The life of a superhero can get a little wacky sometimes. As such, it takes a really special story to break through the background haze of baseline insanity and register as truly off the wall. After all, when your daily routine involves hanging out with gods and throwing cars at guys with purple hoods glued to their heads, your sense of normality becomes slightly skewed. What can possibly phase you after an experience like that? Why not ask the Avengers? They first came together in 1963, to "fight the foes that no single super hero could withstand." Fifty-five years on and the Avengers have most definitely seen a thing or two -- or three, or 12 -- across all sorts of media, from movies to cartoons to, of course, the original comic books.

For the purposes of this list, we're going to keep our focus on the comics. Here, we'll spotlight 15 stories that were enough to make even veteran crimefighters like the Avengers throw up their hands and call it a day. Earth's Mightiest Heroes have undergone many changes over the years, but as this list will demonstrate, one thing remains reassuringly constant: their ability to get themselves into -- and out of -- some entertainingly zany situations.

15 THE CROSSING

"The Crossing" was released in 1995 and has been baffling readers ever since. Part of the problem is that several prominent story elements were later retconned to close plot holes and/or appease irritated fans. For example, "The Crossing" reveals that Kang has been controlling Iron Man's mind for years.  This was later changed so Kang was really Immortus pretending to be Kang. Kang's minions, meanwhile, may or may not be the Scarlet Witch's lost sons, except it turns out they're actually Space Phantoms.

And hey, while we're at it, why not make some other prominent characters Space Phantoms too? Also, the Wasp becomes an actual wasp for some reason. Come to think of it, maybe it was a little unfair to include "The Crossing" on this list.  The whole story is so confusing that we can't even tell if it's crazy or not.

14 THE MONSTROUS MASTER PLAN OF THE MANDARIN!

When the Mandarin shows up in Avengers Annual #1, it's with one goal in mind: to steal as many diamonds as he can get his hands on. The Avengers spend the entire issue running around the world, chasing down the Mandarin's lackeys and preventing them from delivering the diamonds to the Mandarin's space station.

So what did Mandy want with all those diamonds anyway? He was going to use them to fuel his giant synthetic diamond, which is really a hate ray. Yes, a hate ray. Once Mandarin hit the Earth with it, everyone would have been at each other's throats, allowing him to easily take over the planet. Instead, Mandarin ends up blowing a hole in his own headquarters and getting sucked into the vacuum of space. Don't worry, he'll be fine.

13 THIS BEACHHEAD EARTH

Avengers #93 begins when a severely injured Vision collapses in the Avengers' doorway. Fortunately, robotics expert Ant-Man is on hand to help. Accompanied by his pet ants, which are named Crosby, Stills and Nash for no particular reason, Ant-Man shrinks down and enters the Vision's body to find out what the trouble is.

Thus begins Ant-Man's epic quest to reach the Vision's brain and reboot him. Along the way, he fights off the Vision's immune system, which consists of tentacles, bubbles that turn intruders intangible, and sticky flying magnets. As a special bonus, Ant-Man narrates his own adventures in the most overwrought terms imaginable. So get used to him speechifying about the horror of ant screams and how much he loves his backpack -- he does it the entire time.

12 THE CHILD IS FATHER TO...?

In a story as infamous as it is insane, Ms. Marvel wakes up one morning to find herself mysteriously pregnant. Even more mysteriously, she gives birth just three days later. The child also grows with astounding rapidity, calling himself Marcus and claiming he is his own father. The worst part of it is that he's right. He manipulated Ms. Marvel into sleeping with him and then sent her back to Earth, pregnant with himself, having erased her memory of the whole thing. Ew.

Further complicating matters, Marcus' attempts to get back to his own dimension cause chaos in Earth's timeline. The Avengers end up fighting musketeers, dinosaurs and spaceships all at once. This would be fun, if not for the irredeemably creepy way we got here. It takes someone truly gross to ruin dinosaur battles, but Marcus manages it.

