Together Again, For The First Time

One of the reasons I suppose we comics readers were excited about the release of The Avengers is because it finally ignited a concept that never really worked. Aside from The Avengers #100, the original team has never really reassembled to battle a common foe; and even in that issue, they fought more separately than together. And as far as their beginning days as a "team"--well, let's just say that the Avengers, as originally cast, would probably have worked better as a one-shot, rather than in a regular comic book of their own. (You could probably say the same for the Defenders.)

As I've mentioned before, the book was simply a grouping of Marvel's A-list characters under one roof--and very powerful characters, at that, the most powerful that Marvel had to offer. In teaming up, they may have had the right idea, in terms of being able to meet any threat; but a true team is a blending of individuals whose abilities complement each other's, rather than simply a grouping of like-minded individuals. Ant-Man and the Wasp, being the weakest of the five, had the most to gain by trying to work within a framework of teamwork; but Iron Man, Thor, and certainly the Hulk would really have no reason to adjust their fighting style. In fact, their words, shown here at the moment of the group's creation, give you an indication of how they think of "the Avengers" as more of a good idea than a commitment:

The Hulk is really just looking forward to the fights; Thor perhaps sees an opportunity to interact more closely with mortal comrades-in-arms; and Iron Man most clearly articulates the group's informality. Indeed, in subsequent issues, "the Avengers" only meet at semi-regular intervals at a townhouse provided by Tony Stark, with a rotating chairman position. For the most part, they go about leading their separate lives. But even their loose formation isn't loose enough, as the Hulk sees that he'll never be able to co-exist with the other members and angrily leaves after just the second issue.

But after adding Captain America to the team, the Avengers become more closely-knit, for it's Cap who adds a sense of purpose to the group. Yet even so, the original lineup stays together for only twelve more issues before disbanding, with only Cap staying to lead a more trimmed-down membership in both size and power. Only then did we start to see a true "team" take shape, rather than a series of issues with Marvel's heavy hitters under one masthead.

So the film took the original concept and put a lot more thought into it than what it probably received in the beginning. In this incarnation, Nick Fury acts as a binding force to pull these individuals into a team from day one, appealing to their sense of duty while adding a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. veterans to the mix to balance things out. (Which corrects the imbalance of Ant-Man/Giant-Man and the Wasp, who literally couldn't emerge from the shadows of their more powerful and dynamic teammates. How ironic that in Avengers #1, it's Ant-Man who single-handedly captures and defeats Loki.) Beats me how they figured on getting the Hulk to cooperate, instead of leaping off into the distance--Bruce Banner may be on board with Fury's little strike squad, but since when does Banner call the shots for the Hulk?

Anyway, we've come a long way from this:

to this:

Only this time, given the franchises that have been established, the "fight separately or together" formula may just bind these individuals together, after all.