Top 10 Favorite Avengers

Alright, so a brief "disclaimer" before moving on. If your expecting to see all of the "big name" avengers on this list, you may be disappointed. Mostly because most of the big names (IE thor, cap, iron man, spider man, luke cage and others) have their own comic books. As a result they tend not to get that much character development in the Avengers, and they are rarely the focus of any subplots.

I decided though that I would only really focus on characterization that happened in a comic that had avengers on the title (be it "avengers" "new avengers" "uncanny avengers" "Might avengers" "west coast avengers" "solo avengers" "avengers academy" "avengers AI") as this was a listing of my favorite AVENGERS and not my favorite characters.

So just cause some bigger names arnt here doesnt mean I dont like them....they may show up on a favorite characters list some day in the future. Instead it just means that they arnt that interesting when ONLY focused on the avengers titles, as most of their character growths happen in their own books. (also quick refresher for anyone who wants to see my least favorite avengers)

So with that in mind, my top 10 favorite avengers....or top 11:

BONUS RUNNER UP Mockingbird

I dont usually do runner up's but Mockingbird has been one of my favorite characters for years....up until about last month when I finally got a chance to read all of Uncanny Avengers and she got pushed off the list. But because she was one of my favorites for years and years, I dont feel right not including her. So yea, here she is. 

If anyone read the West Coast Avengers in the 1980's they likely noticed that Mockingbird was one of the first complex female marvel superheroes. IE she was not defined totally by his romantic interest, or lack of one....she had one, yet still was given her own distinct personality.

She was strong, opinionated, and openly disagreed with her husband Hawkeye, pretty much all the time. Hell she even got the Wackos (the name the West Coast Avengers used for themselves) split in half one time because how strongly she argued. And thing is, most of the time she was right. She was in many respects the first avenger to see the world as shades of grey and not simply black and white.

Also, as worried I am I wont get the wording right here, and will offend someone by accident, her most memorable and telling storyline was when she got roofied and raped......and killed her rapist. Mostly because when held up to other examples of rape (notably Ms. Marvel) Mockingbirds reactions to what happened to her were believable, as was her lack of remorse for indirectly killing the guy (read not helping him when he was hanging off a cliff).....even if her blockhead husband didnt get it

#10 Sunfire

Sunfire is kinda an asshole. Always has been, likely always will be. And holy fuck is he arrogant. Which is actually why I liked him in his brief run with the team. On the one hand he claimed to dislike all of them, think they didnt respect him...but on the other hand he is also the first person on the team to name drop that he is in fact an avenger....so give him all the status and perks that come with it. Hes also likely immensely proud of having been asked to join the team...but he'll never admit that. I dont have much else to say since he really was only on the team about a year or so, but damn was he entertaining.....which really helps as his powerset is one of the most duplicated (Firebird, Firestar, Human Torch, Android Human Torch) the team has, so it would have been real easy to fade into the background.

#9 Black Knight

Ok, so the avengers in the early 1990's SUCKED ASS. Which is ironic, because they were basically the most stable team (in terms of roster) the avengers ever had, with the same roster (give or take 1 or 2 changes) lasting nearly 5 years. Despite that, the writing was still bad, plot such as it was, was bad, characterization was bad (although to be fair, this was true for ALL marvel comics of the time).

The one exception to that, in my opinion, was the Black Knight, who quickly became the centerpiece of the team....to the point a real world debate broke out in the letter section over if the Black Knight was actually the teams leader (and not the Black Widow, who had been named leader in universe, but was basically never featured and her duties were seemingly usurped in the field by the Knight).

So yea not only was Black Knight, who'd been added to the avengers decades before by Stan Lee, then immediately sent home to England and turned to stone, finally actually used, he also had a chance to use his skills, on a team bereft of Iron Man, Hank Pym, Black Panther, ect,, as a scientist he was the team "brain". And on a team without Cap or Iron Man or Hawkeye, the man who fought in the crusades was finally able to show off his tactical skill.

