One Obscure Marvel Team Was Responsible For Bringing the Avengers Together

The obscure Marvel team known as the Teen Brigade may have been lost to history, but they were responsible for bringing the Avengers together. Although Loki’s manipulation of the Hulk in 1963’s Avengers #1 is credited for being the catalyst that brought the team together for the first time, in fact the Teen Brigade, led by Rick Jones, initially sounded the alarm, an alarm that was heard by those who would go on to form the Avengers!

The Marvel Age of Comics kicked off in 1961 with Fantastic Four #1. It was a hit, and soon a whole slew of characters followed, such as the Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, Iron Man and the Wasp, among others. In 1963, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought many of Marvel’s most popular characters together for the first time in the pages of The Avengers. Prior to the first issue, none of the characters had met before, so a way was needed to get the Avengers together. Loki, introduced in the pages of Thor’s feature in Journey Into Mystery, would be responsible for bringing Iron Man and the rest together. However, Loki was exiled from Earth’s reality at the time, so the God of Mischief manipulated the Hulk into going on a violent rampage, which ultimately led to the founding of the Avengers. Yet, one team that’s unknown today, but was big in their time, also played a large role in assembling the Avengers.

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In Avengers #1, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby, Loki has manipulated the Hulk into wrecking a train. Even though the Hulk saves the lives of the passengers, he is still blamed for the incident; subsequently, a new wave of anti-Hulk hysteria grips the area. Rick Jones, on the other hand, believes the Hulk is innocent, or was at least manipulated; he turns to his allies in the Teen Brigade, a network of ham radio operators. Rick knows the Fantastic Four can help clear the Hulk’s name, and he and the Teen Brigade send an urgent signal to the Baxter Building. However, Loki gets wind of the Teen Brigade’s actions, and uses his powers to redirect the radio signal away from the Fantastic Four’s headquarters–and right towards Donald Blake, Thor’s then-secret identity, in a bid to draw the God of Thunder out. Unbeknownst to Loki, the signal is also intercepted by Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp–all of whom come to Thor’s aid, ultimately leading to the founding of the Avengers.

The Teen Brigade: Most Important Marvel Team Ever?

While Loki and the Hulk play large parts in bringing the Avengers together, Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade’s role in the matter cannot be understated. If Rick Jones had, for some reason, believed the Hulk guilty and not gone to the Brigade, then Loki may very well have achieved his goals–and the world would have been deprived of a team that has saved it on countless occasions. Furthermore, Lok’s tampering with the signal also proved to be his undoing–while he was successful in redirecting it from the Fantastic Four to Thor, the other Avengers heard it as well. Instantly, Iron Man and the rest knew something was off, and came together accordingly.

The Marvel Universe Owes Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade

Rick Jones has a long history at Marvel: he was partially responsible for creating the Hulk, was once Bucky for Captain America and was a sidekick to the original Captain Marvel. Jones continued this streak with an obscure Marvel team, the Teen Brigade, providing the catalyst for first assembling the Avengers.

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