The 2010s were the decade where the Avengers reached the apex of their powers. Comic fans had known the Avengers were great for decades, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced them to the general, non-comic reading public. Marvel wanted to take advantage of the team’s new prominence, so they put the Avengers front and center both on screen and on page. The Avengers had become one of the main focuses of the Marvel Universe in the ’00s, but the ’10s saw Marvel give the team their greatest expansion ever. For the first time in ages, the Avengers had more books, a combination of team books and solos, than the X-Men. With all of that said, it’s hard to say that the ’10s were the best decade for the Avengers, quality-wise. Marvel in the ’10s wasn’t in the best place for a lot of that decade, and readers got some so-so Avengers runs, especially in the later year.
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However, there are still some brilliant Avengers stories from the ’10s. Readers got a nice variety of great Avengers titles (shoutout to Secret Avengers, which didn’t make the list but deserves an honorable mention,) including three of the best Avengers books of all time. These ten Avengers stories are the cream of the ’10s crop, giving readers stories that are still amazing all these years later.
10) Avengers (Vol. 5) #4-6
Jonathan Hickman’s run writing the Avengers is perfect, and that’s really all there is to it. The majority of this list is going to be from Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers, because it is really that good of a run. We’re kicking off with Avengers (Vol. 5) #4-6, from Hickman and artist Adam Kubert. Now, this isn’t technically its own story arc; it’s three one and done issues telling the stories of Hyperion, Smasher, and Captain Universe, all while building off a few of the plot lines introduced in Avengers (Vol. 5) #1-3. Hyperion, Smasher, and Captain Universe were the three most mysterious characters introduced in the first story arc; they’re familiar to longtime Marvel fans, but these are different versions. These three issues presents each of their stories, showing readers where they come from and who they are. Adam Kubert’s pencils are fantastic, giving these three issues some amazing imagery as well.
9) Avengers (Vol. 5) #29-34
Original Sin is one of those Marvel events that didn’t have the best reception, but is better than it seems. The murder of the Watcher ends up revealing a whole lot of secrets about the superhero community, with tie-in books seeing what happens when these secrets get out. Avengers (Vol. 5) 29-34, by Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Yu, sees Captain America remember his short-lived time as a member of the Illuminati — his use of the Infinity Gauntlet to stop an Inversion, his speech about keeping the Illuminati moral, and the resulting mind wipe — and goes to confront Iron Man with Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Starbrand, and Hyperion. However, the Time Gem, which disappeared after Cap broke the Gauntlet fixing the Incursion, throws Cap and his team through time. Each issue sees them met by different incarnations of the Avengers, going from 50 to 50,000 years in the future. The story features future versions of the Avengers’ greatest foes, and is the kind of sci-fi superhero goodness that only Hickman can give you. Yu’s gritty, dark art is wonderful for this story. This is one of those stories that not many people talk about, but it’s sensational.
8) Avengers (Vol. 5) #7-10
Older Marvel fans will remember the New Universe, a time when Marvel tried to create an all-new universe of superheroes and supervillains completely unrelated to the main Marvel Universe. It started strong but failed. Leave it to Hickman to find the best parts and bring them over to the 616. Avengers (Vol. 5) #7-10, by Hickman and Dustin Weaver, sees the Avengers caught in a “White Event” — which was the origins of the superpowers of the New Universe — which destroys a college. However, there is one survivor and he’s now the most powerful being on Earth. This story salvages the wreckage of Marvel’s first major alternate universe and uses it to give readers an exciting, action-packed mini-epic. It also sets up ideas that will become the cornerstone of Hickman’s book, and lead to one of Marvel’s greatest events ever (stay tuned for that one).
7) Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 1) #1-4
The Marvel NOW! publishing initiative came on the heels of Avengers Vs. X-Men and it gave readers the Hickman run as well as one other amazing Avengers book — Uncanny Avengers. This book focused on the Avengers Unity Squad, a team made of Avengers and X-Men brought together to heal the rift between the two teams. The new team — Havok, Captain America, Wolverine, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, and Rogue — get their baptism by fire when Red Skull and S-Men begin their attack on mutantkind. However, they have the perfect weapon — Red Skull has taken the telepathic portion of the dead Xavier’s brain, becoming the most powerful telepath on Earth. The Unity Squad not only had to deal with that, but also Rogue and Scarlet Witch at each other’s throats. Running through Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 1) #1-4, by Rick Remender and John Cassaday, it’s an awesome epic that often gets left out of the conversation of best Marvel books of the ’10s.
