The Avengers have long been Marvel’s most important team. While some would consider the Fantastic Four more important for their opening up of the modern Marvel Universe, as well as having co-creator of most of Marvel Jack Kirby’s longest run with Stan Lee,\ or the X-Men were because of their success, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have long been the epicenter of the Marvel Universe. The team wasn’t anything new — they were just the Marvel version of a Justice Society/Justice League-type team — but they’ve changed comics in many ways. The 21st century has been pretty amazing for them, seeing them become the most popular superheroes in the world.
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All of the team’s success comes from the comics, as decades of creators worked their magic on the group. Their comics have had some of the best covers of all time, ones that changed the face of the medium. These are the ten best comic industry-shaking Avengers covers, momentous images that have gone down in history.
10) Civil War #7
Some people out there might not say this counts, because it isn’t an Avengers cover, but everyone who’s read this event knows that it’s a story about the team, their role, and their place in the Marvel Universe. Civil War has always been a controversial event, and Civil War #7’s iconic cover image from Steve McNiven was the icing on the event’s cake. Highlighting the battle between the two hearts of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, it was the beginning of an era that would last the rest of the ’00s and is etched into the history of Marvel thanks to being one of the most beloved scenes from Captain America: Civil War. It’s a quintessential Marvel cover.
9) Avengers (Vol. 5) #1-3
So, I know what you’re thinking: how can three covers be one? The above image comes form Avengers (Vol. 5) #1-3, an conjoining cover that celebrated the beginning of Jonathan Hickman’s landmark Avengers run. The cover showed off the new roster, which is one of the most powerful Avengers rosters of all time, a perfect mixture of power and skill. This run led to events like Infinity and Secret Wars, the last of which would change the Marvel Universe in its wake. It’s one of the most celebrated and important Avengers runs, and this cover by Dustin Weaver is gorgeous.
8) Dark Avengers #1
“Dark Reign” was an amazing period of Marvel, and Dark Avengers #1, with a cover by Mike Deodato Jr., was the first comic that gave readers a taste of what they were in for. This series saw Norman Osborn bring together a team of Avengers that were mostly villains and the cover was perfect. Readers knew that things were going to change, and this cover did an amazing job of making them want to open it up and see what it was all about. It had some of the same aspects as New Avengers (Vol. 1) #1 and Secret Invasion (Vol. 1) #1, but it was also somewhat different from those. It’s a wonderful cover that changed the Marvel Universe in the days to come.
7) Avengers (Vol. 1) #200
So, Avengers (Vol. 1) #200 isn’t some beloved issue, far from it honestly, but it did change the course of Marvel history. This story broke Carol Danvers, and in the decades since it came out, numerous creators like Chris Claremont, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Kelly Thompson, and others all rebuilt the character after this horrendous issue. However, the cover, by legendary artist George Perez, is fantastic and one of the coolest Avengers covers ever. It’s a shame the story inside isn’t as great as this cover, but one can’t really deny how important this issue is to the history of the Marvel Universe.
6) Avengers (Vol. 3) #1
The ’90s were something of a terrible decade for the Avengers. They started out okay, with the book still soldiering along from the highlights of the ’80s, but as “extreme” heroes and mutants became more popular, they faded. Fans had to get through the terrible “Heroes Reborn” Avengers, but 1998 saw all of that change as Marvel put Kurt Busiek and George Perez on the team for Avengers (Vol. 3) #1. Perez gave readers this awesome cover with nearly every Avenger who had been on the team since its inception. It felt like a way of apologizing for the rather bad stories we got from 1994 to 1997, and it led to one of the coolest eras of the team.
5) New Avengers (Vol. 1) #1
New Avengers was Marvel’s most important book of the ’00s. The House of Ideas had been on fire since Joe Quesada took over as editor-in-chief, but this book was the one that truly took them to the top. The publisher brought their hottest creators to New Avengers #1, and this cover by David Finch sold a lot of issues. It featured the next Avengers team in the shadows, with lightning behind them (which would become a trope itself in Brian Michael Bendis-written Avengers books). This book was the number one selling comics for years, and this issue started it all. It changed the way readers look at Marvel’s line of books, and beyond that, is also a spectacular cover.
4) Avengers (Vol. 1) #57
The Vision has become something of a linchpin of the Avengers and the Marvel Universe. The character first appeared in Avengers (Vol. 1) #57, with this memorable cover by Sal Buscema. This is one of those iconic covers that every fan of the team knows and loves. The Vision’s creation was so successful that DC copied the trope of an intelligent villain creating a robot to infiltrate the team and that robot becoming a member of the team, leading to the creation of Red Tornado. On top of that, the Vision played a huge role in the life of the Scarlet Witch. Their “children” were one of the main causes of Wanda’s fall in “Avengers Disassembled: Chaos” and House of M. It’s a very different comic industry without this issue, and the cover has always been one of the best in the history of the Avengers.
3) Avengers (Vol. 1) #16
Avengers (Vol. 1) #16 was the first major roster shake-up for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, with this awesome cover from Jack Kirby. This is the issue where Captain America builds a new team of Avengers, with the posters behind him giving readers an idea that he was going to go beyond the superhero community. It definitely intrigued fans to see it on newsstands. It has that amazing Kirby energy that just jumps out at the reader, and brought three of the most important Avengers of all time to the team: Quicksilver, Hawkeye, and Scarlet Witch. It’s a game-changing issue and its game-changing cover helped change comics forever.
2) Avengers (Vol. 1) #1
There are few Avengers covers more important to comic history than Avengers (Vol. 1) #1. This cover had all of the goods of Silver Age Marvel — the greatest heroes of the day, Loki, and that fabulous Jack Kirby artwork. It was the first time that the solo stars of the House of Ideas shared a cover, making it something of an event comic in 1963. This comic led to the team that millions love, and is basically flawless. It’s a Kirby classic, and it showed the potential of Marvel’s new superhero universe, opening the doors for one of the greatest teams in comic history.
1) Avengers (Vol. 1) #4
Captain America is one of the most important characters in Marvel history. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created the greatest Marvel hero of the Golden Age, and he became something of a legend. When Kirby and Stan Lee teamed up to bring the House of Ideas back into the superhero game, Cap was nowhere to be found until Avengers (Vol. 1) #4, with the character finally returning. This is yet another Kirby special, full of his bombastic energy and wonderful figure work. It’s a classic, letting the world know that the greatest hero of WWII had returned. The issue under the cover is fantastic, and has gone down in comic history as one of the best of an amazing artist.
What are your favorite Avengers covers? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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