A recent rumor has been making the rounds that Avengers 3 will feature Robert Downey Jrs Iron Man leading an entirely new team of characters. This has led to some frantic comments, questioning how Marvel can have an Avengers movie that doesnt feature the Avengers. How could Marvel Studios make an Avengers movie that features one of the founders leading an entirely different team? Probably because theyve already done it in the past, way back in 1965s Avengers #16. That featured the founding members of the team departing, with Captain America spear-heading a new team that consisted of Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witchwho were all supervillains prior to that. And thats not the only time the team has underwent drastic changes. As anyone with any sort of familiarity with the Avengers is very well aware, the team has long had a history of a rotating roster, dating as early as Avengers #2, when the Hulk left the team and stayed gone for the better part of the next fifty years. The team changed again in Avengers #4 when Captain America joined, and has been in a continuous state of flux. The team has boasted over a hundred members over the course of its run. With so many characters, it got us thinkingwho exactly are the most consistent Avengers? Which characters have served with the team for the longest amount of time? So we decided to look it up. We looked at the amount of appearances each Avenger had across all the major Avengers titles. For the purposes of this, we focused only on the main titlesAvengers, West Coast Avengers, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, and Secret Avengersexcluding annuals, limited series, one-shots, and guest appearances in other books. Without further delay, lets look at the top ten Avengers.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
