The Avengers appearing in this group, leading up to the Top 10, are an interesting batch. We’ve got our last male Avenger to appear, and he was romantically involved with one of the women on this list when he was first introduced. Two of these characters have a linked origin, two of them have also both been members, or quasi-members of the Fantastic Four, two of them have both been members of the Defenders, and two of them were both involved with the Thunderbolts. Lots of links in this crew, and it’s a nice batch, if you ask me.
#15. Hawkeye – Clint Barton
Joined Avengers #16 (May 1965)
Creators: Stan Lee, Don Heck
Captain America is clearly the Avenger who was not a founding member, who is most associated with the team, and has the biggest impact on it. He throughly represents that Avengers spirit, the guiding force that makes the team what it is. For Captain American to be that figurehead; that guiding spirit, there clearly needs to be success stories of members for whom he has made a difference, and for whom the Avengers have shaped into a better person… a better hero as a result. In my eyes, Hawkeye is that Avenger. After getting started as an Iron Man villain alongside the Black Widow, he, along with Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, were the first new members to join after Captain America, and they did so in the wake of all the founding members departing. Dubbed Cap’s Kooky Quartet, the trio were all reformed villains, making a go at a heroic lifestyle, and while each had their challenges, Hawkeye was the brash rebel who viewed Cap as the establishment… the old guard to constantly challenge and provoke. Clint never became a straight-laced, by the books “Captain America,” but he does owe much of his eventual successful career as a leader, first of the West Coast Avengers, and then of the Thunderbolts, to his former mentor.
After a long stint with the Avengers, butting heads with Cap, slowly learning the ropes of becoming an effective team player, taking a stint as the size-changing hero Goliath with the help of Hank Pym’s growth serum, and coming to terms with his criminal past under the mentorship of The Swordsman, and the conflicted relationship with his brother Barney, Hawkeye eventually left the team to prove himself on his own. Ironically, he immediately hooked up with the Defenders for a short period, even battling against his former teammates in the Avengers/Defenders Clash. Clint spent some time trapped in the year 1870, where he became partners with the old-time Western hero, Two-Gun Kid, even going so far as to bring him back to the present when rescued by Thor and Moondragon. Later, after helping the Avengers battle the Collector and Korvac, Hawkeye was ready to rejoin the team, only to be forced out by the U.S. Government, who, under the guise of Affirmative Action, replaced him with The Falcon.
Forced to find his own path, Hawkeye started working for Cross Technologies, where he got involved with former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird. Their adventures together left Hawkeye with a new hearing aid to compensate for an 80% hearing loss due to a sonic attack, and a new bride in Bobbi. After some time away, and a series of adventures with his new wife Clint returned to the Avengers, and was asked to chair a new West Coast branch of the team. Hawkeye’s tenure with the team was marked with several wins, but some devastating personal losses as well. During a time-travel adventure, Mockingbird was taken captive by the Phantom Rider, who drugged her, convinced her that they were in love, and forced her to engage in a sexual relationship. Mockingbird regained her senses and in the resulting battle between the two, allowed the Phantom Rider to fall to his death. When Mockingbird confessed what she did, Hawkeye was stunned that his wife would allow a man to die instead of facing justice. Their relationship frayed as Mockingbird left the West Coast Avengers and separated from Hawkeye. The pair reconciled several months later when Mockingbird helped Hawkeye and his former mentor Trick Shot fend off an army of supervillains seeking a bounty set on Hawkeye’s right arm. Shortly thereafter, the West Coast Avengers found themselves caught in a supernatural battle between the demons Satannish and Mephisto. The Avengers were victorious, but in retaliation, Mephisto tried to kill Hawkeye with a fiery parting shot. Mockingbird intervened to save him, and died in his arms. After a period of isolation in the Canadian Rockies to mourn his loss, and the subsequent dissolution of the West Coast team, Hawkeye returned to the Avengers for their final battle against Onslaught. The team spent a year trapped in an alternate universe created by Franklin Richards, and when he was restored, Hawkeye regained his hearing.
