Avengers Mansion is a fictional building appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. It has traditionally been the base of the Avengers. The enormous, city block-sized building is located at 890

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Creative origin

Avengers Mansion's address is 890 Fifth Avenue in the borough of

in New York City. According to

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

, who co-created the Avengers: Lee later recounted, "I can't tell you how many fan letters I would receive from kids saying, 'We came to New York and we were looking for the Stark mansion and couldn't find it. What address is it?' 'laughs''So that made me feel good. I felt we had accomplished our objective. We had made it seem realistic." In real life, 890 Fifth Avenue is 1 East 70th Street, the location of the Henry Clay Frick House, which houses the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...

. The Frick House also occupies the width of a full city block.

Fictional history and layout

When occupied, the mansion was originally the Stark family manor, until their only son, Tony Stark, inherited their fortune and soon took on the guise of

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

. He donated the mansion to the Avengers and had it financed through the charitable Maria Stark Foundation. It was primarily looked after by the Stark family butler, Edwin Jarvis, who not only took care of the mansion but also catered to the needs of the Avengers team. It served as a place to plan and strategize and a home for Avengers members when they needed it. It had three above-ground floors and three basement floors. The first three floors were open to the public and had twelve rooms to house Avengers who wished to reside in the mansion, as well as Jarvis's quarters. A portion of the mansion's third floor served as a hangar for the Avengers' quinjets, their primary mode of transportation. The three floors below ground were restricted from the public and had modified rooms for the Avengers' needs. Such rooms below ground were: Howard Stark's " Arsenal" chamber, the Avengers gym, Hawkeye's test-shooting room, the training room (much like the

X-Mansion X-Mansion and Xavier Institute are the common names for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier and serves as the ba ...

's Danger Room), the cryogenic storage area, a vault to contain Jack of Hearts's power, and the ultra-secure assembly room. The Fantastic Four took up temporary residence at Avengers Mansion after their headquarters (the original Baxter Building) was destroyed. The mansion has been destroyed twice. The first time was in ''Avengers: Under Siege'' when a huge grouping of Masters of Evil, led by Baron Helmut Zemo, attacked the Avengers and destroyed the Mansion and beat Hercules into a coma among other things before being repulsed. In the immediate aftermath, the Avengers would relocate to a floating platform called

Hydro-Base The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

, while the former Mansion site became known as "Avengers Park", and was unused. Hydro-Base was later destroyed as well. The Mansion would be featured in a ''Damage Control'' story. The reconstruction firm was hired to refit and rebuild the mansion, a task they accomplished easily. Unfortunately they did not manage to move it as easily and it fell into one of New York's rivers. Later, the Avengers built a new headquarters on the site of the Mansion and resided there until it was destroyed by the Gatherers, a team of alternate universe Avengers. Ute, a Watcher enslaved by the villain

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

, brought an alternate reality version of the original Avengers Mansion to the site as a dying gift. This replacement Mansion would survive various assaults until, in the "'' Avengers Disassembled''" storyline, the Scarlet Witch was responsible for its destruction by bringing an undead version of Jack of Hearts that exploded, also killing Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man, and in ''Avengers Finale'' (January 2005), Stark decided that with his dwindling assets, he could no longer afford to maintain the building and it was abandoned in its derelict state, left as a memorial to the Avengers who had died. Stark, using his considerable political and social influence, had the grounds declared a landmark by the city of New York. Since then, the Young Avengers have restored much of the statuary on the grounds of the mansion. The Avengers have relocated to Stark Tower, although it is unknown how permanent this move will be, especially in light of the events of Marvel's ''

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

'' storyline, which causes the virtual splitting of the New Avengers down the line between those who were pro- registration and those who were against it. Even after its destruction, the mansion remains a hub of superhuman activity. The Young Avengers were attacked by, and later defeated,

Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #19 (October 1963) as Rama-Tut, an ...

