YOUNG MASTERS | Mighty Avengers

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15th May 2018

Begun with the best of intentions (mostly), the Young Masters started as a team of young vigilantes trying to decide what it meant to be a hero during Norman Osborn's Dark Reign. Initially calling themselves Young Avengers, they ran afoul of the original team by that name and Osborn himself. Eventually becoming corrupted and embracing their worst instincts, these heroes in the making became the Young Masters, dedicating to defining "justice" as they saw fit.

Membership: Melter, Coat of Arms, Executioner, Enchantress, Big Zero, Egghead, Mako, Radioactive Kid, Black Knight

First appearance: Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1

Before

Zelda DuBois, Princess Python, was a renowned member of the Circus of Crime with several husbands in the criminal community, including Stilt-Man and the Gibbon. The identity of her son Daniel's father is unknown.
After the last Ragnarok, Thor was reborn on Earth and recreated the City of Asgard in the plains outside of Broxton, Oklahoma. The Asgardians had numerous interactions with their neighboring city.
Christopher Colchiss was a mutant, one of the few remaining on Earth after the Decimation. His age and low profile prior to the Masters apparently kept him off the radar of both the X-Men and the O*N*E.

Chronology

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1-5:	The juvenile delinquent and artist known as Coat of Arms wanted to create a live art experiment about what it meant to be a hero. She worked with the uncertain but good-intentioned mutant Melter to create a team of Young Avengers separate from the original franchise. When the other Young Avengers came to investigate the kids stealing their name, friction arose between the groups as the Young Avengers insisted Melter's group "prove" they "deserved" the name Avengers. In the end, Melter reached out to the Iron Patriot and his Dark Avengers for help, intent on proving they were not the Young Avengers sidekicks or students, but their "Masters."
Age of Heroes #2:	The Young Masters remained together in hiding even after Norman Osborn was deposed and Captain America reinstated the real Avengers.
Vengeance #1-6:	After several members departed, Executioner tried to keep the Young Masters together with Egghead and new recruits Mako, Black Knight and Radioactive Kid. The Executioner wished to prove his Young Masters were better than the "old guard" of super-villains by executing their predecessors. With intel provided by the criminal Zodiac, they hunted down Bullseye, Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six, and even Doctor Doom. Their reach far exceeded their grasp, however -- Mako was decapitated by Lady Bullseye, Black Knight abandoned the cause, and the rest were captured in Latveria during their siege on Castle Doom. Only Egghead remained to report back to Zodiac.

Afterwards

The new Melter fully embraced his villainous heritage, joining a cadre of Iron Man foes as the latest minions of the Mandarin. His natural melting powers were enhanced by repulsor arc generators, reverse-engineered by Ezekiel Stane. [Invincible Iron Man (1st series) #513]
Enchantress, Big Zero, and Coat of Arms joined Jeremy Briggs on his venture to remove all the powers from Earth's superhumans, but were defeated by the Avengers Academy students. [Avengers Academy #34]
The Young Masters, past and present, would later reunite as part of the larger Masters of Evil VIII organization in Bagalia. They worked under Baron Zemo and the direct supervision of Constrictor in his teen villain training facility, the Snake Pit. [Avengers Undercover #2]
Mako reappeared with the team, despite being decapitated when last seen. It is unclear whether he recovered from having his head cut off or this was a new Mako that was either bioengineeered or located and recruited by the team. [Avengers Undercover #2]