It’s an unfortunate truth that not every Avenger gets the love they so duly deserve. The team of Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes has accrued almost 100 over the decades, but not all have been as stellar as others. Fortunately, some of these Marvel misfits can still be redeemed with a few touch-ups, a refreshed wardrobe, and a good story to thrive in the modern era.

Throughout its 86 years of publishing comics, Marvel Comics has had quite a few potentially stellar characters fall through the cracks. It’s even worse when some of those characters were once worthy of ing the Avengers. While the heroic team has adopted many over the years, not all were given the right attention or desire to continue working with them. Some may be relics from bygone eras, while others are newer additions that failed to meet popular demand. Fortunately, each of these characters’ journeys back to popularity can be done with a little sprucing up.

10 Stingray (Walter Newell)

Debuted: Tales to Astonish #95 (1967) by Roy Thomas, Raymon Marais, & Bill Everett

Walter Newell was once an ordinary oceanographer when he was assigned by the government to develop an underwater research facility. However, the city came under siege before Namor the Sub-Mariner arrived to stop the villain. Unfortunately, the city was lost, and Walter was assigned to hunt and capture Namor. Now donning a homemade deep sea exploration suit, Walter called himself “Stingray” and inevitably ed Namor as a close personal ally.

While Stingray has made a small return in writer Jason Aaron and artist Paul Davidson’s ongoing Namor series, he hasn’t quite made his way back to Avengers-level popularity. Considering that Namor has also previously ed the Avengers, Marvel has a fantastic opportunity to introduce an underwater team of the “Oceans’ Mightiest Heroes,” alongside some of Marvel’s other aquatic heroes. However, Stingray may need to remake his suit and drop the startling red and white motif for something more oceanic.

9 Doctor Druid (Anthony Druid)

Debuted: Amazing Adventures #1 (1961) by Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, & Steve Ditko

Marvel may already have a few mystical doctors, but there’s no reason it can’t consistently keep around one more. Doctor Anthony Druid first found his fame when he earned his Medical Doctorate in psychology. However, after discovering he was the descendant of an ancient and powerful druid, Anthony eventually met the Ancient One, who took him on as his student. Like Doctor Strange, Doctor Druid is a natural egotist whose arrogance has pushed him close to the line of villainy a time or two.

However, despite Druid’s initial popularity, Marvel has relegated the sorcerer to being a semi-comedic rip-off of Doctor Strange. That said, Marvel is in the perfect position to bring Doctor Druid back, alongside Strange and Doctor Voodoo, now that Doctor Doom is the Sorcerer Supreme. Even without Doom as a motivating factor, the Strange Academy could use a dedicated teacher who excels at the Earth’s natural magic to counterbalance the otherworldly and necromantic powers of the Academy’s previous faculty.

8 Firebird (Bonita Juarez)

Debuted: Incredible Hulk #265 (1981) by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema

On a day like any other, Bonita Juarez was enjoying a stroll through the New Mexican desert when a frigid yet fiery meteor struck near her, bombarding her with radiation. Soon, Bonita developed the ability to absorb and control flames and heat as well as the surrounding winds. Imbued with an immortal fire and a purpose from the divine, Firebird ed the West Coast Avengers and, later, the primary team.

ittedly, Firebird has appeared a few times in recent years, namely at Sam Wilson’s official inauguration as Captain America, but she hasn’t been around much. While she may be only one of many fire-themed heroes throughout Marvel, Marvel has already allowed her to thrive with a team that needs to be brought back to life. During the first Marvel Civil War, Firebird was assigned via the 50-States Initiative to Texas’s Avengers team. While the initiative has since faded away, Firebird could easily return as the head of an official Southwest Avengers team.

7 Black Ant (Eric O’Grady)

Debuted: Civil War: Choosing Sides #1 (2006) by Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester

For the vast majority of Eric O’Grady’s comic career, he has been nothing short of a problem. After lifting Hank Pym’s suit off of one of his friends, Eric stole the Ant-Man suit and secretly used it for morally dubious purposes. Despite his transgressions, Iron Man offered to bring Eric into the 50-States Initiative and was later drafted onto Norman Osborn’s Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers teams. However, after breaking away from the villainous team, Eric sacrificed himself to save a young child.

While Eric was immediately replaced by an LMD that rebranded itself as the Black Ant, death has never been a permanent state in Marvel Comics and shouldn’t be now. O'Grady isn’t the only Avenger who started with villainous intentions but learned how to be a hero along the way. Given his past actions, Eric is most likely in Marvel’s Hell, but that doesn’t mean he’s out for the count. Through series like Hellverine, Marvel has resurrected numerous heroes with infernal new powers, and the Black Ant needs to be one of them.

6 Abyss

Debuted: Avengers #1 (2012) by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña

Abyss, before her death, was the last remaining Abyssi (cosmic judges who accompanied the Ex Nihilii as they travel the universe creating new gardens of life). Despite being an agent of the Beyonders, when the multiversal creators waged war against the Multiverse, Abyss ed the Multiversal Avengers to stop the cosmic foes. However, while Abyss may have “sacrificed” herself physically, the multiversal Abyssi should effectively be an immortal entity.

