#5
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| Janet Van Dyne. The Wasp |
See at the end of the day Wasp's powers (to get really small and fly and hit with you a tiny electrical jolt) basically ensure she will never be anything more than an annoyance to the guy shes fighting. Luckily for the Avengers shes become a master at being an annoyance at just the right moment to make their foe focus on her for the split second it takes for Thor's hammer to connect with his skull....
So yea, basically she leads the Avengers team in "assists". Speaking of leads shes also considered one of the best leaders the Avengers have ever had, mostly because she happens to be the one who steps up to lead every time the team starts to crack under overwhelming pressure and its her leadership and ability to inspire the other avengers (and figure out how/when to use each member's skills and personality to maximum affect. In fact it was during her tenure as leader that the Masters of Evil managed to take over avengers mansion and destroy most of their stuff. Now avengers mansion and all their stuff's been destroyed a few times, usually resulting in the temporary break up of the team and/or a long hard struggle to get it back, with a major loss of influence. Not so when Wasp was in charge. She response was "to hell with this, lets beat the Masters at their own game" and devised a strategy to take the mansion back ASAP.
Also finally its worth noting, it is the Wasp who decided to call the team the Avengers. While the idea of teaming up wasnt her's, there wouldnt be any avengers without her.
#4
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| Hercules |
When the avengers need the power of a God, more often than not (read more often than thor) this is who they call.
And its a good pick too, given that Hercules is basically the God of Strength. Sadly that strength comes at a "cost", as Herc has never seen much use for intellectual pursuits. In fact Herc spend most of his time between ancient greece and the present drinking and womanizing.
In fact that was one of his reasons for joining the avengers in the first place, he got kicked off Olympus and they had the best beer, access to women....and on occasion he could even fight when he got bored.
Not shockingly Herc was a bit of a chauvinist when he first joined the team. In fact when the masters of evil took avengers mansion as mentioned above, he was the sole avenger unwilling to listen to the wasp, because she was a woman. And he was promptly beaten into a coma by the Masters. Upon awakening he kinda realized maybe he was wrong and that was the end of his chauvinism.
Instead he's kinda become a lovable buffoon, ignorant of the ways of the modern world, but gentle and caring about all, with a passion and respect for regular humans.
Unless you piss him off, at which point he will literally knock your head off.
#3
And its a good pick too, given that Hercules is basically the God of Strength. Sadly that strength comes at a "cost", as Herc has never seen much use for intellectual pursuits. In fact Herc spend most of his time between ancient greece and the present drinking and womanizing.
In fact that was one of his reasons for joining the avengers in the first place, he got kicked off Olympus and they had the best beer, access to women....and on occasion he could even fight when he got bored.
Not shockingly Herc was a bit of a chauvinist when he first joined the team. In fact when the masters of evil took avengers mansion as mentioned above, he was the sole avenger unwilling to listen to the wasp, because she was a woman. And he was promptly beaten into a coma by the Masters. Upon awakening he kinda realized maybe he was wrong and that was the end of his chauvinism.
Instead he's kinda become a lovable buffoon, ignorant of the ways of the modern world, but gentle and caring about all, with a passion and respect for regular humans.
Unless you piss him off, at which point he will literally knock your head off.
#3
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| Jennifer Walters. She-Hulk |
So despite what youve seen in the Movies, the Hulk really really isnt a team player. In fact despite founding the team in 1963, up until 2012 to correspond with the movie, Hulk spend more time as an avengers villain than an avenger.
But not to fear, because earth's mightiest heroes always had the power of a Hulk just a phone call away, in the form of Bruce's much more people friendly cousin Jennifer.
And heres the thing, She-Hulk isnt just a powerhouse, unlike her cousin, she maintains control of her human personality in hulk form, and Jennifer Walters is a Harvard educated lawyer.
So She-Hulk can kick your ass, then prosecute you afterwords for the property damage caused by your ass kicking. In fact shes proven she can go punch for punch with guys like Hercules, Namor, Luke Cage and Thor, while also matching wits with Tony Stark. the Black Panther and even Reed Richards.
Name me another hero who can do that? her cousin maybe....but even he would have to pick one, brains or brawn.