After further adventures with the Avengers, Hawkeye ended up leading the newly formed Thunderbolts, a team of reformed villains who had been tricked by Baron Zemo and needed guidance. Hawkeye proved to be a strong positive influence for the team who had a successful run as a force for good. During Brian Michael Bendis’ wretched Avengers Disassembled storyline, Hawkeye was killed by the Scarlet Witch. During a series of ridiculous stories, Clint was resurrected and killed again, only to be resurrected finally when Wanda rewrote reality again. Remaining hidden, Clint sought out Wanda, who he discovered living a quiet life in Eastern Europe with no memory of her past. He decided to leave her be and forgave her for his murder. He ultimately returned to the Avengers borrowing Echo’s identity of Ronin to operate in secret. During this time the world was nearly taken over by Skrulls and their Secret Invasion. When a Skrull ship filled with humans who had been replaced by the shape-changing aliens at various points over the past couple of years, is discovered Mockingbird is among the newly released. Hawkeye helped his long-missing wife adjust to life again and the two shared a series of adventures, both alone, and with the Avengers. Unfortunately, too time apart had passed and the pair realized that their romantic relationship was over.
Since then, Hawkeye has served with various incarnations of the Avengers, and embarked on a series of adventures on his own as well, or with past partners like Black Widow, Falcon, Winter Soldier, or Kate Bishop, the new Hawkeye. Kate and Clint shared a special relationship, and even briefly started a new West Coast Avengers together.
While Clint Barton has no superhuman powers (with the exception of the period when using Pym particles as Goliath), he is at the very peak of human conditioning. He is an exceptional fencer, acrobat and marksman, having been trained from childhood in the circus and by the criminals Trick Shot and Swordsman. Hawkeye has also been thoroughly trained by Captain America in tactics, martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. Hawkeye excels in the use of ranged weapons, especially the bow and arrow and carries a quiver containing a number of customized “trick arrows”. He has gained a reputation for being able to “turn any object into a weapon”, and has been seen using items such as tin plates, coins, sticks and other debris to great effect against his enemies.
Hawkeye used to be the type of character I couldn’t stand. The “bad-boy” always causing trouble, giving people a hard-time. But Clint’s evolution over the yours has really turned him into a very appealing hero. He’s incredibly skilled, and worthy of a pretty good-sized ego, but he’s been taken down a peg enough times that it keeps him from getting too full of himself. He’s a huge champion of the underdog, whether that means a ragtag team of reformed villains, or his low-income neighbors in the apartment building he owns. He’s a real ladies man, with a string of failed romances behind him, including Black Widow, Mockingbird, Spider-Woman, the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, and even Kate Bishop. Clearly there’s something about this guy that the ladies love, and his appeal has only gotten stronger in recent years under the pens of the likes of Matt Fraction, Jeff Lemire, Jim McCann, Matthew Rosenberg, and Ethan Sacks. He’s absolutely the type of guy you would get involved with even as you told yourself you know better. Anytime, Clint.
#14 – Black Widow – Natasha Romanoff
Joined Avengers #111 (May 1973)
Created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, Don Heck
Like Hawkeye, Black Widow was first introduced as a villain, a Russian Spy, actually, who had some run-ins with Iron Man. She became romantically linked with Hawkeye and became involved with the Avengers pretty early, although she didn’t formerly join for some time. Natasha Romanova was born in Stalingrad, and became a Russian agent trained as a spy, martial artist, and sniper, and outfitted with an arsenal of high-tech weaponry, including a pair of wrist-mounted energy weapons dubbed her “Widow’s Bite”. Romanova eventually defected to the U.S. for several reasons including her love for Hawkeye.
Natasha was raised from very early childhood by the U.S.S.R.’s “Black Widow Ops” program. She had been taken to Department X, with other young female orphans, where she was brainwashed and trained in combat and espionage at the covert “Red Room” facility. There, she was biotechnologically and psycho-technologically enhanced—which provided a rationale for her unusually long and youthful lifespan. During that time she also had some training under the Winter Soldier (Captain America’s former teen sidekick, Bucky ‘Barnes), who had also been brainwashed, and the pair had a short romance. Each Black Widow was deployed with false memories to help ensure her loyalty. Romanova eventually discovered this after her defection.
