What was the best Avengers line-up you've ever read about?

[charliehustle415]

I'm not sure how popular this version was, but I REALLY enjoyed Geoff Johns' Avengers run. I believe this is just prior to him getting his big contract with DC. Would've liked to see where he could have taken them.

I loved how he wrote Black Panther, his fight with Red Skull was amazing

[Steroid]

I'm not sure how popular this version was, but I REALLY enjoyed Geoff Johns' Avengers run. I believe this is just prior to him getting his big contract with DC. Would've liked to see where he could have taken them.

It was a great lineup and Red Zone was a awesome story I just wish Johns stuck around a bit longer.

[Cap808]

@charliehustle415

Yeah, Johns made me a Black Panther fan on this run.

Also loved the way he wrote Cap and Namor's dynamic.

[Cap808]

It was a great lineup and Red Zone was a awesome story I just wish Johns stuck around a bit longer.

I really feel as if Johns was about to take the Avengers to the next level. In universe, I feel like all of Marvel's heroes would have WANTED to be Avengers.

[Steroid]

It's pretty shocking looking back today that a writer of Johns caliber Avengers run is essentially a footnote in the team's history. It's basically just something that is lost in the shuffle since it came between one of the all time best runs(Busiek) and the most godawful run ever(Austen).

[Triniking1234]

I do think you guys are confusing the 200s with the 300s. With some ups and downs, the Avengers were, IMHO, good right up to 375, which concluded the Gatherer's Saga, one of my all-time favorites. After that, it really went downhill (and I say this as someone who enjoyed the Crossing, even though I agree that there's so much wrong in that storyline that could have been done much better), until 402, when it ended to be replaced by the Heroes Reborn version, which almost everbody I know agrees was awful. It returned to being good with Busiek and Perez in Heroes Return (vol. 3), which, IMHO, was outstanding right up to the end of Geoff Johns run, which is not to everybody's liking. Then came Austen, which, IMHO is the worst Avengers' writer EVER, and Bendis, who pretty much scrapped everything the Avengers were meant to be, and replaced them with what he thought it should be. Ever since, I guess the Avengers have gone back to having ups and downs, but I don't think they've ever returned to being exactly what they were before Austen and Bendis. Let's hope McKay will change that.

Peace

I think the 300s were coming out when I got into comics. I think that was when Gilgamesh, Reed and Sue joined. Quasar joined too. Then there was Operation Galactic Storm. I think when Marvel went all in on X-Men, Avengers started to suffer a little but there was still West Coast and Force Works which I liked and there was a crossover due to Crystal's and Quicksilver's daughter getting kidnapped by Cortez which I picked up. Gatherer's Saga was when Vision was in colour again.

[shooshoomanjoe]

The Collection Obsession, Operation: Galactic Storm, & The Gatherers were pure fire. Plus BloodTies & that arc where they’re up against some new Lethal Legion that came out of O:GS, that introduced Deathcry. It was one of my favorite eras on this book. (Even though I really dislike Deathcry)

I think the Lethal Legion story was in Avengers West Coast with Josef Stalin and Heinrich Himmler in the team.

[Kaijudo]

I've always found the off-shoot Avengers line-ups appealed to me more than the main team's. Probably two of my faves are the Avengers West Coast line-up (really the original line-up thru the end of Byrne's run) and the Secret Avengers line-up with Hawkeye, Black Widow, Beast, Valkyrie, Captain Britain, Agent Venom, and the original Human Torch.

[Nomads1]

I'm not sure how popular this version was, but I REALLY enjoyed Geoff Johns' Avengers run. I believe this is just prior to him getting his big contract with DC. Would've liked to see where he could have taken them.

^

Oddly enough, at the time, it was recieved with a lot of mixed reaction. It was comming out of what was considererd a revival of the golden days of the Avengers with Kurt Busiek, so, it was faced with a lot of high expectations. The problem was, shortly after Johns was announced as the new writer, it was announced that he'd signed an exclusive contract with DC, making his run basically a limited maxi-series in the eyes of many, that decided not to invest too much in it, waiting for what would come next (poor bastards). The first arc, against Scoropio, was not all that much to write home about. Then came the idea of making the Avengers similar to the JLI, a larger team (an important detail here, since this thread is all about the Avengers' line-ups. The official team was 12 members large, with Cap, Iron Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Ms Marvel, Falcon, She-Hulk, Black Panther, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Jack of Hearts and Ant-Man, occasionally joined by Thor, Namor and Hawkeye), answering the UN, with embassies across the world (though definitively not as humorous as the DC team), and many could not help making the connection, especially comming from a writer who had made his name at DC. Red Zone is probably the high light of the run, and it is usually found in lists of the top best Avengers storylines. It was also Oliver Coipel debut at Marvel. Then came the hunt for She-Hulk and a spotlight on Hank and Jan that featured a couple of very wierd scenes (one of them you can't even find anymore in laterreprints, and another that was re-used with Dr. Light and the female Titans years later). They closed the run with a spotlight on Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and Jack of Hearts. I liked quite a lot the run, and consider it the sunset of the Classic Avengers run. Then came Austen (IMHO, the worst Avengers run ever, thankfully very short) and Bendis, which started a whole new ball game, when it came to the Avengers.