11 THE COMING OF THE AVENGERS!

The Avengers wasted no time in going completely off the rails. In their debut issue, thanks to Loki's interference, everyone believes the Hulk is responsible for a train collision. The Hulk takes refuge at a circus, where he finds employment as Mechano the robot clown. No one seems to notice that the giant green Hulk-like fellow with minimal face paint is, in fact, the Hulk.

But the Avengers somehow manage to find the Hulk and do battle. Their fight ultimately takes them to a Detroit car factory, where Loki just happens to fall through a trap door and into a lead tank. At Ant-Man's command, a swarm of ants slams the lid of the tank shut, trapping Loki inside. One would think that a literal god would be more than a match for a tank and a bunch of insects, but no.

10 TO AVENGE THE AVENGERS

In Avengers #216, Molecule Man disintegrates everything the Avengers possess that might pose a threat to him. That includes Iron Man's armor, which leaves Tony Stark in nothing but a totally classy red thong. Molecule Man places the Avengers in a machine shaped like a giant boot and the mechanical shoe does what shoes do best and squishes everything underneath... allegedly.

The Avengers survive the machine, and that's when they notice Tony. And that, true believers, is how the Avengers found out Iron Man's secret identity. But armored or not, Tony is still a superhero. He's not about to let a little thing like nudity stop him from bringing a villain to justice. He spends the rest of the issue fighting Molecule Man with nothing but Don Blake's jacket to cover him. Notably, this is the issue where Tigra decides an Avenger's life is too nuts for her and resigns.

9 THE SUMMONS OF PSYKLOP

"The Summons of Psyklop" is just one weird, unresolved event after another. Written by famed sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison, Avengers #88 begins with Professor X, Iron Man (in absentia) and Mr. Fantastic teaming up with the military to torture the Hulk. Why? Don't bother asking. We're moving to a new plot point now. A blast of energy causes Hulk to disappear. The Hulk's kidnapping was orchestrated by a guy named Psyklop, who plans on sacrificing the Hulk to his gods.

Meanwhile, the Avengers just happen to stumble across Psyklop while on another case. They distract Psyklop just enough for him to accidentally shrink the Hulk down to the subatomic level. Enraged, Psyklop teleports the Avengers all the way back to New York, their memories wiped clean of the entire affair. The end!

8 TIL DEATH DO US PART

All relationships have their problems, but Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne have more problems than most. In Avengers #59, a new villain called Yellowjacket breaks into Avengers Mansion to brag about how he murdered Hank Pym. He later kidnaps Jan and forcibly kisses her, which sparks a sudden epiphany in Jan's mind: Yellowjacket is Hank Pym, suffering from an abrupt case of schizophrenia. Jan's reaction? Marry him, quick!

In earlier comics, it was established that Hank was uncertain about marrying Jan. But now that he doesn't even remember his own name and has gone from superhero to kidnapper, he's much more amenable to the idea of marrying his inexplicably eager girlfriend. When the other Avengers ask Jan if she's sure this is a good idea, she throws a tantrum and goes through with the wedding anyway. Shockingly, they ended up divorced.

7 ONCE AN AVENGER...

When Morgan le Fay takes control of both the Twilight Sword, a magical Asgardian artifact, and the Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful mutants/sorcerers on the planet, the Avengers know they're in for a bad time. Morgan takes full advantage of her new powers, remaking Earth as she sees fit.

Specifically, le Fey takes the world back a few centuries until it is exactly as it was in King Arthur's day. She recasts the Avengers as knights, peasants and servants in her new kingdom. Captain America becomes Yeoman America, Vision becomes the Ghost of Stone, and Hawkeye... well, Hawkeye just stays Hawkeye. He gets a cool beard, though. Would it have made more sense for Morgan to just kill them? Of course. But then we wouldn't have gotten to see the Avengers in renaissance fair cosplay. Oh yeah, and the planet would still be conquered and stuff.

6 LATE NIGHT OF THE SUPER-STARS!

In Avengers #239, our heroes book an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. What should have been an easy night off for the Avengers takes a turn for the ridiculous when, in the middle of the interview, D-list villain Mechano-Marauder invades the studio with various destructive gadgets. The Avengers fight them off while Letterman does what he does best: he talks.

