Great Lakes Avengers

• Core Identity: The Great Lakes Avengers are a perpetually optimistic, underfunded, and questionably competent team of superheroes dedicated to protecting the American Midwest, despite a consistent lack of respect, resources, and official recognition from the greater hero community.
• Key Takeaways:
• Role in the Universe: The Great Lakes Avengers (GLA) serve as a satirical and often tragicomic commentary on the superhero genre. They are the ultimate underdogs of the Marvel Universe, a team of heroes with bizarre powers and immense heart who operate far from the glamorous spotlight of New York City, protecting citizens in states like Wisconsin and Michigan. Their stories often explore themes of perseverance, fame-seeking, and the true meaning of heroism when no one is watching. They are best known for their association with squirrel_girl and their unwanted affiliation with the main avengers team.
• Primary Impact: While their direct impact on major universe-spanning events is minimal, their biggest influence is meta-textual. They represent the “street-level” hero concept taken to its logical, and often hilarious, extreme. They have provided a launching pad for cult-favorite characters like Squirrel Girl and a unique space for creators to tell stories that are self-aware and critical of superhero tropes. Their most significant in-universe achievement was their role in defeating the cosmic threat Maelstrom, a feat that cost them several members and briefly earned them a modicum of respect.
• Key Incarnations: The Great Lakes Avengers are a concept deeply rooted in the comic book medium and its long history. As such, they exist exclusively within the Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) and its various print offshoots. They have never appeared nor been referenced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), making their depiction singular to the comics. Any discussion of an MCU version is purely speculative.

The Great Lakes Avengers first appeared in West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2) #46 in July 1989. They were created by writer-artist John Byrne, a legendary figure in the comic book industry known for his transformative work on The Uncanny X-Men and Fantastic Four. The team's creation occurred during a period when Marvel was expanding its superhero franchises with spin-off teams. The main Avengers had spawned the west_coast_avengers, and the X-Men line was burgeoning with multiple titles. The GLA was conceived as a humorous take on this trend—a self-proclaimed “branch” of the Avengers that no one had actually asked for or authorized. Byrne used them as a vehicle for lighthearted, character-driven comedy, contrasting their mundane Midwestern setting and oddball powers with the high-stakes drama of the main Avengers teams. Initially, they were recurring guest stars, a running gag in the background of more serious stories. However, their earnest and quirky nature resonated with a segment of the readership, earning them a cult following. This dedicated fanbase eventually led to their own limited series, beginning with the critically acclaimed G.L.A. #1-4 (2005), subtitled Misassembled. Written by Dan Slott and drawn by Paul Pelletier, this series solidified the team's identity as a blend of black comedy and genuine pathos, famously killing off several members while simultaneously developing others, like Doorman, in unexpected and cosmically significant ways. They were later integrated into the major Civil War crossover event as part of the Fifty-State Initiative, rebranded as the Great Lakes Initiative. Their most recent starring role was in the 2016 series The Great Lakes Avengers, written by Zac Gorman with art by Will Robson, which saw the team officially sanctioned, funded, and relocated to Detroit, Michigan, further exploring their struggles with legitimacy and public perception.

The formation of the Great Lakes Avengers was driven entirely by the ambition and immortality of one man: Craig Hollis, also known as Mr. Immortal. After discovering his unique superhuman ability—the inability to die—Hollis concluded that his destiny was to be a superhero. Realizing that operating solo was inefficient and lonely, he placed a newspaper advertisement seeking fellow “costumed adventurers” to form a team. The ad attracted a small but eclectic group of individuals:

• Dinah Soar: A mysterious, pink-skinned humanoid of unknown origin with flight capabilities and powerful sonic vocalizations.
• Flatman (Dr. Matt Val): A mutant with a two-dimensional, infinitely malleable body, granting him stretching abilities and near-invulnerability to physical harm.
• Big Bertha (Ashley Crawford): A mutant supermodel who could drastically increase her body's mass and adipose tissue, becoming a super-strong, bulletproof behemoth.
• Doorman (DeMarr Davis): A mutant with the ability to teleport people through his body, but only into an adjacent room, effectively serving as a living doorway.

