Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Avengers #1As the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers are the world’s first line of defense against all sorts of threats. With such grave stakes always at the forefront of their adventures, a solid leadership structure is a must-have. But no single hero can decide to assemble the Avengers unilaterally. The Avengers usually do have a chairperson to lead the team both on the field and outside of it, but who gets that honor usually rotates with each new lineup. And while the premier team of the Marvel Universe has occasionally and casually chosen their new leader seemingly at random, the new Avengers #1 reveals a more formal process in place. That’s right – the Avengers have elections.
Avengers #1 by Jed MacKay, C.F. Villa, and Federico Blee, finds the titular team in a transitory state as they reassemble following their trials in the God Quarry. As Captain Marvel and Iron Man reconvene in the Jarvis Lounge to determine the team’s new chair, their decision-making process is casually revealed when Tony says, “Well, the votes are in. All the most recently active Avengers have chosen for their new chairperson” before declaring Captain Marvel the new leader of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Their conversation immediately shifts to filling out the new roster, but the casual revelation that the Avengers have a formal election process entirely reframes the hierarchy of power amongst Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
The Avengers Assemble…The Proper Paperwork
The Avengers are a longstanding Marvel Universe institution like the Fantastic Four or the X-Men, and as such, it’s no wonder that they’d have a formal structure to maintain order among the team. Fans have long heard of their various by-laws and procedures, but to see their actual election process in action is a change of pace from the less formal instances when a hero would either simply become the de facto leader during the heat of battle, or when the team would just immediately default to following an icon like Captain America. And seeing as how the leader of the Avengers in many ways becomes the representative of Marvel’s superhuman community, it’s important that this person is in turn chosen by at least some representatives of that community.
This sort of Avengers structure is a far cry from other adaptations that fans have seen of the classic team. In the MCU, Captain America was considered the official leader of the team, while Iron Man was just the financier. Meanwhile, in the fan-favorite animated series, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Tony himself was the de facto leader before ultimately relinquishing the role to Steve in later episodes. Either way, when it comes to protecting the world, it’s clear that the Avengers benefit from a more organized process.
The Avengers Benefit From Strong Leadership
The Avengers are considered to be Marvel’s primary superhero team for a reason. While Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have assembled organically on more than one occasion, it’s still important that such a pivotal institution has an official structure. Fans now know that recent members vote on the next leader, which is a cool, democratic way for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to work, and better than the ad hoc approach they’ve used before. This really validates the Avengers‘ structure and confirms that while the public might not be involved, the Earth’s de facto chief hero is picked by the hero community.
Avengers #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
