The Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics , created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby . The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 (cover-dated September 1963). Labeled "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", the original Avengers consisted of Iron Man , Ant-Man , Hulk , Thor and the Wasp . Captain America was discovered trapped in ice in issue #4, and joined the group after they revived him. The Avengers are an all-star ensemble cast of established superhero characters from the Marvel Comics portfolio. Diegetically, these superheroes usually operate independently but occasionally assemble as a team to tackle especially formidable villains. This in contrast to certain other superhero teams such as the X-Men , whose characters were created specifically to be part of their team, with the team being central to their identity. The Avengers were created to create a new line of books to sell and to cross-promote Marvel Comics characters.
118-551: X-Statix are a team of mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The team was specifically designed to be media superstars. The team, created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred , first appears in X-Force #116 and originally assumed the moniker X-Force , taking the name of the more traditional superhero team, who appear in #117 (June 2001) claiming to be "the real X-Force". In 2001,
236-451: A mutant ! You possess an extra power...one which ordinary humans do not!! That is why I call my students... X-Men , for Ex -tra power!" This issue also features the first reference to mutants as the species "Homo Superior" by Magneto . Following the relaunch under writer Chris Claremont , narration in stories taking place on Muir Island described Moira MacTaggert as "second only to Charles Xavier as an authority on genetic mutation." In
354-554: A certain extent like 'real' families but they are also a team. They differ from other teams such as the Justice League , which is like a meritocracy; only the best of the best join that team. In contrast, the X-Men is composed of outcasts. They train and nurture one another and are united by common goals and beliefs. ...the whole theme of the X-Men — the isolation of mutants and their alienation from 'normal' society — may be read as
472-740: A conflict between the Kree and the Shi'ar Empire . 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 . During the team's first mission, Wonder Man was killed again, though his atoms were temporarily scattered. Force Works later disbanded after it
590-443: A fictional oppressed minority , mutants are often used as extended metaphors for real-world people and situations. In 1982, X-Men writer Chris Claremont said, "[mutants] are hated, feared and despised collectively by humanity for no other reason than that they are mutants. So what we have here, intended or not, is a book that is about racism, bigotry and prejudice." Danny Fingeroth writes extensively in his book Superman on
708-732: A government liaison for the New Avengers with Rogers's backing. A second series, titled Secret Avengers , was released in May 2010, written by Ed Brubaker with Mike Deodato as the regular artist. The second volume of the New Avengers series was launched in June 2010, written by Bendis and drawn by Stuart Immonen . A fourth title, Avengers Academy , was launched in June 2010, replacing Avengers: The Initiative . Christos Gage served as writer, with Mike McKone as artist. Following
826-525: A heavy-handed, obstructive manner, and insisted that the Avengers follow 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
944-506: A leave of absence and Ms. Marvel officially joined the team as her replacement. The first major development was the breakdown of Henry Pym, 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. Pym would later outwit Egghead and defeated
1062-423: A list of "15 Comic Books We Want to See as Movies", saying that the work "has never looked more timely." Previously, in 2003, the magazine had given the series an A rating, calling it a "razor-sharp media critique with hyperbolic dialogue." Fumettologica praised the subtlety of the metatextuality in its satire, mentioning the character Anarchist's fear that people won't support adding a second African American to
1180-699: A meet and greet experience. From May to September 2017, Disneyland Resort featured the "Summer of Heroes", which sees members of the Guardians and Avengers making appearances throughout the Disneyland Resort. Additionally, the Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off event was featured, which involved Peter Quill / Star-Lord blasting music from his boombox, along with the Avengers Training Initiative,
1298-564: A meeting between Rogers and MI-13 , Captain Britain accepts a position with the Avengers. Noh-Varr later does as well. Bruce Banner made arrangements with Rogers for the Red Hulk to join. The " Shattered Heroes " storyline leads to several changes in the main Avengers lineup, with Quake and Storm being recruited, and the Vision rejoining the team. Wolverine and Spider-Man leave
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#17327976252241416-557: A new issue #1. X-Statix carried on the same themes as X-Force , but with an increasingly satirical tone. Milligan planned to deploy Princess Diana as a character in a story-arc beginning in X-Statix #13: she was slated to return from the dead as a mutant superhero. However, when news of this leaked out to the media, a series of objections followed, most notably from the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail . A spokesperson for
1534-571: A new team the X-Cellent with its members being Zeitgeist, Hurt John, Mirror Girl, and Uno and alumni/former members of X-Force like Plazm, the Anarchist, La Nuit, Battering Ram, and Gin Genie. In 2020, The X-Cellent was announced as a successor to X-Statix . X-Statix is a team of colorfully dressed and emotionally immature young mutants . They are assembled and marketed as superstars, first by
