#10 – Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)
Joined Avengers vol. 4 #1 (May 2010)
Creators: Marie Severin; Archie Goodwin
There have been several Marvel characters who have borne the name, Spider-Woman over the years, but the first, the best, and most well-known is Jessica Drew. (She’s not even the only Spider-Woman who was a member of the Avengers! That distinction goes to Julia Carpenter who was created perhaps 10 or so years later, but became a member of the Avengers 19 years before Jessica. By the way, Julia made my list at #30.) Jessica Drew has had a tumultuous comic career, and her membership with the Avengers has been relatively recent; in fact, I like Jess far more as a solo adventurer than an Avenger, but her time on the team has developed some pretty nice connections and certainly gave the character a much higher profile that she’d ever had. And she needed that.
Marvel created Spider-Woman in the mid-70’s to claim the rights to the name so no other comic company could. Intended as a one-off character appearing in Marvel Spotlight, to claim copyright then never really be seen again, she was conceived to be a spider that was mutated into a human. When the character proved to be very popular, they decided to keep using her, but original writer Marv Wolfman decided that origin was too far out even for 70’s audiences, and modified it greatly in her next appearance, a four-issue run in the Thing’s team-up comic, Marvel-Two-In-One. In that story we learn that she is a human woman, Jessica Drew, who had the memories of being a spider implanted in her by the terrorist group, HYDRA.
This appearance launched into her own series that ran fifty issues and had some great highs, but never really coalesced into a cohesive run, as writers and artists bounced in and out, each with their own unique take on Jessica Drew. Her most consistent tone, the one set up by her initial appearances, were dark, tied to mysticism, and a little creepy. Jessica gained a mentor in Charles Magnus, and an arch-enemy in Morgan Le Fay. She struggled with socializing with regular folks, and discovered a new side affect of her abilities. She emitted a pheromone that instilled desire in some, and repulsed others. At first she could not control this ability, but eventually was able to harness it. After twenty issues, and despite a concurrently running animated series, and a major ad campaign trying to differentiate her from her male counterpart, the series had dropped from its initial success and Spider-Woman was basically seen by many as a lesser version of Spider-Man. Marvel changed writers and took a major shift in direction. Jessica became a bounty hunter, jettisoned the dark, creepy tone, and her supporting cast disappeared and was replaced with a new one… without explanation. That direction only lasted 12 issues, when celebrated X-Men writer Chris Claremont came in and returned to some of the earlier themes and subplots, and added his own great character development, delving further into Jessica’s origins. It was a huge improvement to the book, but it was too little, too late. Claremont was only able to write 13 issues before being pulled to other projects, and editorial decided that they would end the series at issue #50 — four issues away. New writer Ann Nocenti was able to tie storylines up to the best of her ability, but she decided to end the series on a somber note, with Jessica dying. Fans were outraged, and the creative team felt remorse for their creative decision, and not long after, Jessica was resurrected in the Avengers, creating her first tie with that team.
But after that, for nearly twenty years, Jessica languished mainly in comic book limbo. She would make an odd appearance here and there, became a supporting character along with her best friend Lindsey McCabe in Wolverine, where she helped him fight against the underworld of the island nation of Madripoor, but only as Jessica Drew, and never in costume as Spider-Woman. She also had a guest appearance in Brian Michael Bendis’s critically acclaimed series Alias featuring Jessica Jones. Bendis had intended to feature Jessica Drew as the main character of Alias, but as he began writing the series, the voice that emerged was very different than Drew’s and he created a whole new character. Still, his interest in Jessica Drew remained, and a few year’s later when Bendis was deeply in charge of the Avengers franchise (read https://uslawnsfranchise.com/blog/enjoy-a-rewarding-career-in-the-commercial-landscaping-industry site that helps you to open up one), he finally gave her the break she needed. People can check here fro switch to pizza voip today. In January 2005, Bendis launched The New Avengers, ostensibly featuring Spider-Woman as a member. This character was ultimately revealed to be a Skrull impostor, but the exposure to the Spider-Woman character under Bendis’ pen renewed readers’ interest in her, enough that Bendis also wrote a successful mini-series, Spider-Woman: Origin. When the Skrull was discovered and the real Drew freed from captivity, she took her rightful place as an Avenger, and served with distinction.
Sadly for me, Bendis’ Jessica Drew had a pretty different voice and characterization than the original, dark, intense Drew I had first fallen in love with. Bendis focused a bit too much on her pheromone abilities, and characterized her as a bit of a man-trap, and focused on her sexuality. She also became a bit more light-hearted and wise-cracking. I wasn’t all that interested in her time as an Avenger, however that exposure, and that high-profile position allowed her to become a fan-favorite again, and also got her to interact, and develop new relationships with different parts of the Marvel universe. Instead of trying to keep her apart, Marvel finally decided to fully immerse her into Spider-Man’s part of the Marvel Universe, and she began interacting with all of those characters. Writer Dennis Hopeless took quite a liking to Ms. Drew and wrote two subsequent Spider-Woman series, forging for her strong ties with Captain Marvel, giving her a sidekick in the form of Roger Gocking, the former D-list villain, The Porcupine, and also making her a single-mom with her very own child! He also deepened her relationship with former love interest, Hawkeye, as well as Patsy Walker (Hellcat) and Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk.)
Since then, Jessica has continued her own adventures, including embarking on a romance with Roger and becoming a member of an underground Avengers team called Strikeforce. Her latest new ongoing series features a new costume, and a new direction featuring a deeper exploration of Jessica’s family. She continues to have strong ties with both the Spider-Family and through her best bud Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel and the Avengers. While Bendis’ more light-hearted personality stuck with Jessica, I grew to appreciate it much more, especially under the talents of Dennis Hopeless and subsequent writers, who gave Jessica a more unique voice that Bendis had. Despite that, I will always appreciate Bendis’ interest in the character and his successful lifting of Jessica into the spotlight again.
