Avengers (comics) The Avengers is a team of superheroes, appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963), created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, following the trend of super-hero teams after the success of DC Comics' Justice League of America.

Avengers (comics) The Avengers The Avengers Vol. 3 #38 (March 2001). Cover art by Alan Davis. Group publication information Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance The Avengers #1 (September 1963) Created by Stan Lee Jack Kirby In-story information Type of organization Team Base(s) Avengers Tower Avengers Mansion Hydro-Base Roster See: List of Avengers members Avengers Avengers-1.jpg The Avengers #1 (September 1963). Cover art by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. Series publication information Schedule Monthly (Vols. 1-4), Semi-monthly (Vol. 5) Format Ongoing series Genre Superhero Publication date (Vol. 1) Sept. 1963 – Sept. 1996 (Vol. 2) Nov. 1996 – Nov. 1997 (Vol. 3) Feb. 1998 – Aug. 2004 (Vol. 1 resumption) Sept. – Dec. 2004 (Vol. 4) July 2010 – January 2013 (Vol. 5) February 2013 – Present Number of issues (Vol. 1): 402 (plus 23 annuals) (Vol. 2): 13 (Vol. 3): 88 (plus 4 annuals) (Vol. 4): 36 (#1-34 plus #12.1 and #24.1 and 1 Annual) (Vol. 5): 11 (as of July 2013 cover date) Creative team Writer(s) List[show] Penciller(s) List[show] Inker(s) List[show] Colorist(s) List[show] Creator(s) Stan Lee Jack Kirby The Avengers is a team of superheroes, appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963), created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, following the trend of super-hero teams after the success of DC Comics' Justice League of America.[1] Labeled Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers originally consisted of Iron Man, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Thor, and the Hulk. The original Captain America was discovered, trapped in ice (issue #4), and joined the group after they revived him. A rotating roster became a hallmark, although one theme remained consistent: the Avengers fight "the foes no single superhero can withstand." The team, famous for its battle cry of "Avengers Assemble!", has featured humans, mutants, robots, aliens, supernatural beings, and even former villains. The 2012 live-action feature film Marvel's The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, set numerous records during its box office run, including the biggest opening debut in North America, with a weekend gross of $207.4 million.[2] A second Avengers film is set for release on May 1, 2015. Contents 1 Publication history 2 Fictional biography 2.1 1960s 2.2 1970s 2.3 1980s 2.4 1990s 2.5 2000s 2.6 2010s 3 Roster 4 Other versions 4.1 1950s Avengers 4.2 1959 Avengers 4.3 Avengers Next 4.4 Ultimate Marvel 4.5 Runaways 4.6 Marvel Zombies Return 4.7 House of M: Avengers 4.8 Age of Apocalypse 5 In other media 6 Collected editions 6.1 The Avengers (1963 series) 6.2 Avengers Vol. 2 (1996) 6.3 Avengers Vol. 3 (1998) 6.4 Avengers Vol. 4 (2010) 6.5 Avengers Vol. 5 (2012) 7 See also 8 References 9 Notes 10 External links Publication history See also: List of Avengers titles The team debuted in The Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963), using characters created primarily by writer-editor Stan Lee with penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby. This initial series, published bi-monthly through issue #6 (July 1964) and monthly thereafter ran through issue #402 (Sept. 1996), with spinoffs including several annuals, miniseries and a giant-size quarterly sister series that ran briefly in the mid-1970s.[3] Marvel filed for a trademark for "The Avengers" in 1967 and the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration in 1970.[4] Other spinoff series include West Coast Avengers, initially published as a four-issue miniseries in 1984, followed by a 102-issue series (Oct. 1985–Jan. 1994), retitled Avengers West Coast with #47;[5][6] and the 40-issue Solo Avengers (Dec.1987–Jan. 1991), retitled Avengers Spotlight with #21.[7][8] Between 1996 and 2004, Marvel relaunched the primary Avengers title three times. In 1996, the "Heroes Reborn" line, in which Marvel contracted outside companies to produce four titles, included a new volume of The Avengers. It took place in an alternate universe, with a revamped history unrelated to mainstream Marvel continuity. The Avengers vol. 2 was written by Rob Liefeld and penciled by Jim Valentino, and ran for 13 issues (Nov. 1996–Nov. 1997). The final issue, which featured a crossover with the other Heroes Reborn titles, returned the characters to the main Marvel Universe.[9] The Avengers vol. 3 relaunched and ran for 84 issues in February 1998 to August 2004. To coincide with what would have been, the 500th issue of the original series Marvel changed the numbering, and The Avengers #500-503 (Sept.– Dec. 2004), the one-shot Avengers Finale (Jan. 2005)[10] became the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline and final issues. In January 2005, a new version of the team appeared in the ongoing title The New Avengers,[11] followed by The Mighty Avengers, Avengers: The Initiative, and Dark Avengers. Avengers vol. 4 debuted in July 2010 and ran until January 2013.[12] Vol. 5 was launched in February 2013.[13] Fictional biography 1960s "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then—for now, the Avengers Assemble!" —Prologue from The Avengers used in the 1970s[14] The first adventure featured the Asgardian god Loki seeking revenge against his brother Thor. Using an illusion, Loki tricked the Hulk into destroying a railroad track. He then diverted a radio call by Rick Jones for help to Thor, whom Loki hoped would battle the Hulk. Unknown to Loki, Ant-Man, the Wasp, and Iron Man also answered the radio call. After an initial misunderstanding, the heroes united and defeated Loki after Thor was lured away by an illusion of the Hulk and suspected Loki when he realized it was an illusion. Ant-Man stated that the five worked well together and suggested they form a combined team; the Wasp named the group Avengers.[15][16] The roster changed almost immediately; at the beginning of the second issue, Ant-Man became Giant-Man and at the end of the issue, the Hulk left once he realized how much the others feared his unstable personality.[17] Feeling responsible, the Avengers attempted to locate and contain the Hulk, which subsequently led them into combat with Namor the Sub-Mariner.[18] This resulted in the first major milestone in the Avengers' history: the revival and return of Captain America.[19][20] Captain America joined the team,[19] and he was given "founding member" status in the Hulk's place.[21] The Avengers went on to fight foes such as Captain America's wartime enemy Baron Zemo, who formed the Masters of Evil,[22] Kang the Conqueror,[23][24] Wonder Man,[25][26] and Count Nefaria.[27][28] The next milestone came when every member but Captain America resigned; they were replaced by three former villains: Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver.[29][30][31] Although they lacked the raw power of the original team, they proved their worth and fought and defeated Swordsman;[32][33] the original Power Man;[34][35] and Doctor Doom.[36] Henry Pym (who changed his name to Goliath)[37] and the Wasp rejoined the Avengers.[37] Hercules became part of the team,[38] while the Black Knight,[39] and the Black Widow,[40] didn't obtain official membership status until years later. Spider-Man was offered membership in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3 (1966) but did not join the group.[41] The Black Panther joined after rescuing the team from the Grim Reaper.[42][43] The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with The Avengers #53 (June 1968).[44][45] This was followed by the introduction of the Vision.[46][47] Hank Pym assumed the new identity of Yellowjacket in issue #59,[48] and married the Wasp the following month.[49] The Avengers headquarters was in a New York City building called Avengers Mansion, courtesy of Tony Stark (Iron Man's real identity). The mansion was serviced by Edwin Jarvis, the Avengers' faithful butler,[50] and furnished with state of the art technology and defense systems, and included the Avengers' primary mode of transport: the five-engine Quinjet. 1970s The creative team of writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema introduced new characters such as Arkon in issue #75 (April 1970)[51] and Red Wolf in #80 (Sept. 1970).[52] The team's adventures increased in scope as the team crossed into an alternate dimension and battled the Squadron Supreme,[53][54][55] and fought in the Kree-Skrull War,[56][57][58] an epic battle between the alien Kree and Skrull races and guest-starred the Kree hero, Captain Marvel. The Avengers briefly disband when Skrulls impersonating Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man used their authority as founders of the team and disbanded it.