #399
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #81
- ↑ Thor #445
- ↑ Quasar #33
- ↑ Wonder Man (Vol. 2) #8
- ↑ Avengers #346
- ↑ Iron Man #279
- ↑ Thor #446
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #82
- ↑ Wonder Man (Vol. 2) #9
- ↑ Avengers #347
- ↑ Quasar #34
- ↑ Captain America #401
- ↑ Avengers #349
- ↑ Avengers #350
- ↑ Avengers #351
- ↑ Captain America Annual #11
- ↑ Thor Annual #17
- ↑ Fantastic Four Annual #25
- ↑ Avengers Annual #21
- ↑ Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1–4
- ↑ Avengers #352
- ↑ Avengers #353
- ↑ Avengers #354
- ↑ Avengers #355
- ↑ Avengers #356
- ↑ Avengers #357
- ↑ Avengers #358–359
- ↑ Avengers #360
- ↑ Avengers #361
- ↑ Avengers #362
- ↑ Avengers #363
- ↑ Avengers #364
- ↑ Avengers #365–366
- ↑ Avengers Annual #22
- ↑ Avengers #368
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #26
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #101
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #304
- ↑ Avengers #369
- ↑ Avengers West Coast #102
- ↑ Avengers #370–371
- ↑ Avengers #372
- ↑ Avengers #373
- ↑ Avengers #374
- ↑ Avengers #375
- ↑ Vision #1–4
- ↑ Avengers #378–379
- ↑ Avengers #380–382
- ↑ Avengers #384
- ↑ Avengers #385–386
- ↑ Captain America #440–441
- ↑ Avengers #387
- ↑ Avengers #388
- ↑ Avengers: Unplugged #1
- ↑ Avengers: Unplugged #2
- ↑ Avengers: Unplugged #4
- ↑ Avengers #389
- ↑ Avengers #390
- ↑ Avengers: The Crossing #1
- ↑ Avengers #391
- ↑ Avengers #392
- ↑ Iron Man #322–323
- ↑ Avengers #393
- ↑ Avengers #394
- ↑ Avengers: Timeslide #1
- ↑ Iron Man #325
- ↑ Avengers #395
- ↑ Avengers: Unplugged #5
- ↑ Avengers: Unplugged #6
- ↑ Avengers #396–397
- ↑ Avengers #398–399
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #335
- ↑ Avengers #401
- ↑ Fantastic Four #415
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #55
- ↑ Avengers #402
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #336
- ↑ Onslaught: Marvel #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Avengers 1999 #1
- ↑ Heroes for Hire #1
- ↑ Thunderbolts
- ↑ Heroes Reborn: The Return #4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #5
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #6
- ↑ Avengers / Squadron Supreme '98 #1
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 3) #7
- ↑ Captain America (Vol. 3) #8
- ↑ Quicksilver #10
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #7
- ↑ Avengers: Forever #1
- ↑ Avengers: Forever #2
- ↑ Avengers: Forever #3
- ↑ Avengers: Forever #4–7
- ↑ Avengers: Forever #8
- ↑ Avengers: Forever #10–12
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #8–9
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #10
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #11
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #12
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #13
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #14
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #15
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #16–18
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #0
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #19
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #20
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #21
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #22
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #23–25
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #26
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #27
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #28
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #29
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #30
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #31
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #32
- ↑ Thunderbolts #43
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #33
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #34
- ↑ Avengers: Infinity #1
- ↑ Avengers: Infinity #2–4
- ↑ Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1
- ↑ Maximum Security #1
- ↑ Maximum Security #2
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #35
- ↑ Maximum Security #3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #36
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #37
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #38
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #39
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #40
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #41
- ↑ 487.0 487.1 Avengers (Vol. 3) #42
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #43
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #44
- ↑ Avengers 2001 #1
- ↑ Avengers: The Ultron Imperative #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #45
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #46
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #47
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #48
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #49
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #50
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #51
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #52
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #53
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #54
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #55
- ↑ JLA/Avengers #1–4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #57
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #58
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #59
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #60
- ↑ 508.0 508.1 508.2 Avengers (Vol. 3) #61
- ↑ Thor (Vol. 2) #58
- ↑ Iron Man (Vol. 3) #64
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #63
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #64
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #65
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #66
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #67
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #68
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #70
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #72
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #73
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #74
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #75
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #76
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #77–78
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #80
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #81
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #82
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #83
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 3) #84
- ↑ New Invaders #0
- ↑ Avengers #500
- ↑ Avengers #501
- ↑ Avengers #502
- ↑ Avengers #503
- ↑ Avengers Finale #1
- ↑ New Avengers #1–3
- ↑ Young Avengers #1–6
- ↑ Civil War #1–7
- ↑ Mighty Avengers #1
- ↑ New Avengers #27
- ↑ Secret Invasion #1–8
- ↑ Dark Avengers #1
- ↑ Mighty Avengers #21–23
- ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #25
- ↑ Siege #1–4
- ↑ Avengers Prime #1–5
- ↑ Siege #4
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Secret Avengers #1
- ↑ Avengers Academy #1
- ↑ 550.0 550.1 Avengers (Vol. 4) #2
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #5
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #6
- ↑ 555.0 555.1 Avengers (Vol. 4) #7
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #8–9
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #10–11
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #12
