While Earth’s Mightiest Heroes gained their name from their assorted power sets, The Avengers also feature quite a few skilled brawlers on the roster.

MCU Captains America with Thor and Black Widow from Marvel Comics

The Avengers first came together at the beginning of the Marvel Age to defend the Earth from the worst threats. They combine the greatest superheroes on the planet and beyond, each bringing something unique to the table. The Avengers has been home to many of the most powerful heroes in the universe, which has made a lot of difference, but all that power would be meaningless without the skill to back it up.

Being able to fight is a very important part of the Avengers formula. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes face enemies with unimaginable power and technology. Having the power to deal with those enemies is great, but the team can win because they have some amazing fighters on the team. They’ve mastered their powers, are experts at teamwork, and have created fighting styles that make them the best.

10Sam Wilson’s Metamorphosis From Falcon To Captain America Showed His Adaptability

Sam Wilson flies into action as Captain America Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson cover. sam wilson soaring through the air in his captain america suit alongside redwing sam wilson in his captain america suit in front of the falcon, steve rogers, and sharon carterSam Wilson flies into action as Captain America Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson cover. sam wilson soaring through the air in his captain america suit alongside redwing sam wilson in his captain america suit in front of the falcon, steve rogers, and sharon carterA split image of Ultron, Doctor Doom and Kang in Marvel Comics

RELATED

The First 10 Villains to Defeat the Avengers in Marvel Comics

Despite their standing as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers had their fair share of defeat in their early Marvel comics.

Sam Wilson first joined the Avengers as Falcon, Captain America’s newest sidekick. Wilson already was an amazing hero, but being an Avenger brought him to the next level. Black Panther gifted him with vibranium wings and a new flight pack, allowing Wilson to reach new heights. Sam flew high as Falcon and began to do amazing things on his own, working with SHIELD and helping out in the aftermath of Cap’s assassination. Eventually, Sam would get a chance to graduate to the big time as Captain America when the supersoldier serum wore off for Steve Rogers.

Sam had to master the use of Captain America’s shield, something he proved adept at
He had to adapt his highflying combat style to his use of the shield, rebuilding his skills from the ground up
Sam used his experience fighting on superteams to formulate strategy and help lead Avengers teams into battle

Sam Wilson’s glow-up to Captain America saw him completely reinvent his fighting style and succeed wildly. Falcon doesn’t fight the same way as Captain America, and vice versa, so Sam had to combine everything he learned over the years to create an entirely new way of fighting. Sam’s fighting skills have always made him a formidable Avenger, and his current tenure as Captain America is the perfect example of what makes him so amazing.

9Hyperion’s Simple Fighting Style Was Bolstered By His Amazing Power

Hyperion standing in front of an explosion in Marvel Comics

Hyperion joined the Avengers during the Incursions. AIM pulled him to Earth-616 from his Earth, and he soon became an Avenger, helping out in the battle against Ex Nihilo and Abyss. Hyperion stayed with the team until the end, battling against Starbrand, the Builders, the Beyonders, and more. Hyperion is an Eternal, and his powers put him on a level with the most powerful Avengers. He battled alongside Thor, keeping up with the God of Thunder as if he were an equal, which is no easy feat.

Hyperion wasn’t a martial artist and had a simple yet efficient fighting style that revolved around battering his enemies with punches, flying attacks, and his laser vision
Hyperion’s powers were key to making his fighting style work, as he was hitting these simple maneuvers with Thor-level power behind them
Hyperion’s durability allowed him to take pretty much any attack thrown at him

Hyperion wasn’t a fancy fighter, but with power like his, he didn’t need to be. He could afford to fight in the simplest way possible because he had a world-shattering force behind every attack. On top of that, his Eternal physiology meant that he was indestructible from everything but molecular dissolution. Hyperion’s tenure on the Avengers wasn’t long, but he left as massive an impact as one of his powerful punches.

8Hawkeye Depends Completely On His Fighting Skills To Survive

Hawkeye rides a motorcycle away from She-Hulk while she shouts, "She-Hulk hate being teased!"Split: Luke Cage in battle; the New Avengers roster

RELATED

The Avengers’ Greatest Team Didn’t Need Anyone From Marvel’s Trinity

Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor may be Marvel’s Trinity, but one superhero team didn’t need any of them to be the best Avengers lineup.

Hawkeye is easily the bravest Avenger of them all. Clint Barton doesn’t have superpowers but is a master of one of humanity’s oldest weapons. Hawkeye is amazing with a bow and arrow, his marksmanship allowing him to hit pretty much any target. Hawkeye jumps into battle side by side with gods, supersoldiers, magical titans, armored attackers, robots, mutants, aliens, and more, and is cocky enough about the whole situation to crack jokes. That takes a special kind of person who is confident in their skills, and Hawkeye has that confidence in spades.

