10 Avengers yet to assemble on film (and three we hope never will)

Future Avengers?

Since the Avengers first assembled in 1963 around 130 different superheroes (some only just meriting the description hero were looking at you, Starfox) have signed up as card-carrying members of the roster. In fact its easier to list Marvel superheroes who havent been Avengers. Even some youd consider committed loners (like Spider-Man) or who seem loyal to another group (Wolverine, Mr Fantastic) have served their time as Avengers too.

Complicating matters are the various spin-off, and universe reboots. Though the Avengers have never quite fractured as much as the X-titles, we have had Avengers Academy, West Coast Avengers, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, etc, etc, etc. Some of these occasional Avengers have either already had a taste of big- or small-screen fame in the MCU or soon will have. And theres every reason to expect that characters like Black Panther (film due in 2018), Ant-Man (2015), Captain Marvel (2018) or Power Man (TV series due in the next couple of years) may turn up in a future Avengers film. Here, though, are 13 forgotten Avengers that have yet to rouble the MCU (barring Easter eggs): 10 that it would be great to see on the big screen and three we sincerely hope we never do

Hercules

First Marvel appearance: Journey Into Mystery #1 (1965) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers #45 (1967) The Greek mythological hero who prefers to go by his Roman monicker has been an on-off member of the Avengers ever since #38 when they took him in after he was banished from Olympus. He became a full-time member a few issues later. More recently hes been a member of both Mighty Avengers and New Avengers. The comics have neatly sidestepped any willy-waving between Thor and Herc about whose gods are bigger, but hey, a movie where Olympus goes to war against Asgard would be epic. In all senses.

Moondragon

First Marvel appearance: Iron Man #54 (1973) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers #151 (1976) Orphaned girl Heather Douglas was adopted by the father of her parents killer. Which may sound like a soap plot, but that killer was Thanos. His dad, Mentor, took Heather to Titan, where she trained and studied to become the peak physical specimen known as Moondragon. Somehow the training gave her telepathy and telekinesis too. There must be something in the water on Titan. Anyway, she came back to Earth, started off as a villain, then later teamed up with the Avengers and became a sometime member. She also trains Patsy Walker to be Hellcat and discovered that her dads spirit had been resurrected as Drax the Destroyer (which nobody mentioned in the Guardians Of The Galaxy film, oddly).

Wonder Man

First Marvel appearance: Avengers #9 (1964) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers #194 (1980) Another villain who became a hero (its an Avengers trope), Simon Williams aka, the superstrong Wonder Man first bothered the Avengers in #9, when he was sent by Baron Zemo to infiltrate the team and then betray them. He lured them into a trap but then had a change of conscience and decided to help them, at the cost of his own life. Tony Stark recorded his brain patterns and nearly 100 issues later he was resurrected, and hung around for ages on the edges of the team, trying to prove his worth. Eventually made a full-time member, he had to juggle saving the world with an acting career; his glowing eyes did rather restrict the parts he could play, though. He was a founding member of the West Coast Avengers and currently in the Avengers Unity Squad. Remains to this day a rarity in the Marvel universe by being a something-Man with no hyphen.

Tigra

First Marvel appearance: Claws Of The Cat #1 (1972) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers #211 (1981) A buxom, half-dressed were-tiger? How come Hollywood hasnt been milking this potential for all its worth? She was originally just known as the Cat and was more of a traditional costumed superhero (the later character Hellcat basically nicked her look) before being rechristened and made more animalistic for Giant-Sized Creatures #1 in 1974. She then had an unsuccessful run in her own title before becoming one of Marvels perennial B-list characters, forever cropping up in other titles, desperate for a visionary creator to propel her into the A-list. Were still waiting.

Justice

First Marvel appearance: Giant-Sized Defenders #5 (1975) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers Vol 3 #4 (1998) Boy, this guy has a complicated history; for a start, in an entirely different timeline he becomes Vance Astro in Guardians Of The Galaxy. Older Vance travelled back in time to tell his younger self not to become an astronaut. Younger Vance listens, but his latest telekinetic power erupts anyway and he becomes Marvel Boy. He applies to become an Avenger, but Captain America turns him down, so he helps form the New Warriors instead, where he started bonking Firestar. Then he was tried for murder, found guilty of negligible homicide, did time in a prison for super dudes called the Vault, learnt a lot about himself (and probably how to weave baskets too) and came out a new man. Well, a new superhero anyway: Justice. Now that he had bona fide credentials as criminal, the Avengers were, of course, happy to have him as a member. More recently he was a teacher at the Avengers Academy.