- ↑ New Avengers Annual (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Avengers Annual (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Fear Itself #1–2
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #14
- ↑ Fear Itself #3–4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #15
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #17
- ↑ Fear Itself #5–7
- ↑ Mighty Thor (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #18
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #16.1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #19
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #20–21
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #22
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #23
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #24
- ↑ Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) #2
- ↑ Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) #3
- ↑ Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) #4–5
- ↑ Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) #6–7
- ↑ Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) #8
- ↑ House of M #1–8
- ↑ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #1–2
- ↑ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #3–4
- ↑ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #5
- ↑ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #6
- ↑ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #7
- ↑ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #8
- ↑ Avengers: The Children's Crusade #9
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #0
- ↑ Second Coming
- ↑ Avengers: X-Sanction #1–2
- ↑ Avengers: X-Sanction #3
- ↑ Avengers: X-Sanction #4
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #1
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #24
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #2
- ↑ 597.0 597.1 Avengers vs. X-Men #4
- ↑ Secret Avengers #26–28
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #25–26
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #27
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #5
- ↑ 602.0 602.1 Avengers vs. X-Men #6
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #28
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #7
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #8
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #9
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #10
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men: Infinite #10
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #11
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #12
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers #1–4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #30
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #31
- ↑ Secret Invasion #8
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #32–33
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 4) #34
- ↑ Age of Ultron #1
- ↑ Age of Ultron #2–3
- ↑ Age of Ultron #4–5
- ↑ Age of Ultron #6–7
- ↑ Age of Ultron #6–8
- ↑ Age of Ultron #9–10
- ↑ Age of Ultron #10A.I.
- ↑ Avengers A.I. #1
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #2
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #3
- ↑ 628.0 628.1 Avengers (Vol. 5) #1
- ↑ 629.0 629.1 Avengers (Vol. 5) #28
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #2–3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #7
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #8–9
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #10
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #12–13
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #11
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #14–15
- ↑ 638.0 638.1 Avengers (Vol. 5) #17
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 2)
- ↑ Secret Avengers (Vol. 3)
- ↑ Avengers: Endless Wartime #1
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #700
- ↑ Superior Spider-Man #1
- ↑ Superior Spider-Man #26
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 6) #1
- ↑ Death of Wolverine #4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #15–16
- ↑ 648.0 648.1 Infinity #1
- ↑ Infinity #2
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #18–19
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #19
- ↑ 652.0 652.1 Infinity #3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #20
- ↑ 654.0 654.1 Infinity #4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #21
- ↑ 656.0 656.1 Infinity #5
- ↑ Mighty Avengers (Vol. 2) #1–3
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #10
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #22–23
- ↑ Infinity #6
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #24.NOW
- ↑ Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) #21–25
- ↑ Avengers World #1
- ↑ Avengers World #2
- ↑ Avengers World #3
- ↑ Avengers World #4
- ↑ Avengers World #5–6
- ↑ Avengers World #7
- ↑ Avengers World #8
- ↑ Avengers World #9
- ↑ Avengers World #10–14
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #25–26
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #27
- ↑ Original Sin #3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #29
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #30–32
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #33–34
- ↑ Captain America (Vol. 5) #22
- ↑ Captain America (Vol. 5) #25
- ↑ Original Sin #8
- ↑ Thor: God of Thunder #25
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers #1
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers #25
- ↑ Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #1–2
- ↑ Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #3
- ↑ 686.0 686.1 Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #4
- ↑ Avengers World #15–16
- ↑ Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #5
- ↑ Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #6
- ↑ Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #7
- ↑ Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #8
- ↑ Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #9
- ↑ Superior Iron Man #1–4
- ↑ Hulk (Vol. 4) #1
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #23–24
- ↑ 696.0 696.1 Avengers (Vol. 5) #35
- ↑ Avengers World #18–21
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #36
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #38
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #27
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #25
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #39
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #28
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #40
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #29
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #30
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #31
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #32
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #33
- ↑ 710.0 710.1 Secret Wars #1
- ↑ 711.0 711.1 Avengers (Vol. 5) #42
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #43–44
- ↑ Secret Wars #2–3
- ↑ Secret Wars #4–9
- ↑ 715.0 715.1 Ultimates (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ Thor (Vol. 4) #1–8
- ↑ Mighty Thor (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ Avengers: Rage of Ultron #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 6) #0
- ↑ Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #9
- ↑ Captain Marvel (Vol. 8) #1
- ↑ A-Force (Vol. 2) #1–4
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 4) #1
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #1
