Who Was the First Avenger?

 

When I wrote my first blog answering the question, “Who was the first Marvel superhero?” someone commented, “I knew Captain America was the first Avenger, but I always wondered who was the first Marvel superhero.” When I saw that comment, I already knew where I would be headed with my next blog. I imagine that if we took a poll, many would agree with my commenter that Captain America (aka Steve Rogers) was the first Avenger. I mean, duh, he literally has his own movie titled Captain America: The First Avenger! It’s pretty obvious that Captain America must have been the first! It’s settled then, and this will be the shortest blog entry in the history of blogs. Don’t be in such a hurry to reach a conclusion. Do you really want to get your answer from a movie title? Let’s dive in to this question and see if we can come to an agreement. Who was the first Avenger?

Was the movie wrong?

Let’s take a look at the history of Steve Rogers aka Captain America to answer the question. Steve Rogers was born July 4, 1918. That’s quite a patriotic birthday and maybe even a foreshadowing of who he was to become. Rogers made several attempts to enlist in the army when World War II broke out, but he was always rejected because of the health issues that had plagued him since childhood. Due to his great desire to serve his country, Rogers volunteered for Project Rebirth where he was the only recipient of the Super Soldier Serum, developed by Abraham Erskine under the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). Our discussion today cannot dive into all these players involved in the history of the superheroes. Suffice to say right now that the serum greatly enhanced Roger’s abilities to superhero levels. The MCU movie shows how Rogers became known as Captain America and performed heroic feats during the War, mostly against HYDRA. On his final mission, he crashed into the Arctic where he spent sixty-six years unconscious and frozen in ice under a state of suspended animation, before he was eventually found by S.H.I.E.L.D. in the early 21st century.

According to MCU, Rogers awakes too much confusion in a modern new world that he doesn’t recognize. He meets Nick Fury who enlists him to help stop Loki who has stolen the Tessaract. It’s at that time that Rogers joins the Avengers and was a major player in the Battle of New York. What was that? He JOINED the Avengers? If there was already an Avengers team, does that mean there were already Avengers? How can Captain America be the first Avenger if he is actually joining a team that is already known as the Avengers?

How Did the Avengers Begin?

To get to the bottom of this question, we need to determine which media would be the foundation for the answer? Are we going to look at the comics or the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)? Marvel comic fans would have a different answer for the question than the fans of the MCU. And even fans of the MCU may have different thoughts on which superhero was the first Avenger (despite the movie title that we already mentioned).

Since the comics came before the movies, let’s take a look there first. Marvel’s Avengers were billed as “Earth’s Mightiest Super Heroes” and were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. The series began with Avengers #1 (September, 1963). Marvel took their inspiration from DC Comics Justice League, which brought together existing super heroes Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. But Marvel didn’t just simply copy DC’s idea. As I mentioned in my introductory blog about Marvel’s first super hero, the members of the Avengers were characterized by internal conflict; they were flawed, which caused readers to flock to the series. Just as in the MCU, the Avengers owed their existence to the mischief of a villain – Loki from Asgard, the Norse god of mischief. Loki rangles his half-brother Thor (god of Thunder) into a fight with the Hulk. This disturbance gets the attention of Iron Man and the crime-fighting duo Ant Man and the Wasp. They initially think that the Hulk is the villain who sabotaged a train depot, but Loki quickly emerges as the real culprit and is defeated by Iron Man, Ant Man and the Wasp. Before all the heroes can disperse, Ant-Man suggests that they form a group to make their association permanent. The Wasp suggests the name “Avengers’ and thus the team is formed.

So according to Marvel comics history, these are the first Avengers: Ant-Man, the Wasp, Iron Man and The Hulk. The line up changed almost immediately in the next issue. Ant-Man became Giant-Man and the Hulk left the team at the end of the issue. Issue #4 (March, 1964) brought the first big milestone with the revival and return of Captain America (Steve Rogers).

Throughout the decades, the writers changed the Avengers’s roster and the stories became more complex. But as we can clearly see in Marvel’s comic universe, Captain America was not the first Avenger, even though he was technically the oldest.

Marvel Cinematic Universe changes everything

The blockbuster movies from recent years brought changes to the characters and timelines. In the MCU, the Avengers were formed as a S.H.I.E.L.D initiative that was developed in 1995 by Nick Fury. He created the Avengers Initiative after witnessing superhuman beings such as Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), naming his plan after Danvers’s call sign – Avenger. Years later, Fury begins assessing individuals for the initiative, including Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Stark’s membership is initially turned downed due to a negative report submitted by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff. Later, Stark recommends the inclusion of Bruce Banner (the Hulk).

The team begins to form when Asgardian Loki steals the Tessaract and brainwashes S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton (Hawkeye). Following the attack, Fury recruits Stark and Banner to locate Loki and retrieve the Tessaract. Stark, Romanoff, and Rogers apprehend Loki, but their actions are thwarted with the arrival of Thor, Loki’s brother.

As the Battle of New York begins, Loki kills S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson with his scepter, causing the team of super heroes to unite to avenge his death. Romanoff frees Barton from his mind control and the Avengers begin to confront Loki in the Battle of New York. At the time, all the heroes become founding members of the MCU Avengers – Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, and The Hulk. The Avengers melded together at that time.

So who then was the first Avenger? The movie says Cap was the first Avenger, alluding to the fact that he was born in 1918 and a super hero during World War II. But if we are going with the oldest, that leaves open the presence of Thor, who is about 1500 years old! Some would argue this is true, that is an old age for earthlings; but Thor is from Asgard and is relatively young for that world. It is estimated that in earth years, Thor is only about 22. So Cap still wins the age contest.

Should we really determine who was the first Avenger by who is the oldest? The Avengers team was formed as an initiative of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Some Avengers were already agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

We already mentioned that Stark was initially turned down for the team because of a negative report from Natasha Romanoff. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she had infiltrated Stark Tower was essentially spying on Stark at the direction of Fury. So as an agent who was assessing potential members of the team, it can be said that she was the first.

But let’s dig a bit deeper. How did Romanoff become an agent? Around 2007-2008, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton is sent by Director Fury to assassinate Romanoff. Instead, Barton recruits her into S.H.I.E.L.D. Of all the members in the Avengers, Hawkeye was the first agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. As the senior member of S.H.I.E.L.D. is Barton the first Avenger?

Conclusions never come easy

In the Marvel comics world, it was easy to see who were the first Avengers. They were a team that united to fight Loki and afterwards decided to call themselves the Avengers.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe the answer doesn’t come so easily. The move is called Captain America: the First Avenger, which is a catchy title for a movie. But as we put together the timeline of the MCU, we see the answer isn’t quite as simple. Yes, Steve Rogers is the oldest member, at least in Earth age, but since the team was an initiative of S.H.I.E.L.D., we need to look at members that were already agents. Black Widow and Hawkeye fit that bill. Of those two, who was first? That would be Hawkeye.

It depends on how you look at it. If you go by age, you will say that Thor was the first Avenger. If you go by Earth age, you will say that it is definitely Captain America and that the movie title was correct.

But if you correctly look at the members who were already agents, you will come to the conclusion that Hawkeye and Romanoff were the first, with Hawkeye going for the win.

Or you could just say, “The Avengers are a team! Does it really matter who came first?”

Thank you for reading my blog. Please leave any comments or thoughts that you might have.