Avengers For Dummies Cheat Sheet

The Avengers, also known as Earth's Mightiest Heroes, have been as a group since the 1960s. In that time, they've been on countless epic adventures facing numerous iconic villains.

The Avengers’ founding members

The inaugural chapter of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes featured them battling Loki Laufeyson, the god of mischief. Here are the heroes who took part in that conflict.

The Incredible Hulk

The monster in question is better known to the world at large as the Incredible Hulk,. When nuclear physicist Bruce Banner was caught in the heart of a gamma bomb detonation (one that he saved teenager Rick Jones from as the kid wandered onto the test site), Banner was exposed to a massive dose of gamma radiation. The gamma triggered a change within Banner, initially causing him to transform into a giant gray monster that roamed the desert at night. Over time, symptoms of the mutation evolved. Whenever Banner experienced any sort of rage, he would transform into a nearly eight-foot-tall over half-ton super-strong and completely invulnerable green engine of destruction.

Rick Jones

Rick Jones  lost his parents at a young age, and he bounced from orphanage to orphanage. One orphanage in particular had a particularly unsavory administrator, one who smashed Rick’s guitar, the sole item left to him by his late father. Jones became a drifter and later a rebellious teenager. Shortly after his sixteenth birthday, Jones took a ridiculous bet to drive out to an Army weapons test site. It was there that he met Bruce Banner, a man who risked his life to save Jones by rushing him to a protective trench before the gamma bomb detonated. From that moment on, Rick felt indebted to Banner. So, when Loki’s machinations attracted the attention of Jones and some of his friends, Rick was confident that other heroes could help diffuse the situation before it spread to a densely populated area. Rick’sSOS went out to any costumed heroes, several of whom answered the call.

Iron Man

Tony Stark is the son of Maria and Howard Stark. It can be said that their vast fortune comes from blood money, as Howard was a weapons manufacturer and industrialist. Tony was a genius engineer and inventor who had no problem following in his father’s footsteps. That was until a consultation for a weapons contract overseas, which led to an explosive device destroying their transport. It also embedded shrapnel dangerously close to his heart. Taken captive by those responsible for the attack, Tony and another brilliant scientist, Ho Yinsen, were forced to create deadly advanced weaponry. Instead, they constructed one very small and one very massive key to defeating their captors: a device to keep the shrapnel from entering Tony’s heart, as well as a giant suit of high-tech armor to break out of their prison. Once freed, Tony, as the Invincible Iron Man, sought to protect the country and innocents everywhere from dangerous technology in the hands of evildoers. Fortunately for the world (and unfortunately for Loki), Stark was assisted by another brilliant mind in the forming of the Avengers.

Ant-Man

Doctor Henry Pym is a man of many talents, such as biochemistry, entomology, and robotics for starters. After getting his doctorate in biochemistry, he met and married a political dissident from Hungary. They were attacked by the secret police shortly thereafter, and his wife was murdered. After this, Hank tried to figure out a way to battle crime and corruption. Upon resuming his scientific research, Pym made one of the most remarkable scientific discoveries of his generation when he found a rare subatomic particle. These “Pym Particles”, when subjected to certain conditions, would allow objects and even people to shrink or grow. He created a specialized costume and a cybernetic helmet that allowed him to communicate with insects to become Ant-Man. The discovery of the Pym Particle put Hank on the radar of everyone from costumed supervillains to the KGB and even interdimensional beings. One such being killed was Vernon van Dyne, a scientist and colleague of Pym’s. Though Hank was once again rocked to his core by the death of someone close to him, Pym wasn’t the only one who sought justice for van Dyne’s death.

The Wasp

Janet van Dyne was a fashion designer and debutante whose life drastically changed when her father was killed. She demanded that her father’s colleague, Hank Pym, use his vast intellect to enable her to exact justice. Pym designed a suit (one that the fashionista van Dyne continuously redesigns), synthetic insect-like wings, bio-electric blasts, or “wasp stings”, and Pym Particle aided size alteration that allowed van Dyne to become Pym’s crime-fighting partner known as the Wasp. Over time, Jan tried to get closer to Hank, but Pym maintained his distance at first. Eventually, they became romantically involved. Jan proved herself to be a capable hero, and the two adventurers took down many bad guys together. However, on this day, Loki proved to be a threat that would require more firepower than Pym, van Dyne, and even Stark could muster.

Thor

Thor is the fabled Norse god of thunder, hailing from Asgard. His immense strength, nigh-invulnerability, and thousands of years of combat experience are all benefits of his Asgardian heritage. His uru metal hammer, Mjolnir, which allows him to fly, summon lightning, manipulate the weather, and even pierce holes in space-time, was a gift from his father, THE all-father and ruler of Asgard, Odin. That would make Thor a prince with duties and responsibilities to his realm. Nevertheless, Thor’s lack of humility and his battle-hungry appetite led to him breaking a treaty between Asgard and another realm. Odin banished his son from Asgard, forcing him to take the form of a mortal surgeon, Doctor Donald Blake. Walking with a limp, he was required to carry a cane. However, whenever he struck that cane to the ground with all of his might, he would trigger a transformation into the mighty god of thunder. Thor’s arrival alongside the other heroes would prove to be more than his adopted brother, Loki, was expecting.

