In September of 1963, the first issue of the Avengers comic, boasting Earth's Mightiest Super-heroes on the cover, brought together Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Hulk, and Iron Man in an effort to defeat Loki. Seeing how well the five heroes work together, Ant-Man suggested forming a team and the others agreed. The name "Avengers" came courtesy of Wasp.
Foreshadowing the ever-revolving door that would define Avengers membership in the years to come, the line-up of Avengers changed immediately. Consumed by guilt over how much the other members feared him, Hulk left the team and Ant-Man underwent the first of several name changes and began calling himself Giant-Man.
While trying to find Hulk and get him to rejoin the team, the Avengers discovered the frozen body of Captain America. Long believed to be dead since the end of World War II, Captain instead had been frozen. After Captain America joined the team, the classic line-up of the Avengers was complete and that group went on to fight the Masters of Evil, Kang the Conqueror, Wonder Man, Count Nefaria and other villains together.
Soon the Avengers underwent another personnel change, as all the members but Captain America quit and were replaced by Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, all former villains. Eventually, that line-up is joined by Henry Pym, the Wasp, Hercules, the Black Knight, the Black Panther, Vision, and the Black Widow.
Several important storylines took place in the 1970s. The first disbanding of the team took place during that decade, as Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man were replaced by Skrulls who used their positions to disband the team. The debut of the Scarlet Witch-Vision love story occurred during this time period as well, and that story would prove to be of vital importance.One of the more controversial elements of the 1970s Avengers storylines came courtesy of Henry Peter Gyrich. As the Avengers' liaison to the United States National Security Council, Gyrich became a frequent pain for the Avengers. One of his demands was that the team be trimmed down to seven members and that Falcon be admitted as a member in order to be compliant with Affirmative Action laws. This caused Hawkeye to lose his position in the team to Falcon for a time, until Falcon quit the team.
The 1980s saw an expansion of Avengers membership, to include Mockingbird, She-Hulk, Tigra, and Namor. It was also during this period that a new team called the West Coast Avengers premiered.
Writer John Byrne established that the children of the Scarlet Witch and Vision were illusions. That realization drove Scarlet Witch insane for a time, though she would temporarily recover.
Years later, however, Brian Michael Bendis took the Scarlet Witch's insanity to a further level in the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline. Due to the insanity brought on by the loss of her children, the Scarlet Witch began a series of attacks on the team. While the Scarlet Witch were ultimately stopped, Ant-Man and Hawkeye were killed and the mansion destroyed. The Avengers decided to go their separate ways.
Soon after the Dissembled storyline, the Avengers was rebooted into the New Avengers, a comic full of heroes such as Wolverine, Luke Cage, and Spider-Man, in addition to the traditional Captain America and Iron Man. The new line-up offended many long-time Avengers fans as they saw it as not being faithful to what the Avengers had always been. Many critics called it a "Justice League clone." Still, others were happy with the new line-up.
The next major shakeup in the Avengers occurred with the Superhero Registration Act. The Act caused the Avengers to pick either Captain America's anti-registration side or Iron Man's pro-registration side. Following the Civil War event, the Registration Act compliant Mighty Avengers joined the underground New Avengers in monthly publication.
Though there have undoubtedly been many changes to the Marvel Comics Avengers and their line-up, the basic heart of the team remains. As the book itself states: "And there came a day, day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves untied 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, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then - for now, the Avengers Assemble!"
Essential Storylines:
~ Avengers Disassembled~ House of M~ Operation: Galactic Storm~ Avengers Forever~ Kree / Skrull War~ Young Avengers
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