I think the 300s were coming out when I got into comics. I think that was when Gilgamesh, Reed and Sue joined. Quasar joined too. Then there was Operation Galactic Storm. I think when Marvel went all in on X-Men, Avengers started to suffer a little but there was still West Coast and Force Works which I liked and there was a crossover due to Crystal's and Quicksilver's daughter getting kidnapped by Cortez which I picked up. Gatherer's Saga was when Vision was in colour again.

All great stories, IMHO. I was also a fan of Force Works.

I think the Lethal Legion story was in Avengers West Coast with Josef Stalin and Heinrich Himmler in the team.

One of my favorite WCA storylines. I loved it.

I've always found the off-shoot Avengers line-ups appealed to me more than the main team's. Probably two of my faves are the Avengers West Coast line-up (really the original line-up thru the end of Byrne's run) and the Secret Avengers line-up with Hawkeye, Black Widow, Beast, Valkyrie, Captain Britain, Agent Venom, and the original Human Torch.

Yes, some off-shoot Avengers line-ups are great. I particularly like the Avengers Infinity team (Thor, Photon, Moondragon, Starfox, Quasar, Tigra and Jack of Hearts).

Peace

[FFJamie94]

I understand it's kind of blasphemous to say, but I really enjoyed that first New Avengers volume. Bendis struck gold bringing in Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Cap all on one team.
Plus it was just a really fun book which brought together a lot of elements in the Marvel Universe.
I wish we would get something like that again.
It's not my favourite Avengers run, but it's probably the strongest line-up.

Edit, didn't realise I already commented on here saying the same thing.
Guess my memory is just pretty bad.
For the sake of brevity, I'll say my second favourite is Ewing's Mighty Avengers, but that's just because A. I really like that run and B. It's basically New Avengers but heroes for hire.
Also, just because, I'll admit that my favourite run is Hickman's.

[Steroid]

I understand it's kind of blasphemous to say, but I really enjoyed that first New Avengers volume. Bendis struck gold bringing in Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Cap all on one team.
Plus it was just a really fun book which brought together a lot of elements in the Marvel Universe.
I wish we would get something like that again.
It's not my favourite Avengers run, but it's probably the strongest line-up.

Edit, didn't realise I already commented on here saying the same thing.
Guess my memory is just pretty bad.
For the sake of brevity, I'll say my second favourite is Ewing's Mighty Avengers, but that's just because A. I really like that run and B. It's basically New Avengers but heroes for hire.
Also, just because, I'll admit that my favourite run is Hickman's.

I wouldn't say it's blasphemous since the thread is about the lineup. While I personally didn't care for the run I think it would be looked at least a little more fondly if he left after Siege. Even for those that liked his run I think most would agree that he overstayed his welcome with the Heroic Age stuff.

[dkrook]

1. Mighty Avengers- Al Ewing! This squad is so underrated in their potential.

[Factor]

1. Mighty Avengers- Al Ewing! This squad is so underrated in their potential.

It’s a shame they relaunched the book so soon. Its replacement wasn’t as good. And then they relaunched again and again. With each new launch, I lost a bit more interest in Ewing’s Avengers, sadly.

[ComicNoobie]

I recently read the Kurt Busiek Avengers Omnibus and I enjoyed it. The additions of Justice and Firestar from the New Warriors were a treat so far. But it's so weird how Avengers handle "younger" members throughout history. One minute they don't like them, then they allow membership, then they go back to "You're too young" and then they induct numerous young heroes at once. Make up your minds, are minors allowed to be Avengers or not?

[ARkadelphia]

^

Oddly enough, at the time, it was recieved with a lot of mixed reaction. It was comming out of what was considererd a revival of the golden days of the Avengers with Kurt Busiek, so, it was faced with a lot of high expectations. The problem was, shortly after Johns was announced as the new writer, it was announced that he'd signed an exclusive contract with DC, making his run basically a limited maxi-series in the eyes of many, that decided not to invest too much in it, waiting for what would come next (poor bastards). The first arc, against Scoropio, was not all that much to write home about. Then came the idea of making the Avengers similar to the JLI, a larger team (an important detail here, since this thread is all about the Avengers' line-ups. The official team was 12 members large, with Cap, Iron Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Ms Marvel, Falcon, She-Hulk, Black Panther, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Jack of Hearts and Ant-Man, occasionally joined by Thor, Namor and Hawkeye), answering the UN, with embassies across the world (though definitively not as humorous as the DC team), and many could not help making the connection, especially comming from a writer who had made his name at DC. Red Zone is probably the high light of the run, and it is usually found in lists of the top best Avengers storylines. It was also Oliver Coipel debut at Marvel. Then came the hunt for She-Hulk and a spotlight on Hank and Jan that featured a couple of very wierd scenes (one of them you can't even find anymore in laterreprints, and another that was re-used with Dr. Light and the female Titans years later). They closed the run with a spotlight on Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and Jack of Hearts. I liked quite a lot the run, and consider it the sunset of the Classic Avengers run. Then came Austen (IMHO, the worst Avengers run ever, thankfully very short) and Bendis, which started a whole new ball game, when it came to the Avengers.



All great stories, IMHO. I was also a fan of Force Works.



One of my favorite WCA storylines. I loved it.



Yes, some off-shoot Avengers line-ups are great. I particularly like the Avengers Infinity team (Thor, Photon, Moondragon, Starfox, Quasar, Tigra and Jack of Hearts).

Peace

I haven’t read it since it originally ran, but I thought John’s’ run was awful. I’d even take Austin’s over it. It’s the first time I really felt the weight of story decompression.