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143-747: A group called the Flag Smashers appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe / Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), led by a female version of the Karl Morgenthau incarnation renamed Karli Morgenthau (portrayed by Erin Kellyman ). Mark Gruenwald created Flag-Smasher as a character in the tradition of the Red Skull : a villain with a symbolic aspect that would make him

286-569: A post-credit scene . The team first appear in The Avengers (2012), consisting of Tony Stark / Iron Man , Steve Rogers / Captain America, Bruce Banner / Hulk , Thor , Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow , and Clint Barton / Hawkeye . The lineup that was depicted by Joss Whedon is primarily based on the Ultimates of Ultimate Marvel , with the exception of two classic founders, Hank Pym / Ant-Man and

429-520: A space opera story where the team goes to another planet to oppose the imperial forces of Blackfire and then return to Earth only to get involved in a relatively realistic urban crime story about runaways . The mythologies of many ancient civilizations feature pantheons of gods and goddesses with superhuman powers, as well as heroes such as Hanuman , Gilgamesh , Perseus , Odysseus and David and demigods like Heracles . Real life inspirations behind costumed superheroes can be traced back to

572-494: A " rogues gallery " of such enemies. One of these supervillains might be the superhero's archenemy. Superheroes will sometimes combat other threats such as aliens, magical/fantasy entities, natural disasters, political ideologies such as Nazism or communism (and their proponents), and godlike or demonic creatures. Some superhero fiction portrays discrimination against superheroes, such as by the way of "Registration Acts" that mandate registration of superpowered individuals with

715-472: A "Superhero Registration Act" is passed, that requires superpowered individuals to not only register with the government, but to make themselves available to be drafted to respond to emergencies. The backlash against superheroes and metahumans in JLA: The Nail series has been compared to the real-life moral campaign against comic book superheroes in the mid-1950s. In an essay Ethan Faust argued that

858-451: A Christmas celebration for Quill with the help of the other Guardians and residents of Knowhere. In 2026, Quill frequently gets drunk due to grieving Gamora, while the team has successfully built their headquarters. One night, they are attacked by Adam Warlock , who seriously injures Rocket, and is defeated by Nebula. The team leave in their new ship, tasking Cosmo and Kraglin to keep watch over Knowhere. They head to Orgocorp and are stopped by

1001-472: A Roxxon-branded gas station on his way to Albuquerque , New Mexico . In Iron Man 3 , Norco , a Roxxon tanker caused an oil spill , leading to Roxxon accountant Thomas Richards (portrayed by Tom Virtue ) being held captive by Trevor Slattery and seemingly executed on a live broadcast before later parting ways. The aforementioned tanker is later impounded in a shipping yard where Aldrich Killian planned to execute President Matthew Ellis . Simon Krieger

1144-619: A duel with Arnim Zola over the Infinity Stones . Strange Supreme then casts a spell which imprisons the two inside a pocket dimension before the team is disbanded, returning to their universes by the Watcher. However, Romanoff is transported to another universe , as her own universe was destroyed by Ultron. They appeared in the animated series What If...? . The Howling Commandos are an elite combat unit that had been led by Captain America (portrayed by Chris Evans ) during World War II. At

1287-491: A final time, thus apparently ending both ULTIMATUM and the Flag-Smasher. A new version of Flag-Smasher and iteration of ULTIMATUM announce their presence to the world by crashing a gala being held in honor of Tom Herald, a conservative senator from Texas. Attaching time bombs to Herald and six others, Flag-Smasher attempts to coerce two versions of Captain America, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, into joining him, before arming both

1430-615: A flashback in the live-action television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode " Shadows ", with McDonough and Choi reprising their respective roles. They assist Peggy Carter ( Hayley Atwell ) in capturing Hydra agents following the events of The First Avenger . The Howling Commandos appear in the live-action television series Agent Carter episode " The Iron Ceiling ", consisting of Dugan (reprised by McDonough) and new members Happy Sam Sawyer ( Leonard Roberts ), Junior Juniper (James Austin Kerr), and Pinky Pinkerton ( Richard Short ). While

1573-555: A global audience. The first original major shared superhero universe to develop on the Internet was Superguy , which first appeared on a UMNEWS mailing list in 1989. In 1992, a cascade on the USENET newsgroup rec.arts.comics would give birth to the Legion of Net. Heroes shared universe. In 1994, LNH writers contributed to the creation of the newsgroup rec.arts.comics.creative , which spawned

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1716-495: A guard of T'Challa. They next appear in Black Panther . Florence Kasumba reprises her role, Danai Gurira portrays Okoye, and Sydelle Noel portrays Xoliswa while the unnamed Dora Milaje are portrayed by Marija Abney, Janeshia Adams-Ginyard , Maria Hippolyte, Marie Mouroum, Jénel Stevens, Zola Williams, Christine Hollingsworth, and Shaunette Renée Wilson . After Killmonger takes over Wakanda and seemingly kills T'Challa ,

1859-460: A letter column of the pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories , the word superhero was used to define the title character of the comic strip Zarnak by Max Plaisted. Historians point to the first appearance of Superman , created by Jerome "Jerry" Siegel and designed by Joseph "Joe" Shuster , in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) as the debut of the comic-book archetype of the superhero. Outside

2002-726: A mission on Krylor. They appeared in the films Guardians of the Galaxy , Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , Avengers: Infinity War , Avengers: Endgame , Thor: Love and Thunder , and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ; as well the Disney+ television special The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and the animated series What If...? . The Guardians of the Multiverse is a group consisted of superheroes and supervillains from across

2145-616: A moral crusade in which comics were blamed for juvenile delinquency and the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency began. The movement was spearheaded by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham , who argued in Seduction of the Innocent , that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant in superhero comics . In 2012, his methodology was reviewed and his results were found to be misleading if not falsified. In response,

2288-529: A more somber tone. Superboy ran from 1988 to 1992 in syndication. In the 1990s, the Power Rangers , adapted from the Japanese Super Sentai , became popular. Other shows targeting teenage and young adult audiences that decade included Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman . In 2001, Smallville retooled Superman 's origin as a teen drama. The 2006 NBC series Heroes tells

2431-579: A nemesis specifically intended for Captain America. Whereas the Red Skull symbolizes Nazism , Flag-Smasher symbolizes anti-patriotism . The character first appeared in Captain America #312 (Dec. 1985). The first Flag-Smasher was born Karl Morgenthau, the son of a wealthy Swiss banker -turned- diplomat , in Bern, Switzerland . He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a diplomat until his father

