The Avengers are a household name because of the MCU, but it wasn't always that way. The Avengers burst onto the scene in 1963, combining Marvel's greatest heroes and pitting them against threats that no one hero could face on their own. Avengers was long the place for Marvel fans to read about their favorite heroes in one place, taking on big stakes threats that made comics exciting. The Avengers' popularity fell down a well once the X-Men became ascendant in the 1980s, only coming back in the '00s because Marvel toned down on the X-Men hype.
The MCU further boosted the Avengers' reputation and prominence in the spotlight. Now, the Avengers are the biggest superhero team in comics. The MCU has made plenty of new Avengers fans, but few of them have gone to the comics. The sixty years of Avengers history can be pretty daunting, keeping many new fans away, but there are definitely parts of their lore that every new fan needs to know in order to truly appreciate the Avengers.
10 The Avengers Won The Biggest Intergalactic War Ever
The Avengers are no stranger to conflicts with alien races. The Avengers had to save the Earth from the Kree and Skrulls when their war spilled into the Sol system. Later, the heroes did their best to keep the Kree and Shi'ar from destroying each other in their short but brutal war. However, both conflicts pale compared to the epic war fought in Infinity, when the Avengers had to stop the ancient alien race known as the Builders from destroying every major star empire on their way to destroy Earth and end the Incursions.
The Avengers joined a coalition comprising the Kree, Skrull, Shi'ar, the Spartax, the Brood, and more to battle against the Builders and their powerful servants. All seemed lost until the Avengers received command over the allied forces, and Captain America began planning their strategies. The Avengers turned the tide and led the allies to victory, just in time to get back to Earth and defeat Thanos, who had attacked with his Black Order while they were away.
9 Captain America Isn't A Founding Avenger
Captain America is the face of the Avengers. It doesn't matter if it's comics, cartoons, video games, or the MCU, Captain America gets portrayed as the team's greatest leader and most important member. In most media outside comics, Captain America is a founding member of the Avengers. Even the MCU went this route. However, in the comics, Captain America wasn't a founding member of the team.
The Avengers found Captain America frozen in ice in Avengers (Vol. 1) #4 (by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, George Roussos, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek). His awakening on Iron Man's submarine was traumatic, since the last things he remembered were Bucky's death and WWII. Captain America ran through the nascent Avengers team in the cramped quarters of the sub and soon became the leader of the team. Since then, Captain America's become the most important Avenger.
8 The Avengers Were The First Marvel Team To Bring Villains Onboard
Early issues of Avengers starred Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man/Giant-Man, the Wasp, and Captain America. Hulk was in the first two issues, but got kicked off the team after being mind-controlled into fighting alongside Namor against the Avengers. Until issue 16 (by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek), Avengers was the home of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. However, things changed drastically in that very issue. Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, and the Wasp left the group, leaving Cap to pick a new team.
The Marvel Universe was nowhere near as large as it is now, so Captain America had to make some unconventional choices to fill out the roster. This meant bringing in villains like Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. While all three would become very important Avengers, they were far from saints when they first joined. Known as Cap's Kooky Quartet, this team of Avengers was the first time a group of villains joined a Marvel team, something that became more much commonplace in the years to come.
7 The Avengers Accidentally Allowed Ultron To Destroy Humanity In Age Of Ultron
Ultron and the Avengers' rivalry is about more than stopping the mad android from destroying the Earth. There is a lot of bad blood between the two and Ultron's hatred of biological life stems from his disdain for the Avengers. However, the Avengers once inadvertently helped Ultron. Ultron had left Earth for a time and teamed up with the Phalanx in a quest to scour organic life from the cosmos, but after his defeat he crashed to Earth in a new, unfamiliar robotic body and was found by the group of villains known as the Intelligencia. Spider-Woman disappeared while investigating the crash landing, promoting the Avengers to go looking for her.
The Avengers battled the Intelligencia before they realized Ultron was right there. This gave Ultron time to escape. He created an army of powerful drones and enacting a blitzkrieg attack against humanity. Most of humanity perished, which led to Age Of Ultron, where the desperate Avengers tried to figure out a way to beat Ultron by going back in time. This led to some wild shenanigans, especially when Wolverine decided the best way to stop Ultron was to kill Hank Pym.
6 There Was Technically No Avengers Team During Civil War
MCU fans are familiar with Civil War to an extent, but the comic was much different. The inciting incident didn't involve the Avengers at all. It started when The New Warriors, a team of former teen superheroes making a reality show, battled a group of villains. Nitro, whose powers were to explode and reform, used his powers and destroyed the school nearby, killing hundreds of children and leading to the Superhero Registration Act.
