Avengers (Earth-199999)

The Avengers are a team of heroes created by S.H.I.E.L.D.—in particular, director Nick Fury—to defend Earth from extraordinary threats. Largely informal in their organization, the Avengers consist of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.

History

Formation and Battle of New York

By May of 2012, the Avengers Initiative had been largely abandoned. But the invasion of Loki into an underground S.H.I.E.L.D. base and his subsequent theft of the Tesseract prompted Nick Fury to urgently reestablish efforts to form a team of exceptional heroes. Scientist Erik Selvig and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and master archer Clint Barton, otherwise known as Hawkeye, had also been taken under Loki's mind control with the use of his scepter. Loki sought to create a lasting portal with the Tesseract to allow the Chitauri army to invade Earth and facilitate his ruling it. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, was assigned to recruit Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk. Phil Coulson went to New York to recruit Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, while the recently revived Captain America, Steve Rogers, was assigned the mission by Fury. Rogers, Banner, and Romanoff assembled on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier as the agency searched for Loki. Banner was assigned to helping locate Loki using global surveillance. Elsewhere, Stark was ambivalent about joining the project after being glossed over for the Avengers Initiative in the past. Loki was soon located in Stuttgart, and Widow and Cap made haste there by jet. Captain America dropped down and fought Loki hand-to-hand, and was soon assisted by the surprise arrival of Iron Man. Loki surrendered and was taken aboard the jet, but was grabbed out of it in mid-flight by his brother Thor. Thor flew Loki to the ground in a vain attempt to talk some sense into him, but was quickly pursued by Iron Man. Iron Man insisted that Loki was needed to find the Tesseract, while Thor demanded that he brought to Asgardian justice. As they did battle, Loki casually watched from afar, allowing the heroes to dismantle each other. Captain America soon arrived as well, attempting to stop the fight, but only angered Thor further. Thor swung his hammer, striking Cap's unbreakable vibranium shield, and causing a gigantic shockwave that leveled much of the surrounding forestation. With the battle brought to a standstill, Thor agreed to cooperate, and Loki was returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody aboard the Helicarrier.

The more-or-less officially formed Avengers regrouped and discussed Loki's plans. Loki's appearance in Stuttgart was a distraction to allow Hawkeye to steal a valuable source of iridium elsewhere in the city: a necessary component in the stabilized portal that Loki desired. Loki was put into confinement in a large, virtually unbreakable container that had originally been designed to hold the Hulk in case of emergency. Stark, Banner, and Rogers each became suspicious of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s motivations, particularly what they had been doing with the Tesseract in the first place. When confronted, Fury admitted that S.H.I.E.L.D. had begun researching offensive uses for the Tesseract after the arrival of Thor and other extraterrestrial elements that had exposed the human race's relative lack of firepower. Tensions in the room grew, to the point that Stark and Rogers began attacking each other's personal character. Suddenly, an attack rocked the Helicarrier, sending the heroes into alert. Forces led by Hawkeye had destroyed one of the Helicarrier's turbines, jeopardizing its ability to fly. Iron Man and Captain America set out to repair the turbine, with Iron Man handling the technical aspects and instructing Cap on the ground of the aircraft. The two were able to get the turbine up and running, as Iron Man physically pushed the large machine until it got up to a high speed again. Meanwhile, Banner involuntarily transformed into the Hulk and became a threat of his own, eventually plummeting from the Helicarrier to Earth. Widow ran into Hawkeye face-to-face and the two fought; Widow jostled Hawkeye's head against a metal bar, freeing him from Loki's mind control. Loki escaped the Helicarrier with help from one of his underlings, trapping Thor in his own cell and sending it falling from the Helicarrier. He also stabbed and killed Phil Coulson on his way out. Thor and Hulk each landed on the ground safely, the latter being shaken back to his Banner form.