The Avengers' biggest villains

The tagline of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” is something that the Avengers have earned through battles against supervillains, demons, aliens, and even gods. The following list presents the biggest accomplishments of the main villains who have plagued the Avengers over the year.

The Beyonders

Claim to Fame: In the Avengers story “Time Runs Out,” within The Avengers #35–44 and New Avengers #24-33 (2014–2015), the Beyonders escalate to the next stage of their plan to wipe out the multiverse and murder several godlike beings and abstract entities such as Eternity, Infinity, Lord Chaos, Master Order, and Death herself, a feat that seemed inconceivable to Earth’s heroes.

Doctor Doom

Claim to Fame: In the second Secret Wars event, the multiverse was on the brink of destruction due to the incursions. Doom stole the powers of several cosmic Beyonders, as well as the reality-warping Molecule Man, to take bits and pieces from the remaining realities to create a new world, one in which he ruled.

Dormammu

Claim to Fame: In the Avengers/Defenders War, Dormammu manipulated the offbeat super hero team, the Defenders, into looking for mystic artifacts to save the life of the Black Knight. In actuality, the pieces they were looking for were to construct the Evil Eye, a weapon of unspeakable horror. The Avengers attempted to stop them, with Thor and the Hulk coming to blows that nearly tore apart an entire city.

Graviton

Claim to Fame: In Thunderbolts #56–58 (2001), Graviton lifted dozens of cities around the world nearly into the stratosphere. Then, when Earth’s heroes tried to intervene, they were also held frozen in place in the sky. The Thunderbolts and another team known as the Redeemers risked all to stop him, leaving most of the Redeemers dead at Graviton’s hands.

Grim Reaper

Claims to Fame: Returning from the dead in Avengers #10–11 (1998), reviving all of the dead Avengers (Swordsman, Captain Mar-Vell, Doctor Druid, Hellcat, Mockingbird, and Thunderstrike) and having them attack the current Avengers while desecrating their image and legacy at the same time.

Also, in Uncanny Avengers #5 (2013), he was resurrected by the Apocalypse Twins as part of the new Four Horsemen, whose machinations led to the death of a Celestial and the end of the Earth itself (which was only undone because of a Hail Mary time travel twist).

Hydra

Claims to Fame: In the first volume of Secret Warriors, Nick Fury discovered that Hydra had been in control of S.H.I.E.L.D. since its inception, sowing controlled chaos among the intelligence community.

Also, in the Secret Empire event, a Cosmic Cube was used to rewrite Captain America’s memories, making him believe that he was a double agent from the beginning, only loyal to Hydra. This “Hydra Cap” took point in an all-out takeover of the United States by the terror group.

Kang the Conqueror

Claim to Fame: Kang’s most brazen act was in the Kang Dynasty, where he launched an all-out invasion of Earth that left every costumed hero on the planet incarcerated, Washington D.C. obliterated (nearly killing Thor and Wonder Man in the process), and world leaders along with the Avengers chairperson, the Wasp, were forced to sign articles of surrender.

Michael Korvac

Claim to Fame: In "The Korvac Saga," Michael Korvac, after stealing Galactus’ power, came to Earth to remake it as he saw fit. Though the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and other heroes tried to stop him, Korvac murdered them one by one. Being mortally wounded and coming to terms with what he had done, Korvac uses his last bit of cosmic energy to revive the fallen heroes.

The Kree

Claim to Fame: Towards the end of the Kree/Shi’ar conflict in “Operation: Galactic Storm,” the Kree Supreme Intelligence deemed that the Kree reached a glass ceiling as far as evolution is concerned. The Intelligence detonated their most powerful weapon, the Nega Bomb, on Hala (the Kree’s homeworld), wiping out almost 90 percent of the population with the belief that the survivors would evolve past the evolutionary dead end they’d reached. This act led to half of the Avengers voting to kill the Supreme Intelligence, an act that caused a rift in the team for years to come.

Morgan Le Fay

Claim to Fame: In Avengers #1–3 (1998), Morgan acquired the powerful Norn stones, the Asgardian Twilight Sword, and the Scarlet Witch, using them to remake reality into a modern Camelot, making a squad of every Avenger ever into her brainwashed servants, the Queen’s Vengeance.

Magneto

Claim to Fame: In the “Fatal Attractions” story, in retaliation for the world governments erecting an energy shield around the planet to keep Magneto off-world, he overloaded the field, causing a blackout over half the world, which led to incalculable damage and numerous deaths. When the X-Men retaliated, Magneto used his power to rip the adamantium out of Wolverine’s body through the pores of his skin, pushing Professor X to shut down Magneto’s mind, leaving the villain in a vegetative state.

