TOP TEN MARVEL SUPER HERO TEAMS
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| Defenders Vs Avengers |
The holidays are about togetherness. So this Top Ten list is about the families of the Marvel universe.
Super hero teams are a long standing tradition. In fact it was thanks to the super hero team that both DC and Marvel are even around today. In 1960 the Justice League of America successfully resurrected DC's super heroes and a year later the Fantastic Four ushered in a new era of greatness for Marvel. But even before then in the 1940's there was the Justice Society of America (one of DC's earliest super hero teams) and the All-Winners Squad a.k.a. the Invaders (Marvel's counterpart to DC). So, like I was saying, super hero teams have been around for a long time and are a very important part of comic books.
The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Avengers will forever be the classic and definitive Marvel super hero teams. They're the most famous and enduring Marvel super hero teams and rightly so. They're great (despite certain film adaptations lacking). But there are more teams than the three mentioned above. Some of these teams you may have heard of and some of them you'll probably think I'm just making up. I'm serious, the League of Losers is a real thing! Look it up if you don't believe me!
Obviously none of them are as famous or as storied as the Fantastic Four, Avengers, or X-Men. But there is a lot of good to be found in them.
For the record I concede that the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Avengers are Marvel's best. No arguments there.
DISCLAIMER:
The following list is of my personal favorite Marvel super hero teams, NOT the most popular. The list below is teams of characters that may only have a few stories to their credit but nonetheless have endeared themselves to me.
As usual I have added a few bonuses to the list because I'm a nice guy like that!
#14
THE IMPERIAL GUARD
First Appearance: The X-Men #107 (October 1977)
The Shi'Ar Empire is one of the most powerful kingdoms in the universe. The Shi'Ar empirium is composed of thousands of planets and even more races of peoples. The greatest heroes among the thousands of planets in the empire are inducted into the Imperial Guard, the most powerful super hero team in the universe. Led by Kallark (code named: Gladiator), the Imperial Guard protects the empire from dire threats as well acting as the personal attack force for the Shi'Ar royal family. These guys are the Avengers of the Shi'Ar.
Created by X-Men writer visionary Chris Claremont, the Imperial Guard are one of the coolest and most powerful super hero teams in the Marvel universe. I first encountered them in an episode of the 1990's X-Men animated series. I always thought they were cool but it wasn't until the last ten years that I came to really like them. Stories like War of Kings and the Thanos Imperative placed the Imperial Guard in the spotlight and really showcase how awesome these characters really are. I'd love to see them in a movie one day.
Favorite Roster: Gladiator, Starbolt, Manta, Flashfire, Warstar, Hussar, Mentor, Fang, Neutron, Nightside, Oracle, Plutonia, Shapeshifter, Smasher, Titan, Electron
#13
THE DARK GUARD
First Appearance: MyS-Tech Wars #1 (March 1993)
Heroes from across time and space, past, present, and future brought together by a threat to the very fabric of reality. The X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and everyone else in the Marvel universe unite to save everything that was, is, and ever will be. Heroes die by the dozens. Captain Britain and the Knights of Pendragon join the fray along with the reality hoping mercenary band known as the Warheads, and solo heroes Death's Head II and Dark Angel. Together these heroes saved reality, history, and the future from oblivion. In the aftermath a select group of these heroes unite to safeguard the time-space continuum from other similar threats. They became the Dark Guard.
Without a doubt the most obscure team on the list. When Marvel Comics was at the height of their success and arrogance (the early 1990's) they had a division of books from creators based out of the United Kingdom. This line of books was branded Marvel UK. The Dark Guard represents the best of the best of the Marvel UK heroes. If you're into the wilder plots and crazier characters of the Marvel universe you may (like me) find these characters and stories to be nothing less than pure gold. At the very least they are a refreshing and unique look at the Marvel universe. The Mys-Tech Wars event and the Revolutionary War event were among their biggest stories.