2574-409: A nostalgic treatment in the 2004 Disney / Pixar release The Incredibles , which utilized computer animation . Original superheroes with basis in older trends have also been made for television, such as Disney's Gargoyles by Greg Weisman and Cartoon Network 's Ben 10 franchise and Nickelodeon 's Danny Phantom . Beginning 1940s, the radio serial Superman starred Bud Collyer as

2717-428: A number of original superhero shared universes. Magazine-style websites that publish superhero fiction include Metahuman Press , active since 2005, and Freedom Fiction Journal . Superhuman fiction has also appeared in general science fiction / speculative fiction web publications, such as the weekly Strange Horizons , a publication that pays its contributors. Two examples there are Paul Melko's "Doctor Mighty and

2860-430: A pair of Wakandan warriors consisting of Okoye and Aneka , both equipped with advanced armor built by Shuri . They appeared in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever . The Revengers is a team of ex- Sakaar prisoners assembled by Thor to escape the planet and defeat Hela . The team consists of Thor, Loki , Hulk , Valkyrie , Korg , and Miek . With the exception of Loki, who is choked to death by Thanos ,

3003-599: A recreated Super Soldier Serum and possess superhuman strength , seek to restore the world to how it was during the Blip , only to run afoul of Sam Wilson , Bucky Barnes , John Walker , Helmut Zemo , and the Power Broker . In the series finale " One World, One People ", Morgenthau engages Walker and Wilson in battle before she is killed by Sharon Carter while the remaining Flag Smashers are apprehended by Barnes and Walker, and later killed by Zemo's butler Oeznik while en route to

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3146-553: A relatively minor Marvel Comics character that premiered at over $ 100 million in February, a time of year generally considered poor for movie audience interest . It was an observation further confirmed in 2018 when Black Panther was an even grander success with a $ 235 million debut in the same time of year, and later became the first superhero film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture . Avengers: Endgame became

3289-598: A secret identity; such characters as the Green Hornet and the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh , would follow. Likewise, the science-fiction heroes John Carter of Mars , Buck Rogers , and Flash Gordon , with their futuristic weapons and gadgets; Tarzan , with his high degree of athleticism and strength, and his ability to communicate with animals; Robert E. Howard 's Conan the Barbarian and the biologically modified Hugo Danner of

3432-406: A supernatural weapon, Penny dreadfuls , shilling shockers , dime novels , radio programs , and other popular fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries featured mysterious, swashbuckling heroes with distinct costumes, unusual abilities and altruistic missions. The 1903 play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs further popularized the idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of

3575-584: A supervillain to advance the plot. Comic book writer Gail Simone has coined the term " Women in Refrigerators " (named after an incident in Green Lantern #54 where Kyle Rayner 's girlfriend Alex DeWitt is murdered by the supervillain Major Force and stuffed into Rayner's refrigerator ) to refer to this practice. Many works of superhero fiction occur in a shared fictional universe , sometimes (as in

3718-514: A wide variety of story genres such as Fantasy , Science fiction , Mystery , Horror , Crime fiction etc. that put superhero characters in a vast variety and combinations of story settings and fiction tropes with their presence the major common element. As such, it has become an expected element to superhero fiction for the heroic characters to be placed in nearly any story situation, including relatively down-to-Earth drama with their personal lives out of costume. For instance, The New Teen Titans

3861-502: Is Sarutobi Sasuke , a superhero ninja from children's novels in the 1910s. By 1914, his abilities included superhuman strength, chanting incantations, appearing and disappearing, jumping to the top of the highest trees, riding on clouds, conjuring the elements (water, fire and wind), and transforming into other people or animals. In 1938, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster , who had previously worked in pulp science fiction magazines, introduced Superman . (Siegel, as

4004-405: Is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes—ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas—have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1917. A female superhero

4147-504: Is an American law firm operating in New York City and Los Angeles. Holden Holliway is a character in the series, played by Steve Coulter. The names of the other unseen partners are a reference to Martin Goodman (born Moe Goodman), Stan Lee (born Stanley Lieber), and Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg). It appeared in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law . Hammer Industries

4290-597: Is an American weapons manufacturing company formerly led by Justin Hammer , until his arrest at the Stark Expo . Following Tony Stark 's unprecedented announcement that his company would no longer manufacture weapons, Hammer Industries received the weapons contract for the United States Armed Forces . However, despite its claims, most of the weapons produced by Hammer Industries are defective or weak. It appeared in

4433-521: Is an ally of Spider-Punk who sports an outfit similar to Captain America's, wields an unbreakable shield, and is empowered by a Super-Insurgent Serum. An anarchist group called the Flag Smashers appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe live-action miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), led by a younger, female version of Karl Morgenthau named Karli Morgenthau , portrayed by Erin Kellyman . The group, whose members are empowered by

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4576-524: Is first seen going to the planet Torfa to rescue a Kree scout named Soh-Larr. Vers is captured in a Skrull ambush led by Talos, but escapes to Earth and makes contact with Yon-Rogg. Following a parley with Talos and the discovery of the Skrull refugees hidden by Mar-Vell, Starforce arrives on Earth and takes prisoner the Skrulls , Nick Fury , Maria Rambeau , and Goose . Vers, in her regained identity of Carol Danvers,

4719-474: Is holding Zeller's wife hostage, she frees her while the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team defeat Garrett's forces. As of the episode " Principia ", Cybertek was shut down following Garrett's defeat while ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy student Tony Caine helped fake the Cybertek scientists' deaths to help them find new work, with one of them later providing information to Agent Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie . Roxxon features in

4862-493: Is installed as the ruler of Rumekistan by the V-Battalion as a compromise between powers. It is later revealed that the Flag-Smasher had allegedly been assassinated by Domino as part of a series of events that installed Cable as leader of that nation. Following the original Flag-Smasher's apparent assassination, Canadian ULTIMATUM agent Guy Thierrault assumed the role to continue the spread of anti-nationalism agenda. During

5005-582: Is placed in a transmission with the Supreme Intelligence. After breaking free and overheating the implant that limited her abilities, Carol Danvers fights Starforce and Kree soldiers to rescue Nick Fury, Maria Rambeau, and the Skrulls; most of the antagonizing Kree are killed or incapacitated. They appeared in the film Captain Marvel . The Strategic Operations Command Center , also known by its acronym SOCC ,

5148-430: Is rarely permanent, as characters who die are often brought back to life through supernatural means or via retcons (retroactive changes to the continuity), the alteration of previously established facts in the continuity of a fictional work. Fans have termed the practice of bringing back dead characters " comic book death ". Another common trait of superhero fiction is the killing off of a superhero's significant other by

5291-630: Is sometimes called a superheroine (also rendered super-heroine or super heroine). In the United States, the term "SUPER HEROES" is a registered trademark co-owned by DC Comics and Marvel Comics . By most definitions, characters do not strictly require actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes, although terms such as costumed crime fighters or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to those such as Batman and Green Arrow without such powers who share other common superhero traits. Such characters were generally referred to as "mystery men" in