After her mother, pregnant with Jessica, was struck with a beam of radiation containing the DNA of several different types of spiders, Jessica Drew developed superhuman powers patterned after several different types of spiders when she was born. Jessica is super-humanly strong and is able to lift several tons at her peak. She also possesses superhuman speed, stamina, agility, hearing, smell, and reflexes. Jessica’s body is more resistant to injury than an ordinary person’s, allowing her to take far more physical punishment compared to the average human. Jessica’s palms and soles secrete a special fluid that allows her to cling to solid objects, like a true spider. Jessica’s physical makeup also makes her highly resistant to all terrestrial poisons, toxins, and completely immune to radiation. While she is typically rendered dizzy by the initial dose, she is completely immune to it after being exposed again. She also exudes a high concentration of pheromones that elicit pleasure and attraction from others, depending on unknown factors which might include gender and mood, although she typically uses a chemical “perfume” that renders these pheromones inert. Jessica’s body also produces an inordinate amount of bio-electrical energy which she can discharge from her hands. She refers to these discharges as “venom blasts,” although they actually have nothing to do with poison and typically cause pain and unconsciousness. Jessica can kill a man in the same way that a lightning bolt would and can pierce solid metals like steel by using her blasts at their greatest intensity. Jessica was also able to glide through unknown means using the web-like extensions of her costume but she seems to have gained the ability to fly after being replaced by the Skrull Queen, Veranke. In addition to her powers, she is a superb hand-to-hand combat fighter, and has trained in several styles of fighting including Boxing, Capoeira, Judo, Karate, and Tai chi, learned under the training of the Taskmaster.
While I wasn’t necessarily paying that much attention to Jessica’s career as an Avenger, I do credit it, and Brian Michael Bendis, with reviving the character after decades of inactivity. I love that she is much more connected to the Marvel world in general, and has made strong ties with many Avengers, and is set up to appear in such groups as Strikeforce, Lady Liberators, and more. Her recent characterization (last ten years or so) under Dennis Hopeless and others, is refreshing and fun, and her new series is off to a very promising start. I would definitely enjoy seeing her in future Avengers stories once its current creative team have moved on.
#9 – Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)
Joined Secret Avengers vol. 1 #1 (May 2010)
Creators: Roy Thomas; John Buscema
Perhaps known more for her time with the Defenders than the Avengers, I’ve always thought Valkyrie was an underrated and underused character, so I was thrilled by her eventual inclusion on Marvel’s A-list team. While only serving for a few years in the Secret Avengers, she made an impact, and served well, even embarking on a physical relationship with her teammate, Gene Thompson, who was Agent Venom at the time. She has particularly close ties to Thor, Hellcat, Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Clea. Brunnhilde was selected by Odin, King of the Asgardian Gods to lead the Valkyrior (the Choosers of the Slain), a group of warrior goddesses who would appear over the battlefields of mortal worshippers of the gods and choose which of the fallen were worthy to be taken to Valhalla, the land of the honored dead. Brunnhilde served capably in this capacity for centuries. Brunnhilde and her fellow Valkyries continued to gather heroic mortal warriors for Valhalla until roughly a millennium ago, when Odin was forced to cease virtually all interaction with the Earth in accordance with a pact that he and the leaders of Earth’s other pantheons of gods made with the extraterrestrial Celestials. From then onward, the Valkyries could only choose slain heroes from among fallen Asgardian warriors.
Soon after this change, Brunnhilde encountered Amora the Enchantress, who offered her a life of adventure. For several weeks Brunnhilde accompanied the Enchantress on her conquests.until she discovered Amora’s immoral nature and tried to end their partnership. In response the Enchantress trapped Brunnhilde within a mystic crystal of souls. While Brunnhilde’s body remained in suspended animation, her immortal soul became Amora’s plaything. Over the centuries the Enchantress used Brunnhilde’s spiritual essence to give the Valkyrie’s powers to herself or to her pawns. The first time the Enchantress assumed the Valkyrie’s physical aspect in recent years was in a plot to lead a handful of female superhumans against the male Avengers as the Lady Liberators. Her true identity was discovered and her plan thwarted. Months later, the Enchantress bestowed the Valkyrie’s power upon a socialite named Samantha Parrington in an attempt to get revenge on the Hulk. Finally, a woman driven mad by being trapped in another mystical dimension, Barbara Norris, was given the Valkyrie’s power and consciousness by the Enchantress to help her then-allies, the group of superhumans called the Defenders. Amora did not undo her spell on Norris after this encounter, and as a result, Norris’ body now possessed Brunnhilda’s consciousness, appearance, and powers, while Norris’ own mental essence was trapped in Brunnhilde’s real body in Asgard.
Valkyrie served with the Defenders from then on until their ultimate end. During that time, with the help of Dr. Strange, the body of Barbara Norris was murdered and Brunnhilde’s spirit was inadvertently freed. With the help of Doctor Strange, Brunnhilde regained her true body with her full memory and normal warrior personality as well. Brunnhilde then battled Amora and banished her to the crystal of souls. Feeling estranged from Asgard in general and Odin in particular for their neglect of her centuries-long plight, Brunnhilde chose to return to Earth with the Defenders. After a brief period where the Avenger Moondragon went mad with power, Odin placed the dangerously powerful self-styled goddess into Brunnhilde’s charge. Brunnhilde was to teach Moondragon humility, and Moondragon served alongside Brunnhilde in the Defenders. Brunnhilde was to take action against Moondragon should she again become a menace. Moondragon reformed, but later she fell once again under the malevolent influence of the alien entity burrowed deep in her mind called the Dragon of the Moon. Moondragon attacked the Defenders, but Brunnhilde, given temporary additional powers by Odin for this occasion opposed her. Brunnhilde summoned other Valkyries to her aid and together with 
two other Defenders, the Angel and Cloud, they defeated Moondragon but failed to capture her. Months later Moondragon returned to attack the Defenders, her power vastly augmented by the alien Beyonder. In order to defeat the Dragon, Brunnhilde and the Eternal called Interloper projected their immortal life forces against it along with Defenders members Andromeda and the Defenders’ former foe Manslaughter. As a result, Brunnhilde, Interloper, Andromeda, Manslaughter, Moondragon, and their teammate, Gargoyle, had all seemingly been transformed into statues of ashes and dust, and the Dragon of the Moon was apparently gone. Brunnhilde was restored to life by Doctor Strange, now in the host body of a woman known as Sian Bowen. The other Defenders, Interloper, Andromeda, and Manslaughter were restored to life as well and they formed the Dragon Circle to battle the Dragon of the Moon. After the Dragon of the Moon was defeated, Brunnhilde returned to Asgard.
