The Avengers

Posted by Musa September 06, 2016

The Avengers

The Avengers # 1

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' JusticeLeague of America.

Labeled Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers originally consisted of Hank Pym, 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, inhumans, robots, aliens, supernatural beings, and even former villains.

Avengers' Permanent Members

Captain America

Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with a nearly indestructible shield that he throws at foes. The character is usually depicted as the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young man enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum to aid the United States government's efforts in World War II. Near the end of the war, he was trapped in ice and survived in suspended animation until he was revived in the present day. Although Captain America often struggles to maintain his ideals as a man out of his time with its modern realities, he remains a highly respected figure in his community which includes becoming the long-time leader of the Avengers.

Iron Man

An American billionaire playboy, business magnate, and ingenious engineer, Tony Stark suffers a severe chest injury during a kidnapping in which his captors attempt to force him to build a weapon of mass destruction. He instead creates a powered suit of armor to save his life and escape captivity. Later, Stark augments his suit with weapons and other technological devices he designed through his company, Stark Industries. He uses the suit and successive versions to protect the world as Iron Man, while at first concealing his true identity.

The Hulk

Hulk is the alter ego of Bruce Banner, a socially withdrawn and emotionally reserved physicist who physically transforms into the Hulk under emotional stress and other specific circumstances at will or against it; these involuntary transformations lead to many complications in Banner's life. When transformed, the Hulk often acts as a dissociated personality separate from Banner. Over the decades of Hulk stories, the Hulk has been represented with several personalities based on Hulk and Banner's fractured psyche, ranging from mindless savage to brilliant warrior, and Banner has taken control of the Hulk's form on occasion. Banner first transforms into the Hulk after being caught in the blast of the gamma bomb he invented while saving Rick Jones, a youth who had wandered onto the testing range.

Thor

Thor is the blood-son of Odin, All father of the Asgardians, and Jord, who was also known as Gaea, the elder goddess of the Earth. Odin sought to father a son whose power would derive from Earth as well as Asgard, and hence he sought to mate with Jord. Odin created a cave in Norway where Jord gave birth to Thor. Months after the infant Thor was weaned, Odin brought him to Asgard to be raised. Odin's wife, the goddess Frigga, acted as Thor's mother from that time onward. Not until recent years did Thor learn that Jord was his mother.

Black Widow

Black Widow was first a Russian spy, an antagonist of the superhero Iron Man. She later defected to the United States, becoming an agent of the fictional spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and a member of the Avengers.

Wasp

Daughter of Hank Pym and his first wife, Maria Trovaya, who was kidnapped during her honeymoon and subsequently killed by foreign agents, Nadia was raised in the Red Room in Russia, where she was being trained to become a Red Room agent herself. She had ability to shrink into a size of ant derived from her mother. Nadia made her way to the front door of Hank Pym's home, where she discovered that Hank had seemingly sacrificed his life to stop Ultron shortly beforehand. Nadia decided to shrink down and break into his lab in order to learn as much about him as she could. Using old Ant-Man suit pieces and materials laying around, she crafted a new costume and decided to become the new Wasp, vowing to earn the admiration of her father's allies.

Ant-Man

Biophysicist and Security Operations Center expert Dr. Henry Hank Pym decided to become a superhero after discovering a chemical substance (Pym Particles) that would allow the user to alter his size. Armed with a helmet that could control ants, Pym would shrink down to the size of an insect to become the mystery-solving Ant-Man. He soon shared his discovery with his girlfriend Janet van Dyne, his crime-fighting partner as the Wasp. The duo would become founding members of the Avengers.

Hawkeye

Witnessing Iron Man in action, Barton attempted to emulate him by donning a colorful costume and employing his archery skills to fight crime. However, during his first public appearance, Hawkeye was mistaken for a thief by police. The Black Widow enlisted him as her partner and they clashed with Iron Man on several occasions. When he approached the Avengers and told them of his desire to reform, Iron Man sponsored his membership on the team. Barton formed, along with Captain America, Scarlet Witch and her brother, Quicksilver, an incarnation of the Avengers known as "Cap's Kooky Quartet." This was the lineup that succeeded the original after the four remaining founders took indefinite leaves of absence.