The Avengers have been the most important team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics Universe, protecting Earth from a whole manner of threats and uniting in the face of adversity no matter the cost. Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, and Captain America are amongst their most famous members, but there have been some that may have been forgotten about.
It's a tough life fending of extraterrestrials, terrorists, and mythical beings, so, from time to time, even Earth's Mightiest Heroes needs a break. Plenty of superheroes have stepped up over time, so we'll take a look at 10 you'd forgotten were members of the Avengers, be it in the main team or one of their splinter teams.
10 Iron Fist
Danny Rand aka Iron Fist has been a member of the Avengers on a few different occasions. In the wake of Civil War, he joined the New Avengers, which acted as an underground operation along with fellow Defender Luck Cage, and the resurrected Clint Barton, now known as Ronin.
He was also able to fund the New Avengers due to his wealth, sticking around until after the Secret Invasion event. Upon leaving, he later rejoins the team and was sucked into the realm of Agamotto. Here, he teamed with a demon-possessed Daredevil and became a teacher to Victor Alvarez, a hero known as Power Man.
9 Spider-Woman
Peter Parker isn't the only arachnid superhero to be a member of the Avengers. In fact, there have been a few different Spider-Women to join the team, albeit at different times throughout their history. First off, Jessica Drew joined the team and helped them during the Siege of Asgard, also being a member of S.W.O.R.D. and the Lady Liberators at the time.
However, she left to focus on smaller crimes after finding it all a bit too much. Jessica Carpenter also joined the Avengers as Spider-Woman and helped Captain America to free her teammates while they were being held captive on Demonica. While she may not be an obvious member, her work for the Avengers has been admirable,
8 Captain Britain
Brian Braddock aka Captain Britain has been a member of the Avengers a few times. When Captain America cleaned up the mess left by Norman Osborn and his H.A.M.M.E.R. escapades, he formed the Secret Avengers. While not an immediate member, Braddock eventually joined them after some drastic changes that included Hawkeye, Venom, and Captain Britain.
During Avengers vs X-Men, Captain Britain was one of the members of the Avengers led by Thor in order to try and stop the power of the Phoenix Force alongside Beast, Valkyrie, War Machine, Vision, Protector, and Ms. Marvel. They weren't able to stop it, but they did manage to prevent any harm coming to the Kree homeworld of Hala.
7 Sandman
Sometimes even villains make it into the Avengers, and, once upon a time, Sandman had a short stint working with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Although he's known for being an enemy of Spider-Man, he spent time troubled by the things he'd done as a bad guy, eventually aiding the wall-crawler and earning his trust.
This led to the public warming to him, and all his past crimes were absolved. Reverting to his birth name of William Baker, he became a reserve team member of the Avengers, helping them to battle Morgana Le Fey, but, after a misunderstanding with Captain America, he left the group only to fall back into a world of crime.
6 Deadpool
The Merc with a Mouth doesn't seem the type of guy who would fit in well with the Avengers given his jokey persona and independence in the field, but Wade Wilson is a perfect superhero to represent the team, given his regenerative abilities and superb combat skills.
He was invited to join the Avengers after the Secret Wars event by Captain America following his rescue of the X-Men Rogue and fitted in relatively well during his tenure with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He debuted in Uncanny Avengers Vol.3 #1, and helped to defeat Super-Adaptoid after he inadvertently stole his cancer at the same time he copied his powers.
5 Namor
Namor is one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel Comics Universe, and it's still baffling we haven't seen him appear in the MCU yet. Quite often he's had his issues with the Avengers, even refusing a spot on the team after saving Captain America's frozen body from some weirdos who were worshipping it.
While exiled from Atlantis, he had a battle with Hercules, leading him to become a member of the Avengers. He rescued a cocooned Jean Grey and fought Magneto, even though the two had worked together earlier. Namor has had mixed loyalties over the years, but even the Sub-Mariner took up the chance to work with the Avengers.
4 Fantastic Four
At one point or another, each member of the Fantastic Four became a member of the Avengers. Marvel's First Family never became members of Earth's Mightiest Heroes at the same time, but separately, they were still a great addition to the team. A fleeting membership with the West Coast Avengers saw the Thing team with them briefly, later joining the New Avengers in 2010 in New Avengers Vol.2 #1.
When the Fantastic Four saw Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman retire, they became members of the Avengers in Avengers #300, however, they left to reform the Fantastic Four. Finally, Johnny Storm was recruited at the same time as Deadpool for the Avengers Unity Division.
3 Tigra
Over the years, Tigra's affiliation with the Avengers has taken many forms. After Moondragon saw her as a decent candidate to join the team, she never saw herself worthy, but still did a decent job against the likes of Molecule Man. She eventually resigned and headed to San Francisco. During her stay, she became a member of the West Coast Avengers, all the while struggling with her twin personalities of being both a cat and a human.
She was offered the change to rid herself of her troubled personality while on a mission to the Land Within, but she couldn't do what she was asked when tasked with killing Master Pandemonium. Tigra also became a teacher at the Avengers Academy that was founded by Hank Pym.
2 Venom
While Eddie Brock, the most famous incarnation of Venom, was never a member of the Avengers, another to host the alien symbiote was Flash Thompson. Originally a high school bully of Peter Parker, he bonded with the alien symbiote after being paralyzed in a tour of Iraq, thus becoming Agent Venom.
He became a member of the Secret Avengers, as well as joining the Thunderbolts and the Guardians of the Galaxy. His main concern upon starting with the Secret Avengers was saving fellow teammates from a new threat known as the Descendants, successfully doing so when it seemed the likes of Ant-Man had perished.
1 Blade
One of the coolest superheroes ever to grace the pages of a Marvel comic, Blade became a member of the Avengers after he was rescued by Wasp when he was being held in Dracula's castle. He led Black Panther's new incarnation of the team during a vampire war with the Shadow Coronel and the Legion of the Unliving.
He had previously been a member when taking on the mantle of Ronin when he was in the Mighty Avengers and also fought with the Avengers when Malekith brought his fight to Earth during the War of the Realms story arc. Blade also helped the Avengers during Mark Millar's Ultimate Avengers run when Captain America was bitten by a vampire.