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The Avengers are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the premier team of the Marvel Universe. For years, they’ve been defending the innocent from the most dangerous threats, battling against everything from supervillains to alien invasions to rogue gods. The team has counted some of the greatest heroes ever among its number and has found big-screen stardom that eclipses every other superteam ever created.

The Avengers are icons, and their comics have contained some wild adventures. The Avengers comics have produced moments that are unlike any others at Marvel, breaking ground in a way that is fitting for a comic with its pedigree.

Avengers #1 Was The First Time All Of Marvel’s Greatest Heroes Were Together In One Place

By the time the Silver Age dawned, Marvel had long been an afterthought among superhero comic fans. DC’s success with new superheroes spawned the Marvel Universe indirectly, as the company decided to give the whole thing one more try. Creators like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others populated the Marvel Universe with characters, but readers didn’t have anywhere to go to get all of Marvel’s solo heroes in one place.

Avengers #1, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, changed all of that. It was the first Marvel book that took all of its solo stars and put them together. This was a big deal and the beginning of Marvel printing team books starring its greatest heroes.

It’s Been The Exclusive Home Of Good Ultron Stories

Ultron is one of the Avengers’ most iconic villains, but he doesn’t have a lot of luck outside of the Avengers books. Take his appearance in Daredevil #275, by Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr., where Daredevil, Karnak, and Gorgon somehow defeated the adamantium-clad android. Another example is Age Of Ultron, by Brian Michael Bendis and Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson, and Carlos Pacheco. Despite the name, the titular villain barely even appeared.

For fans of Ultron, the only place to find good stories with the villain is in Avengers books. It’s where he’s most at home and where his threat level is treated with the fear it deserves.

Uncanny Avengers Was The First Comic To Meld The Avengers And The X-Men In A Meaningful Way

The X-Men and the Avengers have always had a somewhat contentious relationship, which came to a head in Avengers Vs. X-Men. After this book, Rick Remender and John Cassaday would team up for Uncanny Avengers, which combined the two teams for the first time. While they had crossed over before, this was quite different.

It was the first time members of the two groups shared the spotlight in any meaningful way. While mutants had long been a part of the Avengers, this was different. The team worked to both defend the world and work for mutant rights, something that had never been tried before.

It’s The Only Team That Ever Included Eternals Among Its Number

The Eternals have become a big deal in Marvel again since the debut of their movie. The Eternals stayed in their own lane for a long time, but several Eternals would eventually branch out and join the Avengers. Gilgamesh, Starfox, and Sersi have all been counted among the Avengers, making the team the only group to ever have Eternals among its number.

Eternals are quite powerful, but they don’t fit in very well on other teams. The X-Men wouldn’t take them, and the Fantastic Four have a set membership most of the time, so the only team they’d be welcome on is the Avengers.

It’s The Only Marvel Team With An Actual Mythological God In Its Roster

The Marvel Universe is full of gods, but the most well-known is Thor. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had no problem borrowing from Earth’s mythology, and Thor became the most popular mythological god in comics. While other mythological beings have appeared in Marvel’s comics, only the Avengers have a mythological god as a core member of their team.

While Hercules was a member of the original Champions, he’s not actually a god. Thor remains the only mythological god on a superteam. The only other was Loki, and he was a member of the Young Avengers, so the Avengers keep the title of being the only team with a god in their roster.

They Were The First Marvel Team To Bring Villains Onto Its Roster

Avengers #16, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, was a milestone. It was not only the first big roster shake-up for Marvel’s premier team, but the first time villains would join a superhero team in the Marvel Universe. This would start a revolution, as Marvel would continually have villains turn into heroes over the years.

Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch would become Avengers icons and multimedia stars. If Lee and Kirby had made the safe choice and never had them switch sides, fans would have lost out on years of great stories.

They Brought Captain America Back To The Forefront Of The Marvel Universe

Captain America was Marvel’s most successful Golden Age hero, an inspiring fan-favorite that eventually disappeared in the Marvel superhero drought of the ’50s. Cap would be brought back to the Marvel Universe in Avengers #4 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, an iconic story that set up Cap’s new status quo and tweaked some of his past.

