Gallery: The 10 Biggest Stories From the Last 50 Years of the Avengers
01Avengers
02Captain-America
Half a century of defending the world from villainous freaks and scary monsters is a lot of work -- for readers almost as much as the superheroes responsible. Marvel's *The Avengers* hit their 50 year mark this week, but trying to catch up on five decades' worth of comic books can feel particularly daunting for newer readers (or basically anyone under 60). In the quest to help newcomers get up to speed, we picked ten of the most important storylines from the long, long history of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Now *everyone* will be able to tell their Kangs from their Korvacs (Hint: Only one has godlike powers). Above: Captain America Joins… The Avengers! ------------------------------------------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Avengers* Vol 1 #4, 1964, by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and George Roussous __What Happens?__ This issue may be a bona fide classic, but trying to explain its plot may suggest otherwise. The short version is this: The Avengers discover Captain America frozen in ice, thaw him out, and then recruit him. There's an entire additional plot about Cap saving the team from an alien who's turned them to stone, but we don't really need to go there, do we? __Why Is It Important?__ Although the Avengers had existed for three issues prior to this story, it was only with the series' fourth installment that they truly became the Avengers that we know and love today. The addition of Captain America to the line-up of the team provided the Avengers with a leader to follow, the series with a moral center that it had previously lacked, and Iron Man, Thor and the other Avengers a straight man to act as anchor while they got progressively more quirky.
03The Old Order Changeth!
The Old Order Changeth! ----------------------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Avengers* Vol 1 #16, 1965, by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers __What Happens?__ The majority of the issue revolves around the end of a battle against the Masters of Evil that had started in the previous issue, but the meat of this story is what happens after all the fighting: For various reasons, the original Avengers all choose to leave the team, with Captain America staying on to lead a new team -- made up entirely of reformed criminals. __Why Is It Important?__ Much like the first regeneration in *Doctor Who*, "The Old Order Changeth!" -- Yes, that exclamation point is part of the actual title -- is something that, without appearing to at the time, shaped the mythology of the Avengers forever more. This was the story that revealed that the line-up of the team could, and would, change with characters coming and going for whatever reason. For those who may, at the time, have wondered what separated this superhero team from the X-Men or the Fantastic Four, this was the issue that supplied the answer: Being an Avenger was a job. You could leave, if you wanted.
04The Kree-Skrull War
The Kree-Skrull War ------------------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Avengers* Vol. 1 #89-97, 1971-72, by Roy Thomas, Sal Buscema, Neal Adams, Tom Palmer and others __What Happens?__ Through a series of misadventures, the Avengers discover that the Earth -- or at least certain people living on it -- are trapped in the middle of an intergalactic war between two alien races, the Kree and the Skrull. This isn't something that they have partisan feelings about, so set out to bring peace to the two races by any means necessary. __Why Is It Important?__ Up until this point, the Avengers had laid claim to being "Earth's Mightiest Heroes," but this was the storyline that proved that claim -- and made a strong case that they could probably upgrade themselves to "the Universe's Mightiest Heroes" if they wanted to. Between Thomas's epic scope and Adams' tight, realistic artwork, this storyline felt like the next level of *Avengers* stories at the time, and remains a high point for the team.
05The Avengers/Defenders War
The Avengers/Defenders War -------------------------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Avengers* Vol. 1 #115-118 and *Defenders* Vol. 1 #8-11, 1973, by Steve Englehart, Bob Brown, Sal Buscema and others __What Happens?__ Just because the Avengers and the Defenders were both superhero teams sworn to uphold all things good and decent for the common man doesn't mean that they'd necessarily agree about the best way to make that happen -- especially when Loki gets involved to offer up some misinformation along the way, just to make the two teams fight. __Why Is It Important?__ While this story wasn't the first time two superhero teams had come face to face in comic book history -- that honor belongs to the Justice League's meeting with the Justice Society in the 1960s -- this was the first time they'd done so in a storyline constructed to be read across multiple series, with each chapter flowing into the next. Yes, everyone: You have the *Avengers* to thank for the now-traditional multi-comic "crossover event" storyline that forces you to buy comics you don't even want just so you can know what's going on.
06The Korvac Saga
The Korvac Saga --------------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Avengers* Vol. 1 #167-171, 173-176 1978-1979, by Jim Shooter, David Micheline, George Perez, Sal Buscema and others __What Happens?__ By this point in the Avengers' existence, they'd fought supervillains, aliens and even themselves on a number of occasions -- so what remained for them, figured writer Jim Shooter, other than to face off against God? Or at least a God-like being -- in this case, that was Michael Korvac, a time-traveling menace from the distant future who achieved omnipotence and made Earth's mightiest heroes very nervous. __Why Is It Important?__ Part superhero slugfest, part cosmic existential mid-life crisis, the Korvac Saga is the Avengers at their most cosmic -- and, as the story's finale demonstrated, their most fallible, as it's revealed that Korvac's intentions for humanity has been good all along.
