WASP

In Avengers Vol. 1 #217 (1982), Janet van Dyne returned to the Avengers after time away, called a meeting with Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, and told the three most senior heroes in the building that the team needed new leadership. Then she nominated the candidate she trusted for the post: herself. The vote that followed was unanimous, and the Wasp became chairperson of the Avengers.

The timing gives the scene its weight. Janet came back to the mansion newly divorced from Hank Pym, in the aftermath of his breakdown and court-martial, carrying a changed outlook rather than a grievance. Her very first test in the chair arrived in that same issue, when Hank, wearing the Yellowjacket costume, was blackmailed into turning villain — and it was Janet who defeated him and handed him over to the authorities.

Her tenure then rewrote the roster as well as the record books. Janet made a point of widening the team, recruiting She-Hulk and Monica Rambeau, the new Captain Marvel, and she earned open praise from Captain America for how she ran the chair. Reference histories rank her among the longest-serving leaders the Avengers have ever had — second only to Captain America himself in time spent leading the team she had once merely named.