Favorite Roster: Death's Head II, Albion, Colonel Liger, Dark Angel, Motormouth, Killpower
Extended Roster: Captain Britain, Death's Head I, and Tuck
#12
THE IMMORTAL WEAPONS
First Appearance: The Immortal Iron Fist #8 (October 2007)
Danny Rand became the
Iron Fist, an immortal weapon of a mystical heaven called K'un Lun. The six others in this group are the immortal weapons from six other mystical heavens like K'un Lun. Every individual residing within these seven mystical cities has dedicated their entire lives to the mastery of a particular martial art. Each represents the pinnacle martial arts skill of their respective heavens. Once every 80 odd years a tournament of the seven heavenly cities is held pitting each of the immortal weapons against each other in mortal combat.
And now the second most obscure team on the list. These characters are too cool. When it's Danny's turn to partake in the tournament he unravels the corrupt hidden agenda behind the tournament. Instead of the immortal weapons killing each other they unite against a common enemy. They are the deadliest fighting force in the Marvel universe. They are also incredibly unique among the half million characters in the Marvel universe. If they made another comic series following only these characters I'd buy it in a heartbeat. (I may be the only one but still...)
Favorite Roster: Iron Fist, Steel Serpent, Tiger's Beautiful Daughter, Bride of Nine Spiders, Dog Brother #1, Fat Cobra, and the Prince of Orphans.
#11
THE STARJAMMERS
First Appearance: The X-Men #104 (April 1977)
There's Corsair, the rugged Han Solo-ish captain of the ship. Ch'od, the hulking lovable lizard man first mate. Raza, the cyborg warrior hothead. And Hepzibah, a sexy yet rough and tumble cat-lady who doesn't quite understand our language and customs. Put them all together and excitement and hilarity ensues! I mean, seriously, what's not to like? It seems to me that the personalities of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy were more based on the Starjammers than the comic counterparts of the Guardians. If only we could get a Marvel Studios film on the Starjammers and then have a Guardians of the Galaxy/Starjammers team-up movie!
I think it was an episode of the X-Men animated series where I first met the Starjammers. It was afterwards that I acquired the two part X-Men Spotlight on... the Starjammers and became a fan of these freebooting lovable space pirates. In Incredible Hulk #415 they come to the aid of Hulk and Silver Surfer out in deep space. Gary Frank penciled that issue of Hulk and I had never seen the Starjammers looking better.
Favorite Roster: Ch'od, Corsair, Raza, Hepzibah, Binary (Carol Danvers)
Second Favorite Roster: Havok, Polaris, Rachel Grey, Korvus
#10
HEROES FOR HIRE
First Appearance: Power Man and Iron Fist #50 (April 1978)
I haven't always been a fan of the Heroes For Hire. My love for them came rather piecemeal. First it started with John Byrne's 90's Namor series in a cool story arc revolving around Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and Iron Fist. Then Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction's
Immortal Iron Fist volume solidified Danny Rand as one of my absolute favorites. Through various Shadowland mini series I came to know and love Colleen Wing. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's Heroes For Hire really showcased the potential of Misty Knight. With Shang Chi it was easy, the character is the definition badass, thanks largely to Doug Moench's Master of Kung Fu run.
It was Luke Cage that I most recently started appreciating thanks to the Netflix series and actor Mike Colter. The pieces of this team came together separately for me. Since then this team has become a favorite of mine. There was another volume of Heroes For Hire that emerged during the original Civil War event. It was nearly an all female version of the team, Shang Chi being one of the few males. It was a decent showcase of Colleen Wing and Misty Knight too.
Favorite Roster: Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Shang Chi
#9
First Appearance: (as the All-Winners Squad) All Winners Comics #1 (June 1941)
(as the Invaders) The Avengers #71 (December 1969)
Marvel's very first heroes. The golden age of comics saw heroes battling the Axis in World War II as well as many other kinds of threats. The history buff in me finds these early years and early heroes fascinating. This era of comic books has become mythic both in the Marvel universe and in my own imagination. When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby restarted the Marvel universe with the Fantastic Four much of the golden age continuity was retconned.
Roy Thomas' classic Invaders volume from 1975 was the book that started making sense of the golden age and bringing it into mainstream continuity. And it is Roy Thomas who gave the team the name Invaders. His work is among the best work done with the Invaders. John Byrne's take on them in West Coast Avengers and the 90's Namor volume is also fantastic. Then Ed Brubaker's work on Captain America built more wonderful history around the team. And most recently writer James Robinson's All New Invaders was fantastic. You simply must salute the WWII veterans of real life and the Marvel universe.