5434-793: Is the grandson of one of the Howling Commandos. Alternate timeline versions of the Howling Commandos appear in the Disney+ animated series What If...? episode " What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger? ". They appeared in the films Captain America: The First Avenger and Agent Carter , as well as the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter as well as the Disney+ animated series What If...? . The Midnight Angels are

5577-692: Is thwarted by Moon Knight and the Punisher . He then made a new attempt to create anarchy in the United States through distribution of arms to malcontents, but this time, the Punisher and the Ghost Rider thwarted his plot. The Flag-Smasher later captures an amnesiac Demolition-Man, but during a battle with U.S. Agent, he falls into the Arctic Ocean. Roxxon Oil turned him into a berserker with super-human strength. However, he later lost those powers. The Flag-Smasher

5720-603: The Abomination in Harlem . It appeared in the film The Incredible Hulk . The Valkyrie were a group of female Asgardian warriors who served under Odin . Described by Thor as a "legend", the Valkyrie were sworn to protect the throne and fly on winged horses . During one of their missions, they were sent by Odin to Hel in order to prevent his daughter, Hela , from escaping. However, Hela single-handedly murdered all but one of

5863-636: The Civil War story arc, he attacked the Santa Monica Farmers' Market to show his opposition to the Super-Human Registration Act , but the Runaways defeated him. Later, a fight between the Flag-Smasher and Araña was described. The second Flag-Smasher struck Araña with his mace, but Spider-Man later defeated him. He was next shown being described as the new Flag-Smasher. After this he

Flag-Smasher - Misplaced Pages Continue

6006-634: The Janet van Dyne / The Wasp . In Avengers: Age of Ultron , Pietro Maximoff and Wanda Maximoff join the Avengers before the Battle of Sokovia while Vision , James Rhodes / War Machine , and Sam Wilson / Falcon also join them in a new team roster led by Rogers. In Captain America: Civil War , the Avengers break apart into two teams, one led by Rogers and one led by Stark. In Avengers: Infinity War ,

6149-583: The Multiverse . The group was assembled by the Watcher with the goal of stopping an alternate version of Ultron from destroying the Multiverse. The group's members are Peggy Carter / Captain Carter , T'Challa / Star-Lord , Thor , Erik "Killmonger" Stevens , Gamora , Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow , and Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange Supreme . After a lengthy battle, the team defeats Ultron, but Killmonger enters into

6292-532: The Raft . Flag Smashers The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on superhero films and other series starring various titular superheroes independently produced by Marvel Studios and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books,

6435-526: The Silver Age of comic books . The Flash , Green Lantern , Hawkman and several others were recreated with new origin stories. While past superheroes resembled mythological heroes in their origins and abilities, these heroes were inspired by contemporary science fiction . In 1960, DC banded its most popular heroes together in the Justice League of America , which became a sales phenomenon. Empowered by

6578-631: The X-Men , and the Justice League , have been published, often marketed in association with TV series , as have Big Little Books starring the Fantastic Four and others. In the 1990s and 2000s, Marvel and DC released novels adapting such story arcs as " The Death of Superman ", " Planet Hulk ", " Wonder Woman: Earth One ", " Spider-Man: Birth of Venom " and Batman 's " No Man's Land ". Original superhero or superhuman fiction has appeared in both novel and short story print forms unrelated to adaptations from

6721-555: The Yellowjacket suit, hoping to sell it to the military or terrorist organizations and planning to rename the company Cross Technologies . He is ultimately stopped by Pym, Van Dyne, and Scott Lang , and the company's headquarters is destroyed. Sometime after the Sokovia Accords were repealed, Van Dyne bought back her father's company and renamed it the Pym van Dyne Foundation , to utilize

6864-511: The comic-strip hero The Phantom , starting with 1943's Son of the Phantom . The character likewise returned in 1970s books, with a 15-installment series from Avon Books beginning in 1972, written by Phantom creator Lee Falk , Ron Goulart , and others. Also during the 1970s, Pocket Books published 11 novels based on Marvel Comics characters. Juvenile novels featuring Marvel Comics and DC Comics characters including Batman , Spider-Man ,

7007-518: The government , or laws that regulate extra-legal vigilante activity. For example, in the alternate universe of the Watchmen , first published in 1986, a backlash against superheroes leads to the passage of the "Keene Act", a federal law that prohibits "costumed adventuring" except by superheroes working for the government. A similar device was used in the Marvel Comics universe in the mid-2000s, where

7150-419: The highest-grossing film of all time . In 2017, the film Sign Gene featured about deaf superheroes who use sign language . Several live-action superhero programs aired from the early 1950s until the late 1970s. These included Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves , the action-comedy Batman series of the 1960s (often interpreted as being campy ) starring Adam West and Burt Ward . In

7293-588: The " masked vigilantes " of the American Old West such as the San Diego Vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers who fought and killed outlaws while wearing masks. The character of Spring Heeled Jack , who first emerged as an urban legend of the early 19th century, was re-conceived as a masked and costumed adventurer during the 1890s. The hero's journey is a well-known archetypal story type in which

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7436-532: The 1940s with the first film adaptation of a comic book superhero being The Adventures of Captain Marvel in 1941. The decline of these serials meant the death of superhero films until the release of 1978's Superman , a critical and commercial success. Several sequels followed in the 1980s. 1989's Batman was also highly successful and followed by several sequels in the 1990s. Yet while both franchises were initially successful, later sequels in both series fared poorly both artistically and financially, stunting

7579-461: The 1940s. In the episode " Now is Not the End ", Roxxon employee Miles Van Ert (portrayed by James Urbaniak ) collaborates with Leviathan agents to create more of Howard Stark 's destructive Nitramene chemical in a Roxxon refinery. Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) operative Peggy Carter infiltrates the facility, but Leviathan operative Leet Brannis uses a Nitramene bomb to implode the refinery. In

7722-424: The 1940s. When Fawcett Comics went out of business as such, DC Comics, which had been embroiled in a bitter copyright dispute with Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel, bought out the copyright to not only the character but also his ancillary "Marvel Family" of heroes and villains. During World War II , superheroes grew in popularity, surviving paper rationing and the loss of many writers and illustrators to service in

7865-433: The 1960s, superhero cartoons have been a staple of children's television, particularly in the U.S.. However, by the early 1970s, US broadcasting restrictions on violence in children's entertainment led to series that were extremely tame, a trend exemplified by the series Super Friends . Meanwhile, Japan's anime industry successfully contributed its own style of superhero series, such as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . In

