It has been 30 years since Marvel Comics ended one of its longest-running comic books, the finish of a 33-year run that featured some of the biggest Marvel superheroes in history. The Avengers started their run in 1963 from creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby when Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, and Ant-Man teamed up to stop a seemingly rampaging Hulk, only to find out that Loki was the villain controlling the beast. From that point on, names like Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Black Knight, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and many more joined the team and led this iconic comic book series through a huge and successful 402-issue run.
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However, on August 7, 1996, The Avengers #402 by Mark Waid and Mike Deodato Jr. went on sale, and it marked the end of the series, finishing off the volume after a 33-year run.
The Avengers Comic Book Ended Its 33-Year Run in 1996
The Avengers had been around for 33 years, and after the original team began with Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Ant-Man, and Hulk, it soon morphed into something bigger than those five heroes. Captain America joined next, and he remained an iconic member of the team throughout the book’s entire run. However, by 1996, things were getting a little shaky, and the title wasn’t selling as well as it used to. The team was also very different from what it used to look like.
This was all taken care of in 1996 with the “Onslaught” storyline that came from the pages of X-Men comics. In this specific issue, titled “End of the Line,” the Avengers worked to contain the widespread damage after Onslaught’s attack. While the X-Men tried to deal with Onslaught, the Avengers raced to save lives and fight the evil mutants Post and Holocaust. When the issue ended, the Avengers raced off to help fight Onslaught again, and the team’s official comic book ended with that moment.
Marvel Comics Rebooted The Avengers in a Controversial Style
When the Avengers left the battle with Post and Holocaust and went to help fight Onslaught, no one knew what was about to happen. To stop Onslaught, the Avengers and Fantastic Four sacrificed their lives to save the planet, and all of the main Avengers seemingly died in that battle. The Avengers comic book ended because the team died following this issue. However, in reality, that isn’t what happened. Instead, Franklin Richards saved the Avengers and Fantastic Four and created an Earth in a pocket universe, with the Avengers and Fantastic Four believing they always lived there as they went on with their lives.
In real life, Marvel Comics wanted to reboot its two biggest team titles, with Avengers and Fantastic Four kicking off new storylines in the new “Heroes Reborn” universe without the baggage of their past legacy and comic book storylines. It was the precursor to the Ultimate Universe, which would launch a few years later. Here, it was also a chance to give Image Comics creators a chance to run with the big Marvel titles. Rob Liefeld took over Captain America and The Avengers while Jim Lee took over Fantastic Four and Iron Man. Marvel ended up letting Liefeld go after only six issues, and the series lasted just 13 issues before Marvel brought the heroes back to the main Earth-616.
The Avengers Vol. 3 then arrived in December 1997, 16 months after Marvel ended the original run after 33 years, and the team was back to normal. Wasp was a normal human again, Iron Man was the original Tony Stark, and Thor was his old self. This was a return to form, which helped both reset the Avengers to their former form and fix the changes that happened before “Heroes Reborn” and what Liefeld helped turn the team into after that. Regardless, 30 years ago, Marvel changed the status quo when it ended its classic team series after 33 years of constant publication.
40 Years Ago, The Avengers Faced Their Darkest Hour in One of Marvel’s Most Celebrated Stories
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