Brunnhilde was one among the many casualties of Ragnarok, having been killed by Durok the Demolisher. Before her death, she ceded leadership of the Valkyries to Sif, who also inherited her sword Dragonfang upon Brunhilde’s death. When the Asgardians who had perished during Ragnarok were mysteriously resurrected on Earth, Brunnhilde joined the Secret Avengers. Her time with Secret Avengers was fun, and interesting, and it was great to see her in action with a whole new set of heroes, but I don’t feel they really used her to the best of her potential. In fact, despite her appearing in my Top 10 Avengers, it’s more for my overall love of the character, and the potential she has to be a really great Avengers. I’d love to see her fill in for Thor sometime, and take that godly, powerhouse role on the team.
At any rate, there was more to come for Valkyrie during and after her stint with the Secret Avengers. After the events of the Serpent War during the Fear Itself storyline, Brunnhilde was charged by Odin to find and destroy the Serpent’s eight remaining Hammers so their power would not be used again. She was unable to prevent Sin from obtaining the hammers and activating the Final Sleeper, a giant war-machine. This machine killed Brunnhilde by snapping her neck, but she forfeited her place in Valhalla and that sacrifice enabled the other eight Valkyrior to return to Midgard and claim the hammers. Afterward, Freyja the All-Mother of Asgard suggested that Brunnhilde choose and lead a new team of shieldmaidens from Earth’s heroines. Around this time, Agent Venom joined the Secret Avengers, Brunnhilde began a flirtation with him. Eventually, she grew tired of it and seduced him outright. Brunnhilde had decided that Earth did not possess women strong enough to replace the Valkyrior. This absence allowed the villainous Caroline le Fay to plot the return of the Doom Maidens. Valkyrie joined with Misty Knight and Annabelle Riggs, an 
archaeologist who found herself infatuated with Brunnhilde, Hela, the Asgardian Goddess of Death, added Hippolyta to the mix, and charged this team to rescue Dani Moonstar, whose powers le Fay was going to use to revive the Doom Maidens, a twisted evil version of the Valkyrior. They arrived too late to stop le Fay, but the group, along with a host of other heroines, were able to destroy the Doom Maidens, but only by channeling power into Brunnhilde and turning her into the Doom Maiden of Rage. Though she turned next on the heroes, Annabelle was able to stop her at the cost of her life. Thanks to her valiant sacrifice, Annabelle found herself in Valhalla, and so Brunnhilde sought out her old friend Clea and called in a favor owed. They went to the halls of Valhalla and found Annabelle, and Brunnhilde had Clea resurrect her, at a cost. To revive Annabelle, Clea had merged the lifeforces of Annabelle and Brunnhilde and as such she was the new host of Valkyrie. Their connection worked in such a way that any time Valkyrie took Annabelle’s place, Annabelle was transported to a pocket dimension in the confines of Valhalla, and vice versa.
Brunnhilde’s final adventures revolved around the Asgardian War of the Realms. Anticipating the this war, sparked by Malekith the Accursed, Kid Loki assembled a group of heroic allies, the Asgardians of the Galaxy. Annabelle was part of this team, together with her other half, the Valkyrie. After succeededing in their, the Asgardians of the Galaxy became embroiled in defending Manhattan from Malekith’s assault. When Doctor Strange lost control of a spell meant to help evacuate the island and teleported away all combatants save the Valkyries, the Asgardian warriors were overpowered. Brunnhilde became the last Valkyrie standing before being finally slain by Malekith. For a few seconds before Brunnhilde’s death, she and Annabelle co-existed in the pocket dimension adjacent to Valhalla where each rested when the other walked on Earth. Valkyrie bid Annabelle farewell, and her death caused the collapse of the pocket dimension. Annabelle was left to wonder the mists that surround Valhalla until being rescued shortly afterwards by her girlfriend, the Inhuman Ren Kimura, Clea, and the Asgardians of the Galaxy.
Valkyrie is the strongest of all Valkyrior. While the average warrior Asgardian can lift approximately 25 tons, Brunnhilde can list closer to 50 tons. Like all her people, her body is several times denser than that of humans. She is not immortal, but she ages far more slowly than humans. Valkyrie is immune to all earthly diseases and is difficult to injure. Her Asgardian physiology grants her enhanced levels of stamina. Valkyrie can perceive the approach of death, in the form of a “deathglow” surrounding a person’s body. She does not know how death will come but she can tell that it is imminent. Valkyrie can transport herself and a dying or dead body to and from the realm of the dead by willing it. Valkyrie has had extensive training in sword fighting as well as unarmed combat and horseback riding. Her natural fighting ability is among the best of all Asgardians, matched only by Sif. Valkyrie carries as her weapon of choice, Dragonfang, an enchanted sword that was carved from the tooth of an extra-dimensional dragon by the wizard Kahji-Da. The sword eventually passed into the possession of the Ancient One, who in turn gave it to his disciple Doctor Strange. Strange went on to return it to the Valkyrie after she had bequeathed the virtually indestructible Black Knight’s Ebony Blade to its rightful owner. Valkyrie rides a winged horse named Aragorngiven to her by the current Black Knight.
As I mentioned above, Valkyrie appears so high on this list mainly for my love of her as a character, and the long series of adventures she has had. I do feel that she is rarely used to her full potential. There was a brief time in the Defenders, just after she regained her immortal Asgardian body, that she was shown as a force to be reckoned with, nearly equal to Thor in power and personality. She became a truly imposing figure, and that made sense, given that her previous incarnations had all been funneled through a mortal host. Her burgeoning relationship with Annabelle Riggs was really lovely, and I am terribly disappointed that they decided to kill the character off, mainly to give Jane Foster, who had just given up the role of the Mighty Thor, a heroic place to land as the new Valkyrie. I long for the eventual return of Brunnhilde, and I think her inclusion in the Avengers could be a great way to give her some spotlight… although I loved the idea of the Secret Defenders that reunited her and Clea, along with others great female characters.
