No matter whom their next enemy might be, the Avengers will always be waging their most important battle: the one for our approval.
But which one is the best? It’s a question that has been debated ever since the team was introduced way back in 1963. Now, with the cinematic incarnation, the debate has begun anew.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” opens Thursday, and it reveals new wrinkles in familiar characters, including Hawkeye and Black Widow. So who’s the best member of the team? Let’s go to the rankings:
9. War Machine
Real name: James Rhodes
Tortured back story: The military man grew up with Tony Stark and now wears a similar suit of armor.
Best move: He does pretty much the same stuff as Iron Man — just with fewer quips.
Best personality trait: Reveals an endearing desire for social popularity in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Indispensability to the team: Medium
Overall: If we’re being honest, War Machine is just a less likable and less interesting Iron Man. Don Cheadle is a great actor, but if War Machine went away, would anyone miss him? The character is probably hampered by the fact that he got the most screen time in the awful “Iron Man 2.”
8. Nick Fury
Real name: That is his real name, but who knows if that eye patch is fake?
Tortured back story: The Army vet rose to become head of S.H.I.E.L.D., only to see the peacekeeping organization infiltrated and destroyed by enemy Hydra.
Best move: Shows some nifty driving skills in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Best personality trait: His world-class crustiness.
Indispensability to the team: Medium
Overall: Mostly exists to form the team and to give Samuel L. Jackson an excuse to wear a leather trench in summer. With his ouster from S.H.I.E.L.D., he’s less important now than in the early days of the Marvel cinematic universe.
7. Thor
Real name: Um, pretty sure it’s just Thor.
Tortured back story: The Asgardian god has been betrayed by his brother, Loki, and separated from the one he loves, Jane Foster.
Best move: He can destroy enemies with a toss of his enchanted hammer.
Best personality trait: He’s a bit stilted and a man out-of-time. To order another cup of coffee in a diner, he smashes the mug on the floor.
Indispensability to the team: Medium-high
Overall: He might be the heaviest hitter on the roster, power-wise, but viewers haven’t quite warmed to his solo movies as much as some of those starring other team members.
6. Falcon
Real name: Sam Wilson
Tortured back story: He’s a former paratrooper whose wingman was killed during a mission.
Best move: Can swoop through the air on a pair of military-made wings.
Best personality trait: He has an unwavering loyalty to Captain America.
Indispensability to the team: Low
Overall: He played a major role in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” but spends most of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on the sidelines. The movie’s ending hints that bigger things might be coming for him, however.
5. Hawkeye
Real name: Clint Barton
Tortured back story: More is revealed in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” but let’s not spoil it here.
Best move: Can fire arrows while falling backwards off a New York skyscraper.
Best personality trait: What personality?
Indispensability to the team: Medium
Overall: As Hawkeye jokes in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the team is trying to save the world and he’s got . . . a bow and arrow? Archaic weapons choice aside, he’s still pretty cool and serves as the audience’s de facto (and superpowerless) stand-in.
4. Hulk
Real name: Bruce Banner
Tortured back story: The scientist lives in fear of transforming into his angry, green alter ego.
Best move: Smashing. Duh.
Best personality trait: The monosyllabic monster is pure destruction.
Indispensability to the team: High
Overall: As Marvel Studios has concluded, Hulk is better as a side item than an entree. He makes for a great ensemble player but, due to his character limitations, has trouble carrying his own film.
3. Captain America
Real name: Steve Rogers
Tortured back story: He lay frozen in suspended animation for decades, meaning most of those he knew and loved are gone.
Best move: He can bounce his shield around a room, knocking out multiple bad guys at once.
Best personality trait: His aw-shucks naiveté. Chris Evans, who plays him, recently revealed that “he’s probably a virgin.”
Indispensability to the team: High
Overall: Cap is now the leader of the team, and because he has few pursuits outside of superhero-ing — no company to run, no girlfriend — he can spend nearly all his time on Avengers business.
2. Black Widow
Real name: Natasha Romanoff
Tortured back story: She was trained from a young age at a brutal Russian spy school, as revealed in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Best move: In “The Avengers,” she subdues a roomful of Russian criminals while tied to a chair.
Best personality trait: Ability to manipulate others into getting what she wants, like when she tricks Loki into revealing information in “The Avengers.”
Indispensability to the team: Medium
Overall: There’s something mysterious and alluring about the former Soviet spy. When she’s on-screen, you always want to see and know more about her. The fact that she’s been in the middle of some of the niftier fight scenes also helps.
1. Iron Man
Real name: Tony Stark
Tortured back story: Shrapnel embedded near his heart nearly killed him, but he was saved by implanting an arc reactor in his chest.
Best move: In “Iron Man,” he takes out four terrorists holding hostages with missiles hidden in his shoulders.
Best personality trait: A lovable arrogance and a wry sense of humor. When Thor tells him, “You have no idea what you’re dealing with,” Iron Man shoots back, “Shakespeare in the Park?”
Indispensability to the team: High
Overall: He was the first member recruited for the group, and for good reason: He’s got the tech — and the billions of dollars — that the Avengers depend on.