After her early run-ins with Iron Man and the Avengers, Nick Fury approached her about becoming a free-lance agent of S.H.I.E.LD. and she quickly became on of their most effective and dangerous assets. She became romantically linked with Daredevil, and the two fought crime together in San Francisco fore a time After their relationship ended, Natasha continued to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. and shared some adventures with Spider-Man and Shang-Chi. Natasha also spent a brief stint leading the super-hero team known as The Champions which consisted of Hercules, Angel, Iceman, Ghost Rider and Darkstar.
After that, Black Widow spent several years mainly as a solo operative, living the dangerous spy’s life, working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and other shady organizations. She has recurring encounters with her old flame, Matt Murdock (Daredevil), once to prevent the Hand from resurrecting Elektra, again to protect an infant that Daredevil believes to be the Anti-Christ. While the romantic tension simmers between the two, they know it’s better to remain platonic friends and professional partners. At a certain point, Black Widow returns to the Avengers, co-leading the team with the Black Knight. When most of the team is believed dead, but in fact, shunted to an alternative reality created by Franklin Richards, Natasha tries to assemble a new team and fails. For some time, Natasha blames herself for the dissolution of the Avengers.
Natasha was challenged by Yelena Belova, a graduate from the “Red Room” training program, who was the first to ever surpass Natasha’s marks and considered herself the rightful successor to the “Black Widow” mantle. Natasha encouraged her to discover her individuality rather than live in blind service, asking her “why be Black Widow, when you can be Yelena Belova?” After several confrontations, Natasha subjected Yelena to intense psychological manipulations and suffering in order to teach her the reality of the espionage business, and an angry but disillusioned Yelena eventually returned home and temporarily quit being a spy. Although Matt Murdock is appalled by the cruelty of Natasha’s treatment of Yelena, Nick Fury described the action as Natasha’s attempt at saving Yelena’s life. Yelena has returned to aid Natasha on numerous occasions since then.
When Hydra abruptly conquered the United States guided by the hand of a twisted fascist version of Captain America that had secretly taken the real one’s place with the aid of a Cosmic Cube, Black Widow joined the last line of resistance, the Underground. Having grown tired of their reluctance to take the extreme approach to end Captain America even after his regime had leveled Las Vegas, Natasha left on her own to kill him.
When Hydra abruptly conquered the United States guided by the hand of a twisted fascist version of Captain America that had secretly taken the real one’s place with the aid of a Cosmic Cube, Black Widow joined the last line of resistance, the Underground. Having grown tired of their reluctance to take the extreme approach to end Captain America even after his regime had leveled Las Vegas, Natasha left on her own to kill him. While preparing to shoot Captain America with a sniper rifle, she was forced to reveal herself to prevent the Miles Morales Spider-Man from hilling him to prevent the innocent boy from becoming an assassin like her. During the fight, she was struck by Captain America’s shield, which broke her neck and killed her. t was later discovered that a series of clones of the original Black Widow had been produced by the Black Widow Ops Program following her death. They added the current memories of the deceased Natalia Romanova to one such clone while secretly disposing of the bad programming. This clone revealed herself to Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier, and eventually Captain America and the Avengers, but of the world at large still believe her to be dead.
Black Widow has been enhanced by biotechnology that makes her body resistant to aging and disease and heals above the human rate; this also enhances her strength, speed, durability, reflexes, and stamina. The white blood cells in her body are efficient enough to fight off any microbe, or foreign element from her body, keeping her healthy and immune to most, if not all infections, diseases and disorders. Romanova has a gifted intellect. She displays an uncanny affinity for psychological manipulation and can mask her real emotions perfectly. She possesses the ability to quickly process multiple information streams and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations. Black Widow is a world-class athlete, gymnast, acrobat, aerialist capable of numerous complex maneuvers and feats, expert martial artist, marksman, and weapons specialist as well as having extensive espionage training. Black Widow uses a variety of equipment invented by Soviet scientists and technicians, with later improvements by S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists. She usually wears distinctively shaped bracelets which fire the “Widow’s Bite”, electro-static energy blasts that can deliver charges up to 30,000 volts, as well as “Widow’s Line” grappling hooks, tear gas pellets, and an aerosol instant knock-out gas called the “Widow’s Kiss.”