1652-475: A new volume of the regular Avengers title. The roster was also changed, where following Iron Man being placed in a coma, and Spider-Man, Nova, and Ms. Marvel's resignation from the team (who instead teamed up with other heroes their own age to form their own group the Champions ), the remaining three members are joined by Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Hercules and Wasp (Nadia Pym) to form a new team. During
1770-593: A now-evil Scarlet Witch invades Latveria, Doctor Doom forms his own team of Avengers consisting of 3D Man, Elsa Bloodstone, Stingray, Valkyrie, and U.S. Agent. After various heroes and villains experience a moral inversion in the battle against the Red Skull empowered with Professor Charles Xavier's abilities, Rogers later assembles Magneto, Doctor Doom, the Absorbing Man, Carnage, Deadpool, the Enchantress,
1888-654: A parable of the alienation of any minority... of a minority grouping determined to force its own place within society. Within the Earth X universe, the powers of the vast majority of Marvel's human superheroes were revealed to have been the result of genetic manipulation by the Celestials millions of years in the past. In the Ultimate Marvel universe within the pages of the Ultimate Origins #1, it
2006-696: A pocket universe. Believing the main team to be gone, the Black Widow disbanded the Avengers, and only butler Edwin Jarvis remained to tend to the Mansion. The previous continuity of the Marvel Universe was set aside as the heroes were "reborn" in the pocket universe created by Franklin Richards to save his parents and their friends, while the " Heroes Reborn " line ended and the heroes returned to
2124-549: A separate origin for each one. As part of the concept, Lee decided that these mutant teenagers should, like ordinary ones, attend school in order to better cope with the world, in this case Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters . Following the 1963 debut of this conception of mutants in the superhero series X-Men , Marvel later introduced several additional mutant superhero teams, including The New Mutants , X-Factor , Excalibur , X-Force , and Generation X . In early X-Men stories, Professor Xavier and others suggest that mutation
2242-462: A series retaining The New Avengers in its trademarked cover logo and New Avengers in its copyright indicia . Luke Cage led this team, consisting 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 , it was revealed that Spider-Woman had been abducted and replaced by
2360-669: A team 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. After the events of the Secret Invasion story arc, 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
2478-552: A team; the Wasp named the group Avengers . The roster changed almost immediately; in the second issue (November 1963), 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. Captain America joined the team in issue #4 (March 1964), and he was given "founding member" status in the Hulk's place. The Hulk, upset about being replaced by Captain America and
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#17327976252242596-558: A wide variety of media outside of comic books, including several different animated television series and direct-to-video films. Beginning in 2008, they were adapted in a film series from Marvel Studios , known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe , culminating with The Avengers in 2012, with more appearances of the team in subsequent films. The team debuted in The Avengers #1 (September 1963). Much like
2714-576: A woman describing herself as a mutant who seeks a similarly superhuman mate. Roger Carstairs, a mutant who can create illusions, is shown in Man Comics #28, dated September 1953. A character with superhuman powers, born from a radiation-exposed parent, was seen in "The Man with the Atomic Brain!" in Journey into Mystery #52 in May 1959; although not specifically called a "mutant", his origin
2832-518: Is collected in a hardcover Marvel Omnibus , which collects: X-Force #116–129; Brotherhood #9; X-Statix #1–26; Dead Girl #1–5; Wolverine/Doop #1–2; and material from X-Men Unlimited #41; I ♥ Marvel: My Mutant Heart and Nation X #4. (Marvel, 2011, ISBN 0-7851-5844-8 ) Despite receiving condemnation from the British royal family, X-Statix received critical acclaim, if not high popularity among readers. In naming X-Statix as one of "5 Marvel Properties That, Even After ‘Guardians of
2950-643: Is consistent with one. A little-known story in Tales of Suspense #6 (November 1959) titled "The Mutants and Me!" was one of the first Marvel (then known as Atlas ) stories to feature a named "mutant". Tad Carter, a mutant with telekinetic powers, is shown in Amazing Adult Fantasy #14, dated July 1962. Officially, Namor the Sub-Mariner is considered the first mutant superhero whom Marvel Comics ever published, debuting in 1939. However, Namor
3068-463: Is related to nuclear radiation, as his parents worked on the development of the atomic bomb , though later descriptions of mutation would describe it deriving from genetics. The first in-story mention of mutants in this context is in The X-Men #1, in which Professor Xavier explains his school to the newly admitted Jean Grey: "You, Miss Grey, like the other students at this most exclusive school, are
3186-586: Is revealed that super-powered "mutants" were artificially created via genetic modification by the Weapon X program in a laboratory in Alberta , Canada in October 1943. The project was an attempt to produce a supersoldier , inspired by the existence of Captain America . James Howlett was the first individual to be so modified. At some later point, possibly during a confrontation between Magneto and his parents,
3304-484: The British royal family called the planned story "appalling." Milligan responded to the controversy, writing in the British daily newspaper The Guardian that Diana fit in well with X-Statix as someone "famous for being famous" and that he would like to write a story where David Beckham joined the team, if he could convince Marvel to let him. On July 10, 2003, Marvel announced that they would remove Princess Diana from
