The Avengers franchise is what made Marvel Studios the completely dominant force in comic based entertainment. The way they streamlined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and other characters into an expansive universe that also includes television shows like Daredevil and Agents Of SHIELD is something that has never been achieved before in motion picture entertainment.


The Avengers continuity, even without including the individual characters is supremely daunting. So, I’ve put together a chronology of some of the best Avengers related books that are currently or were recently available in collected editions (the recently available are still around for pretty cheap on various online outlets and in bookstores) into ten TV seasons.

​Can you believe Norman Osborne was still in charge at the end of last season? Surely this Dark Reign can’t last forever. Can it?

Episode 1: Dark Wolverine Prince
(written by Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu, art by Guiseppe Camuncoli)
If there was a Wolverine continuity (and I’ll probably get to it), you’d already know all about Wolvey’s son, Daken. But all you have in this continuity is that there’s a Wolverine looking guy on the Dark Avengers that you met briefly last season. Well, get to know him a little better, and maybe understand why all his teammates hate him.

Dark Wolverine. 1 episode



Episode 2: Dark Avengers Molecule Man
(written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mike Deodato JR)
Molecule Man is one of the least used Megavillains. He’s got a lot in common with The Scarlet Witch. Of course, Norman Osborne is probably a much bigger problem. Or, is either of them a match for The Sentry?

Molecule Man. 1 episode



Serial 1: Siege, Siege New Avengers, Siege Mighty Avengers, Siege Avengers The Initiative Siege Dark Avengers, Siege Thunderbolts, Thor Siege
(written by Brian Michael Bendis and many more, art by Alex Coipel and many more)
Norman Osborne’s next target is…Asgard. This doesn’t sit well with Asgardians or Midgardians, and the time has finally come to fight back at full power. In the end, an Avenger will die (but not one anyone remembers…fondly) and heroes will go back to being heroes again. No more fighting amongst themselves ever again. Cough cough cough cough cough.

Siege. 6 episodes



Episode 9: Avengers Prime
(written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Alan Davis)

Now that Osborne has fallen, everyone can calm down and be friends ag…damn it, are Tony Stark and Steve Rogers STILL fighting? What will get these two back together? Maybe if we toss them and Thor into Asgard they can hash out their issues?

The Big Three. 1 episode



Episode 10: Avengers By Bendis Vol 1
(written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by John Romita JR)

Formerly Mighty, the regular team of Avengers loses their adjective. Also, a certain purple faced time traveling jerk is back.

Kangtankerous. 1 episode



Episode 11: New Avengers by Bendis Vol 1 & 2 
(written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Stuart Immonen, Daniel Acuna, Mike Deodato JR, and Howard Chaykin)

Steve Rogers hands leadership of the team, and the keys to the mansion to Luke Cage. And now we go back to your usual sort of Avengers stories, like how Nick Fury messed everything up for these guys way back in the 1950s.

Old Business. 1 episode



Episode 12: Secret Avengers Mission To Mars
(by Ed Brubaker, art by Mike Deodato JR, and Will Conrad)

The former Captain America, Steve Rogers, has assembled a special ops team to deal with issues that the public shouldn’t find out about. But who is The Shadow Council that opposes them?

Secret Avengers. 1 episode



Episode 13: Avengers by Bendis Vol 2
(written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by John Romita JR)

Red Hulk. Red Hood. Loads of Infinity Gems. Uhoh.

The Infinity Hood. 1 episode



Episode 14: Osborn Evil Incarcerated
(written by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Warren Ellis, art by Emma Rios)

While the various Avengers teams are out gallivanting around the world, poor Norman Osborn is in prison. But maybe not for long.

Evil Incarcerated. 1 episode



Serial 2: Avengers Academy Permanent Record, Avengers Academy Will We Use This In The Real World
(written by Christos Gage, art by Mike McKone)

Hank Pym continues the idea behind The Initiative but without all the bad politics. A new class of Avengers steps into the spotlight, hoping to learn how to be the heroes of tomorrow.

