Marvel Comics fans are faced with a collection of heroes with decades of history. It is easy to overlook or forget about heroes and teams of heroes who are not as widely publicized or known as the Tony Starks and Captain Marvels of the world. One team that knows this better than any other is the Great Lakes Avengers.
A team of heroes from the Great Lakes areas, the team was founded by Mr. Immortal and has gone toe-to-toe with both small and larger than life threats. Here are the ten most powerful members of the team.
10 Monkey Joe
One of the first two members that bear mentioning is the first sidekick of fan-favorite hero Squirrel Girl, a squirrel named Monkey Joe. Her sidekick helped her defeat Doctor Doom, and soon after they both joined the Great Lakes Avengers as recruits to the team. He not only was a smarter than average squirrel, but was able to use computers and provided humorous commentary in the comics themselves.
However, he shortly met his demise after Squirrel Girl joined the team after one of the team’s rejected heroes, Leather Boy, took the sidekick’s life. This sent Monkey Joe to the afterlife, a fact Doorman later confirmed.
9 Tippy-Toe
Next is Squirrel Girl's second sidekick, this one named Tippy-Toe. This member of the team was discovered during Maelstrom’s attack on the team, when Squirrel Girl called upon an army of squirrels to fight with her and only Tippy-Toe survived, with the hero rescuing the young animal.
Able to use tools and equipment most squirrels cannot, Tippy-Toe is a valued member of the team. She helped Squirrel Girl defeat both MODOK and Thanos, and once worked with Mr. Immortal to fight and defeat Deathurge, who was furious about being trapped in a squirrel form, to begin with.
8 Grasshopper
This next hero is more of a mantle, as every version of Grasshopper has lived only a short heroic life. One only joined the team for about six seconds before passing on.
With enhanced leaping, zoom lenses and minimal protection from a mechanized suit resembling a grasshopper, the hero has been two separate Roxxon employees, a mystery man ended by a disgruntled Deadpool, and even a shapeshifting Skrull.
7 Deadpool
One of the most fun members to ever join the team has to be Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson. The hero who breaks the fourth wall, one of the most comical and unexpected heroes in the Marvel Universe, was originally a foe, but soon he was made a reserve member of the team.
His accelerated healing factor and skills as a mercenary, along with his enhanced physical abilities like strength, speed, stamina, etc, made him a valuable member, but his mouth got the better of him and Squirrel Girl kicked him off the team, defeating theanti hero and leaving him disgruntled. This led to the third Grasshopper’s demise.
6 Dinah Soar
One powerful and unique hero of the team has to be Dinah Soar. A being from the Savage Land, this hero was never confirmed to be either a mutant or alien, but she went on to become a founding member of the Great Lakes Avengers after leaving the Savage Land.
Unable to speak English, her history is not as well-known, but she used her natural empathic abilities to calm the rage inside Mr. Immortal every time he was brought back to life. She had razor tipped wings and limited sonar abilities, but sadly she lost her life in the battle against Maelstrom.
5 Flatman
One unique member of the team is the second in command, Flatman. Real name Matt, the hero joined the group by changing his name to Dr. Val Ventura in hopes it would solidify his heroic call to fame. Joining in a semi-leadership role, the hero is known for stretching the truth with his doctorate degree and for opening up to the team years later about his sexuality as a gay man.
During the battle with Maelstrom when Dinah Soar lost her life and Mr. Immortal felt lost, Flatman stepped into the leadership role, recruiting Squirrel Girl and Monkey Joe in New York.
4 Big Bertha
The next hero on this list is one of the more powerful and iconic members of the team, Big Bertha. Real name Ashley Crawford, the hero is the most famous fashion model of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Not much else is known about her past, but the hero joined the Great Lakes Avengers original roster.
Able to control and change the size and mass of her body and leap great distances, she also has enhanced strength and durability, and is a skilled pilot as well. Despite her modeling career, she always goes back to her Great Lakes Avengers family, believing it’s where she belongs.
3 Doorman
The next hero on this list has to be DeMarr Davis, aka Doorman. A brilliant young man who answered the ad to join the team in its early years, DeMarr has the mutant ability to teleport himself and others and uses this to help his teammates get into places more stealthily.
During this time, he was the most cynical member of the group, constantly comparing the team to the original Avengers. He felt responsible for the quick loss of the first Grasshopper, and later became Oblivion’s Angel of Death, having to collect the souls of the recently departed after having passed on himself.
2 Mr. Immortal
After the loss of both his parents to a fire he started after being tricked by Deathurge, and the loss of his love interest, Terri, Craig Hollis tried to end his own life. He then discovered he literally couldn’t. Dubbing himself Mr. Immortal, he went about trying to stop a bank robbery before being left with his life fading.
Deciding his powers would work better in a team, he formed the Great Lakes Avengers. He is easily given to fits of rage upon being awoken after each resurrection. For a long time, his ally Dinah Soar calmed him down from these berserker rages, until her untimely passing.
1 Squirrel Girl
The most powerful member of the Great Lakes Avengers has to be Squirrel Girl, aka Doreen Allene Greene. A young girl with the ability to communicate with squirrels and later given the powers of enhanced strength, agility, a prehensile tail, and razor sharp claws, Doreen has proven time and again to be the most feared hero.
That is because she has defeated villains such as MODOK, Dr. Doom, Bi Beast and even Thanos on several occasions, making her victories legendary and becoming a running joke on the team itself. Alongside her squirrel armies, she is a force to be reckoned with.