8008-420: The 1970s however, the genre would find a newfound credibility in the medium with the original series, The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman , being sustained successes. This led to direct adaptations of comic-book superheroes such as ABC / CBS drama series Wonder Woman of the 1970s starring Lynda Carter . The Incredible Hulk of the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, had

8151-575: The 1980s, the Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends brought together Spider-Man , Iceman , and Firestar . The following decade, Batman: The Animated Series , which was aimed at somewhat older audiences, found critical success in mainstream publications. This series led to the successful DC Animated Universe franchise and other adaptations such as Teen Titans , which Marvel emulated with X-Men and Spider-Man: The Animated Series . Comics' superhero mythos itself received

8294-610: The American comics industry, superpowered, costumed superheroes, such as Ōgon Bat (1931) and the Prince of Gamma ( ガンマ王子 ) (early 1930s), were visualized in painted panels used by kamishibai oral storytellers in Japan. They both anticipated elements of Superman and Batman. Prince of Gamma, for example, had an extraterrestrial origin story and a secret identity (his alter ego was a street urchin ), much like Superman. An earlier example from Japan

8437-502: The Avengers battle Thanos , and Stark officially makes Peter Parker / Spider-Man a member of the team. In Avengers: Endgame , five years after the events of Infinity War , Nebula , Rocket , Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel , and Scott Lang / Ant-Man join the Avengers as well. The Avengers appear in the films The Avengers , Avengers: Age of Ultron , Captain America: Civil War , Avengers: Infinity War , Captain Marvel (mid-credits scene), and Avengers: Endgame ; as well as

8580-693: The Coast Discoveries imprint, 2008); Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible ( Pantheon Books , 2007); Lavie Tidhar 's The Violent Century (Hodder & Stoughton, 2013), David J. Schwartz's Superpowers: A Novel ( Three Rivers Press , 2008); Matthew Cody's Powerless ( Knopf , 2009); Van Allen Plexico 's Sentinels series of superhero novels (Swarm/Permuted Press, beginning in 2008); and Marissa Meyer 's Renegades trilogy. Collections of superhuman short stories include Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories , edited by Owen King and John McNally (Free Press, 2008), and Masked , edited by Lou Anders (Gallery, 2010). With

8723-435: The Department of Damage Control taking over their contracts, leading to Toomes choosing a life of crime to support his family. It appeared in the film Spider-Man: Homecoming . Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter & Training , better known by its acronym F.E.A.S.T , is an American non-profit charitable organization. In 2024, May Parker worked for F.E.A.S.T. to feed the poor and the hungry in New York. During one of her shifts,

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8866-449: The Disney+ series Loki (archival footage). Alternate versions of the team also appear in the animated Disney+ series What If...? . Individual members of the Avengers are central characters in almost all films of the MCU. The Children of Thanos were an elite team of powerful individuals who used their abilities to serve their adoptive father Thanos . As Thanos's vicious generals, they assisted him in his mission to find and harness

9009-411: The Dora Milaje reluctantly stand by him as they must remain loyal to the throne. After T'Challa returns, the Dora Milaje fight Killmonger, though Xoliswa is killed in the process. In 2018, the Dora Milaje join the Avengers in defending Wakanda from Thanos 's forces., whilst they fight Thanos's forces again in 2023. In 2024, after Bucky Barnes breaks Helmut Zemo out of prison, the Dora Milaje pursue

9152-421: The Flag-Smasher confronted, and was defeated by Deadpool, who ordered him and his followers to stay away from the Merc and his daughter. The Flag-Smasher was later apparently murdered by another ULTIMATUM member named Carl, who then assumed the identity to achieve vengeance against Deadpool. Eventually, this Flag-Smasher was apparently slaughtered, as were all of the ULTIMATUM forces, after they attacked Deadpool

9295-414: The Flag-Smasher, who was again arrested and jailed. The Flag-Smasher later kidnapped a Middle Eastern banker, but was confronted by Flash Thompson , who then succumbed the Venom symbiote 's murderous tendencies. After killing the Flag-Smasher's cohorts, Venom then bit off the Flag-Smasher's right arm. After an ULTIMATUM helicarrier was infiltrated and many of its members were slaughtered by Deadpool,

9438-483: The Golden Age and the Sub-Mariner , from Marvel Comics (then called Timely Comics and later re-branded Atlas Comics ), and Plastic Man and Phantom Lady from Quality Comics were also hits. Will Eisner 's The Spirit , featured in a comic strip , would become a considerable artistic inspiration to later comic book creators. The era's most popular superhero, however, was Fawcett Comics 's Captain Marvel , whose exploits regularly outsold those of Superman during

9581-439: The Guardians in search for answers upon learning of gods being murdered across the universe. In 2025, as depicted in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special", the team has gained a large amount of money and resources by saving the universe and buy the former home of Knowhere from "The Collector", to be used as their base of operations. Cosmo the Spacedog then joins the team and helps them rebuild Knowhere. Mantis and Drax hold

9724-420: The Guardians, quipping that they are now the " Asgardians of the Galaxy ", and jokingly argues with Quill over command of the team. In 2024, the team help Thor get back into his fit and are joined by Kraglin, now sporting (though still adjusting) the late Yondu's "fin & yaka arrow". They go on several adventures throughout the galaxy. On the planet Indigarr, they are met by Korg . There, Thor decides to leave

9867-454: The Pym Particles in new and innovative ways to help advance humanitarian efforts. It appeared in the films Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania . Roxxon Corporation is a large industrial conglomerate that frequently comes into conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D. and other superheroes due to its willingness to use unethical methods. The Roxxon Oil Corporation features in the television series Agent Carter , which takes place in

10010-516: The Ravagers, where the alternate version of Gamora is tasked to help them. They retrieve Rocket's file and depart for Counter-Earth . Quill and Groot leave to meet with the High Evolutionary , while Nebula is forced to stay outside. Quill and Groot make their escape with one of the High Evolutionary's men and retrieve the code to save Rocket. Nebula, joined by Mantis and Drax, enter the ship to save Quill and Groot, but get captured instead. Gamora protects Rocket and picks up Quill and Groot. Quill provides

10153-402: The Stones and is executed by Thor, Rocket and Nebula become members of the Avengers. In 2023, they use the Quantum Realm to travel to alternate universes to retrieve Infinity Stones. They are successful, but an alternate 2014 Thanos variant becomes aware of the presence of this other Nebula, and has her captured, sending his Nebula to the present in the former's place. The alternate Nebula brings

