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All of the team’s success comes from the comics, as decades of creators worked their magic on the group. Their comics have had some of the best covers of all time, ones that changed the face of the medium. These are the ten best comic industry-shaking Avengers covers, momentous images that have gone down in history.
10) Civil War #7
Some people out there might not say this counts, because it isn’t an Avengers cover, but everyone who’s read this event knows that it’s a story about the team, their role, and their place in the Marvel Universe. Civil War has always been a controversial event, and Civil War #7’s iconic cover image from Steve McNiven was the icing on the event’s cake. Highlighting the battle between the two hearts of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, it was the beginning of an era that would last the rest of the ’00s and is etched into the history of Marvel thanks to being one of the most beloved scenes from Captain America: Civil War. It’s a quintessential Marvel cover.
9) Avengers (Vol. 5) #1-3
So, I know what you’re thinking: how can three covers be one? The above image comes form Avengers (Vol. 5) #1-3, an conjoining cover that celebrated the beginning of Jonathan Hickman’s landmark Avengers run. The cover showed off the new roster, which is one of the most powerful Avengers rosters of all time, a perfect mixture of power and skill. This run led to events like Infinity and Secret Wars, the last of which would change the Marvel Universe in its wake. It’s one of the most celebrated and important Avengers runs, and this cover by Dustin Weaver is gorgeous.
8) Dark Avengers #1
“Dark Reign” was an amazing period of Marvel, and Dark Avengers #1, with a cover by Mike Deodato Jr., was the first comic that gave readers a taste of what they were in for. This series saw Norman Osborn bring together a team of Avengers that were mostly villains and the cover was perfect. Readers knew that things were going to change, and this cover did an amazing job of making them want to open it up and see what it was all about. It had some of the same aspects as New Avengers (Vol. 1) #1 and Secret Invasion (Vol. 1) #1, but it was also somewhat different from those. It’s a wonderful cover that changed the Marvel Universe in the days to come.
7) Avengers (Vol. 1) #200
So, Avengers (Vol. 1) #200 isn’t some beloved issue, far from it honestly, but it did change the course of Marvel history. This story broke Carol Danvers, and in the decades since it came out, numerous creators like Chris Claremont, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Kelly Thompson, and others all rebuilt the character after this horrendous issue. However, the cover, by legendary artist George Perez, is fantastic and one of the coolest Avengers covers ever. It’s a shame the story inside isn’t as great as this cover, but one can’t really deny how important this issue is to the history of the Marvel Universe.
6) Avengers (Vol. 3) #1
The ’90s were something of a terrible decade for the Avengers. They started out okay, with the book still soldiering along from the highlights of the ’80s, but as “extreme” heroes and mutants became more popular, they faded. Fans had to get through the terrible “Heroes Reborn” Avengers, but 1998 saw all of that change as Marvel put Kurt Busiek and George Perez on the team for Avengers (Vol. 3) #1. Perez gave readers this awesome cover with nearly every Avenger who had been on the team since its inception. It felt like a way of apologizing for the rather bad stories we got from 1994 to 1997, and it led to one of the coolest eras of the team.
