AVENGERS
The Avengers are a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American 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, inspired by the success of DC Comics Justice League of America.
Labeled Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers originally consisted of Ant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and the Wasp. 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 team has appeared in a wide variety of media outside of comic books including a number of different animated television series and direct-to-video films. The 2012 live-action feature film The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, set numerous records during its box office run, including one of the biggest opening debuts in North America, with a weekend gross of $207.4 million. A second Avengers film titled Avengers: Age of Ultron was released on May 1st, 2015.
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. When Rick Jones sent out a radio call to the Fantastic Four, Loki diverted the distress signal to Thor (whom Loki hoped would
battle the Hulk). Unknown to Loki, Ant-Man, 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.
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. Feeling responsible, the Avengers
attempted to locate and contain the Hulk, which subsequently led them into
combat with Namor the Sub-Mariner. This resulted in the
first major milestone in the Avengers' history: the revival and return of Captain America. Captain America joined
the team, and he was given
"founding member" status in the Hulk's place. The Avengers went on to fight foes
such as Captain America's wartime enemy Baron Zemo, who formed the Masters of Evil, Kang the Conqueror, Wonder Man, and Count Nefaria.
The next milestone came when every member but Captain America resigned;
they were replaced by three former villains: Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. Although they lacked the
raw power of the original team, they proved their worth and fought and defeated Swordsman; the original Power Man; and Doctor Doom. Henry Pym (who changed
his name to Goliath) and the Wasp
rejoined the Avengers. Hercules became part of the team, while the Black Knight, and the Black Widow, 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. The Black Panther joined after rescuing the team from the Grim Reaper. The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with The Avengers #53 (June 1968). This was followed by
the introduction of the Vision. Hank Pym assumed the new
identity of Yellowjacket in issue #59, and
married the Wasp the following month.
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, and
furnished with state of the art technology and defense systems, and included the Avengers' primary mode
of transport: the five-engine Quinjet.