10296-793: The Valkyrie before Odin arrived and stopped her. Deeply traumatized by the experience, the sole surviving Valkyrie leaves Asgard and becomes a bounty hunter , serving the Grandmaster on Sakaar as "Scrapper 142". They appeared in the film Thor: Ragnarok . The Warriors Three are a group of Asgardian warriors/adventurers, made up of Hogun , Fandral , and Volstagg , with Fandral initially portrayed by Joshua Dallas , Hogun portrayed by Tadanobu Asano , and Volstagg portrayed by Ray Stevenson . They often fight alongside Thor and Lady Sif . Zachary Levi later replaces Joshua Dallas as Fandral. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg are ultimately killed by Hela during her takeover of Asgard . They appeared in

10439-514: The Vampire Slayer , Angel , The Phantom Captain Nice , Mr. Terrific , The Green Hornet , Electra Woman and Dyna Girl , The Greatest American Hero , Dark Angel , No Ordinary Family and Alias . In the 1940s, Fleischer / Famous Studios produced a number of groundbreaking Superman cartoons, which became the first examples of superheroes in animation . Since

10582-405: The Winter Soldier and What If...? . The Guardians of the Galaxy are a band of outlaws who joined to protect the galaxy from threats. The group's founding members are Star-Lord , Gamora , Drax , Rocket , and Groot . The team's membership is later expanded with the addition of Yondu Udonta and Mantis while temporarily aided by Nebula in their fight against Ego . Kraglin also assists

10725-628: The alternate Thanos and his army to the main universe, where he destroys the Avengers Compound in order to acquire the Stones to kill the entire universe. Nebula successfully convinces an alternate Gamora to join her in opposing Thanos, and kills her alternate counterpart. The combined forces of the Avengers, the Guardians and all of their allies succeed in repelling his forces, and eliminating the alternate Thanos and his army. Afterwards, Nebula and Thor joins

10868-499: The armed forces. The need for simple tales of good triumphing over evil may explain the wartime popularity of superheroes. Publishers responded with stories in which superheroes battled the Axis Powers and the patriotically themed superheroes, most notably Marvel's Captain America as well as DC's Wonder Woman . Like other pop-culture figures of the time, Superheroes were used to promote domestic propaganda during wartime, ranging from

11011-620: The battle between Thanos's forces and the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy , Masters of the Mystic Arts , and Ravagers . Obsidian and Glaive are killed during the battle, while Maw and Midnight both disintegrate after Stark uses the Infinity Stones to snap his fingers. An alternate version shown in What If...? shows how Thanos lost the team to the Collector when he became good. They appeared in

11154-691: The bulk of their properties to the copyright owner's, Disney , to its own streaming service, Disney+ . DC series include Shazam! , The Secrets of Isis , The Flash (1990 TV series) , Birds of Prey and Gotham . Arrowverse series include The Flash (2014 TV series) , Supergirl , Legends of Tomorrow and Constantine . Marvel series include The Amazing Spider-Man , Spidey Super Stories and Mutant X . Netflix series include Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , Iron Fist and The Defenders . Japanese tokusatsu series include Ultraman , Spectreman and Kamen Rider . Other series include- Buffy

11297-473: The cases of the DC and Marvel Universes ) establishing a fictional continuity of thousands of works spread over many decades. Changes to continuity are also common, ranging from small changes to established continuity, commonly called retcons , to full reboots , erasing all previous continuity. It is also common for works of superhero fiction to contain established characters and setting while occurring outside of

11440-514: The code, but Rocket flatlines, however he is resuscitated by Quill. After learning that the others are captured, Quill asks Kraglin to bring Knowhere to the High Evolutionary's ship. The team defeats the High Evolutionary and Cosmo uses her powers to stop the ship from crashing into Knowhere and provide a safe escape for the captured animals and children. Quill almost dies but is rescued by Warlock. Afterwards, Quill says goodbye to Gamora and tells

11583-553: The comic book industry adopted the stringent Comics Code . By the mid-1950s, only Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman retained a sliver of their prior popularity, although effort towards complete inoffensiveness led to stories that many consider silly, especially by modern standards. This ended what historians have called the Golden Age of comic books . In the 1950s, DC Comics , under the editorship of Julius Schwartz , recreated many popular 1940s heroes, launching an era later deemed

11726-480: The company is associated with the Hand . Registration Acts (comics) Superhero fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction examining the adventures , personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes , who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains . The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction in

11869-410: The depiction of superheroes in the 2004 film The Incredibles is used to examine societal attitudes towards those with disabilities, first by showing them through the prism of ableism in providing unwanted help to people they view as unable to help themselves and later as those forced to hide their differences that are now an object of discrimination. A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of

12012-628: The end of the war and after Captain America's apparent demise, their unit continued to be active and was led by Dum Dum Dugan (portrayed by Neal McDonough ). They are first introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger . They were made up of men freed from a Hydra prisoner camp by Rogers. Their number also included Bucky Barnes , Gabe Jones , James Montgomery Falsworth , Jim Morita , and Jacques Dernier (portrayed by Sebastian Stan , Derek Luke , JJ Feild , Kenneth Choi , and Bruno Ricci respectively). Dugan and Morita appear in

12155-560: The episode " Bridge and Tunnel ", Roxxon's president Hugh Jones meets with SSR Deputy Director Roger Dooley and Agent Jack Thompson regarding the implosion, concluding that the culprit would be emitting Vita-Rays and later has Van Ert arrested. In the episode " A View in the Dark ", Jones and the Council of Nine convince Calvin Chadwick to focus on a senatorial campaign instead of Isodyne Energy. In

12298-568: The episode " The Atomic Job ", Peggy infiltrates Roxxon's Los Angeles branch in search of atomic bombs they are holding. Once she discovers the location, she, her partner Edwin Jarvis , and SSR agents infiltrate the facility and disable the bombs before Whitney Frost 's group can get the devices. In the Marvel One-Shot , A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer , Agent Phil Coulson stops at

12441-525: The explosives and "data bombs" that will leak the NSA 's surveillance data, decrypt America's nuclear launch codes, and erase the country's electronic banking sanctions and its No Fly List . The digital bombs and three of the physical ones are disarmed by Rick Jones , but Flag-Smasher and his minions escape after Wilson fails to stop them from shooting Herald. The attack is afterward revealed to have been secretly orchestrated by Rogers, who had come to believe that he

12584-467: The few to also publish superhero poetry, ceasing to do so as of 2011. Superhero poems there included Philip L. Tite's "Brittle Lives", Mark Floyd's "Nemeses", and Jay Macleod's "All Our Children". Novels with original superhuman stories include Robert Mayer's Superfolks ( St. Martin's Griffin , March 9, 2005); James Maxey's Nobody Gets the Girl ( Phobos Books , 2003); Rob Rogers's Devil's Cape ( Wizards of