The Superhero Registration Act passed before the end of the first issue, and several of the Avengers refused to sign it. The current Avengers disbanded, then Iron Man and Captain America formed groups to fight against each other. However, more neither groups were truly Avengers teams, something that wouldn't be remedied until after the conflict was over.
5 The Avengers Used To Have A Black Ops Branch
The Avengers have a reputation as the greatest heroes on Earth. They're the media darlings, the heroes everyone looks up to. The Avengers are usually very public, but that hasn't always been the case. After ending Norman Osborn's Dark Reign, Steve Rogers became Director of SHIELD. During this period, Rogers created a new Avengers team, one that could work behind the scenes. Soon, the Secret Avengers were born.
Starring in the book of the same name, the Secret Avengers comprised Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Beast, War Machine, Ant-Man III, Black Widow, Moon Knight, Valkyrie, and Nova. The group ended up getting embroiled in a war with Max Fury, the LMD "brother" of Nick Fury, and the mysterious group of villains he worked with. The Secret Avengers were a unique part of Avengers history, dealing with threats that no one else could or would.
4 Green Goblin Led The Avengers
Secret Invasion was all about the Skrulls finally launching their attack on Earth after years of preparation. The civil war over the Superhero Registration Act was a boon to them. It split the hero community and allowed their enemies to make ever greater strides while Iron Man's pro-registration forces hunted down Luke Cage and his outlaw Avengers. In the final battle against the Skrulls, everyone worked together. Unfortunately, Wolverine failed to kill the Skrull Queen Veranke before Norman Osborn, the erstwhile Green Goblin and leader of the Thunderbolts, got the kill shot on the evil alien monarch.
This led to Norman Osborn being given control of SHIELD, the Superhero Initiative, and the Avengers. Osborn recruited villains Moonstone, Venom, Daken, and Bullseye. Then he dressed them up as Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Hawkeye. Teaming them with Ares, the Sentry, and Noh-Varr, Norman formed his Avengers. This was the premise of Dark Avengers, which followed Osborn's team as they saved the Earth and cemented their power over the superhero community. No one expected Green Goblin to become the leader of the Avengers.
3 The Avengers' First Base Was The Stark Mansion On Fifth Avenue In New York City
The Avengers in the MCU have had two different bases. At first, it was Stark Tower, which was rechristened Avengers Tower after the battle against the Chitauri. After the fight with Ultron, the team moved to the Avengers Compound, which was formerly a Stark Industries warehouse center. In the comics, the Avengers have had several bases as well, most of which were supplied by Tony Stark as well, but the first one was very different. In the comics, the Avengers' original base was the Stark Mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
This would remain Avengers base for most of the team's existence, although there would be a short stint in the Avengers Hydrobase. The team always went home to Avengers Mansion until Scarlet Witch attacked it using a group of Ultrons and other enemies she conjured up. The team moved to Stark Tower after this assault, where the New Avengers came together.
2 The Avengers Machine Was The Most Powerful Team Of Avengers Ever
Iron Man is a known tinkerer. Most assume that he only tinkers with technology, but he also thought about how to make the Avengers better. This led him to the Avengers Machine, an idea that combined the greatest heroes on Earth together. The group was perfectly balanced, combining powerhouses with less powerful heroes who possessed amazing skill. This was the premise to writer Jonathan Hickman's Avengers (Vol. 4). This group led the universe to victory against the Builders and often faced the deadliest threats imaginable.
The Avengers Machine succeeded when no other team of Avengers could. It was built to handle any threat, with members that could deal with any problem. The Avengers have always had powerful rosters, but the Avengers Machine took the cake and thrived against threats that would've wiped out any other roster.
1 Kang The Conqueror Helped The Avengers Save Humanity From Being Completely Erased From Time
Kang has battled the Avengers at multiple points in his personal timeline, which has brought up an interesting little wrinkle. Kang has met his older self, known as Immortus, and hates him. Immortus works with the Time-Keepers, taking their orders to protect the timeline. The younger Kang can't handle the fact that he ended up as a lackey for anyone else. All of this came to a head in Avengers Forever (Vol. 1).
The Time-Keepers had decided humanity needed to be wiped from existence to keep them from becoming a universe conquering army because of the power of the Destiny Force, which only humanity could control. Immortus was on the Time-Keepers' side, something which enraged Kang. Kang, along with Avengers villains like Libra and the Kree Supreme Intelligence, joined with a team of Avengers from throughout the timeline — Captain America, Captain Marvel III, Giant-Man, Wasp, Yellowjacket, Hawkeye, Songbird, and Rick Jones — to defeat his older self and the Time-Keepers. Kang joining the Avengers was completely unexpected, and his assistance was invaluable, allowing the Avengers to save the day and prevent the erasure of humanity.