Uniform Origins - Classic Avengers

This section covers uniforms for the first iteration of the Avengers – Consisting of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man/Giant-Man and The Wasp, and later Captain America – from 1963 to 1965, detailing their first appearance and relevance in the comics and as such, no MCU or Netmarble original uniforms will be covered.

• Iron Man

  Iron Man

  Secret Wars: 2099

  First Appearance: Secret Wars 2099 #1 (2015)

  In-Game Release: 1.4 - Secret Wars (August 25, 2015)

  Unlike the 2099 versions of Spider-Man, Punisher, and Hulk among others, Iron Man 2099 hails from a 2099 that was birthed from Battleworld: the remains of the Marvel universe saved by Doctor Doom in Secret Wars (2015). This Iron Man is Dr. Sonny Frisco, an inventor recruited to Alchemax CEO Miguel Stone’s Avengers along with new versions of Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hercules.

  Post Secret Wars, he joins Spider-Man 2099 in crossing over to Earth-616, but lost his memories in the process and joined The Fist, The Hand’s opposition. This section along with the rest of the Secret Wars 2099 uniforms will be pretty barren as they don’t make much appearances other than in the series of the same name and Spider-Man 2099 (2015). Being created in a tie-in to an event comic book will do wonders for your obscurity! (Also, I didn’t actually read Secret Wars 2099).

  Superior Iron Man

  First Appearance: Avengers & X-Men: Axis #3 (Inversion, 2014), Superior Iron Man #1 (Armor, 2014)

  In-Game Release: 7.0 - 6th Year Anniversary (April 20, 2021)

  When the Red Skull– who swapped his brain with that of the deceased Charles Xavier– unleashed the Onslaught persona dormant within Xavier’s psyche in Genosha to end all Mutantkind, members of the then-current Avengers teams (Main team and Uncanny team), X-Men, and a group of villains attempted to stop him by inverting the Red Skull’s psyche into Xavier’s, only for everyone’s personalities to be inverted instead– heroes becoming villains and vice versa– with Iron Man not only being one of the people affected, but also being one of the many staying inverted at the end of Axis and leading up to Secret Wars (2015). While inverted, Iron Man moved to San Francisco and released Extremis 3.0, a virus posing as an app which promised its users perfection in themselves as well as various cures to diseases like cancer, only to paywall these features for hundreds of dollars. He also began wearing an all-white armor made of a nanotech and symbiote hybrid (but not an actual symbiote). This Tony died fighting Steve Rogers at the end of the Time Runs Out arc of Avengers (2012) and New Avengers (2013), and thus was not present during Secret Wars (2015), and was revived and reverted back to his old self when Reed Richards remade the Marvel Universe.

  Though Axis was not a very good event, I do recommend the Superior Iron Man series that follows it as evil Tony Stark is actually a fun read (just so long as it’s not as Dr. Doom). It also has a great Daredevil moment as he was also based in San Francisco during this time.

  Back to Basics

  First Appearance: Iron Man Vol. 6 #1 (2020)

  In-Game Release: 8.1 - Avengers Forever (June 1, 2022)

  Tony dons this armor after quite literally going back to basics: he resigns from Stark Unlimited, moves to a small Lower East Side apartment, fights smaller scale crimes with Hellcat, and, most importantly, deletes his Twitter account. And this is just the first issue! He then fights old Avengers villain Korvac, gains the Power Cosmic, and starts dating Hellcat, but I dropped the book way before this. It got boring after the first arc for me.

  A side note on the Back to Basics title: though Captain America and Spider-Man both have uniforms sharing this title, it really only applies to Iron Man himself: a safe assumption is that Netmarble just didn’t want to call these two uniforms “Classic,” despite them being the case. Though in Cap’s case, he does go back to his classic suit a bit after this new Iron Man look and then shared a team-up book with him, so he gets some leeway there.

