The Avengers are the most important team in Marvel history for a variety of reasons. The group combined the greatest heroes of the House of Ideas, and has given readers some of the coolest adventures ever. When people think of the Avengers, they usually think about the team’s big three of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. They talk about the male members of the team and how important they’ve been to the history of the group, but they don’t talk as much about the women who have had an effect on the team or how important they’ve been to the group over the decades.
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Women have made the Avengers what they are in a number of ways. Numerous women have played a massive role in their adventures over the years, and some of them have become legends in the Marvel Universe. These seven women are the most important in Avengers history, each of their dealings with the team helping to shape the group.
7) Monica Rambeau
Captain Marvel is an important Marvel mantle, but the first hero who held the mantle was never an official member of the group. Mar-Vell teamed up with them, but he never joined the team. However, the second Captain Marvel did. Monica Rambeau took up the mantle and became an Avenger, using her energy powers to battle the worst threats. She was a favorite of co-creator Roger Stern, and made he her into the first and only black woman to lead the team. That’s a huge milestone in the history of the team, and it makes Monica way more important than most fans know.
6) Spider-Woman (Veranke)
Spider-Woman joined the Avengers in 2005, but she had a huge secret: she wasn’t Jessica Drew, but Veranke. Basically, Veranke played a massive role in the creation of the New Avengers. She planned the attack on the Raft by Electro, and went their in her guise as Jessica Drew to make sure it went off without a hitch. She helped the other heroes as they investigated the whole thing, and helped make sure the team came together. From there, she ran the Skrull invasion in secret, all while keeping the New Avengers from learning too much.
5) Mantis
Mantis is more popular than ever, and that has nothing to do with the Avengers. She was put into the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy, but her original team home was the Avengers. She played a huge role in the team’s history in the late ’70s, as “The Celestial Madonna Saga” was one of the classics of this era of the group. She was prophesied to be the mother of the next generation of cosmic beings, and the team did everything they could to make sure she fulfilled her destiny and didn’t fall to darkness. Mantis now is different from Mantis then, but that doesn’t change her role in Avengers history.
4) Black Widow
Black Widow is an interesting character in the history of the Avengers. She wasn’t one of the early members of the team, and didn’t even join until the mid to late ’70s. She ended up as a key member of the team for years, and even had a stint as leader of the group in the early ’90s. However, she wouldn’t really be synonymous with the team until after the MCU took off. Since then, she has been one of the group’s main black ops heroes and is a favorite of many fans.
3) Carol Danvers
Carol Danvers is a character with a rich history. She first came to prominence working with Mar-Vell as Ms. Marvel, and would join the Avengers in the late ’70s. She became a fan favorite member, but a battle with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants saw her powers and memories accidentally drained by Rogue. Since then, she’s had some pretty big ups and downs, leaving the Avengers, hanging with the X-Men and Starjammers as Binary, returning to Earth, re-joining the Avengers as Warbird, battling alcoholism, becoming Ms. Marvel, and then working her way up the ranks til she became the new Captain Marvel. Carol wouldn’t be the same without the Avengers and the team wouldn’t be the same without her.
2) Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch has worn many hats over the years, going from villain to hero to villain to hero to villain then back to hero one last time and finally becoming Sorcerer Supreme. She was a part of Cap’s Kooky Quartet, the first major roster shake-up of the Avengers, and has since been a member of the team in good standing for much of the last 60-some odd years. She’s betrayed the team, she’s saved the team, and her actions have played a huge role in the group’s mythos and that of the Marvel Universe.
1) The Wasp
The Wasp was the girlfriend of Hank Pym, and when he became Ant-Man, she became the Wasp. The two of them adventured together before becoming founding members of the Avengers. She’s the team’s first lady, and she’s been one of the team’s most important members since the beginning. She’s led the team, helped found the Avengers Unity Squad, and has saved the day more times than most fans even know. She’s one of the most unsung Avengers, and the team’s history would be completely different without her.
Who’s your favorite woman in Avengers history? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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