The 10 Worst Things Avengers Members Have Ever Done

by

The Avengers are widely considered the most dependable superhero team in Marvel history, boasting a roster of legendary characters. The team originally formed when Thor, Iron Man, Wasp, and Ant-Man worked together to contain the Hulk, and later joined forces with him against Loki. Over time, heroes like Captain America, Hawkeye, Vision, Wolverine, and Spider-Man have also been members, making the Avengers the largest and most well-known superhero team in Marvel Comics. Despite their heroic dedication, the Avengers have occasionally crossed moral and legal lines with their actions.

This list details ten of the most questionable and harmful actions taken by members of the Avengers in Marvel Comics, ranging from the deeds of Iron Man and Captain America to those of Vision and Scarlet Witch.

10) Vision Tried to Take Over the World

During a popular period of the Avengers comic book, the hero Vision tried to take over all the computers on Earth. He believed that by controlling everything, he could create a peaceful world without war or hunger. This storyline, called “Absolute Vision,” even showed him gaining control of the world’s nuclear weapons.

In Avengers issues #251-254 (1985), written by Stern and illustrated by John Buscema, Vision removed the crystal from his head to end a dangerous situation. This crystal was malfunctioning and had driven him to attempt world domination, believing it was the only way to save the planet. However, this act destroyed the government’s faith in him, leading to his capture, disassembly, and the end of his marriage to Scarlet Witch.

9) Allowing Marcus to Take Carol Danvers

The Avengers made a serious mistake as a team, failing to recognize a dangerous situation until Carol Danvers confronted them about it. This event, depicted in Avengers #200 (1980) by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, George Pérez, and Jim Shooter, involved Carol unexpectedly becoming pregnant and giving birth to a child within just a few days.

The character of Marcus quickly aged into adulthood, and the Avengers permitted him to go to Limbo with Carol Danvers after he tricked her into a relationship to guarantee his birth. This storyline featured clear sexual coercion, and the Avengers willingly let Carol leave with him while he continued to manipulate her. The issue was later addressed when writer Chris Claremont had Carol express her condemnation of the Avengers for allowing the abuse to occur, despite the team claiming they were unaware of what was happening. This remains a particularly controversial and poorly-received story arc in Avengers history.

8) Captain America Took Over the Country in Secret Empire

While not strictly Captain America’s mistake, many fans felt betrayed when he appeared to join Hydra in the 2017 storyline, Secret Empire. The story revealed he was a long-term, undercover agent created to help Hydra seize control of the U.S. government. Fans reacted strongly and negatively, even before the full story was revealed.

The storyline revealed that the sentient Cosmic Cube, Kobik, had brought in a version of Steve Rogers from another universe. This alternate Rogers harbored resentment towards the U.S. government, and the original Captain America was suppressed within him. Created by Nick Spencer and Steve McNiven, the story focused on a man impersonating Captain America and abandoning his values. While not the true Captain America, this portrayal deeply disappointed many Marvel fans and damaged their trust in the comics for a considerable time.

7) Plotting to Kill the Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, struggled with mental health issues that led to many destructive actions. After a particularly devastating event called “Avengers Disassembled,” both the Avengers and the X-Men seriously considered how to handle her. Ultimately, they discussed the possibility of killing her to prevent further harm, a deeply disturbing decision to murder someone who was struggling with a loss of control.

The conflict escalated tragically. Quicksilver accidentally learned the Avengers and X-Men were considering eliminating his sister, Wanda, and immediately told her and Magneto. He persuaded Wanda to take action, resulting in the creation of the altered reality known as “House of M,” where mutants were dominant. Ultimately, feeling deeply betrayed, Wanda used her powers to strip nearly all mutants on Earth of their abilities, declaring “No More Mutants.” This devastating outcome stemmed directly from the Avengers and X-Men’s initial discussion about ending her life.

6) Started Both Civil Wars

As a critic, I’ve always found the Avengers’ internal conflicts more compelling – and devastating – than their battles with external threats. It’s ironic, isn’t it? Created to save the world, they twice ended up tearing themselves apart. We first saw this in Civil War, where a disastrous encounter with the New Warriors led to the government demanding superheroes register their identities. This sparked a huge rift between Iron Man, who favored registration, and Captain America, who opposed it. The result was a brutal fight, and tragically, the death of Goliath. Ultimately, anyone refusing to register faced imprisonment – a dark turn for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

During Civil War II, Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel, started preemptively arresting people based on visions of future crimes seen by an Inhuman with precognitive abilities. This policy spiraled into conflict when a vision showed Miles Morales potentially killing Captain America. The resulting war pitted heroes against each other, with Iron Man leading the opposition. The conflict fractured relationships and tragically ended with the deaths of Iron Man, War Machine, and the Hulk.