Cap actually had adventures in ’50s comics, which this book retconned away. It also established the death of Bucky and set Cap back on the path to stardom. His time as an Avenger would make him one of Marvel’s greatest heroes and the person everyone looks up to today.

Wasp Was The First Women To Lead A Marvel Team

Like many Silver Age Marvel women, Wasp wasn’t written the best, but that changed as time went on. In Avengers #217, by Jim Shooter and Bob Hall, Wasp called for an election of a new Avengers leader and nominated herself. This hubristic move actually paid off; Wasp won the election and became the first Marvel woman to lead a team.

Wasp remained Avengers chairman until the Masters of Evil attack in the Avengers classic “Under Siege.” Wasp paved the way for Storm to become the leader of the X-Men and started a legacy of superheroic women leading Marvel teams.

Vision Tried To Take Over The World In Avengers Comics

Vision has long been one of the most powerful Avengers. Ultron created him to battle the team, but he overcame his programming and joined the Avengers instead. However, that doesn’t mean he stayed good. As time went on, he developed a plan to take over the world, a plan which came to fruition in Avengers #253-254 by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.

The Avengers would foil their friend’s plans, and he would be taken apart. It was the only time the Vision ever went full-on evil, and it happened within the pages of Avengers. While it’s not surprising it happened there, Vision’s background makes him an excellent candidate for villainy, and he’d be more than a match for most other teams.

They Let Scarlet Witch Rejoin The Team After Killing Multiple Members

Avengers Disassembled by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch was sold as the Avengers’ worst day, and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. Long-time member Scarlet Witch snapped and attacked the team, using her reality-altering powers to throw threat after threat at them. By the end of the day, the Vision was destroyed, and Scott Lang and Hawkeye were both dead.

Eventually, the Avengers would actually allow her back on the team and defend her from anyone who said she committed any evil acts. Even with the reveal of Doctor Doom’s manipulation of her, Scarlet Witch still committed those acts herself. Yet, the Avengers went to bat for her in a way no other team has in Marvel history.

NEXT: 10 Most Heartbreaking Avengers Comics

The UFC Vegas 22 prelims present six bouts, with two newcomers on the card. Bantamweight Jesse Strader makes his debut against Montel Jackson after he signed from Combate Americas. JP Buys fights on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims in his promotional debut, whilst his wife Cheyanne Buys is competing on the main card. The South African will compete in a flyweight bout against Bruno Silva. We could see surprises on Saturday night with the UFC Vegas 22 prelims showing some entertainers who have not been on the roster for long.

UFC Vegas 22 Prelims Preview

Marion Reneau (9-6-1) vs Macy Chiasson (6-1-0)

This will be a fight between an MMA veteran and prospect in the women’s bantamweight division, as 43-year old Marion Reneau takes on Ultimate Fighter 28 winner Macy Chiasson.

Marion “Belizean” Reneau has fought in the promotion since January 2015 at UFC 182, where she put on a dominant display in her debut against Alexis Dufresne, winning via a unanimous decision.

One month later, she stepped up to the plate and fought Jessica Andrade in their home country of Brazil. Andrade had already fought three bouts in the UFC, winning each one, beating the likes of Raquel Pennington. After just 1:54 into the first round, Reneau put her skills on display and submitted Andrade with a triangle choke to earn herself a victory and a Performance of the Night bonus.

Reneau’s unbeaten start in the UFC was ended by Holly Holm at UFC Fight Night 71. Holm won on a unanimous decision and become bantamweight champion in her next bout, knocking Ronda Rousey out with a stunning head-kick and punches to finish her off. This shows what could’ve been for Reneau after never having a shot at the title since.

Since her fight with Cat Zingano in July 2018, Reneau has been on a torrid run, losing her last three fights. She lost to Zingano, Yana Kunitskaya, and Pennington all via unanimous decision. It’s been nine months since she last stepped in the octagon against Pennington.

Chiasson will look to put on a show on Saturday night as the #11 ranked fighter in the division. She will be looking to make a name for herself on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims.

After winning her first two professional bouts, she appeared on The Ultimate Fighter in 2018. She knocked out both Larissa Pacheco and Leah Letson in her bouts leading up to the finale. Chiasson fought Pannie Kianzad in the finale, and in the second round, she found her way to win. The American performed a rear-naked choke on Kianzad and submitted her to secure the title.