Inspired by the avengers, Hollis dubbed his new team the “Great Lakes Avengers,” establishing their base of operations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their first recorded act was an attempt to assist the visiting Hawkeye (Clint Barton) and Mockingbird of the West Coast Avengers. The encounter was largely a disaster, with the GLA proving more of a hindrance than a help. Despite their ineptitude, Hawkeye and Mockingbird saw the team's potential and good intentions, agreeing to serve as unofficial mentors. This association, however, was tenuous. The main Avengers organization never officially sanctioned the GLA or granted them a charter, and often viewed them with a mixture of pity and annoyance. This didn't stop the GLA from using the “Avengers” name, which led to a cease-and-desist order from Maria Stark, acting on behalf of The Avengers. This forced the team into a series of comical name changes, including the “Lightning Rods” (in a misguided attempt to court the Thunderbolts) and briefly, the “Great Lakes X-Men,” much to the chagrin of the actual x-men. Their story is one of a relentless, often misguided, quest for the legitimacy that always seems just out of reach.

To be unequivocally clear, the Great Lakes Avengers do not exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999). As of the latest film and Disney+ series releases, there has been no mention, Easter egg, or reference to the team or any of its core members. The tone and concept of the GLA present a unique challenge for adaptation into the typically high-stakes, action-oriented MCU. However, the success of more comedic and self-referential projects like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and the Deadpool films (now integrated into the MCU) provides a potential pathway for their introduction. Hypothetical Introduction: If the GLA were to be introduced, they would likely appear not in a mainline Avengers film, but in a street-level Disney+ series. A show like She-Hulk could feature them as clients of GLK&H, perhaps suing the main Avengers for trademark infringement or seeking legal help after a disastrous public incident. This would allow the MCU to explore the same themes as the comics: the unglamorous reality of being a low-tier superhero in a world of gods and super-spies. An MCU adaptation would almost certainly alter their origin. Instead of being inspired by the original print Avengers, they might be superfans of the heroes who fought in the Battle of New York, forming a sort of super-powered neighborhood watch in a city like Detroit or Cleveland. Characters like Mr. Immortal and Flatman could be portrayed as well-meaning but deluded individuals whose powers are more of a public nuisance than a public service. Their story could serve as a humorous but poignant look at the consequences of the “superhero age” on ordinary people who want to make a difference but lack the skill and power of their idols.

The self-appointed mandate of the Great Lakes Avengers is simple: to be the premier superhero team for the Great Lakes region of North America. They handle threats that the main Avengers are too busy, or too important, to notice. This ranges from fighting genuine C-list supervillains like Dr. Tannen and Leather Boy to tackling more mundane problems like stopping petty thefts and rescuing cats from trees. Their operational style is characterized by enthusiasm far exceeding their competence. They often cause significant property damage and public disruption in their attempts to be heroic. The team operates with a shoestring budget, relying on Big Bertha's modeling income and occasional, questionable financial windfalls to fund their activities. Their core philosophy is one of unwavering persistence; no matter how many times they are defeated, humiliated, or legally barred from using the “Avengers” name, they always re-form and try again. During their time as the Great Lakes Initiative, they were officially sanctioned by the U.S. government as the designated team for Wisconsin. This granted them a degree of legitimacy they had always craved, but it came with bureaucratic oversight and responsibilities they were ill-equipped to handle. More recently, in their 2016 incarnation, they received a legitimate Avengers charter and funding from a young tech heir, setting up a new headquarters in Detroit and attempting a more professional, corporate approach to superheroics, which ultimately ended in failure and bankruptcy.

The GLA's structure has always been informal and chaotic.

• Leadership: Craig Hollis, Mr. Immortal, is the founder and de jure leader. However, his leadership is often passive, and team decisions are frequently made by consensus or by whoever shouts the loudest. Flatman often serves as the de facto deputy leader and spokesperson, being slightly more level-headed and organized than the others.
• Hierarchy: There is virtually no formal hierarchy. Membership is fluid, with new heroes joining and old ones leaving (or dying) with startling regularity.
• Headquarters: The team has had several headquarters. Their original base was a modest rental property in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After receiving official funding in their 2016 series, they moved into a state-of-the-art, but ultimately repossessed, industrial building in Detroit, Michigan, which they christened “Avengers Mansion… a Great Lakes franchise.”

The team's roster has been a revolving door of the weird and the wonderful.

As stated previously, there are no MCU counterparts for the Great Lakes Avengers or their members. An adaptation would require significant creative liberties.