Avengers Academy. 2 episodes



Serial 3: Fear Itself, Avengers Academy Fear Itself, Avengers Fear Itself
(written by Matt Fraction and more, art by Stuart Immonen and more)

Thor isn’t the only hammer wielder in The Marvel Universe. A few more of the troublesome Asgardian weapons fall to Midgard, and various heroes and villains take possession of them to wreak havoc. Luckily, Tony Stark has a plan. Thor? Not so much.

Fear Itself. 2 episodes



Serial 4: New Avengers Volume 3, Avengers Volume 3
(written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Neal Adams, Mike Deodato JR, Will Conrad)

Osborne is on the loose. Again. But now he has a whole new team of Dark Avengers at his disposal. Plus AIM and other things Osborn should never have access to.

Stop HAMMER Time. 2 episode


Season 6 is 20 episodes.

The Avengers franchise is what made Marvel Studios the completely dominant force in comic based entertainment. The way they streamlined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and other characters into an expansive universe that also includes television shows like Daredevil and Agents Of SHIELD is something that has never been achieved before in motion picture entertainment.

The Avengers continuity, even without including the individual characters is supremely daunting. So, I’ve put together a chronology of some of the best Avengers related books that are currently or were recently available in collected editions (the recently available are still around for pretty cheap on various online outlets and in bookstores) into ten TV seasons.

​Season 1 isn’t just The First Team of Avengers. I’m not a big fan of silver age books, so I want to get at least into the 80s by the end of the first season, so be prepared for a lot of team shake ups pretty quickly, which is actually in the spirit of the Avengers book, whose entire lineup changed three times in the first five issues.

Serial 1: Avengers Epic Collection: Always An Avenger
(written by Stan Lee, art by Jack Kirby and Don Heck)

The team forms to fight off the threat of Loki. Then the team nearly breaks up. They go through an assortment of villains and team rosters, as well as crossing over with nearly every other property Marvel had at the time, including The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, and Spider-Man.

Assemble. 2 episodes



Serial 2: Avengers Kree/Skrull War
(written by Roy Thomas, art by Neal Adams, Sal Buscema, and John Buscema)

The Fantastic Four once battled a race of shape-shifting aliens called The Skrulls. When they defeated them, Reed Richards turned three of them into cows. After the Avengers deal with the possible threat of Captain Marvel’s race, The Kree, Vision is attacked by the Skrull cows. Featuring The Fantastic Four, Annihilus, and the subject of a certain android Ant-Man created called Ultron gets breached.

The Kree. 1 episode
Skrullelujah. 1 episode



Episode 5: Avengers Celestial Madonna
(written by Roy Thomas and Steve Engleheart, art by Sal Buscema, Dave Cockrum, and Bob Brown)

There’s a new star in the sky and it’s going to mess up the Avengers, handing them their first of many deaths (not an Avenger most people can name, though). But now time traveling villains, including the rascally Kang have descended on their time to take out The Avengers. Plus, more damned Skrulls, and Vision and The Scarlet Witch get married?

Celestial Madonna. 1 episode



Episode 6: Avengers The Serpent Crown
(written by Steve Engleheart, art by George Perez)

The Avengers battle The Squadron Supreme, some Old West themed Marvel villains and Kang. GO AWAY KANG, YOU’RE TAKING UP A LOT OF SPACE HERE. This is a fun and odd team of Avengers that includes Beast (usually an X-Men) and Patsy Walker, Hellcat.

Crisis On A Different Earth. 1 episode



Episode 7: Iron Man Prelude To Armor Wars, Iron Man Armor Wars
(written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, art by Mark Bright, Bob Layton, and Barry Windsor-Smith)

Tony Stark thought he’d been keeping a tight wrap on his technology, but when AIM starts crime sprees using Stark Tech, Iron Man decides to go at them full throttle. He even lets Jim Rhodes in on the Iron Man action. Nick Fury, Captain America and a variety of Avengers get in on Stark’s quest to take AIM down.