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #2
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #3
- ↑ 728.0 728.1 All-New, All-Different Avengers #4
- ↑ Free Comic Book Day 2015 (Avengers) #1
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #5
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #6
- ↑ Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill #1
- ↑ Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha #1
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 3) #7
- ↑ 735.0 735.1 All-New, All-Different Avengers #7
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 3) #8
- ↑ Captain America: Sam Wilson #7–8
- ↑ Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Omega #1
- ↑ Captain America: Steve Rogers #1
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 3) #9
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 3) #10
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 3) #11
- ↑ Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 3) #12
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #9
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #10
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #11–12
- ↑ Civil War II #1
- ↑ Free Comic Book Day 2016 (Civil War II) #1
- ↑ Civil War II #2
- ↑ Civil War II #3
- ↑ Civil War II #4
- ↑ Civil War II #5
- ↑ Civil War II #6
- ↑ Civil War II #7
- ↑ Civil War II #8
- ↑ Occupy Avengers #1
- ↑ Defenders (Vol. 5) #1–4
- ↑ Champions (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Civil War II: The Oath #1
- ↑ 760.0 760.1 Avengers (Vol. 7) #1
- ↑ All-New, All-Different Avengers #13
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #2
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #4–5
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #6
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #7
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #8
- ↑ Secret Empire #0
- ↑ Free Comic Book Day 2017 (Secret Empire) #1
- ↑ Secret Empire #1
- ↑ Secret Empire #2–3
- ↑ Secret Empire #4
- ↑ Secret Empire #5–6
- ↑ Secret Empire #7
- ↑ Secret Empire #8
- ↑ Secret Empire #9
- ↑ Secret Empire #10
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 7) #11
- ↑ Avengers #672
- ↑ Champions (Vol. 2) #13
- ↑ Avengers #673
- ↑ Champions (Vol. 2) #14
- ↑ Avengers #674
- ↑ Champions (Vol. 2) #15
- ↑ Avengers #675
- ↑ Avengers #676
- ↑ Avengers #677
- ↑ Avengers #678
- ↑ Avengers #679–682
- ↑ Avengers #683–684
- ↑ Avengers #685–686
- ↑ Avengers #687–688
- ↑ Avengers #689
- ↑ Avengers #690
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #1–2
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #3–5
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #6–8
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #9
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #10
- ↑ Savage Avengers #1–12
- ↑ Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Avengers/Captain America) #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #5
- ↑ Captain America #700
- ↑ Tony Stark: Iron Man #1
- ↑ Mighty Thor #706
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #1–2
- ↑ 807.0 807.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #8
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #3–5
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #6
- ↑ 810.0 810.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #10–12
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #9
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #10
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #18
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #14–15
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #16
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #17
- ↑ War of the Realms #1
- ↑ War of the Realms #2
- ↑ War of the Realms #3
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #19
- ↑ War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Land of Giants #1
- ↑ War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Dark Elf Realm #1
- ↑ War of the Realms Strikeforce: The War Avengers #1
- ↑ War of the Realms #4–5
- ↑ War of the Realms #6
- ↑ War of the Realms Omega #1
- ↑ Strikeforce #1–5
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #22
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #23
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #24
- ↑ 831.0 831.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #25
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #27–28
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #29
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #30
- ↑ Empyre: Avengers #0
- ↑ Incoming #1
- ↑ Empyre #1
- ↑ Empyre #2
- ↑ Empyre: Avengers #1–3
- ↑ Empyre #3
- ↑ Empyre #4
- ↑ Empyre #5
- ↑ Empyre #6
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #31
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #32
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #33
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #34
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #35
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #36
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #37
- ↑ 851.0 851.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #38
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #40
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #41
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #42–43
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #44
- ↑ King in Black #1
- ↑ King in Black #2
- ↑ King in Black #3
- ↑ King in Black #4
- ↑ King in Black #5
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #45
- ↑ 862.0 862.1 Heroes Return #1
- ↑ Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2) #2
- ↑ Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2) #3
- ↑ Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2) #4
- ↑ Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2) #5
- ↑ Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2) #6
- ↑ Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2) #7
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #46
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #47
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #48
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #49
- ↑ 874.0 874.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #50
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #51–52
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #53–54
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #55
- ↑ 878.0 878.1 Avengers (Vol. 8) #61
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #57
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #58
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 5) #59
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #62
- ↑ 883.0 883.1 Avengers Assemble: Alpha #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #63
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #64
- ↑ Avengers: Forever (Vol. 2) #12
- ↑ Avengers: Forever (Vol. 2) #13
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #65
- ↑ Avengers: Forever (Vol. 2) #14
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #54
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #66
- ↑ Avengers: Forever (Vol. 2) #15
- ↑ Avengers Assemble Omega #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 9) #1
- ↑ Timeless (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 9) #2
- ↑ 897.0 897.1 History of Marvels Comics #1
- ↑ Melrose, Kevin (December 23, 2013) Avengers owe their existence to a missed 'Daredevil' deadline? CBR. Retrieved on March 9, 2024.