#8 – Mockingbird (Barbara “Bobbi” Morse)
Joined West Coast Avengers #1 (September 1984)
Creators: Len Wein; Neal Adams
Barbara Morse started her career as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent #19, who met Ka-Zar in the Savage Land while undercover to gather intel on A.I.M. She eventually embarked on a romantic relationship with Ka-Zar until he met and fell in love with Shanna the She-Devil. A skilled agent with a PhD in Biochemistry, Barbara (now knows as Bobbi() briefly took on the costumed identity of Huntress. Her next appearance was finally in the guise of Mockingbird, teaming up with Spider-Man to root out some corruption in S.H.I.E.L.D. under the guidance of Nick Fury. They were successful in their 
mission, but Bobbi was badly injured in gunfire during the final melee. After a period of recovery, Mockingbird became a free agent, and next encountered Hawkeye during his time away from the Avengers, working security for Cross Technologies. Sparks flew as they successfully stopped Crossfire from his nefarious plot., and the two eloped after their first adventure.
When Hawkeye returned to the Avengers, with his new wife by his side, then chairman The Vision asked the two of them to start a west coast branch of the team. The two gathered a team together, and became the motivating force and longest standing members of Avengers West Coast. One of their most significant adventures as a team spanned space and time, and found Bobbi trapped in the Old West, captured, drugged, and unknowingly forced into an intimate relationship with the Phantom Rider. When she eventually regained her memories, she battled the Phantom Rider, and in the heat of battle had the opportunity to save his life, but instead stood by and let him fall to his death. Ultimately returning to the present, her husband, and the team, life and adventures continued, but eventually Hawkeye discovered what his wife had done and had 
trouble reconciling that with the Avengers “no killing” rule. The two temporarily separated, and Mockingbird led a small splinter group including Tigra and Moon Knight on several adventures. Ultimately, Bobbi was tricked by a group of several world governments into giving them access to Avengers compound as a “contingency plan” to stop the Vision should he ever try to take over the world again. By the time Mockingbird realized that their “contingency plan” was already active and raced to alert her teammates, the deed had already been done and the Vision had been dismantled. This deepened the rift between husband and wife. While Hawkeye remained an active member, Mockingbird became a reservist. She was involved in a battle with Ultron, where the mad robot created another robot bride, Alkhema whose brain patterns had been based on Mockingbird’s. When Ultron was ultimately defeated, Hawkeye and Mockingbird seemed to have reconciled.
In fact, a Skrull had kidnapped Bobbi and replaced her with a sleeper agent called Hr’pra prior to Bobbi and Clint’s reconciliation. She served with the team for some time. But H’rpra/Bobbi was captured by Satannish the Supreme, the AWC embarked upon what would be their last mission. The team battled the combined forces of Satannish and Mephisto. During their escape, “Bobbi” was killed by Mephisto. Shortly thereafter, the Vision disbanded the West Coast team. It was fifteen years (real-time) before Mockingbird’s story was picked up again. After the climactic battle between the Skrulls and Earth’s heroes during the Secret Invasion, the individuals replaced by Skrull agents were revealed to be alive and well, including Bobbi. She was apparently one of the first people captured and replaced. The returned Mockingbird then joined her estranged husband and his teammates in the New Avengers. Bobbie also formed a private spy organization, the World Counterterrorism Agency, as a side-gig. She was joined on one of her first missions by her husband, Clint Barton, as Ronin, and they reconciled over the Phantom Rider issue once and for all. During a conflict with Superia, Mockingbird was grievously injured, and in order to save her life, Nick Fury administered a formula that combined the Super Soldier serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, and the Infinity Formula that essentially gave Nick Fury immortality.
After another successful stint with the Avengers, Mockingbird becomes involved once more with S.H.I.E.L.D. where Nick Fury assigned her to be the liaison with Parker Industries, operated by Peter Park (Spider-Man). She shared several adventures with Spider-Man, and also became Silk’s handler when the young heroine attempted to infiltrate Black Cat’s criminal gang. During this time she also began a relationship with fellow spy Lance Hunter, in spite of the fact that Bobbi frequently referred to him as “Clint” during intimate moments, whether due to a Freudian slip, or intentional 
ribbing, no one is sure. Bobbi also tried to help Clint (Hawkeye) after his murdered Bruce Banner to stop the threat of the Hulk. Shortly after this she found herself working with Spider-Man again, and the two shared a brief romantic relationship before realizing that they shared very little in common. Most recently she has helped sponsor Nadia Van Dyne, the new Wasp in her endeavor to start a scientific collaborative called Genius in Action Research Labs (G.I.R.L. ) She also maintains her ties with the Avengers, most recently joining Force Works to help Iron Man, and being called upon to help out during the Empyre/Cotati wars.
Mockingbird is a trained S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who graduated at the top of her class and as such she is very proficient in several forms of hand-to-hand combat, including Kung Fu and Taekwondo and familiar with a wide range of weapons. She usually uses a pair of batons which can be combined to form a single bō-staff in combat, weapons with which she has great expertise. Morse also uses a pair of night vision and vision enhancing goggles. Her latest uniform came attached with wing-like extensions allowing Morse to glide on wind currents. Due to the formula she was injected with, Bobbi has a degree of super-strength, with an unknown upper-limit, strong enough to dent steel with her bare hands, and enhanced agility. Her healing speed was also accelerated, being able to heal all the catastrophic wounds that put her in a comatose state. She can also recover from a broken leg in under 24 hours. Her aging process has been seemingly halted for good.
While I always enjoyed Mockingbird during her tenure with Avengers West Coast, she became a favorite character of mine under the writing guise of Chelsea Cain who wrote a 12 issue series that was fairly divisive among fans, but critically acclaimed, and one of my favorite comics. It really showed off Bobbi’s brilliance and competence as an agent, and was filled with humor as well. I would love to see an Avengers series penned by Cain, although this is highly unlikely.
