Avengers Academy

History

Origin

After Norman Osborn's Dark Reign had corrupted & destroyed what was left of the 50 State Initiative. With no official body to school or mentor young heroes, Hank Pym decided to fill the void that his name had been falsely identified with. However, after seeing the terrible deeds and torturous methods that Osborn had inflictied upon unwitting young wannabe heroes, Pym & the other Avengers quickly decided to focus their efforts on the kids who would most likely lose control of their powers in disastrous ways, or become villains.

Avengers Staff

The Academy staff were assembled. Founding Avenger Hank Pym and veteran members Quicksilver, Tigra, and Justice as well as former New Warrior Speedball. Additionally, Captain America, Iron Man and other Avengers members would occasionally assist with guest lectures.

Despite Justice's reassurances, Pym remained dubious about Speedball's involvement. Memories of the Stamford disaster were still fresh in people's minds and Speedball's personality had radically changed. However, Quicksilver pointed out that they had all experienced both sides of the law and that he had only joined to distance himself from his father, since Magneto had recently resurfaced in the public eye. This reminded Pym of his own violent past, so he conceded that Speedball still had a role to play in the new Academy.

The First Class

Veil was the last of the new recruits to join the team. She had grown to control her powers after being medically violated by Baron Von Blitzschlag. However, because of the premature intervention, her powers were slowly killing her. It transpired that she wasn't the only one who had suffered because of Norman Osborn's Dark Reign.

Hazmat had been a bright and popular girl until her new powers were accelerated. Her body became poisonous. Even her breath was toxic and therefore she was forced to wear a radiation suit all the time. Meanwhile, Mettle and Reptil seemed to have adjusted to life in the Academy already and were planning on who would become the team's field leader. Meanwhile, Striker tried to assert his alpha male dominance by flirting with Veil, and the polymath Finesse was as knowledgeable as she was skilled in martial arts.

Hidden Agenda

Many of the Academy staff were divided. After being raised in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Quicksilver felt that the students shouldn't be lied to, that they should be open about why these six students had been hand-picked. Pym disagreed, believing that psychology proved that kind of negative honesty would compound the issue and make matters worse. Surprisingly, Speedball violently agreed with Pym by lurching at Quicksilver as he ranted. Therefore, the students were being lead to believe that they were hand-picked by the Avengers because they were allegedly the finest of the heroes discovered by Norman Osborn.

However, during her first team training session Finesse was able to lip-read the passionate debate through the observation glass in the training room. She confided in the other Academy students about what she'd discovered. Together, they decided to hack into Avenger's computers that night. Using Veil's gaseous form as a cover and Striker to short-circuit any electrical equipment, Finesse was able to hack into the system and read their dossiers. Quickly they returned to reveal the truth; that their teachers were afraid of them. They were not Super-Humans with the highest potential for success, they were Super-Humans with the highest potential for destruction. Each and every student of Avengers Academy 'failed' their psychiatric evaluations and proved to be the most at risk for corruption into villainy or progression of mental instability.

Gifted and Talented

The next morning, the students are eating breakfast in dining room #38 of the Infinite Mansion , when Reptil confesses that he has never kissed a girl before. Finesse offers to kiss him but before he gets gets the chance to do so they get attacked by Arsenal , a killer robot with super human strength. We learn that the robot was actually activated by Pietro and Jocasta to see how the students would react in a situation similar to the one they just encountered. Once the teachers leave, the kids debate over whether they should leave the Academy or not. After voting to stay, Finesse talks with Hank Pym, saying that she thinks she was adopted, and says she has a feeling she is be realted to Taskmaster, which Pym said he has a feeling about also. After watching a tape about Pietro's life, Finesse confront's Quicksilver, blackmailing him into teaching her everything he learned in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Scared Straight

While fighting robot drones in a training mission, Finesse gives Reptil his first kiss, which causes Hazmat to get all snappy about the situation, which provokes Mettle. Jennifer and Ken get into a minor verbal tussle which Justice quickly breaks up. They soon have a Hand-to-Hand combat class, taught by Iron Fist, who shows the class that even though Finesse can replicate his moves, without the knowledge behind them and the proper spiritual training, that they are useless. Two days later Valkyrie, supposed to teach them some fighting skills, teaches the women students of the academy about male opression in the society of women. On the side, Hazmat and Mettle make up for their fighting and start talking about the upcoming "Scared Straight" field trip to the Raft, a prison for super villains. Jen knows that Norman Osborn ( The cause of her super powers ) is held there, so she plans something with Mettle and Veil for when they arrive at the field trip. Once the team arrives at the Raft, they are introduced to the Thunderbolts, and meet some pretty famous villains when Jen generates an electromagnetic pulse and all the lights go out. Mettle, Veil, and Jen run from the group, and arrive at Norman's cell not long after.

Mettle rips off the cell's door and is ready to kill Norman, when Norman convinces them not to hurt him. Luke Cage is yelling at Hank for not knowing where Mettle, Veil, and Hazmat were. Hank figures out where they went, so they go to Normans cell, only to find Osborn sitting there, claiming that he will get out of prison sooner or later.Meanwhile, the super villain Powderkeg breaks out of his cell and starts attacking Mettle, Veil, and Hazmat. Man-thing and Juggernaut go after Veil, while Tigra, Hank, and Robbie fight against the inmates. Juggernaut gets to Mettle, and help defeat Powderkeg. Soon after, the power comes back on, and the three students are yelled at by Luke. Hank tells Mettle and the other two that what they did was wrong but it showed a lot of courage for them to just back down. Hazmat lies about causing the blackout, because she wants to meet Osborn again.

