Avengers Mansion | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
In story information | |
Type | House |
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, Avengers Mansion has traditionally been the base of the Avengers. The enormous, city block-sized building is located at 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City.
Contents |
Creative origin
According[1] to Stan Lee, who co-created the Avengers:
“ | There was a mansion called the Frick Museum that I used to walk past. I sort of modeled Avengers Mansion after that. Beautiful, big, so impressive building, right on Fifth Avenue. | ” |
In real life, 890 Fifth Avenue is 1 East 70th Street, the location of the Frick Collection. The Frick's building is, indeed, a city block-sized former family home much like Avengers Mansion.
Fictional history and layout
When occupied, the mansion was originally the Stark family manor, until their only son, Tony Stark, inherited their fortune and soon took on the guise of Iron Man. He donated the mansion to the Avengers and had it financed through the charitable Maria Stark Foundation. It was primarily looked after by the Stark family butler, Edwin Jarvis, who not only took care of the mansion but also catered to the needs of the Avengers team. It served as a place to plan and strategize and a home for Avengers members when they needed it.
It had three above-ground floors and three basement floors. The first three floors were open to the public and had twelve rooms to house Avengers who wished to reside in the mansion, as well as Jarvis's quarters. A portion of the mansion's third floor served as a hangar for the Avengers' quinjets, their primary mode of transportation.
The three floors below ground were restricted from the public and had modified rooms for the Avengers' needs. Such rooms below ground were: Howard Stark's "Arsenal" chamber, the Avengers gym, Hawkeye's test-shooting room, the training room (much like the X-Mansion's Danger Room), the cryogenic storage area, a vault to contain Jack of Hearts's power, and the ultra-secure assembly room.
The Mansion was surrounded by a wall twelve feet high and one foot thick, as well as an array of high-tech security defenses. A main feature of the defenses were large, restrictive coils. These were sometimes backed up by energy beams that shot out from the ground. Nonetheless, those defenses were often breached by the supervillains faced by the Avengers. Shortly after the Avengers moved into the Mansion, Iron Man and Thor moved the Mansion 35 feet away from the street, increasing the size of the front lawn and giving the Avengers more privacy.
When Tony Stark was the United States' Secretary of Defense, the mansion's security systems were backed up by government forces.
The mansion's grounds featured an array of statues of past and present Avengers, constructed out of adamantium. The statues were destroyed in a battle with the Asgardian God, Loki.
One of the trees on the grounds used to hold a miniature lab belonging to Hank Pym.
The Fantastic Four took up temporary residence at Avengers Mansion after their headquarters (the original Baxter Building) was destroyed.[1]
The mansion has been destroyed twice. The first time was in Avengers: Under Siege when a huge grouping of Masters of Evil, led by Baron Helmut Zemo, attacked the Avengers and destroyed the Mansion and beat Hercules into a coma among other things before being repulsed.
In the immediate aftermath, the Avengers would relocate to a floating platform called Hydro-Base, while the former Mansion site became known as "Avengers Park", and was unused, until Hydro-Base too was destroyed.
The Mansion would be featured in a Damage Control story. The reconstruction firm was hired to refit and rebuild the mansion, a task they accomplished easily. Unfortunately they did not manage to move it as easily and it fell into one of New York's rivers.
Later, the Avengers built a new headquarters on the site of the Mansion and resided there until it was destroyed by the Gatherers, a team of alternate universe Avengers. Ute, a Watcher enslaved by the villain Proctor, brought an alternate reality version of the original Avengers Mansion to the site as a dying gift.
This replacement Mansion would survive various assaults until, in the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline, the Scarlet Witch was responsible for its destruction and in Avengers Finale (January 2005), Stark decided that with his dwindling assets, he could no longer afford to maintain the building and it was abandoned in its derelict state, left as a memorial to the Avengers who had died. Stark, using his considerable political and social influence, had the grounds declared a landmark by the city of New York. Since then, the Young Avengers have restored much of the statuary on the grounds of the mansion. The Avengers have relocated to Stark Tower, although it is unknown how permanent this move will be, especially in light of the events of Marvel's Civil War storyline, which causes the virtual splitting of the New Avengers down the line between those who were pro-registration and those who were against it.
Even after its destruction, the mansion remains a hub of superhuman activity. The Young Avengers were attacked by, and later defeated, Kang the Conqueror there. They later restored the many statues in the mansion's grounds, adopting the mansion as their meeting place.
During the highest tensions of the Civil War incident, Iron Man and Captain America meet at the ruins in order to talk things out. They tour the grounds and even find abandoned framed photographs of old allies.
Former Avenger Clint Barton has made his way on to the grounds several times since then, most recently following Captain America's death. He meets with Tony Stark to discuss the implications of Steve Rogers' assassination.