Not to mention he was the center of the actually very well done (by the standards of the time, and even normal standards) love triangle between himself, and teammates Sersi and Crystal.  Kinda a shame that ended the way it did, with him being bonded to Sersi against his will, so having to give up Crystal, but still he and that storyline were basically the only good thing about the avengers for near half a decade, so I have to have him on this list.

#8 Spider Woman (Julia Carpenter)

We are 4 people into the list, and this is my second Wacko. Because West Coast Avengers was awesome. Also this Spider-Woman (unlike the probably better known original Spider Woman (Jessica Drew), who joined the avengers decades later in 2000 and was central to Brian Michael Bendis' run) came to the avengers with basically no established backstory or character.
Which meant the Avengers writers were free to do as they pleased with her....and boy did they deliver. Rather than being your generic superhero, or even a clear spiderman knockoff, Carpenter was something no other avenger had been to that date.....divorced....and a single parent.

For the first time ever Marvel was focusing on what being a superhero might be like for a more mature reader....and not just a teenager. And as her powers were hidden from her family this Spider Woman had to balance being a super hero in secret with things like weekend custody (also known as how to try to explain to your daughter why you dont seem to live anywhere but totally arnt homeless (since you live at the avengers compound).

Now while marvel has traveled this road since (with Quicksilver/Crystal/Luna or Scott Lang/Cassie Lang) the spider woman arc remains unique because its the only time both the ex-spouse and child remained regular people...,not other heroes.

And while she was never the main star of the book, Julia's struggles to balance the demands of her life....and the consequences of her failing to do that (like her ex husbands death) remain a unique story in Avengers History (albeit at times a bit too reminiscent of spider man)

#7 Tigra

And the Wackos return to this list with their 3rd entry. Although actually thats a bit unfair, because while tigra did have her longest and most famous run as a Wacko, she actually joined the avengers 3 years before, thing was she didnt stick around. See when Tigra joined the team, it consisted of Yellowjacket, Wasp, Iron Man and Thor.....AKA the founding avengers, and therefore the group considered in universe to be the best. And well she didnt think she measured up to that group and basically quit cause she couldnt take the pressure (in her defense the only other avenger ever to be in that situation was Captain America, and that was decades before, when the Avengers had yet to make a reputation).

Luckily somebody saw something in her, cause when the West Coast Avengers were first established she was recruited to help found the team......only to lose her self to the cat side of her personality.....becoming territorial, governed by instinct and needy for physical attention at all times.....which evenually resulted in her almost killing hawkeye when she lost the ability to see the difference between training and hunting. Of course once she regained control, she quit the team again....cause you know, she didnt see what she brought to the team.
Yet, a few years later she finds herself working as a teacher at the Avengers Academy, an analog to the X-mens school, but aimed at non mutants. Its here she finally comes into her own, realizing that while she isnt the strongest, fastest, smartest, most agile or best avenger, she may in fact be the ONLY one who realizes how outclassed the students feel and how nervous they are about using and controlling their powers. And she uses this to teach them the lesson she herself took decades to learn.....to be a real avenger, all you need to do is stand for what is right and good.  She also finally became confident enough in herself to find her first real stable relationship....with Hank Pym of all people, one of the avengers she had been so intimated by years before (when he was yellowjacket)

So yea, by going from timid and scared to self professed unworthy to finally realizing what it means to be an avenger and helping others see the same, Tigra actually has one of the most complete character arcs in the avengers franchise.....which might be why she sadly hasnt been seen on the team since Avengers Academy was cancelled 3 years ago, it may just be there is no story left to tell. Although personally I would love to see if her new confidence and peace can last following the death of her boyfriend/"father" (or well genetic donor as she was actually impregnated by an impostor) of her child, Hank Pym. 

#6 Starfox

If anything, Starfox is very much a victim of circumstance. First in the modern day he loses out the association with his codename to a Nintendo Character who happened to come along 20 years after him.