#7 – Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
Joined Avengers #1 (September 1963)
Creators: Stan Lee; Jack Kirby; Ernie Hart
One of the longest running Avengers, and the second longest-running leader of the team after Captain America, The Wasp, like her contemporaries, the Invisible Girl and Marvel Girl, was created in the early 1960’s and suffered from the general depictions of women at during the time. Perhaps Janet suffered the most from her stereotypical depiction as a ditzy, man-crazy, socialite shown as the weak-link of the team. It’s only fitting that her evolution through the latter half of the 20th century allowed her to blossom into one of the cleverest of the team, and one of their best leaders. She has endured physical and emotional abuse over the years that would daunt or embitter less determined people, maintaining her upbeat, positive outlook.
Janet van Dyne was born the socialite daughter of wealthy scientist Vernon van Dyne. When her father was killed by an alien entity unleashed during one of his experiments, Janet turned to his associate Dr. Hank Pym for aid and convinced him to help her. In order to avenge her father’s death, she underwent a biochemical procedure that granted her the ability to grow wings upon shrinking under four feet tall and used a supply of “Pym particles” by which to change her size. Together, she and Ant-Man defeated the alien and avenged her father. Janet decided to remain as Wasp and be Hank’s partner as she had fallen in love with him, though Hank initially rejected her feelings due to the similarities between her and his first wife that had been murdered. After the initial confrontation with Loki that brought together the founding Avengers, it is Janet and Hank who propose forming a team of superheroes. Janet suggests the name for the team and becomes a founding member. Never lacking confidence or bravery and by nature an outgoing personality, Janet is always in the thick of battles with villains, who include Norse gods and aliens, despite being the most underpowered member of the team.
Though Janet hoped that her long-term boyfriend Hank would propose, their relationship does not move forward to that point until something more dramatic happened. The new vigilante Yellowjacket broke into the Avengers mansion, demanded to be admitted as a member of the team, claimed to have killed Hank Pym, and then kidnapped Janet. Not believing that Yellowjacket was Hank’s killer, she attempted to find where Yellowjacket is holding Hank, but instead determines that Yellowjacket was, in fact, her boyfriend. Before revealing this, and during the period in which Yellowjacket still believeed himself to have killed Hank, Janet married him, though the wedding was disrupted by an attack from the Circus of Crime. During the fight, it was revealed that Yellowjacket was Pym.
After a departure from the team, she also battled Equinox alongside Spider-Man and Yellowjacket; during this time her powers were augmented to allow her to harness her body’s bio-electrical current and fire powerful blasts of energy which she called her “wasp’s stings,” and to harness the kinetic energy unleashed by her shrinking to giver her added strength and energy. During another of her breaks from active Avengers duty, Janet approached the team with concerns about her husband having suffered a breakdown and attacked former teammates. In attempting to find a way to help him, she was captured by a brainwashed Hank, and used by Ultron as a template to create Jocasta to be Ultron’s bride. She is rescued when Jocasta alerts the Avengers to her location, and Black Panther suggests that the A.I.’s ability to reach out to them was brought about because of Janet’s personality breaking through. Janet soon discovered that her husband, then paranoid, overbearing and verbally abusive, had concocted a plan to make himself look good in front of the Avengers by staging an attack that can only he can stop. When she attempted to dissuade him, Hank struck her; she divorced him soon after and took a very brief break from the team. When Janet returned to the Avengers, she proposed that the team is in need of new leadership and nominated herself for the role of Chairperson. Janet took to the role naturally, proving to be an efficient and smart leader who was praised by Captain America for her leadership skills. She makes it a point to increase the number of women on the team and recruited She-Hulk and Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau). At the same time as taking on leadership of the team, Janet began to work in earnest as a professional fashion designer. She also renewed her social life, engaging in a whirlwind romance with Tony Stark before learning that he was her colleague from the Avengers, Iron Man.
Janet briefly handed leadership of the team off to the Vision, though he soon left the team and returned the position to her. The new team line-up proves difficult, and Janet clashed with Hercules who took issue with acknowledge a woman as leader. During the Under Siege storyline, Janet led the team during a time where they were attacked from all sides and nearly overwhelmed. She defeated Titania and the Absorbing Man, then led a team against Baron Zemo’s forces to rescue Captain America, the Black Knight, and other team members who had been captured. Shortly after the resolution of this story, she stepped down from leadership once more, succeeded by Monica Rambeau in that position. After leaving the team, she battled the threat of Red Ronin by herself, then later joined the West Coast Avengers. Initially, acted as though the team leader, to the chagrin of the team’s actual leader, Hawkeye. During this time, she resumeds a romantic relationship with Hank. Although he was elected as a regular member of the Avengers West, Janet chose to become a reserve member. Several years later, Janet returned to the Avengers main team, first as reserve status, and later as a full member. During the Destiny War, the Janet of the present became the leader of a team of Avengers assembled from different time periods, cited as being chosen due to her “inner strength and flexibility to give the team direction without exerting too much control”. After the Destiny War, Janet returned to work with the Avengers once more, taking up leadership of the team and commanding the team through a number of conflicts, including Kang the Conqueror’s invasion of Earth. Janet continued to make sure there was a strong female presence on the team, and the number of women on the team outnumbered the number of men for the first time in Avengers history. Though her relationship with Hank Pym remained strong for some time, she turned down his proposal of remarrying. During the Lionheart of Avalon storyline, Janet was shown fighting the Wrecking Crew while at giant size, a power she had rarely, if ever, used prior. She was shown to be powerful enough at this size to take down a jet. She also had a brief fling with fellow team member Hawkeye.