Black Widow is a cool character. I actually enjoy her solo adventures, or those with just one or two other allies, than her times with the Avengers. It’s ironic that she was made one of the founding members in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when her role in the comic has been much smaller, despite leading the team at one point. Her abilities are put to far better use in an espionage capacity than super-heroics. One of Natasha’s most fascinating aspects is her massive array of relationships with other heroes in the Marvel Universe. From the teams she has been associated with such as the Avengers and the Champions, to her work with S.H.I.E.L.D., connection with Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Daredevil Spider-Man, the Thunderbolts and more she is intrinsically linked to the Marvel Universe and a definite ally to have at your back.
#13 – She-Hulk – Jennifer Walters
Joined Avengers #221 (July 1982)
Created by Stan Lee, John Buscema
Jen Walters, shy and lacking in confidence, the cousin of the far-more infamous Bruce Banner, The Incredible Hulk, was the last original character created by Stan Lee for Marvel. A lawyer whose father had some run-ins with crime boss Nicholas Trask, Jen is shot and injured by Trask on the day that her cousin Bruce is in town to tell her that he is the Hulk. Knowing that they share the same blood type and DNA, and being the only person who can save her in time, Bruce gives her a blood transfusion. His gamma-irradiated blood, combined with her anger, transformed Jennifer into the green-skinned She-Hulk when the mobsters tried to finish her off at the hospital. Initially her transformations were triggered by anger like her cousin Bruce, and while her She-Hulk persona was more aggressive, unlike Bruce, Jen retained her core personality and intelligence while in her She-Hulk form. She eventually gained control of her transformations when Michael Morbius cured her of a lethal blood disease.
Eventually, Jennifer decided to remain in her She-Hulk form permanently—preferring the freedom, confidence, and assertiveness that it gave her compared to her more timorous and fragile “normal” form. After her brief solo career, where among other things, she befriended Patsy Walker, Hellcat; she joined the Avengers where she quickly became fast-friends with Janet Van Dyne, the Wasp, and formed a somewhat aggressive and flirtatious rivalry with Hawkeye. Her stint with the Avengers didn’t last that long though, as she was transported by the Beyonder to Battleworld with the rest of the team, and when they returned, she had taken the Thing’s place on the Fantastic Four and began dating Wyatt Wingfoot. She was granted detached membership status by the Avengers for this period. After her stint with the FF, Jen did rejoin the Avengers, shortly after the Masters of Evil’s attack on the mansion. During this tenure with the team, She-Hulk and the other members were influenced by Dr. Druid and his lover, Nebula to make him leader of the team.
During this time, She-Hulk joined the staff of District Attorney Blake Tower, where she met Louise “Weezi” Mason, formerly the Golden Age superheroine called the Blonde Phantom; but she discovered that Mason had manipulated Towers into hiring She-Hulk so that Mason could again star in a comic book and thus avoid dying of old age. Mason’s husband, also a former comic book character, had passed away three years ago, but other, more popular characters from the era, such as Captain America and The Sub Mariner. She also served a brief stint with the team, Fantastic Force, and also with Heroes for Hire while she was dating Luke Cage. Eventually, Jen returned to the Avengers and remained with the team for some time. On one adventure, the She-Hulk was exposed to fellow Avenger Jack of Hearts’ radiation powers, causing her to lose control of the savage side of her personality. She injured several Avengers and went berserk in Bone, Idaho, virtually destroying the whole town. With Jen’s fear and rage at an all-time high the assembled Avengers couldn’t stop her. Only the Hulk himself was able to slow her down until Jack of Hearts was able to use his powers to balance her gamma levels and she regained control over her savage side.
Jennifer’s Avengers status eventually conflicted with her work at the DA’s office, and Tower let her go. She was hired as a lawyer for the Superhuman Law division of the New York firm of Goodman, Lieber, Kirtzberg & Holliway. Her worst fears came true when Scarlet Witch went temporarily insane and used her magic to cause Jen to lose control again. This time, she nearly killed Captain America and tore the Vision in half with her bare hands. Although she had been manipulated, She-Hulk was devastated at her part in the Vision’s death and the destruction of the town of Bone, Idaho. Ashamed, She-Hulk quit the Avengers to resume her law career and spend more time as plain Jennifer Walters. Sometime later, during a charity event, she spotted the newly-rebuilt Vision and promptly sought to make amends with him. They had a brief conversation, where she expressed her regret for what happened, and Vision forgave her. She also told him not to be mad at Wanda. After a brief 
time with the Future Foundation while the Fantastic Four was lost in space/time, she returned to the Avengers again, helping them during their conflict with the X-Men, and working with the Might Avengers as both legal counsel as well as field agent.