Armor Wars. 1 episode



Episode 8: Iron Man Demon In A Bottle
(written by Dave Michelinie, art by Bob Layton and John Romita JR)
In order to deal with his constant state of stress, Mr. Stark has developed quite the alcohol dependency. Ant-Man, Nick Fury, and a cast of Avengers try and help him with that. But he doesn’t need their help. Well, until he might have accidentally killed a UN Ambassador.

Demon In A Bottle. 1 episode



Episode 9: Avengers Vision & The Scarlet Witch A Year In The Life
(written by Steve Engleheart, art by Richard Howell and Al Milgrom)

The Avengers power couple “retires” to New Jersey to start a family. But their own families, including Magneto, Quicksilver, and Ultron are less than supportive, as Quicksilver’s own marriage to the Inhumans’ Crystal is a huge mess. You know what will solve their problems? Having kids. That certainly isn’t going to cause massive problems down the line. Featuring a slew of Avenger and non-Avenger guest stars, and Dr. Strange actually acts as a doctor for once.

Family Matters. 1 episode



Serial 3: Avengers The Legacy Of Thanos
(written by Roger Stern and John Byrne, art by John Buscema and John Byrne)

The new Captain Marvel investigates Thanos’s abandoned ship, she gets a bit of a surprise. Nebula plots to destroy The Skrulls, and then sets her sites on Earth. All this while Captain America and the rest of The Avengers battle Terminus in The Savage Land (a terrible place to battle when there are Skrulls around). Plus, The Fantastic Four, Firelord, and The Beyonder.

The Legacy Of Thanos. 2 episodes



Serial 4: Avengers West Coast Vision Quest, Avengers West Coast Darker Than Scarlet
(written by John Byrne, Roy and Dann Thomas, art by John Byrne and Paul Ryan)

It’s a little weird that a magical mutant and an android had children together, right? So when a series of nannies mention that occasionally the children just disappear, The West Coast Avengers start to think that something must be up. And what’s up is not Wanda’s sanity.

Darker Than Scarlet. 2 episodes



Serial 4: The Infinity Gauntlet
(written by Jim Starlin, art by George Perez and Ron Lim)

Thanos takes a play at complete control of The Universe, tracking down all the gems that, when assembled, power The Infinity Gauntlet, and it’s up to all of The Avengers and, really, all the Marvel heroes to come together and stop him before he ends all of creation itself.

The Infinity Gauntlet. 2 episodes



Serial 5: Infinity War
(written by Jim Starlin, art by Ron Lim, Tom Raney, Angel Medina, and Shawn McManus)
​
Adam Warlock may have helped keep Thanos from ascending during Infinity Gauntlet, but what if he’s not entirely a hero, himself? His evil half, Magus, surfaces and takes possession of The Gauntlet. Once again, all the Marvel superheroes in the universe have to band together to save the universe from a mad tyrant. And this time, their salvation might be…Thanos?

Infinity War. 3 episodes



Serial 6: Infinity Crusade
(written by Jim Starlin, art by Ron Lim, Tom Raney, Angel Medina, Tom Grindberg, and Kris Renkewitz)

While Infinity War was going on, the evil side of Adam Warlock (Magus) expelled his own good side, creating The Goddess. Her agenda appears to be saving the universe from evil? So why has she assembled an army of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Thanos, The Silver Surfer, Professor X, and a cabal of heroes left behind must save the universe from…good?

Infinity Crusade. 2 episodes


Season 1 is 20 cosmic episodes

I was never much into The Green Lantern, but I started working in comic book stores right before Geoff Johns brought Hal Jordan back to prominence as a major character in the DC Universe. There are about five seasons worth of stories that I’ve read that fit pretty neatly into the continuity that Johns mined from, and then created himself.
In season one we meet the original Green Lantern of Earth, Hal Jordan, and briefly meet two of his future replacements: Jon Stewart and the unfortunately irrepressible Guy Gardner.