User blog:Beast of Averoigne/Just who is an Avenger?!

I am asking myself this question ever since Moon Knight became a member in the pages of West Coast Avengers 33 in which he was presented as the 24th member of the team. That never quite fit with my count which puts him at 34. Also I've seen in some profile on the database that someone was counted as the 51st (I believe) member. Just can't remember who that was right now.

So, let's try to count them down as far as CIVIL WAR. I will deliberately ignore CIVIL WAR because just about everyone on each side called themselves Avengers. Which is just too confusing. For the same reason I will not enter the time after CIVIL WAR with ... well, a lot of Avengers Teams and Divisions.

Honorary Members are out of the equation as well.

Avengers 1

1. Hulk (Bruce Banner) 2. Thor (Thor Odinson/Donald Blake) 3. Iron Man (Tony Stark) 4. Ant-Man (Henry Pym) 5. Wasp (Janet van Dyne)

Avengers 2 (chronologically Avengers 1.5

-. Giant Man (Henry Pym)

Avengers 4

6. Captain America (Steve Rogers)

Avengers 16

7. Hawkeye (Clint Barton) 8. Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) 9. Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff)

Avengers 19

10. Swordsman (Jacques Duquesne)

Avengers 28

-. Goliath (Henry Pym)

Avengers 45

11. Hercules

Avengers 52

12. Black Panther (T'Challa)

Avengers 58

13. Vision

Avengers 63

-. Yellowjacket (Henry Pym) -. Goliath (Clint Barton)

Avengers 71

14. Black Knight (Dane Whitman)

Avengers 111

15. Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)

Giant-Size Avengers 4

16. Mantis

Avengers 137 (probationary, both), Avengers 151 (full, both)

17. Beast (Henry McCoy) 18. Moondragon (Heather Douglas)

Avengers 148 (probationary, not sure when she became a full member but she was around later at ACTS OF VENGEANCE for example)

19. Hellcat (Pat Walker)

Avengers 158 (probationary); Avengers 182 (full)

20. Wonderman (Simon Williams)

Avengers Vol 1 174

21. Two-Gun Kid (Matt Hawk)

Avengers 183

22. Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)

Avengers 184

23. Falcon (Sam Wilson)

Avengers 197 (probationary, not sure if the ever became a full member)

24. Jocasta

Avengers 211

25. Tigra (Greer Nelson)

Avengers 221

26. She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

Avengers 227 (probationary), Avengers 231 (full)

27. Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)

Avengers 232 (probationary), Avengers Vol 1 243 (full]

28. Starfox

West Coast Avengers 1

29. Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse) 30. Iron Man (James Rhodes)

Avengers 262

31. Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie)

West Coast Avengers 9

32. Thing (Ben Grimm)

Avengers 278

33. Dr. Druid (Anthony Druid)

West Coast Avengers 21 (Moon Knight on probation), West Coast Avengers Vol 2 33 (Moon Knight full)

-. Dr. Pym (Henry Pym) 34. Moon Knight (Marc Spector)

Avengers 297

-. Kang-Nebula (not sure about numbering her since she, unlike Swordsman or Wonderman never joined them as a true member but just as an infiltrator)

Avengers Annual 17

35. Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara)

Captain America 349

36. Demolition Man (Dennis Dunphy)

Avengers 300

-. Captain (Steve Rogers) 37. Gilgamesh 38. Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) 39. Invisible Woman (Sue Richards)

Avengers 305 (first time ever seen as an Avenger since she declined membership before in an issue of WEST COAST AVENGERS, must've joined off-panel somewhere)

40. Firebird (Bonita Juarez)

West Coast Avengers 44

41. US-Agent (John Walker)

Avengers Annual 18

42. Quasar (Wendell Vaughn)

Avengers: West Coast 50

43. Human Torch (Jim Hammond)

Avengers 314

44. Sersi

Avengers 319 (first time ever seen as a member of the Avengers to my knowledge)

45. Stingray (Walter Newell)

Avengers 329 (probation for Rage and Sandman who never became full members to my knowledge though they were around when Busiek took over after HEROES REBORN)

46. Rage (Elvin Haliday) 47. Sandman (William Baker) 48. Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

Avengers: West Coast 74

49. Living Lightning (Miguel Santos) 50. Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter)

Avengers 343

51. Crystal 52. Thor (Eric Masterson)

Avengers: West Coast 83

53. Machine Man

Avengers: West Coast 93

54. Darkhawk (Chris Powell)

Avengers: West Coast 94

-. War Machine (James Rhodes)

Avengers 364 (probationary, never a full member to my knowledge)

55. Deathcry

Avengers 374

-. Thunderstrike (Eric Masterson)

Avengers: Unplugged 5

-. Photon (Monica Rambeau)

Avengers 4

-. Warbird (Carol Danvers) 56. Justice (Vance Astrovik) 57. Firestar (Angelica Jones)

Avengers 27

58. Triathlon (Delroy Garrett)

between Avengers 37 and Avengers Vol 3 38

59. Jack of Hearts (Jonathan Hart)

Avengers 62

60. Ant-Man (Scott Lang)

Avengers 81

61. Captain Britain (Kelsey Leigh)

New Avengers 3

62. Luke Cage -. Spider-Woman (Veranke) (not giving her a number for very much the same reasons as with Kang-Nebula)

New Avengers 7

63. Wolverine (Logan)

New Avengers 10

64. Sentry (Robert Reynolds)

New Avengers 13

65. Ronin (Maya Lopez)

Next: CIVIL WAR. I might continue this at a later date up to MARVEL NOW! but I'd still leave out CW. ;-)

Some things always confused me. Why are some people probationary members before they become full members and some not. The Sub-Mariner would be a good example. With his checkered past one should think, that he would be a candidate for probation. But no such thing happened. And just why are people like the Thing and Two-Gun Kid are counted as full members even up to that point when there membership was so brief, that it barely lasted an issue. Also, I'm not sure why the Swordsman, who was an infiltrator, is mostly counted as a member since Avengers 19. Doesn't really matter as far as Moon Knight being the 24th member is concerned since he returned, but Wonderman is counted as a member after his return and not while he was an infiltrator. Though he too would not affect Moon Knight's number. Jocasta and Hellcat could be left out since they were only on probation up to that point in time (at least do my knowledge). But that would be just two people. Four if one counts Thing and Two-Gun Kid as not really Avengers. Which would still put Moonie on 30, not 24.

Also, I'm not sure why Demolition Man is considered a member. He might have been appointed by Captain America, but went MIA before any of the usual procedure could be done so technically he can't be an official member of the Avengers.

Is Silverclaw a full or at least a probationary member or just a honorary member? I never really quite got that one.