After the second Secret War, when Dr. Doom gained the powers of a God and created an alternate reality on Battleworld, She-Hulk found herself leading a new team of super-heroines called A-Force, with a core membership of Medusa, Nico Minoru, Singularity, Dazzler and Captain Marvel. During the 2016 Civil War II storyline, after the Inhuman Ulysses predicts Thanos’ arrival on Earth, during which the She-Hulk was mortally wounded. When Iron Man learns that they used Ulysses’ precognitive power to ambush Thanos, he vows to make sure that no one uses it again. Before She-Hulk goes into cardiac arrest, she tells Captain Marvel to fight for the future. After Hawkeye was acquitted for shooting and killing Bruce Banner, Captain Marvel visited She-Hulk, who came out of her coma. When She-Hulk angrily demanded to know the verdict of Hawkeye’s trial, Captain Marvel remained silent.
Following Bruce Banner’s funeral, Jennifer Walters left the superhero business and continued to work as a lawyer, where she gained her first client: Maise Brewn, who was an Inhuman descendant. Due to the stress following the fight with Thanos, Jennifer started turning uncontrollably into her version of the Grey Hulk at different intervals. Jennifer helped Maise when she was recovering from the trauma and being evicted by her landlord Mr. Tick. When Maise got impatient with Jennifer and summoned a Fear Golem that killed Mr. Tick and some police officers, Jennifer is nearly killed by it and transforms into the Hulk. She defeated the Fear Golem and prevented Maise from committing suicide when Maise was arrested for reckless endangerment afterwards. Afterwards, Jennifer transformed into the Hulk and met with Hellcat. After changing back, Jennifer told the Hellcat that she was worried over the fact that her grey color could mean that she is like Bruce (since Bruce also had a grey incarnation). Later, Jennifer was watching a live video on the internet when a baker named Oliver turned into a Hulk-like creature on-camera. Jennifer spent several days trying to track him down, eventually confronting him as the Hulk at the Brooklyn Bridge. During the following battle, she lost control of her Hulk persona, almost killing him, though Hellcat managed to calm her down. However, the incident left Jennifer worried about losing control again. With the help of self-help guru Florida Mayer, Jennifer finally comes to terms with Bruce’s death and regains her green She-Hulk form. Currently the She-Hulk has become more Hulk like in appearance, and no longer has access to her full intelligence while in her super-powered form due to an influx of gamma radiation give her by a Celestial. She still serves on the Avengers in this form.
A transfusion of gamma-irradiated blood from her cousin Bruce Banner (the Hulk) granted Jennifer Walters superhuman powers. In her She-Hulk form, she possesses enormous strength, that potentially makes her the physically strongest known woman in the Marvel Universe when her emotional state is sufficiently high. In addition She-Hulk possesses superhuman speed, agility, stamina, and reflexes. She-Hulk received a power upgraded from Eson, the Celestial, and became more powerful than ever before, far surpassing Thor, Captain Marvel and other characters in strength. Thor stated that She-Hulk “could seemingly tear me asunder with her bare hands, if she so desired”. A Cotati Possessed She-Hulk nearly killed the Thing with her bare hands and punched through the Invisible Woman’s force field, without even noticing Susan Richards’ efforts to protect her teammate. She-Hulk’s body is superhumanly durable and nearly impervious to force, pain, and disease: her skin can withstand extremes of temperature, as well as tremendous stresses and impacts without puncture wounds or lacerations. Her enhanced physiology renders her immune to all terrestrial diseases. She-Hulk also possesses a healing factor, which enables her to completely recover, within minutes from impaling. She-Hulk is a 
formidable hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained by Captain America and Gamora. She is also a skilled and experienced attorney who attended the UCLA Shool of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif, a national merit society for top legal scholars.
For me, She-Hulk is at her best when she retains her intelligence in her super-powered form as well as her assertive, uninhibited nature. While I have to say I think I prefer She-Hulk as a member of the Fantastic Four, her tenure as an Avenger is also usually lots of fun, and her personality meshes well with her teammates, especially Wasp, Hawkeye and Captain America. She has ties throughout the Marvel Universe and is generally well-known and well-liked. I very much look forward to her appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially now that it has been announced that she will be played by Tatiana Maslany.
