Assembled for the first time in September 1963, The Avengers united Marvel Comics' most popular superheroes as a single unit. The opening issues saw The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Invincible Iron Man, Ant-Man, and The Wasp joining together to fight the machinations of Thor's brother, Loki.
Hulk left the team shortly after it was founded, setting the trend for a fluid roster which would change frequently in the years to come. Indeed, all of the founding members left the team in Avengers #16, leaving Captain America (recruited to the team in Avengers #4) to build a new Avengers team by himself!
Though The Avengers are often called "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", this hasn't always been the case. Many an Avengers' writer would use the title to try out new character concepts that didn't work as well as hoped. Others used the series as a new home for a favorite character who had overstayed their welcome elsewhere.
As the countdown to Avengers: Infinity War quickens and the greatest assemblage of superheroes on-screen in history approaches, there are a number of great Avengers who will not be joining the party for one reason or another. Conversely, there are a number of former Avengers who will not be part of the movie and are unlikely to ever appear in any Avengers movie ever.
Here now are 7 Amazing Avengers Who Won't Be In Infinity War (And 8 Who Should Never Be On Screen)!
SHOULDN'T: Starfox
One of the Eternals of Titan, Eros was the polar opposite of his older brother, Thanos. Whereas the elder brother was obsessed with Death and nihilistic philosophy, Eros was a hedonist who relished Life. The two would cross blades many times in the ensuing years as they traveled the galaxy, with Thanos seeking conquest and Eros seeking new pleasures to experience. In time Eros would come to Earth and adopt the name Starfox while serving with The Avengers in order to guard the planet from Thanos.
Despite being Thanos' younger brother and ideological opposite, Eros would have little to offer any movie based on his family's history. His defining superpower is an ability to subliminally manipulate the pleasure centers of the people around him. The horrific implications of this would only distract from the main plot of Infinity War and are of limited value in combat in any case.
SHOULD: Rogue
A teenage runaway taken in by The Brotherhood of Mutants, the girl known as Rogue possessed an incredible power that allowed her to drain the memories, skills, super-powers and life-force of anyone she touched. Tragically, she was unable to control her power and nearly took the life of the first boy she ever kissed.
In time Rogue would learn to control her abilities and reformed herself, leaving the Brotherhood to join the X-Men. She later joined the Avengers and went on to lead the team.
Though she's better known as an X-Man, there's several good reasons to include Rogue in The Avengers movies. Rogue is one of Marvel's most interesting heroines and there aren't a lot of ladies in the Avengers at present. Ignoring the male-heavy roster of the team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Rogue also has a history with Carol Danvers that could tie into the upcoming Captain Marvel movie.
SHOULDN'T: Silverclaw
Lupe Santiago was taken in by missionaries after the death of her father, who claimed to have sired Lupe with the volcano goddess Peliali. Possessing the power to shape-shift into any animal native to her homeland of Costa Verde (albeit one with silver skin), Lupe would come to be sponsored through an international aid program by Edwin Jarvis - Tony Stark's butler.
The two exchanged letters throughout Lupe's childhood, with Lupe not revealing her divine heritage or powers to Jarvis. Circumstances contrived to bring Lupe to America, where she was forced to fight the Avengers before being adopted into the team.
Kurt Busiek and George Perez created some truly great superheroes in their time. Silverclaw is not one of them. She was a complete rip-off of Beast Boy in terms of her powers, which were of limited use on a team with actual gods.
SHOULD: Hercules
One of the six Olympian sons of Zeus, Hercules was literally born to be a hero. For 3,000 years the Prince of Power has defended humanity from all manner of menaces, taking up the mantle of a superhero in modern times.
Many feel that Hercules is a second-rate Thor, but The Odinson would be the first to correct them.
Thor freely admits that Hercules is his better when it comes to hand-to-hand fighting.
While Hercules may not have the wide variety of powers Thor does, his strength is not dependent on a magical weapon.
The comedic tone of Thor: Ragnarok was similar in style to Hercules' exploits in the comics, which often made light of the hero's tendency toward carousing and womanizing in an epic fashion. It would be interesting to see his friendly rivalry with Thor brought to life on the big screen.