Favorite Roster: Sub-Mariner, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Bucky Barnes, Human Torch (Jim Hammond), Toro, Blazing Skull, Union Jack, Spitfire, Destroyer
#8
THE NEW WARRIORS
First Appearance: The Mighty Thor #411 (December 1989)
The next generation of heroes. Young women and men coming together to save the world. The New Warriors have gone through many line-ups and incarnations. The original volume (the bulk of which written by Fabian Nicieza and penciled by Mark Bagley) is what makes this team one of my favorites. Epic stories against the Herald of Galactus Terrax, threats to all of reality by the villainous Sphinx, and a cosmic odyssey against Garthan Saal, the Super Nova are a few of the reasons why I love this team.
There's a reason the original volume lasted 75 issues plus numerous spinoffs. My friend Chad was the one who turned me onto this book. Characters like Richard Rider (Nova), Vance Astrovik (Justice and later Major Victory of the Guardians of the Galaxy), and Namorita have become favorites. There have been numerous volumes since the original. Sadly most of them are lackluster, some even treats the characters as complete jokes. The All New Marvel Now volume by Chris Yost was easily the best volume since the original.
Favorite Roster: Nova (Richard Rider), Namorita, Justice, Firestar, Speedball, Night Thrasher, Silhouette, Rage, Darkhawk, Turbo (Mickey Musashi), Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly), Dagger, Time Slip
Other great characters to join the team: Scarlet Spider (Kaine), Haechi, Water Snake
#7
THE THUNDERBOLTS
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997)
The Thunderbolts began as a team of villains masquerading as heroes. The former villainous team called the Masters of Evil, led by Baron Zemo, donned the guise of heroes to further a secret agenda. What ultimately happened however is they stayed on the side of the angels. They ousted Baron Zemo and added Avengers Hawkeye and Black Widow to the team. These villains became great heroes. The story of Baron Zemo manipulating the team, pulling at their instincts to be villains, and them struggling to be heroes is what I love about the book.
The line-up of the Thunderbolts seems to change with the wind or rather with the writer. There have been many characters to have come and gone on this team. Amazingly most of them have been pretty good. My favorite line-up for the Thunderbolts is the original roster written by Kurt Busiek and later taken up by Fabian Nicieza, all of it penciled by modern Marvel legend Mark Bagley. Warren Ellis' provided the follow-up to Nicieza which took the Marvel universe by storm.
Favorite Roster: Baron Zemo, Songbird, Radioactive Man, Moonstone, Mach I, Jolt, Fixer, Atlas, and Genis-Vell (as Photon)
More favorites characters that have shown up in the book: Satana, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, and the Leader.
#6
THE INHUMAN ROYAL FAMILY
First Appearance: (
the first inhuman to appear) Fantastic Four #36 (March 1965)
(
as a family) Fantastic Four #45 (December 1965)
Perhaps Marvel's strangest host of characters but equally as wonderful. The Inhumans number among Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's super hero creations of the 1960's. They are a secret race of beings created by Kree genetic experimentation at the dawn of human history. The Kree implanted a genetic code within a small sect of humans. Only when exposed to alien energies called Terrigen is this genetic code activated. The human undergoes a transformation called Terrigenesis and is physically changed becoming a super powered Inhuman.
Blackbolt is the king of the Inhumans and the most powerful among them. Medusa is his queen and Crystal is Medusa's sister. Gorgon is the military general and Karnak is the strategist and advisor. Triton and Lockjaw round out the royal family. They lived in a secret city hidden in the Himalayas called Attilan for a time. Once discovered they moved their city to the moon and then later to the Kree capitol of Hala. Most recently their city crashed in the New York harbor. Finally they decided to stay secret no longer and reveal themselves to the world.
The Inhumans are cool and fascinating characters. It's fantastic that in recent years they've finally been thrust to the forefront of Marvel. For years they languished in the background, an untapped source of wonderful storytelling.
