While the world easily knows the likes of Captain America, Iron Man or the Hulk, the Avengers have featured over 120 official members across several different named teams. Throughout the team’s 81-year publication history, The Avengers have been Marvel’s most influential and long-standing source of stories and comic titles of all time.
However, not all members of the titular team are as publicly notable, often because the Avengers’ rotating cast of heroes tend to shift frequently. That said, the Avengers have strict standards for admission, so here you go The ten most underrated Avengers in Marvel history.
1
Sword
Jacques Duquesne is a morally ambiguous master of blade combat and one of the Avengers’ earliest members. Debuting on the team in 1965, just two years after the team’s founding, Swordsman bounced back and forth between villain-for-hire and noble hero when needed. Despite having no powers, Duquesne is an Olympic athlete who consistently proves to be an unsuspecting threat and asset. Swordsman unfortunately met his death after He single-handedly freed the Avengers from Kong the Conqueror Before he sacrifices himself to save Mantis from Kang’s deadly energy blast.
Sure, Jacques Duqense isn’t a superpowered titan like others on this list, but that doesn’t take away from his interest as a character. The Swordsman is essentially no different than Hawkeye, an unpowered individual who struggles to find his moral boundaries but steps up to face literal gods and monsters despite his inherent flaws. In an ocean of heroes who depend on their powers to save the day, Jacques Duquesne is a rare treat that deserves a good comeback in the future.
2
Hellcat
Patsy Walker is One of Marvel’s oldest characters, originally featured in a series of romance-comedy stories published by Marvel’s predecessor, Timely Comics. When reintroducing in Marvel Comics, Hellcat was canonized as a celebrity figure whose original comics were considered fictional adaptations of her own life. After years of training alongside the Avengers, gaining a suit that enhances her natural abilities and becoming a paranormal investigator alongside her then-husband Daimon Hellstrom, Hellcat developed a host of supernatural, psionic and physical abilities that make her a versatile hero on any team .
Hellcat is a strength of a character that can undoubtedly be equal to the likes of Blade or Moon Knight. More importantly, Patsy Walker is interesting. To have a character who originally started her comic career as a cheap two-dimensional woman who was only defined by her romance, and then evolve her into a snarky, supernatural, hell-diving detective is a crazy thing to have done. That said, Marvel pulled it off perfectly.
3
Machine Man
Originally appeared in the comic adaptation of 2001: A Space OdysseyBy Jack Kirby, Machine Man is an ultra-powered sentient machine whose augmentations make him capable of multiple feats including gravity manipulation, multi-energy conversion and projection, and internal firearms. While an often unknown fact, Machine Man was the final catalyst that pushed Tony Stark to consider the 50 States Initiative and his position in the wonderful Civil War. After believing that Machine Man was an agent of Obidia Stane, Stark went on a violent rampage, nearly killing his own employees, before Machine Man intercepted to stop the troubled Iron Man.
Considering the deep and long-lasting impact that Civil War I Set in both the Marvel Comics Universe and the MCU, Machine Man deserves significantly more credit and representation in modern comics. Yes, his design is a bit antiquated and goofy by today’s standards, but that’s nothing to stop an older character from returning to the modern day with a little more importance. Machine Man could make a stellar return to help in any one of Marvel’s current back-to-back apocalyptic events which have overwhelmed the comics in recent years.
Related
4
Stingray
Stingray, alias Walter Newell, is One of Marvel’s most charming yet unknown characters. After earning his Ph.D. in marine biology, Newell worked as an oceanographer overseeing the development of an underwater agricultural city. Newell later met Namur the Submarine and the two became fast friends. Abandoning his role in the U.S. it. Government, Stingray has since acted as A key hero for Atlantis and any underwater Avengers operations. His primary abilities come from his exoskeleton battles, which gives him superhuman arms, powerful electrostatic discharges, enhanced swimming speed, and general protection against radiation.
As the swordsman, Walter Newell is simply an ordinary man. He has no powers or super enhancements beyond what his suit allows him to. Namar never gave Walter a mystical power or introduced him to underwater gods. Newell is only human, but that’s what makes him awesome. Even the simple fact alone that Walter subjects himself to an environment that would kill him in an instant if his suit were ever to fail makes him a hero worth remaining on the Avengers roster.
5
Crystal
An Inhuman with psionic powers that allow her to control the four primary elements, fire, water, earth and air, Crystalia Amaquelin is practically Marvel’s equivalent of the Avatar. While primarily known for being the sister of Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans, Crystal was a pivotal hero featured in the Avengers, Fantastic Four and Inhumans stories. Arguably her biggest impact in Marvel Comics, it was Krystal who first introduced the precocious Inhuman Ulysses to the Avengers, the catalyst that would ignite the Second Avengers Civil War between Iron Man and Captain Marvel.
