History WhatCouldHaveBeen / TheAvengers

* Way back in the 90s, Creator/RobLiefeld and Jim Valentino pitched a ''Young Avengers'' series, but it was rejected for being too similar to the then-in-development ''ComicBook/NewWarriors'' series. The series would have starred Namorita, Speedball, the teen version of Vance Astro (the character that eventually evolved into Marvel Boy and then Justice), Firestar, and [[ComicBook/{{Nova}} Richard Rider]], who would have gone by the name "Torpedo" after having lost his Nova abilities. Several new characters named Brahma, Photon, Cougar, and Combat were also planned to appear, and would [[DivorcedInstallment later end up recycled]] for Liefeld's ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' series.

* ''ComicBook/{{Princeless}}'' author Jeremy Whitley has said that at one point, he was slated to write a story starring ComicBook/AmericaChavez and [[Characters/HawkeyeKateBishop Kate Bishop]] for the ''Secret Love'' one-shot from ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015''. The story was shelved due to the characters being used in ''Siege'', though a similar story starring America and the ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}} version of Kate was later published in the ''Secret Wars Too'' one-shot.

* ''ComicBook/{{Princeless}}'' author Jeremy Whitley has said that at one point, he was slated to write a story starring America Chavez and ComicBook/KateBishop for the ''Secret Love'' one-shot from ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015''. The story was shelved due to the characters being used in ''Siege'', though a similar story starring America and the ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}} version of Kate was later published in the ''Secret Wars Too'' one-shot.

* Ronin from ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' was originally supposed to have been ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} in disguise, with early promotional material even strongly hinting at a connection between the two heroes. Creator/BrianMichaelBendis was forced to change his plans at the last second when Creator/EdBrubaker requested permission to start his ''Daredevil'' run with the title character in prison, which obviously made it impossible for Daredevil to be a member of the Avengers. Bendis ended up choosing Maya "Echo" Lopez as Ronin when he realized she [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute had all of Daredevil's martial arts skills and his knowledge of the Japanese underworld]].

** Speaking of the teaser from the first issue, it also hinted at a much more tempestuous crossover with the ComicBook/{{Champions|2016}}, showing both teams shown fiercely fighting one another. While there was definitely some tension between the two groups when they eventually met during the "Worlds Collide" crossover, they never actually wound up fighting each other. The final issue of the crossover ''did'' have a very brief altercation where Nova blasted Hercules and the Hulk punched the Falcon, but things never escalated from there.

* ComicBook/{{Hulkling}} of the ComicBook/YoungAvengers was originally pitched as [[GenderBender a girl who posed as a guy when fighting crime;]] ComicBook/{{Wiccan}} was going to [[{{Gayngst}} struggle with the fact that his love interest was sometimes male.]] It's been speculated that creator Allen Heinberg thought this was as close as Marvel would let him get to putting an openly gay couple on the team. Eventually he had a change of heart and asked for permission to make Hulkling 100% male. Other speculations are that he changed his mind because "genderbender-gay" romance idea was being used in ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}''.

** On the other hand, Creator/BrianMichaelBendis and Tom Brevoort's steadfast refusal to allow Heinberg to outright overturn ''ComicBook/AvengersDisassembled'' via bringing back Scott Lang as ComicBook/AntMan and redeeming [[ComicBook/ScarletWitch Wanda]] is why Heinberg bailed upon the title after the first 12 issues. Story notes however, such as Heinberg's plans for a rookie villain version of the original Masters of Evil led by an android version of Egghead were ultimately written by other writers, and the ''ComicBook/TheChildrensCrusade'' miniseries seems to have accomplished the goal of resurrecting Ant-Man and bringing Wanda back.