Favorite Roster: Blackbolt, Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, and Lockjaw
Extended royal family: Maximus the Mad (Blackbolt's brother), Ahura (Blackbolt and Medusa's son), and Luna (Crystal and Quicksilver's daughter)
#5
THE INFINITY WATCH
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| An variant cover for the book Guardians of Infinity #1 |
First Appearance: Warlock & the Infinity Watch #1 (February 1992)
This team was charged with the biggest responsibility in the entire Marvel universe. Six individuals chosen to safeguard the six Infinity Stones. Adam Warlock handpicked the five other members and the cosmic being known as Eternity agreed. Each stone was given to each member for a reason. Drax ~ the power stone. Moondragon ~ the mind stone. Gamora ~ the time stone. Pip ~ the space stone. Warlock ~ the soul stone. And a secret sixth member (Thanos) was given the reality stone.
Created by Marvel cosmic mastermind Jim Starlin, this team came about in the aftermath of the Infinity Gauntlet event. An assemblage of characters created by Starlin himself more than a decade prior, these characters were thrust into the spotlight. These characters were fleshed out in greater detail and given a place to shine. It also explored one of the deeper facets of Thanos' character, namely his acting to preserve life rather than take it. What resulted was a truly unique and wonderful book. Interestingly all but Pip would eventually appear on an incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy team later.
Favorite Roster: Adam Warlock, Drax, Gamora, Moondragon, Thanos, and Pip the Troll
The only other character to be on the team was a mysterious man named Maxam
#4
THE HERALDS OF GALACTUS
First Appearance: (
as a concept) Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966)
(
as a team) Silver Surfer volume 3 #74 (November 1992)
Less a team and more of a cosmic fraternity (one that allows women among their ranks), the Heralds of Galactus are individuals from throughout the cosmos. Each one is handpicked by the Devourer of Worlds himself: Galactus. Galactus endows each with the Power Cosmic making each one infinitely powerful and capable of nearly anything. With this power comes a terrible cost. The Heralds must seek out planets for Galactus to consume. If they rebel, as all of them ultimately do, they must somehow make peace with Galactus or face his wrath.
More like an ensemble of characters than a team, these characters represent perhaps the most powerful cast of characters in the whole Marvel universe. The few times they have come together have been to stop a fellow Herald, Morg, who had gone crazy with power and thoroughly enjoying the act of killing. Then they came together against Annihilus and his forces and still later against the Cancerverse. Needless to say, when these guys show up you know it's serious. The story arc called The Herald Ordeal is the first story that saw them altogether at once and is one of my absolute favorite Silver Surfer stories.
Favorite Roster: Silver Surfer, Nova (Frankie Raye), Terrax, Firelord, and Air-Walker
Other Heralds include Morg, Red Shift, Stardust, the Fallen One, and even Odin's Destroyer Armor for a brief stint.
#3
THE DEFENDERS
First Appearance: (
as the Titans Three) Sub-Mariner #34 (February 1971)
(
as the Defenders) Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971)
The original non-team team of heroes. The Silver Surfer, Namor, and Hulk originally joined forces as the Titans Three! It was Doctor Strange who brought them all together as the Defenders - a team that only assembled in dire need and after the crisis they would go their separate ways. Doctor Strange was the one who'd typically bring them together and many times he'd tailor specific heroes to specific situations. As a result there have been many different members of the Defenders. Even so, Dr. Strange, Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer are the traditional and usual members.
Seriously, how could I not like this team? It has four of my top five favorite Marvel characters as core members! Any team consisting of these four characters is nothing short of epic. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy were at one time inducted into the Defenders. And the famous Avengers/Defenders War story showed that the Defenders were just as mighty if not mightier than the Avengers.
Soon, however, the Defenders will come to signify a whole different cast of characters on a different playing field. Netflix is using the team name but the team is something else entirely. Netflix is basically renaming the Heroes For Hire the Defenders. For my purposes know that I am referring to the classic comic book incarnation.
Favorite Roster: Hulk, Doctor Strange, Namor, and Silver Surfer
Other rosters have included favorites of mine such as Daimon Hellstorm, Moondragon, Gargoyle, and Iron Fist
#2
THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
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| The Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians 3000 or original team) |
First Appearance: (
as original team) Marvel Super Heroes #18 (January 1969)
(
as modern team) Annihilation: Conquest #6 (June 2008)
Perhaps the most famous group on this list, prior to the 2014 film the
Guardians of the Galaxy were a fairly obscure and unknown entity in the Marvel continuum. Now, thanks largely to the movie, everybody knows who they are. Still, not many know who the original Guardians of the Galaxy are. The first team of Guardians (and longest running of the Guardians) exist in the far future of 3000 A.D. Their story is one of the most sci-fi stories Marvel's ever produced. And if you get to know them you'll see why they're some of my all-time favorite Marvel characters.