#12 – Hellcat – Patricia “Patsy” Walker
Joined Avengers #151 (September 1976); originally given probationary status Avengers #148 (February 1976).
Created as Patsy Walker by Stuart Little, Ruth Atkinson; as Hellcat by Steve Englehart, George Perez
Hellcat premiered as the star of a teen romantic-comedy series called Miss America Magazine in 1944, and was later integrated into the Marvel superhero franchises such as the Avengers and the Defenders. Patsy remained popular in her original incarnation until 1967, even appearing in a cameo at the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm in Fantastic Four Annual #3 in 1965. When Steve Englehart was writing a solo feature for the X-Men’s Beast character, he remembered that cameo and introduced her as a supporting character. The Beast’s solo adventures only lasted a few issues, so when Englehart brought him over to the Avengers, he brought Patsy over as well.
After growing up in suburban Centerville, and marrying high-school sweetheart Robert “Buzz” Baxter, Patsy Walker became an assistant to scientist Hank McCoy, the mutant superhero the Beast. Estranged from her husband, now a U.S. Air Force colonel, Walker befriended McCoy, and, desiring to become a superhero, accompanied him on a quest with the Avengers where she adopted an ability-enhancing costume that formerly belonged to Greer Grant Nelson, the former masked adventuress the Cat, and took on the identity of Hellcat. After assisting the Avengers on a mission, she is offered membership on the team, but the cosmic adventurer Moondragon, persuades Hellcat to decline and instead accompany her to Titan for training in psychic ability and advanced martial arts. Walker’s training is soon interrupted when she returns to Earth to assist the supernatural hero Doctor Strange, joining the Defenders in the process.
During her lengthy stint with the Defenders, she became close friends with the Asgardian warrior, Valkyrie. She also met her future husband, Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, during the course of a quest with the Defenders. After learning that her mother had promised her soul to Satan, she marries Hellstrom. The two then retired from being superheroes. Ultimately, Hellstrom’s demonic inheritance took possession of him and drove Walker insane. Institutionalized, she was driven to suicide by the otherworldly being Deathurge. Trapped in Hell, Walker learned to develop and use her psychic powers. Hellstrom tricked the Avenger Hawkeye into returning her spirit to Earth; by making him believe he is retrieving his presumed-dead wife, Mockingbird. Resurrected and back on Earth, Walker retained the powers she developed in Hell. Once again a member of the Defenders, Hellcat focused on combating occult evils.
During the Superhero Registration Act time, Hellcat registered. She returned to the Avengers, and served as one of the Avengers Academy instructors, and was then assigned as the Avengers 50 State Initiative official superhero for Alaska, but eventually returned to New York City. Hellcat developed and maintained a deep friendship with the superheroes Firestar, Black Cat, and Monica Rambeau, partly stemming from their support of Firestar, who had developed and then survived breast cancer. In New York she Reconnected with Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, and served as her Private Investigator for her work as an independent lawyer for hire. They shared several adventures, and aided the likes of Tigra, Hank Pym, and Captain America.
Hellcat is in possession of a magic cloak that enables her to sense mystical phenomena or deflect mystical attacks. She is able to summon her costume at will. She possesses retractable claws and grappling hooks on her wrists. Patsy is a well-trained martial artist and gymnast, having trained with the Avengers and Moondragon. Through her work with Moondragon and her time in Hell, Patsy also retains low-level psychic abilities.
Hellcat never really spent much time with the Avengers, but through her interactions with various Avengers members, and her general upbeat, positive attitude, she would be a great addition to the team. I would love to see this currently storyline wrap-up and a new writer take over the title and move it in a different direction. It would be a lot of fun to see Patsy spend some time with the team and develop stronger relationships with them. I know she is going to be featured in the new Iron Man comic, which will definitely be enough to get me to check it out.
