True Companions / Marvel Universe

There is a reason to why they are called The Avengers!

Marvel Universe

• Agents of Atlas: The Agents of Atlas' true-companion bond is Lampshaded in their original miniseries, with super-spy Jimmy Woo as the group's leader.
• The Avengers : Many of the Avengers teams over the years have been effectively true companions. One good example is the nearly-first lineup: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, and The Wasp. (The Hulk was a founding member, but quit almost immediately, with Cap taking his place.) All five were practically in tears when they first parted ways, even though they'd only been together for a dozen issues.
  • Of all the ties formed in the Avengers' long history, none match those between Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. The team is always at its strongest when these three are in it, and any two of them would lay down their lives for the third without hesitation. This is what made the Cap/Iron Man conflict in Civil War so devastating; one has to wonder if it might have been averted if Thor hadn't been dead at the time. The adverts for Avengers Prime put it best: Many have answered the call, but three have always stood above the rest.
    • It's also why Thor is so fucking pissed at Tony when he finally does return. A man he considered at least as close as a brother not only turned on people they both called allies (especially Cap), but then cloned Thor without permission. I doubt any of Loki's many betrayals hurt Thor as much as that did.
    • To be honest, it probably hurt Thor so much because it reminded him exactly of Loki's many betrayals.
  • Likewise, the three main members of the Invaders (a World War II-era group consisting of Namor the Sub-Mariner, the original Human Torch, and Captain America) are true companions. They might not always like each other, they may be on different sides of a fight sometimes, but they have a bond that can't be broken.
  • Way back in the almost-prehistoric days of the Avengers/Defenders War (which may be the first big Marvel crossover), it is the bond between Captain America and Namor that brings the two teams to cease hostilities. Interesting to note that this occured prior to the creation of the Invaders series and its subsequent Retcon.
  • Several of the Avengers members are related by blood, marriage or through more complex links. For example, Hank Pym has been married to Wasp and has had romantic relationships with both Tigra and Firebird. He is also the creator of Ultron, with Vision, Jocasta and Alkhema as de facto grandchildren. All three being artificial versions of other Avengers: Wonder Man, Wasp and Mockingbird.
• Fantastic Four: The Fantastic Four would qualify, if three of its four charter members weren't already directly related by blood or marriage. The extended crew includes Spider-Man, whose Vitriolic Best Buds friendship with the Human Torch dates back to the character's first few issues. He's since become such a part of the family that he's considered Franklin's Honorary Uncle, and has taken Johnny's place on the team following his death (with Johnny hand-picking him for the spot via Video Will).
• The Incredible Hulk:
  • The gladiators with whom the Hulk formed a Warbound pact in Planet Hulk; they even joined hands together like in the page picture up top. Warbound are new families forged in conflicts, with whom teamwork and understanding are the only ways to survive. This is made all the more significant given that each member of the Warbound has lost their actual family, as Miek saw his entire hive slaughtered before him, Korg was forced to kill his own brothers in the Maw, Hiroim was exiled for breaking a previous Warbound pact, the Brood was separated from her sisters, Elloe's father was killed by the foreman of the Maw, etc.
  • Any crew that includes The Hulk is doomed (The Defenders, The Pantheon). True companions that fight him fare better, which may be why The Avengers outlasted his membership in it.
• Runaways: The team originated as six kids who discovered that their parents were actually supervillains, and banded together to try to stop them. The main cast did suffer dramatic changes, though, such as the revelation of Alex as The Mole and his subsequent death, Gert's death, and the additions of Victor, Xavin, and Klara.
• Thunderbolts: The Thunderbolts usually subverts this. Jolt joined the team thinking she had found a second family after her parents were kiled. Turns out they're super villains who try to take over the world. Then they turn on each other and try to kill each other. Even when the individual members of the team admit the team is like a family they still betray the team later.
• Ultimate Spider-Man: Peter Parker always had allies but it wasn't until near the end of the first comic's run did he gain True Companions in the sense detailed here. Fellow super heroes Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) and Bobby Drake (Iceman) moved in him with him and went to his school. Even all of his ex-girlfriends, Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), put their differences aside and became great friends. Peter's Aunt May was part of the group, too! (After all, she was letting all of the kids live her house.) They worked, lived, and fought together. They were together until the bitter end...
• X-Men: The various X-Men teams display this trope at times.
  • The strongest group is probably the 80s X-Men: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Colossus, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde.
  • Some versions of the Brotherhood would qualify, specifically Mystique's group. With the exception of Blob, they are all good friends that look out for one another, and show unswerving loyalty to Mystique.
• Young Avengers: The Young Avengers started referring to themselves as a family soon after the death of Teddy's adoptive mother. The Avengers: The Children's Crusade miniseries seems to be cementing this.

---