What’s going on here? Four guys and only one woman on this section of the list? As we enter my Top 20 Avengers, that is absolutely true! I do like a lot of guy Avengers… but we’ll see how far up the males make their presence known. We’ve got three classics in this segment — as in three members who join in the 60’s. Then a couple who became members in the 90’s. Three characters who have familial ties show up here as well. And all but one have live-action counterparts in the movies or television!
#20. Quasar – Wendell Vaughn
Joined Avengers #305 (July 1989); probationary status: Avengers Annual #18 (1989)
Creators: Don Glut, Roy Thomas, John Buscema
Wendell Vaughn was a young man from Wisconsin, who graduated from S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy but was deemed lacking the “killer instinct” that would have enabled him to be a successful field agent. Instead he was assigned routine guard duty to protect a pair of “quantum bands” taken from the deceased Crusader, who perished when the energy output from the bands reached a critical mass beyond his control. Vaughn dons the quantum bands when the criminal organization A.I.M. launch a full-scale assault n the facility to steam them. Using the bands’ power, he repulses the attack. When the energy buildup begins to overwhelm him, he decides to simply relax and “go with the flow.” To his surprise, the buildup abruptly dissipates. Vaughn realizes the key to wielding the bands is a flexible will, rather than an indomitable, uncompromising one. Ultimately, his lack of a killer instinct makes him a more suitable wielder of the bands.
Wendell received additional training from S.H.I.E.L.D. as Marvel Boy before working with Captain America, The Thing, and getting a job for the scientific facility, Project Pegasus and evolving into the hero Quasar. After a disappointing adventure in which Wendell succumbed to the Serpent Crown, Wendell gave up his heroic life, until his father convinced him to take a cosmic sojourn to explore the origin of the quantum bands. After a four year journey in a cryogenic sleep, Wendell emerged in the former home of the Uranian Eternals where he learned form the cosmic entity Eon that the quantum bands were made to assist the Protector of the Universe in his mission. That Protector, Captain Mar-Vell had died of cancer, and Eon determined that Wendell possessed the qualities needed to become Mar-Vell’s successor as the new Protector of the Universe.
Many of Quasar’s subsequent adventures revolved around cosmic threats the the potential for the the destruction of the Universe. Quasar joined the Avengers during one such adventure, which led to his membership, and eventually to the team’s involvement in a developing war between two galactic empire, the Kree and the Shi’ar. As the conflict escalated, a powerful bomb was created that threatened to destroy the Sun, and hence all -life on earth. Quasar’s quantum powered bands enabled two teams of Avengers to jump to the respective homeworlds of the warring empires. Convinced by the Avengers, Empress Lilandra of the Shi’ar decided not to use the bomb and attempted a diplomatic settlement with the Kree. However, the Skrulls, ancient enemies of the Kree, stole the bomb and successfully detonated it in the Kree Empire, killing over 90% of the populations of thousands of worlds. Upon reaching Hala, the Kree homeworld, the Avengers discovered that the decimation of the Kree Empire had been planned from the beginning by the Kree leader, the Supreme Intelligence. Divided on how to deal with him, a group of Avengers led by Iron Man went to kill him. The other group led by Captain America, and including Quasar, could not condone the murder. This caused Quasar to leave the team.
Quasar has worked with the Avengers subsequently, notably when Morgan Le Fay transformed reality to a medieval kingdom that she ruled. Quasar was one of the the handful of Avengers who heard the Scarlet Witch’s call, a call heard only those who possessed the ‘Avengers spirit.’ Quasar later joined the Avengers Infinity team, made up of Thor, Photon, Tigra, Starfox, and Moondragon, once again saving all life in the universe from a cosmic threat. After so many cosmic threats threatened to destroy the earth, the Avengers set up a base in the Asteroid Belt, as something of an early warning signal against potential threats. Quasar was stationed at this base and shared his guard duties with various Avengers. Quasar has also become increasingly involved in other cosmic adventures through the Annihilation series of stories linking most of Marvel’s cosmic characters.
Some readers found Wendell’s clean-cut, midwestern boy attitude somewhat boring, but i found it refreshing in a time where heroes began to develop attitudes during the 90’s and early 2000’s. Wendell always looked up to Captain America, and had a strong moral core. His wide-eyed, slight naïveté was offset by this powerful sense of duty and incredible cosmic power. Quasar has died more than once, and his body now made entirely of quantum energy, making him essentially immortal. As a being of pure quantum energy, he can shape his “body” into any shape he can imagine, explosively disperse his form, though he can tire if he overuses his powers. His quantum bands can draw upon quantum energy for a number of effects such as creating various kinds of constructs, shields, interstellar flight and a form of teleportation he calls quantum jumping. The bands are able to control energies of the electromagnetic spectrum to a high degree. He is able to project and absorb any variety from radio waves to light to gamma radiation. Quasar will often attempt to contain an enemy or potential threat before resorting to combat.