Jocasta

First Marvel appearance: Avengers #162 (1977) Joined the Avengers in: Mighty Avengers #21 (2009) Not quite the usual villain-to-Avengers story this. Instead its a case of created-by-villain-to-Avengers story. Ultron built Jocasta to be his robot partner (using the life energy of his creators wife Janet Pym, the Wasp). Hed clearly never see Bride Of Frankenstein otherwise hed have known what was going to happen. Jocasta loathed Ultron, and despite being programmed to obey him, she managed to betray him, in the process leaving her metal body a lifeless husk. Cue decades of revivals and deaths, sporadic membership of the Avengers, and crushes on unsuitable men including the Vision and Hank Pym (which was a bit like fancying your grandad).

Firestar

First Marvel appearance: (on TV) Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends (1981) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers Vol 3 #4 (1998) Firestar who in terms of power was practically a female version of DCs Firestorm, or, in other words, the Human Torch without need to Flame On (heat blasts, flight) was created for the cartoon Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, then graduated to the real Marvel comics universe. In the TV show she was referred to as a former X-Man, and the first comic she showed up in was Uncanny X-Men #193. She then starred in her own miniseries before apparently vanishing into obscurity before her career was revived by joining Justices New Warriors. She followed him to the Avengers. After surviving Marvels Civil War event, she retired but is currently back in action as an X-Man, thus doubling her chances of a film appearance.

Sersi

First Marvel appearance: The Eternals #3 (1976) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers #314 (1990) Sersi was created by the legendary as Jack Kirby in his cosmic period as part of the Eternals, super humans who were an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth by beings called Celestials (theyre demi-gods with a sci-fi rationale, in other words). Sersi differed from her fellow Eternals in that she loved to live among humans. After a few centuries of ligging she bumped into the Wasp and Starfox at a party and so registered on the Avengers radar. So when Captain America needed a shapeshifter (one of her many powers) he gave her a call and soon she was a full-time member of the team. She spent most of her time shameless flirting with the embarrassed Captain, which would be fun to watch in an Avengers film.

Cannonball

First Marvel appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers Vol 5 #1 (2012) A mutant whose powers are like a flying version of Juggernaut hes impossible to stop in flight Sam Guthrie is another of those Marvel superheroes whos been finding employment with any team wholl have him for decades now. He first emerged in the New Mutants, and has since been a member of X-Force, the X-Men, X-Corporation and X-Treme X-Men, among others. Trying a full set, he joined the Avengers as part of the Marvel Now relaunch in 2012. He just needs a gig with the Fantastic Four now

Hyperion

First Marvel appearance: Avengers Vol 5 #1 (2012) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers Vol 5 #1 (2012) Hyperion as a character has been hanging the Marvel comic universe since Avengers #69 (1969) when would you believe it he was a villain! He was part of the Squadron Sinister, which was like a supervillain skit of DCs Justice League. Hyperion was the Superman analogue. Over the ensuing years various other alternate Hyperions have popped up occupying varying positions on the villain/hero scale. But the Hyperion who is currently serving with the Avengers in the Marvel Now continuity isnt related to any of them. He still has Superman-like powers (right down to atomic vision) and has his own code: Truth without compromise, thought without error, All things for the betterment of the whole. Itd be great to see him in an Avengers films, just to see if the MCU could make a better job of Superman than Zack Snyder. Well, it cant be too difficult

Triathlon

First Marvel appearance: Avengers Vol 3 #8 (1998) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers Vol 3 #27 (2000) The first of the trio we DONT want to see in any Avengers film is, somewhat fittingly, Triathlon. Part of the reason is the costume, which is vile; its ironic that he later changed his name to 3D-Man, as you needed special glasses to look at his first costume without getting headache. His powers were also rubbish; he was three times as strong and fast as normal humans. Gosh. He was also downright irritating; he won his place on the team after some bad publicity had made the Avengers look racist, then spent the whole time with a big chip on his shoulder, moaning about how the others didnt really want him there. Dont get us wrong casual racism and positive discrimination are worthy issues for comic books to raise, but the writers dont help their cause by making the focus of the discussion such a unlikeable idiot.

Starfox

First Marvel appearance: Iron Man #55 (1973) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers #243 (1984) Nothing to do with console game character, Starfox was, in fact, a cosmic lounge lizard; the emphasis in his name is definitely on the fox and in foxy. Hes actually Eros, the brother of Thanos, and among various other powers he has control over other peoples emotions, which he merrily uses as some kind of telepathic rohypnol to bed women. Vile and creepy

Machine Man

First Marvel appearance: 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (1977) Joined the Avengers in: Avengers West Coast #69 (1991) Machine Man was another Jack Kirby creation, basically Star Trek: The Next Generations Data before Data a machine in search of a soul. Hes actually a popular character and theres nothing particularly heinous about him like Triathlon and Starfox. But hes too similar to the android Vision (wholl be introduced in Age Of Ultron) to be included in any future Avengers film. More to the point, his extendable limbs are just begging for critics to make Inspector Gadget comparisons. For the best movie reviews, subscribe to Total Film.