Like the rest of the Abyssi, Abyss represents nothingness, not death or decay, just the void of nothingness. If fragments of the hero persisted past the Incursions and into the Eighth Cosmos, she wouldn’t be Marvel’s only void-themed character. Heroes like Cloak, Darkhawk, and even Nightcrawler all fit within a similar aesthetic that, together, could pull together a gothically dark team of Avengers to handle the dangers hidden in the pockets of nothingness between Marvel’s realities.

5 Victorious (Victor Mancha)

Debuted: Runaways #1 (2005) by Brian Vaughan and Adrian Alphona

This character is probably one of this list’s most tragic, both due to his origin and because he has been wasted in the face of one of Marvel’s ongoing Avengers series. Following one of Ultron’s defeats, his parts were recovered by a petty criminal who desperately wished for a son. In return for helping rebuild Ultron, the genocidal robot created an android grafted with the criminal’s cells to create a fully realized android boy.

When the Runaways discovered this truth from his multiversal variant named Victorious, the team of teens drafted Victor, who has stayed with the team since. While Victor ed the Young Avengers years ago, he especially deserves a spot on Marvel’s current West Coast Avengers team. As the series continues to explore Ultron’s peaceful variants, Marvel has an opportunity to have Victor return as an Avenger alongside a suspiciously heroic version of his father.

4 Silverclaw (Maria de Guadalupe Santiago)

Debuted: Avengers #8 (1998) by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez

As part of the Avengers’ major expansion in the ‘90s, Silverclaw was brought onto the team after she broke free from her villainous captors and allied with the team to take the evildoer down. Maria Santiago is a demigoddess with the power to transform into any animal from South America. While this may seem like a niche power, Silverclaw isn’t the only Marvel character with this specific type of power.

Snowbird of Canada’s Alpha Flight team is yet another demigoddess with the specific power to transform into any animal native to her arctic region. Together, these heroes could create a new team of animal-themed Avengers alongside someone like Reptil. As the new “Animalistic Avengers,” Silverclaw, alongside her potential new allies, could set up an Avengers embassy in foreign locations, expanding their reach. Maybe it’s due to the unique nature of her powers, but Silverclaw already has such a fun character design that she deserves a comeback in a fresh new role.

3 Smasher (Isabel Kane)

Debuted: Avengers #1 (2012) by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña

After discovering the super-empowered Exospex of a Smasher from the Shi’ar Imperial Guard on her grandfather’s farm, the device pleaded that Isabel Kane put it on. Isabel agreed, and when she donned the glasses for the first time, she was immediately imbued with the ed superpowers that all Smashers are given. However, after returning from her first space-faring excursion, Isabel was drafted into the Avengers, who were currently fighting against Ex Nihilo and Abyss.

Since then, Smasher has remained a loyal servant of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard and continues to travel back to Earth for the occasional mission. That said, the character hasn’t been seen since 2012. As Marvel gears up for its Imperial event, Smasher has the perfect opportunity to make her grand re-debut as one of the many Avengers who will soon be caught in the crossfire. Like other heroes who have sworn multiple allegiances, Marvel has a fun opportunity to tell a story of deceit and mystery with Smasher as its central focus.

2 Sandman (William Baker)

Debuted: Amazing Spider-Man #4 (1963) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

While Sandman is most often an explicit Spider-Man villain, he is probably one of Peter Parker’s most sympathetic villains and a previous member of Captain America’s United Nations-sanctioned Avengers. During this time period, Sandman took a genuine turn towards good and became a legitimate hero. Realistically, Sandman isn’t really an evil person; most of his actions seem to be motivated by dim-witted short-sightedness. But as a hero, he has a lot to offer the Avengers.

Flint Marko is an absolute powerhouse and one of Spider-Man’s most dangerous villains, even if Marvel forgets that. Sandman has long lost his original body and now lives as an immortal amorphous being whose consciousness is bound to a singular grain of sand. His powers are versatile and beyond lethal. Realistically, his only hindrance is his inability to let go of that dusty green top he’s worn for over 60 years. While he may be a current villain, every criminal deserves a chance at redemption, especially one who has already proved himself to be a hero.

1 Two-Gun Kid (Matthew Hawk)

Debuted: Two-Gun Kid #60 (1962) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Two-Gun Kid, aka Matthew Hawk, is probably this list’s most “out there” addition. Matthew, prior to his heroic escapades, was a New England lawyer who moved to Texas following the American Civil War. By a stroke of fortune, Matt was taken under the wing of a famous gunslinger and adopted the title “Two-Gun Kid” from the previous owner of the persona. Hundreds of years later, and a few quick jumps to the past, the Avengers were caught in a battle with Kang, which brought them to Two-Gun’s door in the 1870s.

Two-Gun has traveled to the present on more than a few occasions but has since returned to his home timeline to live out the rest of his days. Currently, Two-Gun’s soul has been sent to Hell for the numerous lives that have fallen by his hands, where he now spends eternity gunning down demons and the damned. Frankly, there’s nothing that sounds cooler than an old Western gunman teaming up with heroes like the Hellverine or the Ghost Rider to deliver infernal justice, and this alone makes him worthy of an Avengers comeback.