The Avengers have been a key part of Marvel since they first debuted way back in the ’60s. The idea of the Avengers wasn’t exactly new — it was just the Justice Society/Justice League for Marvel — but the publisher put its own shine on it. Since then, the Avengers have given readers some amazing superhero stories, ones that showed what happened when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes faced off against the greatest threats the universe could throw at Earth. A big key to the Avengers’ success are the characters; Avengers comics have built characters like Hawkeye, Black Widow, the Vision, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch into A-list heroes that were ready for the big screen. However, just as important are the big fights, as the Avengers test themselves against the most dangerous villains imaginable.
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The Avengers have starred in some excellent stories, but many of the best of them have one thing in common — the villains winning. The Avengers have found themselves in the worst situations imaginable, yet even when they’re defeated, they still give it their all. Many Avengers classics show the team taking a loss, and having to build themselves back up so that they can win the day and save the world. Seeing the Avengers kick butt is a lot of fun, but it’s made all the better when they have to come from behind.
Losing Shows Just How Formidable the Avengers Can Be
A story that is rightfully considered one of the greatest Avengers stories, and one of Marvel’s best ’80s stories, is “Under Siege”. The Masters of Evil had been around for a long time, yet they never really seemed like much of a threat because they usually got smacked around by the power of the Avengers. The story saw Baron Helmut Zemo, son of the founding leader of the Masters Heinrich Zemo, create the largest team of the Masters of Evil up to that point and use them to blitz the Avengers. The Avengers have to come back from the brink of defeat to win, and it sells the wherewithal of the team. If you look through all of the great Avengers stories, there’s always a loss somewhere that the team have to overcome. I’m a proponent of the Hickman run on Avengers and New Avengers. The first story in the book begins with the Avengers defeated by Ex Nihilo and Abyss, causing Cap to bring together a whole new team of Avengers. Hickman stories like Infinity and Secret Wars (2015) also have the Avengers have to come back from the brink of defeat in order to win. The same thing happens in Uncanny Avengers‘ Apocalypse Twins saga, a favorite of mine. Brian Michael Bendis’s Avengers run begins with “Avengers Disassembled: Chaos”, where Scarlet Witch’s constructs beat the team and blow up Avengers Mansion. The first New Avengers story sees the team unable to stop the escape from the Raft AND S.H.I.E.L.D. destroying the Savage Land base the Avengers wanted to investigate. “The Korvac Saga”? The Avengers are killed in battle. I can honestly do this all day.
The Avengers’ best rosters include heroes like Thor, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Captain Marvel, Hercules, and other very powerful heroes. Sight unseen, it’s pretty hard to believe that any villain can defeat the team when they’re working together. It’s easy to assume that the Avengers are going to win in battle with their enemies, which can hurt the reading experience. If the Avengers always beat the Masters of Evil, then the next time they show up, it’s impossible to believe that the villains pose any danger to the heroes. That’s why the Avengers taking losses against their enemies make such great stories. Suddenly, there’s stakes to the fight. We have seen the Avengers lose, this powerful team of heroes brought low by their enemies. Now we’re interested in the story because we’ve seen how much danger the Avengers in. Suddenly, we get to see the other side of the Avengers. I think one of the best examples of this is Hickman’s New Avengers; the Illuminati is trying stop the Incursions and figure out why they’re happening. The group is able to save the Earth a few times thanks to some good planning and a lot of dumb luck, but they aren’t able to stop the Incursions. They never figure out who’s behind it until it’s too late. The book’s drama comes from seeing them try, seeing them throw themselves at this impossible problem and continually failing to make any headway, despite how ingenious their plans are. That’s when the Avengers shine.
The Avengers Excel Behind the Eightball
The Avengers are a very powerful team — even “weaker” rosters like the ’90s Leather Jacket roster have characters like Hercules, Sersi, and the Vision — but where they really do their best work is when they’re up against the greatest odds. It forces them to dig deep into their bag of tricks, to outsmart their foes, to come up with strategies that allow them to overcome the foes who have already beat them. It makes their battles compelling.
The Avengers would honestly be pretty boring if they always won. We’d never get to see the team have to figure out how to win. We’d never get Iron Man and Hank Pym coming up with a new technology in order to beat Ultron. We’d never get to see how great a tactician Captain America can be. The characters who don’t have their own books would never have grown the way they have because they wouldn’t have needed to. The Avengers always save the Earth, but in order to make those battles exciting, the Avengers need to lose.
Do you think Avengers stories are better when the team loses? What are you favorite stories where the Avengers lose? Sound off in the comments below.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm -
Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films