Janet continued to serve with the Avengers intermittently over the next several years, until the Secret Invasion storyline where the Skrulls infiltrate Earth. After Queen Veranke was thought to be dead, the Skrull imposter pressed a button that made Janet increase in size rapidly and out of control. Janet realized that the “new” particles Pym had given her had turned her into a bio-bomb, and she tried to flee the battlefield and take as many Skrulls with her as possible when she explodes. To save both the city and heroes, Thor used his enchanted hammer Mjolnir to create a spatial warp that seemingly dispersed Janet into nothingness. Thor was devastated by the act and vows to avenge her. Upon accepting Janet’s death, Hank Pym took up his ex-wife’s role as the Wasp. Eventually it was revealed that Janet had not died after all, but had been shunted into a Microverse by Thor’s spatial warp in the same spot that she appeared to have died. Using her Avengers communication card she was able to send a signal with help from a local being called Cru-Sani. Giant-Man, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man went into the Microverse to rescue her and found her alive and fighting against an evil despot, Lord Gouzar. After liberating the Microverse from Lord Gouzar’s tyranny, Janet and her fellow Avengers returned to their normal universe.
Following a brief hiatus, Janet returned to the team as a member of the Avengers Unity Squad, a team that brought together superhumans and X-Men to help dispel the distrust of mutants. In the Avengers Unity Squad’s battle with the Horsemen of Death, the Wasp defeated both the resurrected Banshee and Sentry by utilizing both her ability to grow to giant size as well as her ability to control insect life. During a time travel battle with Kang the Conqueror, Janet ended up being the last surviving human and began a romance with Havok (Alex Summers). Together they finally manage to undo the horrific damage Kang had inflicted upon the Earth, but this led directly into a major conflict with Red Skull.
After a side adventure where Janet aided the all-new Wolverine (X-23), she returned once more to the Avengers for a battle with Ultron, who had physically merged with Hank Pym. The team defeated the mad robot, but they lost Hank in the process. A short time later, the Avengers butler, Jarvis, brought to Janet’s attention Nadia Pym, Hank’s daughter from his first marriage. Nadia was acting as a new Wasp, using her father’s Pym particles, as well as her extensive training as an assassin by the same Soviet covert group that had trained the Black Widow. Janet took Nadia under her wing as both a mentor, and a financial supporter of Nadia’s desire to create a place where teen girls could explore their scientific endeavors. Nadia even took Janet’s last name in her honor. Lately Janet had joined Black Panther’s Agents of Wakanda.
Making use of the cellular implantation of sub-atomic Pym particles, the Wasp possesses the power to alter her physical size, causing her body’s mass to be shunted to or gained from an alternate dimension known as Kosmos. She is able to shrink to a minimum of several centimeters or grow to a maximum of several hundred feet. Smaller or larger sizes are possible but the exertion puts a strain on her body. Initially, these abilities stemmed from use of a Pym particle gas released from special capsules, and later biochemical augmentation by Henry Pym. Over time, however, her body absorbed enough particles to cause cellular mutation due to repeated exposure to Pym particles, allowing her to alter her size at will. At miniature size, her strength level increases as her body’s mass is compacted. At giant size, her strength and endurance increase geometrically with her height, reaching superhuman levels. Despite the advantages of giant size, Janet usually prefers to remain the diminutive Wasp, calling on her growth power only in times of extreme emergency. At miniature size, the Wasp grows a pair of translucent insect wings from her back, a result of genetic modifications provided by Hank Pym. These grant her the power of flight, at speeds up to 40 mph. The Wasp is able to harness and augment her body’s natural bio-electric energy, releasing it from her hands in powerful electrical force bursts, which she calls her “wasp’s stings”. The Wasp’s genetic modifications also grant her the ability to sprout small prehensile antennae from her temples which allowed her to telepathically communicate with and control insects.
The Wasp is a terrific example of a great Avengers character who received the bulk of her characterization through her association with the team. Her journey from fairly ineffectual ditz, to powerful assured leader was done gradually over time in a way that showed great care and continuity by Avengers writers over time. She has proven herself a great asset to the team in many different ways, from combat, to leadership, to financial support, to team spirit. She has successfully shaken her association with Hank Pym, who overshadowed her for so many years, and has developed strong relationships with many other characters across the Marvel Universe, being shown to be good friends with Susan Richards (Invisible Woman), Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk), Bobbi Morse (Mockingbird), and now as a fantastic mentor to the new Wasp. Janet is a welcome addition to any team of Avengers, either as leader or member, but only if she is treated with the respect and ability she deserves. I’m very glad she wasn’t involved in Brian Bendis’ tenure writing the team for fear of what he might have done with her. One of my favorite quirks that artist George Perez introduced into Jan’s character, and profession as a fashion designer, is her penchant for changing her costume frequently, whenever the whim hits her.
#7 – Moondragon (Heather Douglas)
Joined Avengers #151 (September 1976); Originally given probationary status in Avengers #137 (July 1975)
Creators: Bill Everett; Mike Friedrich; George Tuska
Ah, Moondragon, a more complex, fascinating hero is hard to find. Hated by most, beloved by some, written well by only a select number of writers. Overall, Moondragon comes in at #5 for my all-time favorite superheroines, but she’s only ranked at #6 for my favorite Avengers, and the reason for that is except for a few minor exceptions, I feel that is largely mishandled when used as an Avenger. She has gotten much better development and treatment in other titles. Still, she has a few high moments in my mind during her tenure with the Avengers, and those coupled with my overall admiration for the character merits her a high spot on this list.
Heather Douglas was born in Los Angeles daughter of Arthur and Yvette Steckley Douglas. When she was still a girl, her family was driving through the desert when they accidentally happened to see the Thanos’ spaceship landing; Thanos wanted no witnesses to his arrival, so he destroyed their car. Heather was thrown clear and survived, but her parents were killed. (She would later discover that her father’s soul was bound into a new body, becoming Drax the Destroyer.) She was found by Thanos’ father, Mentor, who took her to 
his home world, Titan, to be raised by the monks of Shao-Lom.
