Young Avengers

Origin

The four founders

Young Avengers was formed by Iron Lad to help him combat his future self Kang. Seeking aid from the Avengers and finding out they had disbanded, Iron Lad tried to contact former members of the team but got the cold shoulder. As a final effort to locate help, Iron Lad broke into one of Tony Stark's warehouses where he found the remains of Vision, which housed a plan to reform the Avengers should they ever disband or be destroyed.

The Vision's fail-safe program could be used to locate the next wave of heroes, all of whom had a specific tie to the Avengers or Avengers history. Iron Lad used the program to locate Billy Kaplan (Asgardian), Elijah Bradley (Patriot) and Theodore "Teddy" Altman (Hulkling), who agreed to help Iron Lad. The Young Avengers quickly started assisting in crime fighting around the city. Their first noted heroic deed was helping citizens out of a burning apartment complex. They were dubbed the Young Avengers by local Daily Bugle reported Kat Farrell who was at the building reporting on the fire.

Creation

The Young Avengers were created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. They first appeared in Young Avengers #1 as a new Avengers team following the events of Avengers Disassembled.

Major Story Arcs

Kang slain

Once the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson, found out about the group who fashioned themselves after former Avengers members, he orders Jessica Jones to use her contacts in the superhero world to find out more information on the team. Jones then has a conversation with Captain America and Iron Man about the latter two's desire to shut down the team of young heroes. That night, the Young Avengers come to stop a hostage situation at a wedding. The attempt is botched, but the bride's sister, Kate Bishop, helps them out and they make a hasty retreat to avoid newscasters. Captain America, Iron Man and Jessica Jones run into Iron Lad at the Avengers Mansion, who fully explains the situation at hand to the adults.

Meanwhile, outside of a hospital, Kate runs into Ant Man's daughter, Cassie Lang, who is also trying to locate the Young Avengers. Kate decides to go with Cassie and the two girls eventually find Patriot, Hulkling and Asgardian at the Avenger's Mansion. The boys tell the girls to leave, which angers Cassie and causes her to grow. As Cassie's powers emerge for the first time, the adults and Iron Lad rush outside to see what happened, and everyone is taken back inside the mansion. As it becomes increasingly evident the Kang will soon return for Iron Lad, Captain America locks the team inside a training room in an attempt to keep them safe.

Kang does come to retrieve Iron Lad and the time stream beings to change, causing changes such as Jessica Jones no longer being pregnant. The Young Avengers finally figure out that Cap lied to them and they try to get out with no effect on the door. Kate, who was supposed to have left earlier, opens the door with a bag of weapons in hand. The Young Avengers start a battle which ultimately ends with Iron Lad killing his future self. Despite Kang's defeat, the time stream still changes into a future where all the Avengers are dead, causing Asgardian and Hulkling to disappear. Iron Lad realizes that he must go back and become Kang. He leaves his armor behind, which houses the Vision's programing, thus creating a new, more advanced, but less experienced Vision. The time stream is repaired and Hulkling, Asgardian, Captain America, Iron Man and a pregnant Jessica Jones return. Captain America states that the kids have more then proved themselves, but without the consent of their parents, he can't allow the team to exist. Rather then tell their parents, the team disbands.

Coming for Hulkling

Later, Kate gets the team back together with new costumes. Asgardian changes his codename to Wiccan (in order to avoid his name becoming a "national joke" when the press finds out that he's gay and in a relationship with Hulkling) and Cassie adopts the codename Stature.

Patriot tries to bust a M.G.H plant by himself and ends up in a fight with Mister Hyde. The rest of the team shows up to help, and it is revealed that Patriot is a user of M.G.H., instead of having real powers. (He had previously told them he gained powers from a blood transfusion from his grandfather.) Ashamed, Patriot quits the team.

The team tries to lay low while they attempt to convince Patriot to come back. In the midst of this, the Super Skrull arrives on Earth and kidnaps Hulkling, claiming him to be the savior of the Skrull Empire. To save Hulkling, the team, with the help of the new Vision, try and find new recruits for the Young Avengers. They locate and break Tommy Shepherd, a speedster who can destabilize matter and cause explosions, out of juvenile hall. Upon his jail break, it is noted that he looks exactly like Wiccan.

Meanwhile, Kl'rt reveals to Hulkling that he is the son of Princess Anelle of the Skrull Empire and Mar-Vell of Kree. The Young Avengers arrive to free him, but the rescue is intercepted by Kree soldiers. The team manages to subdue the soldiers long enough to escape, taking the Super-Skrull with them. Kl'rt seems convinced that Wiccan and Tommy are twins, as well as the children of the Scarlet Witch. After looking through the former Vision's memory files, Wiccan himself is convinced that both he and Tommy are Wanda Maximoff's lost children, while Tommy is more skeptical about the situation. There isn't much time to debate however, as more Kree and Skrull ships arrive on Earth. Hulkling refuses to leave Earth which causes and all-out brawl between the Skrulls and Kree soldiers, each claiming Teddy as there own. Hulking manages to stop the fight by having Super Skrull turn into him and traveling to both planets, acting as a spy. During the battle, Patriot was shot and gravely wounded. In order to save him, his grandfather, Isaiah Bradley, donates his blood, giving Patriot the powers he pretended to have. The Young Avengers start up the team again, with Kate becoming the second Hawkeye, the Vis ion deciding to join and Tommy taking the codename Speed.