3422-641: The DC Extended Universe (DCEU), culminating with Justice League in 2017. Movies tend to have bigger audiences than comic books, so, the general public are more aware that the likes of Wonder Woman and Captain America existed in separate universes owned by different companies. The movies raised brand awareness of DC Comics and Marvel Comics. As of June 2022, the MCU is the highest-grossing film franchise in history, having collectively grossed over $ 26 billion in box-office revenue, more than twice that by
3540-654: The Fantastic Four , as well as various members of the X-Men , Heroes for Hire , and other prominent Marvel teams have served as members of the Avengers. The Avengers have a long list of villains they frequently face. Some of the most recurring include Ultron , Kang the Conqueror , Loki and Thanos . Abraham Josephine Riesman of Vulture included the Avengers team in their "12 Teams That Defined Superhero Storytelling" list. Michael Doran of Newsarama ranked
3658-498: The Grim Reaper and Klaw . The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with The Avengers #53 (June 1968). This was followed by the introduction of the android Vision . 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
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3776-428: The Justice League , the Avengers were an assemblage of superheroes who each had an existing series of his own. All of the characters were created by Stan Lee and 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
3894-583: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise: Avengers (comics) An Iron Man fan might buy an Avengers book because Iron Man appears in them, and perhaps in turn take an interest in Thor, who appears in the same book as Iron Man's friend and comrade. The cast usually features a few highly popular characters who have their own solo books, such as Iron Man, alongside a number of lesser-known characters who benefit from exposure, such as Quicksilver , Wonder Man and Tigra . The Avengers have appeared in
4012-403: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), culminating with the release of The Avengers in 2012. Before the MCU, superhero movies were usually isolated productions mostly because of licensing issues, but the shared universe model has led to its continued growing success. In response, Warner Brothers (which owns DC Comics) began to produce its own series of interconnected superhero movies known as
4130-555: The New Mutants graphic novel , after witnessing Rahne Sinclair demonstrate her mutant shapeshifting ability, MacTaggert refers to "an anomalous DNA matrix" in her blood signaling that Sinclair "could be a mutant." The cause of mutation was elaborated upon in the first issue of the spin-off series X-Factor, in which Cameron Hodge refers to "people who possess the X-Factor mutation in their genetic makeup." This genetic mutation
4248-645: The Wasp . Hulk left after a single issue, which would become a running gag among splinter team members (for example, Spider-Man leaving the second incarnation of the Avengers Unity Division), and his founder status was retroactively filled in by Captain America . Later additions and frequent members include Hawkeye , Wonder Man , Falcon , Black Panther , Captain Marvel , Scarlet Witch , Quicksilver , and Vision , among others. There are also numerous splinter teams that have formed, starting with
4366-607: The West Coast Avengers in 1984. Each of these splinter teams tends to specialize in a way the main team does not. Members of these teams can be on other splinter teams or on the main team. These teams are, in alphabetical order: Of these teams, only the main team, Avengers World, the Great Lakes Avengers, the Savage Avengers, and the Young Avengers are currently active. Additionally, all members of
4484-546: The West Coast Avengers ; and "Avengers Under Siege" which involved the second Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil taking over the mansion and severely injuring Jarvis and Hercules. "Assault on Olympus" featured Hercules' father, Zeus, blaming the Avengers for his son's injuries and brought them to Olympus for trial, and the "Heavy Metal" arc saw the Super Adaptoid organized several robotic villains for an assault on
4602-474: The X-Men family of titles were being revamped by the newly appointed Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada . The aim was to make the titles more critically and commercially successful. Former Vertigo editor Axel Alonso hired writer Peter Milligan , best known for his surreal , post-modernist comics such as Rogan Gosh and Shade, the Changing Man , and Madman artist Mike Allred , as
4720-542: The 2011 film X-Men: First Class , Hank McCoy (later known as Beast ), upon being outed to a colleague as a mutant, responds, " You didn't ask, so I didn't tell. " In his article Super Heroes, a Modern Mythology , Richard Reynolds writes: Much of the appeal and draw of the mutants that comprise the X-Men has to do with feeling like an outcast while simultaneously feeling like part of a family. Mutants are ostracized because they are different but they bound together because of their differences. They may be forced together to
4838-462: The 2017 " Secret Empire " storyline, when Captain America was 'reprogrammed' to believe that he had been a Hydra sleeper agent since childhood, the Hydra regime formed their own Avengers. This team consisted of Odinson (Thor currently doubting his worth and believing that Rogers must be 'right' as he could wield Mjolnir when Thor couldn't, unaware that Hydra had used the cosmic cube to change the nature of
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4956-510: The 40-issue Solo Avengers (Dec.1987–Jan. 1991), retitled Avengers Spotlight with #21. Between 1996 and 2004, Marvel relaunched the primary Avengers title three times. In 1996, the " Heroes Reborn " line took place in an alternate universe, with a revamped history unrelated to mainstream Marvel continuity. The Avengers vol. 3 ran for 84 issues from February 1998 to August 2004. Early issues were written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by George Perez . To coincide with what would have been
