The Avengers is a 1963 comic book series from Marvel Comics.
It begins with Loki, Thor's brother and archenemy, who has been imprisoned on the Isle of Silence for his crimes. Searching for a pawn to get rid of Thor for him, he finds the Hulk. Creating an illusion of dynamite on a train track, Loki tricked the Hulk into destroying the track, prompting a manhunt for him. Figuring that the Hulk needs help, Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade send a distress call to the Fantastic Four, but it's redirected by Loki to the radio of Dr. Donald Blake, Thor's alter ego. The call was also inadvertently heard by Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp. They all defeated Loki, and organized as a team.
The Hulk would leave the following issue after realizing how much the others distrusted him, but the Avengers soon find a new member: Captain America, who was frozen in the arctic since WWII. Captain America's enemy, Baron Zemo, would create the Masters of Evil as the recurring rogues gallery of the Avengers.
The series is one of the first team comics set in the shared Marvel Universe.
The first issue was released in July 2, 1963. The final issue (#441) was released in August 7, 1996.
The series was was rebooted after the events of Onslaught, taking place in the Heroes Reborn universe, with a new series debuting in 1996.
Notable creative runs include:
Notable storylines created during this run includes:
- Cap's Kooky Quartet
- The Kree/Skrull War
- Avengers/Defenders War
- The Celestial Madonna Saga
- Thanos: The Final Threat
- The Korvac Saga
- The Yesterday Quest
- The Trial of Yellowjacket
- Under Siege
- Acts of Vengeance
- Operation: Galactic Storm
- Blood Ties
- The Gatherers Saga
- Avengers/Ultraforce
- The Last Avengers Story
- The Crossing
- Onslaught