12727-465: The film Iron Man 2 . Pym Technologies was a multinational technology and scientific research company founded by Hank Pym and later taken over by his protégé, Darren Cross . Following his departure from S.H.I.E.L.D. , Pym founded the company to study quantum mechanics , but was later voted out of his own company by Cross and his daughter, Hope van Dyne . Obsessed with recreating the fabled Pym Particles , Cross eventually succeeded and created

12870-649: The films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame ; as well as the Disney+ animated series What If...? , in which they are referred to as the Black Order . The Dora Milaje , also known simply as the Dora , are an elite organization of female bodyguards and Wakanda's special forces. The current general is Ayo . Florence Kasumba portrays Ayo , a member of the Dora Milaje, in Captain America: Civil War , as

13013-401: The films Thor , Thor: The Dark World , and Thor: Ragnarok ; as well as the Disney+ animated series What If...? . Advanced Idea Mechanics , better known by its acronym A.I.M. , was a scientific research and development company that was founded by Aldrich Killian . In 1999, Killian attempted to recruit Tony Stark , but failed and was instead approached by Maya Hansen , who agreed to join

13156-518: The game. This has changed due to popular franchises: The Silver Age -inspired Freedom Force (2002), City of Heroes (2004), Infamous series and Champions Online (2009), a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG), all of which allow players to create their own superheroes and/or villains. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Internet allowed a worldwide community of fans and amateur writers to bring their own superhero creations to

13299-480: The growth of superhero films for a time. Hit films such as 1998's Blade , 2000's X-Men and Unbreakable , and 2002's Spider-Man have led to sequel installments as well as encouraging the development of numerous superhero film franchises in the 21st century, both successful (such as 2005's Batman Begins , a reboot of the Batman film series ) and unsuccessful (such as 2004's Catwoman ). With that resurgence,

13442-419: The latter, and eventually capture him before sending him to the Raft . Ayo advises Barnes not to return to Wakanda for some time, though he is able to ask them to create a suit for Sam Wilson. They appeared in the films Captain America: Civil War , Black Panther , Avengers: Infinity War , Avengers: Endgame , and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ; as well as the Disney+ television series The Falcon and

13585-687: The main canon for those characters. Crossovers often occur between characters of different works of superhero fiction. In comic books, highly publicized "events" are published featuring crossovers between many characters. In previous eras, especially in the Bronze Age of Comic Books , Marvel and DC had dedicated series in which their marquee characters such as Spider-Man and Superman would meet various characters in single stories such as Marvel Team-Up and DC Comics Presents . However, that publishing fashion has fallen away in favor of occasional limited series and guest appearances in regular series when

13728-400: The major comic-book companies. It has also appeared in poetry. Print magazines devoted to such stories include A Thousand Faces: A Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction , published since 2007 in print and electronic form, and online only as of 2011 and This Mutant Life: Superhero Fiction , a bimonthly print publication from Australia , published since 2010. The latter magazine was one of

13871-731: The martial art of shotokan karate-do . He is also a brilliant terrorist strategist, and has fluency in English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Japanese, and Esperanto . ULTIMATUM personnel have supplied him with a number of weapons and other devices, including a flame-throwing pistol, a teargas gun, a spiked mace, a shield, jet-propelled skis used for flight, teleportation devices, submarines, and rocket-propelled hovercraft. An alternate universe variant of Karl Morgenthau from Earth-138 called Captain Anarchy appears in Edge of Spider-Geddon #1. This version

14014-567: The most recent Captain America ( John Walker ). The Flag-Smasher then reluctantly teams up with Captain America, Battle Star , and Demolition-Man in thwarting an ULTIMATUM plot to set off a worldwide electromagnetic pulse that would have rendered all electrically operated machinery useless, feeling that completing such an operation using funding provided by a national symbol such as the Red Skull would have compromised his own integrity. The Flag-Smasher again makes himself head of ULTIMATUM and attempts to supply armaments to American subversives, but he

14157-503: The names National and All-American at the time, received an overwhelming response to Superman and, in the years that followed, introduced Batman , Wonder Woman , The Green Lantern , The Flash , The Hawkman , Aquaman , and The Green Arrow . The first team of superheroes was DC's Justice Society of America , featuring most of the aforementioned characters. Although DC dominated the superhero market at this time, companies large and small created hundreds of superheroes. The Human Torch of

14300-416: The novel Gladiator , were heroes with unusual abilities who fought sometimes larger-than-life foes. The word " superhero " itself dates to at least 1917. The most direct antecedents are pulp magazine crime fighters such as the masked and caped Zorro (introduced by Johnston M. McCulley in 1919 with The Curse of Capistrano ) with his trademark "Z", the technologically advanced "Black Sapper" (1929),

14443-413: The only difference between the two is that the hero uses his extraordinary powers to help others, while the villain uses his powers for selfish, destructive or ruthless purposes. Both superheroes and supervillains often use alter egos while in action. While sometimes the character's real name is publicly known, alter egos are most often used to hide the character's secret identity from their enemies and

14586-514: The organization and develop the Extremis genetic manipulation technology. Over the years, A.I.M. gathered an army of Extremis soldiers, but many of them became unstable and exploded. To cover the accidents up, Killian hired failed actor Trevor Slattery to pose as the Mandarin and claim responsibility for the "attacks". The Mandarin's actions eventually caught the attention of Tony Stark , whose mansion

14729-509: The original Captain America captured him. Establishing a society he called ULTIMATUM , whose name was an acronym for "The Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind," he made it an anti-nationalistic terrorist organization and made himself its Supreme Commander. With ULTIMATUM, he hijacked an American airliner, held its passengers hostage, and demanded the surrender of Captain America, who joined forces with S.H.I.E.L.D. to thwart his plot. For his part, when he confronts

14872-597: The post and killed Evanora before taking the brooch off her mother's corpse and flew away. It appeared in the Disney+ series WandaVision . The Starforce is an elite military task force of skilled Kree warriors in the service of the Kree Empire . Led by Yon-Rogg (portrayed by Jude Law in the 2019 film Captain Marvel ), the group also includes Vers , Korath , Minn-Erva , Att-Lass , and Bron-Char (portrayed by Brie Larson , Djimon Hounsou , Gemma Chan , Algenis Perez Soto , and Rune Temte , respectively). The group

15015-426: The power of the Infinity Stones . Thanos adopted six known children: Ebony Maw , Proxima Midnight , Corvus Glaive , Cull Obsidian , Gamora , and Nebula , and trained them in the ways of combat, turning each of them into a deadly warrior. Over the years, Gamora and Nebula would both turn on Thanos, while the rest of his children continued to serve him faithfully. In 2018, once Thanos initiated his crusade to acquire