Shes also ground breaking in that she was one of the first avengers to openly practice causal sex (back in the 70's/80's)....and trust me none of her teammates were stupid enough to say anything about it (or shed have punched them clear out of circulation).
And on a personal note, her love-hate/semi sibling banter with Hawkeye anytime they are both on the same team are some of the best snarky moments in the Avengers comics.
But not to fear, because earth's mightiest heroes always had the power of a Hulk just a phone call away, in the form of Bruce's much more people friendly cousin Jennifer.
And heres the thing, She-Hulk isnt just a powerhouse, unlike her cousin, she maintains control of her human personality in hulk form, and Jennifer Walters is a Harvard educated lawyer.
So She-Hulk can kick your ass, then prosecute you afterwords for the property damage caused by your ass kicking. In fact shes proven she can go punch for punch with guys like Hercules, Namor, Luke Cage and Thor, while also matching wits with Tony Stark. the Black Panther and even Reed Richards.
Name me another hero who can do that? her cousin maybe....but even he would have to pick one, brains or brawn.
Shes also ground breaking in that she was one of the first avengers to openly practice causal sex (back in the 70's/80's)....and trust me none of her teammates were stupid enough to say anything about it (or shed have punched them clear out of circulation).
And on a personal note, her love-hate/semi sibling banter with Hawkeye anytime they are both on the same team are some of the best snarky moments in the Avengers comics.
Brains, Brawn and Beauty all in one package, the best thing about She-Hulk as far as Avengers foes are concerned is that shes a one of a kind.
#2
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| Hank Pym. Ant Man/Giant Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket/Dr Pym/Wasp II/Ultron. |
The avengers resident expert in identity crisis' Hank Pym is also one of their most important members....although not always for the right reasons.
As Ant-Man he helped found the team.....but felt insecure and overmatched by Thor and Iron Man (both of whom he thought might steal his girlfriend Wasp) so he modified his powers to increase his size and power and became Giant-Man...and later Goliath, in order to "compete".....which eventually turned into a mental breakdown, that saw him become a villain, kidnap Jan, and force her to marry him. Granted he eventually recovered from his breakdown but started to lose his powers.....and as you might expect his marriage didnt last. He suffered a second breakdown and hit Jan, an action that got him kicked out of the avengers and black listed from the team he founded.
Years later he was able to convince the West Coast Avengers to take him in scientific adviser....a post he did well in.....well until he became victim of his lingering depression and tried to shoot himself in the head, becoming the only avenger to actual try to commit suicide, only as he put it "to fail at that too" when his teammate firebird stopped him.
Hank would spend the next couple years trying to get himself in order....and finally managed to do so after destroying avengers foe Ultron.....a foe he himself had created years ago, and as you might have guessed from the fact he's the villain in the upcoming movie, one of the avengers biggest and most persistent foes.
Oh and did I mention the brain patterns Pym used to create Ultron were his own? So yea Ultron was basically just Hank Pym....without the human flaws (as pym saw it). No wonder dude had issues. Its also probibly worth noting that Ultron had kidnapped the body of Former avenger Wonderman to create the Vision....who later defected back to the avengers. So yea without Pym there would be no Vision.
It seemed like things were looking up after Ultron's death, Pym finally became leader of the mighty avengers, and even founded avengers academy to stop future avengers from repeating his mistakes. He also seemed to find love, this time with team mate Tigra.
And then Ultron came back from the dead, destabilized time itself, and eventually actually merged with Hank Pym, leaving his own teammates no choice but to kill him.
So yea, Hank Pym is far and away the most tragic of all avengers, but also one of the most central, having helped found the team, created their deadliest foe, but also one of their major allies/members (vision).
Finally at long last #1
As Ant-Man he helped found the team.....but felt insecure and overmatched by Thor and Iron Man (both of whom he thought might steal his girlfriend Wasp) so he modified his powers to increase his size and power and became Giant-Man...and later Goliath, in order to "compete".....which eventually turned into a mental breakdown, that saw him become a villain, kidnap Jan, and force her to marry him. Granted he eventually recovered from his breakdown but started to lose his powers.....and as you might expect his marriage didnt last. He suffered a second breakdown and hit Jan, an action that got him kicked out of the avengers and black listed from the team he founded.
