The Avengers' earliest years have many of the recognizable hallmarks - the team's "big three," Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor are all present (with a slightly belated introduction for Cap). However, in many respects, these first set of tales also show some growing pains.
Many of the villains faced by the team were curbed from other series, whether the solo titles of the members or unrelated Marvel comics. One gets the sense that the approach to the comic was "if we're not inventing new heroes, why invent new villains?" The earliest Avengers issues, all by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, included some interesting challenges that the team faced.
10 They Fought Loki In "Avengers" #1
Loki had already been introduced as the enemy of his brother Thor - indeed, Avengers #1 kicks off with the Trickster God attempting to destroy his adopted brother by pitting him against the Hulk. However, the incident also attracts Iron Man plus Ant-Man & The Wasp.
Once Loki's role is discovered, the heroes turn their ire away from each other towards him; an attempt at warding them off by making his body radioactive ends with him trapped in a lead tank. Loki being the comic Avengers' inaugural villain was homaged by having him be the villain of The Avengers in 2012.
9 They Fought The Space Phantom In "Avengers" #2
The next challenge the Avengers faced came from in-fighting. In Issue #2, the team was beset upon by the shape-shifting alien Space Phantom; preparing Earth for an invasion by his people, the Phantom tried to sow dissent within the Avengers' ranks to make them destroy each other.
Though the Phantom has never been one of the team's foremost adversaries since, its appearance did have one lasting impact: the Hulk resigned from the team, unable to trust the others anymore.
8 They Fought The Hulk And The Sub-Mariner In "Avengers" #3
Down one member from the last issue, it's the remaining Avengers versus an alliance of anti-heroes. Issue #2's ending left Lee & Kirby in the convenient spot of not needing to come up with a new villain; they could, and did, simply have the Avengers pursuing the Hulk.
Namor, observing the events, suggests to the Hulk they team up due to their mutual disdain for humanity. Challenging the Avengers to a battle at the Rock of Gibraltar, the alliance ends with Hulk reverting back to Banner and Namor fleeing.
7 They Fought Vuk In "Avengers" #4
Issue #4 continues with the Avengers in pursuit of Namor; travels through the Arctic lead to the discovery of Captain America, frozen in stasis since World War 2's end. When the team returns to NYC, they're in turn frozen in stone, forcing Cap to resolve things solo. He discovers the culprit: the alien Vuk, a member of the alien D'Bari long-stranded on Earth.
The alien's stone-gaze is speculated to be the origin for the myth of Medusa. In return for freeing the other Avengers, the team helps Vuk return to his home-world. He may have wished they hadn't, for 16 years later, the D'Bari homeworld would be destroyed by Jean Grey during The Dark Phoenix Saga.
6 They Fought The Lava Men In "Avengers" #5
In Journey Into Mystery #97, Thor had battled Molto, a member of the subterranean Lava Men race. Avengers #5 followed up this when the Lava Men as a whole mount an invasion of the upper world, against Molto's own pleas.
With Captain America now fully integrated into the team and the Hulk later stumbling upon the Lava Men's plans, the team faced the invasion as a united front.
5 They Fought Baron Zemo And His Masters Of Evil In "Avengers" #6
Up to this point, the Avengers had mostly fought villains who the members had histories with. Issue #6 brought this to its conclusion with the Masters of Evil, a villainous team to counter the Avengers' strength in numbers. Escaped Nazi Baron Heinrich Zemo, retconned in as an enemy from Cap's WW2 days, is living in exile when he learns his nemesis has returned. Zemo thus assembles enemies of each of the other Avengers: the Melter (a foe of Iron Man), Radioactive Man (an adversary of Thor), and the Black Knight (rival of Giant-Man & Wasp).
Though his henchmen are captured by the issue's end, Zemo escapes. In the subsequent issue #7, he recruits the Asgardian Enchantress & Executioner to his side. These three become recurring villains up to Issue #15, when the Masters (including a rejoined Melter & Black Knight) clash for the final time with the Avengers, a clash that ends in Zemo's death.
4 They Fought Kang The Conqueror In "Avengers" #8
Avengers #8 saw the introduction of the villain who has had easily the largest role of any on this list: Kang The Conqueror. A despot from the 40th century, he arrives back in 1964 to rule over the "primitive" Earth. He easily overwhelms the Avengers until being forced back to his own time after losing control of his technology. He returns soon after in Issue #11, pitting the Avengers against an android built in the image of Spider-Man, and Issues #23-24, fighting the new Avengers line-up, "Cap's Kooky Quartet:" Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch.
These first three appearances are just the tip of the iceberg: the only one who rivals Kang as the Avengers' arch-enemy is Ultron, but the Conqueror far predates the Android by debut appearance.
3 They Fought Immortus In "Avengers" #10
Issue #10 saw the introduction of a second time-traveling villain: Immortus. Allying himself with the Masters Of Evil, the time-traveler summoned a collection of historical and mythological figures to pit against the Avengers, from Attila The Hun to Merlin the Wizard.
In the end, the plan is foiled and the Enchantress uses her own time travel capability to undo the events entirely. Steve Englehart would later tie the two time-traveling villains together and reveal Immortus to be an alternate version of Kang.
2 They Fought The Mole Man & The Red Ghost In "Avengers" #12
The Mole Man was the first villain of the Silver Age Marvel universe, debuting in Fantastic Four #1. The 12th issue of Avengers saw him ally with the Red Ghost, another adversary of the Fantastic Four. Not against their usual enemies, no, but against the Avengers.
Mole Man's Moloids capture Giant Man, prompting the Avengers to invade his underground lair to rescue their comrade; they put a swift end to the villainous alliance.
1 They Fought Count Nefaria And The Maggia In "Avengers" #13
With the Avengers consistently foiling the crimes ofThe Maggia Syndicate, the group's leader, Count Nefaria, decides to put a stop to their interference. Inviting them to his castle (for the public knows not that Nefaria is a criminal), Nefaria then imprisons the Avengers and sends out duplicates, under his control, to ruin the team's public image.
The thinly-veiled "Maggia" name was no accident; during the 1960s, news-stand distribution (and thus the distribution of comics) was controlled by the Mafia. Thus, to avoid offending anyone who could damage the company's bottom-line, Marvel had to invent a stand-in. Hence, "The Maggia."
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