Then there's the fact that many casual readers incorrectly believe him to rapist. He isnt, and thats explictly stated in the comics a few issues after he's accused and assumed to be one....but apparently the one clearing him didnt sell as well as the volume incriminating him.

So these two facts combined probably doom him to the bottom rung of the Marvel Universe (heck he's even getting left out of the movies, despite the fact his brother Thanos is the big bad of the whole marvel universe)

Which is kinda a shame cause hes a really cool character. So basically Starfox comes from a race of beings that are basically carbon copies of Superman. Which sounds like a pretty dull premise to be honest.

The thing about Starfox is, hes basically the playboy of his species, you can not quantify the amount of fucks he doesnt give. And his powers have suffered as a result, because hes never really put in any effort in figuring out HOW to use them. SO while he can fly and is faster stronger and tougher than a human, all the energy and cosmic manipulation skills his race possesses are useless to him.  Plus, as an alien from an advanced race he should have become the resident genius of the avengers, He wasnt cause in typical fashion, hed never bothered to learn HOW stuff worked...just that it did.

In fact the only reason he joined the avenegers was because he was "slumming"/trying to see how the other half lives/thought it would be an amusing distraction. Then he stuck around cause he realized the benefits (read sex) that came with his fame on earth.

Of course I would be remiss if I didnt mention his secret power...IE the one he kept secret even from the avengers. He has the power to stimulate your pleasure center with his mind. (And yes the fact that that description sounds like it came from Porn is probibly another reason hes not see that much anymore). In fact it was when that power was found out that he found himself accused of rape by multiple lovers, including fellow Avenger She-Hulk.

As I said before, he didnt do it (and it was proven in a way that undisputable), cause to him, using his powers was basically cheating and took all the fun out of the "game"(of getting laid). Which is not to say he never used his powers or they caused trouble. He had actually used them on She-Hulk....but not so shed sleep with him, hed used them to try to resolve a fight with her boyfriend because that was "easier" then having them fight. Problem was, turned out that usage of his power....and all previous usages, were permanent, unbeknowst to starfox, at least until he deliberately undid what he did.  Of course, he'd meant to only have the effects be short term....but remember how I said he never practiced using his powers? oops.

Basically hes a mix of Cupid....a totally irresponsible cupid and Nalia De'Arnise from the Baldurs Gate series (or your favorite well meaning but totally out of touch 1%er if you dont know the game). Which makes him kinda irratatingly awesome as a character.

Although, given that he was the one who just months ago got Ultron/Hank Pym to exile himself and thereby saved  the world...maybe hes finally getting a chance to once again climb the ladder and get the recognition his character deserves?

#5 Hercules

Ok so lets get it out of the way upfront, Herc is a bit of a misogynist...or was anyway until altercations with She Hulk, and a near fatal wounding due to not listening to the wasp set him straight. Least he has a good excuse though, as until he reappeared in the present he'd been on Mt Olympus since the days of the ancient greeks, so its not like he knew things had changed....and he did learn. Admittedly since learning hes become a bit of a playboy so its not the best improvement but still.

Herc is also a drunk.....or at least he would be except for the fact his Olympian heritage makes that very difficult if not impossible for him to get drunk on human booze. Not that that stops him from trying....or from brawling. In fact brawling is kinda his hobby, in fact thats kinda why he joined the avengers in the first place.....a chance to fight the biggest fights.....and allegedly they have the best booze....and the best access to women.

In short Herc is basically frat boy of the avengers. But while that might be irritating in real life, Herc
is well meaning enough its enduring.....most of the time. But when hes not trying to be a frat boy is when Herc real personality comes thought.....hes not the sharpest tool in the shed....and he knows it, his strategy is limited to "hit it hard" and if that doesn't work hes out of ideas. Political, psychology, and tactics are well outside his limited means. But like I said he knows that....which makes him interesting as hes one of the only avengers to be aware of his shortcomings (other than level of power)....even if he will never admit them to anyone else (after all he is a god and has to act the part). And this skill extends to others too, he's actually pretty good at seeing what his friends REALLY need, as opposed to what they claim....although his lack of psychology usually means he tries to solve it the wrong way (IE takes them to hit something). Still hes a much more complex character than his frat boy image suggest....and it frat boy image makes him a much more fun character than many of his teammates.   

