The Stand-In Avengers

After writer Roger Stern ended his distinguished run on The Avengers, Walt Simonson came aboard the book and proceeded to dismantle the team that Stern had put in place, with a series of stories that had them aimlessly flailing about and, in the process, ripping themselves apart. By the time he was done, the Avengers were, for all intents and purposes, disbanded and done ("wrecked" might be a better description)--and I couldn't begin to tell you why. It was incomprehensible. Almost like watching something self-destruct before your eyes.

With issue #300 just around the corner, Simonson tossed one last grenade and threw a new team in place before leaving the title virtually in ruins:

Mercifully, the lineup lasted barely four issues.