Earth's Mightiest Heroes have had their share of strange, unexpected, and delightfully eccentric members over the years
(Image credit: George Marston / Marvel Comics)
She-Hulk episode 2 puts Jennifer Walters in her new job as an attorney specializing in superhuman cases – and it sets up the arrival of the host of “eccentric superhumans” (to quote She-Hulk’s new boss Mr. Holloway), over the series’ nine-episode run.
And the Avengers were name-checked in the same episode 2, but not only did Jennifer discount the possibility of her serving on the superhero team, she also expressed that she currently has no desire to do so. We’ll see what Marvel Studios has planned for her long-term, however. It’s hard to imagine Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars without her.
While Shulkie has been a comic book Avenger in good standing for decades now, the confluence of the Avengers and “eccentric” superhumans put us in mind of the off-beat and unexpected superheroes and even some ex-supervillains of the Marvel Universe who have joined the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes over the years.
So without further ado, here are our picks for the oddest Avengers ever!
Deadpool
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In his solo movies, Deadpool may be all about joining the X-Men, but in comics, he’s actually got a history as one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – officially welcomed by Captain America and everything.
In the aftermath of 2012’s Avengers Vs. X-Men (opens in new tab), the two teams come together to build cooperation among those who fought in the conflict, forming the ‘Avengers Unity Squad’ in the title Uncanny Avengers. In Uncanny Avengers Vol. 2 (opens in new tab), Deadpool finds himself on the Unity Squad alongside other Avengers, mutants, and even Inhumans.
Doombot
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Doctor Doom has an army of robotic doppelgangers who are meant to act as his bodyguards and elite soldiers – though over the years, some of them have gained minds of their own, and even impersonated Doom without him knowing.
But in the 2013 title Avengers AI (opens in new tab), a Doombot is reprogrammed by none other than Hank Pym to become a (somewhat reluctant) member of the android and cyborg based Avengers team.
Gilgamesh
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Gilgamesh of the Eternals joined the Avengers in one of their weirdest line-ups ever, alongside several members of the Fantastic Four, as a kind of substitute for the mythical power of a hero like Thor or Hercules (though Thor was … also still on the team).
Unfortunately, even in a line-up of odd ducks, Gilgamesh stuck out like a sore thumb in a bull-shaped helmet, leading to a particularly short-lived stint on the team – leading ol’ Gil to go back to living up to his nickname as the ‘Forgotten One.’
Teen Tony Stark
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Explaining exactly how the adult Tony Stark was replaced by his teen doppelganger from an alt-timeline in the early ’90s is a bit of a headache – it involves the Avengers’ arch enemy Kang subverting the adult Tony to evil, and the Avengers traveling in time to replace him with his younger, uncorrupted self.
Teen Tony didn’t last long in the Marvel Universe, and adult Tony was quickly brought back. But weirdly enough, years later, a younger version of Kang himself became an armored hero as Iron Lad of the Young Avengers, putting an odd mirror to the Teen Tony saga.
Ex Nihilo & Abyss
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The bizarre, alien siblings known as Ex Nihilo and Abyss started out as enemies of the Avengers, sent by their cosmic masters to kickstart and supercharge the evolution of humanity on Earth. Interestingly enough, the pair joined the Avengers in Jonathan Hickman’s 2012-2015 run on the title, actually terraformed Mars years before the X-Men did it to create Planet Arakko in 2021.
Ex Nihilo and Abyss’s Avengers membership began during the lead-up to 2015’s Secret Wars (opens in new tab), though they were killed off in the events of ‘Time Runs Out’, the story which led into the Multiversal Secret Wars crossover, and haven’t returned.
D-Man
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D-Man (or as he’s sometimes called, Demolition Man) started out as a super-strong wrestler in the fabled Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, which is exactly what it sounds like – a place where superheroes enter the squared circle.
Having gotten his abilities from the Power Broker, D-Man became an ally of Captain America and even, briefly, an Avenger, to help take on the villain, before retiring to a place called Zero Town to become the protector of its impoverished inhabitants.
Starfox
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Though he’s one of Marvel’s more obscure Avengers, the Eternal Eros, known as Starfox to the Avengers, has recently started to gain more notoriety thanks to an MCU appearance played by none other than Harry Styles and a comic book return in AXE: Judgment Day #3.
And with his return comes new scrutiny around Starfox’s powers of emotional manipulation and the way he’s used those abilities – which have often made him quite the creep, by human standards.
Sandman
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That’s right – Flint Marko, Spider-Man’s enemy the Sandman, may have cut his super-team teeth as a founding member of the villainous Sinister Six, but in the early ’90s he had a very brief tenure as a full-fledged Avenger.
Sadly, Sandman went back to villainy – though he actually did once rejoin the Avengers for a couple of issues in the ‘Heroes Return’ era of the late ’90s. His time as an Avenger hasn’t been forgotten though, as it’s still occasionally referenced in the Marvel Universe.
Jack of Hearts
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Empowered by a mysterious substance known as ‘Zero Fluid,’ Jack Hart gained the uncontrollable ability to channel a special kind of cosmic energy, which he used to become the walking, talking playing card known as Jack of Hearts.
After joining the Avengers in the late ’90s, the garishly clad Jack of Hearts sadly perished during the story Avengers: Disassembled (opens in new tab), only recently returning to life in the current ongoing She-Hulk title.
Two-Gun Kid
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If you think it’s weird that Hawkeye, a regular guy with just a bow-and-arrow, has a place among the mighty Avengers, wait till you hear about Two-Gun Kid – a time-traveling cowboy whose superpower is that he can shoot you with a gun.
Two-Gun Kid was a vigilante hero in the old west, who hooked up with the Avengers on a time-traveling mission, going on to join up with the team in the present day for a short time.