Quasar hasn’t been active with the Avengers for a while, and as I’m not a fan of the current team, and really haven’t been that interested for several years, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It might be nice to see him join the Guardians of the Galaxy for a while, and give him some exposure. He basically just shows up for major cosmic epics nowadays.
#19. Captain America – Steven Rogers
Joined Avengers #4 (March 1964)
Creators: Joe Simon, Jack Kirby
Everyone knows who Captain America is… especially since Marvel took over the movies. Young kid volunteers to take part in a government experiment, allowing himself to be inject with a super-soldier serum, giving him the peak strength and endurance of a human male. He becomes the nation’s symbol in the battle against the Nazi’s in World War II until he disappears for decades. Believed to be dead, Captain American is actually frozen in a glacier in the Arctic, and is found by the Sub Mariner, from the City of Atlantis, and rescued by the incipient Avengers, only recently formed, comprised of Thor, Iron Man, Giant Man and the Wasp (the Hulk had already left the team by this point). From that point on, Captain American becomes synonymous with the Avengers, becoming a mainstay on the team for almost all of the iterations to follow.
As a paragon of moral and ethical guidance, Captain America brings so much more to the team than his combat skills. From his inspiring motivational presence, to his tactical skills, there is no better leader for a team of super-powered, strong-willed individual. Much of Cap’s time with the team is spent as a leader, but he’s a great coach and mentor as well, and when he has been on the team, but not acting as leader, he is eminently supportive, as in the case of The Wasp or Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau). He is courageous, but careful in his planning. He doesn’t back down from anything, but he is mindful of the members of his team. And while it sounds like he’s the perfect man, there are plenty of times when he messes up, and he just gets back up and keeps going. He earns the respect of his peers more than any other character I can think of and the relationships he develops are complex and powerful.
Some of the best and most interesting relationships Steve has developed over time include Hawkeye, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch (although not during that very brief time where they dated), Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), The Wasp, Sersi (loved how she tried to get under his skin with her flirting). In fact, some of the best relationships are the ones that push him and test him. I never enjoyed Captain America more than when he was dating Diamondback (Rachel Leighton) a reformed jewel thief and former-member of the Serpent Society.. Steve truly cared for Rachel, and she got him to lighten up a bit, and working with him made her a better person. I’ve also often likened the Invisible Woman to Captain America. It’s no surprise that in the first Civil War which pit Cap against Iron Man around superhero registration, Susan Richards took Cap’s side against her own husband, Reed. She, like Cap, has a strong moral sense of what is right and wrong, and I always wanted to see the two of them to interact more as they seem so simpatico. I was pleased to see Susan included as a member of the Daughters of Liberty, a team of women led by Agent 13, Sharon Carter, to help Captain America clear his name.
That’s all I have to say about Captain America. What more really needs to be said? He’s the ultimate Avenger, and the team often falters when he’s not there to keep them on track.
#18. Quicksilver – Pietro Maximoff
Joined Avengers #16 (May 1965)
Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Quicksilver has been around a long time, and is intertwined with so much of the Marvel Universe. Twin to the Scarlet Witch, son to Magneto, husband to Crystal, half-brother to Polaris, he was created as a villain for the X-Men, he has been a long-term Avenger, he married into the Inhumans, which got him caught up with the Fantastic Four. He has been a member of X-Factor. He has been a hero, a madman, a villain, a mutant, a human, and an Inhuman. He’s quite the complex character. Never warm and fuzzy, often arrogant and prejudiced, occasionally insane and evil. He’s also a father. Consequently, he has one of the most convoluted, ever-evolving backgrounds in comics.
Pietro Maximoff. and his twin sister, Wanda, were raised by Django and Marya Maximoff, a Roma couple. As adolescents, Pietro and his sister Wanda discovered that they had peculiar talents. When Django began to steal food to feed his starving family, enraged villagers attacked the Roma camp. Using his phenomenal speed, Pietro fled from the camp with his sister. Over the next few years, Wanda and Pietro wandered Central Europe, living off the land before being found by Magneto and inducted into the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, coming into conflict with the X-Men. They believed themselves to be mutants and felt they owed Magneto for helping them, but after a small series of misadventures with that band, they decided to reform, the opportunity which came about when the Avengers put out a call for new members, and they were successfully accepted onto the team.
