Top 12 Avengers-Number 7

The Hulk

Of all the characters considered to be Avengers, the Hulk is probably the most unconventional. If you go back to the origins of the Avengers, you will find that Loki tried to use the Hulk to destroy his brother, Thor, but unintentionally brought together the heros that would become the Avengers. The Hulk played a huge part in winning that battle, and he agreed to join the team.

Shortly after the team formed, the team's distrust of the the Hulk became apartent to even the Hulk's single-minded intellect. He left the team and rarely has anything to do with them. He does pop up from time to time, usually unexpected, but not unwanted.

The Hulk is a creature that exists because of the bravery of one man, Bruce Banner. While doing tests with Gamma radioation, he noticed a young man, Rick Jones, near the location of a Gamma bomb that was about to explode. Banner hurried to the site and saved Rick, but Banner was caught in the blast. Exposure to the Gamma radiation should have killed him, but instead, it transformed him.

In the original concept, Banner became the Hulk at night, but later, the transformations happened when Banner got angry. Generally the Hulk is only looking to express his anger through destruction, and the madder he gets, the stronger he gets. Bruce is always looking for a cure for his condition, and some of these attempts have led to some very interesting storylines.

Let me tell you about a couple of my favorite Avengers-related storylines involving the Hulk:

It's the 90's and one creative team decides to see what happens when you seperate Bruce Banner from the Hulk. In the comics, the job is done and it doesn't turn out well at all. The seperated Hulk is full of rage and does not have the calming influence of Banner to bring that rage under control. In one issue, the Avengers decide to deal with the problem since the Hulk is one of their own.

The East Coast team sends Hercules, and Namor, while the West Coast team sends Iron Man and Wonder Man. The four heroes do their best, but it isn't enough to stop a Hulk without the Banner persona. This Hulk does not have a limit to how much rage it can possess, and since the Hulk gets stronger the madder he gets, there is no limit to his strength either. Eventually, the Hulk gets bored with the fight and wanders away.

I also really enjoyed the time when the Hulk and Bruce Banner were united as one coherent being. He could think, but he still had the strength to do whatever he wanted. This Hulk was very different from your typical "Hulk smash" creature. Eventually, the rage took over the mind and the Hulk went back to his usual stories.

The Hulk has also been the most used in movies and television. Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno did an excellent job bringing David Banner's story to life. (I guess Bruce just wasn't right.) The show ran for several seasons with tie-in movies involving Daredevil, and Thor.

The Hulk has also had two movies recently and a role in the Avengers. Look for the green beast to continue to entertain.

Top 12 Avengers-Number 9

Janet Van Dyne was a wealthy socialite with no real concerns on her mind until the day her father, a scientist, was killed. She then teamed up with Henry Pym, the scientist and hero known at the time as Ant Man. Hank used his Pym particles to allow Janet to shrink in size, and sprout wings from her back when she was at wasp size. She could also shoot energy blasts called 'wasp stings.'

In her early career, Jan was a bit of a flake. In the one TPB I read recently, she made a comment about wishing she could "contribute like the boys" or some such nonsense at least three times in the ten issues, and she wan't part of all of the stories.

Fortunately, Jan got over that attitude, as well as her marriage to Hank. They were married for quite a while after Hank got his head out of the clouds, and realized she actually liked him, but the marriage ended when, under pressures to be stronger, faster, better, he finally cracked under the pressure of the super hero life. (This pressure influenced him to led him to try Goliath, and Yellowjacket personas, as well as the creation of Ultron.)

My real experience with Jan was the time frame when she was the Chairperson of the East Coast branch of the team. At first it could be said that she only held the role because she was one of the founding members of the team, but she quickly became the leader that the team needed, and worked hard to make their adventures worth the money for the comic book. She worked hard to improve herself while still shopping and having make overs with the girls whenever she could find the time.

One of her most impressive feats was pushing her ability to become the Wasp by reducing the amount she had to shrink in order to gain use of her wings and stings. She actually reached the point where she could be almost at her full height which made her a very fierce woman with whom to tangle.

With or without the team, she has faced some of the biggest names in the Marvel universe including, the Hulk, Hercules, and she even held her own for a while against the Absorbing Man.

Just because she's small and a bit flaky at times, doesn't mean you should count out the Wasp.