When the Asgardian trickster Loki seeks revenge against his brother Thor, his machinations unwittingly lead teenager Rick Jones to collect Ant-Man, the Wasp and Iron Man to help Thor and the Hulk (whom Loki has used as a pawn). After the group vanquishes Loki, Ant-Man suggests that they form a team, which the Wasp promptly names the Avengers.

In just the second issue of the original series, the Hulk storms off in a huff after realizing that that the other Avengers fear his unstable personality.

In issue #4, the Avengers discover Captain America frozen in a block of ice floating in the North Sea. After a battle with Namor and his elite guard, they officially offer Cap a place on the team, which he readily accepts.

When Tony Stark donates his family mansion as the Avengers' headquarters, Jarvis is part of the package. The loyal butler is the only character who remains actively affiliated with the Avengers throughout their entire existence, a distinction not even Captain America can claim.

The Black Panther relies on his proficiency in science, rigorous physical training, hand-to-hand combat skills, and access to advanced Wakandan technology to combat his enemies.

Baron Zemo bombards Simon Williams with an ionic ray to give him superhuman strength and invincibility. As Wonder Man, Williams infiltrates the Avengers and lures them into a trap, but he develops scruples when he realizes Zemo plans to kill the heroes and ultimately sacrifices his life to save them.

After Wonder Man's death, Tony Stark stores his brain patterns on a computer, hoping that one day he can be revived. But Ultron, an evil robot created by Hank Pym, steals the brain patterns and uses them as a template to synthesize the Vision.

As a child, Moondragon is driving through the desert with her parents when they happen upon the spaceship of Thanos. Thanos destroys their car, but Moondragon is thrown clear and survives. Although she believes her parents to be dead, she will later learn that her father's soul has been bound into a new body, becoming Drax the Destroyer.

Although he first appears as a founding member of another team, Beast is granted probationary status as an Avenger in issue #137. His run on The Avengers will eventually eclipse his original X-Men run, and IGN will rank him as #7 on their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012.

In Avengers: Disassembled and the subsequent House of M, the Scarlet Witch has the memories of her children erased and then returned to her, making her lose her grip on reality, as well as her powers. Not only does she cause the deaths of Ant-Man and Vision, but she gets Hawkeye killed twice.