Quicksilver served a long, distinguished career with the Avengers, despite his over-protectiveness of his sister, and his overbearing arrogance towards his teammates, and his irritability in general. Peter David, who did a lot of work developing Pietro’s character during his tenures with X-Factor, explains it as a result of his superhuman powers:
“Have you ever stood in the post office behind a woman with 20 packages who wants to know every single way she can send them to Africa? It drives you nuts! You think to yourself, ‘Why do I have to put up with this? These people are so slow, they’re costing me time, and it’s so damned irritating. I wish I didn’t have to put up with this.’ Now—imagine that the entire world was like that… except for you. … to Quicksilver, the rest of the world is moving in slow motion. That must really, really get on your nerves. Quicksilver lives in a world filled with people who don’t know how to use cash machines, and want to know all the ways to send packages to Africa, and can never get your order right in a Burger King unless you repeat it several times. That would tend to make you feel very superior to everyone and very impatient with everyone.”
As a result of his rather strong personality, writers tend to drive him to extremes. At one point, after being injured during a battle between the Avengers and the Sentinels, he is found dying in the rubble by Crystal, of the Royal Family of the Inhumans and her teleporting dog, Lockjaw. She brought him back to her homeland of Attilan, and nursed him back to health, where the two fell in love and eventually wed. During his time with the Inhumans, two significant events occurred. Wanda had fallen in love and married her fellow Avengers, the android, Vision. Through magic, she was able to create a pregnancy that yielded twin boys. While Pietro and Crystal were visiting Wanda and his new nephews, they also received a visit from Magneto, who revealed to them that he had learned that the twins here his children with the mysterious woman Magda, who had fled to Mt. Wundagore, delivered by Bova, a evolved cow and colleague to the High Evolutionary, and given to the Maximoff’s to raise as their own. Shortly after that, Black Bolt’s bother Maximus the Mad used technology to cause Quicksilver to become psychotic. This put him into conflict with both the Avengers, and the West coast Avengers, before the Inhumans managed to rescue him and cure him. He didn’t remain with his adopted family as his relationship with his wife had become quite strained over the years, and after helping the Avengers rescue his sister from a traumatic mental breakdown, he joined the the U.S. government-sponsored superhero team X-Factor.
During this time, X-Factor author Peter David did some significant, psychological development with Quicksilver, reconciling his heroic and arrogant sides nicely. It was also during this time that he was reunited with his estranged wife, Crystal, then an Avenger herself, only to find that she had developed romantic feelings for her teammate, the Black Knight. Pietro left her and X-Factor and spent some time with his daughter, Luna.
Quicksilver played a pivotal role in the limited series, House of M, convincing his then mentally unstable sister Wanda to use her abilities to warp reality and create a world where mutants are in a majority and humans are the minority. Things went horribly wrong and after Magneto crushed Pietro, killing him in battle, Wanda snapped completely, and used her reality-warping powers to reset the world, resurrect Quicksilver, and remove the powers of 98% of the mutant population, including, inadvertently, her brothers. This set Pietro off on the next disastrous chapter in his life, where, in a desperate move to regain his powers, he stole the sacred Terrigen Crystals that granted abilities to Inhumans, in the hopes that it would also restore the abilities of mutants. He did indeed gain new “time jumping” powers and kidnapped his daughter Luna. Quicksilver discovered the crystals can restore mutant abilities but they had an extreme effect on non-Inhuman physiology, causing several deaths. When the Inhumans apprehended him, and Crystal saw how the crystals had affected him, she had their marriage annulled according to Inhuman law. In the book X-Factor, Rictor was able to remove the shards of Terrigen crystals from Pietro’s body, leaving him powerless again, and subsequently jailed and destitute. During his lowest point, he inexplicably regained his powers, and in saving an innocent, rededicated his life to the heroic.
Quicksilver then found himself with the Avengers once more, in a desperate attempt to find his sister who had been missing since the events during House of M. During this time he lied to the press that he had been one of several heroes abducted by shape-shifting Skrulls and held captive for several years, in order to explain his villainous actions. While a handful of Avengers were aware of this deception, they let it lie in order for Pietro to try to redeem himself. His daughter Luna was less forgiving and cut ties with her father. The Avengers were fortunate enough to reconnect with a mentally restored Wanda and the siblings were reunited. In the most recent twist in their already confusing origins, Wanda and Pietro found themselves in conflict with Magneto. Wanda cast a curse that would affect all blood-relations, and only Pietro was affected, revealing that in fact, Magneto was not the twins father. They learned from the High Evolutionary that they were actually the long thought deceased children of Django and Marya Maximoff. He also told them that they were not mutants at all, but had been experimented on by the High Evolutionary, which caused them to manifest their powers. Despite one more major disagreement that saw Wanda and Pietro part ways again, the two have since reconciled, and Quicksilver retains his Avengers membership.
