Even though Marvel has created multiple superhero teams over the years, the Avengers remains the most popular and best-known team. When somebody says their name, most fans recall the founding members, but the team has had dozens, if not hundreds, of members. Some stayed long with the Avengers, others departed the team relatively fast.
With such a rich and varied history spanning back decades, it makes sense that there have been important moments in the Avengers' history that all fans of Marvel movies and comics should know about. Interestingly enough, most of these iconic moments and storylines have already made it onto the big screen, but usually in a different version than the one originally presented in the comics.
The article will primarily focus on the MCU, although the comics will also be discussed.
5 The Avengers Get Together
Before any superhero team can start saving the world, it has to get together first. For the Avengers both in the comics and in the MCU, this included fighting Loki, who decided it was a good idea to make Thor and the mightiest Earth heroes angry. The biggest difference between the two versions was in the setup.
In the comics, Captain America wasn't present, and instead, Ant-Man (aka Hank Pym) and Janet van Dyne (aka Wasp) were founding members of the team, alongside a few other superheroes. Captain America only joined the Avengers in their fourth volume, unlike in the MCU where he was a member of the team right from the start. As for the official date the Avengers got together, it happened almost sixty years ago, in September 1963.
4 The Avengers Face Ultron
Ultron was the main villain in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and he became even more frightening in the animated TV series What If? in which he tried to take control or destroy the Multiverse. The Avengers faced him both in the MCU and in the comics. The major difference is that the comic-book Ultron was originally created by Hank Pym, and not by Tony Stark, as the MCU would have the fans believe.
Before the Avengers finally managed to defeat Ultron, he killed a lot of people, captured several of the Avengers, and sent out an army to finish off the rest. His plan didn't work out in the end, but even before the Avengers won, Ultron did a lot of damage, providing one of the most memorable moments in the team's history.
3 The Civil War Erupts
To this day, the Civil War remains one of the most serious conflicts among Marvel superheroes. It tore apart not just the Avengers, but also other superhero teams, such as The Fantastic Four. Two prominent superheroes who were members of the Avengers — Captain America and Iron Man — suddenly stood against each other. The cause of the conflict was different in the comics from the MCU, but the result was the same.
The Avengers broke in half and no longer formed a unified front against any outside threat that might step in their way. The comics took it one step further and had Captain America die in the end, which the MCU didn't do. Of course, Steve Rogers eventually returned, but the damage to the team was already done.
2 The Infinity War Strikes
Another major event in the lives of the Avengers that appeared both in the comic books and in the MCU is the Infinity War. Once Thanos collected all six Infinity Stones, he erased half of all life in the universe, and even the Avengers were unable to stop him. The list of victims, Avengers included, was long, and it contained known names in the comics, such as Vision, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, and others. And that was even before the snap happened
In comparison to this, the MCU's Infinity War wasn't as drastic, and not so many characters died before Thanos got all the Infinity Stones together. Nevertheless, in both cases, the Infinity War had a long-lasting impact on the team and everybody in the Marvel universe.
1 The Secret Invasion
Marvel offered multiple examples of secret infiltrations and invasions over the years. Other than Hydra infiltrating the S.H.I.E.L.D., the most notable example is the Secret Invasion storyline. This tale has yet to appear in the MCU, but will eventually. Once again, the Avengers are at odds with each other. This time it's not because they have a conflict of interests or opinions, but because they quite literally don't know who's who. That's what happens when the Skrulls, who have the ability to shape-shift, start posing as some of the Earth's mightiest heroes.
In one of the best scenes, the Avengers and other heroes end up facing their identical copies. Nobody knows who is the real deal and who isn't, which brings a lot of fear and suspicion into the situation. With the new TV seriesSecret Invasion recently announced, it remains to be seen how much of the comic book storyline the show will adapt. As MCU fans will know, Secret Invasion won't be the first time the Skrulls will appear in the MCU, having played a large part in Captain Marvel (2019). However, the show could change the heroes' perception of them.