#4 Falcon

Ok so quick disclaimer. I have yet to read any stories since Falcon took over the Captain America role. This therefore is only an analysis of the Falcon character prior to becoming Cap.

Falcon is pretty much the overlooked avenger, much to his annoyance. As he's fond of reminding people when they overlook him "the name isnt "And the Falcon"" in reference to his decades long partner ship with Captain America.  And while that may be his unique cross to bear (and I imagine his current identy as Cap isnt going to help), he still manages to stand out as a rather unique avenger.....as he was the first and as far as I know only avenger to be forced on to the team against his will, and unsurprisingly quit as soon as he could.

See at one point the government took over supervision of the Avengers, and noticed the avengers were all white, and therefore not in compliance with affirmative action laws. So the team was forced to offer membership to Falcon, who had been Caps partner for years already, but never shown any desire to be an avenger. Falcon was told though that without his membership, the team would be forced to shut down....so he literally took one for the team and joined up. Only to discover his spot came at the expense of long time avenger Hawkeye, who was booted from the team to make room, kicking off several decades of animosity from Hawkeye to Falcon, as Hawkeye believed Falcon should have refused to join and not screwed him over, even if it was accidental.

Problem is of course, as I said, Falcon didnt want to be an avenger, as he didnt think its mission, to take on global menaces that threatened the world, was in line with his mission to stop small time street crime that threatened individuals. And being the "World's Mightest Token" as he put it, didnt help, as he became convinced he was an avenger only because of his skin and not his merit.

Although he did quit, the avengers did manage to convince him he had merited a spot on the team even if his recruitment was under a cloud. So he would continue to assist the team on missions over the following years, but never truly rejoined. However during this period he would reveal a major expansion of his powers. Instead of a mere psychic connection to his own pet Falcon redwing, he could now see through the eyes of, and control, every bird in the world.....making him essentially the worlds most effective and powerful spy anytime he choose to be.

And his fighting style changed too. When he finally rejoined the Mighty Avengers years later (as they like him focused more on street crimes so their goals were in line) he adopted a much more psychological warfare style. No more would he go hunt down a bad guy, as he would order his army of birds to flush the badguy to him....and scare the crap out of the guy in the process.

Now like I said I dont yet know what happens to Falcon when he becomes Cap... and depending how it plays out he could make his way even higher up the list....or he could go off the list altogether (mostly if they dont take advantage of his bird related powers or insecurity over being "And the Falcon" and basically just make him flying cap)

#3 She Hulk

So I like smart ass characters. And She Hulk is one of the best the avengers have. Hawkeye may be the benchmark for smartass avengers, but this is the only member of the team who can hold her own against him in a snark off.  She's also the only snarky female avenger for some reason, which makes her even cooler (although I would love a few more snarky women marvel).

She Hulk is a bit unique on this list, half the reason shes here is because of her relationship with another character, Hawkeye, and they way they play off each other.

Which is not to say she doesnt have her own merits. Shes probably one of the avengers 6 or 7 strongest members, and one of the smartest, being a very successful lawyer....which is actually an area almost no other avenger can claim to know anything about, including Iron Man, Giant Man and the rest of the brain trust.

As I said, shes the only avenger capable of outsnarking hawkeye....and he clearly doesnt deal well with that. Their whole thing started when she joined the team and he took an instant dislike to her...and she insulted him right back.....a move that ironically won her his instant respect. To this day actually she and Hawkeye have one of the most unique relationships on the team that can best be described as a love/hate sibling like relationship. He will still claim to hate her complain about her....and she will try to kill him with love (literally usually as she hugs him as hard as she can). Thing is each one knows the other one is only acting the way they are to get under each others skin. Now its a bit weird that off the team, they seem to have no contact when not on the team together. But if they are both on the team and you do anything to annoy one of them...RUN the other one is going to hurt you.