Civil War

For further details see: Civil War

When the SHRA hit, the Young Avengers became targets of S.H.I.E.L.D. for their noncompliance. They were apprehended but rescued in transit by Captain America's rebel forces. This led to the team joining the anti-registration resistance. Frustrated with Captain America keeping them sidelined, they go to the west coast to aid the Runaways after seeing a news broadcast of them being attacked by authorities. The meeting between the two young teams is cut short by Noh-Varr, who had been brainwashed and dispatched from the Cube to get them. Members of both teams are abducted and the rest work together to rescue their taken friends. Afterward, the Runaways turn down the Young Avengers request to come to New York and join the SHRA resistance.

The team became divided after the death of Bill Foster. Wiccan was taken captive, and the remaining members stuck with the resistance, except for Stature. Deciding that things had gone too far, she left the resistance and registered, putting her on the opposing side of her friends.

Secret Invasion

For further details see: Secret Invasion

The Young Avengers were one of the first teams to respond to the invasion in New York, but were quickly overpowered. Hulkling, being the half-Skrull son of Princess Anelle, making him next in line for the throne, became the target of multiple assassination attempts by those who wanted Veranke to keep her hold on the empire. By teaming up with the young Super-Skrull Xavin and the rest of the Runaways, Wiccan and Speed were able to save Hulkling.

Dark Reign

For further details see: Dark Reign

The Young Masters

While still being a members of the Young Avengers, Stature and Vision 2.0 join the Mighty Avengers. Stature, who has major issues about the Scarlet Witch for killing her father, bring the Young Avengers to the mighty headquarters for a confrontation. They soon realize that the Scarlet Witch is really Loki in disguise. With the help of Clint Barton, the group is able to escape battle without serious injury.

A new group of Young Avengers forms. This group, consisting of Melter, Coat of Arms, Egghead, Enchantress, the Executioner and Big Zero, are soon confronted by the original Young Avengers members. The teams clash, and Melter's team takes to calling themselves the Young Masters. The two teams join forces against Norman Osborn's Avengers.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade

For further details see: The Children's Crusade

After Wiccan looses control of his powers, he and the rest of the team embark on a quest to locate the Scarlet Witch and find out if she really is Wiccan and Speed's mother. They are joined by Magneto, and their search quickly becomes a race with the Avengers to see who can get to her first. Quicksilver soon joins the race for the Scarlet Witch, his twin sister, only to accidentally cause the death of a young woman who appears to be the Scarlet Witch. However, she is revealed to be a Doombot, revealing to the group Doctor Doom's involvement in Wanda's disappearance. Though Magneto advises the group to rest, Wiccan teleports himself alone to Latveria in hopes of finding his "mother." He is successful in finding an amnesiac Wanda, though before he can tell her who she is, he is captured by Doctor Doom. Doom explains to Wiccan that Wanda has no memories of who she once was, nor does she exhibit any of the powers she once did, suggesting that she may have depowered herself during Decimation. Soon, the Young Avengers, Magneto, Quicksilver, and the Avengers all converge on Latveria in a brawl between doombots and super heroes.

When Wolverine finds Wiccan amidst the chaos of the battle, he attempts to kill the teenage hero, only to be halted by Iron Lad who returns to the Young Avengers' sides. With Iron Lad's technology, the Young Avengers and Scarlet Witch escape Latveria by traveling through time back to the Avengers' darkest day, in hopes of reminding Wanda of her former self. Cassie makes it clear that she wishes to save her father from an unjust death that had been caused by the Scarlet Witch. Once back in time, the Young Avengers meet up with Scott Lang (a.k.a. Ant Man II) and Cassie is glad to be finally reunited with her father. Jack of Hearts' reanimated body is soon seen lurching towards the group, and he and Wanda have a moment of recognition before the group escapes through time once more just before Jack explodes. Once the Yong Avengers arrive back in the present, Wanda reveals that she remembers who she once was, and is seen in her Scarlet Witch garb once more.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade - Young Avengers

Between departing from the Young Avengers and returning to them during the Children's Crusade, it is revealed that Iron Lad had taken it upon himself to hunt down as many future versions of himself as he could find. However, he eventually lands in a timeline in which Kang leads the Young Avengers, mortal enemies of that reality's Avengers, and is persuaded by Cassie Lang (know known by her MC2 persona of Stinger) to return to the Young Avengers' current timeline in order to save Billy from Wolverine's attack. The rest of the Young Avengers are seen in their "grown-up" forms; Kang and Stinger are now a couple while The Vision had "shut off" his emotions after they were no longer useful; Hawkeye II and Speed are now a couple, while Captain America is married to The Falcon, along with whom their child Bucky joins the team; Captain Marvel is the last remaining member as Wiccan had allegedly been killed by Wolverine back in the Young Avengers of that reality's timeline. However, it is eventually revealed that Billy is still alive, and dressed with the Cloak of Levitation, suggesting that he will one day hold the title of Sorcerer Supreme.

Membership

Current Roster:

• Patriot
• Hawkeye
• Stature
• Wiccan
• Hulkling
• Vision
• Speed

Alternate Realities

Cassie Standing Trial

The Avengers appeared in an Alice in Wonderland-type reality in the third issue of Avengers Fairy Tales. In this reality, Stature, paralleled greatly to Alice, does a little growing up while trying to escape from "Wonderland."

Something worthy of noting is the appearance of a redheaded male alongside the Young Avengers, but was not placed in the story.

Collected Editions

Young Avengers: Sidekicks - (#1-6)

Young Avengers: Family Matters - (#7-12)

Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways

Young Avengers Presents

Secret Invasion: Young Avengers & Runaways

Dark Reign: Young Avengers