  Model Nil

  First Appearance: Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5 #7 (2022)

  In-Game Release: 10.3 - Invincible Iron Man (September 4, 2024)

  After having Stark Unlimited bought out from under him by new villain Feilong and its resources used to create Stark Sentinels meant to wipe out Mutantkind for the anti-Mutant group Orchis, Tony uses this stealth armor to take his company back in secret, all the while temporarily marrying Emma Frost in order to strike back against Feilong and joining the Hellfire Club as its new Black King, becoming a vital part of the X-Men defeating Nimrod. I also did not read this book because I don’t really care about Iron Man that much, and also there were far too many Krakoa-era X-Men books to read, and this book didn’t really help.

• Hulk

  Hulk

  Secret Wars: Future Imperfect

  First Appearance: Future Imperfect #1 (2015) & Hulk: Future Imperfect #1 (1992)

  In-Game Release: 1.4 - Secret Wars (August 25, 2015)

  The Maestro is the Hulk from a dark future where there are no heroes and he rules the remnants of humanity with Bruce Banner’s intellect and the Hulk’s strength molding together. There are two versions of Maestro with this look: the Battleworld version from 2015 and the original from 1992, so I’ll talk about both in this section:

  Battleworld: This Maestro rules a small part of Battleworld known as Dystopia, and attempts to usurp God Emperor Doom with the Destroyer armor only to be trapped in an illusion of his success by the armor. He then shows up in the mainline Secret Wars book good as new with his own army of Hulks, so I don’t really know what that’s about. He then became a contestant in the Contest of Champions after this, where he was then held captive by the Collector afterwards.

  Future Imperfect: This Maestro also rules Dystopia, only it applies to a majority of America. He easily beats the then-past version of the Hulk who was transported to the future by Rick Jones and his band of rebels, but loses the second fight when he gets transported to the past, where he dies in the same gamma bomb explosion that created the Hulk.

  World War Hulk

  First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #105 (2007)

  In-Game Release: 1.9 - All-New, All-Different Part 1 (January 20, 2016)

  After the events of Planet Hulk, where Hulk was forcefully exiled by the Illuminati to the planet Sakaar, Hulk eventually usurped the Red King and became the new ruler of Sakaar with his new wife Caiera by his side– only to lose it all when his shuttle explodes, killing millions of his citizens along with his wife. Enraged, Hulk returns to Earth with his fellow gladiator members from Planet Hulk to take revenge on the heroes who left him behind. This arc (along with the preceding Planet Hulk arc) is very fun to read if you just want to see Hulk beat up superheroes you like such as Black Bolt and the Sentry, though Planet Hulk is much better and more substantive. It also has John Romita Jr. on art, who is a hit or miss for some.

  Immortal Hulk

  First Appearance: Avengers Vol. 1 #682 (Physical appearance, teased from #679-681, 2018)

  In-Game Release: 6.2 - Immortal Hulk (June 30, 2020)

  After back-to-back deaths and resurrections in quick succession by The Hand and Hydra, the Hulk is resurrected by the Elder known as The Challenger as part of his match against the Grandmaster, only to lay low wandering America and only coming out at night when the Challenger was defeated. Bruce also realized that his constant resurrections stem from him being immortal, which is explored in The Immortal Hulk (2018), which you’ve likely heard rave reviews of if you have some knowledge on Hulk as a character, and this is for good reason: The Immortal Hulk is one of Marvel’s best books of the 2010s, taking on body horror elements and recontextualizing the Hulk and his history as a whole. I highly, highly recommend giving it a read for yourself, which is why this section is a bit bare.

  Fear Itself

  First Appearance: Fear Itself #2 (2011)

  In-Game Release: 8.3 - Fear Itself (August 10,2022)

  When the World Serpent is freed from his underwater prison on Earth, he unleashes chaos on Earth by releasing hammers with the spirit of his worthy warriors, with the Hulk being possessed by Nul, breaker of worlds. He then fights Thor and loses, fights Dracula in a tie-in, and then freed from the Serpent’s control when he was defeated by Thor.

  Titan

  First Appearance: Hulk Vol. 6 #6 (2021)

  In-Game Release: 10.0 - Sentry and the Challengers (May 8, 2024)

  The Titan personality is the Hulk’s own Hulk the way he is to Bruce Banner himself, though this is not to be confused with Kluh, the Hulk’s inverted personality during the events of Axis who is also referred to as the Hulk’s own Hulk, but both of these ideas are really stupid so it’s best not to dwell on it. Titan Hulk comes from writer Donny Cates’ Hulk run, where the Hulk becomes a spaceship after the events of Immortal Hulk. It’s not a very good premise nor a good run.