One final note, she was also the first female avenger to totally own her sex life. Up until her, the male avengers hooked up with as many people as they liked, and the focus was usually all about them in the stories. And the woman (usually team mates) tending to be treated as if she only had sex because you know she might be in love with the man (even when he clearly wasnt in love with her). Not she hulk. She Hulk regularly had causal sex with whoever she wanted, and if you had a problem with that.....fuck off.  She'd also quite openly talk about her conquests and potential conquests.....like many of the male members of the team. And shes directly responsible for many of the female members not treating the subject as taboo as they used to (even if the comics in general were still bound by the CCA censorship, the women started using the same allusions as the men did) So in that respect she was also ground breaking.

#2 Hank Pym

Introducting Hank Pym, AKA Ant-Man AKA Giant Man AKA Goliath AKA Yellowjacket AKA Dr. Pym AKA The Wasp, hes the next entry on this list. And, like the two entries above him, he has some insecurity problems....in case you couldnt tell from the half a dozen superhero names.
See Pym has never really thought he pulled his weight as an avenger. At first he figured he had a place as the genius of the team.....only to discover who exactly was under Iron Man's helmet.

So he figured he'd try to increase his power and become a team powerhouse as Giant-Man....except you know on a team with Thor, he was woefully outclassed. So he went back to the workshop to improve his forumla.....only to discover it was detrimental to his health and to spend several months stuck at 12 feet tall, and any attempt to grow or shink might kill him.

Luckly, he eventually solved that problem. Not so luckily, not long after he kinda fucked up yet another attempt to modify the solution that gave him powers...leading to the creation of a split personality named Yellowjacket. Yellowjacket was convinced he had murdered Hank Pym (who he referred to as a loser) and to prove he was more a man than Pym had ever been, kidnapped Pym's girlfriend, the Wasp, to force her to fall in love with him the way he believed she never had with Pym.

By the way, its worth noting that it was in this state that the Wasp decided to marry him, having figured out he was actually Pym, I guess she figured it would all play out ok. Now while he did regain his memory and original persona not long after the wedding in the long run this just added to his insecurity (for obvious reasons). Granted he covered it up by claiming he wasnt cut out for superheroing and retiring...at least in theory. In reality he joined the Defenders, cause he did have to prove himself (at least in his eyes) to his wife.....who it should be pointed out became the leader of the Avengers around this time, and would be considered one of the best they ever had.

And being the team leaders husband, well Pym eventually found himself back on the team....except he couldnt take the self impossed pressure and hit his wife and attacked a surrendering enemy. Then at his court martial for the aforemented, he had a robot he developed in secret attack the avengers. The goal had been to force them to admit he was valuable when he stopped the attack by hitting a secret deactivation button and making it look like he bested the robot......except he never got the chance as the Wasp has seen the secret button, and hit it first.....and then revealed he'd attacked her.

Which got Pym kicked off the team in disgrace. A couple years later he would turn up at the West Coast Avengers door, begging for a chance at redemption and offering to serve as the Wacko's version of Jarvis the team butler, and a scientific advisor.  Out of pity they let him do it, and he did a pretty good job. Except his psychological issues never really went away, and well he decided a gun looked pretty tasty...luckily for him an avenger happened to walk by at the last moment and stop him.

At which point, for the first time, he actually started to get his life together, saving the team, proving to himself his worth to the team, and even rekindling his relationship with his now ex wife. It wasnt to last though as he would be kidnapped and replaced by a skrull....and the Skrull would enginer the deaths of Black Goliath who was pym's best friend, and his ex wife the Wasp. And for good measure the skrull would knock up another of Pym's ex girlfriends tigra....all while appearing to be Pym. And it was right about the time Pym got all that sorted out, and seemed to finally hit his stride as the head of the Avengers Academy that his creation, the evil genocidal robot Ultron would usurp Pym's physical body effectively killing him and joining the two of them together as one being.

