Steve Rogers/Captain America
Captain Steven "Steve" Grant Rogers is a Super Soldier World War II veteran and was the world's first superhero. After a top secret Super-Soldier program transformed the frail Steve Rogers into the powerful and heroic Captain America, his amazing World War II exploits made him a living legend. Rogers attacked multiple HYDRA quarters with his Howling Commandos, to the dismay of the Red Skull. Rogers helped the Allies win the war, but crashed into the Arctic during his final mission. Awakening in the modern day, Rogers learned that he had spent 67 years trapped in the glacial ice.
Steve Rogers found himself alone in a modern world that he hardly recognized. When Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., called on Rogers to help save the world again, he quickly suited up as Captain America, taking his iconic shield and bringing his strength, leadership, and no-nonsense attitude to the Avengers in the Chitauri Invasion.
After fighting alongside the Avengers, Rogers became a dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and completed many operations with fellow agent Black Widow, who was also a member of the Avengers. Along with Maria Hill and Falcon, they destroyed Project Insight, where he learned that his best friend Bucky has been transformed into a superhuman enhanced assassin working under HYDRA. After the HYDRA Uprising, Rogers reassembled with the Avengers, working to bring down what was left of HYDRA, and made use of his leadership skills once again in the battle against the psychotic artificial intelligence, Ultron. Unlike most members of the original Avengers, Rogers remained as a member and the leader of the second incarnation of the team after the Ultron Offensive.
After another incident which resulted in massive casualties and collateral damange, Captain America was ordered by Thaddeus Ross to sign the Sokovia Accords which would force the Avengers to have to operate under the rule of a governing body. when collateral damage sparks governmental oversight, Steve, in a surprising about-face, rejects the regulation — in opposition to Tony Stark’s compliance. Tensions are made worse when it is revealed that Steve is running another agenda that threatens all of them by stepping out of the bounds of the law: saving and defending his best friend Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. This action began the Avengers Civil War in which Rogers and a small team fought against Iron Man's team, based on their differing opinions toward the Sokovia Accords.
Sam Wilson/Falcon
Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson, better known as Falcon, is a former United States Air Force paratrooper who became an ally of Captain America during the HYDRA Uprising and assisted him during his search for Bucky Barnes. After the Ultron Offensive, Wilson became a member of the second incarnation of the Avengers, and he is fiercely loyal to Captain America and the team. Opposing the government and Tony Stark at the same time poses no problem for the winged Avenger, who sets out to recruit Ant-Man as an added bonus for Team Cap.
Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, better known as Bucky Barnes, was a soldier of the 107th Infantry Regiment and the childhood friend of Steve Rogers. During World War II, he became a member of the Howling Commandos, and they attacked many HYDRA bases together. During a battle on a HYDRA train, Bucky was attacked and fell off the train.
Bucky was then assumed to be KIA (Killed In Action), but he actually survived the fall, though he lost his left arm. Brainwashed and armed with a new cybernetic limb, he eventually became an enhanced HYDRA operative known as the Winter Soldier. Over the next decades, he would assassinate everyone who posed a threat to HYDRA, including his former ally Howard Stark, spending time between missions in a cryogenic state. However, when he was ordered by Alexander Pierce to assassinate S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, he was confronted by his old friend, Steve Rogers, which caused him to begin remembering who he really was.
In the aftermath of the Battle at the Triskelion, the Winter Soldier went on the run from HYDRA on a mission to remember his past and end his violent history. He soon reappeared, this time with more memories of the past solidifying and hopefully counteracting his dangerous programming and unstoppable nature. However during this time he was accused of assassinating the King of Wakanda, causing the Black Panther to hunt him down. Barnes was saved by Captain America, and joins forces with his best friend and new allies in their Civil War against Iron Man's faction, for his own redemption and to reclaim his original identity.
Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Clinton "Clint" Francis Barton, better known as Hawkeye, is a former special agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who possesses excellent marksmanship with his recurve bow. Assigned by Nick Fury to watch over the Tesseract, he was brainwashed by Loki during the destruction of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. However, after the Attack on the Helicarrier, he was freed from Loki's mental control by Black Widow and joined the Avengers to fight against Loki's alien army in the Battle of New York, ending the Chitauri Invasion.
He then continued to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. until its collapse, after which he and the Avengers worked to bring down the remnants of the terrorist group HYDRA and the psychotic artificial intelligence, Ultron. After the Ultron Offensive, Barton chose to leave the Avengers to spend time with his wife and children; he named his newborn son Nathaniel Pietro Barton, with the second name deriving from the Avenger who sacrificed himself to save him. However, he was soon drawn out of retirement to stand beside Captain America in his fight against the Sokovia Accords. Hawkeye brings his superior archery skills along with some new weapons to the fight. A military man through and through, Hawkeye does not have any use for politics. He is there for Cap at any cost — against anyone, even his closest friends.
Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff is a native of the Eastern European country of Sokovia who grew with her twin brother, Pietro. When she and Pietro were only ten years old, their parents were killed when a mortar shell hit their apartment, and a second shell which trapped them for 2 days revealed the manufacturer's name of Stark Industries. This horrifically traumatic experience gave the twins a great hatred for America, especially Tony Stark and the Avengers. In an effort to help purge their country of strife, the twins agreed to undergo experiments with the Scepter under the supervision of Wolfgang von Strucker's HYDRA cell, and achieved superpowers as a result, with Wanda attaining various telekinetic, telepathic and energy manipulating abilities. When HYDRA fell, the twins joined the robot Ultron to get their revenge on Tony Stark, but eventually switched sides and joined the Avengers when they discovered Ultron's true intentions. Although Pietro was killed during the ensuing Ultron Offensive, Wanda survived and became a member of the new Avengers, bringing a new dimension with her powers of mental manipulation and telekinesis. Just as Wanda begins to feel like she is no longer an outsider, she is unwillingly at the center of the controversy over government regulation of the Avengers. Following Hawkeye, the one Avenger that she knows will always have her back, Wanda joins Cap’s team.
Scott Lang/Paul Rudd
Scott Edward Harris Lang is a former professional criminal who was convinced by Hank Pym to take on the mantle of the Ant-Man. He fought against Pym's former protégé, Darren Cross, who had gone insane while trying to recreate the Pym Particles, leading to Lang defending his friends, family and the world as the Ant-Man.
When the Avengers separated into two separate factions over the Sokovia Accords, he was recruited to Captain America's side by Hawkeye, under Sam Wilson's recommendation. His ability to diminish in size can wreak havoc against the most powerful opponent, even if he is someone star-struck in Captain America’s presence. Though given a chance to back out as the faction would be working outside of the law, Lang scoffed at the warning; being a wanted man wasn't exactly a new experience.
