10 Marvel Teams That Have Fallen Into Obscurity

Marvel Comics has published various books over the years focused on some of the most extraordinary teams of superheroes. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four and especially the X-Men have all forged their particular paths as the main teams of the Marvel Universe, with all three being major franchises for the publisher’s brand. Other groups have come and gone, however, with many of these failing to have nearly the same impact.

From 1990s passing crazes to forgotten Golden Age teams, these Marvel groups aren’t remembered by even the most ardent fans. That’s despite their membership including some of the biggest heroes in the Marvel Universe. While some of these concepts had the deck stacked against them, many were simply examples of the right idea at the wrong time.

10 The Midnight Sons Were a 1990s Fad

Debut: Ghost Rider Vol. 3 #28 by Howard Mackie, Andy Kubert and Bobbie Chase

During the 1990s, there was one Marvel team that was second only to the X-Men in popularity — and it wasn’t the Avengers. The Midnight Sons was a grouping of Marvel’s edgy horror characters, who teamed up to face supernatural threats. Including such characters as Morbius, Blade and the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider, this team was right at home for the era’s grim and gritty leanings.

Of course, all phases come to an end, and the Midnight Sons came to be when the decade’s darker impulses were already becoming passé. Likewise, Ghost Rider was the standout member of the group, with none of the other members being prominent in their own right. Thus, the horror-themed team soon had a stake put through its heart. There have been some attempts to revive the concept, though the broader “Midnight Suns” group includes more mainstream Marvel heroes. Thankfully, the upcoming “Blood Hunt” event seems to be reviving the original team.

Debut: Power Pack #1 by Louise Simonson and June Brigman

Power Pack is a group of four young siblings who gain superpowers. Unlike other youthful superhero teams, these were actually small kids and not teenagers. Created by Louise Simonson (who was known for her tenure with Marvel’s X-Men brand and DC’s Superman), the team mostly benefited during their 1980s heyday from association with the company’s biggest property, especially by way of the crossover “Mutant Massacre.”

Unfortunately, the team hasn’t really been a major force in decades, largely due to the nature of their characters. They’ve all grown somewhat older since their introductions, which doesn’t work given that their selling point was their initially youthful age. Without much of a niche, they sadly feel somewhat redundant among the other teams.

8 The Slingers Are Forgotten Spidey Allies

Debut: Slingers #0 by Joseph Harris, Adam Pollina and ChrisCross

The Slingers were a group of heroes tied to the Spider-Man mythos, with their connections actually being fairly close. Each member had an identity that Peter Parker had briefly taken when he temporarily had to eschew his Spider-Man identity. This connection to Spidey should logically have made the team have a lot more longevity, but this hasn’t been the case.

The Slingers have largely been irrelevant, with their appearances since their late 1990s debut being sporadic at best. Part of this is the fact that they’re connected to an era of Spider-Man comic books that’s remained mostly ignored. Horney is seemingly planned to appear in the upcoming animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, however.

Debut: All Winners Comics #19 by Bill Finger, Vince Alascia, Al Avison, Bob Powell and Syd Shores

Though rival company DC Comics is well-known for its Golden Age team, the Justice Society of America, Marvel’s Golden Age groups are less well-known. This group — the All-Winners Squad — included the major heroes of “Timely Comics,” as the company was once called, including Captain America, Bucky, Namor and the original Human Torch. Even though it had a smattering of major heroes, this wasn’t enough to keep the team memorable.

The All-Winners Squad is hardly ever brought up in modern comics, possibly due to its silly name. It was clearly an example of the publisher creating a book about popular characters simply due to their popularity. Likewise, the fact that the team has had no modern incarnation keeps it obscure.

6 The Invaders Are Rarely Used

Debut: The Avengers #71 by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema

The Invaders were a sort of follow-up/revised version of the All-Winners Squad that was retroactively added to continuity during the Silver Age. Once again, it included major Golden Age heroes who saw action during World War II. The team was notable due to the fact that the heroes bickered and fought, much like the later relatable teams such as the Fantastic Four.