5074-540: 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) 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 , followed by The Mighty Avengers , Avengers: The Initiative , and Dark Avengers . Avengers vol. 4 debuted in July 2010 and ran until January 2013. Vol. 5
5192-455: The Avengers 1st in their "10 Best Superhero Teams of All Time" list. Jason Serafino of Complex ranked the Avengers 2nd in their "10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics" list. Chris Isaac of Screen Rant the Avengers team 2nd in their "15 Best Superhero Teams Of All Time" list. Geoff Boucher of Deadline ranked the Avengers team 3rd in their "Stan Lee's Legacy: Ranking The Hollywood Heroes Co-Created By The Marvel Comics Icon" list. Most of
5310-610: The Avengers Unity Squad continues to operate to support mutant relations. Iron Man forms a new team of Avengers in the All-New All-Different Avengers series consisting of himself, the Vision, Nova , Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Captain America (Sam Wilson), and Thor (Jane Foster). Following the " Civil War II ", storyline, the title was canceled and replaced with
5428-468: The Avengers team 1st in their "Best Superhero Teams of All Time" list. Comic Book Resources asserted, "The Avengers are known as Earth's mightiest heroes, and that appellation is self-explanatory. The team combines Marvel's greatest heroes into one powerful unit, an assemblage of heroes that faces down the deadliest threats the Marvel Universe can throw at them. The team has proven to be one of
5546-586: The Avengers. 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 again with a substitute reserve team backing up the main teams. At this point, ongoing storylines and character development focused on the Black Knight, Sersi , Crystal , Hercules,
5664-671: The Celestials set upright the corpse of the long-time dead Progenitor in the North Pole. The Avengers refurbished the Progenitor's corpse, transforming it into their base of operations, the Avengers Mountain. The Avengers team lineup is known for being perpetually fluid and changing, with many members coming and going, often more than once. The founding members of the team were Iron Man , Thor , Hulk , Ant-Man and
5782-570: The Cheyarafim after this has not been revealed. Angel and Icarus are said to be descended from Cheyarafim, while Nightcrawler is supposedly the son of a Neyaphem, Azazel. In the pages of " House of X and Powers of X ", the Chimeras are genetically altered humanoid mutants who are combined from the DNA of past mutants so that they would have combinations of their power set and also propagate
5900-567: The Children of the Sun. The "Multiversal Avengers" division of this team consists of Abyss, the Ex Nihili (including Ex Nihilo), Hyperion, Nightmask, Odinson, and Star Brand. Following the destruction and reconstruction of reality in the 2015 " Secret Wars " storyline, a new team is created known as Avengers Idea Mechanics, set to tackle Avengers-level threats beyond simply fighting villains, while
6018-477: The Couch about the appeal of mutants and their meaning to society: The most popular pop culture franchises are those that make the viewer/reader feel special and unique, while simultaneously making him or her feel he or she is part of a mass of people experiencing and enjoying the same phenomenon. The plight of the mutants is universally compelling. Many people feel a need for a surrogate family, one composed of those
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#17327976252246136-591: The DNA samples of an Arraki named Tarn the Uncaring. When the experiment proved to be a failure and the Quiet Council of Krakoa found out about it, Mister Sinister is undeterred in his next plans to research the Chimeras. Later in the " Sins of Sinister " storyline, Mister Sinister was in an alternate timeline where he created his Chimeras after taking over world with his Sinister gene. The following are
6254-464: The Galaxy,’ Are Still Too Weird for the Big Screen", IndieWire wrote that X-Statix "viciously deconstructed every phony bit of comic-book artifice", put "fame-whoring media culture on trial", and confronted issues of race, class, and sexuality. IGN wrote that the frequency with which characters were killed off "lent the book an air of danger and unpredictability rare to mainstream superhero titles." In 2012, Entertainment Weekly included X-Statix in
6372-425: The Hobgoblin, the fifth Jack O'Lantern, Loki, Mystique, and Sabretooth, all temporarily 'inverted' to act as heroes, to assist he and Spider-Man in defeating the inverted Avengers and X-Men until the original spell can be undone. During the " Time Runs Out " storyline, Sunspot created a team of the Avengers, consisting of himself, Black Widow, Cannonball, Manifold, Pod, Shang-Chi, Smasher, Spider-Woman, Validator, and
6490-412: The Maximoff twins, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (Marvel Comics) . Giant-Man, now calling himself Goliath, and the Wasp rejoined. Hercules became part of the team, while the Black Knight and the Black Widow abetted the Avengers but did not become members until years later. Spider-Man was offered membership but did not join the group. The Black Panther joined after rescuing the team from
6608-403: The Sentry left this team — the Wasp appeared to have died — and the team migrated to the series Dark Avengers . Osborn recruited 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 Mighty Avengers , Pym, assumed
6726-403: The Skrull queen Veranke before she even joined the team. 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 Barnes as a fill-in Captain America , and Mockingbird . Iron Man, in the series The Mighty Avengers , formed
6844-399: The United Nations. Members joining during that period included Jack of Hearts and the second Ant-Man . A new Captain Britain was added to the team. The " Avengers Disassembled " storyline followed. 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