there. They later restored the many statues in the mansion's grounds, adopting the mansion as their meeting place. During the highest tensions of the ''Civil War'' incident, Iron Man and Captain America meet at the ruins in order to talk things out. They tour the grounds and even find abandoned framed photographs of old allies. Former Avenger Clint Barton has made his way on to the grounds several times since then, most recently following Captain America's death. He meets with Tony Stark to discuss the implications of Steve Rogers' assassination. After the Skrull invasion, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s replacement agency H.A.M.M.E.R. kept an eye on the mansion in case the Young Avengers, still wanted for refusing to be registered, showed up. The young group did anyway, using the building as a central point for many meetings. Following the Siege of Asgard and at the start of the '' Heroic Age'', Steve Rogers and Tony Stark sold the mansion to Luke Cage for a dollar allowing him freedom to recruit his own Avengers team and operate from the mansion while the other Avengers team operate from the Infinite Avengers Mansion and Avengers Tower. After an extended period, and severe damage thanks to Daniel Drumm the New Avengers dissolve, and Cage sells the mansion back to Stark for five dollars. After yet another roster reshuffling, the mansion was refitted as the headquarters for the new Avengers Unity Squad which is funded by Janet Van Dyne. A computerized A.I. system called J.A.R.V.I.S. is installed to replace Edwin Jarvis (who still lives in Avengers Tower with the main team). Following the reconstruction of the multiverse, the mansion officially became a theme hotel as the Avengers teams move on to other bases, but they were unaware that the Red Skull and Sin are hiding in a secure room under the mansion, carrying out an unspecified plan. After this, the mansion was purchased by Unity Squad member Johnny Storm with the money he had inherited from his apparently dead brother-in-law's patents, who created Avengers Mansion Inc. to run the property on behalf of the Avengers.

Surrounding grounds

The Mansion was surrounded by a wall twelve feet high and one foot thick, as well as an array of high-tech security defenses. A main feature of the defenses were large, restrictive coils. These were sometimes backed up by energy beams that shot out from the ground. Nonetheless, those defenses were often breached by the

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

s faced by the Avengers. Shortly after the Avengers moved into the Mansion, Iron Man and Thor moved the Mansion 35 feet away from the street, increasing the size of the front lawn and giving the Avengers more privacy. When Tony Stark was the United States' Secretary of Defense, the mansion's security systems were backed up by government forces. The mansion's grounds featured an array of statues of past and present Avengers, constructed out of adamantium. The statues were destroyed in a battle with the Asgardian god,

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

. One of the trees on the grounds used to hold a miniature lab belonging to

Hank Pym Dr. Henry Jonathan Pym is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, Pym debuted in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (Ja ...

. The statues return around the time the 'New Avengers' leave the mansion.

Avengers support crew

* Antony "Rider" Ovens''The Incredible Hulk'' (vol. 2) #260 - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Arnold "Arnie" Roth''The Avengers'' #300 - A publicist, deceased (cancer) * William "Bill" Foster (Giant-Man) - A biochemist and Avengers Compound contractor. He is killed by Ragnarok in ''

'' #4. * Robert "Bob" Frank Jr. (Nuklo)''The Avengers'' #311 - The Custodian and Groundskeeper of Avengers Mansion. * Buddy Sampson - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Carlos Alvarez''Avengers West Coast'' #89 - The Avengers Compound pool man, Deceased. * Charles "Charlie" Wallace - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Consuela Sanchez - The Avengers Compound housekeeper and nanny to Julia Carpenter's daughter, Rachel. * Daniella Tomaz''Avengers West Coast'' #63 - The Avengers Compound Nurse. * David Cannon - He used the identity "Charles Matthews" who was Janet van Dyne's

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

. He is later fired when his true identity is revealed. * Devi Bannerjee - The U.N. liaison to the Avengers. * Diane Arliss Newell - The Avengers Compound

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

. Wife of Walter and sister of Todd Arliss. * Donna Maria Puentes - An administrator who would later become a

receptionist A receptionist is an Employment, employee taking an office or Business administration, administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting room, waiting area such as a Lobby (room), lobby or front office desk of an organ ...

. * Duane Jerome Freeman - A federal security liaison to the Avengers. Duane is also a member of the Triune Understanding. He was killed during Kang the Conqueror's destruction of Washington. * Edwin Jarvis - Butler and

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. He was the former butler of the Stark Family. He was replaced by a Skrull during the Secret Invasion.''Secret Invasion'' #1 * Elsa Hunter - Governess to Thomas and William Maximoff. * Emerson Bale''The Avengers'' #190 - A

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. * Emma Hegyes''West Coast Avengers'' (vol. 2) #46 - The Avengers Compound Cook. * Fabian Stankowicz - Machinesmith, later known as the Mechanaut. He creates robotic Avengers after the Onslaught battle but is defeated by Jarvis. * Florence "Candy" Stephens - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Francis Barnum''The Avengers'' Annual #19 - A

construction worker A construction worker is a person employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definitions By some definitions, construction workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers ...

