Captain America: Civil War - What Are the Secret Avengers?

Origins

The Secret Avengers owe their formation to the events of Civil War, at least partially. It was there that the original second Avengers squad led by Captain America coined the name, as they were on the run from the government as well as the rest of their Avengers friends and cohorts. It wasn't until after the events of Dark Reign and Siege concluded though that the group was officially formed.

So for quick reference, here is how the timeline comes together. Civil War, World War Hulk, Annihilation Conquest, One More Day, Original Sin, Secret Invasion, War of Kings, Realm of Kings, Captain America: Reborn, The Siege, The Thanos Imperative, Shadowland, Annihilators, Fear Itself, and Shattered Heroes. I left out events that weren't really relevant to the formation of the team or the characters involved, which just so happened to contain a lot of X-Men events.

The Secret Avengers officially formed under a returning Steve Rodgers (with Bucky handling the official duties of Captain America at the time). The group was created after Siege, and is best compared to an X-Force type unit, one that can handle the threats and issues that a headlining Avengers squad wouldn't typically get embroiled in, or that need a touch more subtlety than dropping a Hulk on the problem. The group was introduced in Secret Avengers #1 by Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato Jr.

Roster

The Secret Avengers have gone through a few different lineups in their relatively short lifespan, always throwing in a few oddball castings. It debuted with a roster featuring Steve Rodgers, Sharon Carter, Ant-Man, Black Widow, Beast, Moon Knight, Nova, Valkyrie, and War Machine. Nova and Moon Knight were especially departures from typical Avengers members.

Things changed though after The Thanos Imperative, where the team lost Nova, and then Fear Itself continued to change things up. Rodgers, Carter, War Machine, and Moon Knight left, allowing a new group to take its place, which was led by Hawkeye and Giant-Man, and included Human Torch, Venom (Flash Thompson), and Captain Britain. Later it would change again, swapping out Widow, Torch, Giant-Man, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Venom for Thor, Vision, Ms. Marvel, Noh-Varr and War Machine.

The roster went through yet another overhaul when Marvel introduced it's Marvel NOW initiative. The book was now helmed by Ales Kot and Michael Walsh and introduced fans to a Maria Hill assembled team that consisted of Black Widow, Spider-Woman, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Hawkeye, and M.O.D.O.K. Yep, M.O.D.O.K.

That was the last group before the book concluded last year.

Coming To The Big Screen?

Again, spoilers inbound.

After the events of Civil War, there is a definite split in the Avengers as we know it. While there is some common ground, it looks like there will be a second underground team led by Captain America in the near future. The roster for that team looks to include Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, and Sharon Carter. This is a great foundation for a splinter team, but it could probably use some reinforcement.

This presents a great avenue to introduce some new blood to the film universe. Netflix characters notwithstanding (since they are creating their own team, The Defenders), my top picks for recruitment are Nova and Valkyrie. The Nova corps have already been introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, and Valkyrie would be a natural extension of Asgard's universe. Plus, they could introduce both of them in upcoming films, as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok are both schedule before Avengers: Infinity War Part 1.

While I'm sure we will see the group unite at some point during the two Infinity War projects, in the meantime it looks like they will be working independently of each other.

So, who would you like to see as part of the Secret Avengers? Let us know in the comments!