Quicksilver was originally presented as a mutant able to move and think at superhuman speeds. Originally capable of running at the speed of sound, exposure to the High Evolutionary’s Isotope E made it possible for the character to run at supersonic speeds of up to Mach 10 and resist the effects of friction, reduced oxygen, and kinetic impact while moving at super-speeds. It was later revealed that he actually was a normal child that was put through several experiments by the High Evolutionary which granted his powers in the first place.
My two favorites types of characters in superhero comics, and the morally and ethically pure characters, like Quasar, Captain America, and the Invisible Woman, followed very closely by those characters who struggle with character flaws, constantly trying to overcome them to do good. It is this character that Quicksilver falls under. As already mentioned, Pietro is over-protective, arrogant, irritable, impatient, and all-around unpleasant. but at his heart, he wants to do good; he wants to be a hero. His association with the Avengers is never boring, and is always lively. Honestly, I also love to see him as a member of X-Factor, where he has undergone so much positive character development. It’s only when writers get lazy and start writing him as a type rather than a person, that he becomes less interesting. Most of all, I hope to see his new, matured relationship with Wanda get some exploration, but something tells me that things will slip back to the old habits pretty soon.
#17. Crystal – Crystalia Amaquelin Maximoff
Joined Avengers #343 (January 1992); probationary status: Avengers #336 (August 1991)
Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Crystal, like her former husband, Quicksilver, is a very well-connected character. She made her first appearance (alongside her fellow Inhumans) in the Fantastic Four, as a love interest for the Human Torch. Their tragic romance found some semblance of happiness when Crystal joined the team to fill in while The Invisible Woman was pregnant with her first child, Franklin. Shortly after Sue’s return, however, Crystal became quite ill and it was discovered that her system could not handle the pollutants of modern-day society after growing up in the Inhuman’s homeland of Atillan. After leaving Johnny using her teleporting dog, Lockjaw, she stumbled across Quicksilver, who was dying from injuries sustained in a battle with a Sentinel. She brought him to her home with the Inhumans, and while nursing him back to health, she fell in love with him, much to the chagrin of the Human Torch. Crystal and Quicksilver eventually marry, and have a daughter named Luna. During their time as a couple, Crystal begins spending time with her sister-in-law, Wanda, who had recently married the android Avenger known as the Vision. Wanda and Vision tried to live a normal life in the suburbs of New Jersey, and during that time, Crystal embarked on a romantic affair with one of their neighbors, Norm Webster. At the time this behavior was explained as a result of her mistreatment at Quicksilver’s hands, but it was later revealed to be the result of Maximus the Mad’s mental tampering of the couple’s minds. While Quicksilver spent time with the mutant team, X-Factor, Crystal returned for a time to the Fantastic Four.
After returning to Atillan, the Inhumans were attacked by an alien race, The Brethren. Crystal reached out to the Avengers for assistance, and shortly thereafter, she joined the team. Crystal acquitted herself quite well on the team, becoming a valuable member in combat during some major storylines such as Operation: Galactic Storm, The Gatherers Storyline, and a Bloodties cross-over with the X-Men. During her tenure with the Avengers, she developed an attraction with teammate Dane Whitman, the Black Knight. This relationship was complicated by a contrite Pietro trying to fix their marriage, and the available and aggressive Sersi pursuing Dane at the same time. Crystal recommitted to Pietro when he returned to the Avengers and Dane and Sersi were soon transported to another universe, ending their thoughts of an affair. After the disastrous outcome of the battle with Onslaught, Crystal was among the Avengers who disappeared for a year to an alternate reality created by Franklin Richards. Upon their return, she helped the Avengers reassemble then returned to Attilan, where she remained beside the Royal Family, raising Luna. During that time she once again became estranged from Quicksilver.
Since that time, Crystal has spent most of her time involved with Inhuman affairs. They became embroiled in a major War involving their creators, the Kree that found Crystal participating in a political marriage with Ronan the Accuser. Returning to Earth, the Inhumans’ Terrigen mists, the source of their Inhuman powers, were released into Earth’s atmosphere as a huge cloud that moved across the Globe. Crystal became a diplomat, leading a small team of Inhumans to the places affected by the cloud, aiding the Inhumans that emerged in those locations due to its appearance. Recently, the Inhumans were taken out of rotation in Marvel, and I am waiting for them to return sometime in the future.