Fame

The Avengers Academy students are having an unarmed combat session with Steve Rogers. He shows them how important unarmed combat can be and how fatal it is. Striker gives Steve and Hank an attitude about not having any publicity for being on the Avengers Academy team. Steve notices that Striker is the only person who has ever become an avenger to be a celebrity. Striker asks both Finesse and Veil if they wanted to have sex with him individually, but they both decline.

Hank and the Academy later go to the city Manhattan to see a show and are attacked by Whirlwind. After defeating him, the team go back to the mansion. Veil walks in on Justice and his girlfriend Ultra-Girl kissing and she is upset. Later Veil goes into Striker's room and wants to have sex but he doesn't want to at that moment.

I Dreamed A Dream

Reptil soon after was elected leader. After Mentallo then appeared using his ray gun to make the Avengers Academy fight each other. During the fight Reptil unleashed his Jurassic powers and brutally attack Mentallo. After the staff had a talk with him about control his power. Tigra then got the idea to call Jessica Jones to help Reptil. The two talked about how Reptil was going through problem with his parents'' disappearance.

Return of Giant Man

Later Dr. Pym was working in his lab when Tigra brought her son, William for a check up. Hank then told Tigra that he was trying to bring back Wasp. One day later at the NYPD Code Blue Facility the team was transport Absorbing Man when his Ball and Chain crashed his containment pod releasing him. Second later he absorbs the powers of some of the Avengers Academy when Hank Pym changes into Giant-Man. The two fight when Giant-Man takes him into Microverse and Realm of the Abstract Entities causing Absorbing Man mental damage. Later Absorbing Man is taken to the Raft. Later that night Veil sneaks into his lab to see his project for bringing Wasp back.

Revenge on The Hood & Finesse's Fight

Weeks later a video of The Hood beating Tigra is post online which make Tigra angry. Later the student hack into Rikers Island security to see that The Hood was not placed in jail. Hazmat, Striker , and Veil go to The Hood's Safe House in Brooklyn to confront him. Striker and Hazmat then brutally beat him making him apologize while Veil films it. Soon after they return to the Infinte Avengers Mansion and show the film to everyone. Tigra is then angered by the fact that they broke the law and committed angered assault. She then orders them to pack their thing and get out. After the staff has a conversation about whether they should go or stay.After long consideration the staff decides to left them stay and help them on there anger issues. Meanwhile Finesse order Quicksilver to take her to Nevada to see if Taskmaster was her real father and then fought with him. After the fight Taskmater said he wasn't her father.

Return of Korvac

The class goes a trip to Stamford with Speedball and Justice. During the break Veil sees Speedball cutting himself with his Penance helmet and gasps at the sight. Later during an attack of robots Veil announced she saw Speedball ball cutting himself. Speedball then explains to her that he's cutting himself to enable his powers he had as Penance. That night Veil sneaks into Giant-Man's lab and uses his machine to bring Wasp back but fails and releases Carina Walters and Korvac.

The Avengers then appear to try to defeat Korvac but fail. The Avengers Academy student then run with Carina to a safe place away from Korvac. Carina then shows them a possible futures through time and space. Veil then asks if she could turn them into their adult forms to stop Korvac. Meanwhile Korvac is finishing off the last of the Avengers when the Avengers Academy (in their adult forms) show up and battle him. During the fight Veil absorbs Korvac's molecular structure which caused her to keep from dying by her powers. Then Hazmat uses her new power of Anti-Matter to defeat Korvac. After, Carina turn the Avengers Academy back to their normal from except for Reptil due to the power of his crystal not being affected by her magic.

Sinister Six Attacks

While most of the adult Avengers were solving the eruption of Mount Etna, Tigra and the student learn Electro has broken into a French lab. They then travel to France and confront him only to he's accompanied by the Sinister Six (Sandman, Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Mysterio, and Chameleon). The Sinister Six then defeats Avengers Academy and they escape with a device capable of making self-sustaining power. Electro also shock Tigra and Reptil given them server injuries. The team then escape before a bomb explodes.

Fear Itself

During the Fear Itself arc a weapon of The Worthy smashes into the Raft and many of the convicts escape and run amok in the city. Captain Steve Rogers then alerts Giant-Man of the crisis and ask him to send the students to join the battle. While the students saving many innocent civilians there deaths and endure emotional traumas after killing evil people and seeing innocent lives taken, Quicksilver, Giant-Man, and Justice are fighting Absorbing Man and Titania (The Worthy Forms). After almost being defeated by them Giant-Man tells Jocasta to open a Dimensional Door and teleports them to another dimension as Giant-Man collapses. Soon after Fear Itself was over Veil, Justice and Speedball quit with the new students and teachers arriving.

Current Roster

Publishing History

Heroic Age

After all of the Avengers titles were cancelled in May 2010, each title was re-launched as part of Marvel's new Heroic Age. As such, the Avengers: Initiative was replaced by the Avengers Academy. The title was written by the Avengers: Initiative author Christos Gage, who continued to use characters such as Hank Pym, Justice, Speedball & Tigra from the Avengers: Initiative. Like it's predecessor, Avengers Academy introduced a new team of heroes who had never been seen before.