In measure of scope, I'd have to say the Korvac Saga
I am a Marvel fan preferably cosmic storylines, especially Thanos or Dark Phoenix related, when both the Avengers and the X-Men are involved count me in, loved the original Uncanny Avengers series.
Not a fan of any of the new characters.
(Marvel/DC fan for 44+ years)
Another vote for Korvac Saga here. Issue 177 disturbed me as a kid.
Hickman's Time Runs Out.
It was primarily an Avengers story that led directly in Secret Wars.
I’m inclined to say Jim Starlin’s Avengers Annual #7.
The Korvac Saga. Still the best Avengers storyline ever.
korvac
I would also say ultron because of the hank pym turning bad/jean grey turning bad parallel
Korvac Saga and Operation: Galactic Storm.
The Gatherers gets little attention or love but it ranks high up with me.
All the most obvious answers are taken. I'm going to propose an honorable mention: Ultimate Vision.
If we look at the elements of TDPS, they include:
- A long build
- A tragic progression for a character (that gets periodically reset)
- A sea change for the title
- Consequences that would repeatedly resurface
UV offers that.
They don't really have a "definitive" iconic story like the X-Men have Phoenix. They have quite a few memorable storylines.
I'd say their iconic storylines would be:
The Ultimates
Kree-Skrull War
Korvac Saga
Under Siege
Ultron Unlimited
Kang Dynasty is really good but I don't know if it can be called iconic.
I wasn’t a fan of Kang Dynasty, but a lot of ppl over the years cite it as a great Avengers arc. I won’t argue that, it just wasn’t for me.
As a kid, I remember being completely taken by The Serpent Crown Saga. Steve Englehart was in his prime, w. a new guy on art named George Perez...you had Kang, the Squadron Supreme, Avengers In the Old West, Nelson Rockefeller(!), a fresh take on the Beast, Hellcat in the house, the pieces in place for team roster shake up...even a couple of filler issues still managed to give us character development on Don Blake of all ppl.
I’d argue those issues were pretty important, iconic.