From winning The Ultimate Fighter, Chiasson faced Gina Mazany at UFC 235. Not even two minutes into the first round, Chiasson knocked out Mazany to secure her first victory as a UFC fighter.

She fought two more times in 2019, finishing Sarah Moras with the ground and pound, but she lost for the first time in her professional career against Lina Länsberg on a unanimous decision. It’s been 13 months since her last bout, as she bounced back with a decision win over Shanna Young.

This fight was originally scheduled for February 6th, but with Reneau testing positive for COVID-19, the bout was moved to February 27th. Then, for a second time, it was moved again to the UFC Vegas 22 prelims, due to an injury with Chiasson. Let’s hope all goes well in the next few days leading up to this one!

Grant Dawson (16-1-0) vs Leonardo Santos (18-3-1)

The UFC 22 Vegas prelims present a middleweight bout between two elite finishers with Grant “KGD” Dawson and Leonardo Santos battling it out. Dawson will be moving up to lightweight after saying he couldn’t handle the cut to featherweight in an interview with MMA Junkie.

The American put on some glorious showings at 145 pounds, but at UFC on ESPN+ 27, the cut got too much for Dawson, with him weighing in at 149.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds overweight. Dawson still came away victorious, choking out Darrick Minner inside the second-round.

His previous fight was at catchweight (150lbs) against Nad Narimani. A dominant display earned Dawson his fourth win in the UFC, as he continues to be unbeaten in the promotion. Dawson’s only loss in his career came in 2016, being knocked out by Hugh Pulley inside the first round.

With Dawson’s impressive finishing record of 11 submissions, seven of those coming in his first seven fights, and three knockouts, it’s going to be interesting to see how he approaches this one, with his opponent not being finished in his whole professional career.

Leonardo Santos is on an eight-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC, with his first win coming at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2. Santos was given the opportunity to fight in the finale after losing in the semi-final to Santiago Ponzinibbio. The Argentinian broke his hand in the fight and was unable to recover in time, which led to Santos taking his place and submitting William Macário to win the welterweight tournament.

The Brazilian returned to lightweight to fight on UFC Fight Night 38 against Norman Parke. The bout ended in a majority draw, the first and only time both fighters have drawn a fight.

Since then, Santos has been on a journey leading up to the UFC Vegas 22 prelims, but he hasn’t fought anywhere near the amount he should have. After two impressive wins over Efrain Escudero and Anthony Rocco Martin, Santos came up against Kevin Lee, who was a big prospect in the promotion at the time. The Brazilian stepped up and knocked out Lee in the first round with some fierce punches.

A win over Adriano Martins was his last fight for almost three years. Santos has had two cancelled bouts and injuries affecting his career. But he did return in 2019, knocking Stevie Ray out in the first round. His last bout was at UFC 251 against Roman Bogatov. A unanimous decision win put him on a six-fight win-streak in the past six years leading up to the UFC Vegas 22 prelims.

Both of these fighters are submission artists and Santos edges Dawson on the height advantage. Dawson has two more submission victories than him in their careers. It’s interesting to see who comes out on top in the ground-game on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims.

Trevin Giles (13-2-0) vs Roman Dolidze (8-0-0)

Trevin “The Problem” Giles came into the UFC in 2017 with an undefeated record of 9-0 after impressing in his last bout in the LFA with a split decision victory over Ryan Spann.

He made his light heavyweight debut at UFC 213. Giles was victorious, as he smashed James Bochnovic with the ground & pound to earn himself a debut win in the promotion. He then returned to middleweight and knocked out his second opponent, Antônio Braga Neto, in the third round.

The American was looking like one to watch after finishing 10 of his 11 victories. In May 2019, Giles came up against Zak Cummings. This was a tough test for Giles and showed Cummings why he was dangerous, by cutting his right eye early on in the fight. However, in the third round, Cummings submitted Giles with a guillotine choke with just 59 seconds left in the fight.

After one loss, another came around, as it was like he fought the same fight on repeat, against another tough opponent in Gerald Meerschaert. Inside the third round, Giles was again submitted with a guillotine choke. Giles bounced back in 2020 with two impressive wins over James Krause and Bevon Lewis.