Hawkeye is equipped with a variety of trick arrows to even up the odds with his superpowered foes
Hawkeye has trained in multiple fighting arts over the years, making him dangerous even without the bow and arrow
When Hawkeye was Ronin, he mostly used katanas and nunchucks in battle and was still able to demolish every enemy he faced

Hawkeye is an adaptable, highly-trained hero who rolls with the punches in even the most hectic situations. There are very few heroes out there who can match the breadth of Hawkeye’s skills. Some people scoff at him as an Avenger, but Hawkeye earned his place on the team by being an amazing fighter. His skills have made him indispensable to the team.

7Black Widow Spent Decades As A Top Spy And Assassin

Black Widow dropping down onto the street below while facing up and firing her stingers

The Avengers don’t kill, but that doesn’t mean that every Avenger has clean hands. Marvel is full of supersoldiers, many of whom have killed, and many of them have ended up on the Avengers. Black Widow isn’t the most successful ex-supersoldier who joined the team, but she has always been among the Avengers’ most feared members, and for good reason.

Black Widow was trained in the Red Room, becoming Soviet Russia’s most dangerous superspy

Black Widow was given physical enhancements, as well as dosed with the Infinity Formula to slow down her aging, all making her into a peak human
Black Widow is a master of multiple weapons and explosives, and her gauntlets allow her to fire off widow’s bite energy blasts

Black Widow is an amazing combatant, her decades of experience making her into an excellent Avenger. Black Widow is great by herself, but her time leading the Avengers has also shown that she understands how to lead a team in battle. Black Widow can pretty much do anything the Avengers need her to – she can sneak in and soften a target up, fight on the front lines, and lead the team into battle. She’s amazingly versatile, making her a near-perfect Avenger.

6Black Panther Is The Pinnacle Of Wakanda

Black Panther stands before his country built on Vibranium

T’Challa had a difficult destiny before him – becoming the King of Wakanda and the Black Panther – but he stepped up and mastered everything he needed to know. Black Panther has had an illustrious career, defending his people and the world from terrible threats. Black Panther was trained to be an amazing fighter, enhanced by the heart-shaped herb and his vibranium suit and weapons, but his wide base of knowledge truly makes him such a great fighter.

Black Panther is a brilliant scientist, able to keep up with big brains like Reed Richards and Tony Stark, and can outdo them when it comes to using vibranium in technology
Black Panther’s time as king has made him an expert tactician able to lead teams, anticipate his enemy’s movements, and cut them off before they can do damage
Black Panther can figure out a way to win in nearly any situation

Black Panther is another Avenger whose versatility is his greatest asset to the team. He can do anything on the battlefield that he needs, which has made him indispensable to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Black Panther always brings something new to the table in battle, coming at his enemies from somewhere they never guessed and giving the Avengers the chance they need to win. He’s a game-changer just by showing up.

5Captain America Is The Team’s Swiss Army Knife

captain america 6 cover header-1 captain america standing in the middle of a burning building holding his shield Captain America leading the charge against the Builders The cover of Captain America #2 featuring Spider-Man with Captain America.captain america 6 cover header-1 captain america standing in the middle of a burning building holding his shield Captain America leading the charge against the Builders The cover of Captain America #2 featuring Spider-Man with Captain America.

Captain America isn’t the strongest or fastest Avenger, either. However, his experience and skill make up for his physical deficiencies, making him the one Avenger everyone can count on. Cap is basically the solution for every problem the team has, something he’s proven every time he straps on his shield and leads the Avengers into battle.

Captain America has faced the deadliest villains on his own, readying him for anything the Avengers’ foes throw at him
Captain America’s fighting style mixes boxing, judo, high-octane acrobatics, his own style of shield fighting, and a variety of techniques picked up over years of fighting evil
Captain America is a master of defense, able to keep himself and his allies out of harm’s way like a pro

Cap is the Avenger that everyone wants to see on the battlefield. His battle skills have allowed him to punch way over his weight class, and no one an Avenger would rather lead them into battle than Captain America. The Star-Spangled Avenger can do anything the team needs, like a Swiss Army Knife, and if he can’t figure out how to do it himself, he can figure out a way to get it done as a team. Cap is a brilliant fighter and leader, and there’s no other Avenger as respected as he is.

4Wolverine Is A Master Of Multiple Fighting Techniques

Wolverine Embraces His Animal Side

Wolverine joined the New Avengers as the team was being brought together. Iron Man wanted Wolverine on the team for one reason: he would do things that no one else would. This caused some friction with Captain America initially – who didn’t like the idea of a killer like Wolverine on the team – but the diminutive mutant soon earned his place. The reason for this was simple – Wolverine is an amazing fighter. Anyone who thinks he’s just a tank who hacks and slashes his way through everything has another thing coming to them.

