7 Coolest Pieces of Avengers Lore Marvel Needs to Revisit

The Avengers had a precipitous fall from the heights of the Silver and Bronze Ages in the ’90s. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were no longer the coolest team around, and it would take a few years before the team became a big deal again in the mid ’00s. We got New Avengers in ’05, and a little movie called Iron Man in ’08, and since then the Avengers have been on an upswing. While it’s definitely slowed down over the last few years, the team is still one of the most popular in the world, a household name that a whole generation of fans grew up with.

Comics are a business of nostalgia and the Avengers have a lot of amazing lore from the past. While it’s nice to move things forward and create new legends, there are times when it’s also really cool to see a new view of the past. These seven cool pieces of Avengers lore would be perfect to bring back, and could make the team into the biggest team in superhero stories again.

7) The Destiny Force

“The Kree-Skrull War” is one of the greatest Avengers stories ever, and it introduced an idea to the comics that hasn’t been used in years: the Destiny Force. Basically, humanity is going to evolve into a godlike race at some point in the future because of the Destiny Force. Rick Jones, Marvel sidekick extraordinaire, was the first human to use it, but there has never really been anyone else. It hasn’t been referenced in Avengers comics since 1999’s Avengers Forever, and it’s past time that we got to see it again.

6) Alkhema

Ultron is one of the greatest Avengers villains, and has played a huge role in the history of the team. However, his wife hasn’t been nearly as important. Alkhema was created by him to be his partner in life and destroying humanity, and their marriage has been a long cycle of teaming up and hating each other. Alkhema shows up every now and again, but she’s a character who could be way more important, whether it be as an ally against Ultron or as an enemy on her own. She’s a character with no direction whenever she shows up, but she’s a part of the extended Pym clan; those character are always interesting if you play them right.

5) The Avengers Machine

The Avengers Machine was an idea. It was introduced in the landmark Jonathan Hickman Avengers run and it worked like this: Iron Man and Captain America decided that the world was much too dangerous for the Avengers to deal with as they were. The team was powerful, but there was so much out there, and the heroes weren’t ready for it. The Avengers Machine was created as a way to deal with everything, creating the largest and most powerful team of heroes in Earth’s history, one that can be split into subteams that can beat gods. It was a revolutionary idea in Avengers history, and maybe it’s time it got dusted off, bringing together another massive Avengers roster to deal with the terrors of the multiverse (and hanging around with each other; we’ve been missing that for a while now).

4) Hyperion of Earth-13031

Speaking of the Hickman run, there are several amazing characters that were introduced to the team and haven’t been seen since. The best of them is Hyperion of Earth-13031. This version of the Eternal Superman-pastiche lost his Earth early in the Incursions and was pulled to Earth-616 by AIM, escaping and joining the Avengers. He was such a cool member of the group, with an awesome heroic background that we got glimpses of, and he became best friends with Thor. The two of them went to fight the Beyonders at the end of “Times Runs Out”, and he hasn’t been seen since. It’s about time to get the character back. He’s the best Hyperion, and a perfect Avenger.

3) Dark Reign

“Dark Reign” was an amazing time for Marvel fans. For about 18 months, give or take a month at the beginning or end, the Marvel Universe was put under the thumb of former Green Goblin Norman Osborn, who went by Iron Patriot during this period after stealing and modifying old Iron Man armor, his Dark Avengers, the might of his SHIELD-alike HAMMER, and the Cabal, a confederation of villains running things behind the scenes. It would be awesome to see a new Dark Reign, one that used the main idea of the first in new ways. The Avengers need a shot in the arm, and a new Dark Reign could be just just what the doctor ordered.

2) The Celestial Madonna

The Celestial Madonna is a ’70s Marvel idea if there ever was one. I’ve been reading Avengers comics since 1992, and I’ve never read a story that did anything but referenced it. The alien Mantis was meant to become the mother of the next Celestial Messiah, and there were years of plot lines that centered on this idea. It was very important to the Bronze Age Avengers comics, but now no one ever talks about it, whether it be fans, creators, or editorial. It’s time for a new Celestial Madonna story; Mantis is more popular than ever, so it might be smart to do a story like this.

1) Wonder Man and Beast’s Friendship

Wonder Man and Beast are the coolest duo in Avengers history. Sure, we all love Cap and Iron Man or Wasp and Pym or Hawkeye and Black Widow or Scarlet Witch and… just anyone (Scarlet Witch fans aren’t choosy; as long as there is Wanda to glaze, they’re there), but Wonder Man and Beast are the best. They’re perfect friends, an entertaining twosome that gets talked about a lot, but rarely seen in the modern day. Look, Beast needs some happiness in his life, and we’re literally dealing with the past version of Beast from the time of their friendship in X-Men (Vol. 7), so it’s about time to bring the two back to the team, and just make it all about them. They’re that good. Wonder Man is actually hot right now, and this would be an amazing return.

What’s your favorite pieces of forgotten Avengers lore? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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