• Mr. Immortal: The concept of immortality has been explored with characters like the Asgardians, but Hollis's specific brand of “dying and instantly reviving” could be a source of dark comedy, similar to Deadpool's, but without the meta-awareness.
• Flatman: His powers would be a CGI challenge but could be visually similar to how Reed Richards of the fantastic_four might be portrayed. His personality as the “sensible one” would be crucial for grounding the team.
• Big Bertha: The MCU has struggled with body-image representation, and a character like Big Bertha, who is both a glamorous supermodel and a powerful, large-statured hero, could be a vehicle for interesting social commentary if handled with care.
• Squirrel Girl: The most likely candidate for an MCU appearance, even independent of the GLA. Her upbeat, quirky-but-unstoppable nature fits well within the MCU's evolving tone. A solo project for Squirrel Girl was in development for years before being cancelled, indicating Marvel's interest in the character.

• Hawkeye (Clint Barton) & Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse): The closest thing the GLA has to genuine mentors. When Clint and Bobbi were attempting to establish the West Coast Avengers, they encountered the fledgling GLA. While initially exasperated by their incompetence, they recognized the team's heroic spirit. They provided them with some basic training and offered encouragement, though they were careful not to officially endorse them as “Avengers.” This brief mentorship was a formative experience for the GLA, giving them a taste of the legitimacy they desperately craved.
• Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green): Undoubtedly the GLA's most famous and competent member. She joined the team during the GLA: Misassembled storyline after leaving New York City in an attempt to find a fresh start. Her incredible power level and knack for defeating A-list villains single-handedly (including doctor_doom and thanos) brought the team a level of credibility they had never known. Though she eventually left to pursue her own path, she remains on good terms with the team, particularly Flatman and Big Bertha, and her tenure is remembered as the GLA's “golden age.”
• Deadpool (Wade Wilson): Deadpool's relationship with the GLA is less an alliance and more of a hostile takeover. During the Initiative era, Deadpool was forcibly assigned to the team as part of a scheme. His violent, chaotic, and fourth-wall-breaking antics clashed horribly with the team's (relatively) wholesome approach. They were allies of circumstance only, and the GLA was immensely relieved when he was finally kicked off the team.

The Great Lakes Avengers do not have a singular, defining arch-nemesis in the vein of Captain America's Red Skull. Their rogues' gallery is as D-list as they are, which is a core part of their charm.

• Maelstrom: The one exception to their low-stakes villain problem. Maelstrom is a powerful cosmic entity, an Inhuman/Deviant hybrid with immense energy manipulation powers. In GLA: Misassembled, he constructed a doomsday device to destroy the entire universe. The Great Lakes Avengers were the only heroes to discover his plot. In a surprisingly epic and tragic confrontation, they managed to defeat him, but at a great cost: Dinah Soar was killed, and Mr. Immortal was killed dozens of times in quick succession. Doorman also died but was resurrected by the cosmic being Oblivion to serve as his new Angel of Death. This victory is the GLA's single most important heroic achievement.
• Dr. Tannen: A bizarre villain with a fir tree for a head. He was one of the first villains the GLA fought after being officially sanctioned in Detroit. He planned to turn the citizens of Detroit into plants, representing the kind of eccentric, localized threat the GLA is uniquely suited to handle.
• Leather Boy: Gene Strausser was a rejected GLA applicant who was furious when the glamorous Big Bertha was chosen over him. He later returned as the villain Leather Boy, infiltrating the team's headquarters and brutally murdering Monkey Joe, Squirrel Girl's sidekick, before viciously attacking Dinah Soar. He is a representation of toxic fandom and entitlement, and his mundane but cruel actions had a deeply personal and traumatic impact on the team.

The GLA's primary affiliation is their one-sided, desperate relationship with the avengers. They have repeatedly claimed membership, used the Avengers name, and sought their approval, almost always to be met with legal action or outright rejection. The exception was their 2016 series, where they finally obtained an official charter, only to lose it due to financial insolvency. They were also an official part of the Fifty-State Initiative, a government program established after the first superhero Civil War. As the “Great Lakes Initiative,” they were the sanctioned team for Wisconsin, a position they took very seriously, even if no one else did. This was the first time their team was officially recognized by any major power, representing a huge step forward in their quest for legitimacy.