6962-443: 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. This culminated in " Operation: Galactic Storm ", a 19-part storyline that ran through all Avengers-related titles and showcased
7080-429: The Wasp identity in tribute to 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 (Wasp and Cap were dead, Thor was acting solo, and Iron Man was on the run from Osborn). His team operated under a multinational umbrella group, the Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity (GRAMPA). This team featured
7198-458: The Wasp, reformed the team in response after complaints from Jarvis. Mantis joined the team along with the reformed Swordsman . "The Avengers-Defenders Clash" storyline crossed over between the two team titles. "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, and Immortus , who were past and future versions of each other. Mantis
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#17327976252247316-487: The Witch. Taskmaster and Black Ant free the imprisoned Champions in exchange for leniency, and the true version of Steve Rogers was restored, using Mjolnir against his counterpart. In May 2018, another volume for the series was launched as part of Marvel's Fresh Start initiative, written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Ed McGuinness . This new volume also saw the return of the main three core members, as Steve Rogers and Thor met up with Tony Stark to convince him to reassemble
7434-450: The apparent betrayal by Rick, sought revenge against the Avengers, who teamed up with the Fantastic Four to stop him in The Fantastic Four #26 (May 1964). The Avengers went on to fight foes such as 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 and
7552-471: The broader setting. DC Comics pioneered this idea with the Justice Society of America and the Justice League , likewise promoting and developing the DC Universe . Many readers devoted themselves to just one of these two comic book universes. After all, they were both quite large and didn't overlap. Thus, the superhero fan community developed sub-communities of DC devotees and Marvel devotees. Marvel Studios repeated this business strategy when it produced
7670-429: The character Azazel , the Cheyarafim are a group of angel -like mutants who were the traditional enemies of the Neyaphem, a demonic-looking group of mutants who lived in Biblical times. The Cheyarafim were fanatics who had a strict, absolutist view of morality which led them into conflict with the Neyaphem. This escalated into a holy war , causing the Neyaphem to be exiled into an alternate dimension. What happened to
7788-440: The characters that appear in Marvel Comics ' books are set in the same fictional universe, known as the Marvel Universe . They occasionally make guest appearances in each other's books, and more regularly in team books, such as The Avengers . Such crossovers encouraged readers to buy other books in the Marvel Comics catalogue, and readers became engrossed not just in the individual characters but in their web of relationships across
7906-413: The earlier films and the gauntlet and boot from an action sequence in Iron Man 3 . The exhibit for Thor: The Dark World was called "Thor: Treasures of Asgard", and featured displays of Asgardian relics and transports guests to Odin 's throne room, where they were greeted by Thor. Captain America: The Winter Soldier ' s exhibit, "Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage", featured
8024-446: The enchantment), Deadpool, a Chthon-possessed Scarlet Witch, Vision (who was suffering from an A.I. Virus created by Arnim Zola ), Taskmaster , Eric O'Grady 's Life Model Decoy counterpart Black Ant , and Doctor Octopus ' Superior Octopus appearance. However, in the final stand, Odinson rejects Rogers' authority and sides with his old allies, while the Vision's daughter purges him of the virus and Brother Voodoo exorcises Chthon from
8142-445: The epitome of peak physical skill, having superhuman levels of strength, speed, reflexes, agility, stamina, and durability. Vargas also seems to be immune to various mutant abilities (such as Rogue's absorption and Psylocke's telekinetic blast). Mutants have been shown to successfully crossbreed or a result of crossbreed with Humans (Homo sapiens), Atlanteans (Homo mermanus), fairies, and other humanoid aliens like Shi'ar , etc. As
8260-446: The film rights to the X-Men and other mutant characters reverted to Marvel Studios . When asked if his use of the term "mutants" meant the film would be avoiding the term "X-Men", Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige clarified that he was using the two terms interchangeably. He added that Marvel Studios' approach to the characters would be different to Fox's franchise. Since 2022, the mutant race have appeared in various media set within
8378-405: The flagship title of the Marvel NOW! initiative. 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. As well, a biweekly Avengers title was launched, written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by different artists for each story arc. Hickman also began writing New Avengers . During the 2014 " AXIS " storyline, when
8496-461: The granddaughter of Thanos . The team relocated for a period to a floating island off the coast of New York called Hydrobase after Avengers Mansion was severely damaged during the events in "Under Siege". Hydrobase was later sunk during the Acts of Vengeance crossover. The Avengers and West Coast Avengers changed to allow members to be active when available and reserved when not available and merged
8614-538: The group with themselves at its core. The reunion was consolidated by the machinations of Loki, who facilitated the arrival of the world-threatening Dark Celestials as a ploy to get the Avengers back in action, resulting in the participation of Black Panther , Captain Marvel , She-Hulk , Ghost Rider and Blade , with the Black Panther being elected chairperson. After the Dark Celestials were defeated,