After the Skrull invasion, the SHIELD replacement agency, HAMMER, kept an eye on the mansion in case the Young Avengers, still wanted for refusing to be registered, showed up.[2]
Avengers Support Crew
- Alejandro "Pepe" DeMaxillio Pacheco[volume & issue needed] - Avengers Compound groundskeeper; current whereabouts unknown
- Antony "Rider" Ovens[3] - member of the Teen Brigade; answered call from Rick Jones while imprisoned by Corruptor
- Arnold Roth[4] - publicist; currently deceased
- William "Bill" Foster (Giant-Man)[5] - biochemist and Avengers Compound contractor; killed by Thor cyborg "Civil War" #4.
- Robert "Bob" Frank Jr. (Nuklo)[6] - groundskeeper
- Buddy Sampson[7] - member of the Teen Brigade; current whereabouts unknown
- Carlos LeGrande Alvarez[8] - Avengers Compound pool man; currently deceased
- Charles "Charlie" Wallace[9] - member of the Teen Brigade; current whereabouts unknown
- Consuela Sanchez[10] - Avengers Compound housekeeper and nanny to Rachel Carpenter; current whereabouts unknown.
- Daniella Tomaz[11] - nurse; current whereabouts unknown
- David Cannon[12] - used the identity "Charles Matthews"; Janet van Dyne's chauffeur, later fired[13]
- Deri Bannerjee[14] - UN liaison; current whereabouts unknown
- Diane Arliss Newell[4] - secretary; wife of Walter
- Donald Blake[volume & issue needed] - physician; current whereabouts unknown
- Donna Maria Puentes[6] - administrator; would later become receptionist; current whereabouts unknown
- Duane Jerome Freeman (federal security liaison to the Avengers)[15] - also a member of the Triune Understanding; he was killed in Kang's destruction of Washington[16].
- Edwin Jarvis[17] - butler and chief of staff; former butler of the Starks; replaced by a Skrull during the Secret Invasion[18]; currently serving with the New Avengers
- Elsa Hunter[19] - governess to Thomas and William Maximoff; current whereabouts unknown
- Emerson Bale (lawyer)[20] - current status and whereabouts unknown
- Emma Caitlyn Hegyes[21] - Avengers Compound Cook; current whereabouts unknown
- Eric Masterson (Thunderstrike)[volume & issue needed] - architect; currently deceased[volume & issue needed]
- Ernest Oliver Carrothers[volume & issue needed] - chauffeur to Janet van Dyne; current whereabouts unknown
- Fabian Stankowicz[22] - machinesmith; would later become known as the Machinesmith creating robotic Avengers; defeated by Jarvis[volume & issue needed]
- Florence "Candy" Stephens[3] - member of the Teen Brigade; answered call from Rick Jones while imprisoned by Corruptor
- Francis Barnum[23] - construstion worker; current whereabouts unknown
- Franz Anton (one-time biochemical consultant)[24] - current whereabouts and status unknown
- Gary Tomasi[25] - kitchen staff; current whereabouts unknown
- Genji Odashu[4] - pilot; current whereabouts unknown
- Gilbert Vaughn[4] - physicist; currently deceased
- Major Gordon Kenneth Carlson[26] - one-time physician; current whereabouts unknown
- Grant "Specs" McIntosh[3] - member of the Teen Brigade; answered call from Rick Jones while imprisoned by Corruptor
- Halliwell DePinna[volume & issue needed] - architect; current whereabouts unknown
- Hector Jonathan Sandrose[27] - Avengers Compound communications chief; current whereabouts unknown
- Helen Bachman[28] - nanny to Thomas and William Maximoff; current whereabouts unknown
- Henry Peter Gyrich[29] - National Security Council liaison; currently working at Camp Hammond[30]
- Henry Pym - Avengers Compound major domo and biochemist; recently revealed to be replace by a Skrull[18]
- Dr Hjarmal Frederick Svenson[31] - one-time surgeon; current status unknown
- Ian Burch[32] - accountant; current whereabouts unknown
- Inger Sullivan[4] - lawyer; current status unknown
- Jack Bale[23] - construction foreman; current whereabouts unknown
- James Campbell[33] - European monitor station caretaker; currently deceased
- James Murch[34] - federal security liaison; current whereabouts unknown
- Jane Foster[35] - team physician
- Janice Imperato[36] - Maria Stark Foundation accountant; current whereabouts unknown
- Jeryn Hogarth[20] - lawyer; current whereabouts unknown
- Joachin St Cruz Mendez[37] - Avengers Compound chief groundskeeper; current whereabouts unknown
- John Jameson[38] - pilot; married to Jennifer Walters
- Jorge Latham[39] - Avengers Compound mechanic; current whereabouts unknown
- Juan El-Marco Mercado[40] - Avengers Compound communications; current whereabouts unknown
- K.C.Ritter (Sam Casey)[41] - member of the Teen Brigade; current whereabouts unknown
- Keith Kincaid[42] - physician; married Jane Foster
- Lauren Timm[43] - governess to William and Thomas Maximoff; current whereabouts unknown
- M’Daka[6] - mechanic; current whereabouts unknown
- Marilla[44] - nanny of Luna Maximoff; killed by Tony Stark[volume & issue needed]
- Maxwell Caton[36] - Maria Stark Foundation chief accountant; current whereabouts unknown
- Michael Costello[45] - lawyer; current whereabouts unknown
- Michael O’Brien[46] - security chief; current whereabouts unknown
- Mikhail "Mike" Armstrong[41] - member of the Teen Brigade; current whereabouts unknown.