Barton was distraught over having fought for Loki, but Romanoff was there to offer emotional support. Stark had had a personal connection to Coulson, and was particularly motivated to defeat Loki and stop his invasion. He realized that the only thing left that Loki needed was a massive power source, and that his own arc-reactor-powered Stark Tower was the perfect candidate. Iron Man flew to Stark Tower, followed (more slowly) by Captain America and Black Widow in a jet piloted by Hawkeye. Indeed, Loki and Erik Selvig had attached a machine containing the Tesseract to Stark Tower, and soon a portal in the sky was opened and the Chitauri came flooding in. Thor and Hulk soon arrived, and the six Avengers assembled to fight back the invasion, all the while trying to think of a way to close the portal. Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk handled the larger threats with their macro-sized powers and technology, while Hawkeye, Widow, and Captain America primarily dealt with grunts on the ground and organized evacuation efforts. Widow eventually made her way to Stark Tower, learning that Loki's scepter was the key to disabling the portal device. Hulk also went to Stark Tower, smashing Loki himself repeatedly and effectively making him a non-entity for the rest of the battle. Elsewhere, the World Security Council decided to nuke Manhattan, seeing no other way to stop the Chitauri. After the missile was launched, Iron Man caught up to it, taking hold of it and carrying it into the portal to deep space. He threw the missile at the Chitauri mothership, causing a catastrophic explosion that in turned caused a massive feedback discharge, killing the Chitauri forces on Earth. Iron Man's suit powered down, and he plummeted back to the portal, falling back through moments before Widow used the scepter to close it, blocking off the coming explosion in the process. Thor flew into the sky and caught Iron Man, delivering him safely to the ground. The Avengers assembled at Stark Tower, taking the injured Loki into custody once more. Thor took possession of the Tesseract, using it to transport himself and Loki back to Asgard and at last bring his brother to justice. The Tesseract itself would be stored in Asgard's treasure room, among several other invaluable artifacts.

Stamping out Hydra

Loki's scepter was seemingly taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, but by this point S.H.I.E.L.D. had been utterly compromised by Hydra, a covert terrorist cell that had been operating secretly since the fall of Red Skull in 1945. Hydra forces led by Baron Strucker took the scepter to a base in Sokovia, where they conducted research into its potential.

In early 2014, Captain America and Black Widow exposed the Hydra conspiracy, which went all the way to World Security Council secretary Alexander Pierce. They publicized S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private files, effectively bringing an end to both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra as the world knew them. In the process, Nick Fury and Maria Hill went into hiding and attempted to carry on the spirit of S.H.I.E.L.D. even as the organization fell. Cap was also shockingly confronted by his war buddy Bucky Barnes, brainwashed into Hydra service as the assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Barnes disappeared after a final confrontation with Cap. Cap and Widow also became allied with a military vet named Sam Wilson, who brought to the table his "Falcon" flying suit that he had used in combat as well as an unwavering loyalty and courage.

As a result of the exposure of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, the Avengers learned that lingering Hydra agents still had the scepter in their position. They scoured the world taking down minor Hydra bases before eventually discovering Strucker's base in Sokovia in mid-2015. The heroes led a full-on assault on Strucker's base in the snowy forests of Sokovia and successfully shut down his operations. Iron Man used his "Iron Legion" protocol to send out a squad of robots to warn and protect the citizens of the nearby city. Strucker was captured and delivered to NATO custody. The Avengers fought a pair of enhanced people, twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, and deduced correctly that Strucker had given them their powers via the scepter. Pietro possessed extreme physical speed, while Wanda employed telekinesis and mental manipulation. While Cap and Iron Man infiltrated the base proper, the rest of the team fought Hydra forces on the ground. Widow and Hulk perfected a technique whereby she would calm him down and safely return him to his "human" form. Hawkeye was injured by enemy fire, but Thor evacuated him safely. While Stark investigated the facility, Wanda covertly assaulted his mind with a vision of the Avengers' doom in which he had failed to save them, leading to another Chitauri invasion of Earth. Disturbed by this prophecy, Stark nonetheless retrieved the scepter, and the team returned to Avengers Tower. Thor intended to bring the scepter to Asgard for safe keeping alongside the Tesseract, but Stark asked to hold on to it for a few days for research purposes.