[59] The true founding Avengers, minus the Wasp, reformed the team in response after complaints from Jarvis.[60] Novelist Harlan Ellison plotted two stories for the series. The first ("The Summons of Psyklop") was published in issue #88 (May 1971)[61][62] and the second ("Five Dooms to Save Tomorrow") in #101 (July 1972).[63] Writer Steve Englehart introduced Mantis, who joined the team along with the reformed Swordsman.[64] During the summer of 1973, Englehart and artists Bob Brown and Sal Buscema produced "The Avengers-Defenders Clash" storyline which crossed over between the two team titles.[65][66][67] "The Celestial Madonna" arc linked Mantis' origins to the very beginnings of the Kree-Skrull conflict in a time-spanning adventure involving Kang the Conqueror,[68] and Immortus, who were past and future versions of each other.[69][70][71] Mantis was revealed to be the Celestial Madonna,[72] who was destined to give birth to a being that would save the universe.[73] It was revealed that the Vision's body had only been appropriated, and not created by Ultron, and that it originally belonged to the 1940s Human Torch. With his origins clear to him, the Vision proposed to the Scarlet Witch. The "Celestial Madonna" saga ended with their wedding, presided over by Immortus.[74][75] The Beast and Moondragon joined the team soon after.[76] George Pérez became the title's artist with issue #141 (Nov. 1975) which saw the start of a seven-part story featuring the Squadron Supreme and the Serpent Crown.[77] After Englehart departed and a seven-issue stint by Gerry Conway, Jim Shooter began as writer, generating several classic adventures, including "The Bride of Ultron",[78][79] the "Nefaria Trilogy",[80][81][82] and "The Korvac Saga", which featured nearly every Avenger who joined the team up to that point.[83][84] Shooter introduced the character of Henry Peter Gyrich, the Avengers' liaison to the United States National Security Council.[81][85] Gyrich was prejudiced against superhumans and acted in a heavy-handed, obstructive manner, and insisted that the Avengers followed government rules and regulations or else lose their priority status with the government. Among Gyrich's demands was that the active roster be trimmed down to only seven members, and that the Falcon, an African American, be admitted to the team to comply with affirmative action laws. This last act was resented by Hawkeye, who because of the seven-member limit lost his membership slot to the Falcon.[86] The Falcon, in turn, was unhappy to be the beneficiary of what he perceived to be tokenism, and decided to resign from the team, after which Wonder Man rejoined.[87] The true origins of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were revealed in a three-part story that ran in issues #185-187 (July-Sept. 1979).[88] After this adventure, the Scarlet Witch took a leave of absence and Ms. Marvel officially joined the team as her replacement.[89] 1980s The Avengers #200 (Oct. 1980). Cover art by George Pérez and Terry Austin. The first major development was the breakdown of Henry Pym,[90] with his frequent changes of costume and name being symptomatic of an identity problem and an inferiority complex. After he abused his wife, failed to win back the confidence of the Avengers with a ruse and was duped by the villain Egghead, Pym was jailed.[91] Writer Roger Stern resolved this by having Pym outwit Egghead and defeated the latest incarnation of the Masters of Evil single-handedly, and proved his innocence.[92] Pym reconciled with the Wasp, but they decided to remain apart.[93] Pym retired from super-heroics,[93] but returned years later.[94] Stern developed several major storylines, such as "Ultimate Vision" in which the Vision took over the world's computer systems in a misguided attempt to create world peace;[95][96][97][98] the formation of the West Coast Avengers;[99][100] and "Avengers Under Siege" which involved the second Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil taking over the mansion and severely injured Jarvis and Hercules.[101] "Assault on Olympus" featured Hercules' father, Zeus, blaming the Avengers for his son's injuries and brought them to Olympus for trial,[102] and the "Heavy Metal" arc saw the Super Adaptoid organized several robotic villains for an assault on the team.[103] New members during the 1980s included Tigra;[104] the She-Hulk;[105] an African American Captain Marvel named Monica Rambeau;[106] Starfox;[107] Hawkeye's wife, Mockingbird;[99] and Namor,[108] while Henry Pym emerged from retirement to join the West Coast Avengers.[94] Spider-Man was again offered membership,[109] but failed to gain admission due to security concerns by the Avengers' government liaison.[110] Rogue, who would later become a member of the X-Men, was introduced in The Avengers Annual #10 (1981) by writer Chris Claremont and artist Michael Golden.[111][112] Stern created the villain, Nebula, who falsely claimed to be the granddaughter of Thanos.[113] The team relocated for a period to a floating island off the coast of New York called Hydrobase. The Avengers moved their base of operations to Hydrobase after Avengers Mansion was severely damaged in the "Under Siege".[114] Hydrobase was later sunk during the Acts of Vengeance crossover.[115] Following Stern's departure, Walt Simonson wrote the series briefly but left due to editorial conflicts.[116] John Byrne took over writing both West Coast Avengers and The Avengers and revamped the comics to allow members to be active when available and reserved when not available and merged the two separate Avengers teams into one team with two bases.[117] Byrne's contributions included a revamping of the Vision, and the discovery that the children of the Scarlet Witch and the Vision were actually illusions. The loss of the Scarlet Witch's children and the Vision, who was disassembled by government agents in retaliation for the Ultimate Vision storyline, drove her insane, although she eventually recovered and rejoined the team. This story revealed that the Scarlet Witch's powers included wide-range reality manipulation and she was what the time-traveling Immortus refers to as a "nexus being" setting the stage for 2004's eventual Chaos and Avengers Disassembled storylines.[118] This played out in the Darker than Scarlet storyline which ran in Avengers West Coast from issues #51–62 (Nov. 1989–Sept. 1990). The Avengers titles in late 1989 were involved in the major crossover event "Acts of Vengeance" where Loki assembled many of Marvel's arch-villains, his inner circle consisted of Doctor Doom, Magneto, Kingpin, Mandarin, Wizard, and Red Skull, in a plot to destroy the team. Loki orchestrated a mass breakout of villains from prison facility, the Vault, as part of his "Acts of Vengeance" scheme, but he ultimately failed in his goal to destroy the Avengers. 1990s The Avengers vol. 2, #11 (Sept. 1997), showing the Heroes Reborn Avengers. Cover art by Michael Ryan and Sal Regla. In 1990, the U.S. government revoked the Avengers' New York State charter in a treaty with the Soviet Union. The Avengers then received a charter from the United Nations and the Avengers split into two teams with a substitute reserve team backing up the main teams.[119] Bob Harras and Steve Epting took over the title in the summer of 1991 and introduced a stable lineup with ongoing story lines and character development focused on the Black Knight, Sersi, Crystal, Hercules, the Vision, and the Black Widow. Their primary antagonists in this run were the mysterious Proctor and his team of other-dimensional Avengers known as the Gatherers. During this period, the Avengers found themselves facing increasingly murderous enemies and were forced to question their rule against killing.[120] This culminated in "Operation: Galactic Storm", a 19-part storyline that ran through all Avengers-related titles and showcased a conflict between the Kree and the Shi'ar Empire.[121] The team split when Iron Man and several dissidents executed the Supreme Intelligence against the wishes of Captain America. After a vote disbanded the West Coast Avengers, Iron Man formed a proactive and aggressive team called Force Works.[122] During the team's first mission, Wonder Man was killed again, though his atoms were temporarily scattered. Force Works later disbanded after it was revealed that Iron Man became a murderer via the manipulations of the villain Kang.[123] During the Heroes Reborn event, many of the Avengers together with the Fantastic Four and others, died trying to stop the psychic entity Onslaught, although it was revealed that Franklin Richards preserved those heroes in a pocket universe. Believed the main team to be gone, the Black Widow disbanded the Avengers, and only butler Jarvis remained to tend to the Mansion. Marvel contracted out The Avengers and three related titles — Captain America, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man to former Marvel artists Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld, two of the founding creators of Image Comics.