07Under Siege
Under Siege ----------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Avengers* Vol. 1 #273-277, 1986, by Roger Stern, John Buscema and Tom Palmer __What Happens?__ You don't get to be the world's premier superhero team without making a few enemies, so what's to stop them from all ganging up and deciding to take over your base while decimating your team members and friends in the process? In this 1980s storyline, the answer appears to be "nothing at all." __Why Is It Important?__ Perhaps long-term writer Roger Stern's greatest storyline on the series, "Under Siege" showed an entirely different side to the Avengers -- a scrappier one that could be taken by surprise and defeated, but still not give up. It takes a lot to make fans believe that maybe things *aren't* going to turn out well for their heroes, especially after more than 250 issues of a series -- this storyline did just that, and kept readers on the edge of their seats right up until the end.
08Lost in Space-Time
Lost in Space-Time ------------------ __When Did It Appear?__ *West Coast Avengers* Vol. 2 #17-24, 1987, by Steve Englehart, Al Milgrom, Joe Sinnott and others __What Happens?__ The problem with time travel is that it can get really complicated really fast -- especially when a group of people are forced to continually travel backwards in time in order to try and find a way to go *forwards* again, and they keep accidentally losing members in each period they visit. __Why Is It Important?__ Filled with easter eggs and the kind of timey-wimey plotting that would leave *Doctor Who* impressed, "Lost in Space-Time" is the kind of fun story that makes a fictional universe seem bigger and filled with more potential than it had previously, while also seeming more grounded and "real" every time a seeming contradiction or mistake suddenly gets explained away when you least expect it. Imagine *Back to The Future*, but three times as complex and with superheroes. Yes, that's a compliment.
09JLA/Avengers
JLA/Avengers ------------ __When Did It Appear?__ *JLA/Avengers* Vol. 1 #1-4, 2003-2004, by Kurt Busiek, George Perez and Al Vey __What Happens?__ Cosmic entities from both the Marvel and DC universes meet and decide to play the kind of game that just might mean one (or both) of those universes will be destroyed -- meaning that the Justice League and Avengers have to work together to save the day. Only problem is, they've never seen each other before and both think the other team is part of the problem. Reality-warping hilarity ensues. __Why Is It Important?__ After years of anticipation, disappointment and excitement -- the idea of the two teams meeting had first been proposed way back in 1979 -- writer Busiek and artists Perez and Vey managed to come up with a story that was worth the wait, drawing comparisons (and contrasts) between the two super teams while simultaneously paying tribute to each group's history and each fictional universe's appeal. All on a scale that is at once impossibly big and enjoyably human.
10Avengers Disassembled
Avengers Disassembled --------------------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Avengers* Vol. 1 #500-503, 2004, by Brian Michael Bendis, David Finch and Danny Miki __What Happens?__ The Avengers lose, and lose big. Thanks to the reality-warping powers of the Scarlet Witch (who, it turns out, had gone mad without anyone noticing), the Avengers are attacked by all of their big villains at the same time, leading to their most dramatic loss to date, with members killed, their Mansion destroyed, and the team in pieces. __Why Is It Important?__ Hugely controversial at the time due to its bluntness in undoing years of continuity and deconstructing the team, "Disassembled" paved the way for Bendis and Finch's relaunch of the franchise with *New Avengers*, which repositioned the team as a collection of Marvel's best-selling characters, a move that led to a commercial resurgence for the property and ultimately to last year's *Marvel's The Avengers* movie. And all thanks to Hawkeye blowing up in the sky, screaming "Not like this!"
11Civil War
Civil War --------- __When Did It Appear?__ *Civil War* Vol 1 #1-7, 2006, by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven and Dexter Vines, as well as more than 100 different comics (seriously) that tied in with the story __What Happens?__ After a superhero battle leads to the destruction of a school filled with children, the authorities put laws into place that requires all superheroes to surrender their identities to the government and become federal agents -- or go to jail. Iron Man is in favor, Captain America isn't, and only punching can settle the dispute. Lots and lots of punching. __Why Is It Important?__ Mixing pop and politics shamelessly, *Civil War* was a commercial juggernaut that exposed the Avengers as an ultimately malleable concept -- one that could accommodate any individual story without damaging characters or continuity. The schism introduced by the storyline also allowed Marvel to launch a second *Avengers* series for the first time in a decade, setting in motion today's Marvel Comics, which currently has at least 10 separate Avengers series running.
12Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mentions ------------------ The best Avengers series and stories that didn't fit into the list. These may not be core reading, but they're well worth a look. - *Avengers* Vol. 1 #35-103 by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Rich Buckler and others. - Celestial Madonna (*Avengers* Vol. 1 #119-135) by Steve Englehart, Bob Brown, John Buscema and others - *Avengers* Vol. 1 #227-288 by Roger Stern, John Buscema, Tom Palmer and others - *West Coast Avengers* Vol. 2 #1-39 by Steve Englehart, Al Milgrom and others - *Acts of Vengeance* (Numerous issues in the 1990s, available as a collected edition) by John Byrne, Mark Gruenwald and others - *Avengers Forever* #1-12 by Kurt Busiek, Carlos Pacheco and others - Ultron Unlimited (*Avengers* Vol. 3 #19-22) by Kurt Busiek, George Perez and Al Vey - The Kang Dynasty (*Avengers* Vol. 3 #41-55, *Avengers Annual 2001*) by Kurt Busiek, Keiron Dwyer and others - *Young Avengers* (Vol. 1 #1-12, *Avengers: The Children's Crusade* #1-9) by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung and others - *Marvel Adventures: Avengers* Vol. 1 #1-39