Wolverine has over a century of fighting experience
He’s mastered multiple martial arts
Wolverine is proficient with a variety of weapons, from melee weapons to firearms, and is an expert in black ops tactics and small unit actions

Wolverine is as deadly as they come in a fight. He’s dangerous enough to give the Hulk a good fight and can survive almost anything thrown at him. He’s become an expert team player, able to work with his teammates to do the most damage. Wolverine is just as good at jumping into the fray and ripping through everyone as he is sneaking in and tearing through his enemies’ weaknesses. Wolverine is a multi-faceted threat with combat experience that few people with a mortal lifetime can match.

3Hercules Has Been Battling Evil For Millennia

Hercules prepares to attack Spider-Man in Assault on New Olympus: PrologueSplit Images of Avengers Comic books

RELATED

10 Best Avengers Comics For Non-Avengers Fans

Anyone can enjoy these epic stories featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes from Marvel Comics, whether you’re a fan of the Avengers or not.

Hercules is known for his jovial nature. He possesses a contagious boisterousness and is a favorite of nearly every hero he’s ever spent time with. Hercules loves food, drinking, and affairs of the heart, but those aren’t the only things that he loves. Hercules has always loved to fight, ready to wade into the fray with a smile and bash the skulls of anyone who needs it. Hercules loves many things, and he’s good at all of them. Fighting is on that list, and it’s probably one of the things he’s best at.

Hercules’s status as Zeus’s son gives him infinite strength and invulnerability
Hercules has been fighting gods and monsters since the days of ancient Greece, giving him a ridiculous amount of fighting experience
Hercules is proficient with several weapons and carried a mace for years, but his strength means that weapons are just an accoutrement for him, not a necessity

Hercules is a master of wrestling, as befit a Greek demigod, and can throw a punch with the best of them. He’s a powerhouse, and his fighting skills reflect that. Hercules isn’t fancy and just batters down every enemy before him. He’s proven to be a great anchor for multiple Avengers teams, always ready to face down the worst threats and laugh in their faces.

2Ares Is A Master Of War

Marvel's Ares Smashing With His Axe

The time after the superhero civil war was difficult for the Avengers. Most of the New Avengers hadn’t registered and went underground, forcing Iron Man to bring together a new team of Avengers. Thor was still hibernating with the rest of Asgard, and Ragnarök, the Thor clone, had been destroyed by Hercules. Iron Man needed someone with the power and experience of Thor, and he found him in Ares, the god of war. Ares brought his power to the Avengers, quickly showing how dangerous he was in combat.

Ares’s power over war makes him amazing in combat
Ares’s battle ax became his most feared weapon, but it was nowhere near the only weapon he had mastered
Ares’s physical power was basically unstoppable to all but the most powerful heroes and villains

Ares was an amazing fighter, and he knew it. He threw himself into every battle with gusto and quickly showed everyone that he was perfect for the Avengers. Ares hadn’t just been fighting wars for millennia, he was war itself. This gave him amazing skills on the battlefield, and he could feed off the energy of battle to become even more powerful. If anything held Ares back, it was his arrogance, but he was rarely in a situation where anyone could match his power or his skill to make him pay for it, although his hubris is what cost him the fight against the Sentry.

1Thor Is The Avengers’ Greatest Warrior

Immortal Thor flies into battle in Marvel Comics Thor confidently heads into battle Thor with the Thor Corps on the Immortal Thor #5 cover. Marvel's Immortal Thor wields Mjolnir against a giantImmortal Thor flies into battle in Marvel Comics Thor confidently heads into battle Thor with the Thor Corps on the Immortal Thor #5 cover. Marvel's Immortal Thor wields Mjolnir against a giantSplit Images of Dark Reign, Silver Age, and Leather jacket Avengers

RELATED

10 Marvel Eras An Avengers Miniseries Should Revisit

While the X-Men and Spider-Man have re-explored past eras with hit mini-series, there are a few eras of The Avengers that need a second look as well.

Thor helped found the Avengers when his brother Loki reared their ugly head. Thor has been an Avenger almost ever since, providing the team with the power of the God of Thunder. Thor is easily the best fighter in the Avengers, and it isn’t even close. Thor’s powers – super strength, invulnerability, and the ability to control lighting and the storms – are enhanced by the might of Mjolnir, allowing Thor to face off against the most powerful enemies and give the Avengers muscle, unlike anything they have access to.

Thor spent millennia out in Asgard, battling the enemies of the Golden Realm
Thor’s fighting experience adds up to years in battle, with Thor’s godly stamina allowing him to fight without tiring for ages
Thor is a master of many weapons, and his skill with Mjolnir is merely one facet of his weapon mastery

Thor combines power and skill in equal measures to become the Avengers’ most dangerous fighter. He is a master of combat, and while he doesn’t often take the lead in battle, he very easily can. Thor is the total package and the perfect Avenger. He has the power that even cosmic beings fear, tempered by the skill and experience of a god who has spent millennia fighting the worst threats in the Ten Realms. Thor has it all, which has made him such a quintessential Avenger.