15158-620: The preternaturally mesmeric The Shadow (1930), the "peak human" Doc Savage (1933), and The Spider (1933), and comic strip characters such as Hugo Hercules (1902), Popeye (1929), the Phantom (1936) and Olga Mesmer (1937). The first masked crime-fighter created for comic books was writer-artist George Brenner 's non-superpowered detective the Clock , who debuted in Centaur Publications ' Funny Pages #6 (Nov. 1936). In August 1937, in

15301-549: The price of keeping such a secret. In addition, this narrative trope can allow fantasy characters to be in occasional realistic stories without the fantasy element of the sub-genre appearing. With supervillains, by contrast, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to conceal their crimes from the general public, so that they may inflict greater harm on the general public, and to enable them to act freely, and hence illegally, without risk of arrest by law-enforcement authorities. Death in superhero fiction

15444-489: The protagonist undertakes a quest to achieve both material advantage and psychological and ethical maturity, and is generally considered to function as a metaphor and guide for children transitioning to adulthood or from egoism to altruism as the core concept of the self . Antecedents of the superhero archetype include such folkloric heroes as Robin Hood , who adventured in distinctive clothing, and King Arthur , who possessed

15587-426: The public. With superheroes, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to protect those close to them from being harmed and to prevent them from being called upon constantly, even for problems not serious enough to require their attention. This can be a source of drama with the superhero being forced to devise means of getting out of sight to change without revealing their identity, or bearing

15730-413: The purchasing of war bonds . Following superheroes's popularity during this time, those characters' appeal began to dwindle in the post-war era. Comic-book publishers, casting about for new subjects and genres, found success in, particularly, crime fiction , the most prominent comic of which was Lev Gleason Publications 's Crime Does Not Pay , and horror . The lurid nature of these genres sparked

15873-471: The recently displaced Norman Osborn seeks shelter at the F.E.A.S.T. Community Center, and is tended to by May until her nephew Peter Parker arrives to escort him to the New York Sanctum , housing all the other displaced individuals from across the multiverse . It appeared in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home . Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway , better known by its initialism GLK&H ,

16016-476: The return of the superhero at DC, Marvel Comics editor/writer Stan Lee and the artists/co-writers Jack Kirby , Steve Ditko and Bill Everett launched a new line of superhero comic books, beginning with the Fantastic Four in 1961 and continuing with the Incredible Hulk , Spider-Man , Iron Man , Thor , the X-Men , and Daredevil . These comics continued DC's use of science fiction concepts ( radiation

16159-400: The rise of e-book readers like Kindle and Nook, a host of superhero stories have been self-published, including R. R. Haywood's Extracted (2017), R. T. Leone's Invinciman (2017), and Mike Vago's Selfdestructible (2018). While many popular superheroes have been featured in licensed video games, up until recently there have been few that have revolved around heroes created specifically for

16302-483: The short-lived action comedy, Misfits of Science . In the 2010s, Warner Brothers created a successful adaptation of the Green Arrow , Arrow , that began the successful Arrowverse television franchise. Marvel meanwhile had a successful television spin-off of their Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , while creating a number of series on the streaming service Netflix , before moving

16445-511: The six Infinity Stones, he sends them to Earth in order to retrieve the Time and Mind Stones. Maw and Obsidian attempt to remove the former from Doctor Strange's Eye of Agamotto while Glaive and Midnight attempt to steal the latter from Vision, but they are each killed by members of the Avengers. Five years later, alternate versions of the Children of Thanos from 2014 time-travel to 2023 and participate in

16588-403: The so-called Golden Age of Comic Books to distinguish them from characters with super-powers. Normally, superheroes use their powers to counter day-to-day crime while also combating threats against humanity by their criminal counterparts, supervillains. Long-running superheroes such as DC's Batman , Superman and Wonder Woman and Marvel's Spider-Man , Captain America and Iron Man have

16731-424: The spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books , though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works. A superhero is most often the protagonist of superhero fiction. However, some titles, such as Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross , use superheroes as secondary characters . A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero)

16874-410: The story of several ordinary people who each suddenly find themselves with a superpower. The British series Misfits incorporates super-human abilities to undesirables in society. In this case, young offenders put on community service all have super powers and each use them to battle villains of sorts. In the 1980s, an unsuccessful attempt was made to realize this last concept in the United States with

17017-418: The subgenre has become a major element of mainstream film production with outstanding successes like 2008's The Dark Knight , 2012's The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises , 2013's Iron Man 3 , and 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron attracting major revenue and critical plaudits. This trend was reinforced in 2016 with the outstanding success of the critically lauded Deadpool , a film adaptation of

17160-458: The superhero archetype. Superheroes occasionally have been adapted into prose fiction , starting with Random House 's 1942 novel The Adventures of Superman by George Lowther . In the 1970s, Elliot S! Maggin wrote the Superman novels, Last Son of Krypton (1978) and Miracle Monday , coinciding with but not adapting the movie Superman . Other early adaptations include novels starring

17303-495: The supervillain often possesses a genius intellect that allows him to draft complex schemes or create fantastic devices. Another common trait is possession of considerable resources to help further his aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators, mobsters, and terrorists and often have aspirations of world domination or universal leadership. Superheroes and supervillains often mirror each other in their powers, abilities, or origins. In some cases,

17446-448: The supervillain, Captain America tries to persuade the Flag-Smasher that while his violent methods are unacceptable, his overall goal of world peace and cooperation is laudable and he should promote it by being a positive example, but the fanatic refuses to listen and has to be subdued by force. The Flag-Smasher later learns that the Red Skull had been funding ULTIMATUM. Surviving assassination attempts ULTIMATUM made upon him, he captured

17589-503: The team assists Carter on a mission to Russia, Juniper reveals he was the one who came up with the name "Howling Commandos" before he is later killed in action. In the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier , the team is specifically identified as the Howling Commandos as part of a Smithsonian exhibit. In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , the team uses old Howling Commandos' equipment provided by Agent Antoine Triplett who

17732-399: The team he is leaving for Earth. Mantis announces she is leaving for self discovery, and Nebula asks Drax to help her raise the children on Knowhere. Quill then gives Rocket the title of Captain and lets him keep his Zune. Sometime later, Rocket, leading a new team consisting of a massively grown Groot, Cosmo, Kraglin, Warlock, Warlock's pet Blurp, and Phyla, one of the rescued children, go on

17875-469: The team in the final confrontation. Four years later, they aid Thor and the Avengers in confronting Thanos in his attempt to collect the six Infinity Stones . Thanos succeeds in collecting all of Stones, murdering Gamora in the process, and disintegrates half of all life in the universe, with Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, and Groot among his victims, with only Rocket and Nebula spared. After Thanos has destroyed

