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See Ian's parody fan fiction from Baron Zemo's Lair at The Hooded Hood's Homepage of Doom

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Do the Avengers Need to be a Team?

The basic tenet of the Avengers is that they "band together to fight the foes no single hero can defeat." Fine, but there are other reasons for associating. The Avengers organisation aggregates resources in the battle against crime, much as a police department resources law enforcement officers. Case histories, forensic analysis, transport, logistical information, communications systems, training, medical support, and in worst case scenarios a stronghold are all available through the Avengers infrastructure. Likewise, Avengers "Paladin Level" A-1 security status grants members special privileges with regard to government agencies. So while the chance to gang up on a particularly meaty bad guy is great, there are all kinds of other benefits for Earth Mightiest Heroes to get organised.

But how often do "foes no single hero can defeat" come along? Quite often we see the team apparently struggling to triumph over a villain that would probably have been handed his head had he been facing just one of the good guys in their own title. The rest of the time, why should the Avengers be a team?

Taking the police force analogy a step further, officers are called upon in all kinds of ways. For civil disorders or major accidents or very significant events they act together en masse because no single officer could deal with the situation. But most of the time it is far more effective to have a patrol car in every neighbourhood than to have the entire force chasing a single shoplifter.

When I finally launch my plan for world domination, I'll hire a bunch of ex-Vault inmates to form the new Lethal Legion and get them to set up a hostage situation in Boca Calente. When the Avengers quinjet is well en-route to deal with that I'll send in the U-Foes to cause trouble at the Blue Area until the FF are called to investigate. I'll make sure I hire only non-mutants because then there's absolutely no chance of any X-team ever getting involved. Only when the heroes have all ganged up and gone to the wrong end of the planet or beyond will I attack Congress and take it hostage. Bwah-hah-hah!

You see the weakness in the Avengers approach? Basically, IF ALL THE HEROES ARE GATHERED IN ONE PLACE, THERE ARE NO HEROES ANYWHERE ELSE. Much more time should be spent on solo cases, investigating, being proactive in spotting trouble before it happens, solving the mysteries which might be related to supervillain activity. If the team is only ever reactive, a really clever bad guy can do something irrevocable before they've even assembled.