While the history of the Avengers is filled with various sub-groupings and spin-off teams. The all-women version of the Avengers, otherwise known as A-Force, is a relatively newconcept. The team was formed during the Secret Wars crossover before making it into the mainstream Marvel Universe for a short-lived series.
While that might not seem like much, the team has already left a lasting impact in the Marvel Universe, and it even inspired one of the most memorable moments in Avengers: Endgame. Now, CBR is taking a look back at the history of the team, who joined them and how these heroes eventually drifted apart.
HOW A-Force Was Formed
A-Force was first assembled during the 2015 Secret Wars crossover. That story featured an all-powerful Doctor Doom recreating the multiverse as a hastily-built reality called Battleworld, which was split into numerous kingdoms that saw heroes and villains living their lives under Doom's watchful eyes. Each realm has a chosen "Baron," who represented Doom's will in the reality.
One such realm, Arcadia, was a reality where women stood out as the leaders instead of men. The generally peaceful kingdom was watched over by Baron Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk. Walters assembled a team of heroes to work alongside and protect their world, which included Medusa, Captain Marvel, America Chavez, Nico Minoru, a female version of Loki and many others.
That realm's relative peace was shattered when the mysterious figure known as Singularity crashed into Arcadia. She initially didn't speak and was capable of creating portals around Battleworld. Nico befriends the young woman, who accidentally sent She-Hulk around Battleworld. This breaks one of the major laws of Doom and leads to his enforcers, the Thor Corps, to try and bring in She-Hulk.
Eventually, it's revealed that Loki is unleashing threats on Arcadia in an attempt to usurp She-Hulk's power. In a panic, Loki damages the Shield, the massive wall that separates the Marvel Zombie horde from spreading throughout Battleworld. Just as A-Force is about to be overwhelmed, Singularity absorbs the mass of corpses into her body explodes, seemingly perishing in the process.
A-FORCE IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
Once reality was reconstructed and the multiverse was restored, Singularity suddenly appeared in the mainline Marvel Universe. Singularity approached Captain Marvel, who didn't recognize her, since the versions of the heroes Singularity had known no longer existed. She recruits Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Medusa, Dazzler and Nico to help her fight back against a fellow teleporter called Anti-Matter, with the heroes eventually destroying him with a specially designed explosive. The group decided to remain a team and christened themselves A-Force.
The team had a handful of adventures, primarily battling with the Countess. This included the team fighting against a giant dragon that managed to survive Battleworld, seeing She-Hulk turned against them and working with a former member of the Thor Corp who turned out to be an alternate reality version of Dazzler. The group eventually beats the Countess and convinces her to surrender, but the Dazzler Thor dies from the effects of Terrigen Mists on her mutant system. Throughout it all, the team learned to operate as a unit, and came together despite their differences.
A-FORCE IN CIVIL WAR II
Ultimately, A-Force was one of the many casualties of Civil War II. Taking a prediction from the Inhuman Ulysses, Captain Marvel led a team on a preemptive strike against Thanos. This resulted in the capture of Thanos, but also the death of War Machine. She-Hulk was left in a coma as a result of the battle.
Danvers decided to keep using Ulysses' predictions, a decision not all of her teammates supported. The final straw though was when Carol was given a prediction that Nico would eventually kill a young woman named Alice. Danvers tried to arrest Nico for the crime, causing the Runaway to flee. Dazzler and Singularity side with Nico, and try to remain one step ahead of Danvers and Medusa (who supports the use of Ulysses), as they track Nico down.
Nico ends up alongside Alice, who is infecting her town with a virus that turns people in insect/human hybrids. After the rest of the team (and Elsa Bloodstone) are infected, Alice reveals the effects can only be reversed if she's killed. Nico is forced to do the deed, ending her life and restoring her teammates along with the entire town. Although Alice is able to regenerate in a new form, the act weighed heavily on Nico.
The team split up after this, with each member going their own way. She-Hulk and Captain Marvel still work together as members of the Avengers, Nico helped reform the Runaways, Medusa went into space alongside her fellow Inhumans and Dazzler returned to music. Singularity meanwhile traveled through reality again, even running into Ms. Marvel when she was lost in the time-stream and helped return her to her proper place in time.