- Paul Edmonds[47] - psychiatrist; current whereabouts unknown
- Paul Owen Withers[48] - construction manager; current whereabouts unknown
- Peggy Carter[40] - communications chief; current whereabouts unknown
- Percy Stevens[23] - construction worker; current status unknown
- Rachel Leighton (Diamondback)[volume & issue needed] - Captain America's secretary
- Ramon Trigo[49] - Avengers Compound groundskeeper; current whereabouts unknown
- Raymond Sikorski[50] - National Security Council liaison
- Rick Jones[volume & issue needed] - Teen Brigade leader; honorary Avengers member; former sidekick to the Superheroes; currently known as the Abomination
- Roberto Carlos[21] - Avengers Compound butler; current whereabouts unknown
- Roberto DeSalvo Gonzago[8] - Avengers Compound gardener; current whereabouts unknown
- Rosilita "Lita" Torres[51] - Avengers Compound maid; current whereabouts unknown
- Roy Sanford[11] - physician; current whereabouts unknown
- Scott Lang (Ant-Man)[volume & issue needed] - electronics expert; killed by Jack of Hearts under the influence of an insane Scarlet Witch[volume & issue needed]
- Talia Kruma[4] - physicist; current whereabouts unknown
- Theodore "Ted" Sinclair[52] - Teen Brigade member; current whereabouts unknown
- Timothy Costello[volume & issue needed] - lawyer; current whereabouts unknown
- Timothy "Wheels" Wakelin[3] - member of the Teen Brigade; answered call from Rick Jones while imprisoned by Corruptor
- Thomas "Tom" Smith[53] - Teen Brigade member; turned bitter and tried to kill Rick Jones; current whereabouts unknown
- Walter Newell (Stingray)[volume & issue needed] - oceanographer; currently working at Camp Hammond[30]
- William "Bill" Bishop[54] - Teen Brigade member; currently a police officer
- William "Willie" Maximillian[54] - Teen Brigade member; current whereabouts unknown
- Yolanda Cruz Russo[55] - Avengers Compound groundskeeper; current whereabouts unknown
- Zachary Moonhunter[56] - pilot; current whereabouts unknown
Notes
^ "Marvel Super Heroes' Guide to New York City." Discovery Channel.
References
- ^ As confirmed in Fantastic Four #282 (Sept. 1985).
- ^ The Mighty Avengers #28
- ^ a b c d Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #260
- ^ a b c d e f Avengers #300
- ^ Avengers #32
- ^ a b c Avengers #311
- ^ Marvel: Heroes & Legends '97
- ^ a b Avengers West Coast #89
- ^ Incredible Hulk #6
- ^ Avengers West Coast #77
- ^ a b Avengers West Coast #63
- ^ The Avengers #46
- ^ Marvel Feature #9
- ^ Avengers #329
- ^ Avengers vol. 3 #4
- ^ Avengers vol. 3 #49
- ^ Tales of Suspense #59
- ^ a b Secret Invasion #1
- ^ West Coast Avengers #45
- ^ a b Avengers #190
- ^ a b West Coast Avengers #46
- ^ Captain America #354
- ^ a b c Avengers Annual #19
- ^ Avengers #30
- ^ Avengers vol. 3 #61
- ^ Avengers #29
- ^ USAgent #1
- ^ West Coast Avengers #43
- ^ Avengers #165
- ^ a b Avengers: The Initiative #1
- ^ Avengers #14
- ^ New Warriors #72
- ^ Avengers #378
- ^ Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #1
- ^ Avengers #17
- ^ a b Avengers #56
- ^ West Coast Avengers #12
- ^ Captain America #358
- ^ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #1
- ^ a b Avengers #302
- ^ a b Captain Marvel #51
- ^ Captain America #353
- ^ Avengers West Coast #47
- ^ Avengers #343
- ^ Avengers #270
- ^ Avengers #301
- ^ Avengers #227
- ^ Avengers #314
- ^ Avengers West Coast #58
- ^ Avengers #235
- ^ Solo Avengers #12
- ^ Avengers #13
- ^ Avengers #6
- ^ a b Avengers #1
- ^ West Coast Avengers #40
- ^ Captain America #409
See also
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