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When Marvel introduced the Avengers in the early 1960s, the roster consisted of a mix of well-known and mid-level superheroes: Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. But to keep things from being stale, the roster has seen multiple shake-ups over the years. They've invited half of the Marvel Universe to the team at this point, especially in the era where there have been multiple rosters at once.
RELATED: 10 Avengers Villains Who Are Better Suited For The X-Men
But while joining the Avengers has been good for a lot of characters, not everyone deserved to join the roster. Some characters had weak power sets for the job, others have had questionable origins, and others have been people aiming to betray the team from the moment they joined.
10 Swordsman Betrayed The Avengers And Nearly Blew Up The Avengers Mansion
One of the Avengers who joined very early on is Jacques Duquesne. An expert swordsman who trained Hawkeye and was wanted across the country, using his skills to commit crimes. Jacques tried to force his way onto the team because he knew about all the sweet bonuses that came with membership.
Though they saw right through him, he still managed to join in the following issue after his appearance, largely because the Mandarin created a hologram of Iron Man that talked the team into letting him join. Though Swordsman eventually refused to sabotage the Avengers, it only happened after he’d nearly blown up their place to begin with.
9 Starfox Had The Weird Ability To Control People's Emotions
Starfox is actually Eros of the Titans, which makes him an Eternal and the brother of the world-conqueror Thanos. The character’s personality is literally just “womanizer” and his powerset is what one would expect considering his personality. Of course, he’s got the usual powerset like super-strength and speed, but he’s also capable of controlling people’s emotions.
In his first appearance as an Avenger, he literally emotionally “coerces” a pair of bank robbers into giving up. That alone raises countless ethical questions, and the character just sort of hovered around until the first excuse to abandon the team popped up and he vanished.
8 Namor Will Always Choose His Kingdom Over The Avengers
Namor found his way onto the Avengers after they visited Hydrobase at the same time he was there. Namor was going through a rough period after he’d been forced to abdicate his throne, finding himself with no home despite being part of two worlds.
After a brief skirmish with Hercules, Namor took Captain America’s offer to join the team and he remained there for a few years. But much like his fellow aquatic counterparts at DC, Namor has always been a mercurial personality at the best of times, and someone who will choose to protect the ocean over the entire world, something an Avenger has no business doing.
7 Quicksilver Fought The Rest Of The Team As Much As He Fought Villains
Pietro joined the team as part of Cap’s Kooky Quartet back in the mid-’60s. At the time, the rest of the team had left the group and only Cap, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch remained.
RELATED: 10 X-Men Villains Who Are Better Suited For The Avengers
The influence of the Avengers on Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch was undeniably a positive one...for them. But for the Avengers it was something of a PR hit to have these two relative unknowns who were once allies of Magneto on the team. Plus, Quicksilver only added to the tension and the work Captain America had to deal with to keep this constantly bickering group under control. That's what happens when there aren't other speedsters around to humble you.
6 Stingray Is More Focused On Oceanography Than Being A Hero
It feels like Stingray was added to the team largely because he and his partner Diane gave the Avengers a place to stay, allowing them to use Hydro-Base and turn it into Avengers Island.
He owns a special costume that grants him super-strength and the ability to withstand the crushing depths of underwater, as well as firing out electrical bursts of energy through his gloves. Despite this, his whole thing is constantly talking about how he’s in over his head, and ultimately working with the Avengers caused him more problems than it solved.
5 Sandman Goes Between Hero And Villain Too Often
Flint Marko is a victim of the reticence of superhero storylines to actually allow their characters to change long-term. Sandman was a long-term villain of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, but in the early 80’s he started to make changes to his life, wanting to turn things around.
In 1991, he was granted Avengers reserve status, but he was never able to maintain his desire to do good over his desire to make money. He joined mercenary groups and even returned to the life of being a villain eventually, a decision which throws the Avengers’ decision-making skills into question.
4 Red Hulk Can't Actually Be Trusted To Be On The Avengers' Side
Red Hulk was added to the Avengers team in 2011, and many have questioned why. He spent years hunting the Hulk even when he wasn’t doing anything, leaving as much of a trail of destruction behind him as Hulk did.
Plus, his loyalties are never truly with the Avengers, so allowing him to get too close and have access to sensitive Avengers information isn’t logical.
3 Doctor Druid Was Mind Controlled By A Villain And Tried To Lead The Avengers
With a mixture of arcane powers and sleight of hand, Doctor Druid is basically a Dr. Strange knock-off. He helped the Avengers out during one of their dire moments when the Masters of Evil had invaded their own Avengers Mansion, and not long afterwards was invited to join the team.
RELATED: 10 Lessons The Avengers Could Learn From The Fantastic Four
Why would they choose him when they can just get the real Stephen Strange? But more importantly, he was mind-controlled by a villain and spent much of his time in the Avengers jockeying for a chance to lead until eventually he was kicked off the team.
2 Cable's Solution To Most Problems Is Guns, Making Him A PR Nightmare
The Avengers made it through most of the ’90s without recruiting too many anti-heroes, but in the late 2010s, the main 90’s anti-hero was invited to the group. The character became part of the Avengers Unity Division when he learned their goal was preventing the Red Skull from gaining access to Professor Xavier’s powers.
Considering the Avengers have always tried to present a friendly face to the media, it probably isn’t a great idea to recruit someone whose first solution to most problems involves giant guns.
1 Sentry Has The Void Inside Of Him And Is A Danger To Everyone
Sentry joined the team back in 2005 as a member of the New Avengers. Sentry’s powers read like a kid’s wishlist—he’s way too strong to be on anyone’s super-team. But there’s a bigger problem with the Sentry: the Void; a dark entity inside of Sentry that can at any moment break free and wreak unimaginable damage.
The Void is so powerful he’s destroyed the city of Asgard when it was on Earth, and battled against multiple super-teams at once with ease. It can be argued that it’s easier to keep someone like this close, but it’s also probably best that he spends much of his time away from the team since he’s an even bigger threat than he is ally.
NEXT: 10 Most Respected Avengers On The Team
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