#11 – Tigra – Greer Grant Nelson
Joined Avengers #211 (September 1981); Founding West Coast Avenger
Created as The Cat by Roy Thomas, Wally Wood; as Tigra by Tony Isabella, Don Perlin
Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) was introduced as the non-superpowered crime fighter the Cat, in The Claws of the Cat #1 (November 1972). She was launched alongside Night Nurse and Shanna the She-Devil as part of a trio of comics to appeal to girls. The Claws of the Cat only lasted 4 issues, and a couple of years later, Greer mutated into the super powered tiger-woman, Tigra, in Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974).
Chicago native, Greer Grant, was a sophomore in college when she met her future husband, policeman Bill Nelson. She left college to marry him. Bill was tragically killed in an off-duty shooting, and Greer had to find a job of her own. After weeks of searching, she ran into her old physics professor, Dr. Joanne Tumulo, who was working on the human potential experiments that turned Shirlee Bryant into the super powered villainess called the Cat. Greer persuaded Dr. Tumulo to let her undergo the experimental treatments as well. She emerged with superhuman physical and mental capabilities, and she embarked on a brief crimefighting career as the Cat. Unbeknownst to Greer, Tumolo was a member of the Cat People, a race of humanoids magically evolved from cats in Europe during the Middle Ages. Agents of the criminal organization called Hydra learned about the Cat People, and Tumolo, and abducted her to learn more. The Cat pursued Hydra, but during the confrontation managed to shoot her with “alpha radiation.” To save Greer’s life, Tumolo and the Cat People mystically transformed her into the legendary half-human, half-cat warrior they called the Tigra. As Tigra, Greer helped the Cat People defeat the Hydra agents.
Although she was able to use a Cat’s-Head Amulet to change back to her human form, Greer became so accustomed to and enamored of her feline form that she seldom made the transformation. Moving from Chicago, she became a full-time adventurer, encountering and defeating such menaces as the Rat Pack led by the Super Skrull, Kraven the Hunter, and Tabur. She also briefly worked with Red Wolf, the Thing, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four.
When the Avengers found themselves shorthanded, Moondragon used her mental powers to compel a dozen unaffiliated heroes (apparently selected at random) to travel to Avengers Mansion and audition for the vacant position. Though he disapproved of Moondragon’s methods, Captain America offered Tigra a spot on the team. Although Tigra’s first tenure with the Avengers was brief, she served well. Her time with the Avengers was highlighted by her saving the world from destruction by the Molecule Man single-handed. Alone among the Avengers, she was able to get close enough to him to talk him out of his plan. She convinced him to seek help from a therapist and the Molecule Man has ceased to be a threat to this day. The Avengers also fought the Ghost Rider, who blasted the team with his terror-inducing hellfire. The nature of Tigra’s powers caused her to be affected by the exposure on a far deeper level than her teammates. She was left with great self-doubts about her qualifications as a member of Earth’s premier superhero team, particularly alongside such heavy-hitters as Thor an Iron Man. Ultimately she resigned her membership, leaving the team on good terms.
Moving to San Francisco, she became friends with Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, and even aided Jessica’s resurrection when she had become a ghost detached from her body by a plan by Morgan Le Fey, and even reuniting briefly with the Avengers to do so. Months later, when Hawkeye moved to Los Angeles to form a West Coast branch of the Avengers, she was invited to join. She made a staunch addition to the team, despite the fact that the human and feline sides of her personality had become at odds with one another, causing her behavior to become somewhat erratic. Because of her catlike need for attention, she became involved with teammates Henry Pym and Wonder Man at the same time. The ultimate solution to her discordant nature presented itself when she and the Avengers journeyed to the magical dimension where the parent tribe of the Cat People lived. The ruler of the Cat People offered to magically cure her of her split personality if she would kill Master Pandemonium,, a demonic human being whom the Cat People feared and hated. Although Tigra agreed, she could not bring herself to violate the Avengers’ code against killing when she had the opportunity to do so. Despite this, the Cat People eventually gave Greer’s personality dominance so she could control her feline urges. After a lengthy stint with the West Coast Avengers, Tigra eventually left the planet with Starfox to embark on an adventure of hedonistic pleasure. This proved to be less pleasurable than she’d originally thought and she was grateful when Moondragon showed up and asked her to join a small group of Avengers to investigate a cosmic threat. After successfully defeating the Infinites, Greer returned to Earth.