18018-659: The team is a United States–based organization composed mainly of enhanced individuals committed to the world's protection from threats. The Avengers operate in New York State ; beginning at Avengers Tower in Midtown Manhattan , and subsequently, from the Avengers Compound in Upstate New York . They were foreshadowed in the 2008 film, Iron Man , in which the " Avengers Initiative " was referenced by Nick Fury in

18161-563: The team survives Ragnarok and the attack on the Statesman . They appeared in the film Thor: Ragnarok and the Disney+ series Loki (archival footage). The Salem Coven was a witch coven based in Salem, Massachusetts . In 1693, during the Salem witch trials , the coven brought one of its members, Agatha Harkness , to the woods. She begged to be spared but was tied to a wooden post with magic bonds. Evanora Harkness, her mother, inquired if she

18304-403: The television series Daredevil . In the episode " Nelson v. Murdock ", a flashback depicts Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson interning at the law firm Landman & Zack, who sued a man who developed cancer while working at a Roxxon plant and claiming the man revealed proprietary secrets. In the episode " Kinbaku ", Elektra Natchios breaks into Roxxon's systems to gain information, discovering

18447-527: The titular hero. Fellow DC Comics stars Batman and Robin made occasional guest appearances. Other superhero radio programs starred characters including the costumed but not superpowered Blue Beetle , and the non-costumed, superpowered Popeye . Also appearing on radio were such characters as the Green Hornet , the Green Lama , Doc Savage , and the Lone Ranger , a Western hero who relied on many conventions of

18590-418: The villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies, and science fiction in various media. They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other heroes. Whereas superheroes often wield fantastic powers, the supervillain possesses commensurate powers and abilities so that he can present a daunting challenge to the hero. Even without actual physical, mystical, superhuman or superalien powers,

18733-544: The writer, actually created the central and supporting characters; Shuster, as the artist, designed these characters, and gave Superman the first version of his now-iconic uniform.) The character possessed many of the traits that have come to define the superhero: a secret identity , superhuman powers and a colorful costume including a symbol and cape. His name is also the source of the term "superhero", although early comic book heroes were sometimes also called mystery men or masked heroes . DC Comics , which published under

18876-410: The writers felt the character's presence was justified. Intercompany crossovers , between characters of different continuity, are also common. Over the history of the comic book genre, writers for major characters' series were required to produce material to strict regular publishing schedules that often ran for years. As such to fulfill this strenuous creative requirement, superhero stories have used

19019-466: Was a Hydra agent due to his personal history being rewritten by Kobik . This Flag-Smasher is in fact a Life Model Decoy that Erik Selvig had built to assassinate Senator Herald on Rogers's behalf. After Grant Rogers' identity as Captain Krakoa is exposed, he adopts the Flag-Smasher mantle for himself. The Flag-Smasher is an athletic man who is a gifted hand-to-hand combatant with great proficiency in

19162-601: Was a common source of superpowers) but placed greater emphasis on personal conflict and character development. This led to many superheroes that differed from predecessors with more dramatic potential. For example, the Fantastic Four were a superhero family of sorts, who squabbled and even held some unresolved acrimony towards one another, and Spider-Man was a teenager who struggled to earn money and maintain his social life in addition to his costumed exploits. Superhero films began as Saturday movie serials aimed at children during

19305-419: Was a mainstream superhero series which had characters that were a mix of fantasy ( Raven , Wonder Girl ), science fiction ( Cyborg , Starfire , Changeling , Kid Flash ) and crime fiction ( Robin ). Furthermore, their series had such a variety of stories, such as in a year-long period of 1982-3 where in rapid succession, the team would face Brother Blood , a costumed supervillain cult leader, then promptly have

19448-651: Was a special task force led by Thaddeus Ross in order to hunt down the Hulk . Part of the United States Army , the SOCC tracked Banner down in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil and attempted to arrest him, but Banner transforms into the Hulk and manages to escape. The SOCC then confront the Hulk at Grayburn College and arrest Banner, but are forced to become temporary allies with him during his fight with

19591-425: Was a witch, which Agatha admitted to. Evanora responded by saying she had betrayed her coven and stole knowledge above her place and that she practiced the darkest of magic, which Agatha denied. The witches tried to kill Agatha with energy beams as Agatha pleaded with Evanora. Agatha continued to cry until her powers took over and she reversed the effect of the beams onto the witches and killed them. Agatha broke free of

19734-466: Was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. Over the course of the films and related media (such as Disney+ miniseries ), several teams and organizations have been formed, each with different aims and purposes. The Avengers are the central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Saga" within the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Created by Nick Fury and led primarily by Steve Rogers / Captain America ,

19877-407: Was its first test subject in the process. In the episode " Beginning of the End ", the Cybertek manufacturing facility's director Kyle Zeller prepares a team of Deathloks to combat Coulson's team. Following their defeat however, Garrett and Hydra push ahead with their plans while Coulson's team storm Cybertek and take Zeller hostage, believing he was working for Hydra. When Agent Skye discovers Hydra

20020-483: Was later destroyed by A.I.M., while Killian kidnapped U.S. President Matthew Ellis . Killian is ultimately stopped by Stark and James Rhodes , and is then killed by Pepper Potts . It appeared in the film Iron Man 3 . Bestman Salvage was a company based in New York owned and run by Adrian Toomes. Other employees included Phineas Mason, Herman Schultz, Jackson Brice, and Randy Vale. This company went defunct following

20163-484: Was originally slated to appear in early drafts, but was replaced by Killian. Roxxon's Cybertek division features in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the episode " T.R.A.C.K.S. ", they supply Ian Quinn with Project Deathlok technology to convert Mike Peterson into a cyborg. In the episode " Ragtag ", Coulson leads a S.H.I.E.L.D. team in infiltrating Cybertek to steal files on Project Deathlok, discovering S.H.I.E.L.D.-turned- Hydra agent John Garrett

20306-437: Was seen fighting against Liberteens , but was defeated and imprisoned. The Flag-Smasher then returned and launched an attack on a New York diner, where Nomad (Rikki Barnes) was having a chat with her friend John. The explosion caused John to get hurt, and Rikki quickly put on her new Nomad uniform to fight the Flag-Smasher, who was now wearing a similar suit to the original Flag-Smasher. The Falcon and Redwing helped Nomad defeat

20449-417: Was trampled to death in a riot at a Latverian embassy. He came to believe that humanity needed to do away with the concept of countries and nationalism that made people feel superior to those of different nationalities. The Flag-Smasher used terrorism to spread anti-nationalist sentiment. He conducted a one-man terrorist campaign in New York City against nationalist symbols, holding hundreds as hostages until

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