The monks taught Heather to utilize her body to its full potential, training her to become a formidable martial artist. They also taught Heather various scientific disciplines such as chemistry and genetic engineering; but most significantly, they helped her tap into the latent psionic powers, present within all humans. Heather excelled at this and was able to develop her mental powers far beyond even those of her teachers, so much so that she eventually and inadvertently connected with a powerful entity called the Dragon of the Moon. The Dragon immediately tried the novice priestess and overwhelm her, but Heather fought back, driving the Dragon away. Heather’s victory filled her with pride and an overwhelming sense of superiority. To commemorate her victory, she took the name Moondragon, but unbeknownst to Heather, the Dragon continued to subtly influence her on a subconscious level. Sometime later, Thanos attacked Titan, destroying the monastery and the Shao-Lom monks. Moondragon escaped in her spaceship and fled to Earth.
Her first return to Earth was under the identity of “Madam MacEvil” an alias she used to perform genetic experiments to develop a means to combat Thanos; this led to the creations of some villains such as Angar the Screamer. She forced Iron Man to battle Namor in order to study them. She then revealed her true identity and helped the Avengers in their first confrontation with Thanos. Mantis returned to the Avengers when the revelation of the “Celestial Madonna,” a woman who was prophesied to give birth to a universal savior, was about to be revealed. Unbeknownst to her, Moondragon was one of two candidates prepared to become the “Celestial Madonna”, but Mantis proved to be the better candidate. She then decided to join the Avengers. and again aids them against Thanos as well as a handful of additional adventures. Her time with the team is short, and she argues with Thor about his need to spend time with mortals, when he was clearly so far superior to them, as she perceived herself to be. During this time she also met Patsy Walker who became the heroine Hellcat. Even though Walker wanted to join the Avengers, Moondragon convinced her to accompany her to Titan so she could train her. Moondragon returned when the Avengers confronted Korvac; her powers allowing her to see into his mind while they fought. She realized that Korvac’s goal of saving the universe by ruling it was one that he truly believed in and she believed it was the correct choice. She stayed out of the battle as Korvac slaughtered her teammates, until Korvac, betrayed by his beloved used the last of his cosmic powers to restore life to his opponents and let himself die.
After this unsettling conflict, Moondragon left Earth with her father, Drax and found a planet immersed in war. To save them, Moondragon took mental control of all its inhabitants and forced them to live in peace, setting herself up as their “peace goddess”. Seeing the moral ambiguity of the situation, Drax summoned the Avengers to intervene and in the resultant confrontation, Moondragon was forced to kill her father with her mental powers. Afterwards, Thor brought her before his father, Odin, to be judged. Odin sensed within Moondragon a stalwart but tainted spirit. He condemned her to wear a magical headband that reduced her mental powers until she could overcome her arrogance and learn humility. He also assigned Valkyrie to be her guardian, and sentry should the Dragon of the Moon, which he sensed within her, try to assert control.
When Valkyrie rejoined the Defenders, Moondragon was forced to come along. At first, she sent out low level telepathic signals, luring threats to the vicinity of the Defenders’ headquarters, hoping that one of these threats would remove her headband or force the Defenders to remove the headband so she could use her powers to aid them unhindered. Despite the fact that Moondragon resented being with the Defenders, her mental powers stifled causing her to feel like a caged animal, she fiercely desired to be accepted by them as the good and heroic person she perceived herself to be. In an encounter with Asgardian trolls, Moondragon resisted the temptation of letting the trolls and the Dragon of the Moon remove her headband, thus proving herself to Odin, who promptly let the headband fall off. This personal victory was short-lived, for soon afterwards the Defenders came into conflict with an entity comprised of mutated spores which Moondragon help to vanquish. In doing so, Moondragon became infected with the spores. When she finally discovers weeks later that she has been infected, the spores have supplanted a good portion of her own internal organs and she is doomed to become a rampaging monster and ultimately die. The Dragon of the Moon appeared to her again and told her that it could save her life, but only if she agreed to be its host. Moondragon initially turned down its offer, knowing that it would use her to kill the Defenders and spread evil across the cosmos. The Dragon then mocked her sentimentality by showing her the negative things the other Defenders were saying about her behind her back even though she had reformed. Finally overwhelmed with pain and humiliation, she accepted the Dragon’s offer becoming totally corrupted by its influence. Moondragon battled the Defenders until Andromeda, Interloper, Manslaughter, and Valkyrie sacrificed themselves to kill both the Dragon and its host. Heather’s soul manages to survive, and, free from the Dragon again, contacted her cousin Pamela; through her, she was able to obtain a new cloned body for herself on Titan. For a while, she and her cousin, who became the heroine Sundragon, adventured together in space.
Later, when Adam Warlock sought companions to help him safeguard the Infinity Gems, he choses Moondragon to keep the Mind Gem—but only after erecting safeguards so she could not exploit the gem’s full power. Still, she agreed to join his team, the Infinity Watch. She eventually lost the gem when it was stolen by Rune. Moondragon later became an associate of Genis-Vell (the third Captain Marvel), determined to help him control his cosmic awareness. During this time, she found herself falling in love with Marlo Chandler, the wife of Rick Jones (whom Captain Marvel was bonded to). When Marlo and Rick begin having marital problems, she turns to Moondragon for solace, and the two are drawn together into a relationship, but it doesn’t last for Marlo, and she decides to reconcile with Rick. Moondragon tells Marlo that she must have unknowingly influenced Marlo’s behavior telepathically causing her to think she was romantically interested in her, but this was a lie to make the break-up easier on Marlo. In truth, Moondragon was heartbroken; she left shortly after with Genis’ sister, Phyla-Vell.
Moondragon and Phyla-Vell become in embroiled in the two Annihilation events, first becoming in entangled in Thanos’ dealing with Annihilus, who was hell-bent on destroying our universe. Once the threat of Annihilus was resolved, Moondragon and Phyla-Vell (then called Quasar) realized that they have fallen in love and they began an intense relationship. When the techno-organic race, the Phalanx took over the Kree Empire, Quasar and Heather try to find the ‘savior’ that is revealed to Quasar in a vision. During the adventure, 
the Dragon of the Moon returned and changed Heather into a draconic form, intending to take full control of her body. Moondragon was able to resist the mind-parasite, and despite the fact that Heather would never be able to return to human form, Phyla remained by her lover’s side. Their time together was ultimately cut short as Ultron, who was leading the Phalanx, killed Heather in battle. Heather died in Phyla’s arms and her soul was sent to oblivion inside the Dragon of the Moon. Sometime later, Phyla and Drax were alerted by a prophet that Moondragon was attempting to return. They sought out Mentor for aid, and he determined to only course was to kill the two of them so that they were able to journey into the realm of the dead to retrieve Heather. Their plan was successful, and Moondragon was returned to life in her human form.