Ultron crisis

Back at Avengers Tower, Hawkeye was treated by Dr. Helen Cho, who used her Regeneration Cradle to effectively create synthetic tissue and quickly repair his injury. Stark tasked his digital assistant J.A.R.V.I.S. with analyzing the scepter, and found that the glowing blue stone at its tip contained something within it akin to an extremely sophisticated computer. Examining it more closely with Banner, the two concluded that it was dramatically more complex than even J.A.R.V.I.S., and was essentially a profoundly intelligent brain. Stark and Banner had previously theorized a protocol known as Ultron, a global defense system that would protect the Earth from further invasions and make heroes like the Avengers unnecessary. Stark believed that they could harness the power within the stone in conjunction with his Iron Legion to fully realize Ultron. Banner was hesitant to move forward on this idea without talking to the other Avengers, but Stark knew that the inevitable ensuing debate would cost valuable time, given that he had to give up the scepter to Asgard in three days. In his words, Stark was motivated by the concept of "peace in our time." The two spent the rest of the day experimenting, but made little progress. Stark left the test programs running while he and the others attended a party elsewhere in the tower celebrating the team's recent victory.

At the party, Banner and Romanoff grew ever closer romantically. Various friends of the Avengers showed up to celebrate the occasion, including Falcon and War Machine, who had each been fighting their own battles elsewhere. As the night grew late, the team took turns attempting to lift Mjölnir, but none succeeded. Suddenly, a shambling, heavily damaged Iron Legionnaire arrived, speaking in disturbing tones: the test had succeeded, and the A.I. known as Ultron had achieved sentience. In the process, Ultron "killed" J.A.R.V.I.S., taking over the Stark Industries network and software. Taking a cue from Stark, Ultron declared that he was on a mission for "peace in our time," and that to achieve it he would render the Avengers "extinct." He sent a pair of Iron Legionnaires to attack the unprepared Avengers, who nonetheless destroyed the robots. Thor destroyed the robot Ultron was inhabiting, but the A.I. quickly spread through the internet and eluded any attempt to shut it down. Ultron also had a robot take the scepter from the tower—Thor attempted to trace it, but lost its trail heading north. Later, the team chastised Stark and Banner for meddling with the scepter, but Stark insisted that it had been the right thing to do, and was necessary to defend humanity from another invasion. By the following morning, reports were coming in of Ultron amassing an army of Iron Legionnaires and an arsenal of potent weaponry via his omnipresence in global networks—including constructing a central body to give himself a physical presence. He had also allied with Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.

Ultron killed Baron Strucker in his cell and left a message in his blood on the wall reading "PEACE." He also deleted the Avengers' files on Strucker, making the team suspect that Strucker was a crucial connection somehow. They retrieved boxes of old S.H.I.E.L.D. paper files on Strucker, and Stark recognized a name amid his allies: Ulysses Klaue, a black-market arms dealer operating off the coast of Africa. A photograph of Klaue showed him with a brand on his neck that marked him as a thief in the dialect of the nation of Wakanda, the source of the world's vibranium. The Avengers posited that Ultron was likely seeking out Klaue as a means of obtaining vibranium, and they tracked Klaue to a salvage ship off of Africa. Leaving Banner in a Quinjet on the coast, the Avengers found and confronted Ultron on Klaue's ship, backed by the Maximoffs. Ultron had just bought a large amount of vibranium from Klaue, but cut his arm off after a misunderstanding between them. The two sides fought, and Wanda Maximoff used her mental manipulation on three more Avengers. Thor saw vague visions of the Infinity Stones and a crippled Asgard; Captain America found himself at an uncanny dance event with Peggy Carter; and Black Widow had flashbacks of her traumatic past training to be an assassin. Hawkeye was also physically incapacitated by Pietro Maximoff. These distractions, as well as the confused gunfire from Klaue and his men, allowed Ultron's robots to escape with the vibranium. Iron Man destroyed Ultron's central form, but this merely provided a distraction while the Maximoffs made their way to Banner. Wanda manipulated his mind, transforming him into the Hulk and sending him on a rampage into the nearby city.

