Marvel’s superheroes redefined what it meant to be a superhero. Teams were a major part of the Marvel Universe when the Silver Age brought the publisher back into the superhero game. Like their superheroes, Marvel’s teams were always different from those of their distinguished competition. Sure, some were just there to save the world, but others had roles that took them on all manner of adventures.
Each team’s beginning was as different as their area of expertise, with the Avengers battling global threats and the X-Men generally protecting mutantkind. They’ve each done their part in saving the Marvel Universe, battling separately or as a whole to ensure the future of the universe.
10/10 The Young Avengers Stepped Up When No One Else Could
The history of the Young Avengers is quite interesting. After the Avengers closed up shop following the events of Avengers Disassembled, Patriot, Hulkling, and Asgardian, later Wiccan, would band together with Iron Lad, who asked them for their help. Since then, heroes like Stature, Hawkeye, Noh-Varr, Miss America, Prodigy, Speed, and more have all been Young Avengers.
The Young Avengers made a huge impression, but the most important thing about the team is the couple Hulkling and Wiccan. Hulking was revealed to be the half-Kree, half-Skrull heir to both thrones. The two got married and now are emperor and first husband of a powerful galactic empire.
9/10 The Champions Brought Together The Newest Young Heroes
Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales as Spider-Man, and Sam Alexander as Nova were all Avengers, but quickly became disillusioned with the team. The trio quit the team and gathered a team of their fellow young heroes – Viv Vision, the Totally Awesome Hulk, and the teenage Cyclops – and created the Champions.
The Champions became the young superhero team of the Marvel Universe, with members like Ironheart, Dust, Falcon II, Power Man II, Wasp III, and more joining. The team gave the young heroes of the world a place to learn the ropes and to stick it to the man when they needed to.
8/10 The Inhuman Royal Family Has Worked With And Against The Heroes
The Inhuman Royal Family isn’t nominally a team, but they’ve acted as one for a long time. Led by Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans, the family consists of his wife Medusa, her sister Crystal, Bolt’s advisor Karnak, bodyguards Gorgon and Triton, and Lockjaw, their teleporting dog. The Royal Family is the Inhumans’ first and last line of defense against the nation’s enemies.
The Royal Family has worked with Marvel’s heroes many times over the years. They work very well together and can handle all manner of threats. They’ve also found themselves in battle with groups of heroes and the outside world, most recently the X-Men. They exist to protect the Inhumans first and foremost, risking everything to fulfill their mandate.
7/10 X-Force Has Long Faced Mutantkind’s Worst Enemies
X-Force first came into being when Cable and Domino took Cannonball, Warpath, Rictor, and Sunspot from the Xavier Institute and formed the black ops team, adding Feral and Shatterstar. The team survived Cable leaving before becoming a completely new team that took high casualties but made its members stars, like Doop, U-Go-Girl, Orphan, Dead Girl, and Venus Dee Milo.
On Utopia, Cyclops and Wolverine created a new X-Force to face off against the X-Men’s scariest enemies before they could become a threat. Consisting of members like X-23, Archangel, Warpath, Fantomex, Deadpool, Warpath, Caliban, and more in two separate rosters, the group would disband eventually. On Krakoa, X-Force would return as the nation’s CIA, led by Beast, with Wolverine, Domino, Kid Omega, Black Tom, Sage, Omega Red, Deadpool as agents.
6/10 The Illuminati Worked Behind The Scenes To Save The World
The Illuminati is the premiere secret society in the Marvel Universe. Brought together by Iron Man after the Kree-Skrull War, the group consisted of Reed Richards, Professor X, Namor, Doctor Strange, and Black Bolt. They worked behind the scenes to deal with threats to the universe and often did as much harm as good.
They came back together during the Incursions, with Beast taking Professor X’s place and Black Panther joining. They did their best to stop the Incursions, but incidentally ended up committing genocide on a massive scale. In the end, they completely failed to end the Incursions, with Doctor Doom saving the Multiverse when they couldn’t.
5/10 The Guardians Of The Galaxy Protect The Spaceways
The original Guardians of the Galaxy were a 30th century team brought together to battle the Badoon. Consisting of Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Yondu, Martinex, Starhawk, and Nikki. They’d sometimes travel to the present, but mostly stayed in the future.
In the present day, the Annihilation Wave struck the universe. Various heroes came together to fight it and formed a new Guardians of the Galaxy. Consisting of Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, and Groot, they became the premiere cosmic-powered team. The Guardians are different from their MCU counterparts, but they’re no less heroic.
4/10 New Mutants Introduced The Next Generation Of Mutants
The New Mutants have become icons. They were Marvel’s first teen team since the X-Men to get their own solo title, setting the stage for every teen team of heroes that came after them. Much like the X-Men before them, Professor Xavier brought Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Karma, Mirage, and Sunspot together to teach them about their powers and fight for his dream after he thought the X-Men dead.
Over the years, members like Magik, Doug Ramsey, Warlock, Rictor, and more have all been members of the team. They were the precursors of several generations of mutant team, from Generation X to the New X-Men, and have taken up the training of young mutants on Krakoa.
3/10 The Fantastic Four Were Silver Age Marvel’s First Superhero Team
Marvel had superheroes before the Fantastic Four, but the FF truly made them into a universe. Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, and Sue Storm snuck onto Reed’s experimental rocket to beat the Soviets to space – something that Marvel’s sliding timescale has retconned over the years. Exposed to cosmic radiation, they became superheroes and took up the name the Fantastic Four.
Known as the First Family of the Marvel Universe, the FF have explored the depths of the cosmos, their adventures all about going to the next frontier. They’re a formidable team, as many enemies have learned, and have saved the universe many times over.
2/10 The X-Men Save A World That Hates And Fears Them
The X-Men have a venerable history. Professor Charles Xavier had a dream – that mutants and humans could live in harmony. So, he brought together Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, and Angel to form the X-Men. The team had two purposes: to teach its members how to use their powers and to fight against mutants who weren’t as loving towards humanity as they were.
Later, mutants like Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Kate Pryde, and many more would join the team. They’d become the premiere mutant team in the Marvel Universe, fighting and dying for the dream. Now the defenders of the mutant nation of Krakoa, they’re the best of the best.
1/10 The Avengers Defend The Earth And Beyond
The Avengers are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The Avengers came together when Loki attacked. This attack was too much for Thor alone, so Marvel sidekick extraordinaire Rick Jones used his ham radio network to call together heroes to help. Iron Man, Hulk, Wasp, and Ant-Man joined the God of Thunder and the Avengers were born.
Not long after that, Captain America was found, and the team truly became legendary. Over the years, hundreds of heroes have called the Avengers home, all of them working to save the Earth and beyond from the deadliest threats. The Avengers are an institution, and they’ve saved the Earth many times over.