[124] The previous continuity of the Marvel Universe was set aside as the heroes were "reborn" in the pocket universe. While The Avengers was relaunched as a new series, the "Heroes Reborn" line ended after a year as planned and the license reverted to Marvel.[125] Writer Kurt Busiek and penciler George Pérez launched a new volume of the series with The Avengers vol. 3, #1 (Feb. 1998).[126] Busiek concurrently wrote the limited series Avengers Forever, a time-travel story that explored the history of the Avengers and resolved many outstanding questions. New members during this run included the revived Wonder Man, Justice, Firestar, Silverclaw, and Triathlon. Busiek's run included many of the Avengers' traditional villains such as the Grim Reaper,[127][128] Ultron,[129] Count Nefaria, and Kang the Conqueror.[130] 2000s Variant cover art for New Avengers #1 (Feb. 2005), by Joe Quesada and Richard Isanove. Successor writer Geoff Johns dealt with the aftermath of Busiek's Kang arc, as the Avengers were granted international authority by the United Nations. Members joined during that period included Jack of Hearts and the second Ant-Man. Chuck Austen followed as writer, and added a new Captain Britain to the team. Writer Brian Michael Bendis then rebooted the title with the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline.[131][132] Titled Chaos, the story featured the deaths of some members and a loss of credibility for the team. The culprit is revealed to be the Scarlet Witch, who had gone insane after agonizing over the memory of her lost children and who subsequently lost control of her reality-altering powers.[133] With the team in disarray and Avengers Mansion ruined, the surviving members agreed to disband. A new Avengers team soon formed, coming together as the result of a massive jailbreak at The Raft prison facility. This New Avengers lineup was composed of Iron Man, Captain America, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Ronin, Spider-Man,[134] Spider-Woman, and the Sentry.[135] This was soon followed by the House of M event. In the company-wide "Civil War" story arc, Marvel superheroes were split over compliance with the U.S. government's new Superhuman Registration Act which required all super-powered persons to register their true identities with the federal government and become agents of same. The New Avengers disbanded, with a rebel underground opposed to the act formed in a series retaining The New Avengers in its trademarked cover logo and New Avengers in its copy written indicia. Luke Cage led this underground Avengers team in that series. The team consisted of himself, Echo, Ronin, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, Iron Fist, and Doctor Strange. During the long-term Secret Invasion by the shape-shifting alien race the Skrulls, Spider-Woman had been abducted and replaced by the Skrull queen Veranke. After the Skrulls' defeat, Spider-Woman was rescued along with other abducted and replaced heroes. During the company-wide story arc "Dark Reign", Echo and Iron Fist left the team and the Avengers gained Ms. Marvel, Bucky as Captain America, and Mockingbird. In response to the Civil War, Iron Man formed The Mighty Avengers under the aegis of the government's Fifty State Initiative program, and took up residency in New York City joined by Ares, the Black Widow, the Sentry, the Wasp, Wonder Man, and leader Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel.[136][137] After the events of "Secret Invasion", Norman Osborn assumed control of the formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored Avengers, now under the auspices of his own agency, H.A.M.M.E.R. All but Ares and the Sentry left this team (except for the Wasp, who had appeared to have died in the Secret Invasion) as it was taken over by Norman Osborn and the team migrated to the Dark Avengers book. Osborn recruits Marvel Boy to pose as Captain Marvel and Daken to pose as his father, Wolverine, bringing Moonstone, Bullseye, and Venom from his previous Thunderbolts team to impersonate Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man, respectively. In the pages of The Mighty Avengers, Hank Pym, assumed the Wasp identity of his fallen ex-wife, led a new team of Avengers, and claimed the name for his team as he was the only founding Avenger on any of the three active Avengers rosters. His team operated under a multi-national umbrella group called the Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity (GRAMPA). This team featured the roster of Hercules, Amadeus Cho, Stature, the Vision, Jocasta, U.S. Agent, Quicksilver, and Pym himself. Loki in disguise as the Scarlet Witch was a recurring character. Iron Man and the Hulk were briefly with them during their battle with Chthon. 2010s The "Heroic Age" roster of the Avengers. Cover art for Avengers vol. 4, #12.1, by Bryan Hitch. After the conclusion of the "Siege" story arc, which ended the "Dark Reign" storyline, all four of the then-current Avengers series (The Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Dark Avengers, and Avengers: The Initiative) were canceled, and a new ongoing series titled Avengers was launched in May 2010. Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita, Jr., serve as regular writer and artist respectively.[138] The full Avengers roster was revealed in issue #1 as: Thor, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Spider-Woman, Iron Man, and team leader Maria Hill.[139] The launch marked the beginning of what Marvel calls the "Heroic Age", after seven years of grim story lines, including a superhero Civil War that pitted Iron Man against Captain America and Spider-Man, and the death of Captain America. According to Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, "Heroes will be heroes again... They've gone through hell and they're back to being good guys—a throwback to the early days of the Marvel Universe, with more of a swashbuckling feel."[140] At the start of the Heroic Age storyline, the New Avengers became an officially recognized team given independence from Stark's more traditional Avengers by Captain Steve Rogers, primarily due to Cage's distrust of a government backed superhero group. Captain America left the team to solely serve the main Avengers, Iron Fist rejoined the team, and Power Woman and the Thing were added to the roster. Steve Rogers had an occasional presence and Victoria Hand was added with his backing, which caused controversy among the other members due to her previous ties to Norman Osborn. A second series titled Secret Avengers was released in May 2010, written by Ed Brubaker with Mike Deodato as the regular artist.[141] The second volume of the New Avengers series was relaunched in June 2010, written by Bendis and drawn by Stuart Immonen.[142] A fourth title called Avengers Academy was launched in June 2010, it replaced Avengers: The Initiative. Christos Gage served as writer, with Mike McKone as artist.[143] During an international meeting between Steve Rogers and MI-13, Captain Britain was offered a job with the Avengers. Captain Britain accepted despite mixed reactions from his MI-13 teammates.[144] Noh-Varr was asked to help the Avengers by building a time machine to save the future.[145] After that crisis was over, Noh-Varr was officially invited to join the Avengers.[146] Bruce Banner made arrangements with Steve Rogers for the Red Hulk to join the Avengers,[147][148] and he assists the team in tracking down the Hood as the villain had begun to search for the Infinity Gems to serve as a new 'power source'. The combined strength of the Avengers, New Avengers, and Secret Avengers was enough to repel the Hood.. After the events of "Fear Itself", the "Shattered Heroes" storyline led to several changes in the main Avengers team lineup, with Quake and Storm being recruited, and the Vision re-joining the team after being rebuilt by Iron Man. Wolverine and Spider-Man leave the main team, and become more involved in their membership with the New Avengers.[149] During the events of the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, Storm quits the team to side with her fellow mutants as a member of the X-Men. After seeing how insane that Cyclops and the other Phoenix-powered X-Men were becoming, she later switches sides to the Avengers but never officially rejoins the main team. Additionally, Noh-Varr betrays the team and sets out to capture the Phoenix Force due to his loyalty to the Kree Empire. However, upon learning of the Kree's plan for the Phoenix Force, he comes to his senses. Despite this, the Avengers felt betrayed and subsequently abandon him. Following Avengers vs. X-Men, a new series titled Uncanny Avengers debuted in the flagship title of Marvel NOW!. The title is written by Rick Remender with art by John Cassaday, and the team contains members of both the Avengers and the X-Men.[150] A new bi-weekly Avengers title was launched written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by different artists for each story arc.