Years later he was able to convince the West Coast Avengers to take him in scientific adviser....a post he did well in.....well until he became victim of his lingering depression and tried to shoot himself in the head, becoming the only avenger to actual try to commit suicide, only as he put it "to fail at that too" when his teammate firebird stopped him.
Hank would spend the next couple years trying to get himself in order....and finally managed to do so after destroying avengers foe Ultron.....a foe he himself had created years ago, and as you might have guessed from the fact he's the villain in the upcoming movie, one of the avengers biggest and most persistent foes.
Oh and did I mention the brain patterns Pym used to create Ultron were his own? So yea Ultron was basically just Hank Pym....without the human flaws (as pym saw it). No wonder dude had issues. Its also probibly worth noting that Ultron had kidnapped the body of Former avenger Wonderman to create the Vision....who later defected back to the avengers. So yea without Pym there would be no Vision.
It seemed like things were looking up after Ultron's death, Pym finally became leader of the mighty avengers, and even founded avengers academy to stop future avengers from repeating his mistakes. He also seemed to find love, this time with team mate Tigra.
And then Ultron came back from the dead, destabilized time itself, and eventually actually merged with Hank Pym, leaving his own teammates no choice but to kill him.
So yea, Hank Pym is far and away the most tragic of all avengers, but also one of the most central, having helped found the team, created their deadliest foe, but also one of their major allies/members (vision).
Finally at long last #1
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| Clint Barton. Hawkeye/Goliath II/Ronin II. |
Yes I know Hawkeye is in the movie. Or at least there's a dude running around with a bow and arrow who is one time referred to as hawkeye. Thing is he has basically NOTHING in common with the comic book version. While all 5 other avengers (including Black Widow despite my issues with her) have most of their comic book personalities, the Hawkeye character really doesnt. In fact as near as I can tell Hawkeye was basically an afterthought in the film an likely included because Marvel knew comic fans would be furious if he wasn't in it, but never really had a plan for him (hence why hes a villian for a lot of the film). So I'm basically going to pretend his not in the movie
So yea, what the movies need is the comic book version of Hawkeye. The guy with the eternal massive chip on his shoulder, the smart-ass, the disrespectful reformed chauvinist, who despite all of that, and despite having no powers to speak of (kinda) still manages to hold his own with Gods, Hulks, and all manner of other assorted oddities.
See when he first joined the team, Hawkeye, who up until then had been a villain, couldnt figure out why the Avengers wouldnt just hand leadership over to him. After all he once beat Iron Man. He had to be a better pick than some star spangled former icicle. And that was a legitimate beef that lasted years with Barton chaffing under Cap's leadership. In fact it lasted right up until Cap gave his spot to the Black Panther....at which point every time Panther referred to himself as Cap's replacement Hawk would tell him that he [panther] wasnt fit to tie caps boots.
Because it was never hated of cap, it was and had always been hero worship. Barton wanted to be Cap...but his own insecurity prevented it. In fact when cap died Barton was named his in his will as successor. Barton turned it down after 1 outing as cap, deciding he couldnt measure up.
Barton is also one of the only Avengers to leave the team due to an issue with how he saw the avengers acting. When the avengers decided the former villains the thunderbolts, couldn't possibly reform, Barton quit and jumped ship to the enemy....and reformed them. All because he alone of all the avengers thought they should get the same chance he did.
Oh and did I mention, Hawkeye DOES have superpowers? he stole Hank Pym's serum years ago and used it on himself to take over the role of Goliath, because he believed at the time he wasnt powerful enough to be a true avengers....and the thing is, he still has those powers to this day....he just doesnt use them that often, because he finally gained confidence in himself to become truly great as is.
And that confidence and the skills it brought him were noticed by his teammates. In fact when the avengers first decided to splinter off into multiple teams so as to be able to combat multiple threats effectively, Hawkeye was hand picked to lead that team (the west coast avengers) as he saw fit. Years later, after captain america was killed, it was Barton (then calling himself Ronin) who stepped up to take over leadership of the New Avengers, and later after Cap returned from the dead, it was Hawkeye Cap handpicked to lead the second incarnation of the Secret Avengers.