Masters of Evil

Claims to Fame: In “Avengers Under Siege,”Helmut Zemo assembled the largest Masters of Evil roster ever and stormed Avengers Mansion. They tortured the Black Knight and Jarvis, beat Hercules to the point of brain damage, all but demolished the mansion, and, just to be petty, Zemo raided Captain America’s foot locker and ripped up the only surviving photo of Rogers’ mother.

Also, in Thunderbolts, the Avengers and Fantastic Four were believed to be dead after the Onslaught event. Zemo and the Masters of Evil posed as a new super hero team, lulling the world into a false sense of security until they gained the necessary government access, and then they would strike.

Count Nefaria

Claims to Fame: In his debut, Nefaria hypnotized the Avengers so he could study and create holographic illusions of them. He had those duplicates threaten the government, which caused the real Avengers to have to fight the U.S. military.

Also, in X-Men #94-96 (1975), Nefaria attempted to take over NORAD to access its nuclear arsenal. The X-Men thwarted his plans, but not without cost, as one of their own, Thunderbird, died. Finally, in the Nefaria Protocols story, he took control of the Avengers’ Wonder Man and the Thunderbolts’ Atlas, forcing both entire squads to stop him. Nefaria murdered Masque (a clone of his daughter that he didn’t know was a clone), triggering the real Masque to use a weapon to stop him.

Norman Osborn

Claims to Fame: During the story titled “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” the amnesiac Green Goblin remembered Spider-Man’s secret identity, targeting those whom Peter Parker loves most. The battle left Parker brutalized and his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, dead.

Also, in the “World’s Most Wanted” arc of The Invincible Iron Man, after Tony Stark was ousted from S.H.I.E.L.D., he refused to hand over the secret identities of all of the post–Civil War registered super heroes. Iron Man went on the run, creating a failsafe to degrade the place with the only existing copy of the registration file, his mind. Osborn sent wave after wave of opponents after Stark, with Tony’s mind devolving to the point he couldn’t operate the armor anymore. In the final showdown between Iron Man and the Iron Patriot, Osborn nearly killed him.

Proctor and the Gatherers

Claim to Fame: Between Avengers #344 and #375, Proctor enacted a three-year campaign of infiltration (replacing Vision’s mind with that of an evil multiversal variant), attempted assassination (of Black Panther), driving a wedge between Quicksilver and Crystal (the latter secretly having feelings for Black Knight), stealing the power of the godlike Watchers, framing Sersi for murder, and driving her to the brink of insanity.

The Skrulls

Claim to Fame: In the Secret Invasion event, it is revealed that in retaliation for the destruction of their throne world, a faction of fanatical Skrulls have infiltrated Earth governments, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the super-hero community, creating the most paranoia that the Marvel heroes have ever experienced. While they were ultimately defeated, the Skrull infiltration left scars on several Avengers outwardly (Iron Man being ousted from S.H.I.E.L.D. due to his failure at detecting the Skrulls in time), trust-wise (the Spider-Woman they fought beside for months was actually the Skrull queen in disguise), emotionally (Mockingbird was thought dead but was actually alive and a prisoner of the Skrulls all these years), and physically (the Wasp sacrificed herself to stop a Skrull super weapon).

Taskmaster

Claim to Fame: In The Avengers #196 (1980), Taskmaster, someone without any heightened endurance or super armor, is able to take on Captain America and Iron Man simultaneously.

Thanos

Claim to Fame: In the Infinity Gauntlet story, Thanos succeeded in his quest to acquire the Infinity Gems, each giving him control over a universal force (Time, Space, Power, Mind, Soul, and Reality), virtually making him a god. With the snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all life throughout the universe just to win the love of Death. It took all of the remaining Marvel super heroes, cosmic entities, a pantheon of the gods, the Hell-lord Mephisto, and even a betrayal from Thanos’ criminal granddaughter to stop him.

Ultron

Claim to Fame: Ultron Unlimited is a story where the robot abducted his extended “family” (Hank Pym, the Wasp, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, and the Grim Reaper) while launching an all-out Terminator-style assault on the European country of Slorenia, slaughtering the three million inhabitants, then using their bodies to create cyborg drones to fight the Avengers.

The Void

Claim to Fame: During the Siege event, The Void took control of the Sentry and, after ripping Ares in half, flew to Asgard (now afloat over the Earth) and completely obliterated the magical pylons keeping it afloat, effectively destroying the home of the Norse gods.

The Zodiac

Claim to Fame: In the World Trust arc of the Avengers, the Zodiac caused the capital cities of every nation on Earth to disappear, throwing the globe into utter chaos. This unprecedented event led the United Nations to cede all world power to the Avengers. So not only did Earth’s Mightiest have to try to undo the Zodiac’s actions, but they had to govern the entire world as well.