So yea of all the avengers Pym's the guy who cant catch a break....but its his own damn fault, as almost all his bad luck is the result of his own insecurities....which in many respects makes him the most relateable of all the avengers for a reader, as most of us looking back on it have done some really stupid things that cost us later....and Hank Pym's real superpower is being the embodiment of that.    
 

#1 Hawkeye

Honestly who else could it be? Like I said with She Hulk, I like smartass, and this is the original Avengers smartass. And youve seen the repeated references to the Wackos? guess who their leader was?

Also like the several above him, Hawkeye has had major character evolution over the years. When the joined the team he was legitimately a dick, had no real respect for anyone on the team, most notably captain america, and actually figured he was a better leader than cap could ever be. In time he learned respect.....not that that stopped him from appearing to be any less of a dick, except now he was doing it out of fun and not spite. Ironically once he started to respect his team he did develop into the great leader he believed himself to be before. In fact He's one of the only people that Cap has ever offered to step aside for if he'd rather lead the team.  And there was a reason that he of all the avengers was picked to lead the first ever Avengers splinter team (the West Coast Avengers)

This is not to say he's evolved past all his flaws though, as the reason his marriage disintegrated had alot to do with his inability to accept his wife's decision to not help her rapist (and her lack of help lead to his death). Cause according to hawkeye, thats not what avengers do. Its also why his relationship with the Black Widow ended....he couldnt accept that sometime it is necessary to kill people. To him, the world still is very much black and white.....and thats not always a good thing, in fact most of the trouble he gets in comes from his inability to see shades of grey...or to consider the possible unintended consequences of his actions

However whats most interesting about Hawkeye is that he very much chooses to be the hero he is. By which I mean this is a man who teams up with Gods or Super strong aliens, or mutated and advanced humans....and yet all he's got is a bow and arrow, and no powers of  his own to speak of.

Except that's not entirely true. Hawkeye's got superpowers....impressive ones too, he just chooses to never really use them. See once upon a time (in the 70's), Hank Pym couldnt be a superhero anymore cause the serum he used didnt work with his body and would kill him/ But it worked fine with other peoples. And Hawkeye, believing he needed extra power to save his then girlfriend the black widow, stole the serum and used it. And as a result gained the size changing power of Goliath.

Now Hank later gifted him the remained of the serum and Hawkeye stayed as Goliath for years...until the serum ran out at which point he "had" to switch back to being Hawkeye. Or at least thats what he told everyone. Years later, the West Coast Avengers were in a bit of a bind and get out of it, Hawkeye again became Goliath. Cause it turns out their had been more serum...he'd just asked Hank Pym to hide it. Then in the late 90's Hawkeye would actually involuntary become Goliath after an accident in Pym's lab affected everyone with the serum in their body. This despite not having taken in in years, it seemed serums effect has actually been permanent. Not that hes used his powers since.

Its just being Goliath wasnt the kind of superhero he wanted to be, so he rarely use his powers. Hawkeye chooses to be a regular man without powers....presumably because he realizes that the avengers need an "everyman" a "common man" to keep them grounded and in touch with reality. (plus out of universe he functions as a link to the reader mostly for this same reason...hes just a regular guy and therefore is more relateable than many on the team)

Then, there was also his Ronin phase. Turns out, hawkeye can fight....and do it really really well. And not just with bows. Instead as Ronin he used martial arts, swords, nunchucks and staves, so hes also been choosing not to mix it up up close and personal this whole time.

Oh and then their was the time he was offered the role of Captain America, and was actually once of the only people skilled enough to correctly throw cap's shield. He turned it down though cause he realized he couldnt be the symbol people needed Cap to be.

Basically their doesnt appear to be any other avenger with the sense of self that Hawkeye has. he know what he *can* do but also what he wants to do. And unlike most of his teammates he didnt stagger into his powers or skills by accident they have been explicitly picked to allow him to be the hero for better or worse that he wants to be.

And well, that definitely helps him stand out among his much more powerful teammates.