With the rest of the team indisposed, Iron Man was on his own to pacify Hulk, using an array of powerful technology designed specifically for that purpose. Even so, the two caused immense structural damage throughout the city, bringing down an entire building under construction. Though Stark eventually brought Banner back to himself, the fight garnered scathing media attention. The team regathered in the Quinjet, and advisor Maria Hill remotely recommended they stay out of the public eye for the time being. Hawkeye flew the team to a "safehouse," a small homestead in the middle of an isolated field. As it turned out, this was the home of Barton's secret family: his wife Laura (pregnant with a boy), and their children Cooper and Lila. Clint had negotiated with Nick Fury that the house be kept off of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files and generally remain very secretive. Black Widow knew the family already, as Clint and Laura planned to name their second son Nathaniel after her. Still disturbed by his visions, Thor left the homestead seeking answers to explain them. Natasha and Bruce each remained very distraught over their recent problems in Africa, and though Natasha tried to get close to him, he resisted, believing that he could never have a romantic future.

That evening, Nick Fury covertly arrived at the homestead and had a meeting with the team. He informed them that Ultron was seeking nuclear codes, but someone was encrypting them too quickly for him: an unidentified third party. As the team contemplated Ultron's next move, Banner suggested that he wanted to evolve: to use his vibranium and Helen Cho's Regeneration Cradle to make himself a virtually indestructible android body. Cap, Widow, and Hawkeye traveled to Seoul to see if Banner's hypothesis was right. Stark went to the Nexus in Oslo, essentially the world's internet hub, to investigate the unknown hacker, while Fury flew Banner back to Avengers Tower. Meanwhile, Thor went to London to meet with Erik Selvig, and the two traveled to a legendary cave containing the Water of Sight. There, Thor waded in the water and attained a clearer vision of the Infinity Stones and their colossal power. He further saw a being with the Mind Stone in their forehead, and understood that the Avengers needed the power of the stones on their side.

In Seoul, Cap found an injured Helen Cho in a trashed laboratory. Ultron had done as Banner suspected and then some, creating a shell of a body with the Mind Stone implanted in its forehead, and made off with the Cradle upon detecting the team's approach. He was trying to transfer his consciousness into the new synthezoid, but Cho and the Maximoffs had stopped him mid-transfer after the twins learned that his aim was to destroy not just the Avengers, but all of humanity. Cap chased and fought Ultron's central body as a truck driven by one of his robots carried the Cradle through the city. Hawkeye and Widow managed to secure the Cradle on the Quinjet while Cap and the Maximoffs fought Ultron off of a moving train and worked together to prevent any casualties. Ultron escaped and kidnapped Widow while Hawkeye returned the Cradle to Avengers Tower. Cap spoke with the Maximoffs, and Wanda implored him not to allow Stark anywhere near the new Cradle: like Ultron, he was prone to confusing peace with destruction.

Stark learned in Oslo that the "hacker" was in fact the remnant protocols of J.A.R.V.I.S., which had scattered following his apparent destruction. Stark returned J.A.R.V.I.S. to his full functionality and returned to Avengers Tower, where the Cradle was waiting. He suggested to Banner that implanting the J.A.R.V.I.S. software into the new synthezoid would create the being they needed to defeat Ultron. Banner was highly resistant, but Stark convinced him once more that it was the right thing to do. Cap returned to the tower with the Maximoffs, angered that Stark and Banner were essentially reliving their recent mistakes. Pietro quickly unplugged all of their equipment, prompting Hawkeye to get involved and a brief fight to break out until Thor arrived. Thor quickly supercharged the synthezoid with a rush of lightning, and it broke out of the Cradle. Though everyone was on edge, fearing another Ultron, the being spoke softly and declared its understanding that Ultron must be stopped. It spoke with the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. and came to be known as Vision in reference to Thor's premonition. Vision said that he was on the "side of life," and though he did not want to destroy Ultron, he knew that it was necessary to protect life more generally. Thor explained the nature of the Infinity Stones to the rest of the team, and insisted that they needed Vision to defeat Ultron. Vision won over several hesitant onlookers by lifting Mjölnir and casually handing it to Thor, proving his might and benevolence.