SHOULDN'T: Deathcry
The niece of the Shi'ar Empress Lilandra, Sharra Neramani was banished to Earth after committing some grave act of dishonor against the royal family. Her aunt ordered her to atone by joining the Avengers - something the team had not been consulted about before having a teenage alien bird-girl dropped on their doorstep. Taking up the name Deathcry, Sharra would hold a place of honor in the Avengers until creator Bob Harrass left the book and she disappeared into limbo for a decade.
She is everything that was wrong with Marvel Comics in the 1990s wrapped up into one psychotic package.
A feral nightmare whose powers were clawing stuff and shooting stuff while wearing scanty "armor", Deathcry offered nothing to the team what wasn't already being offered by Tigra. And cat-women are better than bird-girls any day of the week!
SHOULD: Daredevil
Ironically blinded by radioactive waste while trying to save a blind man from being hit by a truck, Matt Murdock found his other senses enhanced to superhuman levels. By day, Matt helps people as a lawyer. By night, he protects Hell's Kitchen as Daredevil - The Man Without Fear!
While Matt Murdock's time with the Avengers was limited and he was always an awkward fit to the team, there's still several reasons it would be nice to see him in Infinity War.
It would help to more firmly establish Marvel's Netflix series as being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Matt's perspective would also offer a unique perspective on the cosmic events of the movie. It would also be nice to see something of the partnership between Spider-Man and Daredevil that exists in the comics start to form on-screen.
SHOULDN'T: D-Man
Dennis Dunphy was given super-strength by the villainous Power Broker. Dunphy used his newfound power to pursue a career as a professional wrestler, where he befriended fellow strongman Ben "The Thing" Grimm. Dunphy later helped Captain America in shutting down The Power Broker's operation, creating a costume for himself and adopting the name Demolition Man, or D-Man for short. He would remain one of Steve Rogers' closest allies and be the first hero Steve recruited for a new Avengers team in the wake of the Inferno event.
While none can doubt D-Man's heroism, his backstory is needlessly complicated.
Then there are the more recent stories where D-Man was revealed to be homeless, diagnosed with schizophrenia, and suffering from a body-odor problem that kept anyone from getting within thirty feet of him! His costume - which intentionally aped aspects of Wolverine's and Daredevil's - is also something of a problem.
SHOULD: Beast
Henry "Hank" McCoy was one of the first teenagers Charles Xavier recruited for his school for "gifted youngsters."
Blessed with a genius-level intelligence along with enhanced agility and strength, Hank took the codename Beast as one of the first class of X-Men. Hank would go on to earn doctorates in multiple disciplines, even as his mutation and his own experimentation made him become more and more monstrous in appearance.
One of the few X-Men to also serve as an Avenger, Hank has acted as a bridge between the two teams before.
Given that, and his status as the world's leading expert on human mutation, Hank would be the perfect character to introduce mutants into the reality of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
SHOULDN'T: Triathlon
Delroy Garrett Jr. was an Olympic athlete who lost it all when he was discovered to have been using steroids. Disillusioned with life, Garret followed the path of many lost souls and became part of a cult called The Triune Understanding.
The leader of the cult, having somehow stolen the powers of the 3-D Man, gave these powers to Garret, turning him into their perfect spokesman. Claiming that The Triune Understanding's philosophy had turned him into three times the man he once was, the newly named Triathlon would become part of the Avengers following a massive public pressure campaign.
While Kurt Busiek built a great drama around Garett's story, there's no room in Infinity War for a subtle parody of Scientology. It doesn't help that Triathlon's power of being three times more powerful than a peak human athlete pales in comparison to the abilities of most of the other Avengers.
SHOULD: Namor
The son of a human sea captain and a princess of Atlantis, Namor has been officially designated as Marvel Comics' first mutant. Possessing the enhanced physique of an Atlantean as well as the power to fly, Namor is also credited with being American comics' first anti-hero.
Over the years, Namor has allied himself with both heroes and villains of the surface world, as best benefited the interests of his kingdom at the time. Despite this, Namor still joined the Avengers with Steve Rogers' blessing.