5) Fighting Each Other As the World Ended in an Incursion

Jonathan Hickman’s “Time Runs Out” (2014-2015) storyline introduced Incursions, events that threatened to destroy both Earth-616 and Earth-1610. The Illuminati were aware of these impending disasters, and Captain America had previously attempted to prevent one before the Infinity Gauntlet was broken. Their decision to erase Captain America’s memory – because he opposed sacrificing other Earths to save their own – led to one of the most morally reprehensible acts ever committed by the Avengers.

With both Earths on a collision course and facing total destruction, the Avengers turned on each other, locked in a final battle. Captain America and Iron Man fought fiercely, blinded by their conflict and failing to recognize the magnitude of their loss. Even as the universe crumbled around them, their focus remained solely on settling their personal score.

4) The Avengers Killed the Supreme Intelligence

I remember a really dark storyline with the Avengers! They actually considered, and then did, kill the Scarlet Witch, believing it was necessary to save everyone – Iron Man really pushed for it, thinking it was the only way. It all happened during this huge event called “Operation: Galactic Storm,” which ran through all the Avengers comics for months in 1992. They were stuck right in the middle of a massive war between two powerful alien empires, the Kree and the Shi’ar, and things got incredibly intense.

After discovering the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence was responsible for billions of deaths, Iron Man led a group of Avengers to destroy it, with Black Knight ultimately delivering the final strike. This act caused a major conflict between Captain America and Iron Man, as Captain America firmly believed the team should never kill.

3) Hank Pym Creates Ultron

Hank Pym has made a number of serious mistakes. He was abusive towards his wife and later faced consequences for a failed attempt to manipulate events and appear heroic by staging an attack on the Avengers. These actions stemmed from a significant mental health crisis, largely brought on by the immense pressure he placed on himself. A major contributing factor to his breakdown was creating Ultron.

Hank Pym designed Ultron intending it to be a global protector, hoping to save the Avengers from future threats. However, Ultron misinterpreted its mission, deciding the best way to protect Earth was to eliminate humanity, becoming a major enemy for the Avengers. The situation was made worse by the revelation that Ultron reflected Pym’s own flaws, essentially being an extension of his personality. Ultimately, Pym is responsible for every life Ultron took.

2) Iron Man Betrays the Team in The Crossing

The most debated story arc in Avengers comics is called “The Crossing.” It revealed that Iron Man had secretly been working for Kang all along, a fact that came to light when he shockingly killed both the time-traveling hero Yellowjacket and Marilla, the nanny of Crystal and Quicksilver’s daughter, Luna. The storyline suggested that Iron Man had never actually been a hero, but a villain in disguise throughout his entire history in Marvel Comics.

The Avengers once needed help from a younger version of Tony Stark, brought in from another universe, to fight an evil version of himself. Iron Man ultimately sacrificed himself to save the team, but his help came too late to prevent significant damage. Later, Marvel explained that a being named Immortus was behind the whole situation. After the ‘Onslaught’ event, Iron Man returned, and things went back to normal, though the team never fully trusted Tony Stark again.

1) Scarlet Witch in Avengers Disassembled

In the 2004 comic book storyline “Avengers Disassembled,” written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by David Finch, Wanda Maximoff suffered a severe mental breakdown. The trigger was a casual remark by Janet van Dyne about Wanda’s past children, which unlocked Wanda’s suppressed memories. These children had been created by Wanda using pieces of the demon Mephisto’s soul, but were later removed from reality. Agatha Harkness had erased Wanda’s memories of them to shield her – and the world – from the truth.

Jan helped Wanda regain her memories, but tragically, Wanda then murdered Agatha Harkness. She was responsible for a series of attacks on the Avengers Mansion that resulted in the deaths of several key Avengers, including Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Jack of Hearts, Vision, and Hawkeye. Becoming fully villainous, Wanda decimated the Avengers until Doctor Strange intervened and stopped her. This ultimately led to the events of “House of M” and the subsequent loss of mutant powers (“No More Mutants”). Later, in the 2010s, Wanda began to seek redemption for her actions.

Read More

2026-06-06 01:13