. * Franz Anton - A one-time biochemical consultant. * Gary Tomasi - A kitchen staff member. * Genji Odashu - A pilot and formerly the operator of the Shogun Warrior Combatra. * Gilbert Vaughn - A

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. He is currently deceased. * Major Gordon Kenneth Carlson - A one-time

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. * Grant "Specs" McIntosh - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Hector Sandrose - Avengers Compound communications chief. * Helen Bach - The nanny to Thomas and William Maximoff. * Henry Peter Gyrich -

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

liaison. He worked at Camp Hammond.''Avengers: The Initiative'' #1 *

- Avengers Compound majordomo and biochemist. * Dr. Hjarmal Knute Svenson - A one-time

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

. * Ian Burch - An accountant. * Inger Sullivan - A

. * Jack Bale - A construction foreman. * James Campbell - A European monitor station caretaker, deceased. * James Murch - A federal security liaison. * Jane Foster - A team

. * Janice Imperato''The Avengers'' #56 - Maria Stark Foundation accountant. * Jeryn Hogarth - A

. * Joachin Mendez - Avengers Compound chief groundskeeper. * John Jameson - A pilot. He was once married to Jennifer Walters * Jorge Latham - Avengers Compound mechanic. * Juan Mercado''The Avengers'' #302 - Avengers Compound communications member. * K.C. Ritter (Sam Casey)''Captain Marvel'' #51 - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Keith Kincaid - A

. He is married to Jane Foster. * Lauren Timm - Governess to William and Thomas Maximoff. * M’Daka - A mechanic. * Marilla - Nanny of Luna Maximoff. * Maxwell Caton - Maria Stark Foundation chief accountant. * Michael Costello - A

. * Michael O’Brien - A security chief. * Mikhail "Mike" Armstrong - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Paul Edmonds - A

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

. * Paul Withers - A construction manager. * Peggy Carter - A communications chief and aunt of Sharon Carter. * Percy Stevens - A

. * Ramon Trigo - Avengers Compound groundskeeper. * Raymond Sikorski - National Security Council liaison. * Roberto Carlos - Avengers Compound butler. * Roberto Gonzago - Avengers Compound

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

. * Rosalita "Lita" Torres - Avengers Compound maid. * Roy Sanford - A

. * Talia Kruma - A

. * Theodore "Ted" Sinclair - Teen Brigade member. * Timothy "Wheels" Wakelin - Member of the Teen Brigade. * Thomas "Tom" Smith - Teen Brigade member. He turned bitter and tried to kill Rick Jones. * William "Bill" Bishop''The Avengers'' #1 - Teen Brigade member. * William "Willie" Maximillian - Teen Brigade member. * Yolanda Russo - Avengers Compound groundskeeper. * Zachary Moonhunter - A pilot.

Reception

Accolades

* In 2019, '' CBR.com'' ranked the Avengers Mansion 3rd in their "10 Most Iconic Superhero Hideouts In Marvel Comics" list. * In 2020, '' CBR.com'' ranked the Avengers Mansion 1st in their "Avengers 10 Best Headquarters" list. * In 2022, '' CBR.com'' ranked the Avengers Mansion 3rd in their "9 Coolest Training Facilities In Marvel Comics" list.

Infinite Avengers Mansion

The Infinite Avengers Mansion was created by Hank Pym in the pocket dimension where Thor sent Janet Van Dyne's body at the end of Secret Invasion.''Mighty Avengers'' #27. Marvel Comics. July 2009. It was the headquarters of Hank Pym's Mighty Avengers and was home to the

Avengers Academy ''Avengers Academy'' is a Marvel Comics comic book ongoing series, series that debuted in June 2010 as part of the "Heroic Age (comics), Heroic Age", and concluded after thirty-nine issues in November 2012. The series was written by Christos Gag ...

In other media

Television

* The Avengers Mansion appears in '' The Avengers: United They Stand''. * The Avengers Mansion appears in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. * The Avengers Mansion appears in the '' Avengers Assemble'' two-part episode "The Avengers Protocol".

Video games

* The Avengers Mansion appears in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * The Avengers Mansion appears in '' Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects''. * The Avengers Mansion appears in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes''. This version is located in Washington Heights, Manhattan. * The Avengers Mansion appears in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2''.

References

{{Jack Kirby Fictional elements introduced in 1963 Avengers (comics) Fictional houses Marvel Comics locations Fictional buildings and structures originating in comic books Mansions Manhattan in fiction