* ''Avengers'' #200, the issue featuring the infamous story where ComicBook/CarolDanvers was revealed to have been raped, was originally supposed to have a completely different conclusion. Carol's MysticalPregnancy was supposed to have been the work of the Kree Supreme Intelligence, continuing a [[LeftHanging dropped plot thread]] from the cancelled ''Ms. Marvel'' series, wherein the Supreme Intelligence had expressed the desire to use Carol to create a new race of Kree / Human hybrids. The problem was, Marvel had already published an issue of ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' where the Supreme Intelligence used the dead body of Rick Jones to create a Kree / Human hybrid. Not wanting to essentially [[RecycledScript rehash a story that had already been told]], the editor demanded that Carol's pregnancy arc be given a different resolution.

* Had ''ComicBook/AForce'' continued, the next arc would've been a team-up with an "A-list" Avenger, later revealed to be Black Widow, and would have seen Miss ComicBook/AmericaChavez join A-Force as the team's replacement for She-Hulk. The following arc would have revealed ComicBook/{{Dazzler}} was briefly the queen of an alien planet at some point, and her former subjects would now beg her to return.

* ''Avengers, Featuring N.G.E.N. – Start Your N.G.E.N.S!'' was going to be a limited series about the Avengers teaming up with defense contractor Northrup Grumman. Issue #0 was published as a webcomic before being removed from Marvel's website. The rest of the series was cancelled due to protests over the nature of the comic.

* After ComicBook/{{Ares}} got killed, Jonathan Hickman wanted to resurrect him on the pages of ''ComicBook/SecretWarriors'', but Tom Breevort stopped him, saying it would be too early. Similarly, Breevort stopped several attempts at resurrecting ComicBook/TheWasp, knowing that Brian Michael Bendis, who killed the character, planned to bring her back in a story few years after her death.

* The pitch for what eventually became ''Comicbook/AvengersDisassembled'' was originally titled ''Avengers: Chaos''. The outline is mostly similar to the finished story, but with a few key differences. For one, Comicbook/TheVision was going to morph into Comicbook/{{Ultron}} and split into multiple copies during the attack on Avengers Mansion, rather than merely releasing a series of Ultron drones from within his body. Additionally, Comicbook/SheHulk was supposed to escape the mansion and go on a rampage through New York in ''Avengers'' #501, only to be taken down by Thor, who would then tell his teammates that he had to leave due to disastrous events occurring in Asgard. This is in contrast to the published version, where Thor doesn't appear at all and She-Hulk is instead knocked out in an anticlimactic (and somewhat implausible) manner by Iron Man during issue #500. Lastly, ''Avengers'' #503 was supposed to end with the team disbanding and Captain America subsequently approaching Iron Man with a proposal for a new team, leading directly into ''New Avengers'' #1. Instead, the team doesn't actually break up until the ''Avengers Finale'' one-shot (an issue not included in Bendis' initial proposal), and Cap doesn't get the idea to form a new Avengers line-up until ''New Avengers'' #3.

* The pitch for what eventually became ''Comicbook/AvengersDisassembled'' was originally going to be titled ''Avengers: Chaos''. The outline is mostly similar to the original story, but with a few key differences. For one, Comicbook/TheVision was going to morph into Comicbook/{{Ultron}} and split into multiple copies during the attack on Avengers Mansion, rather than merely releasing a series of Ultron drones from within his body. Additionally, Comicbook/SheHulk was supposed to escape the mansion and go on a rampage through New York in ''Avengers'' #501, only to be taken down by Thor, who would then tell his teammates that he had to leave due to disastrous events occurring in Asgard. This is in contrast to the published version, where Thor doesn't appear at all and She-Hulk is instead knocked out in an anticlimactic (and somewhat implausible) manner by Iron Man during issue #500. Lastly, ''Avengers'' #503 was supposed to end with the team disbanding and Captain America subsequently approaching Iron Man with a proposal for a new team, leading directly into ''New Avengers'' #1. Instead, the team doesn't actually break up until the ''Avengers Finale'' one-shot (an issue not included in Bendis' initial proposal), and Cap doesn't get the idea to form a new Avengers line-up until ''New Avengers'' #3.