8732-512: The known Chimeras: Maximus Lobo claims to be a part of a mutant sub-species of feral wolf -like mutants, whom he calls the Dominant Species. He later tries to recruit Wolf Cub into his ranks to no avail. A few years later, another mutant named Romulus claims that some human mutants evolved from canines instead of primates. Romulus' sister Remus would later consider his claim to be a hoax when she meets Wolverine. Humans are not
8850-415: The latest incarnation of the Masters of Evil single-handedly, and proved his innocence. Pym reconciled with the Wasp, but they decided to remain apart. Pym retired from super-heroics, but returned years later. This was followed by 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; the formation of
8968-482: The main team and become more involved with the New Avengers . During the events of the " Avengers vs. X-Men " storyline, Storm quits to side with her fellow mutants as a member of the X-Men. The Avengers dismiss Noh-Varr after he attempted to betray the team, though ultimately he did not. The conflict ends with both teams united but defeated by an unrepentant Cyclops . A new series, Uncanny Avengers , debuted in
9086-458: 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
9204-404: The manner in which creators in the industry handle death in comic books, with popular characters often brought back from the dead. In 2019, Giant Sized X-Statix was published and written by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred the original creators of X-Statix. The title showcased a new version of the team consisting of the new U Go-Girl, Doop, Vivisector, Mister Sensitive, The A, and Phatty as well as
9322-511: The memory of her lost children and who subsequently lost control of her reality-altering powers. With the team in disarray and Avengers Mansion ruined, the surviving members agreed to disband. A new Avengers team formed, in the series New Avengers after a group of heroes banded together to thwart a break-out at super-villain prison the Raft, composed of Iron Man, Captain America, Luke Cage , Wolverine , Ronin , Spider-Man , Spider-Woman , and
9440-479: The mid-1970s. Writers of the first series included Roy Thomas , Steve Englehart , Gerry Conway , Jim Shooter , David Michelinie and Roger Stern . Artists included John Buscema , Tom Palmer , Neal Adams , George Perez , John Byrne and Steve Epting . 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; and
9558-430: The most potent groups in all of comics, boasting legendary heroes and battling in titanic wars for the fate of all reality," and ranked the Avengers team 1st in their "10 Most Important Marvel Hero Teams" list, 1st in their "Every Marvel Superhero Team" list, 1st in their "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams" list, and 2nd in their "Marvel: 10 Most Powerful Teams" list. Poushali Guharauth of Sportskeeda ranked
9676-546: The mutant population. Third generation Chimeras have a 10% failure rate making them unable to be warriors. Fourth generation Chimeras have a corrupted hive mind. They were more common in Moira MacTaggert 's ninth life where they were created in Mister Sinister's Breeding Pits on Mars. Sometime after the " X of Swords " storyline, Mister Sinister created his first Chimera by splicing his own DNA samples with
9794-634: The mutant trigger was released into the environment worldwide, leading to the appearance of mutants in the general population. Following the events of the Ultimatum storyline, information concerning the origins of mutancy was made public and steps were taken in the US to make being a mutant illegal. While the move apparently has majority support among the non-mutant population, a vocal minority has voiced concern that it will lead to witch-hunts and genocide. Following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019,
9912-588: The mutants and proposed a formal treaty alliance, explaining to Storm , "You mutants share some DNA with Deviants? It's of little matter. Until a mutant triggers our physiological 'excess deviation' response, you're not Deviants in the way that counts. You're just human." Introduced in the second series of X-Factor , a changeling is a mutant whose powers manifest at birth. Jamie Madrox and Damian Tryp are examples of this sub-class. Cheyarafim and Neyaphem first appear in Uncanny X-Men #429. According to
10030-476: The mysterious Sentry . 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 superpowered persons to register their true identities with the federal government and become agents of same. The New Avengers disbanded, with a rebel underground starring in
10148-453: The mysterious Coach, and later by media mogul Spike Freeman. In Milligan and Allred's first issue of X-Force , nearly the entire team is killed off in an incident called the Boyz R Us Massacre. This precursory team, of which only U-Go Girl, Doop, and Anarchist survive, also included: X-Statix's appearances have been collected into the following trade paperbacks : The entire run of X-Statix
10266-442: The new creative team for X-Force , starting with issue #116. Prior to Milligan and Allred's first issue, X-Force sold well, but had not been the critical success Quesada wanted. Milligan and Allred completely revamped the series, designing a team more akin to popstars or reality TV contestants than the gritty, violent paramilitary group originally portrayed in the series. The title was laced with Milligan's satirical take on
10384-589: The next stage in human evolution . The accuracy of this is the subject of much debate in the Marvel Universe . Unlike Marvel's mutates, which are characters who develop their powers only after exposure to outside stimuli or energies (such as the Hulk , Spider-Man , the Fantastic Four , Absorbing Man , and Captain Marvel ), mutants have actual genetic mutations . A March 1952 story in Amazing Detective Cases #11 called "The Weird Woman" tells of
