The Avengers

LGY 371

Prime Time Comics

Feb 1994

Marvel Comics

759606070152

371

February

1994

1

United States

$1.25

Modern Age

English

Magazine

2018-07-02 22:16:12

avengers vol 1

Avengers
Editorial Name(s)
Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, All-New, All-Different Avengers, Mighty Avengers
Aliases
Cap’s Kooky Quartet,[1] Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,[citation needed] Earth’s Mightiest Super-Heroes,[2] Mighty Avengers,[3] Queen’s Vengeance,[4] The World’s Mightiest Crusaders[5]
Members
Leader(s)
Expand

Current Member(s)
Black Panther, Captain America (Wilson), Captain Marvel (Danvers), Impossible City[6], Iron Man, Thor (Odinson), Scarlet Witch, Vision
Former Member(s)
Expand

Affiliation and Identity
Identity
Public
Allies
Expand

Enemies
Expand

Origin and Status
Origin
After working together to defeat Loki, a group of five founding heroes (Ant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and Wasp) banded together to battle evil no single hero could defeat.
Status
Active
Reality
Earth-616
Base of Operations
Expand

Place of Formation
Detroit, Michigan
Creators and Appearances
Creators
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
First
Avengers #1
(July, 1963)
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Avengers_(Earth-616)

 Avengers, assemble!! 

—Thor[src]
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
This is an abridged version of The Avengers’ history. For a complete history see The Avengers’ Expanded 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.
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.[27]
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.[28] 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.[29]


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.[30]
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.[31] 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.[32]


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.[33]
Once an Avenger, always an Avenger
After being targeted by Doctor Doom,[34] the Avengers answered a distress call sent by their former member the Wasp, who had been kidnapped by the Atlantean Attuma.[35] With the villain and his army defeated,[36] 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.[37] 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.[38]


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.[39] 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.[40]
The Avengers battled various enemies, such as the Living Laser,[41] and the mysterious Ultroids, with crucial help from the lethal Black Widow.[42] 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.[43] 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.[44] They battled Black Widow’s missing husband, the Russian super-soldier known as the Red Guardian, ultimately destroying her former employers’ operations.[45]


”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.[43] 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,[46] Diablo and Dragon Man,[47] 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,[48] and to save New York City from the cybernetic Super-Adaptoid, Hercules was promoted to full member status.[49] His tenure was short however, as he resigned to return to his family on Olympus after defeating the Titan Typhon.[50]


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.[51] In succession, the Wasp was once more under the Collector’s interest, being assisted by the original Avengers Iron Man and Thor to escape.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54][55]
Captain America withdrew from the team as well, indicating the Wakandan champion Black Panther as his replacement.[52] 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.[56] Haunted by the ghosts of his past concerning Baron Zemo and the death of his partner Bucky, Captain America soon reconnected with the Avengers.[57] 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.[58]
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.[59] 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.[60] 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.[61] 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.[62]
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.[63] 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.[64]
The giant-size identity of Goliath was then assumed by Hawkeye, who joined Black Widow against the vile Egghead.[65] 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.[66] 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.[67]


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.[68] 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.[69]
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.[70] 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.[71]


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.[72] The game got the attention of the Black Knight,[73] 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.[74]
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.[75]
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.[76] 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.[77] 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.[78] 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.[79]


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.[80] 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.[81] 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.[82]
Following the conflict, the Vision decided to take a leave of absence from the Avengers,[82] 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.[83] The Avengers helped Red Wolf liberate his home village from Van Lunt and his henchmen.[84] 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.[85]


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.[86] 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.[87]
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.[88] Following this adventure, Black Panther permanently left the Avengers to fully assume the Wakandan throne.[89]
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.[90] The Avengers failed to prevent the Sentry from capturing Mar-Vell.[91]


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.[91] 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.[92] 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.[93]


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.[94] 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.[95]
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.[95] 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.[96]


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.[97] 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.[98]


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.[99][100]
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.[101] 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.[102]
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.[103] The Avengers found the Sentinel base in Australia, and Quicksilver learned about their plan of obliterating Earth to erase mutantkind.[104] Though the Avengers managed to destroy the Sentinels and their base, Quicksilver went missing.[105]
Following reports by the Black Panther concerning missing scientists in Chile, the Avengers confronted the Savage Land Mutates alongside Thor’s partner Sif.[106] Then, in their search for Quicksilver, the Avengers fell into a trap by the Space Phantom, who had allied himself with the Grim Reaper.[107] The Vision momentarily pretended to accept the Reaper’s offer of granting him a human body,[108] 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.[109]


