The Avengers are the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s secret weapons. Avengers films are the tent pole of the MCU, the movies that the rest is built around. Marvel Studios has, so far, done a fantastic job with most of its Avengers movies, and it’s done this by taking subtle nods from the comics. Each Avengers movie lifts part of epic Avengers stories of the past to make something new. The MCU has hit something of a downswing in recent years, but any news about Avengers movies is welcome news. The upcoming two are looking to take ideas from writer Jonathan Hickman’s time writing Avengers, which is a good idea. Hickman’s Avengers is perfect for the MCU. However, not every Avengers story is suitable for MCU consumption.
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Adapting the greatest Avengers stories of all time feels like a good idea, but there are some stories that are best left in the comics. There are some excellent Avengers stories out there that just don’t fit the MCU’s type of superhero storytelling for a variety of reasons. These five Avengers stories are all great stories, but they’d make lousy MCU movies.
Red Zone
The early ’00s were an interesting time for the Avengers. Writer Kurt Busiek’s run lasted until 2002, and Marvel had to find the perfect person to replace him. Eventually they went with Geoff Johns, a writer who was doing smashing work at DC on The Flash and JSA. Johns supplied three Avengers stories before DC snatched him up in an exclusive contract, eventually elevating him to one of the most powerful writers in DC. His three Avengers stories are pretty good, with the best one probably being the second, “Red Zone”, with artist Olivier Coipel.
“Red Zone” follows the Avengers after the outbreak of a terrible disease at Mount Rushmore. As the Avengers help out, they realize that something more is going on, leading them to highest echelons of power and old enemy wearing a new face. “Red Zone” is excellent, a superhero/political thriller that has a pretty nice twist when the mastermind is revealed — it’s a moment you kick yourself for not seeing once it’s revealed — and that’s sort of the problem. The MCU doesn’t really do this type of story very well; it’s a more quiet Avengers story, lacking the bombast that the MCU likes from its Avengers stories.
Operation: Galactic Storm
The Avengers are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but Earth has proven only to be a part of the team’s legend. The Avengers have gotten involved in the affairs of the greater universe numerous times, interceding in wars between intergalactic powers. One of the more forgotten of these cosmic episodes is known as “Operation: Galactic Storm”. This early ’90s crossover between titles like Avengers, Avengers West Coast, Quasar, Iron Man, The Mighty Thor, Captain America, and Wonder Man saw the Avengers drawn into an intergalactic war between their old enemies the Kree and the X-Men’s allies the Shi’Ar. It’s a better than it gets credit super war story, containing some amazing moments, as well as early Greg Capullo and Steve Epting art, which is always a treat.
The problem with bringing this story to the MCU is the amount of heavy lifting involved in getting it to work. To begin with, this is the second time that the Avengers have had to deal with the Kree at war (more on that later), and the Shi’Ar have to be introduced. However, the biggest reason not to bring this story to the MCU is that it doesn’t really fit the Avengers. Honestly, in the MCU, “Operation: Galactic Storm” would be more of a Guardians of the Galaxy story, and it honestly wouldn’t work nearly as well if the Avengers were subbed out for the Guardians.
Avengers: Disassembled
“Avengers: Disassembled” is one of the most important stories of the ’00s. It served as a kick-off for years of chart-topping Avengers stories, taking the team back to its rightful place as the most important team in the Marvel Universe. “Avengers: Disassembled”, by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch, saw the Avengers have their worst day ever, as attack after attack rocked the team. Avengers like Ant-Man, the Vision, and Hawkeye all died, and it was revealed that the whole thing was the fault of the Scarlet Witch, who learned the fate of the children she had created with the Vision years ago. This story was the beginning of the fall of Scarlet Witch, and ended with the dissolution of the Avengers.
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Scarlet Witch’s journey in the MCU that corresponds to this period of the comics has already happened. WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are the stories that dealt with Scarlet Witch’s descent into madness. “Avengers; Disassembled” really only works with Scarlet Witch at the center of it, and there is no Scarlet Witch. At this point, this story wouldn’t hit the same as it did in the comics, so it’s best for it to stay where it belongs.
Under Siege
There are few comics out there that embody the Avengers at their best like “Under Siege”, by Roger Stern and John Buscema. The story pits the Avengers against the Master of Evil, a classic Marvel villain team led by Baron Helmut Zemo. Zemo’s father led the Masters of Evil before, and died in battle against the Avengers, so Helmut decides to build the largest roster of the Masters of Evil ever, a veritable army of the Avengers’ B-list foe. This group trounces the Avengers, putting Hercules in a coma, taking over Avengers Mansion, and taking Captain America and Jarvis prisoner. The Avengers are shut out at every turn, and have to come back from one of their greatest defeats in order to win the day.
Right off the bat, the main reason “Under Siege” would never work in the MCU is because there aren’t enough villains to create the Masters of Evil. The MCU doesn’t really have the same kinds of B-list villains as the Avengers do in the comics, and the only way the story works is if the villains have overwhelming power over the Avengers. It’s also impossible to believe that the MCU’s Helmut Zemo is the kind of master superhuman strategist to be able to defeat the brightest minds of the Avengers. If there’s no villains, there’s no story, so “Under Siege” should never be adapted.
The Kree-Skrull War
“The Kree-Skrull War”, by Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, Sal Buscema, and John Buscema, is the beginning of the Avengers as a cosmic force. The heroes of Earth had encountered the Kree and the Skrull before, but they didn’t know that the two races had been fighting a millennia long war. Seeing the superpowers of the humans, both races decide that the best way to win is to harness the genetic potential of the people of Earth, leading the Avengers to get involved in the war between the two sides. The Avengers find themselves in trouble at every turn, but are saved by a most surprising person, Marvel sidekick extraordinaire Rick Jones, as he manifests the full power of humanity in the form of the Destiny Force.
“The Kree-Skrull War” is an epic tale that truly cemented the Avengers as one of the greatest superhero teams ever. However, it also doesn’t really fit into the MCU at all. The Kree and Skrull have both appeared, but don’t really feel all that important. The Avengers have already been established as something of a cosmic force in the days after the Snap, so “The Kree-Skrull War” won’t be as important to the MCU Avengers as it was to the comic ones. It’s a brilliant Avengers story that every MCU fan should read, but they really don’t need for it to be adapted.