Admittedly, Crystal has had a lot of coverage over the years and has been an important key character in Marvel’s biggest events. However, she is rarely mentioned as an Avenger. What sets the Avengers apart from other teams is that they are an amalgamation of heroes from all backgrounds. When an Inhuman or a mutant turns away from their own dedicated teams, even for a moment, to join an organization designed to protect all people, it means something. yes, Crystal is a champion for the Inhumans, but she has also consistently proven herself to be a champion for all.
6
Darkhawk
One of Marvel’s most famous and popular characters of the 1990s, Darkhawk, aka Chris Powell, was inspired to take up crime fighting after noticing the rampant corruption in the NYPD. In his first heroic pursuit of justice, Pavel discovers an amulet that allows him to assume control over a weaponized android from the Darkforce dimension. As Darkhawk, Chris has a wide range of powers, including flight, teleportation, size alteration, rapid healing and a general spectrum of mystical abilities given to him by the nature of the Darkforce dimension.
Short and simple, Darkhawk is cool. Darkhawk is the epitome of the ’90s brand of comic book heroes Who can access a lot of seemingly unrelated powers because it makes the character look cool. Historically, he’s not a developed character, which is probably why he didn’t make it to the 1990s in the first place, but that’s not the character’s fault. Marvel is unapologetically the comic company that gives an opportunity to allow wacky characters to thrive. Although he may not get the love the character deserves, It doesn’t take away from both how powerful and how interesting Darkhawk is.
7
Echo
Now made more popular thanks to the Hawkeye And Echo Show on Disney +, Maya Lopez is one of the most representative heroes in Marvel’s catalog. Not only is she Marvel Comics’ first pigeon And Indigenous superhero, she is also the MCU’s first amputee hero. Although not necessarily a superpowered individual, Echo possesses Olympic athletic skills and photographic reflexes Which lets you instantly copy any form of martial skill, similar to the villain Taskmaster. As a deaf woman, Maya has a very refined ability to read people’s lips even from far distances or out of the corner of her eye.
Outside of her reflexive skills, Maya Lopez is another character on the list who proves herself capable of standing next to giants with or without superpowers. That said, Echo was once chosen by the Phoenix Force to become its host. The Phoenix was drawn to Maya’s adaptability to the ease with which she learned how to wield cosmic power. Ultimately, Echo relinquishes her powers as the Phoenix to protect the multiverse from the cosmic entity known as the First Firmament.
8
Sunspot
Despite his seemingly naive idealism and impulsive nature, Roberto “Bobby” da Costa is considered a highly valued member of the X-Men and the US Army. it. Avengers. Sunspot is an exceptionally powerful mutant capable of continuously absorbing and transforming solar energy into a chain. of superpowers including heat and light manipulation, plasmatic radiation, and superhuman strength and flight. Acquire AIM and reform the rogue company into a research and development organization For the Avengers.
Sunspot is a genuine hero with a heart of gold, despite his previous entanglements with certain mutant extremist groups like the Hellfire Club. Bobby makes a genuine effort to ground himself as a reminder to keep the best interests of the helpless in mind. A true follower of Charles Xavier’s dream of a unified worldBobby uses his wealth and public status as an X-Men to both secretly and publicly pull the strings of the social economy to provide mutants and humans with the resources they need to thrive.
Related
9
Doctor Voodoo
Jericho Drum is one of The most unique and interesting supernatural characters in Marvel’s paranormal arsenal. After leaving Haiti to study psychology, Drum returned to find his brother Daniel, a voodoo hongan, dying. Drum promised to visit Daniel’s mentor, Papa Jumbo, where he was learning the art of voodoo. After bonding with his deceased brother’s spirit, Doctor Voodoo became one of Marvel’s most powerful wizards, even taking over the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme for a while. As a master Hongan himself, Drum possesses specialized voodoo magic that even Doctor Strange does not have access to.
Now, Jericho Drumm has become one of Stephen Strange’s closest allies and advisors. He currently serves a smaller role compared to his days as the Sorcerer Supreme, by serving as the head of the strange academy. Drum’s vast accumulation of magical knowledge and a genuine drive to support and empower the young and the weak make Doctor Voodoo a somewhat unique Avenger. Especially compared to Doctor Strange, Jericho was completely dedicated to helping others rather than furthering his own goalsIt is not caused by the feeling that he could help his brother.
10
Tremble
Originally given her powers of biomanipulation by her supervillain father, Daisy Johnson was later recast as an Inhuman after the character’s starring appearance in the Agents of Shield TV show. Outside of her omega-level equivalent seismic manipulation powers, Quake was one of SHIELD’s most prominent and highly ranked agentsWith a Level 10 security clearance alongside Nick Fury and Black Widow. During the Avengers Civil War, Quake worked alongside Fury to recruit relatives of notable heroes and villains to fend off the upcoming Skrull invasion.
Compared to Nick Fury, Black Widow and even Phil Coulson, Daisy Johnson does not lead her life with the same level of constant deception as her counterparts. Quake understands that SHIELD plays a crucial role in the endless chaos of the Marvel universe, but often resists the organization’s multi-layered web of lies that are almost exclusively kept by one person. Daisy is honest and that can often be a rare quality, even among the Avengers.