Hawkeye leaves the Avengers
Hawkeye then left the team after meeting the wicked Mr. Champion, who had tricked him into teaching his archery art.[110] 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.[111] 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.[112]
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.[111] Black Panther, Thor and the Vision recruited Black Widow and Daredevil[113] 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.[114] 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.[115]


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.[116]
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.[117][118] 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.[119]


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.[120][121] 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.[122]
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.[123] With the Evil Eye, the Defenders restored Black Knight back to life,[124] while a catatonic Loki was sent by the Avengers to be under Tom Fagan’s care, after a brief confrontation with the obsessive Collector.[125]
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.[126] 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.[127] Following Van Lunt’s defeat, Zodiac member Libra stated to be Mantis’ father,[128] 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.[129] Using Taurus’ Star-Blaster powered by the Vision’s solar rays, the Avengers destroyed the monster.[130]


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.[131][132] 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.[133]
Following an attack orchestrated by Klaw and Solarr, Black Panther decided to leave the Avengers again and focus on his people in Wakanda.[134] 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.[135]
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.[136] The Avengers joined forces with the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans to defeat the villains, making the wedding possible.[137] 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.[138]


Mantis is the Celestial Madonna
On that night, a star shone above the Avengers Mansion. Kang claimed it to be a signal for him,[138] 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.[139] 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.[140]
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.[141] 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.[142] As Iron Man and the Vision perished in battle,[143] 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.[144]
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.[145] 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,[146] but managed to meet Swordsman and the Avengers at the temple of Pama later on.[147]


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.[148]
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.[149] Invading the Stranger’s ship, the Avengers learned their foe was in fact the Toad and defeated him.[150] At the hospital, the Avengers confronted Whirlwind, who once again stalked the Wasp by impersonating her chauffer.[151] 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.[152]


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.[153] 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.[154] 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.[155]


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.[153] Escaping from Baxter,[156] 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.[157] 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.[155] 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.[158] 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.[159]
With the return of the Wasp and Yellowjacket,[160] 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.[161] 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.[162]


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.[163] 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.[164]
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.[165] At the Hydrobase, the enslaved Avengers were forced to confront Doctor Doom and Namor’s allies, the Hydro-Men.[166] Beast recruited Wonder Man and the Whizzer to rescue the Avengers, and felt the wrath of Namor under Attuma’s machinations.[167] In an unusual outcome, the Avengers ultimately teamed up with Doctor Doom and Namor to overpower Attuma and Tyrak.[168]
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.[169] 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.[170] 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.[171]
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.[172] 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.[173] 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.[174]


Count Nefaria supreme!
After fighting Typhon,[175] 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.[176] 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.[177]
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.[178] 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.[179]


The omnipotent Korvac is targeted by the Avengers
In the Avengers lab, Ultron’s bride was awakened and escaped the Avengers Mansion.[180] 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.[181] 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,[182] the Avengers tracked the kidnapper with the help of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Following the trail, the group was welcomed by the Collector.[183] 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,[184] who had been boosted by the Power Cosmic to godhood after tampering with Galactus’ circuitry in Taa II.[185]
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.[185] As a horrific battle ensued, Korvac easily defeated most of the Avengers.[186] 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.[187]
Government Woes


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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.[188] 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.[189] 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.[190] Meanwhile, when Hawkeye stumbled upon the criminal Absorbing Man in Hudson River, he contacted the Avengers for intervention, but the villain managed to escape.[191]


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.[192] 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.[193] 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.[194] On their way home, the Avengers fought the Russian Elements of Doom[195] and upon getting home they deactivated one of Stark’s rogue creations, the deadly Arsenal.[196]
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.[197] 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.[198]


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[199] 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.[200] Taskmaster was stopped thanks to Jocasta, which helped her get the Avengers’ recognition as a valuable teammate.[201]
In a bizarre turn of events, as the Avengers stopped the gigantic mecha Red Ronin, Ms. Marvel learned to be pregnant.[202] 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.[203]


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.[204]
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.[205] 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.[206] 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.[207]
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.[208] 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.[209]
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.[210] 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.[211]


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.[212]
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.[213] 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]

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2025-08-25

2018-07-02 22:16:12