The Avengers are the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and they maintain that title by regularly shifting their team to fit the situation at hand. Just about everyone has been an Avenger at one point or another, and they need strong leaders to keep all those strong personalities in check. The chairperson and commander positions have traded hands just as often as the roster updates. Only the best-respected heroes have led the team, and in doing so, showed that they have what it takes to unite the entire superhero world under their banner. The Avengers are one of the greatest teams in the world, and that takes effective leadership.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Today, we’re going to take a look at seven of the best heroes who have overseen the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. We’ll be ranking these heroes on their ability to inspire their teammates and guide them to victory. A good leader can see a path to victory that nobody else can, and if there aren’t any, they create one. They make their teammates believe in them, each other, and themselves. Anyone can fight on their own, but it takes a special person to combine conflicting personalities into an unstoppable fighting machine. With those parameters set, let’s arrange some Avengers.
7) Iron Man
Tony Stark is arguably the second-smartest man in the world, and he pours every ounce of that intelligence into making sure the Avengers are as prepared as possible. Tony plans for every situation imaginable, then makes up a few extra for fun. He understands his allies’ strengths and weaknesses perfectly and creates an endless array of potential combinations to maximize team efficiency, and that makes his leadership incredible, but it is also its biggest flaw. Tony is arrogant, thinking he knows best, and is often blind to situations he doesn’t expect. While everyone respects Tony, he’s also not the easiest person to like. Iron Man shines best when he’s working alongside someone to keep him in check.
6) Black Panther
T’Challa was literally born to lead, being king of Wakanda and all. He was raised from birth to command armies and rule with a strong but gentle hand, and he’s shown that these skills transfer to team-level as well. He’s a fantastic strategist and one of the smartest men in the world, respected by the likes of Tony Stark and Reed Richards. He also brings endless resources and Wakandan technology to the table, which have elevated the Avengers to a brand new level. Still, as good a leader as he is, he’s never led the team through anything outstanding, like the other entrants on our list have.
5) Luke Cage
Luke Cage was chosen by Steve Rogers himself to lead the Avengers, and he’s more than proven he’s up to the task. He has natural charisma and battle smarts in abundance, but his greatest strength is his determination, which is as unbreakable as his skin. When Luke locks in on a goal, there’s nothing in the entire world that can make him lose focus. He doens’t just see a villain to stop. Luke Cage sees a world to fix from the ground up, and that vision is exactly what makes the difference between a good and a great leader. He’s even the current mayor of NYC. Unfortunately, this low-to-the-ground perspective clashes with the Avengers’ focus on cosmic calamities, meaning that I can’t give him any higher than fifth.
4) Captain Marvel
Carol Danvers is the current leader of the Avengers, and she’s more than shown that she’s one of the best. She’s led numerous teams across the Marvel Universe, from A-Force to the 616 Ultimates. She has a strong mind and a keen awareness that combines military-style planning with a deep understanding of what makes her teammates tick. Even if it was a moment of pure character assassination, Captain Marvel led an entire half of the superhero community during Civil War II, showing that she can unite scores of people under her ideals. There’s no threat in the universe that she can’t stare down or plan around, and she is the first to fly into battle to show her teammates how it’s done.
3) Wasp
Janet Van Dyne has been around since the very beginning. Not only is she a founding Avenger, but she even picked out the name. She was elected chairperson during the tail end of the Jim Shooter era, serving as the team for a staggering near-seventy issues, and has taken up the role again plenty of times. Janet is one of the smartest and most determined people around, but what really makes her such a fantastic leader is her connection to people. She’s able to read people and understand them better than anyone else. Janet connects with people in a way that makes everyone trust her, and with her incredible history, she shows that everyone can put their faith in her.
2) Captain America — Sam Wilson
Even before he became a superhero, Sam helped everyone that he could as a social worker, aiming to rectify the inequalities that people face every day. That spirit and heart are why he was chosen to be the new Captain America, and with the shield in hand, his reach only grew. Sam is the ultimate middle-ground between Iron Man’s worldwide planning and Luke Cage’s down-to-earth style of leading. He sees the big picture without ever forgetting the little guy, and he stands up to fight no matter what. He’s a fantastic leader who never backs down from finding a better way forward, and that’s the most essential quality a leader can have.
1) Captain America — Steve Rogers
With perhaps one or two people who can match him, Steve Rogers is objectively one of the best leaders in the Marvel Universe. He’s the original Captain America, and as such, is the universe’s symbol of hope and justice. He’s a living monolith, with a legend that touches the hearts of nearly every person who’s ever picked up a costume. Captain America can inspire anyone to fight alongside him, and has led galactic armies to war just as well as he has led a small team of heroes.
Cap has led the Avengers more than anyone else, with him being the de facto commander that everyone turns to. His strategic genius is second to none. He fought in WWII and carried that perspective of fighting to make the world a better place into a world that’s forgotten how to dream. Cap never has, and he spends every day reminding everyone in his team what dreams can do. When the Marvel Universe needs to unite, they all turn to Captain America. His words can make the universe pick up arms against a single threat, and he’d lead them to battle from the frontlines. He’s Captain America. What else needs to be said?
Who is your favorite leader of the Avengers? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Prime Video -
Image Courtesy of Netflix