Crystal has a great power set that adds a lot to any team she appears on. Crystal possesses the ability to mentally manipulate the four classical elements: fire, water, earth, and air. Her psionic powers are a result of exposure to the Terrigen Mists, which coupled with genetic engineering of the Inhumans by the Kree in the distant past, grant Inhumans abilities beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Inhuman that are unique to each individual. Crystal can control oxygen atoms and oxygen-containing molecules to create atmospheric disturbances of various kinds. By intermingling air with earth she can cause a dust storm, air with water a typhoon, and air with fire a firestorm. She is able to create a wind of tornado intensity, approximately 115 miles per hour. Crystal can control the various substances that make up common bedrock (earth: iron, granite, shale, limestone, etc.), creating seismic tremors by causing a sudden shifting of the earth. Crystal possesses the psionic ability to manipulate fire, cause it to grow in size and intensity, and take any form that she desires. She can also douse any oxidizing flame by altering the ionization potential of the outer electron shells of oxygen atoms. By accelerating oxygen molecules in the air, she is able to cause fire to spontaneously ignite. Further, Crystal can control the movement of water divining water from the ground, and causing it to flow in designated directions. She is able to instantly freeze water to create ice blasts. She can also cause hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the air to recombine and form water molecules. This allows her to spontaneously create water, even in a dry environment, provided oxygen and hydrogen are present.
For me, Crystal works best with the Inhumans; earned her chops nicely with the Fantastic Four, and while intriguing, has been least successful as a member of the Avengers. I blame that largely on Bob Harras, the man who wrote most of Crystal’s time on the team. He used her more as one-side of a romantic, soap-operatic triangle… and one that was not very well-done. I appreciate that he showed her as one of the team’s powerhouses, but her history was already tangled enough with relationships and her attraction to the Black Knight just seemed like a tactic to convince the reader that he was a brooding, stud that all the women fell for. Crystal deserved better. I’d love to her see serve another term on the Avengers sometime, where she could really stand on her own, and not be involved in silly romantic escapades.
#16. Vision
Joined Avengers #58 (November 1968)
Creators: Roy Thomas, Stan Lee, John Buscema
The Vision was tough to place on my list. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, I’d have to say Vision was one of my favorite Avengers and probably would have at minimum made the Top 10 back then. Then John Byrne came along in 1989 and completely destroyed the character (literally) and he has never been able to capture my attention again, except for one exemplary 12-issue-limited series in 2016 by Tom King. More work like that on the character, and he will probably be able to get back into my Top 10.
In the late 60’s Stan Lee wanted to introduce a new Avenger, and he was leaning toward the Golden-Age Vision. Roy Thomas, who was writing the Avengers at the time, really wanted to introduce an android into the team, so they compromised and created a new character who was an android called the Vision. Created by the mad robot, Ultron (who was itself created by the Avenger, Hank Pym) Vision was created to infiltrate and destroy the Avengers. His body was created from the android body of the original Human Torch, and his brain patterns were based on those of Simon Williams, Wonder Man, who had sacrificed his life to save the Avengers after becoming a member of the Master of Evil to destroy them. The Vision first encountered The Wasp, and battled with her, but before he could seriously harm her, he stopped himself, and collapsed. He very quickly turned against his creator and followed the heroic path alongside the Avengers.
Roy Thomas wanted to develop a long-term storyline of the Vision’s quest to become human, and as part of the quest, he developed a slow-burning romance between the android-Avenger and the Scarlet Witch. This fan-favorite storyline simmered for years, reaching a number of pinnacles, most notably during the Kree-Skrull War when the Vision loses his cool nearly killing a Skrull as he tries to find the kidnapped Wanda, and then a breakthrough moment, when Vision offers Wanda his love after she is distraught over her brother Quicksilver’s disappearance. The two then embarked on a tempestuous romance, largely from external forces: bigoted humanity’s opposition to the love between a synthetic man and a mutant — an opposition that included Wanda’s twin brother Pietro — and the romantic attentions of fellow Avenger, Mantis who became interested in the Vision. Yet the two persevered, married, and even eventually bore twin children, created by magic. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, the Vision/Wanda romance was a highlight of Avengers life.
A major storyline saw a crystal that governed much of the Vision’s higher level thinking malfunction and become corrupted by Isaac, an artificial intelligence used by the Titans on the moon os Saturn. Due to this malfunction, the Vision connected himself to all electronic and computer systems across the world, slowly taking then over in efforts to enforce world peace by taking over all defense systems and create a utopia. The malfunction was eventually corrected, and The Vision relinquished control of the world’s systems, let himself be interrogated by the government, and eventually forced to leave the Avengers and live as private citizens to focus on their family life.