Or rather, he gets Mechano-Marauder to talk. It takes minimal effort for Letterman to encourage his unexpected guest to open up. Mechano-Marauder happily reveals his real face and announces his real name. He even explains exactly how to defeat his gadgets. Once Letterman gets all the information he can, he smashes Mechano-Marauder over the head with a giant doorknob. That seems about right.

5 ULTIMATES 3

In the first issue of this five-part miniseries, a mystery assassin kills the Scarlet Witch. In the final issue, we learn that the robot Ultron is the murderer. His motive?  Once upon a time, the Scarlet Witch saw Ultron at Iron Man's house and thought he was pretty cute. Her powers reacted to this feeling of their own accord by enchanting Ultron. He fell hopelessly in love with her without her even realizing it.

Essentially, Ultron assassinated her purely out of jealousy. Realizing the Scarlet Witch will never be his, Ultron shoots her rather than allow her to be happy with his romantic rival. And who is this rival that drove Ultron to such measures? Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch's brother. Anyone creeped out by this -- including, presumably, the readers -- is treated like an intolerant prude. Yeah, this wasn't exactly a tragic love story for the ages.

4 THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT!

At first, "The Sign of the Serpent!" seems like a surprisingly mature and thoughtful story about racism in America. The story's villains, the Sons of the Serpent, are an obvious stand-in for the Ku Klux Klan. When they begin attacking people of color, including one of the Avengers' personal friends, Earth's Mightiest Heroes take up the challenge of ending the Serpents' campaign of terror.

The crazy happens in the second half of the story. After a lengthy battle, the Avengers unmask the Supreme Serpent. Who is he? General Chen, the Asian ruler of a communist nation. He came all the way to America for the express purpose of twisting America's racial tensions to his advantage. When Chen's ruse is discovered, every single one of the Sons of the Serpent, who were of course merely brainwashed innocents, penitently go their separate ways. Gee, who knew ending racism was that easy?

3 IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE COLLECTOR!

Janet van Dyne is enjoying a swim one day when she spots a comb by the side of the pool. Not recognizing it, she picks up the comb, only to be suddenly lifted into the air. With Hawkeye and Giant-Man clinging to her legs, the three are flown -- by the comb -- to a spaceship, where they are almost eaten by an alien tentacle monster. At least the Avengers had something interesting to write in their diaries that night.

The spaceship, if you were wondering, belongs to the Collector. He really wants to add the Avengers to his collection, though it's a mystery why he decided to use a flying comb to accomplish this. We see him capture Thor and Iron Man through much more conventional methods in the same issue. Did he just happen to have a spare comb lying around and decide to experiment?

2 LET ALL MEN BRING TOGETHER

Much like with Yellowjacket and Wasp, Mantis' marriage and the circumstances leading to it are the stuff nightmares are made of. In Giant-Size Avengers #2, Mantis was left single and mourning after the death of her longtime boyfriend, the Swordsman. But then, a miracle: the Swordsman returns, and he's got news: He's not actually alive; his body was reanimated by a psychic alien tree that wants to marry Mantis.

Mantis is disturbingly cool with all this and very quickly accepts the tree's proposal. She even has a double wedding with Scarlet Witch and Vision, a mutant and an android whose relationship looks positively traditional by comparison. Then Mantis heads off into space with her new husband and her ex-boyfriend's corpse. Does... does this count as a happy ending?

1 NIGHT OF THE COLLECTOR

While attending a Halloween parade in Rutland, Vermont, half of the Avengers are taken captive by animal skins. It's not quite as pathetic as it sounds: these are the "legendary coats of Hercules," and they are a particularly aggressive part of the Collector's collection. The Collector brings his prisoners to some random guy's house, which he's commandeered as his headquarters.

Attacking someone with bearskins is already pretty crazy. But what do the Avengers throw at the Collector in retaliation? Civilians. Yep, a bunch of average Rutland teenagers suddenly find themselves recruited by Earth's Mightiest Heroes to infiltrate the hideout of an intergalactic supervillain. The Collector is horrified by his visitors, who distract him long enough for the Avengers to get free. Well that makes the reckless child endangerment okay then.