History ComicBook / DarkAvengers

After ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008, ComicBook/IronMan, who had previously taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. from ComicBook/NickFury, was upstaged by ComicBook/NormanOsborn, aka the Green Goblin, who was [[ComicBook/DarkReign given control over super human affairs as "top cop"]] in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. Osborn disbanded ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}, remade it as H.A.M.M.E.R., and decided to hand pick his own team of "public image superheroes", crafting what would be known as Dark Avengers as the result: super-criminals who assumed the codenames and costumes of heroic predecessors. The team, with the majority of the members carried over from Osborn's time leading the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, included:

After ComicBook/SecretInvasion, ComicBook/IronMan, who had previously taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. from ComicBook/NickFury, was upstaged by ComicBook/NormanOsborn, aka the Green Goblin, who was [[ComicBook/DarkReign given control over super human affairs as "top cop"]] in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. Osborn disbanded ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}, remade it as H.A.M.M.E.R., and decided to hand pick his own team of "public image superheroes", crafting what would be known as Dark Avengers as the result: super-criminals who assumed the codenames and costumes of heroic predecessors. The team, with the majority of the members carried over from Osborn's time leading the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, included:

* PetTheDog: Osborn recruited the Sentry by... empathizing with his struggle with schizophrenia and offering to help Bob "get [his] #@$% together". He's genuinely saddened when it appears the Sentry died during the team's fight with Morgana le Fay.

* AnythingThatMoves: Daken.

* KarmaHoudini: In the final issue of the first series, everyone gets what they had coming, everyone except Daken who escapes scot-free.

* PoisonousPerson: June Covington, initially.

* PsychoForHire: Bullseye and Daken.

* RePower: As of the retitled ''Dark Avengers'', June Covington can modify herself to change her powers.

They were led by Iron Patriot (Norman Osborn himself, in a [[CaptainPatriotic repainted]] ComicBook/IronMan suit). Together [[TheyFightCrime They Fought Crime]]... kinda. The series lasted for 16 issues (March, 2009-July, 2010)

** Victoria Hand also qualifies. Although not superpowered at all, she's rarely intimidated by the likes of Moonstone, Venom or Bullseye, and actually called Osborn out on his erratic behavior a couple times. She was also not intimidated by [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Banner]] and his son Skaar.

* Captain Marvel (the alien terrorist [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Marvel Boy]], a.k.a. Noh-Varr),

* Hawkeye (the psychotic assassin Bullseye, aka Lester),
* Ms. Marvel (the arch-manipulator Moonstone, aka Karla Sofen),
* Captain Marvel (the alien terrorist [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Marvel Boy]], aka Noh-Varr),

* Spider-Man (the original Scorpion, aka Mac Gargan, at the time the 3rd incarnation of Comicbook/{{Venom}}),
* Comicbook/{{Ares|Marvel}} (The BloodKnight brother of Hercules) and,

The team were disbanded along with H.A.M.M.E.R. after the events of ''{{ComicBook/Siege}}'', when Osborn was imprisoned for his crimes during ''ComicBook/DarkReign''. Another team of Dark Avengers was put together after the events of ''ComicBook/FearItself'', when Osborn was broken out of jail, and the new team was formed and funded by a combination of A.I.M., Hydra, the Hand, and Osborn's restarted H.A.M.M.E.R.. Their goal was to overthrow the current status quo in the super community, namely, the self-appointed authority of the Avengers. And, like last time, Osborn would lead them. However, two in the group already had mutiny on their minds and they were defeated by Comicbook/TheAvengers. The second team included:

* Hawkeye (Hawkeye's criminal brother Trickshot, aka Barney Barton),
* Ms. Marvel (the super-powered misandrist Superia, aka Deidre Wentworth),