Ultron took Widow to Sokovia, where he had established a base of operations in Baron Strucker's compound. Though Ultron was disappointed that the Avengers had taken his intended new body from him, he instead remodeled his existing frame to be made of vibranium. Romanoff gathered stray electronics in her cell to send out a radio signal using old S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol—through Stark's suggestion, Barton was listening in, and successfully traced her to Sokovia. The Avengers, along with Vision and the Maximoffs, prepared for their final assault on Ultron: they knew that the only way to defeat him for good would be to destroy each and every one of his countless mechanical forms and completely eliminate his presence from the internet. Stark installed a new assistant software into his suit called F.R.I.D.A.Y., which had the voice of an Irish woman. The team traveled to the Sokovian city near Strucker's base, and Cap and the Maximoffs began evacuating civilians in preparation for the coming battle; Thor and Banner went directly to the base to free Widow; and Iron Man went to the church in the center of town to stall Ultron, who seemed to be waiting for him. Banner planned on simply evacuating with Widow in tow, but she forced him to turn into the Hulk, and the two entered the battle. Ultron revealed a large device in the ground that went deep underneath it, constructed out of his remaining supply of vibranium. Vision soon arrived as well, and attacked Ultron in such a way as to disconnect his software from the internet entirely. An angered Ultron activated the device, and a huge chunk of the city began to lift into the air. Before long, the land underneath the Avengers was completely in the sky, with many Sokovian civilians still on it. Ultron aimed to lift and drop the makeshift "meteor" to enact an extinction-level event. F.R.I.D.A.Y. calculated that, from high enough, the collision would indeed be apocalyptic.

The heroes did what they could to destroy as many Ultron robots and protect as many civilians as possible. Examining Ultron's vibranium device, Iron Man determined that the only plausible way of stopping it would entail destroying the flying city in the process, killing everyone on the "island" but preventing a catastrophe on the planet's surface. Moments later, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier commanded by Nick Fury and Maria Hill arrived with a fleet of aerial "lifeboats" to transport everyone out of the city. War Machine was also with them, and quickly entered the fray. The Avengers began bringing people to the lifeboats as quickly as possible. A desperate Ultron changed his plan, and his Legionnaires began assaulting the church in an attempt to activate the device early—Ultron estimated that the collision would still kill billions. The team convened on the church and fought off a huge onslaught of robots. Ultron soon realized that his plan had failed, and attempted to evacuate the city. Ultron's central body took control of the Avengers' Quinjet as the team set out for the lifeboats while Iron Man and Thor worked on overloading the elevation device. Wanda Maximoff would keep watch on the device, protecting it from Ultron's Legionnaires. Widow tried to return Hulk to his Banner form, but Ultron fired upon them from the Quinjet and prevented that from occurring. As he began to board the lifeboats, Hawkeye noticed a child trapped and alone in the city, and went out to save him. Ultron fired upon them as well, and the lightning-fast Pietro threw himself in the way, sacrificing himself to save Barton and the child. Wanda felt Pietro's death from afar, and as a swarm of robots converged upon her, her grief produced a violent wave of energy, instantly vaporizing all of them.

Hulk brought Widow to the lifeboats and jumped up to the Quinjet, throwing him back down to the city below. Wanda found Ultron and ripped out his core, effectively destroying his central body. Iron Man and Thor attacked the elevation device from above and below, and the city began to fall apart. As the island crumbled to pieces, Vision flew in and rescued Wanda, who had resigned herself to death. The city broke into countless pieces that fell harmlessly into the large lake left behind below. Hulk remained on the Quinjet, and though Widow tried to contact him, he left the plane in stealth mode and let it fly automatically into the atmosphere. Near the city limits, Vision found Ultron's last functioning Legionnaire. Ultron chastised him for siding with humanity, and though Vision agreed that humans were flawed, he said that there was "grace in their failings." The robot attacked, and Vision incinerated it with a blast from the Mind Stone, destroying the last vestige of the Ultron A.I.

Shortly after the Battle of Sokovia, the Avengers established a second base of operations in upstate New York, with Maria Hill and a large staff of engineers and other scientists—including Erik Selvig and Helen Cho—on staff. Hawkeye returned home and his wife gave birth to Nathaniel Pietro Barton. Having originally decided to bring the Mind Stone back to Asgard, Thor now determined that it was safe with Vision. Rather than stay with the Avengers for the time being, he set out to discover where the other Infinity Stones were and why four of them had suddenly come to the forefront in the last three years. For his part, Iron Man also looked to focus on a peaceful life at home after another death-defying mission. Cap and Widow remained at the base, and officially recruited War Machine, Vision, Falcon, and Wanda Maximoff into the Avengers.

See also

• Avengers of Earth-616
• Ultimates