Then John Byrne took over the Avengers West Coast, and in an effort to shake things up he basically tore Vision and Wanda apart in the most horrific way, and the two characters are still feeling the ramifications of these actions today; and sadly their characters have never fully recovered. Focusing on the Vision (Wanda will get her own entry further up the list), a rogue government group, being influenced by the time-traveling Immortus, captured and completely dismantled the Vision to his component parts, traumatizing Wanda. To make matters worse, although Hank Pym was able to reconstruct Vision’s body, Simon Williams now a member of the team, and himself in love with Wanda, would not allow his brain patterns to be used again to provide a matrix for the Vision’s emotions, as he felt the original process had “ripped out his soul” and been done without his consent. Although his love for Wanda led him to feel guilt, he attempted to justify his actions by claiming that the Vision was never anything more than a copy of him. This, along with damage to the Vision’s synthetic skin when he was dismantled, resulted in his resurrection as a colorless, emotionless synthezoid. For years after that, Wanda tried to reconnect with the Vision, to little or no effect, and ultimately, after her own traumatic breakdowns, the two tried to move on. Occasionally writers will show small glimmers of their love still in evidence, but little has come of it. Still they share a bond, even as they both try to move on with their lives.
Since that, the Vision never really settled into a steady role with the Avengers. Despite intermittent periods where he would recover his emotions, he was often portrayed as much more mechanical, a sophisticated robot, than a synthetic man. His body was often destroyed, only to be rebuilt again, further underscoring his inhumanity. When Tom King wrote the Vision limited series in 2016, he created a story that was compelling, focused on real next steps in the characters evolution, and was full of tragedy and humanity. It also gave Vision a family, a wife and two children, of which only a daughter Viv Vision, survived. Since the completion of that storyline, however, Vision doesn’t get much attention, even in the Avengers, where he is still active as a member. Modern comics don’t spend much time on character development though, so not much changes.
The Vision is one of the most powerful Avengers due to the abilities given him by Ultron. Vision is described as being “every inch a human being—except that all of his bodily organs are constructed of synthetic materials.” (This seems to be proven wrong with Byrne’s visual depiction of his dismantled form). The Solar Jewel on Vision’s forehead absorbs ambient solar energy to provide the power needed for him to function, and he is also capable of discharging this energy as optic beams; with this, he can fire beams of infrared and microwave radiation. By interfacing with an unknown dimension to which he can shunt and from which he can accrue mass, thus becoming either intangible or extraordinarily massive, Vision can change his density, which at its lowest allows flight and a ghostly, phasing intangibility, and at its heaviest, a density ten times greater than that of depleted uranium, which gives him superhuman strength, immovability, and a diamond-hard near invulnerability. One of his signature attacks finds him thrusting an intangible hand into an appointment, then partially solidifying it, a process he describes as “physical disruption.” This effect typically causes great pain and results in incapacitation. Being an artificial life-form/android of sorts, Vision has superhuman senses, superhuman stamina, reflexes, speed, agility, strength (even without being at high density), superhuman analytical capabilities, and the ability to process information and make calculations with superhuman speed and accuracy. Due to recent upgrades, the Vision’s body is now formed from millions of nanobots that allow him to split himself into smaller parts and change shape.
I feel Vision truly suffered from his initial dismantling by John Byrne. Once he was seen, reduced to his component, mechanical parts, strewn out across a few laboratory tables in a stark two-page spread drawn by Byrne, it was difficult to ever think of him again as a man. In addition his lengthy emotionless period drove him further into a robotic arena and his subsequent destructions just kept underscoring his artificial nature. While Roy Thomas carefully and slowly developed a riveting, years-long storyline about a synthetic man trying to become human, Byrne and many of those who followed, decided to focus on his inhumanity. Thankfully, Tom King did some healing work to set him on the right track again. Hopefully that track will continue in the future.
Unlike most mutants, Henry showed signs of mutation from birth: unusually large hands and feet, coupled with unusual strength and agility. Hank was also endowed with an innate superhuman intellect and during adolescence further increased his powers of simian-like augmented agility, reflexes, and strength. He was recruited by Professor Xavier to attend his School for Gifted Youngsters, and trained to become an X-Man. When he entered his twenties, he left the team and sought a career as a renown geneticist and biochemist. While working for the Brand Corporation, he developed a formula caused him to undergo radical, physical changes. Hank grew blue fur over his entire body, his muscles expanded, ears became larger and pointed, claws sprouted, and his canine teeth became larger, resembling fangs. The serum further increased his superhuman agility, endurance, speed, and strength, as well as enhanced his senses For a time, Hank struggled with his new appearance, desperate to find a way to reclaim his humanity, but over time he learned that his outward appearance wasn’t a hindrance to him, and in fact, it brought him a great deal of appeal.