[151] Hickman is also writing New Avengers, featuring two dozen characters between the two titles.[152] The first story arc dealt with Captain America leading the Avengers to Mars to counter a powerful being called Ex Nihilo, who intended to destroy and remake life in the universe.[153][154][155] The Avengers then fought against Nightmask and Starbrand during the White Event, the two are imprisoned on Stark's Sol's Hammer weapon after Starbrand destroyed the living consciousness of Earth.[156][157][158] Roster Main article: List of Avengers members Other versions 1950s Avengers Main article: Agents of Atlas A short-lived team of superheroes in the 1950s called themselves the Avengers. It consisted of Marvel Boy, Venus, the 3-D Man, Gorilla-Man, M-11, Jimmy Woo, Namora and Jann of the Jungle,[159] and existed in an alternate timeline that was erased by the time-manipulating Immortus.[160] Agents of Atlas, a version of the group, without 3-D Man and Jann existed in mainstream continuity, and eventually reformed in the present day.[161] 1959 Avengers The New Avengers vol. 2, #10 revealed another 1950s Avengers team, formed by Nick Fury to hunt the last remnants of the Third Reich and consisted of Fury himself, Dominic Fortune, Dum Dum Dugan, Namora, Silver Sable, Sabretooth, Kraven the Hunter, and Ulysses Bloodstone. A follow-up miniseries penned by Howard Chaykin showed this group assisted by Blonde Phantom, Eric Koenig and a brand new character British wizard and spy, Powell McTeague. That time they fought against a cult based on the Nazi party which employed several agents, including Baron Blood and Brain Drain. Avengers Next Main article: A-Next In the alternate future timeline known as MC2, the Avengers disbanded and Avengers Mansion was a museum. An emergency forced Edwin Jarvis to sound an alert, and a new generation of heroes formed a new team of Avengers. Most of the new Avengers were children of established Marvel superheroes. Ultimate Marvel Main article: Ultimates In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, the Avengers are named the Ultimates, and were formed by General Nicholas Fury to protect America against superhuman threats. They first appeared in The Ultimates by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch.[162][163] After the events of The Ultimates 2, the team left S.H.I.E.L.D. employment to become independent and financed by Tony Stark.[164] A Black Ops team called the Avengers debuted sometime after the Ultimatum storyline. This version was a project headed up by Nick Fury and Tony Stark's brother Gregory Stark to bring Captain America back. Its known members consisted of War Machine, Hawkeye, the Black Widow II (Monica Chang), Spider (a Spider-Man clone created by Gregory Stark from the DNA of Spider-Man and Professor X), Tyrone Cash (who was the original Hulk before Bruce Banner), the Red Wasp, and Nerd Hulk (an intelligent clone of the Hulk who lacks the Hulk's rage).[165] Additional members included Punisher, who joined the Avengers against a Ghost Rider manhunt,[166] and the half vampire, Blade against a vampire invasion.[167] Runaways In an alternate future depicted in Runaways, Gertrude Yorkes's future self traveled back in time. In that future, she was the leader of the Avengers under the name Heroine.[168] That lineup of the Avengers featured an Iron Woman, Scorpion, the Fantastic Fourteen, and Captain Americas.[169] Marvel Zombies Return The Avengers existed as a team prior to a zombie contagion's arrival in the original Marvel Zombies universe, and resembled their pre-disassembled roster. When several of their members were infected, they set about eating humanity and sent out a bogus "Avengers Assemble" call to draw super-humans to the Avengers Mansion, infected more heroes and thus spread the virus. The team fell apart and many of its members were killed as time passed.[170] A second team of zombie Avengers appeared in Marvel Zombies Return. That team was a replacement group brought together to find food and kill any resistance (zombie or uninfected) and was led by Sentry. Also on the team were the zombies Moon Knight, Namor, Quasar, Quicksilver, Thundra, and Super-Skrull. They were joined by zombie Giant-Man of the original Zombiverse, who was trying to power a dimensional teleporter, but were all killed by Spider-Man's New Avengers. The team was composed of himself with Iron Man, Sandman, and the zombie Hulk and Wolverine.[171] House of M: Avengers In the alternate reality created by the Scarlet Witch, Luke Cage formed a team of superpowered humans to fight for human rights.[172] Age of Apocalypse A humanized version of the Avengers banded together during the Age of Apocalypse.[173][174] In other media Main article: Avengers (comics) in other media Two animated series have been based on the team. The Avengers: United They Stand was loosely based on the West Coast Avengers and ran from 1999 to 2000. The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes based on the early adventures of the team, premiered on October 20, 2010. Marvel Animation has made three Avengers films, Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2 and Next Avengers. The 2012 live-action film Marvel's The Avengers, featuring Nick Fury recruiting Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, the Black Widow and Hawkeye to form the Avengers to fight Loki and his attack on New York City. It set the record for the biggest opening debut in North America, with a weekend gross of $207.4 million.[2] Collected editions The Avengers (1963 series) Title (Trade Paperback/ Hardcover) Material collected Publication date ISBN The Avengers, Vol. 1 (Marvel Masterworks) Avengers (1963) #1–10 May 13, 2009 978-0785137061 The Avengers, Vol. 2 (Marvel Masterworks) Avengers (1963) #11–20 October 14, 2009 978-0785137085 The Avengers, Vol. 3 (Marvel Masterworks) Avengers (1963) #21–30 April 6, 2011 978-0785150565 The Avengers, Vol. 4 (Marvel Masterworks) Avengers (1963) #31–40 April 11, 2012 978-0785116387 The Avengers, Vol. 5 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #41–50, Annual #1 January 1, 2006 978-0785118480 The Avengers, Vol. 6 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #51–58, Annual #2, X-Men (1963) #45 December 13, 2006 978-0785120797 The Avengers, Vol. 7 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #59–68, Marvel Super–Heroes (1966) #17 October 17, 2007 978-0785126805 The Avengers, Vol. 8 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #69–79 December 17, 2008 978-0785129349 The Avengers, Vol. 9 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #80–88, The Incredible Hulk #140 May 28, 2009 978-0785135012 The Avengers: The Kree/Skrull War Avengers (1963) #89–97 May 7, 2008 978-0785132301 The Avengers, Vol. 10 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #89–100 May 19, 2010 978-0785133315 The Avengers, Vol. 11 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #101–111, Daredevil (1964) #99 July 13, 2011 978-0785150381 The Avengers, Vol. 12 (Marvel Masterworks) (Hardcover only) Avengers (1963) #112–119, Defenders (1972) #8–11, and material from FOOM #5–7. March 2012 978-0-7851-5879-0 Avengers/Defenders War Avengers (1963) #115–118, Defenders #8–11 March 2002 978-0785108443 The Avengers: Celestial Madonna (TPB) Avengers (1963) #129–135, Giant Sized Avengers #2–4 May 1, 2002 978-0785108269 The Avengers: The Coming of the Beast (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #137–140, 145–146 January 26, 2011 978-0785144687 The Avengers: The Serpent Crown (TPB) Avengers (1963) #141–144 and #147–149 September 7, 2005 978-0785117001 The Avengers: The Private War of Doctor Doom (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #150–156, Avengers Annual #6, and Super Villain Team-Up #9 March 2012 978-0-7851-6235-3 The Avengers: The Bride of Ultron (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #157-166 October 2012 978-0785162513 The Avengers Epic Collection: The Final Threat Avengers (1963) #150-166, ANNUAL (1967) #6-7, SUPER-VILLIAN TEAM-UP (1975) #9 & MARVEL TWO-IN-ON E ANNUAL (1976) #2 2013 978-0785187905 The Avengers: The Korvac Saga (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #167–168 and #170–177 June 2003 978-0785109198 The Avengers: Nights of Wundagore (TPB) Avengers (1963) #181–187 March 27, 2009 978-0785131113 The Avengers: Heart of Stone (TPB) Avengers (1963) #188–196, Avengers Annual #9 May 14, 2013 978-0785184317 The Avengers: The Trial of Yellowjacket (TPB) Avengers (1963) #212-230 August 15, 2012 978-0785162070 The Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 1 (TPB) Avengers (1963) #231-241, Avengers Annual #11-12, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, Fantastic Four (1961) #256, and Doctor Strange (1974) #60 2013 978-0785185345 The Avengers: West Coast Avengers Assemble (Hardcover) West Coast Avengers (1984) #1–4, Iron Man Annual #7, and Avengers #250, plus material from Avengers #239, #243–244, and #246, and Avengers West Coast #100. June 9, 2010 978-0785143215 Secret Wars II Omnibus (Hardcover) Secret Wars II #1–9, Avengers (1963) #260–261, #265–266, plus more. February 18, 2009 978-0785137214 Avengers: The Once And Future Kang (TPB) Avengers (1963) #262–269, Avengers Annual #15, West Coast Avengers Annual #1 February 19, 2013 978-0785167297 The Avengers: Under Siege (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #270–277 December 22, 2010 978-0785143826 The Avengers: Assault on Olympus (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #278–285 September 21, 2011 978-0785155331 The Avengers: Heavy Metal (TPB) Avengers (1963) #286–293 August 6, 2013 978-0785184522 X-Men: Inferno Crossovers Omnibus (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #298–300 plus more. September 8, 2010 978-0785146711 Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #310–313, Annual #19, Avengers Spotlight #26–29, Avengers West Coast #53–55, plus more. March 30, 2011 978-0785161271 Avengers: Galactic Storm: Volume 1 (TPB) Collects Avengers #345–346, Avengers West Coast #80–81, Captain America #398–399, Quasar #32–33, Wonder Man #7–8, Iron Man #278 and Thor #445. March 2006 978-0785120440 Avengers: Galactic Storm: Volume 2 (TPB) Collects Avengers #347, Avengers West Coast #82, Iron Man #279, Thor #446, Captain America #400–401, Quasar #34–35, Wonder Man #9 and What If? #55–56. December 2006 978-0785120459 The Avengers/ X-Men: Bloodties (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #368–369, Avengers West Coast #101, Uncanny X-Men #307, X-Men #26, Black Knight: Exodus January 18, 2012 978-0785161271 Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus (Hardcover) Avengers (1963) #390–395, Avengers: The Crossing, Avengers: Timeslide, Iron Man (1968) #319–325, Force Works #16–22, War Machine (1994) #20–25, and Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man. March 2012 978-0-7851-6203-2 Avengers/ Iron Man: First Sign (TPB) Avengers (1963) #396-400, Iron Man (1968) #326-331, Thor (1966) #426, Captain America (1968) #449. August 2013 978-0-7851-8496-6 X-Men: The Complete Onslaught Epic, Book 1 (TPB) Avengers (1963) #400–401, X-Men #53–54, Uncanny X-Men #334–335, and more. December 20, 2007 978-0785128236 X-Men: The Complete Onslaught Epic, Book 3 (TPB) Avengers (1963) #402, Iron Man #332, and more. August 27, 2008 978-0785128250 Marvel Platinum: the Definitive Avengers (TPB) Avengers (1963) #1, 4, 57, 93, Avengers West Coast #51-52, Avengers (1998), #10-11, Avengers (1963) #503, Avengers Finale and New Avengers #3. 12 April 2012 978-1-84653-507-9 Title (B&W Trade Paperbacks) Material collected Publication date ISBN Essential Avengers, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1963–1966) #1–24 (B&W) November 18, 1998 978-0785118626 Essential Avengers, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1966) #25–46, Annual #1 (B&W) June 1, 2000 978-0785107415 Essential Avengers, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1963) #47–68, Annual #2 (B&W) March 1, 2001 978-0785107873 Essential Avengers, Vol. 4 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1963) #69–97, The Incredible Hulk #140 (B&W) October 1, 2004 978-0785114857 Essential Avengers, Vol. 5 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1963) #98–119, Daredevil #99, Defenders #8–11 (B&W) January 25, 2006 978-0785120872 Essential Avengers, Vol. 6 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1963) #120–140, Captain Marvel #33, Fantastic Four #150, Giant–Size Avengers #1–4 (B&W) February 20, 2008 978-0785130581 Essential Avengers, Vol. 7 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1963) #141–163, Annual #6, and Super-Villain Team-Up #9 (B&W) January 8, 2010 978-0785144533 Essential Avengers, Vol. 8 (Marvel Essentials) Avengers (1963) #164–184, Annual #7-8, and Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (B&W) April 25, 2012 978-0785163220 Avengers Vol. 2 (1996) Title (Trade Paperback) Material collected Publication date ISBN Avengers: Heroes Reborn Avengers (1996) #1–12 December 27, 2006 978-0785123378 Avengers Vol. 3 (1998) Title (Trade Paperback) Material collected Publication date ISBN Avengers Assemble, Vol. 1 Avengers (1998) #1–11, Annual 1998; Iron Man (1998) #7; Captain America (1998) #8; Quicksilver #10 January 12, 2011 978-0785144984 Avengers: The Morgan Conquest Avengers (1998) #1–4 January 2000 978-0785107286 Avengers: Supreme Justice Avengers (1998) #5-8, Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 98, Iron Man (1998) #7, Captain America (1998) #8, and Quicksilver #10 June 1, 2001 978-0785107736 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 2 Avengers (1998) #12–23 & #0, Annual 1999; Avengers: Rough Cut. March 2012 978-0-7851-6126-4 Avengers: Clear and Present Dangers Avengers (1998) #8–15 November 1, 2001 978-0785107989 Avengers: Ultron Unlimited Avengers (1998) #0 and #19–22 April 1, 2001 978-0785107743 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 3 Avengers (1998) #23–34, #1½, Thunderbolts #42–44 July 26, 2006 978-0785121305 Avengers: Living Legends Avengers (1998) #23–30 July 21, 2004 978-0785115618 Avengers/Thunderbolts Volume 1: The Nefaria Protocols Avengers (1998) #31–34, Thunderbolts #42–44 March 1, 2004 978-0785114451 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 4 Avengers (1998) #35–40, Annual 2000–2001, Thunderbolts Annual 2000, Avengers: The Ultron Imperative and Avengers Infinity #1–4 January 31, 2007 978-0785123477 Avengers: Above and Beyond Avengers (1998) #36–40, 56, Avengers: Ultron Imperative, and Annual 2001 February 15, 2006 978-0785118459 Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Avengers (1998) #41–55 (Vol. 1 #456–470),[Note 1] and Annual 2001 November 30, 2002 978-0785109587 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 5 Avengers (1998) #41–56, Annual 2001 November 7, 2007 978-0785123484 Avengers, Vol. 1: World Trust Avengers (1998) #57–62 (Vol. 1 #472–477), and Marvel Double–Shot #2 March 17, 2003 978-0785110804 Avengers: The Complete Collection of Geoff Jones, vol. 1 Avengers (1998) #57-63, Vision (2002) #1-4, Thor (1998) #58, Iron Man (1998) #64 2013 978-0785184331 Avengers, Vol. 2: Red Zone Avengers (1998) #64–70 (Vol. 1 #478–485) December 30, 2003 978-0785110996 Avengers, Vol. 3: The Search for She-Hulk Avengers (1998) #71–76 (Vol. 1 #486–491) May 2004 978-0785112020 Avengers: The Complete Collection of Geoff Jones, vol. 2 Avengers (1998) #64-76 2013 978-0785184393 Avengers, Vol. 4: Lionheart of Avalon Avengers (1998) #77–81 (Vol. 1 #492–496) August 1, 2004 978-0785113386 Avengers, Vol. 5: Once An Invader Avengers (1998) #82–84 (Vol. 1 #497–499), Invaders #0 November 1, 2004 978-0785114819 Avengers: Disassembled Avengers (1963) #500–503,[Note 2] and Avengers Finale November 22, 2006 978-0785114826 Title (Hardcover) Material collected Publication date ISBN Avengers Assemble, Vol. 1 Avengers (1998) #1–11, Annual 1998; Iron Man (1998) #7; Captain America (1998) #8; Quicksilver #10 August 4, 2004 978-0785115731 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 2 Avengers (1998) #12–22, #0 and Annual 1999 April 6, 2005 978-0785117735 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 3 Avengers (1998) #23–34, #1½, Thunderbolts #42–44 July 26, 2006 978-0785121305 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 4 Avengers (1998) #35–40, Annual 2000–2001, Thunderbolts Annual 2000, Avengers: The Ultron Imperative and Avengers Infinity #1–4 January 31, 2007 978-0785123477 Avengers Assemble, Vol. 5 Avengers (1998) #41–56, Annual 2001 November 7, 2007 978-0785123484 Avengers, Vol. 1: World Trust Avengers (1998) #57–61 February 10, 2010 978-0785144731 Avengers, Vol. 2: Standoff Avengers (1998) #62–64, Thor (1998) #58, and Iron Man (1998) #64. February 10, 2010 978-0785144670 Avengers, Vol. 3: Red Zone Avengers (1998) #65–70 May 26, 2010 978-0785144663 Avengers, Vol. 4: The Search for She-Hulk Avengers (1998) #71–76 August 4, 2010 978-0785144724 Avengers: Disassembled Avengers (1963) #500–503 (returns to original numbering); Avengers Finale December 20, 2006 978-0785122944 Avengers Vol. 4 (2010) Title (Hardcover) Material collected Publication date ISBN Avengers Vol. 1 Avengers (2010) #1–6 February 9, 2011 978-0785145004 Avengers Vol. 2 Avengers (2010) #7–12, #12.1 July 27, 2011 978-0785145042 Avengers: Fear Itself Avengers (2010) #13–17 New Avengers (2010) #14–16 January 25, 2012 978-0785163480 Avengers Vol. 3 Avengers (2010) #18–24, #24.1 July 25, 2012 978-0785151166 Avengers Vol. 4 Avengers (2010) #25-30 January 1, 2013 978-0785160795 Avengers Vol. 5 Avengers (2010) #31-34, Annual #1 New Avengers (2010) Annual #1 March 5, 2013 978-0785160817 Title (Trade Paperback) Material collected Publication date ISBN Avengers, Vol. 1 Avengers (2010) #1–6 August 10, 2011 978-0785145011 Avengers Vol. 5 (2012) Title (Hardcover) Material collected Publication date ISBN Avengers, Vol. 1: Avengers World Avengers (2012) #1–6 April 30, 2013 978-0785168232 Avengers, Vol. 2: The Last White Event Avengers (2012) #7-12 July 23, 2013 978-0785168249 See also Portal icon Comics portal Portal icon Speculative fiction portal Portal icon Superhero fiction portal Alpha Flight - Canada's answer to the Avengers. Winter Guard - Russia's answer to the Avengers. References ^ Martin Goodman, aware of the JLA's strong sales, directed his comics editor, Stan Lee, to create a comic book series about a team of superheroes. Origins of Marvel Comics (Simon and Schuster/Fireside Books, 1974), p. 16. ^ a b Subers, Ray (May 6, 2012). "Weekend Report: Avengers Smashes Records". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2012-05-06. ^ "The Avengers". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2007-06-16. ^ "The Avengers". Markify. Retrieved May 21, 2013. ^ "West Coast Avengers vol. 2". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2007-06-16. ^ "Avengers West Coast". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2007-06-16. ^ "Solo Avengers". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2007-06-16. ^ "Avengers Spotlight". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2007-06-16. ^ "The Avengers vol. 2". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2007-06-16. ^ "Avengers Finale". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2008-04-24. ^ "The New Avengers". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2007-06-16. ^ The Avengers vol. 4 at the Grand Comics Database ^ The Avengers vol. 5 at the Grand Comics Database ^ Roach, David A. (2005). The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes. Omnigraphics, Inc. p. 46. ISBN 978-0780807723. ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "The Coming of the Avengers" The Avengers 1 (Sept. 1963), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1960s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. Dorling Kindersley. p. 94. ISBN 978-0756641238. "Filled with some wonderful visual action, The Avengers #1 has a very simple story: the Norse god Loki tricked the Hulk into going on a rampage...The heroes eventually learned about Loki's involvement and united with the Hulk to form the Avengers." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Reinman, Paul (i). "The Space Phantom" The Avengers 2 (Nov. 1963), Marvel Comics ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Reinman, Paul (i). "The Avengers Meet "Sub-Mariner"!" The Avengers 3 (Jan. 1964), Marvel Comics ^ a b Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Roussos, George (i). "Captain America Joins... The Avengers!" The Avengers 4 (March 1964), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 99: "'Captain America lives again!' announced the cover of The Avengers #4. A mere [four] months after his imposter had appeared in Strange Tales #114, the real Cap was back." ^ Busiek, Kurt (w), Pérez, George (p), Vey, Al (i). "Once an Avenger..." The Avengers v3, 1 (Feb. 1998), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 101: "The Masters of Evil, the Avengers' evil counterparts, launched their first attack in The Avengers #6." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "Kang, the Conqueror" The Avengers 8 (Sept. 1964), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 101: "Time travel had fascinated writers of speculative fiction ever since H. G. Wells published The Time Machine, so Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced their own master of time in The Avengers #8." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "The Coming of the Wonder Man!" The Avengers 9 (Oct. 1964), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 102: "Created to infiltrate and destroy the Avengers, Wonder Man ultimately sacrificed himself to save them." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "Trapped in the Castle of Count Nefaria!" The Avengers 13 (Feb. 1965), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 106: "Europe's wealthiest nobleman, Count Nefaria, had a terrible secret: he was also the most powerful crimelord on Earth. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, Nefaria secretly ran the worldwide criminal organization called the Maggia." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "The Old Order Changeth!" The Avengers 16 (May 1965), Marvel Comics ^ Daniels, Les (1991). Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. Harry N. Abrams. p. 111. ISBN 9780810938212. "Stan Lee has admitted that by this period the intertwined tales of the Marvel Universe were beginning to confuse even him. Keeping top heroes like Thor active in The Avengers without contradicting the information in Thor's own series was becoming a chore. A changing of the guard was the result for The Avengers." ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 108: "No super hero team in the history of comic books had ever gone through such a massive overhaul. A new precedent had been set! The Avengers line-up continued to change and evolve over the years." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "The Coming of the Swordsman!" The Avengers 19 (Aug. 1965), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 109: "Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the Swordsman tried to join the Earth's mightiest heroes, but after being refused , he began working for the criminal mastermind, the Mandarin." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Wood, Wally (i). "The Road Back" The Avengers 22 (Nov. 1965), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 110: "Stan Lee never let a good gimmick go to waster. He and Don Heck brought back the machine responsible for creating Wonder Man to produce a brand new super villain in The Avengers #21." ^ Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "Enter... Dr. Doom!" The Avengers 25 (Feb. 1966), Marvel Comics ^ a b Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Ray, Frankie (i). "Among Us Walks a Goliath!" The Avengers 28 (May 1966), Marvel Comics ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Heck, Don (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Blitzkreig in Central Park!" The Avengers 45 (Oct. 1967), Marvel Comics ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, John (p), Tuska, George (i). "...And Deliver Us From the Masters of Evil!" The Avengers 54 (July 1968), Marvel Comics ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Heck, Don (p). "The Ultroids Attack!" The Avengers 36 (Jan. 1967), Marvel Comics ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1960s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. Dorling Kindersley. p. 36. ISBN 978-0756692360. "Spider-Man nearly became an Avenger in this lead story written by [Stan] Lee with layouts by [John Romita, Sr.] and pencils by Don Heck. Packaged...in a 72-paged oversized special, '...To Become an Avenger' saw Spidey actively recruited for Avengers membership." ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, John (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Death Calls for the Arch-Heroes!" The Avengers 52 (May 1968), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 130: "For issue #52, [writer Roy] Thomas introduced [Wonder Man's] brother Eric, who became the Grim Reaper." ^ Friedrich, Gary (w), Heck, Don; Roth, Werner (p), Tartaglione, John (i). "When Mutants Clash!" The X-Men 45 (June 1968) ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, John (p), Tuska, George (i). "In Battle Joined!" The Avengers 53 (June 1968) ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, John (p), Klein, George (i). "Behold...The Vision!" The Avengers 57 (Oct. 1968), Marvel Comics ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 132: "The updated Vision was created by writer Roy Thomas, who continued his trick of taking a name that Marvel already owned and creating a new super hero around it...The new Vision, drawn by John Buscema, was a synthozoid - an android with synthetic human organs." ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 133: "Hank had suffered a mental breakdown and created this new identity." ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 134: "Janet Van Dyne (the Wasp) and Hank Pym...finally tied the knot in The Avengers #60." ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 103: "Tales of Suspense #59 also presented Edwin Jarvis for the first time, the longtime butler of the Avengers." ^ Sanderson, Peter "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 145 ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 146: "Red Wolf was Marvel's first Native American super hero." ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, John (p), Giacoia, Frank (i). "The World Is Not for Burning" The Avengers 85 (February 1971) ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Mooney, Jim (i). "Brain-Child to the Dark Tower Came" The Avengers 86 (March 1971) ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 148 ^ Thomas, Roy; Buscema, Sal; Adams, Neal; Buscema, John (2000). Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War. Marvel Comics. p. 208. ISBN 978-0785107453. ^ Daniels p. 150: "This wild tale...attempted to tie together more than thirty years of the company's stories...More than any previous work, 'The Kree-Skrull War' solidified the idea that every comic book Marvel had ever published was part of an endless, ongoing saga." ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 150: "Unprecedented in Marvel history, this epic spanned nine issues of The Avengers. The saga began in The Avengers #89." ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Roussos, George (i). "All Things Must End!" The Avengers 92 (September 1971) ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Adams, Neal (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "This Beachhead Earth" The Avengers 93 (November 1971) ^ Comtois, Pierre (2011). Marvel Comics In The 1970s: An Issue-By-Issue Field Guide To A Pop Culture Phenomenon. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 978-1605490342. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 149: "Ellison devised a plot for a two-part story, scripted by Roy Thomas, that began in The Avengers #88 and led into The Incredible Hulk #140." ^ Cook, Jon B. (2005). "Rich Buckler Breaks Out! The artist on Deathlok, T'Challa and other Marvel Tales". Comic Book Artist Collection, Vol. 3. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 978-1893905429. ^ Englehart, Steve (w), Brown, Bob (p), Esposito, Mike (i). "Night of the Swordsman" The Avengers 114 (August 1973) ^ Englehart, Steve (no date). "The Avengers-Defenders Clash". SteveEnglehart.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013. "From the moment it was born, this sequence was called the Avengers-Defenders Clash." ^ Englehart, Steve; Brown, Bob; Buscema, Sal (2007). Avengers/Defenders War. Marvel Comics. p. 136. ISBN 978-0785127598. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 160: "Loki and Dormammu manipulated two super-teams into the Avengers-Defenders war, starting in The Avengers #116 and The Defenders #9 in October [1973]." ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 166: "Writer Steve Englehart started an epic story line in which Kang the Conqueror tried to locate the Celestial Madonna." ^ Englehart, Steve (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Staton, Joe (i). "Yesterday and Beyond..." The Avengers 133 (March 1975) ^ Englehart, Steve (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Staton, Joe (i). "The Times That Bind!" The Avengers 134 (April 1975) ^ Englehart, Steve (w), Tuska, George (p), Chiaramonte, Frank (i). "The Torch is Passed!" The Avengers 135 (May 1975) ^ Cooke, Jon B. (2000). Comic Book Artist Collection, Volume One. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 166. ISBN 978-1893905030. ^ Englehart, Steve (w), Cockrum, Dave (p), Cockrum, Dave (i). "A Blast from the Past!" Giant-Size Avengers 2 (November 1974) ^ Englehart, Steve (w), Heck, Don (p), Tartaglione, John (i). "...Let All Men Bring Together" Giant-Size Avengers 4 (June 1975) ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 169: "Writer Steve Englehart and veteran Avengers artist Don Heck presented the grand finale of the long-running 'Celestial Madonna' saga...Immortus presided over the double wedding of Mantis to the resurrected Swordsman, and the android Vision to the Scarlet Witch." ^ Englehart,, Steve (w), Tuska, George (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "We Do Seek Out New Avengers!!" The Avengers 137 (July 1975) ^ Englehart, Steve; Pérez, George (2007). Avengers: The Serpent Crown. Marvel Comics. p. 136. ISBN 978-0785157519. ^ Shooter, Jim (w), Pérez, George (p), Marcos, Pablo (i). "Beware the Ant-Man!" The Avengers 161 (July 1977) ^ Shooter, Jim (w), Pérez, George (p), Marcos, Pablo (i). "The Bride of Ultron!" The Avengers 162 (August 1977) ^ Shooter Jim (w), Byrne, John (p), Marcos Pablo (i). "To Fall by Treachery!" The Avengers 164 (October 1977) ^ a b Shooter Jim (w), Byrne, John (p), Marcos Pablo (i). "Hammer of Vengeance!" The Avengers 165 (November 1977) ^ Shooter Jim (w), Byrne, John (p), Marcos Pablo (i). "Day of the Godslayer!" The Avengers 166 (December 1977) ^ Shooter, Jim; Pérez, George; Buscema, Sal; Wenzel, David (2010). Avengers: The Korvac Saga. Marvel Comics. p. 240. ISBN 978-0785144700. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 184: "Writer Jim Shooter and artist George Pérez began their saga pitting their seemingly omnipotent villain, Michael Korvac against Earth's Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers #167." ^ Shooter, Jim (w), Pérez, George (p), Marcos, Pablo (i). "First Blood" The Avengers 168 (February 1978) ^ Michelinie, David (w), Byrne, John (p), Day, Gene (i). "On The Matter Of Heroes!" The Avengers 181 (March 1979) ^ Michelinie, David (w), Pérez, George (p), Rubinstein, Joe (i). "Interlude" The Avengers 194 (April 1980) ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 190: "Readers learned how a mysterious woman, Magda, gave birth to the mutant twins at Wundagore Mountain before disappearing into the wilderness." ^ Michelinie, David (w), Byrne, John (p), Janson, Klaus (i). "The Redoubtable Return of Crusher Creel!" The Avengers 183 (May 1979) ^ Shooter, Jim (w), Hall, Bob (p), Green, Dan (i). "Court-Martial" The Avengers 213 (November 1981) ^ Shooter, Jim (w), Hall, Bob (p), Green, Dan (i). "Double-Cross!" The Avengers 217 (March 1982) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Milgrom, Al (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "Final Curtain!" The Avengers 229 (March 1983) ^ a b Stern, Roger (w), Milgrom, Al (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "The Last Farewell!" The Avengers 230 (April 1983) ^ a b Englehart, Steve (w), Milgrom, Al (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "Lost in Space-Time Part 5: A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven!" West Coast Avengers v2, 21 (June 1987) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Hall, Bob (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "Deceptions!" The Avengers 251 (January 1985) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Hall, Bob (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "Deciding Factor!" The Avengers 252 (February 1985) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Hall, Bob (p), Akin, Ian; Garvey, Brian (i). "Conquering Vision" The Avengers 253 (March 1985) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Hall, Bob (p), Rubinstein, Joe; DelBeato, Joe (i). "Absolute Vision" The Avengers 254 (April 1985) ^ a b Stern, Roger (w), Hall, Bob (p), Breeding, Brett (i). "Avengers Assemble!" West Coast Avengers 1 (September 1984) ^ DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 219: "Hawkeye and his new wife, Mockingbird, were given the job of running the West Coast branch...The initial four-issue limited series proved so popular that it became a regular monthly book that ran for 102 issues." ^ Stern, Roger; Buscema, John (2010). Avengers: Under Siege. Marvel Comics. p. 160. ISBN 978-0785143826. ^ Stern, Roger; Buscema, John (2011). Avengers: Assault on Olympus. Marvel Comics. p. 192. ISBN 978-0785155331. ^ Stern, Roger; Macchio, Ralph; Buscema, John (2013). Avengers: Heavy Metal. Marvel Comics. p. 200. ISBN 978-0785184522. ^ Shooter, Jim (w), Colan, Gene (p), Green, Dan (i). "...By Force of Mind!" The Avengers 211 (September 1981) ^ Shooter, Jim; Michelinie, David (w), Hall, Bob (p), Breeding, Brett (i). "...New Blood!" The Avengers 221 (July 1982) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Breeding, Brett (i). "Testing...1...2...3!" The Avengers 227 (January 1983) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Milgrom, Al (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "And Now... Starfox!" The Avengers 232 (June 1983) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Buscema, John (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "Many Brave Hearts..." The Avengers 262 (December 1985) ^ Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 129: "The Avengers were looking for some new blood, and once again Spider-Man's name had come up in discussion." ^ Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 136: "Spidey still wouldn't make the team, receiving a veto from the National Security Council based on his rather spotty record" ^ Nolen-Weathington, Eric (2007). Modern Masters Volume 12: Michael Golden. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1893905740. ^ DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 203: "When she first appeared, Rogue was a member of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants." ^ Stern, Roger (w), Buscema, John (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "Holocaust In A Hidden Land!" The Avengers 257 (July 1985) ^ Stern, Roger (w), Buscema, John (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "Pressure" The Avengers 278 (April 1987) ^ Byrne, John (w), Ryan, Paul (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "The Weakest Point" The Avengers 311 (December 1989) ^ Nolen-Weathington, Eric; Ash, Roger (2006). Modern Masters, Volume 8: Walter Simonson. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 978-1893905641. "I was pretty annoyed. I'd been working up storylines with permission for months, and watched it be eviscerated." ^ Byrne, John (w), Ryan, Paul (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "Avengers Assemble!" The Avengers 305 (July 1989) ^ Housel, Rebecca; Wisnewski, J. Jeremy; Irwin, William (2009). X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse. Wiley. p. 91. ISBN 978-0470413401. ^ Hama, Larry (w), Ryan, Paul (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "Wind From the East" The Avengers 326 (November 1990) ^ Harras, Bob (w), Epting, Steve (p), Palmer, Tom (i). "Empire's End" The Avengers 347 (May 1992) ^ Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 258 ^ Abnett, Dan; Lanning, Andy (w), Tenney, Tom (p), Garcia, Rey (i). "Daybreak" Force Works 1 (July 1994) ^ Abnett, Dan; Lanning, Andy (w), Wildman, Andrew (p), Garcia, Rey (i). "Pain Threshold" Force Works 22 (April 1996) ^ Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 280: "Another Heroes Reborn title, The Avengers was plotted and drawn by Rob Liefeld with a script by Jim Valentino. and additional pencils by Chap Yaep." ^ Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 282: "Although the flashy excitement of the Heroes Reborn event had given fans a nostalgic visit to the early part of the decade, by the end of the year, Marvel had set the stage for the return to its time-honored classic lineup." ^ Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 289: "At the top of [Marvel's] short list of dream artists for the Heroes Return project was George Pérez...But when asked to both write and draw the title, Pérez declined the invitation, stating he would rather just pencil the book...He did, however, suggest a writer that he wanted to work with - Kurt Busiek." ^ Busiek, Kurt (w), Pérez, George (p), Vey, Al (i). "Pomp & Pageantry" The Avengers v3, 10 (November 1998) ^ Busiek, Kurt (w), Pérez, George (p), Vey, Al (i). "...Always an Avenger!" The Avengers v3, 11 (December 1998) ^ Busiek, Kurt; Pérez, George (2001). The Avengers: Ultron Unlimited. Marvel Comics. p. 96. ISBN 978-0785107743. ^ Busiek, Kurt; Davis, Alan; Dwyer, Kieron (2004). The Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Marvel Comics. p. 384. ISBN 978-0785109587. ^ Bendis, Brian Michael; Finch, David (2006). Avengers Disassembled. Marvel Comics. p. 184. ISBN 978-0785122944. ^ Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 323: "Writer Brian Michael Bendis would turn the Avengers' world on its end with this shocking new crossover event drawn by artist David Finch. " ^ Bendis, Brain Michael; Coipel, Olivier (2006). House of M. Marvel Comics. p. 224. ISBN 978-0785117216. ^ Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 289: "Spider-Man had always been thought of as a solo hero and one who wouldn't work well in a team. Writer Brian Michael Bendis shattered that myth in the mid-2000s when he made Spidey a member of the New Avengers." ^ Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 324: "Superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch relaunched the title under the name The New Avengers. The comic focused more on Marvel's arguably most popular super heroes." ^ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Cho, Frank (p), Cho, Frank (i). "The Mighty Avengers" The Mighty Avengers 1 (May 2007) ^ Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 335: "With the help of artist Frank Cho, [Brian Michael] Bendis created the Mighty Avengers, a government-sponsored team that would serve as the antithesis to the still-underground New Avengers." ^ "Thor is an Avenger". Comic Book Resources. 2010-02-05. Archived from the original on 2010-02-07. Retrieved 2010-02-05. ^ Richards, Dave (2010-02-19). "Bendis Assembles His Avengers". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2010-03-02. ^ Colton, David (2010-01-27). "First Look: Marvel Comics' 'Heroes Will Be Heroes Again'". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2010-02-20. ^ "Secret Avengers Creative Team Announced". Comic Book Resources. 2010-02-08. Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^ "Luke Cage is a New Avenger Again". Comic Book Resources. 2010-03-01. Archived from the original on 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-02. ^ Richards, Dave (2010-03-16). "Christos Gage Enrolls at Avengers Academy". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2011-02-01. ^ Cornell, Paul (w), Kirk, Leonard (p), Kirk, Leonard (i). "Diplomatic Incident" Age of Heroes 1 (July 2010) ^ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Romita, Jr., John (p), Janson, Klaus (i). "His name is Noh-Varr" The Avengers v4, 2 (August 2010) ^ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Romita, Jr., John (p), Janson, Klaus; Palmer, Tom (i). "A favor? What sort of favor would you ask of Ultron, Tony Stark?"" The Avengers v4, 6 (December 2010) ^ Loeb, Jeph (w), McGuinness, Ed (p), Farmer, Mark (i). "The Strongest There Is" The Hulk v2, 24 (October 2010) ^ Parker, Jeff (w), Hardman, Gabriel (a). "Scorched Earth Part 1: Singularity" The Hulk v2, 25 (November 2010) ^ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Acuña, Daniel (p), Acuña, Daniel (i). "I don't know" The Avengers v4, 19 (January 2012) ^ Morse, Ben (2012-08-01). "Marvel NOW! Q&A: Uncanny Avengers". Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. ^ Melrose, Kevin (2012-09-04). "Marvel Reveals Weaver's Interlocking Avengers Covers". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2012-11-10. ^ Uzumeri, David (2012-08-06). "Marvel NOW! Q&A: Avengers". Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2012-08-09. ^ Hickman, Jonathan (w), Opeña, Jerome (a). "Avengers World" The Avengers v5, 1 (February 2013) ^ Hickman, Jonathan (w), Opeña, Jerome (a). "We Were Avengers" The Avengers v5, 2 (February 2013) ^ Hickman, Jonathan (w), Opeña, Jerome (a). "The Garden" The Avengers v5, 3 (March 2013) ^ Hickman, Jonathan (w), Weaver, Dustin (p), Weaver, Dustin (i). "The Last White Event" The Avengers v5, 7 (May 2013) ^ Hickman, Jonathan (w), Weaver, Dustin (p), Weaver, Dustin (i). "Starbranded" The Avengers v5, 8 (May 2013) ^ Hickman, Jonathan (w), Weaver, Dustin; Deodato, Mike (p), Weaver, Dustin; Deodato, Mike (i). "Star Bound" The Avengers v5, 9 (June 2013) ^ Glut, Don (w), Kupperberg, Alan (p), Black, Bill (i). "What If... the Avengers Had Been Formed During the 1950's?" What If...? 9 (June 1978) ^ Busiek, Kurt; Stern, Roger; Pacheco, Carlos (2011). Avengers Forever. Marvel Comics. p. 328. ISBN 978-0785137528. ^ Parker, Jeff (w), Kirk, Leonard (p), Justice, Kris (i). "The Golden History" Agents of Atlas 1 (October 2006) ^ Millar, Mark; Hitch, Bryan (2006). The Ultimates Vol. 1: Super-Human. Marvel Comics. p. 160. ISBN 978-0785109600. ^ Millar, Mark; Hitch, Bryan (2006). The Ultimates Vol. 2: Homeland Security. Marvel Comics. p. 200. ISBN 978-0785110781. ^ Millar, Mark (w), Hitch, Bryan (p), Neary, Paul (i). "Independence Day" The Ultimates 2 13 (February 2007) ^ Millar, Mark (w), Dillon, Steve (p), Lanning, Andy (i). "Blade Versus The Avengers Part 1 of 6" Ultimate Comics: Avengers 13 (October 2010) ^ Millar, Mark; Yu, Leinil Francis (2011). Ultimate Comics Avengers Vol. 2: Crime and Punishment. Marvel Comics. p. 144. ISBN 978-0785136712. ^ Millar, Mark; Dillon, Steve (2011). Ultimate Comics Avengers: Blade Vs. the Avengers. Marvel Comics. p. 152. ISBN 978-0785140092. ^ Vaughan, Brian K. (w), Alphona, Adrian (p), Yeung, Craig (i). "True Believers Chapter One" Runaways v2, 1 (April 2005) ^ Vaughan, Brian K. (w), Alphona, Adrian (p), Yeung, Craig (i). "True Believers Chapter Two" Runaways v2, 2 (May 2005) ^ Kirkman, Robert; Phillips, Sean (2007). Marvel Zombies. Marvel Comics. p. 136. ISBN 978-0785120148. ^ Van Lente, Fred (w), Alves, Wellington (p), Hanna, Scott (i). "What's my number one?" Marvel Zombies Return 5 (November 2009) ^ Gage, Christos; Perkins, Mike (2008). House of M: Avengers. Marvel Comics. p. 120. ISBN 978-0785127505. ^ Kavanagh, Terry (w), Pacheco, Carlos (p), Smith, Cam (i). "Last Stand" X-Universe 1 (May 1995) ^ Kavanagh, Terry (w), Pacheco, Carlos; Dodson, Terry (p), Smith, Cam; Riggs, Robin (i). "Dying Breath" X-Universe 2 (June 1995) Notes ^ From issue #41, all issues share legacy numbering for both volumes 1 and 3 on covers ^ Series returns to original numbering External links Official website Avengers Comic Book Sales History—Sales figures from 1966–present Big Comic Book Database: Avengers MDP:Avengers—Marvel Database Project (wiki) Avengers Assemble!—Archives and Database The Avengers at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. [show] v t e Avengers [show] v t e Avengers publications and storylines [show] Related topics Categories: Marvel Comics superhero teams Marvel Comics titles 1963 comic debuts 1996 comic debuts 1998 comic debuts 2004 comic debuts 2010 comic debuts 2013 comic debuts Superhero comics Avengers (comics) Characters created by Stan Lee Characters created by Jack Kirby Comics by Brian Michael Bendis Comics adapted into films Marvel Cinematic Universe characters