The Marvel Cinematic Universe has broken records at the box office for the past decade with the adaption of the popular comic book heroes known as The Avengers. While the team started with just a handful of heroes in their first film, by the end of Endgame, the cast had grown tremendously. Captain America emerged as the leader with Iron Man agreeing to play the brains of the team.
The common actor is still Nick Fury and the muscle falls on the shoulders of Hulk and Thor. But no team will be complete without the services of some very strong women, and who holds that title better than Black Widow? While each member brings their own element to the team, it's their origin stories that fans often forget. Where did they come from and what caused them to be a part of something great?
Hawkeye
Much like Black Widow, Clint is not fueled with anything unnatural. Hawkeye is a skilled marksman who uses his bow and arrow as his primary weapon. It was revealed that he was the only member of The Avengers to have an actual family other than parents. He's also good friends with Black Widow.
Clint is fearless in his approach either with the team or without. From the first grouping of the team, Clint, not an actual superhero in the sense of the word, never backed down from anyone including Hulk.
Black Widow
Natasha Romanoff is dangerous. A former spy and assassin of the KGB, she didn't inherit any magical hammer, super serum, gamma rays, or body armor. Her talent is killing and that's what she did best. As vital as Captain America and Iron Man are to the team, Black Widow is just as important.
Her backstory was briefly touched on but with the making and then the setbacks of her own feature film, fans were sure to get more of her origin story. Nevertheless, Black Widow is still one of the iconic figures in the MCU.
Thor
One of two sons of Oden, Thor grew up the envy of his brother Loki. Born as the God of Thunder, Thor had his share of trials and tribulations before joining The Avengers. Thor always went looking for a good fight that went against his father's wishes. The result was Thor being stripped of his crown and being banished from Asgard.
Sent to Earth, Thor had to earn his way back. While on the foreign planted, Thor fell in love with Jane but was still in search of a way home. Unbeknownst to him, trouble was waiting for him in the form of his own brother Loki.
Hulk
Bruce Banner lived what some may consider a normal life of a scientist until a freak accident happened. In the earlier days, Banner was much like Tony Stark. A smart guy but a bit of a loner. Banner wanted a family but he was also consumed by his studies. Due to his excellence, Banner was brought in by Thaddeus Ross to recreate the super serum that created Captain America.
But something went wrong. Banner was exposed to high levels of gamma rays which resulted in his transformation to Hulk. The once-mild mannered scientist was now consumed by rage and acts of violence. Still a fan favorite, many still believe that Marvel owes Hulk his own stand-alone movie.
Iron Man
Cocky is the best way to describe Tony Stark. A gifted mind in his own right, Stark clearly inherited his genius bloodline from his father. But his biggest issue was, Tony was too blinded to admit that. What drove him to bouts of insanity and aloofness was that he never got the chance to have that great conversation with his dad because he was killed.
Tony didn't want to keep his new power a secret any longer and admitted to the world that he was Iron Man. It was Stark who Nick Fury reached out to first to help with what would become The Avengers.
Black Panther
Handed down the mantle of Black Panther from his father, T'Challa more than held his own with his screentime. Burdened with being the king of the highly technologically advanced country, Wakanda, Black Panther was now on a revenge mission over the death of his father.
What T'Challa had to overcome was the pain of losing a loved one and then going head-to-head with his own blood when Killmonger challenged his position as King and Black Panther. Left for dead, T'Chall found his way back to the head of the table but it took its toll.
Captain Marvel
For most of the MCU fans, Captian Marvel arrived too late to be on this list. However, her presence is still of the utmost importance. She was the first in which Nick Fury finds and was the catalyst of The Avengers Initiative. Her story set the stage for bonding as she made her presence in Endgame strictly for Fury.
Carol Danvers has gone by many names over the years. Vers, as she known on Hala keeps having visions of another life that she can't quite comprehend. While on a mission, she's trapped on earth where she runs into what MCU fans would learn is a young Nick Fury. Putting the pieces of her life together, Carol learns the truth regarding her path and her power.
Winter Solider
Bucky Barnes may have been through the most of any Avenger. As the best friend of Steve Rodgers, it's Bucky who may have actually made Steve who is he today. Bucky joined the Army, got captured and because of that, his rescue became Captain America's crowing achievement. From there, Bucky was lost again and in his presence, the Winter Soldier was born.
Brainwashed, Bucky committed violent acts that would later prove to be costly and divide the avengers. Instead of killing or locking him up, Captain America saved his friend against the advice of some of his teammates.
Captain America
A lab experiment is what Captian America is referred to and rightfully so. A World War II veteran, the Army teamed up with Project Rebirth to make the super-soldier. Cap was sent to rescue soldiers which included his childhood friend Bucky Barnes. In the early stages, Cap was used more as propaganda instead of a true hero because of his traits.
Before Captian America, Steve Rodgers was just a skinny kid from Brooklyn looking to find his way. He joined the Army and as they say, the rest is history. Captain America missed out on 70 years of his life, the woman of his dreams, and nearly lost his best friend forever.
Nick Fury
Without Nick Fury, there is no Avengers. His origin story travelers back decades and while he's no real superhero as some of the others, Fury is the mastermind behind it all. After leaving the Army, Fury joined the C.I.A. where he would team up with Agent Phil Coulson who would later make his presence felt as one of the lead characters on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
From there, Fury would stumble upon a female that would change his life and countless others. While working with Captain Marvel, Fury and she would build a bond that would be the foundation as to what would become The Avengers.