The modern team (the team featured in the movie) is incredibly wonderful too. Without them the Guardians of the Galaxy may still be virtually unknown. Sadly their stories are among the most bipolar in Marvel though. Half of their stories are pure gold (the half James Gunn took inspiration from for the movie). The other half is practically unrecognizable by comparison. The even greater tragedy about the modern team is that if you prefer the latter half of their stories you likely despise the former half and vice versa. Depending on your preference you'll likely enjoy only half of their stories as they're so different from each other.
There was a wonderful, albeit sort-lived, combination of the two teams called the Guardians of Infinity. The book also introduced readers to a third Guardians of the Galaxy team from the year 1016 A.D. That team too was composed of wonderful and interesting characters. For me that story was a dream come true.
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| The Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians 2000 or modern team) |
Favorite Roster: (original team) Vance Astro, Starhawk, Martinex, Charlie 27, Yondu, Nikki, and Aleta
(modern team) Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Phyla-Vell, Adam Warlock, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Moondragon, Vance Astro, Mantis, Cosmo, Bug, and Jack Flag
(Guardians of Infinity team) Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Vance Astro, Nikki, Martinex, Charlie 27, Stella Nega, Astrolabe, Skytower, Aerolite, and Tua Zon
I'm cheating a bit with this entry, I know. The original and modern teams could actually be considered two completely separate entities nowadays. But there have been stories that have brought them all together for something truly epic. And besides, it would be a little boring if nearly half of this list was different incarnations of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
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| The Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians 1000 team) |
#1
THE MIDNIGHT SONS
First Appearance: Ghost Rider #28 (August 1992)
Without a doubt my favorite team in all of Marvel Comics. These guys are the Avengers of the supernatural. They battle threats that no other group of heroes could possibly combat or even begin to fathom. They defined the 1990's supernatural/horror line of comic books from Marvel and represent that last great era of Marvel horror. They also reinvented the character of Blade and are the reason why Blade was given a movie.
I've always said that if I didn't know about the Hulk that Ghost Rider would be my number one favorite super hero and the Midnight Sons are a big reason why. When I was a kid first reading comic books it was Ghost Rider and Morbius that really caught my attention. Having gone back and reread their books today they endear to me even more. There is so much potential for them that sadly isn't being taken advantage of today or simply misused. Hopefully one day they'll return is full supernatural glory.
Favorite Roster: Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch), John Blaze, Vengeance, Doctor Strange, Morbius, Blade, Frank Drake, Hannibal King, Victoria Montesi, Modred the Mystic, and the Darkhold Redeemers.
Other favorites of mine like Daimon Hellstorm, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, Simon Garth, and the witch Jennifer Kale have comprised a later roster.
And there have it! Continuing my tradition of "who are these characters?" and "someone actually likes these characters?" Believe me when I say I actually do like these characters and have invested a lot of time with them. I'm not just trolling through Marvel's dregs of characters throwing darts at random.
The X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Avengers will always be Marvel's premiere super hero teams. Nothing will change that. And while I really like them a lot, the teams listed above are more tailored to my preferences and personal likes. And while they may not be as well known or as storied as Marvel's top three teams, they do in fact have good worthy stories out there. Maybe there aren't as many stories as the top three teams, but good stories do exist with other super hero teams.
Hope you enjoyed the list!
Have your own top favorite super hero teams? List them below!
And for more Top Ten Lists check out these below!
TOP TEN DOCTOR STRANGE VILLAINS
TOP TEN DC SUPER HEROES
TOP TEN MARVEL SUPER HEROES
TOP TEN MARVEL SUPER VILLAINS
TOP TEN FIGHTING GAME GUYS
TOP TEN FIGHTING GAME GALS
TOP TEN UNIVERSAL MONSTERS
TOP TEN FAVORITE KAIJU
