Avengers

The Avengers are widely considered to be Earth's first Superhero team, and certainly the best known.

The team was originally brought together in 2012 by then-Director of S.H.I.E.L.D Nick Fury, in order to combat the Chitauri Invasion.

When Avengers members Bobbi Morse and Natasha Romanoff leaked confidential papers, revealing that S.H.I.E.L.D had been infiltrated by HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D. was officially disbanded, and the Avengers began opperating as an independant organisation, primarily funded by founding Avenger Tony Stark.

Although based in the United States of America, they are considered by most national governments to be the primary line of defence for global or extra-terestrial threats. They are allied with both Carol Danvers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, who have assisted the team in confronting extra-planetary threats such as the Collector and Thanos .

Structure

While the team has no official heirarchy, the unofficial positions of field leader and spokesman have existed since its inception. Steve Rogers was field leader of the original team, while Tony Stark acted as spokesman, and was in control of much of the non-combat strategy.

Due to the increased size of the team since its founding, it is rare for the entire team to be deployed together. As a result, there is no longer a single field leader, with Sam Wilson and James "Rhodey" Rhodes splitting the responsibility. Spokesman responsibilities are shared between Sam Wilson and Natasha Romanoff.

Public Agenda

The defend Earth and her inhabitants from metahuman and extra-terestrial threats.

History

The Avengers Initiative

The Avengers were first conceived by Nick Fury, prior to his promotion to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. While still a field agent, he assisted Carol Danvers and a faction of Skrull refugees in keeping the Tesseract from falling into the hands of the Kree Empire.

Fury began considering the possibilities of creating a team of extra-ordinary individuals such as Danvers to protect the planet from alien, and later also superhuman, threats. He used his possition at S.H.I.E.L.D. to identify likely individuals, and named the project the Avengers Initiative, in honour of Danvers's Airforce callsign.

After his appointment to the Directorship, he presented his research to the World Security Council, who approved formalising the Initiative as a key part of S.H.I.E.L.D's threat containment strategy.

The Chitauri Invasion

The Initiative was first activated when Loki, backed by Thanos and with a Chitauri mothership at his disposal, attempted to invade and subjugate the planet.

Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Thor had all been identified by Fury as potential Avengers, but they were joined in the battle against Loki by James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Bruce Banner, who was originally brought in as a scientific consultant, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and Bobbi Morse.

Working together, the team were able to defeat the Chitauri, close the portal which had allowed them to reach Earth, and take Loki into custody.

Breaking of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Although the Avengers had originally been concieved as falling under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s command, it had been clear from the beginning that most of the team were not willing to take orders from Fury.

When the Morse Papers were leaked, an investigation into S.H.I.E.L.D's ties to HYDRA was begun. S.H.I.E.L.D. was eventually disolved, but before that decision was made, Rogers and Stark, acting as spokesmen for the team, issued an official statement that the team was no longer affiliated with S.H.I.E.L.D. and would be acting as a wholy independant organisation going forward.

War on HYDRA

Although many governments began operations to identify and prosecute HYDRA factions within their own borders, the Avengers' campaign nicknamed by the media the War on HYDRA was by far the largest in scope, and arguably most successful.

The campaign took down a number of key HYDRA leaders, including Richard Fisk and Alexander Pierce. They also succeeded in retrieving Loki's Sceptre from Wolfgang von Strucker, but he was killed by Ultron before he could be taken into custody.

Ultron Offensive

When AIM accidentally activated a prototype android created by Anton Vanko Memorial Scholarship Programme students Riri Williams and Toni Ho, its partially complete ethical programming lead to it concluding that the only way to ensure peace would be to exterminate all human life.

The Avengers confronted Ultron and the Maximoff twins, who Ultron had recruited by lying about his intentions, first in Cape Town, South Africa, and later in Madrid.

They then confronted Ultron in Sokovia, where he was intending to begin his extermination of the human race by destroying the capital city of Novi Grad. By working with Ultron's creators, they were able to disable Ultron and his drones before he could carry about his plan, although Hawkeye was severely injured and left permanently deaf by the confrontation.

Avengers Idea Mechanics

The leader of AIM, Maya Hansen, was arrested for her role in the so-called Mandarin Bombings and the activation of Ultron. While in prison, Tony Stark approached her and purchased AIM from her, rebranding the company as Avengers Idea Mechanics.

While a sepperate organisation, several Avengers, most notably Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, work with AIM. When the High Evolutionary arrived on Earth hunting the Reality Stone , James Rhodes lead a joint AIM/Avengers expedition to the Savage Land to investigate.

Hela's Worthy

Several of the Avengers were among those selected to join Hela's Worthy, including Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, and Natasha Romanoff.

The remaining Avengers joined forces with heroes from across Earth and Asgard, including Inhumans, Coulson's Team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and independant heroes, to thwart Hela's plan to instigate Ragnarok, and save their compatriots from her mind-control.

Korvac War

The team first allied with the Guardians of the Galaxy after the theft of the Reality Stone by Michael Korvac, an employee of A.I.M. Although they were unable to defeat him in battle, he eventually realised the destructive power of the stone, and chose to leave Earth-61616, although not before exiling Steve Rogers to another dimension, leaving Bucky Barnes to take his possition on the team.

The Beyonder

Two members of the Avengers, Bucky Barnes and Tony Stark, were among the Chosen Heroes transported to Battleworld by The Beyonder.

With the help of America Chavez and The Other Chosen Heroes, they were eventually able to kill the Beyonder and free themselves. However, Bucky Barnes chose not to return home, embarking on a quest to find Steve, and leaving Captain America's Shield to Sam Wilson.

The Infinity War

The Avengers were at the heart of The Alliance of heroes who stood against Thanos's attempted genocide of the universe.

Many fell in the Battle of Alkama Fields, but the alliance was eventually successfuly, wresting the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos and using its power to erase him, saving the universe from on the greatest threats it had ever faced.

Infinity's End

In the aftermarth of the Infinity War, several Avengers were selected to be part of the Infinity Watch, keepers of the one of the seven Infinity Stones.

When Gamora's quest to resurect her fallen sister Nebula lead her to steal a Phoenix Egg, they were called upon to stop her.

However, unbeknownst to them, the souls of many of the warriors who fell in the war had been trapped within the Soul Stone <WIP> including several Avengers.

The Fallen Heroes were eventually resurrected by Gamora, and the Infinity Stones used by The Phoenix to create the gestalt being Singularity, ending their threat.