After a brief period of adventures on his own, Beast tries out for the Avengers, when they are seeking new members. He helps them out battling the Toad, and is granted probationary membership along with Moondragon. During subsequent adventures with the team, in addition to helping and old friend, Patsy Walker, take on the superheroic role of Hellcat, Beast is granted permanent membership to the team. His tenure with the Avengers is memorable due to his humor and his strong relationships made with other members of the team, most notably, Wonder Man, with whom has enjoyed an enduring friendship, something not often seen in comics. While he rushes off to aid his good friends the X-Men from time to time, he always returns to the Avengers. On of my favorite, albeit short-lived relationships Beast developed was with Jocasta, a sophisticated robot created by Ultron whose brain patterns came from Janet Van Dyne, the Wasp. Under the writing of Dave Micheline, Jocasta became the “straight man” to Beasts comic persona while they were adventuring together, and it really worked. Sadly it only last a few issues, with both Jocasta and Beast eventually leaving the team.
The Avengers have a long history of taking on reformed villains as members, most notably Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, but others have followed, like the Swordsman, Wonder Man, Black Widow… even the Vision. But The Sandman was probably one of the more improbable former villains to join the team, and sadly, it didn’t last all that long, and he didn’t have many adventures with the team. The villain was created to oppose Spider-Man, and he had a long illustrious career as one of the web-slinger’s major foes. He also became a founding member of the Sinister Six, a group of Spider-Man villains who worked together, a founding member of the Frightful Four, who became arch nemeses of the Fantastic Four, and a found himself fighting other heroes such as the Hulk. 
The Sandman was usually depicted as a bullying thug, but his childhood and young adulthood was pretty rough, and shows how easily a young person’s life can go off-track. Even as early as 1972, less than ten years after his introduction as a villain, writer Roy Thomas introduced some morally ambiguous motives into the character in the first issue of Marvel Team-Up featuring Spiderman. Ten years later, in 1982, Sandman shares top billing in the Thing’s team-up comic, Marvel Two-In-One where the two work together and the Thing urges him to consider going straight. After that encounter, Sandman appears sporadically assisting Spider-Man. In one such encounter, he assisted Spider-Man and the mercenary Silver Sable against the Sinister Syndicate, and Silver Sable was so impressed with the Sandman’s aid, she offered him a job. During his time with Sable, Sandman ended up working several time with the Avenger Hawkeye, and eventually ended up working with a vigilante group called the Outlaws. Through trickery initiated by the villain the Space Phantom, the Outlaws ended up tangling with the Avengers. Eventually things worked out and the two teams worked together to defeat their common enemy.
Firestar had enjoyed a pretty lengthy career before coming to the Avengers. She has the unique distinction of debuting in 1981 on the NBC animated television series, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, rather than in comics, along with the title character and the X-Man Iceman. The show had originally planned to feature the Human Torch, but rights to his character were not available, so they created the Firestar character. Her comics debut was in X-Men #193 in May 1986, and subsequently in her own miniseries which presented her definitive, in-continuity origin as a mutant who was recruited into the Hellions, taught my Emma Frost, the White Queen, at the prestigious private school the Massachusetts Academy, a twisted version of Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Firestar’s time with the Hellion’s and the White Queen was fraught with manipulation, first at the hands of her fellow student, Empath, who used his powers to make her fall in love with him and attack the X-Men, and later by the White Queen herself, as she trained Firestar to become a weapon she would use to assassinate her rival, the Black Queen, Selene. Firestar broke free from these manipulations, and destroyed one of the Academy’s training bases before leaving the School. She also turned down Professor Xavier’s offer for her to come to his school, although she was grateful for it.
Firestar was next contacted by the hero Night Thrasher to join a new team of teenage superheroes called the New Warriors. She joined with them for a long tenure, gradually developing a romantic relationship with Marvel Boy (later known as Justice). During her lengthy stint with the New Warriors, she discovered that continued use of her powers could make her infertile, so she used them less and less. Shortly before leaving the team, Angelica proposed to Justice, and he accepted.
Since leaving the Avengers, Firestar got her degree, retired briefly from heroics after the Superhuman Registration Act was passed into law, subsequently worked with a team called the Young Allies, got a job teaching Physics at the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning and joined the X-Men as a sometime member. She currently resides on the mutant island of Krakoa alongside the X-Men.
Thor is a founding member of the Avengers, and one of the more well-known members of the team due to his feature roll in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thor is part of a long-lived race of beings worshipped as gods in the Norse pantheon of Asgardians. He is the blood-son of Odin, All-Father of the Asgardians, and Jord, known as Gaea, the earth-goddess who was one of the Elder Gods. He is colloquially known as the god of thunder and wields the Uru hammer, Mjolnir, forged by ancient dwarves, upon which various enchantments were bestowed by Odin. Only someone worthy is able to wield the mighty Mjolnir. Thor has been active since as early as the 9th Century AD and was widely worshipped in the early days by the Vikings of Scandinavia.