10502-521: The only species to have mutant subspecies. Created by Rob Liefeld , Externals are immortal mutants whose powers have allowed them to exist for centuries. Eventually, most of the Externals are killed by Selene , and later by Apocalypse . Introduced in Chris Claremont 's X-Treme X-Men , a character known as Vargas claims to be humanity's natural response to mutants. Vargas was born at
10620-403: The original Avengers series with issue #672. Starting with issue #675, all four Avengers titles being published at the time ( Avengers , Uncanny Avengers , U.S. Avengers and Occupy Avengers ) were merged into a single weekly series dubbed Avengers: No Surrender, lasting 16 issues , designed to close out this era of the team's history. Following the conclusion of No Surrender in 2018,
10738-579: The prime Marvel Universe. This restoration also undid recent changes to the team members such as the Wasp being mutated into an insectoid state, Hawkeye being rendered deaf, and Stark being replaced by his teenage self, attributed to Franklin's childish perception recreating the heroes in the manner he was more familiar with. After the Heroes Reborn series concluded, the Avengers comic was restarted with vol. 3 #1 written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by George Pérez . New members during this run included
10856-442: The revived Wonder Man, Justice , Firestar , Silverclaw , and Triathlon . The Avengers fought many of their traditional villains such as the Grim Reaper , Ultron , Count Nefaria , and Kang the Conqueror . The limited series Avengers Forever , starting during this period, was a time travel story that explored the history of the Avengers and resolved many outstanding questions about Kang and Immortus's past manipulations of
10974-677: The roster of Hercules , Amadeus Cho , Stature , the Vision, Jocasta , U.S. Agent , Quicksilver , Magneto , and Pym. Loki in disguise as the Scarlet Witch was a recurring character. Iron Man and the Hulk were briefly with them. After Osborn's Dark Avengers are exposed as criminals and their attack on Asgard was thwarted, the next iteration of the Avengers roster consists of Thor , Hawkeye , Spider-Man , Wolverine , Captain America , Spider-Woman , Iron Man , and team leader Maria Hill . Steve Rogers , briefly eschewing his Captain America persona, responds to Luke Cage's concerns about
11092-600: The second largest franchise, Star Wars . After the acquisition by Disney in 2009, Marvel films began to be marketed at the Innoventions attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland . For Iron Man 3 , the exhibit, entitled "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries", featured the same armor display that was shown at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, with the Marks I-VII and the new Mark XLII. In addition, there
11210-472: The series was relaunched again as Avengers . When the Asgardian god Loki seeks revenge against his brother Thor , his machinations unwittingly lead teenager Rick Jones to collect Ant-Man ( Hank Pym ), the Wasp and Iron Man to help Thor and the Hulk , the latter of whom Loki used as a pawn. After the group vanquished Loki, Ant-Man stated that the five worked well together and suggested they form
11328-527: The seven-member limit lost his membership slot to the Falcon. 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. 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). After this adventure, the Scarlet Witch took
11446-414: The story, replacing her with a fictional pop star named Henrietta Hunter. Although sales of the title during this time were moderate, they soon began to decline drastically. After a story-arc that pitted X-Statix against The Avengers , low sales prompted the title's cancellation with issue #26, published in 2004. In the last issue Milligan and Allred killed off the entire team, serving up one last parody of
11564-484: The superhero genre, while tying up the remaining plot threads. In 2006, Marvel Comics published the five-issue miniseries X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl , which featured Dead Girl teaming up with Doctor Strange to combat a group of villains who have returned from the dead. The series is written by Milligan, with covers by Allred. The storyline (which features the returns of the Anarchist, the Orphan, and U-Go Girl) parodies
11682-428: The superhero team as well as general cynicism toward the entire genre. Milligan wrote that he saw the characters' super powers as "vehicles for exploring our celebrity and fame-obsessed society." "My mutants all have agents, negotiate fees for image rights, open megastores and live the dream. People die in my comic. We even have a character called Dead Girl." Milligan and Allred would regularly play with killing off
11800-553: The team crossed into an alternate dimension and battled the Squadron Supreme , and fought in the Kree-Skrull War , 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. The true founding Avengers, minus
11918-461: The team reverting to old methods by granting Cage's "New Avengers" recognition as an official team independent of Stark's more traditional Avengers. Bucky Barnes as Captain America joined the main Avengers, while Iron Fist, Power Woman , and the Thing joined Cage's team, Spider-Man and Wolverine maintaining dual membership in both teams. Rogers was an occasional presence and Victoria Hand was added as
12036-670: The team soon after. A seven-part story featured the Squadron Supreme and the Serpent Crown . Other classic storylines included " The Bride of Ultron ", the " Nefaria Trilogy", and "The Korvac Saga", which featured nearly every Avenger who joined the team up to that point. Henry Peter Gyrich became the Avengers' liaison to the United States National Security Council . Gyrich was prejudiced against superhumans and acted in
12154-586: The team, featuring various Avengers from the past (Captain America immediately after " Secret Empire ", Hank Pym early in his Yellowjacket delusion, and Hawkeye just after the Kree-Skrull war), present (Hank Pym as Giant-Man and Janet as the Wasp) and possible futures (Genis-Vell and Songbird) working alongside Kang the Conqueror and Rick Jones as part of Kang's attempt to escape his perceived 'destiny' as Immortus. The Avengers were granted international authority by
