Avengers West Coast: 10 Best Comic Issues of the Series

The West Coast Avengers first formed in 1984 when Hawkeye took on the leadership role in an Avengers team in California. This team lasted for 10 years before it finally shut down and folded back into the main team. The West Coast Avengers is still around today, this time in a team of mostly young heroes settled in California, but it looks very different from the original team from 30 years ago.

When it comes to the West Coast Avengers, there were some very big moments in Marvel Comics history that took place in that series. The introduction of Scarlet Witch and Vision’s children played out in that series and U.S. Agent played a big role for years. It also brought back one of Marvel’s oldest heroes and this is where James Rhodes became a true hero.

10 West Coast Avengers Vol. 1 #1 (1984)

The issue where it all started was West Coast Avengers #1 in 1984 by Roger Stern and Bob Hall. The cover said it all, with Hawkeye calling a new team of Avengers to assemble, and various faces adorning the cover, letting the readers wonder who would answer his call to action.

This issue was the genesis of the West Coast team, with Hawkeye’s wife Mockingbird bringing in two former Avengers in Tigra and Wonder Man and the new Iron Man, James Rhodes. At this time, no one knew who was under the Iron Man armor.

9 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #44 (1989)

West Coast Avengers #44 was a very important issue that started one of the biggest storylines in Marvel Comics history, one that influenced major moments that would happen over a decade later. This was Vision Quest, where the government had taken Vision apart.

He came back with no emotions and no feelings, leaving Wanda Maximoff basically widowed with their twin children, Tommy and Billy. This was where the White Vision was born. It was also where a name from the past, Phineas T. Horton, showed up, and that meant it was almost time for the West Coast Avengers to welcome a hero from the past.

8 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #45 (1989)

The cover of West Coast Avengers #45 is still iconic to this day, as it was the grand entrance of the White Vision. This was where the new Vision with no emotions from WandaVision made his big splash. This was also a very important issue because a new member joined the team.

U.S. Agent showed up, sent by the government to be their eyes and ears on this Avengers team. This was shocking, because John Walker served as Captain America before this and the government faked his death before bringing him back as U.S. Agent and sending him to California.

7 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #50 (1989)

In West Coast Avengers #44, Phineas T., Horton showed up for the first time in Marvel Comics, and in this issue, his greatest creation returned to Marvel. This was Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch.

Originally, the Avengers believed Vision was made with the original Human Torch’s android body. It turned out he was made out of a copy of his body. The original Human Torch battled alongside Captain America in World War II, was still intact and he returned to life in the pages of West Coast Avengers. This was the issue where he joined the team.

6 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #52 (1986)

West Coast Avengers #52 might be the most important comic book issue from the entire run. This was the issue where Scarlet Witch lost her twin boys, Billy and Tommy. Things had been weird for a while, especially after Vision came back in his white form, and, in this issue, Agatha Harkness revealed what happened.

Wanda had used magic to make herself pregnant and it turned out that Tommy and Billy were part of Mephisto’s shattered soul. Master Pandemonium retrieved them and Wanda lost her children. Agatha wiped their existence from her mind and it was that action that caused Wanda to lose control years later in Avengers Disassembled and House of M.

5 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #56 (1990)

Scarlet Witch turned evil more than once because of the loss of her twins. At one point, she created an attack in Avengers Disassembled that resulted in the deaths of Vision, Jack of Hearts, Ant-Man, and Hawkeye. She created the House of M world after that and then stripped mutants of their powers following that.

This was all after her first slip into madness in West Coast Avengers #56, which featured the first appearance of the Dark Witch, where Wanda, Magneto, and Quicksilver almost destroyed the West Coast Avengers. It was a foreshadowing of things to come in later years.

4 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #84 (1992)

West Coast Avengers had new members join the team over the years, including Tony Stark’s Iron Man and a hero known as Living Lightning. Another new member was Julia Carpenter, who was going by the name Spider-Woman at the time. This is the same character who is now Madame Web.

What makes West Coast Avengers #84 so important is that this is the issue that reveals Julia’s origin story. Spider-Woman was with the team until they broke up and has since become even more important as Madame Web, and this was a big issue for her character.

3 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #94 (1993)

James Rhodes was the Iron Man who was a member of the West Coast Avengers when they formed. Tony Stark took back his armor and identity and was a member of the team after that. However, most Marvel Comics fans know Rhodes as War Machine, which is the role he also plays in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The first appearance of War Machine took place in West Coast Avengers #94. With this as his first appearance in the new high-powered armor, this is a collector’s issue that stands out in the first run for the team.

2 West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #102 (1994)

West Coast Avengers #102 was the final issue of the series and marked the end of the road for the team. In this book, the team had to answer for their recent actions, and while they stood together as a cohesive unit, they were not always this close. Captain America and the Avengers informed them that the team was being disbanded and they would all become probationary on-call members.

This did not go over well. While Iron Man stopped U.S. Agent from fighting Captain America on the spot. it ended badly for the Avengers. Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, U.S. Agent, and War Machine all quit on the spot and walked out. The most shocking moment came when Iron Man also quit, turning in his Avengers ID and starting a new group called Force Works.

1 West Coast Avengers Vol. 3 #1 (2018)

It took 24 years after the West Coast Avengers broke up for a new team to form using the same name. This team was once again led by Hawkeye, who put together a team of young heroes to take on the role of the California Avengers once again.

The members here included some of the top young heroes in Marvel Comics at the time, with Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye, America Chavez, and Gwenpool joining up with the mutant Kid Omega and the debut of a new hero named Fuse. The new team only lasted for 10 issues, but later appearances by Hawkeye and America Chavez show they are still together.

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