* Spider-Man (a South American chimera god, Ai Apaec),

The team were disbanded along with H.A.M.M.E.R. after the events of ''{{ComicBook/Siege}}'', when Osborn was imprisoned for his crimes during ''ComicBook/DarkReign''. Another team of Dark Avengers was put together after the events of ''ComicBook/FearItself'', when Osborn was broken out of jail, and the new team was formed and funded by a combination of A.I.M., Hydra, the Hand, and Osborn's restarted H.A.M.M.E.R. Their goal was to overthrow the current status quo in the super community, namely, the self-appointed authority of the Avengers. And, like last time, Osborn would lead them. However, two in the group already had mutiny on their minds and they were defeated by Comicbook/TheAvengers. The second team included:

* CostumeCopycat: Norman has several team members (Moonstone, Venom) adopting the identities of more well-known heroes who wouldn't cooperate (Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man), trusting that the remaining paranoia of Skrull imposters will prevent the originals from objecting -- or doing anything about it. [[spoiler: Spider-Man]] actually takes advantage of this by [[spoiler: posing as Venom.]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: Back in her days as a SHIELD agent, Victoria Hand felt Nick Fury wasn't doing enough to handle HYDRA, so she sent him a stern letter. In response, rather than just ignoring it, Nick has her ReassignedToAntarctica, just as Hand's girlfriend had warned her.

** In his miniseries, Venom goes AWOL against Osborn's orders and starts a gang war to mess with Mayor J. Jonah Jameson's ratings, and then vomits a half-digested squirrel onto Dexter Bennet's desk as revenge for an unflattering article in the Daily Bugle. The latter becomes a BrickJoke in the Siege of Asgard when Spider-Man (Peter Parker) comments with Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) that "because of Mac Gargan, half of New York thinks I eat squirrels."

%%* ManipulativeBastard: Osborn, Daken.

* PetTheDog: Osborn recruited the Sentry by...empathizing with his struggle with schizophrenia and offering to help Bob "get [his] #@$% together". He's genuinely saddened when it appears the Sentry died during the team's fight with Morgana le Fay.

** Daken's "greatest fear" is that he's one of these. During his Siege tie-in, the Fates [[spoiler: identify him as the bringer of Ragnarok and attempt to sway him to their side by first showing him illusions of his "greatest desires" - like killing Iron Patriot and a world in chaos - and then, after he tells them that no one controls him, by showing him his worst fears: he tries to manipulate the loyalty of his team by saving their asses and telling them they're awesome, but Hawkeye instead tells him he can go to hell and Iron Patriot is the one to rouse everyone back up. Daken does not respond well to this.]]

%%* StupidSexyFlanders: Daken

* AnythingThatMoves: Daken, Daken, '''Daken'''.

* Spider-Man (the original Scorpion, aka Mac Gargan, at the time the 3rd incarnation of {{Comicbook/Venom}}),
* {{Comicbook/Ares}} (The BloodKnight brother of Hercules) and,

[[caption-width-right:330: Our heroes, from left to right: Alien Terrorist, Psychotic Recluse, ManipulativeBitch, AxCrazy MadBomber, BloodKnight WarGod, SerialKiller, ProfessionalKiller and HumanoidAbomination.]]

* StuffedInTheFridge: Lindy Lee. She was killed by Hawkeye (Bullseye) on orders from Norman Osborn in order to make Sentry release his full potential and successfully attack Asgard.

* DarkWorld: One arc had the team trapped in a pocket reality that A.I.M. managed to carve out from temporal instability induced by Kang. In it, they played with the timeline to polarize the heroes into a civil war that destroyed the world and divided New York City between their factions, so that A.I.M. could study and copy whatever inventions those extreme conditions inspired. The only one within it that had a hint of their reality being manipulated was Reed Richards, who observed that reality didn't exist past the solar system in a shrinking boundary.

* TheMole: From the members of the new team, [[spoiler:Skaar is actually under orders from Captain America.]]

* ReverseMole: [[spoiler:Skaar for the second team. Cap knew Osborn would try to get to him, seeing as he's not-quite-Hulk (well, he's the big green's son, so yeah), so he got to Skaar first without Osborn knowing.]]

%%* StuffedInTheFridge: Lindy Lee.