The Invaders have had different books throughout the years, with modern versions of the team also being formed. Despite this, they’ve never been very prominent or popular, and they arguably still have too many ties to the Golden Age. Even worse, their name is more confusing and ridiculous than that of the Avengers.

5 The Crew Has Never Been a Major Team

Debut: The Crew #1 by Christopher Priest and Joe Bennett

The Crew was meant to be a group of orphans, though the team eventually morphed into a group of African-American heroes. This concept of an all-Black team was briefly revived for the comic book Black Panther and the Crew, with the roster consisting of more prominent characters tied to Black Panther. Nevertheless, both attempts to sell the team completely failed.

The original book lasted for only seven issues, with the revival being even shorter, despite being tied to the zeitgeist of Black Panther’s popularity. Beyond these books, neither version of the team made much of an impact and appeared elsewhere. They also lack any sort of outside media presence, furthering the group’s obscurity.

4 Force Works Was Iron Man’s Old Team

Debut: Force Works #1 by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning

Force Works was a group led by Iron Man in the 1990s, with the team being derived from members of the West Coast Avengers. The group’s outlook was more proactive, with their methods differing from the Avengers of old. They also showed up as Iron Man’s team in the 1990s Iron Man cartoon, giving them a major media boost.

Sadly, this wasn’t enough to keep them relevant, and to make matters worse, they were introduced during an era when few fans cared about Iron Man himself. Once the characters stopped showing up in the cartoon, their book was canceled after less than two years of publication. There have been attempts to revive Force Works, but nothing has made the team (which could be Marvel’s equivalent to DC’s Outsiders) really stick.

3 The New Warriors Have Fallen by the Wayside

Debut: The Mighty Thor #411 by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz

The New Warriors were a team introduced to help Thor take down Juggernaut, but their presence grew throughout the 1990s. A sort of junior counterpart to the Avengers (much like the Teen Titans to the Justice League), they were led by the skateboarding Night Thrasher and became fairly popular. To this end, they were actually part of the “Spider-Man” editorial group during the 1990s, owing to their popularity. Since then, however, they’ve majorly fallen from grace in terms of relevance.

The New Warriors are now mostly known for their involvement in kicking off the “Civil War” event, and they’ve never been particularly popular ever since. An attempted revival during the early 2020s became something of an internet joke among fans due to the politicized nature of the planned roster. That volume of their series was ultimately canceled before a single issue was released, and the team hasn’t really done much ever since.

2 A-Force Was an Overshadowed Avengers Team

Debut: A-Force #1 by G. Willow Wilson, Marguerite Bennett and Jorge Molina

A-Force was an all-female spinoff team of the Avengers, with the group including some of Marvel’s mightiest women leading the charge. With heroes such as She-Hulk, Medusa and Spider-Woman on the roster, the team certainly didn’t lack in power or recognizable faces. Though initially part of an alternate universe storyline, a mainstream universe A-Force appeared in the group’s own series.

Despite this, A-Force didn’t go on to become a consistently featured team of heroes. The book was canceled after 10 issues, despite strong reviews from fans. Likewise, it was released during an era of seemingly endless Avengers teams, with Secret Avengers, New Avengers, USAvengers and even Avengers AI being other versions of the group. Thus, even fan popularity wasn’t enough to make A-Force stand out.

1 Brute Force Is Marvel’s Strangest Team

Debut: Brute Force #1 by Simon Furman and José Delbo

Easily one of the weirdest teams in the Marvel Universe is Brute Force. This was a group of animals outfitted with armor that allowed them to speak and defend the ecosystem. Fittingly, they had a rival team named “Heavy Metal,” with the entire concept being rather ridiculous. Likely due to this kitsch premise, Brute Force has never been especially mainstream.

The team is mostly brought back in a comedic fashion, namely in titles such as Deadpool that can focus on how over-the-top the idea of Brute Force is. They’ve also had a digital series on Marvel Unlimited, showcasing that there might be a future for the animals. More than likely, however, they’ll remind an unknown oddity among Marvel Comics teams.