The film rights to Namor are currently contested, meaning Namor will never appear in any movie until some kind of arrangement is reached.
A shame given that if there were any crisis worthy of inspiring Namor to reveal himself to the world, it is the arrival of Thanos. Imperius Rex!
SHOULDN'T: Stingray
Ever since he was a child, Walter Newwell loved the ocean. That love drove him into marine biology and ocean exploration, leading to an odd friendship with Namor, King of Atlantis. Newwell would construct a special suit that emulated the unique locomotion of a stingray, allowing him to breathe underwater and move at great speeds.
There's only two things you really need to know about Stingray. The first is that he was a reluctant hero, at best, who only wanted to use his special swimming suit for exploring the ocean - not saving the world. The second is that he was only recruited into the Avengers in the comics because they needed an underwater operations specialist for a mission involving a Russian submarine and Namor was busy.
SHOULD: Wolverine
James "Logan" Howlett is the best at what he does, but what he does isn't very nice. A dangerous man even before he was forcibly recruited into the Weapon X project, Logan found his powers further enhanced thanks to a treatment that infused his skeleton with the nigh-indestructible metal adamantium. With a super-strong skeleton and mutant healing powers, there's not much that take Logan down for long and his adamantium-infused claws allow him to cut apart nearly anything!
Despite being a self-described lone wolf, Logan can't seem to avoid joining teams. He's been part of the X-Men, X-Force, Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, and the Avengers.
With Hugh Jackman having retired from the role following Logan and the rights to the character now back in Marvel Studios' control, Avengers: Infinity War would be the perfect time to introduce a new actor in the role of Canada's favorite superhero. (Sorry, Deadpool!)
SHOULDN'T: Doctor Druid
Doctor Druid was the first superhero Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created for Marvel Comics during The Silver Age. Despite this, the character has languished in obscurity, primarily because his background - which involved psychiatrist Anthony Druid traveling to Tibet to learn the mystic arts from an old lama - was later reworked to create Doctor Strange. Later stories revealed the lama as a disguised Ancient One, who only trained Doctor Druid as a back-up Sorcerer Supreme if Stephen Strange forsook his destiny.
Doctor Druid earned a place in The Avengers after using his magics to save the team. Unfortunately, it was later revealed that the team's quick acceptance of the wizard was only due to the machinations of the villain Terminatrix, who had also taken control of Doctor Druid's mind. Despite being a hapless dupe, Doctor Druid was kicked off of the Avengers and into comic book limbo.
SHOULD: Invisible Woman
Despite being the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four in terms of both raw strength and sheer versatility, The Invisible Woman is frequently overlooked. Her near-indestructible force-fields can take any shape. Sue is also a brilliant scientist in some universes, though she's overshadowed by her proximity to Mr. Fantastic.
Susan Storm has never been given a chance to shine away from the flashier members of The Fantastic Four. Even when she was an Avenger, she played second-fiddle to Reed Richards!
Given that Infinity War will mirror the classic Infinity Gauntlet storyline (which saw half of all life in the universe destroyed) the film would be an excellent opportunity to introduce Sue Storm into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and show-off what Invisible Woman can do. Imagine an enraged Sue Storm who was the only survivor of her family's destruction and you'd have a hero worthy of the name Avenger.
SHOULDN'T: Gilgamesh, The Forgotten One
The name "Gilgamesh, The Forgotten One" says everything we need to know about this best-forgotten Avenger. Originally created as part of Jack Kirby's Eternals series, Gilgamesh was an immortal warrior condemned to a life in exile from The Eternals' society for being too prideful. He wandered the Earth for centuries, using his great strength to aid mortal man.
Gilgamesh joined the Avengers along with Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman in Avengers #300, when the team's ranks were decimated to the point of only including Steve Rogers (then The Captain) and Thor. His tenure on the team would be short-lived and he would soon be forgotten once again.
Gilgamesh has appeared sparingly since then, though he did have a humorous role in Dan Abnett's Hercules mini-series, where he was depicted crashing on Hercules' couch until he got back into shape and the hero business picked up again.
---
Is there some Avenger we've forgotten to honor or dishonor? Let us know in the comments!
