The Avengers are the foremost superhero team in the Marvel Universe. Comprised of some of the most powerful and skilled heroes Marvel has to offer, they are the first line of defense against the biggest threats. The gold standard when it comes to teams, they hold the line when other teams can't. With the threats they face, leading the Avengers is a daunting proposition but luckily, they have one of the best leaders in their roster, Captain America.
One of the most inspiring heroes around, Cap is the gold standard when it comes to leaders. He's a great tactician and those he leads will follow him into Hell with the assurance that they will get through with a win. Captain America is a great leader but are there other Avengers who could do a better job? Let's take a look.
10 Captain America Should Be Leader: Incredibly Tough
A leader needs to be able to take a licking and keep on ticking, especially when leading a team like the Avengers. While others can always step up, they may not know the plan or be as good at modifying things on the fly. Captain America is perfect in that respect, as he's taken some hardcore beating over the years and he's walked away from them.
Even though the supersoldier serum didn't do a lot to enhance his durability, Cap has an uncanny ability to take loads of punishment and keep going. His toughness is just about unparalleled.
9 A Better Choice: Hawkeye
Most people wouldn't think of Hawkeye as much of a team leader, but he's actually led Avengers teams in the past, specifically the West Coast branch, as well as leading the Thunderbolts. The amazing archer doesn't get enough credit for just how good he is- people look down on him because of his flippant attitude and lack of powers, but they are discounting one of the bravest Avengers around.
Hawkeye is a normal guy with a bow and arrow who fights gods, aliens, and superpowered foes. The bravery that takes is flabbergasting and on top of that, he's proven to be a great leader over the years. He may have spent years sassing Cap, but the whole time, he was learning from the Star-Spangled Avenger and would be a great leader of the Avengers.
8 Captain America Should Be Leader: He's Got Connections
The Avengers is a huge team and they need a leader who is well connected, one who can work with all kinds of folks and has alliances that will help out when things are at their worst. Captain America shines in this regard, having a deep bench of allies, heroes he can call on when things get hairy for the Avengers. This wide variety of talent that Cap can call on is a great asset to the team.
There are few heroes as well connected as Captain America and the ones who happen to be friends with Cap, expanding his network even further.
7 A Better Choice: Black Widow
Black Widow is one of the best spies in Marvel Universe, a formidable combatant and a superhero who has been around the superhero block, tackling some of the worst of the worst. She's also a former leader of the Avengers, a position she was way better at than most people would have imagined with her background. She combines a lot of the same qualities that Cap has--the toughness, the skill, the tactical acumen--with a tenacity and a willingness to go to extremes that others balk at.
Black Widow is a perfect leader for the Avengers because she's willing to go the extra mile to take down the bad guys. She can lead and strategize with the best of them and is familiar enough with her teammates to command them in battle better than just about anyone else could.
6 Captain America Should Be Leader: Super Soldier
Captain America has been fighting the good fight since WWII, starting his time has a superhero battling the Nazis. He distinguished himself in some of the most treacherous battles in the war, always at the front and proving just how brave he could be. His time in war shaped him and when he was found and revived in modern times, he took what he learned on the battlefield and put it to work as Avenger.
This approach to fighting evil proved to be perfect for the Avengers, as Cap used his hard-won lessons to forge the team into what they needed to be to survive against some of the worst threats around.
5 A Better Choice: Captain Marvel
In the last few years, Captain Marvel has come into her own as superhero. For years, Carol Danvers flitted between superheroic identities, trying to prove herself and she's finally succeeded there, becoming a leader in the Marvel Universe. One of the most powerful Avengers around, she's led teams in the past but rarely had a chance with the big guns.
Captain Marvel brings a lot to the table as a leader. She may not be the tactician Cap is but she's smart and can adapt to situations on the fly. Her teammates trust her and know that she'll look out for them and that counts for a lot in a leadership role. Captain Marvel deserves her turn at the helm of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
4 Captain America Should Be Leader: The Best Tactician In The Marvel Universe
Captain America has been known to punch way above his weight class. There are lots of reasons for this, but the biggest is his keen tactical know-how. Cap has been able to get himself out of the worst situations because of is his ability to strategize and he's good enough strategist to be able to change things on the fly according to the situation.
His tactical know-how has allowed the teams he's led to survive some truly hopeless situations, coming out on top when other teams would have faltered.
3 A Better Choice: Wasp
Wasp is an Avengers leader that no one really could have predicted would be good at the job. She always seemed like a flighty socialite, but that hid a spine of steel. A founding member of the Avengers, she had served with the best the team had to offer and learned her lessons well.
Not all of her teammates were willing to give her a chance and she had to prove herself but she did so admirably, gaining the respect of her fellows and proving she had what it took to lead the team, with even Cap himself listening to her. That's a big stamp of approval right there.
2 Captain America Should Be Leader: Everyone's Hero
Captain America occupies a unique place in the Marvel Universe. He's the hero that everyone loves and looks up to. While that's a lot of pressure, it's also what makes him so perfect as leader of the Avengers. There are few heroes out there who could handle the kind of responsibility he does and he does so with an aplomb that makes it look easy.
He's exactly the type of guy who should be the leader of the Avengers, the gold standard, the inspiration, the one everyone looks up to and listens to. It doesn't matter how powerful or highly placed a hero is, when Cap talks, everyone listens.
1 A Better Choice: Black Panther
The current leader of the Avengers, Black Panther is perfectly suited to be the best leader of the team ever. He has all of the qualities Captain America has that makes him such a great leader and then some: he was born to leadership, runs the most advanced country on Earth and is easily one of the smartest Avengers of them all.
Black Panther brings a lot to the table that no other leader of the Avengers can and that's what makes him such a great leader. He strong, skilled, and smart, the perfect combination for a leader.