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The Avengers were long considered kingmakers. Joining the team was a huge deal, and many heroes have been able to join the group because of what they’ve done elsewhere. These ten Avengers are the best members of the group who made their start anywhere other than the main team, showing that they’re some of the best heroes in the Marvel Universe.
10) Iron Fist
Iron Fist came from ’70s Marvel, when kung-fu and blaxploitation movies inspired the creators of the House of Ideas. Danny Rand mastered kung-fu and the use of chi, and ended up joining up with Luke Cage (who will be on this list as well), the two of them working as the Heroes for Hire. Throughout the ’80s, the character got less and less popular before being relegated to guest star status. However, the mid ’00s saw him return in the very capable hands of Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja in The Immortal Iron Fist, reintroducing him to a new generation. This led to him joining the New Avengers after Civil War, funding the underground Avengers team. He stayed with them until Cage and writer Brian Michael Bendis left the Avengers books. He was perfect for this era of the group, a snarky, skilled, and wealthy hero who played off the rest of the team beautifully.
9) Storm
Storm made her name as one of the best X-Men, leading the team through some of its most harrowing (and popular) years. The mutant is an Omega-level weather manipulator, related to one of the most powerful magic-users in Earth’s history, and has lived up to her “goddess” nickname. She’s a beloved character, and she stayed an X-Man until she married Black Panther. This led to her joining the Fantastic Four and then the Avengers (making her one of three characters in Marvel history to be on all three teams; the other two are also on this list), but she’d leave the team after Avengers vs. X-Men. She rejoined them in 2024, and while the current Avengers series isn’t the most beloved, joining the team has been a big part of the Storm push we’ve been getting over the last seven years. She’s an icon and always deserves a berth with the group.
8) Cannonball
Cannonball first appeared as a member of the New Mutants, becoming one of the stars of the book. He’d help found X-Force, becoming the leader of the team after Cable left, and graduated to the X-Men. He stayed a member over the years, becoming an underrated part of the group. Jonathan Hickman’s amazing Avengers run brought him to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with his best friend Sunspot, and the two of them became a cool little duo. He ended up marrying Smasher, another member, and has since mostly been retired from heroing to hang out with her in the Shi’Ar Empire and their daughter. He’s a massively underrated hero who has been a member of some of the coolest teams in Marvel history.
7) Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is another child of ’70s Marvel, when the publisher also got serious about being more feminist and introducing more women in solo books. She wasn’t massively popular, but she made an impact on one Brian Michael Bendis, and would eventually lose her solo books, leading to her powers starting to fade (most people don’t know this, but she moved to Madripoor to become a detective, often working with Wolverine). Bendis brought her into New Avengers, using her as a triple agent, backstabbing Hydra by working with SHIELD and Nick Fury after he left the organization. It was soon revealed that she was actually a quadruple agent, as this new version was the Skrull Empress Vernanke. After Secret Invasion, the real deal would join the Avengers. She was a great character for a while, becoming a favorite of readers, helping to define an entire era of the group.
6) Sunspot
Sunspot has much the same history as Cannonball. premiering with the New Mutants and then moving to X-Force, except he never really became a member of the X-Men. The wealthy Brazilian would become one of the most important members of the Avengers during the Hickman run. He ended up buying the evil scientist group AIM, and after the Incursions were discovered by the main team, funded a last ditch effort to stop them. He’d then start his own Avengers team, leading them in battle against the Maker. He’s honestly an iconic Avenger, and he doesn’t get the love he should.