Heather returned to Knowhere with Phyla and became a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. She assisted Cosmo and Mantis as part of the telepathic support team. Her resurrection left her mind more open than it had been before her death, so she was able to detect things before either Mantis or Cosmo could, but it also made her more susceptible to psychic manipulation. With Phyla’s death at the hands of Adam Magus, Moondragon took it upon herself to become a field agent for the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, she ends up becoming host to an alien parasite originating in a parallel universe across the Fault, a time-space tear created by Black Bolt’s Terrigen Bomb. Members of the Church of Universal Truth kidnap Moondragon, seeing the parasite as a god, whom they intend to worship at birth. Luckily, the Guardians mount a successful rescue mission. With the help of Knowhere’s medical staff, they were able to remove the organism from Moondragon. During these experiences, Moondragon had visions of a cocoon and Phyla being alive, and the two were reunited. Tragically, Phyla was killed yet again by a resurrected Thanos, which caused Heather to lash out at him before Star-Lord subdued the Mad Titan with a Cosmic Cube. Despite wanting Thanos dead, Moondragon assisted Mantis in keeping the Mad Titan in check while probing his mind to find out why he had returned to the world of the living. After Adam Magus detonated the Church converted worlds to open the Fault further, Thanos managed to escape captivity and attacked the Guardians, but was eventually subdued, but it cost them the lives of Drax, Star-Lord, and Nova.
For a time, Moondragon left the Guardians of the Galaxy and wandered space on her own, missing her beloved. Upon learning that an alternate, more heroic version of herself from another reality had joined the Guardians, Moondragon was susceptible once again to the Dragon of the Moon. Moondragon was jealous of her counterpart, who seemed to be perfect in every way, without having to struggle, and with her still living Phyla by her side. The Dragon fanned Heather’s desire to destroy her counterpart our of jealousy. Heather joined Gamora’s new splinter Guardians group and manipulated events so that her team would eventually confront the original Guardians, giving her the opportunity to confront and destroy the alternate Moondragon. Unbeknownst to her, the alternate Moondragon had also been manipulating events so that the two would meet, but she intended to save her counterpart from the Dragon’s darkness. Their confrontation ended with the alternate Moondragon victorious, and, since she was willing to share everything that she had, the two merged into a single being. The new Moondragon seemed at peace, but they were unaware that the Dragon of the Moon was still buried in their subconscious, and planning their downfall.
Moondragon primarily possesses tremendous telepathic abilities which have enabled her to control the population of an entire planet to stop an ongoing war, while enslaving the thunder god Thor as her personal lover. She has demonstrated willpower and spiritual strength rivaling that of Thanos, and the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, pierced the psionic shields of the cosmic entity Galactus to enable communication, and when borrowing her abilities, Thanos almost manages to overwhelm the Devourer. Beyond communication and control of other minds, she can induce mental illusions, cause personality changes, and erase specific memories. She can also fire bolts of psionic energy as concussive blasts that can either stun an opponent or render an opponent brain dead. She is also a low-level telekinetic, an ability that lets her move and manipulate most physical matter by using only her thoughts, levitate herself and others, create shields of psychic force, and fire concussive psychokinetic energy blasts with sufficient strength to affect steel.
Moondragon has undergone extreme levels of training in the Titanian martial arts, as well as mental disciplines allowing her near-complete control over her body, including autonomic functions such as heartbeat, bleeding, and breathing, as well as awareness of pain. She has honed her strength, speed, stamina, agility and reflexes to her highest limits. Her martial arts skills have even allowed her to beat Captain America and Mantis in hand-to-hand combat. Heather possesses a genius intellect and is extremely knowledgeable in various areas of advanced Titanian scientific disciplines such as genetics and bionics and has been able to upgrade the cyborgs Ramrod, and Angar the Screamer, and restore Daredevil’s eyesight. She is also a highly skilled starship pilot. She has demonstrated the ability to assume the form of her namesake, a fire-breathing dragon capable of surviving in outer space, traversing interstellar distances. However, it is unclear if she retains this ability after her latest resurrection.
Moondragon’s powers are not without weaknesses. For instance, Rick Jones was able to stop Moondragon’s telepathy by taping her to a chair, covering her eyes and mouth with duct tape, and placing headphones on her ears that blast deafening Limp Bizkit nu metal music. This caused Moondragon to lose touch with her senses and concentration, thus leaving her powerless. Moondragon also suffers from emotional instability due to her isolated upbringing and intense superiority complex, which alienates her from her environment. This sometimes causes her to coerce decisions or render ruthless judgment. However, more positive later relationships have helped her emotional state, particularly her relationship with Phyla-Vell, which has allowed her to be more open and compassionate towards others.
What I love about Moondragon is her intense desire to do good, and to be a hero, and the incredible struggle she endures to do so, whether that struggle in internal, based on her own insecurities and misguided feelings of superiority, or external through manipulations by the Dragon of the Moon. I love that she is not easy to like, and is arrogant, even when she is helping. She is very capable, and incredibly powerful, and she earned that ability through hard work and training. She does not love easily, but her bonds with her father, and with Phyla, sadly now deceased, are strong. I am particularly interested in her relationship with Mantis, which hasn’t really been explored fully, given their shared backgrounds in being honed as candidates for the Celestial Madonna. While I am enjoying seeing her in the spotlight again, I wish we could move on from the Dragon of the Moon storyline, and allow Moondragon to struggle, succeed and fail on her own merits, rather than those of an invasive mental parasite. I wouldn’t mind seeing her interact with the Avengers again, although I think I prefer her with the Guardians of the Galaxy.