Who the Heck are Marvel's Great Lakes Avengers?

For a team that's maintained a presence in the Marvel Universe for almost 30 years, the Great Lakes Avengers seldom get the spotlight. This team -- comprised of some of the weirdest heroes around -- has changed with the times since their debut in 1989, but their comedic tone has always remained intact. This fall, a new "Great Lakes Avengers" series -- the first in over a decade -- will introduce a whole new generation to the offbeat adventures of Marvel's kookiest quartet. But before you dive into the deep end with the new series from writer Zac Gorman and artist Will Robson, let this guide to the GLA's history be your flotation device.

The Great Lakes Avengers originally burst onto the scene in a most unexpected manner: fully formed with codenames and costumes, much to the surprise of the real Avengers franchise team. Writer/artist John Byrne introduced the team in 1989's "West Coast Avengers" #46, wherein Hawkeye and Mockinbird discovered that there was a team of "Avengers" operating in a non-coastal city. And while this quintet of heroes definitely didn't have anyone's blessing to use the Avengers name, they were more than just superhero enthusiasts; these guys actually had powers. The original GLA lineup, which has remained remarkably consistent over the past 27 years, consisted of:

Mr. Immortal, their leader, who has a healing factor and automatically resurrects himself following death.
Flatman, who is not Mr. Fantastic, although he possesses a remarkably similar stretching power; the major difference between the two heroes is that Flatman is, well, flat.
Big Bertha, a supermodel who bankrolled the GLA and also used her ability to increase her mass and strength to fight alongside the team.
Dinah Soar, a pterodactyl-esque hero of an unknown species, who used her sonic voice as a weapon and only communicated with Mr. Immortal.
Doorman, the cynical teleporter of the crew who manipulates the mysterious Darkforce Dimension.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird allowed the team to continue to use the name and even helped whip the oddball grouping into shape. The team put their superhero lessons to work when they were called to Texas to assist the Avengers in their mission to save Scarlet Witch and the Vision. After seeing what the team was capable of, Captain America gave the team his stamp of approval; the Great Lakes Avengers were unofficially official, as far as they were concerned. They continued to be trained by Hawkeye and Mockingbird and assisted the Avengers in battles against Terminus and the (decidedly less menacing sounding) Stevie.

After their initial stretch of appearances in 1989 and 1990, the GLA fell off the radar for much of the '90s -- that is, until a similarly weird character got his own book and the team found a new home. That character? Deadpool, of course.

Writer Joe Kelly resurrected the team after a seven-year hiatus -- and he used the team of misfits as a collective straight man for the Merc with a Mouth. The team re-emerged in 1997's "Deadpool #10 and, keeping with the times, they had a new moniker. As the Avengers were presumed dead at the time, the team had latched onto another popular superhero franchise: the Thunderbolts. Calling themselves the Lightning Rods, the team clashed with Deadpool at an aquarium in San Francisco. During the fight, 'Pool and his prisoner/roommate Blind Al were sucked into Doorman's portal while also attempting to teleport. The mix of energies ended up transporting the pair back to the events of 1967's "Amazing Spider-Man" #47. Yep, the GLA/Lightning Rods were the impetus for Deadpool's infamous jaunt into Spidey's history.

But the GLA's rebranding effort didn't last long; the Thunderbolts were revealed to actually be the Masters of Evil in disguise, thus ruining the Lightning Rods' name by association. During the ensuing melee in "Thunderbolts" #17 between the ex-Lightning Rods and the T'bolts, Mr. Immortal even offhandedly suggested the GLA piggyback on S.H.I.E.L.D. and call themselves S.W.O.R.D. -- the Superhuman Warriors Operation Retribution Division. The Rods and 'Bolts came to an uneasy truce when the villain Graviton attacked. After his defeat, the two teams parted ways and the Lightning Rods reverted back to the Great Lakes Avengers.

After consistently turning up in supporting roles, the GLA took the lead in 2005's "GLA" limited series by Dan Slott and Paul Pelletier. Shoved into the spotlight, the team faced their biggest trial yet when they fought massively powerful Maelstrom. The battle killed founding GLAer Dinah Soar and pushed Doorman and Flatman to go on a recruitment drive for new members. The team added Squirrel Girl and Grasshopper to their ranks -- although Grasshopper was killed by the assassin Zaran pretty much immediately after joining. This has been a recurring gag with the team; three other characters named Grasshopper have all died either as they were joining the team or just because they made the mistake of appearing in a Great Lakes Avengers comic. Squirrel Girl survived, though, and became a full-fledged member. And Squirrel Girl's brief tenure as a GLAer has relevance for those enjoying her current solo adventures in "Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"; her squirrel sidekick Tippy-Toe debuted in "GLA" #4.

But nothing's ever easy for the GLA and the team was slapped with a cease and desist from the Maria Stark Foundation. The team had to ditch the "Avengers" part of their name, so they decked themselves out in black-and-yellow leather costumes and fought evil as the Great Lakes X-Men, or GLX. Then the X-Men discouraged them from appropriating their signature letter, leaving them nameless once again. The team fluctuated between being the Great Lakes Defenders and Great Lakes Champions until the government installed them as the official heroes of Wisconsin as part of the Avengers Initiative. The GLA/GLX/GLD/GLC became the GLI -- the Great Lakes Initiative.

All these changes eventually led to Squirrel Girl's departure; the unbeatable hero left her Great Lakes pals behind, mainly because she felt they relied on her too much and they'd never reach their full heroic potential if she kept bailing them out. And that's it -- the team hasn't appeared in a Marvel comic since late 2011. Since then, their one-time member Squirrel Girl has become a beloved solo hero and star of a popular ongoing series (and an actual Avenger). Even Deadpool, who was more or less on their level way back in the '90s, has gone on to international superstardom. Even though the GLA has seniority on both of those hilarious heroes, that level of attention has continually evaded them.

The new "Great Lakes Avengers" ongoing series looks like it will be dealing with that very thing; the team, now a quartet after the death of Dinah Soar back in 2005, carries a cardboard cutout of Squirrel Girl with them just in case anyone asks for a photo. After all, any association with Squirrel Girl will surely get them attention! Now based out of Detroit and given new Avengers membership cards, this series -- the team's first-ever ongoing one -- could finally raise this perpetually C-list team's profile.

Do you think the Great Lakes Avengers are poised for greatness? Sound off in the comments!