Roman Dolidze is looking to continue his unbeaten record on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims as he steps in on 10 days notice for Dricus Du Plessis, who had to pull out due to visa issues.

Dolidze has eight wins in his professional career leading up to the UFC Vegas 22 prelims. He’s finished all of his opponents up until his last fight against John Allan in an extremely close contest, with Dolidze winning on a split decision.

The Georgian looks to put on a show, with knocking out six of his opponents in his eight victories, one of them coming in his first promotional bout at UFC Fight Island 2, as he came at Khadis Ibragimov with a delightful knee to follow up with some ruthless punches to end the fight in the first round.

It’s safe to say this middleweight bout is going to be one to watch on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims. Expect fireworks as these two aren’t going to be looking to go the distance.

Montel Jackson (9-2-0) vs Jesse Strader (5-1-0)

Montel “Quick” Jackson is looking to bounce back on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims after his defeat at UFC Fight Island 2 against Brett Johns. The Welshman put in a superb performance and he was a deserving winner on the decision against Jackson.

The American has shown he has the talent, though, by knocking out five of his nine victories. He was awarded a UFC contract in 2018 after impressing on Dana White’s Contender Series against Rico DiSciullo.

An extremely tough opponent came for Jackson in his UFC debut as he faced Ricky Simon. It wasn’t his night and Simon came out the better fighter, winning by a unanimous decision.

Jackson came back as many fighters do. He put in a super performance submitting brown belt Jiu-Jitsu fighter Brian Kelleher. Two more wins came over Andre Soukhamthath and Felipe Colares.

Jesse Strader is making his UFC debut after 19 months since last competing. The American has joined the UFC from the promotion Combate Americas.

Strader is a ruthless striker, knocking out four of his five victories. His only loss has come to Marcelo Rojo. A win for Strader will cement his name in this bantamweight division, as we could have a potential new boy on the charge.

Julia Avila (8-2-0) vs Julija Stoliarenko (9-4-1)

Julia “Raging Panda” Avila lost her last bout at UFC Vegas 10 by a unanimous decision against Sijara Eubanks. Avila has eight victories in her ten fights, and she’ll be looking to get back on track on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims.

The American has five finishes to her name, as she knocked out Mazany in the first round of her UFC debut in June 2020. Her only other loss came to Marciea Allen in Invicta, after injuring her hand in the first round.

Julija Stoliarenko has a point to prove after she lost on a unanimous decision in her last bout against Kunitskaya at UFC Vegas 6.

The Lithuanian competed in The Ultimate Fighter Season 28, in which she lost in the semi-final to Kianzad on a unanimous decision. She still was given a chance in the UFC, fighting on the finale card. A split decision loss to Leah Letson saw her released from the UFC.

After an impressive five-fight win streak she was given another chance in the UFC, losing her only bout so far as stated against Kunitskaya. A must-win for both fighters in the bantamweight division.

JP Buys (9-2-0) vs Bruno Silva (10-5-2)

JP “Young Savage” Buys will be making his promotional debut on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims after impressing in Dana White’s Contender Series back in November with a first-round guillotine choke over Jacob Silva.

The South African will be fighting on the same card as his wife Cheyanne, as she faces Montserrat Ruiz. Buys has been an impressive finisher with three knockouts and five submissions on his record. He’s also unbeaten in his last five fights.

Bruno “Bulldog” Silva is looking to get his first win in the UFC after having a disaster start back in October 2019. The Brazilian was submitted by Khalid Taha in his first bout. But after Taha failed a drug test, the fight was overturned to a no contest.

Two fights came for Silva in 2020, both resulted in defeats. Both losses came via unanimous decision against David Dvořák and Tagir Ulanbekov.

A bantamweight bout between Anthony Birchak and Johnny Eduardo was meant to take place on the UFC Vegas 22 prelims, but Eduardo is said to have trouble with his visa, so the bout was ultimately cancelled.

With all of the UFC Vegas 22 Prelims previewed, which fight are you looking forward to the most?! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Follow me on Twitter @JakeBroderick98 for more combat sports news and discussions. Also, make sure to follow @OT_Heroics for all of your sporting needs. Don’t forget  for all things MMA.

Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images