(First Appearance: West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #46-49, 1989) This storyline marks the team's debut. Hearing that Hawkeye and Mockingbird are in town, the newly-formed Great Lakes Avengers attempt to “help” them against a group of circus-themed criminals. Their interference is clumsy and chaotic, but their hearts are in the right place. Hawkeye, seeing a reflection of his own carny past and early heroic struggles, takes pity on them. He and Mockingbird offer some pointers and informal training, leaving the GLA more determined than ever to live up to the Avengers name, whether the actual Avengers want them to or not. This arc established their core dynamic as well-meaning but hopelessly out-of-their-league heroes.

(Miniseries: G.L.A. #1-4, 2005) This is the definitive Great Lakes Avengers story. The arc opens with the team at a low point, facing obscurity and ridicule. The dynamic shifts when Squirrel Girl moves to Wisconsin and joins their ranks. At the same time, the cosmic villain Maelstrom is enacting a plan to create a universal entropy field. The story masterfully balances slapstick comedy with genuine tragedy. A new recruit named Grasshopper is killed seconds after being introduced, Dinah Soar is murdered by Maelstrom, and Leather Boy brutally murders Monkey Joe. The climax sees the remaining members confront Maelstrom in a battle far beyond their usual scale. Mr. Immortal's constant deaths and revivals finally distract Maelstrom long enough for Flatman to disable his device. Doorman, killed in the fight, is resurrected as a cosmic entity. It is a pyrrhic victory that costs them dearly but proves, for the first time, that they can be genuine heroes when it counts.

(Storylines in Cable & Deadpool and Avengers: The Initiative, 2006-2008) Following the events of Civil War, the GLA (now the Great Lakes Initiative) were registered with the government. Their story during this period focused on their comical attempts to fulfill their official duties, which mostly involved stopping minor crimes and accidentally causing trouble. Their most significant challenge came when Deadpool was assigned to their roster by S.H.I.E.L.D. His ultra-violent methods and manic personality were a terrible fit for the team. He nearly got them all killed fighting a new A.I.M. splinter group. The arc highlighted the GLA's fundamental decency by contrasting it with Deadpool's amorality, and they were ultimately successful in having him removed from their team.

(Ongoing Series: The Great Lakes Avengers #1-7, 2016-2017) In this series, the team experiences a brief renaissance. A young fan of the team, Connie Ferrari, inherits a fortune and uses it to grant the GLA an official, legally-binding Avengers charter and sets them up in a new headquarters in Detroit. The team, consisting of Mr. Immortal, Flatman, Big Bertha, and Doorman, also recruits a new member, Good Boy, a young woman who can turn into a werewolf. The series explores their attempts to become a “real” superhero team, dealing with public relations, corporate sponsorship, and the mundane reality of running a superhero business. They face off against a council of Detroit's minor criminals led by the returning Dr. Tannen. The series ends with the team going bankrupt and being forced to disband, once again finding themselves back at square one, reinforcing their status as Marvel's most tragic underdogs.

The Great Lakes Avengers, being a niche and satirical concept, have a very limited presence outside of the main Earth-616 continuity. Unlike major teams like the Avengers or X-Men, they do not have prominent counterparts in major alternate realities.

• Earth-295 (Age of Apocalypse): There is no known version of the Great Lakes Avengers in this reality. The grim, survivalist nature of the Age of Apocalypse would have had little room for a comedic, low-powered team.
• Earth-1610 (Ultimate Universe): The GLA do not appear in the Ultimate Universe. The tone of this universe was generally more grounded and cynical, and a team like the GLA would have likely been treated with extreme derision or simply ignored entirely within that continuity.
• Adaptational Potential: The idea of the Great Lakes Avengers is their most adaptable quality. In other media, such as video games or animated series, they could function as humorous quest-givers or non-player characters. In a game like Marvel's Avengers or a future Marvel Ultimate Alliance, a mission could involve the main heroes traveling to the Midwest and having to save the GLA from a situation they created. Their true value in adaptations is not as a mainline team, but as a source of color, comedy, and commentary on the world of superheroes they inhabit. Their absence from other media reinforces their core identity: they are the heroes who exist in the margins, forgotten by everyone except their most dedicated fans.

• avengers
• west_coast_avengers
• squirrel_girl
• deadpool
• Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
• The Initiative

^{1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)}