12272-523: The team. Mutant (Marvel Comics) In American comic books published by Marvel Comics , a mutant is a human being that possesses a genetic trait called the X-gene. It causes the mutant to develop superhuman powers that manifest at puberty . Human mutants are sometimes referred to as a human subspecies Homo sapiens superior or simply Homo superior . Mutants are the evolutionary progeny of Homo sapiens , and are actually revealed to be
12390-702: The team. New members during the 1980s included Tigra ; the She-Hulk ; Monica Rambeau (then going by the name Captain Marvel); Starfox (the brother of Thanos ); Hawkeye's wife, Mockingbird ; and Namor , while Henry Pym emerged from retirement to join the West Coast Avengers. Spider-Man was again offered membership, but failed to gain admission due to security concerns by the Avengers' government liaison. The villain Nebula falsely claimed to be
12508-568: 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. 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
12626-460: The title characters: In their first issue, they wiped out the entire team, with only two exceptions. This dramatic revision of the series was not universally accepted. Many readers wanted "their" X-Force back, a complaint Milligan later parodied in the pages of the title. Alonso described the series as "a hostile takeover of the X-Men paradigm." However, the title was receiving mainstream media coverage in titles like Rolling Stone . X-Force #116
12744-500: The two separate Avengers teams into one team with two bases. The Vision had his personality fundamentally altered, along with 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
12862-452: The world has abused and persecuted in the same way they have been their whole life. This is especially true in adolescents, which may in part explain some of the draw of mutants. An obvious parallel between homosexuality and mutation is drawn in the feature film X2 , where Iceman 's mother asks, "Have you tried not being a mutant?" This question (or various forms thereof) is common among parents who find out their children are gay . In
12980-412: Was a simulator game, titled "Become Iron Man", that used Kinect -like technology to allow the viewer to be encased in an animated Mark XLII armor and take part in a series of "tests," in which you fire repulsor rays and fly through Tony Stark's workshop. The game was guided by J.A.R.V.I.S., who is voiced again by Paul Bettany. The exhibit also had smaller displays that included helmets and chest pieces from
13098-687: Was later dubbed the X-Gene. At one point, Beast states that the X-Gene is located on the 23rd chromosome ; the process described is that the gene activates mutation producing a protein stimulating chemical signals which induce mutations on other genes. Mutations are depicted as generally manifesting during adolescence, however this is not universal. Some mutants, such as Nightcrawler , are visibly mutated from birth, while others like Magneto do not develop their abilities until adulthood. Some mutants are not even aware of their latent mutations unless deliberately activated, such as Polaris , whose manifestation
13216-519: Was launched in February 2013. After Secret Wars , a new Avengers team debuted, dubbed the All-New, All-Different Avengers , starting with a Free Comic Book Day preview. Following Civil War II , the book was relaunched in 2016 as Avengers , while retaining the same writer and much of the cast from the All-New, All-Different run. The series ran for 11 issues before reverting to the numbering of
13334-469: Was not actually described as a mutant until Fantastic Four Annual #1, decades after his first appearance. The same is true of Toro , partner of the android Human Torch introduced in 1940. The modern concept of mutants as a distinct species independent of homo sapiens began development under Marvel writer and editor-in-chief Stan Lee in the early 1960s, as a means to create a large number of superheroes and supervillains without having to think of
13452-560: Was revealed that Iron Man became a murderer via the manipulations of the villain Kang, the same storyline seeing Iron Man sacrificing himself and being replaced by his teenage counterpart from a parallel timeline. 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
13570-523: Was revealed to be the Celestial Madonna, who was destined to give birth to a being that would save the universe. It was revealed that the Vision's body had only been appropriated, and not created by Ultron, and that it had 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. The Beast and Moondragon joined
13688-602: 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 . The prequel comic Avengers #1 1/2 (Dec. 1999), by writer Roger Stern and artist Bruce Timm, told a retro-style story taking place between issues #1 and #2, detailing Ant-Man's decision to transform himself into Giant-Man. The team encountered new characters such as Arkon in issue #75 (April 1970) and Red Wolf in #80 (Sept. 1970). The team's adventures increased in scope as
13806-571: Was the first Marvel Comics title since The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 in 1971 to not have the Comics Code Authority (CCA) approval seal, due to the violence depicted in the issue. The CCA, which governed the content of American comic books, rejected the issue, requiring that changes be made. Instead, Marvel simply stopped submitting comics to the CCA. X-Force was canceled with issue #129 in 2002 and renamed X-Statix ; it restarted with
13924-535: Was triggered with technological aid. In the 2022 storyline, A.X.E.: Judgment Day , mutants are discovered by Eternals to be an offshoot of the Deviant race, triggering efforts by the Eternals' leader Druig to wipe them out, giving the mutants an explicit link to the Celestials and to the publisher's cosmic storylines. In the series' conclusion, new Prime Eternal Zuras confirms the end of hostilities with
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