The Avengers is Marvel’s main superhero team, and it has created some of the most popular heroes in the history of the Marvel Universe. The Avengers, as an idea, is an old one; DC Comics had proven that bringing together its greatest heroes was a recipe for success, but the Avengers did it a little bit differently. While there were A-list members who had their own books, such as Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp didn’t. Captain America didn’t at first. Heroes like Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, the Vision, and more didn’t have their own books, so readers had to read the Avengers comics to see them. Marvel leveraged the popularity of the A-list Avengers to bring attention to the team’s lower-level heroes, elevating them to stardom.
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However, not every member of the team has gotten the attention they deserve. There are so many reasons for this, but the result has been the same — these are great Avengers that don’t get talked about very much. These seven Avengers are amazing members of the team, but no one ever talks about them.
7) War Machine
Many once-popular Marvel characters have been forgotten, and the leader of this pack is War Machine. James Rhodes took Tony Stark’s place as Iron Man back in the day, and was so good at the job that Stark built him the War Machine armor. Since then, War Machine has been a member of multiple Avengers teams, from the Avengers West Coast to the Secret Avengers, and is one of the coolest Avengers ever. However, it’s rare that fans even remember that War Machine has been on the team. War Machine is a powerful, intelligent hero, and he needs another tenure on the Avengers to remind people just how awesome he is on the team.
6) Smasher
It’s easy to forget the lower-level Avengers, and Smasher is a perfect example. Izzie Kane is the granddaughter of Captain Terror, a Golden Age hero who knew Captain America, and found the exo-specs of the Shi’Ar Imperial Guardsman Smasher on the family farm. She donned the specs and became the newest Smasher, joining the Guard as a Subguardian, as well as the Avengers. Smasher made an excellent Avenger, and was promoted to the rank of Superguardian in the Imperial Guard. Honestly, this was the moment she faded from the Avengers, as she had to move Chandrilar, and that’s a shame. Smasher is one of the coolest Avengers ever, and she deserved better than she got.
5) Cannonball
Cannonball made his name over on the X-Men teams, as a member of the New Mutants, the X-Force, and the X-Men. He was the last X-Man that anyone would have expected to be a member of the Avengers, and he did an outstanding job. Cannonball’s kinetic blasting powers made him an excellent combatant, and his relationship with Sunspot and Smasher was awesome for the character and readers, eventually marrying Smasher. Cannonball moved with Smasher to the Shi’Ar Empire, and that was basically the end of his tenure as a superhero. He was a great Avenger, though, and sadly he never got the chance to shine more as an Avenger.
4) Sunspot
Sunspot joined the Avengers along with Cannonball, helping the team battle Ex Nihilo and Abyss as part of the Avengers Machine. Sunspot and Cannonball were basically background members of the team, but Sunspot would soon grow in ways he never did with the New Mutants or X-Force. Sunspot used his familial wealth to buy AIM after making friends with several AIM agents on a special mission, and made them a part of the Avengers’ plan against the Incursions. After this, he would form his own team of Avengers, eventually battling against the Maker. Sunspot made for a perfect Avengers leader, but no one ever thinks about that anymore. That’s a shame.
3) Quicksilver
Quicksilver was once a big deal as an Avenger, but all of that slowly changed. Now, he’s mostly thought of as the brother of Scarlet Witch, instead of the amazing hero that he really is. Quicksilver’s super speed makes the world move in slow motion for Quicksilver, which explains his bad attitude, and for some reason he’s treated worse than his sister, who has committed genocide and fought the Avengers numerous times. Quicksilver is mouthy, and this has honestly made him a super-entertaining Avenger. Quicksilver hasn’t been a main roster Avenger for a long time, with a couple of tenures with the Avengers Unity Squad under his belt in the last twenty years. There was a time when it was hard to even picture the Avengers without Quicksilver, but now he’s just the mouthy partner to Scarlet Witch.
2) Echo
Bendis’s New Avengers introduced new members to the team like Wolverine, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, and more. However, one member of the New Avengers who doesn’t get talked about very often is Echo. Echo was recruited to keep an eye on the Hand over in Japan by Daredevil, wearing the Ronin costume. She’d call for Avengers help against the Hand several times, and the last battle of her war against the Hand would lead to the discovery of the Skrull invasion. Echo spent months all by herself battling the Hand, proving that she was an amazing hero, and would later become a Phoenix host as a member of the team. However, no one ever talks about her anymore, and that’s a shame. She’s easily one of Marvel’s best street-level heroes and deserves more attention.
1) Hyperion of Earth-13034
Jonathan Hickman’s run on Avengers and New Avengers was fantastic. This run created the most powerful roster of the Avengers ever known as the Avengers Machine, bringing together the heaviest hitters in the universe. However, one of the most powerful members of the team wasn’t from the 616 universe — Hyperion. Hyperion came from Earth-13034, which was destroyed in the Incursions, pulled into the 616 universe by AIM. He became a near-perfect Avenger, making friends with Thor, the two bonding over their love of smashing bad guys. Eventually, Hyperion and Thor went after the Beyonders and were able to fight them to a standstill. Hyperion was an amazing Avenger, and the only person who ever talks about him anymore is me.
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