10 Avengers Joined the Team for Questionable Reasons

Not every Avenger joined Earth's Mightiest Heroes for purely selfless reasons. Several members were motivated by personal ambition, forced circumstances, or outright deception when they first joined the team.

Hercules and Deathcry: Exiles Seeking Shelter

Hercules joined the Avengers after being exiled from Olympus by his father, Zeus. The Prince of Power had nowhere else to go in the mortal area. The team took pity on him, offering him room and board. Hercules helped in battles to repay them, eventually becoming a full member.

Deathcry, a Shi'ar warrior also known as Sharra Neramani, was forced to join. Her violent behavior led to her exile from the Shi'ar Empire. As punishment, Empress Lilandra stripped her of her royal name and sent her to Earth to protect the Avengers from Kree retaliation. Her initial membership was not a choice.

Black Widow and Hawkeye: Personal Bonds and Redemption

Black Widow, originally a Soviet spy, did not join for idealism. Her shift began with her relationship with Hawkeye, Clint Barton. She sought freedom and was drawn by her bond with Barton, making her recruitment a complicated transaction.

Hawkeye's path was similarly personal. After being drawn into criminal activity with Black Widow and believing her dead, he broke into the Avengers Mansion to join. His decision stemmed from guilt and a desire for redemption, driven more by a broken heart than heroism.

Doctor Druid and U.S. Agent: Arrogance and Surveillance

The Avengers recruited Doctor Druid, a psychiatrist named Anthony Ludgate, when they needed a mystic. His tenure was disastrous. Craving authority, his arrogance led him to fall under the mind control of Ravonna Renslayer. He sabotaged the team as Chairman and was expelled.

John Walker, the U.S. Agent, was assigned to the West Coast Avengers by the government. He was not a volunteer. His role was to act as a watchdog and spy on the team, leading to initial conflicts due to his suspicion and arrogance.

Wonder Man and Swordsman: Deceptive Infiltration

Wonder Man, Simon Williams, approached the Avengers under false pretenses. Resentful of Tony Stark after his munitions company failed, he gained ionic powers and was recruited as a double agent for the Masters of Evil. He planned to destroy the team from within but later turned against his masters.

The Swordsman, Jacques Duquesne, was a former mentor to Hawkeye turned mercenary. His attempt to join was entirely deceptive. He was working for the Mandarin and hoped membership would make committing crimes easier. After a failed first attempt, he used a fake Iron Man to vouch for him, joined, and immediately tried to plant a bomb before being caught and exiled.

The report notes that while some of these characters, like Wonder Man and Deathcry, eventually grew into genuine heroes, their initial reasons for joining were far from the Avengers' ideals.