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.