• Thor

  Thor

  Unworthy

  First Appearance: Thor Vol. 4 #1 (2014)

  In-Game Release: 2.7 - Asgardians

  Now deemed unworthy of Mjolnir after the events of the Original Sin event, Thor spends his days fighting and drinking, going back to his old axe Jarnbjorn and only going by Odinson. He later gets captured by the Collector when he investigates the appearance of a Mjolnir on the ruins of Old Asgard (which turned out to be the original Ultimate Universe’s Mjolnir). This is the hammer he wields in-game, though he never actually uses it in the comics as he had come to terms with being unworthy beforehand. This is part of writer Jason Aaron’s larger Thor saga that started with the 2012 story The God Butcher and ending with King Thor in 2019, but this journey to find Ultimate Mjolnir starts with The Unworthy Thor miniseries.

  Herald of Thunder

  First Appearance: Thor Vol. 6 #1 (2020)

  In-Game Release: 6.7 - Herald of Thunder

  After becoming the All-Father in the events of War of the Realms, Thor teamed up with Galactus as his herald to fight against the Black Winter: a new threat never seen before prior to this run that can destroy entire universes– not to be confused with Knull, a new threat never seen before prior to the then-current Venom run who can destroy entire universes who was also created by Donny Cates. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! After defeating the Black Winter and killing Galactus in the process, Thor keeps this look but loses the Power Cosmic power-up, going back to his classic look for The Immortal Thor series not long after this run.

  All-Father Reborn

  First Appearance: Thor Vol. 2 #60 (1998)

  In-Game Release: 10.0 - Sentry and the Challengers (May 8, 2024)

  Thor wears this armor for one issue of the Dan Jurgens run while travelling to the Pool of No Ending to seek answers on how to use his newfound power– by this point, Thor has become the Lord of Asgard after the death of Odin (this happens a lot), as well as gotten a new human form in EMT Jake Olson. Thor also merges Asgard and Earth together, turning him and his fellow Asgardians as beings of worship as a result.

• Giant-Man & the Wasp

  Giant-Man & the Wasp

  Goliath

  First Appearance: Avengers Vol. 1 #28 (1963)

  In-Game Release: 1.3 - Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man (July 7, 2015)

  After resigning from the team along with The Wasp, Iron Man and Thor (Hulk left in issue #2), Hank Pym returned to the team as Goliath in order to help the Avengers rescue the Wasp, who was captured by the Collector. As Goliath, Hank could grow up in size for only 15 minutes at a time, and was trapped in his giant form after going past his 15-minute time limit. After rescuing the Wasp, the two rejoined the team.

  Ultron Pym

  First Appearance: Avengers: Rage of Ultron (Original Graphic Novel, April 1, 2015)

  In-Game Release: 4.2 - Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 3, 2018)

  When an Ultron model from a past battle with the Avengers infects the Eternal planet Titan, Hank and the Avengers face off against a planet full of Ultrons, culminating in Hank and Ultron confronting the dynamics of their relationship before being merged together as Pymtron. Rage of Ultron is one of the best Ultron stories you can read, exploring the nature of Hank Pym as well as Ultron himself.

  All-New, All-Different (Wasp)

  First Appearance: All-New, All-Different Avengers #12 (Unconfirmed, 2016)

  In-Game Release: 2.4 - New Avengers (August 17, 2016)

  Because Wasp did not have her own solo book until 2023 and hopped from book to book as a supporting character, I’ll write about what she was up to during this time period:

  Janet Van Dyne inherited Pym Laboratories after the events of Rage of Ultron, rejoined the Avengers Unity Squad (otherwise known as the Uncanny Avengers) when Pymtron returned from space, teamed up with Nadia, Hank’s daughter from his first wife, and took her under her wing, eventually giving Nadia her blessing in taking her surname and sharing the Wasp mantle. She also entered a relationship with Iron Man, which ended in the 2020 Iron Man run (where the Back to Basics uniform comes from). This is her only comic book uniform in-game, which is disappointing for a character known for her fashion sense and various costumes. Justice for me and the 11 other Wasp fans!