Tigra fought on Iron Man’s side during the Civil War, fully supporting Stark’s Registration Act, although she expressed concern about the fate of Captain America and the other heroes who opposed the Act and turned fugitive. Nonetheless, Tigra registered to comply with the law and also, as having become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., to actively aid in its enforcement. Pretending to switch allegiances, she successfully infiltrated Captain America’s Secret Avengers team as a mole and passed information to Iron Man for more than a week before being discovered by Black Panther. Captain America exploited her presence to feed disinformation to Iron Man about his team’s strategy for the final push later that day. She again believed she had become involved in a romantic relationship with fellow superhero Yellowjacket, however, at the climax of the Skrull Invasion, she discovered her relationship was not with the true Hank Pym, but rather with his Skrull replacement, had become pregnant with the imposter’s child. Henry Pym founded the Avengers Academy and had Tigra join as a teacher. He inspected her baby after his birth, and let Tigra know that he had no traces of Skrull DNA, figuring that his Skrull impostor had copied him down to the genetic level. Tigra asked Hank to act as the boy’s father if something were to happen to her. Most recently, Greer introduced her son William, to the new Wasp, Nadia Van Dyne, daughter of Hank Pym and his first wife. The two bonded famously, which thrilled Greer to no end.
Tigra’s powers are the result of a combination of science, magic, and mental energy. Her physical appearance is distinctly cat-like. A thick, sleek coat of orange fur with black stripes covers her entire body. She has pointed ears, sharper-than-normal teeth with pronounced upper and lower canines, eyes with enlarged irises and vertically slitted pupils, and retractable claws on her feet and hands instead of nails. Her claws and teeth are sufficiently strong to puncture sheet steel, such as that found in a car body. Tigra also has a long semi-prehensile tail, and can willfully contact (but not grasp and lift) objects with it. Tigra’s feline physiology grants her various superhuman attributes including superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and resistance to physical injury. If she is injured, her physiology enables her to heal much faster and more extensively than an ordinary human.
Tigra’s senses of sight, smell, and hearing extend far into the superhuman range and are also superior to those of ordinary cats. Tigra can see farther, and with much greater clarity, than an ordinary human. She has this same level of clarity at night, and her vision also extends slightly into the infrared spectrum, allowing her to see in complete darkness. Her hearing is similarly enhanced, allowing her to hear a wider range of frequencies than a normal human as well as clearly hear sounds that would be far too faint for a human to detect. Exposure to intense, high-frequency sound is far more painful for Tigra than a normal human. Tigra’s sense of smell is developed to the point that she can recognize a person by scent alone, and track an individual across great distances and through complex environments. She can also sense changes in a person’s mood through changes in their scent. Thick pads on her feet, combined with her natural grace, allow her to move in almost complete silence.
Greer received a form of empathic ability when she became the Cat. She retains this ability as Tigra. With careful concentration, she can sense the emotions of others within her immediate proximity. Tigra is an experienced and formidable hand-to-hand combatant, with a unique fighting style that exploits her feline speed, agility, senses, and instincts. She is a superhumanly adept athlete and gymnast. Like all Avengers of her generation, she has sparred and trained extensively with Steve Rogers, the original Captain America. She is also a capable leader and pilot, qualified to operate Avengers aircraft as well as interstellar spacecraft. While working undercover in human guise, Tigra attended the New York Police Academy to investigate the decade-old murder of her husband Bill Nelson. After bringing the murderers to justice, she completed her training under her Greer Grant Nelson identity. 
While she does not serve as an active-duty police officer, she retains legal authority under both her civilian and super-powered identities and unofficial ties to the police community. Tigra possesses mystical abilities that have largely gone unexplored. When Dr. Strange abdicated his position as Sorcerer Supreme, the Eye of Agamotto created a vision showing the many mystic beings who were potentially worthy and/or capable of assuming the title. An image of Tigra was included in this vision.
While Tigra has gotten a lot of play over the years, she’s not usually in a featured role, and is often used for humor, as when she was succumbing to her cat-like nature. My favorite portrayal of Greer’s was just after she became Tigra, and was fighting the Rat Pack, Super Skrull and Kraven. She was much more serious, and competent; confident in her abilities and a dangerous opponent. I would love to see her back on the Avengers with that kind of attitude; more the temperament of the ferocious big cats, and less the playfulness of the sex kitten, which some writers lazily fall back on.