Assembling an All-Star Avengers Team

by Philip Price, Alea Jeremiah & Preston Tolliver

One of the most popular online meme games during the Coronavirus pandemic has been the selection of choosing your favorite teams among a number of movie characters, athletes, etc. and having to do so within a budget. One of the popular ones recently is assembling and Avengers team for $15. I thought it would be fun to get some of The Word contributors who are major Marvel fans to make their selections and let us into their reasoning for doing so. Philip Price and Alea Jeremiah did just that for us, while Preston Tolliver, as usual, was more of a smart-ass.
​
Here are their selections …
 
Philip:
Part of me just wants to just make it kind of easy and go with the core “Guardians of the Galaxy” line-up, including Nebula, Drax, Rocket, Groot, Gamora and Star Lord, which coincidentally enough rounds up to a solid 15 bucks, but while the personalities are arguably among the best of the bunch especially if one is looking for a couple of scoundrels with some good (slightly embellished) stories to hang out with, but they probably wouldn't be the crew you'd choose if you're ultimately going to end up facing a Thanos-like force. Although Gamora and Nebula and personal stakes in the fight against their big, purple titan of a stepdad and make for some formidable warrior and opponents the strength of Captain America and Thor easily outweigh Drax's peak physical condition, Hulk could likely out bulk the lumbering Groot while Iron Man/Tony Stark would have no problem outsmarting and out-quipping the capable, but damaged Peter Quill. Granted, Quill AKA Star Lord is part celestial and therefore immensely powerful considering the celestials are some of the oldest entities in the Marvel Comics universe, but we haven't yet seen the full extent of these powers and given the man's penchant for letting emotions override logic and strategy ... he's likely best left off the list.

So, if we're picking a team for the purposes of what I assume are to be a completely indestructible and undefeatable team then one must build it around the most powerful specimen out of the whole bunch-we're talking about Thor, of course-the God of Thunder. Add in Doctor Strange to mesh the worlds of magic and mystical arts brings our total to a whopping $9. Let’s go ahead and throw in Vision for a buck as well given he possesses the power of an INFINITY STONE and then .... you know what, while I appreciate that Thor and Bruce Banner AKA Hulk had a nice camaraderie in Ragnarok and I know I already said Hulk might ultimately outrank Groot in terms of pure strength, but let’s rescind on that comment and spend the final $5 on the combo of Rocket and Groot not only for the ingenuity, strength and humor they'll bring to the team, but due to the fact Rocket seems to truly understand Thor and the two form a unique, but effective bond that leads to breakthroughs like Stormbreaker … which only reinforces the inclusion of Groot as well. So, we have a God, a Sorcerer, an android and the only other known being to be able to wield Mjolnir at this point in time, an extraterrestrial tree monster and his anthropomorphic raccoon. Not too shabby, but you know you guys could have made this easier by just putting Captain Marvel on here for $10 so we could throw her and Thor in the cart and call it a day, right?

Final Team:
Thor - $5
Doctor Strange - $4
Groot - $3
Rocket - $2
Vision - $1

Final Price: $15

Alea:
Just a disclaimer, this was incredibly hard and the people I’ve chosen are based off being my favorites, not just because of their abilities!

First up on my team for $1 is Bucky because I’ve always just loved him. My second selection is Captain America for a whopping $5 because you can’t have Bucky without his best friend.

It was extremely hard for me to pick between Cap, Iron Man and Thor. Third is Groot for $3 because he’s Groot, I mean come on.

Fourth is Ant-Man for $4 because we’re a team that loves comic relief. And last, but certainly not least, is Scarlet Witch for $2 because she’s an amazing badass! I’m pretty confident in my team, I think I’ve spent my money wisely! Avengers assemble!

Team:
Captain American - $5
Ant-Man - $4
Groot - $3
Scarlet Witch - $2
Bucky - $1

Final Price: $15
 
Preston:
Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, has the power to alter realities to her liking, which has led to some of the biggest changes in Marvel Comics, including a genocide, and she’s only $2 on here. I’m taking her and we’re going to Taco Bell to spend the remaining $13 on some nacho boxes.

Team:
Scarlet Witch - $2
2 Taco Bell Nacho Boxes - $13

Final Price: $15
 
Most Selected Avenger: Groot and Scarlet Witch (Twice)