Best Coast Avengers

Best Coast Avengers This page is a place to share the story of the West Coast Avengers.

07/14/2026

Avengers Annual 2000
Focuses on the aftermath of the Thunderbolts annual and providing a teaser for a Hellcat mini series to come.
Not much here for WCA fans unless you are one of the ones who wish Englehart had been given the chance to make Hellcat a WACO for real, rather than handing things over to Byrne for his Scarlet Witch/Vision deconstruction.
Since I am one of those, this hit me as a fun, if very light, adventure to return Patsy Walker to the Marvel Comics world.

A quick hit during the 2000 Annual gives us a sense of how Moonstone is thinking of herself at this point. Thunderbolts ...
07/14/2026

A quick hit during the 2000 Annual gives us a sense of how Moonstone is thinking of herself at this point. Thunderbolts always has multiple personas at play for each character and Moonstone is one of the more fascinating.
She is, to my eyes, Marvel's commentary on what a mix of Harley Quinn and Phoenix would produce with more than a little Emma Frost tossed in for flavor. Given those contributing elements, it's no wonder she was a major draw for the book.

But then why has she almost completely vanished in the 2020s? Like Moondragon in the 70s and Tigra in the 90s, Moonstone seems to have a lot of story to tell but a really hard time finding authors that want to tell it.

07/12/2026

Thunderbolts Annual 2000 ( #1)
Brings us a proper 2-part Avengers summer annual crossover, just like the good old days.
To rescue an Avenger from Hell! But not the one you hoped for.
Instead of retrieving Mockingbird, our heroes rescue Hellcat...with the help of Mockingbird.
A solid outing and story which lets us know that Bobbi Morse is still active as a soul, that souls can be rescued and returned to life, and that Hawkeye hasn't forgotten any of it.
Once the Thunderbolts finish the romance between Hawkeye and Moonstone, I'm sure Marvel will give us a mini series to have him rescue her from Hell, right? Right?
(Yes, I know the company went a different way to bring her back but the 'good soul wrongfully trapped in Hell' has such a mythic quality, you can't blame me for wishing it happened. Especially with Hellstorm, Hellcat, Daredevil, and the Black Widow along to help Hawkeye. Hmmm...
The things Steve Englehart likely would have done if given another chance.)

07/10/2026

Thunderbolts #37
The trans racial workings of the villain turned hero Techno/the Fixer on Mach 1/The Beatle now Mach 2.
A story that could only happen in the 90s.

07/03/2026

Thunderbolts #35-36
The team versus the new Beetle.
And the death of Jolt, Gayle Rogers, and Bobbie Hagerty, all at the hand of Scourge.

06/30/2026

Thunderbolts #34
A one issue battle with the Hulk that delivers quality action and a decent bit of tension as Hawkeye decides, in the end, to let the Hulk escape apprehension even though it hurts the team's reputation for winning the fights they choose.

A fun issue for sure and worth the read, even if you don't want to pick up the whole run.

One of the best plots of the 90s was a consequence of one of the worst plots of the 90s. The Onslaught event wrecked Mar...
06/30/2026

One of the best plots of the 90s was a consequence of one of the worst plots of the 90s.

The Onslaught event wrecked Marvel's 616 universe into two different realities--one was all XMen and Spider Man all the time, the other was the rest of the game but as extreme as the most edgy 90s artists could achieve.

It didn't go well.

But it did give Baron Zemo the idea of creating the Thunderbolts, a new team of heroes made up of villains pretending to be heroes in a world without the Fantastic Four or the Avengers.

And it worked!
At least it did until the Heroes Returned and Jolt found out about Zemo's scheme.

It all came to a head in Thunderbolts #11 and #12 when the Thunderbolts took their first step towards becoming West Coast Avengers (in reality, I know they never took on the name).

They partnered with Iron Man first (as all good WACOs do) and then Hawkeye helped give them an endorsement before teamwork (Mach 1 and Meteorite especially) got the job done.

In 1998, we finally got a new band started, all thanks to the mess Marvel made after Onslaught.

Without that, the Force Works miss might have kept Marvel East of the Mississippi for many more years!

The two best Avengers couples. Both became West Coast Avengers. Both were wrecked by authors determined to leave no happ...
06/20/2026

The two best Avengers couples.
Both became West Coast Avengers.
Both were wrecked by authors determined to leave no happiness for our heroes.
Both drawn back together eventually because they are the two best Avengers couples.

06/18/2026

Thunderbolts #33
Brings an end to the time of Kurt Busiek as writer and such a shame that is. It's to Busiek that we owe this West Coast Avengers rejuvenation, already lasting longer than Force Works and already making use of Marvel's long history as well as Englehart did for our original WACOs.

This issue reveals the Ogre as the helper in the mountain and a new villain wearing a Beetle armor for the team to battle.

It also revealed that Jolt lost her family and friends on her 15th birthday when the Sentinels destroyed NYC for Onslaught.

06/18/2026

Thunderbolts #32
puts paid to the Secret Empire's Cornwallis Base in Colorado but sees them escape to Burgoyne Base. Baron Zemo has been funding them (how he has enough $ to set up the Thunderbolts, the Masters of Evil, AND the Secret Empire with multiple bases is anyone's guess) and has only a LITTLE more patience for failure.
US Agent shows up to assist the main WACO team thanks to a phone call from Citizen V; it's always nice to see WACO alumni back, even if it makes no sense that US Agent would abandon his Stark-tech equipment as the leader of the high tech Jury (other than his 'Captain' costume being his most recognized look).
The Thunderbolts also move one step closer to discovering who has been upgrading their gear.

All in all, a solid outing with a great cover.

Address

1800 Palos Verdes Drive
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
90275

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Best Coast Avengers posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category