10 Extremely Obscure Avengers Members You Forgot About

The Avengers are one of the greatest superhero teams in comic book history. From their first appearance in 1963, the Avengers have been a team of some of the most powerful and renowned superheroes on the planet. For over 60 years, the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have had over a hundred superheroes join their ranks. From Captain America to Spider-Man, some of Marvel’s most beloved characters have joined the team to protect the universe. Yet, even with so many celebrated characters joining, there are also many obscure heroes whom fans may not remember or even know about. Some of these heroes quit shortly after joining, while others are either reserve members or are part of lesser-known offshoots of the Avengers. 

These are 10 members of the Avengers who faded into obscurity.

1) Blonde Phantom

Before Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and Wasp joined forces as the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, in 1959, Nick Fury created his own Avengers. This government-sanctioned team came together to hunt down Nazi supervillains. Among their members was the Golden Age heroine Louise Grant-Mason, aka the Blonde Phantom. Louise worked as a secretary to the private eye Mark Mason, whom she eventually married. Enamored by the life of adventure Mark led, Louise equipped herself with a domino mask and a handgun and became a vigilante detective. As a member of the Avengers, Louise fought various supervillains, including Brain Drain and the Red Skull. After her time with the Avengers, Louise retired from crime-fighting and became a housewife.

2) Doombot

Doctor Doom is well-known for having an army of robot replicas of himself called Doombots to fight on his behalf. One Doombot, C-53, was left behind as just a head after a battle. Hank Pym took the robot head in for study and decided to reprogram it to be a force for good. Giving the Doombot a body, Hank enlisted him in a special task force called Avengers A.I. This team of heroic robots and cyborgs was assembled to defeat the hostile A.I. known as Dimitris, who wanted to take over the world. Doombot eventually left Avengers A.I. and joined the teenage superhero team the Runaways. Despite becoming a hero, Doombot still has the personality and ego of his creator, and thus constantly complains about tasks being “beneath him.” 

3) Dominic Fortune

Another member of the 1959 Avengers team, David Fortunov, aka Dominic Fortune, was a World War II adventurer and hero. David fought the Nazis during the war as a soldier and spy for the United States. After the war, Nick Fury recruited David into his Avengers covert ops team to fight Nazi supervillains. Together, they battled threats like the Red Skull. When David retired, his son Jerry took over the mantle. However, Jerry’s superhero career was cut short when the villain Iron Monger killed him. Enraged, David tracked down Iron Monger and, with the help of the anti-hero Silver Sable, apprehended his son’s murderer.

4) Two-Gun Kid

The greatest hero of the Wild West, Mathew Hawk, aka Two-Gun Kid, was a lawyer who became a masked crimefighter to combat local gangs. When Kang the Conqueror traveled back to the 1870s to take over the world, Mathew teamed up with the Avengers to defeat the time-traveling villain. After the Avengers prevailed, they invited offered Mathew to join their ranks and travel with them into the future. Intrigued, Mathew agreed and accompanied traveled with his new teammates as they traveled through time. Now, in the modern day, Mathew has acted as a reserve member of the Avengers, working alongside fellow superheroes Hawkeye and She-Hulk. He has also acted as a bounty hunter and a member of the 50 State superhero team, the Initiative.

5) Silverclaw

A Central American superhero, Lupe Santiago, aka Silverclaw, is the daughter of the volcano goddess, Peliali. Due to her divine heritage, Lupe has the power to transform into any native Central American animal. The Avengers’ butler, Jarvis, was her sponsor, helping her come to America to attend college. However, the villain Moses Magnum took several people hostage, forcing Lupe to fight Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. After a brief clash, the Avengers managed to save the hostages. Silverclaw then joined the Avengers and arrested Magnum. Now, between college and protecting her homeland, Lupe is a reserve member of the Avengers.

6) Firehair

Jean Grey was not the first person from Earth to become the host of the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force. In the year 1,000,000 BC, Firehair was a mutant telepath and telekinetic. After the death of Firehair’s tribe, the Phoenix Force bonded with her so that it could enact a mass extinction event. However, Firehair gained control of the Phoenix Force and used it to become a force for good. Years later, she joined a young Odin and other prehistoric heroes to become the very first Avengers team to defeat an evil Celestial. Firehair served as the goddess Gaea’s midwife and gave birth to Thor Odinson. When the Multiversal Masters of Evil went back in time to kill the prehistoric heroes, Firehair teamed up with the Avengers from the present to stop the villains. When the demon Mephisto tried to destroy the universe, Firehair sacrificed her life to undo the damage done.

7) Gauntlet

Joseph Green was a soldier sent to investigate alien weaponry that crash-landed in the Sudanese desert. While there, Hydra attacked, planning to steal the weapons to use for themselves. To fight off the terrorists, Joseph utilized an alien gauntlet from the crash site, which supplied him with super strength and the ability to shoot energy bolts. He managed to defeat the Hydra agents but found that the gauntlet had permanently fused to his arm. He then became the drill instructor of the Initiative, a program designed to train individuals with superpowers to become heroes. When Norman Osborn became the head of the Superhuman Defense Initiative and tried to take the Gauntlet from Joseph, the former soldier fled. He then joined the Avengers: Resistance to overthrow Osborn’s regime.

8) Lionheart

A single mother of two, Kelsey Leigh died protecting an injured Captain America from the supervillain Thunderball. In the afterlife, Kelsey was greeted by Captain Britain, who gave her a choice of two artifacts: the Amulet of Right or the Sword of Might. Wanting to see her children again and protect them, Kelsey took the sword. Unfortunately, since it was also the path of violence, Lesley was punished. She resurrected as the New Captain Britain and joined the Avengers, but couldn’t reveal her identity to their children because doing so would cause them to die. After the Avengers disbanded, Kelsey took on the name Lionheart and joined the British superhero team Excalibur. Eventually, managing to break the curse, Kelsey was finally able to reveal herself to her children and reunite with them.

9) Ultragirl

Suzy Sherman, aka Ultragirl, was a normal teenage girl until she discovered that she was a mutant Kree named Tsu-Zana. Suzy is foretold to be the Kree’s savior, destined to liberate them from the Shi’ar Empire’s control. However, Suzy decided instead to use her powers to become a celebrity. She later joined the New Warriors and fought on Captain America’s side during the Superhuman Civil War. Norman Osborn then took over the Superhuman Defense Initiative, using his position to acquire more power. Against Osborn’s corrupt regime, Suzy joined the underground superhero team the Avengers: Resistance. Suzy’s alien origins give her the powers of super-strength and flight, which helped her fight supervillain mercenaries sent by Osborn to arrest any superheroes that opposed him.  

10) Ex Nihilo and Abyss

Ex Nihilo and Abyss are alien siblings and members of a group called The Garden, who are all avatars of creation. The duo planned to terraform the Earth and kill all its native lifeforms. The Avengers fought Ex Nihilo and Abyss to thwart their plan. The siblings were defeated when the hero Captain Universe used her cosmic powers to command them to surrender. When the alien race known as the Builders set out to destroy the universe, Ex Nihilo and Abyss joined the Avengers to stop them. Eventually, both died, sacrificing their lives to fight the Beyonders, a nigh-omnipotent species who sought to restart the Multiverse. Ex Nihilo had the power to manipulate organic matter and terraform planets. At the same time, Abyss could mind control people and turn herself into gas.

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