Oh and as the final piece of proof of how central Hawkeye is to the comic avengers, (and should be to the movie ones) Hawkeye was once killed by his teammate the Scarlet Which. His death is considered the in-universe end of the original avengers and the team was disbanded and discontinued. although the New Avengers would be founded shortly after (using that name in-universe), no in universe team was considered just the "Avengers" without a modifier again for 6 years) Even Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, generally considered the "big 3" of the avengers didnt get that honor.
So that wraps up the 10 greatest avengers not in the movie....with a small * :P.
By the way for those who are curious what the ranking would be if we included the movie avengers
1) Captain America
2) Hawkeye
3) Hank Pym
4) Iron Man
So yea, what the movies need is the comic book version of Hawkeye. The guy with the eternal massive chip on his shoulder, the smart-ass, the disrespectful reformed chauvinist, who despite all of that, and despite having no powers to speak of (kinda) still manages to hold his own with Gods, Hulks, and all manner of other assorted oddities.
See when he first joined the team, Hawkeye, who up until then had been a villain, couldnt figure out why the Avengers wouldnt just hand leadership over to him. After all he once beat Iron Man. He had to be a better pick than some star spangled former icicle. And that was a legitimate beef that lasted years with Barton chaffing under Cap's leadership. In fact it lasted right up until Cap gave his spot to the Black Panther....at which point every time Panther referred to himself as Cap's replacement Hawk would tell him that he [panther] wasnt fit to tie caps boots.
Because it was never hated of cap, it was and had always been hero worship. Barton wanted to be Cap...but his own insecurity prevented it. In fact when cap died Barton was named his in his will as successor. Barton turned it down after 1 outing as cap, deciding he couldnt measure up.
Barton is also one of the only Avengers to leave the team due to an issue with how he saw the avengers acting. When the avengers decided the former villains the thunderbolts, couldn't possibly reform, Barton quit and jumped ship to the enemy....and reformed them. All because he alone of all the avengers thought they should get the same chance he did.
Oh and did I mention, Hawkeye DOES have superpowers? he stole Hank Pym's serum years ago and used it on himself to take over the role of Goliath, because he believed at the time he wasnt powerful enough to be a true avengers....and the thing is, he still has those powers to this day....he just doesnt use them that often, because he finally gained confidence in himself to become truly great as is.
And that confidence and the skills it brought him were noticed by his teammates. In fact when the avengers first decided to splinter off into multiple teams so as to be able to combat multiple threats effectively, Hawkeye was hand picked to lead that team (the west coast avengers) as he saw fit. Years later, after captain america was killed, it was Barton (then calling himself Ronin) who stepped up to take over leadership of the New Avengers, and later after Cap returned from the dead, it was Hawkeye Cap handpicked to lead the second incarnation of the Secret Avengers.
Oh and as the final piece of proof of how central Hawkeye is to the comic avengers, (and should be to the movie ones) Hawkeye was once killed by his teammate the Scarlet Which. His death is considered the in-universe end of the original avengers and the team was disbanded and discontinued. although the New Avengers would be founded shortly after (using that name in-universe), no in universe team was considered just the "Avengers" without a modifier again for 6 years) Even Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, generally considered the "big 3" of the avengers didnt get that honor.
So that wraps up the 10 greatest avengers not in the movie....with a small * :P.
By the way for those who are curious what the ranking would be if we included the movie avengers
1) Captain America
2) Hawkeye
3) Hank Pym
4) Iron Man
5) Scarlet Witch (of course depending on how shes used in the upcoming film I might need to put her on this list under the same exception I made for Hawkeye)
6) She Hulk
6) She Hulk
7) Hercules
8) Thor
9) Vision (again another possible addition under the "Hawkeye rule" depending on the movie)
10) Wasp
9) Vision (again another possible addition under the "Hawkeye rule" depending on the movie)
10) Wasp
And just to fill out the count to cover everyone I used in this listing
11) Ms, Marvel
12) Spider-Man
11) Ms, Marvel
12) Spider-Man
13) Tigra
14) Black Panther
15) Quicksilver (again a possible "hawkeye rule" addition)
16) The Beast.
17) Luke Cage (who got screwed out of the #10 spot by the "hawkeye rule")
16) The Beast.
17) Luke Cage (who got screwed out of the #10 spot by the "hawkeye rule")
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