6) New Avengers (Vol. 3) #1-6
Hickman’s New Avengers (Vol. 3) is one of the most interesting superhero comics ever. It brings back the Illuminati, this time with Captain America and Beast replacing Xavier, to deal with the most dangerous situation ever — the Incursions. When another Earth appears in the skies of Wakanda, Black Panther calls the Illuminati in, asking them for help and joining their ranks. This is the story where Cap’s mindwipe comes from, which happens in the first four issues, and sets the group on their path — to save the Earth from the Incursions no matter what. New Avengers (Vol. 3) #5-6 see the team have to deal with another Incursion, one where they have to face an near unstoppable enemy — Galaktus (yes, it’s spelled this way in the book). Written by Hickman with art by Steve Epting, this opening arc will take your breath away. This story is so good, and it sets New Avengers on an amazing path that will astound readers.
5) “Time Runs Out”
Hickman’s runs on Avengers and New Avengers all build up to “Time Runs Out”. Running through Avengers (Vol. 5) #35-44 and New Avengers (Vol. 3) #24-33, by Hickman and artists Jim Cheung, Paco Medina, Dustin Weaver, Nick Bradshaw, Stefano Caselli, Mike Deodato, Mike Mayhew, Kev Walker, Valerio Schiti, Szymon Kudranski, Mike Perkins, and Dalibor Tajalic, this is the story of the Avengers and Illuminati having to deal with the end of the Incursions. Hickman’s run is full of stories that can be considered epic, but this story takes epic to another level. “Times Runs Out” leads directly to Secret Wars (which isn’t on this list because it’s not technically an Avengers story,) setting up the final pieces of the story and paying off nearly everything that Hickman set up in his Avengers books.
4) New Avengers (Vol. 3) #16-21
The Illuminati gets lucky with the Incursions throughout the book, but all of that changes in New Avengers (Vol. 3) #16-21, by Hickman, Rags Morales, and Valerio Schiti. With a new piece of tech called the Bridge, which allows the Illuminati to watch the Incursions of other Earth, which Namor and Black Panther use to watch a group of superheroes called the Great Society (yet another Marvel Justice League pastiche) solve their Incursion without destroying the other world. This heartens them that such a thing is possible… then the Great Society Earth shows up for an Incursion with Earth-616. The Illuminati have to figure out a way to either completely stop the Incursion, saving both worlds, or destroy the Great Society and their world. This is the big turning point of New Avengers (Vol. 3) as the team sees if they have what it takes to survive and just how far they’ll go.
3) Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 1) #6-22
Uncanny Avengers picks up a thread from Remender’s Uncanny X-Force with the Apocalypse Twins saga. Written by Remender with art by Daniel Acuna, Adam Kubert, and Steve McNiven, the story sees the Unity Squad going up against Kang and the Apocalypse Twins, the children of the Apocalypse infected Archangel and Pestilence, as they team up to destroy the Avengers. However, the Apocalypse Twins have their own plan, one which will use the problems the Unity Squad has to allow them to save the mutant race and doom humanity. In the end, the only hopes for the Earth are Kang and Immortus. This story is full of twists, turns, huge battles, and big concepts that will have your mind racing. This is a near perfect Avengers epic, a seventeen issue story that grabs your brain and never lets go.
2) Avengers (Vol. 5) #1-3
Hickman’s run on Avengers kicked off with a story that takes a common Avengers trope and takes it to the next level. Avengers (Vol. 5) #1-3, by Hickman and Jerome Opena, sees an attack on Earth from Mars cause the Avengers to go to the red planet. The team find two new villains — Ex Nihilo and Abyss — who trounce the team easily, with Cap escaping to Earth and activating the Avengers Machine — an idea that he and Iron Man came up with to create the ultimate Avengers team. This is three issues of Avengers perfection, as Hickman brings together the biggest, most powerful Avengers imaginable. We all figured Hickman would do a good job writing the Avengers, but this story showed that he was going to join the pantheon of the best Avengers creators of all time.
1) Infinity
Infinity is one of Marvel’s greatest event comics, and serves as the halfway point of Hickman’s Avengers. The various empires of the galaxy find themselves under attack from an implacable foe, and the Avengers lend them aid. Meanwhile, Thanos is on a bloodsoaked mission, one that will bring him and his Black Order to Earth, with only the Illuminati in their way. Infinity #1-6, by Hickman, Jerome Opena, Dustin Weaver, and Jimmy Cheung, is perfect superhero sci-fi. This isn’t the first time the Avengers fought a war in space, but it’s easily the best, showing that instead of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers are the Universe’s Mightiest Heroes. The collected edition is the way to go with this one, as it includes all the tie-ins from Avengers (Vol. 5) and New Avengers (Vol. 3). This is the Avengers the way they always should be.
What do you think are the best Avengers stories of the ’10s? Sound off in the comments below.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