The young Thor was raised alongside Loki, who had been adopted by Odin after Loki’s Frost Giant father Laufey had been killed in battle. For all of their childhood, Loki was jealous of Thor. Loki’s jealousy, which grew to hatred, resulted in a desire to kill Thor. Thus began Loki’s enmity for Thor, which persisted for many centuries. In fact, it was because of this conflict that the Avengers came into being. When Loki’s manipulations forced several of Earth’s mightiest heroes to band together to stop the Hulk, Thor became a founding member of the team which consisted of Iron-Man, Giant-Man, the Wasp and the afore-mentioned Hulk. Thor has been a consistent member of the Avengers since its inception, He has, however, left the team several times for extended leaves of absence. Currently, Thor as assumed the mantle of the Asgardian All-Father, as Odin stepped down as the from his rule.
Biologically half-Asgardian on his father’s side and half-Elder God on his mother’s side; Thor possesses a number of superhuman attributes common among the Asgardian and other gods. However, due to his unique birth, some are considerably more developed than those of the vast majority of his race, including his strength, endurance and resistance to injury. Thor has the ability to manipulate vast amounts of energy, using Mjolnir he can channel the storm’s energy into blasts so powerful that he can destroy nearly anything. Thor can also channel his godly energies through Mjolnir, creating rays powerful enough to kill even immortals. Thor has the ability to control the elements of storm, both with and without Mjolnir. He is currently able to wield the Odin Force as well. The Odin Force enabled him to tap into the resources of cosmic and mystical energies of the dimension Asgard exists within, enhancing all of his abilities in turn.
Sersi is a member of the Eternals, a long-lived race of superhumans that were an evolutionary offshoot of humanity, created by Jack Kirby. Sersi was born in Greece, sometime after the Great Cataclysm that sank the island nation of Atlantis. Sersi was different than her fellow Eternals in that she enjoyed living amongst humanity rather than in isolation. It is said that Homer based his character Circe from The Odyssey, who turned men into pigs, on her. As Circe, she also imprisoned the devilish imps in Pandora’s Box in ancient times. 
Sersi proved to be a powerful addition to the team and she served with them for quite some time. During an attack on the Earth by the Brethren, Sersi was forced to form a Uni-Mind with their leader, Thane Ector. Such a union, between two different species, is forbidden by the Eternals, as it may lead to the breakdown of the Eternals mental disciplines.Some months after this, Sersi became more aggressive, and this may have been due to the Uni-Mind with the Brethren. or, it may also have been due to the machinations of Proctor, a man from an alternate reality who had been spurned by the Sersi from his world. Her formed a group known as the Gatherers, and was planning to kill all the Sersi’s across the multiverse. During this time, 
Sersi began a relationship with fellow Avenger, the Black Knight. Unbeknownst to both of them, however, was the fact that Proctor was actually an alternate reality version of the Black Knight himself.
There are a handful of exceptions, though, starting with Susan Storm Richard, The Invisible Woman. Anyone reading this probably knows that Susan is my all-time favorite comic book character. Did you also know that she is an Avenger? (Once an Avengers, Always an Avenger). For four short months in 1989, Reed Ricchards (Mr. Fantastic) and Susan were members of the Avengers. It was an embarrassingly short run for Marvel editorial reasons, and despite my love for the character, it seems silly to include her on this list with a high ranking because I love the character, or a low ranking due to her brief status on the team. So I’ve ignored her membership in creating this list all together. Similarly, Storm, my 7th favorite X-Man (and 25th favorite super-heroine) would be a prime candidate to do well on my list of favorite Avengers, but for similar reasons, her tenure which began in 2011, lasted less than year as Avengers vs. X-Men tore her away from the team. I’ve decided not to count her as an Avengers for the purposes of this list as well.
Spider Woman had a brief but respectable run in the west coast branch of the team and their follow-up, Force Works. Stingray is an oceanographer who creates the coolest looking diving suit that also gives him some pretty awesome abilities. Carol Danvers joined the team in 1979 as Ms. Marvel, got a pretty shoddy send-off in one of Marvel’s many misguided attempts at storytelling came back under Kurt Busiek’s triumphant return as Warbird, where she was treated not all that much better, although was at least written well, and currently appears as Captain Marvel as one of the team’s mainstays. Scott Lang, an ex-con turned superhero with the help of Hank Pym’s original identity of Ant-Man, joined the team for a relatively brief tenure, just in time for Bendis to arrive and have the Scarlet Witch allegedly kill him off in the prelude to Avengers Disassembled. And finally, Living Lightning is a gay, LatinX member of the Avengers West Coast team who has a nifty power set and would love to see featured and explored in a title with a good writer someday.