• Captain America

  Captain America

  Secret Wars: 2099

  First Appearance: Secret Wars 2099 #1 (2015)

  In-Game Release: 1.4 - Secret Wars (August 25, 2015)

  Roberta Mendez took the mantle of Captain America in the year 2099, but was controlled by Alchemax and therefore did not know she was Cap and vice versa. As the leader of Alchemax’s Avengers, Roberta discovered the truth after being captured by this era’s Doctor Strange. Like Sonny Frisco, she too found herself in the main Marvel universe post-Battleworld, eventually returning to 2099 with the help of Spider-Man 2099.

  Marvel NOW!

  First Appearance: Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 (2016)

  In-Game Release: 2.8 - Marvel NOW! (January 11, 2017)

  With the super soldier serum restored to his body by the sentient Cosmic Cube Kobik, Steve Rogers returned as Captain America, but with a cost: Kobik was secretly indoctrinated by the Red Skull, and Kobik rewrote history so that Steve Rogers was always a member of Hydra, with the original stuck within Kobik. With his new allegiance, Steve set out to conquer the United States as a Hydra sleeper agent, culminating in the Secret Empire event. This reveal came with gigantic controversy, which sparked much debate that ranged from whether this was character assassination (not really, the status quo would always come back) to whether this made Cap a Nazi now (it did). It’s also important to note that these debates began with just issue #1, none of the other issues were even out yet, and yet there was still massive outrage that got attention outside of the comic book landscape (and Secret Empire didn’t even end up being that good). Never change, comic book fans!

  Hydra Supreme

  First Appearance: Secret Empire #9 (2017)

  In-Game Release: 5.8 - Secret Empire (February 12, 2020)

  With the takeover of the United States successful, Hydra Cap controlled America under a fascist regime, making his own Avengers consisting of controlled heroes and willing villains, and forcing the remaining heroes into hiding like Black Widow, Falcon, Hawkeye (Clint Barton), the AI version of Tony Stark, and the remaining Champions (Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, Sam Alexander) among others. The rebellion mobilized against Hydra Cap after he killed Black Widow, with Hydra Cap eventually losing once the real Steve Rogers escaped Kobik. He was then imprisoned, killed, and revived by Orchis, taking up Cyclops’ old Captain Krakoa suit to frame mutantkind.

  Enter the Phoenix

  First Appearance: Avengers Vol. 8 #40 (2018)

  In-Game Release: 7.5 - Enter the Phoenix (October 13, 2021)

  The Phoenix Force has returned to Earth in search of a new host, pitting the Avengers against each other and heroes like Echo and villains like Doctor Doom in securing the Phoenix Force through a tournament. During these battles, combatants gain power from the Phoenix Force, which is where this uniform comes from. It’s a fun read, but that’s really all I can say about this arc; there is a silly Thor retcon and the winner didn’t keep the Phoenix for very long, and it’s generally just dumb– which you can say for all of Jason Aaron’s Avengers.

  Back to Basics

  First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (1940)

  In-Game Release: 8.5.5 - Veterans Day 2022 (Midmonth, November 16, 2022)

  This is the classic Captain America suit and there’s quite a lot history with this suit that you likely already are at least aware of, so I’ll cover what Cap was up to once he returned to this look post-Secret Empire:

  While trying to redeem his image to the public, Cap was forced on the run when he was accused of assassinating president Thaddeus Ross, eventually turning himself in and then retiring the Captain America mantle again… except he went right back to it when he rejoined the Avengers. This is covered in Ta-Nehisi Coates’ run, which is better read all at once as it was quite slow month-to-month for me, which is why I stopped around the time Steve gave up the shield. The covers by Alex Ross are also quite stunning (though his Immortal Hulk covers during this period remain at the top). After this, he becomes a landlord in J. Michael Straczynski’s run. This is not a joke; he really does this, and I didn’t read it for this reason.