Avengers assemble (to sue the Enquirer): At Silver Bullet Comic Books, Chuck Austen reveals what The Avengers might have become had he continued as writer:

"... [T]hese are Marvel’s 'A' list characters. They’re the heroes everyone knows and they have a ton of respect and goodwill in the world for all they’ve done. X-Statix is all new people, and it’s a mostly satirical look at various elements of stardom. Avengers was intended to be played straight — as if this were the real world and really happening. Paparazzi, internet rumors, Enquirer stories, rumor rags, Superheroes Tonight! Photos ending up in public of embarrassing moments, secret identities exposed. You could see some of that coming in the conversation between Martin, the little boy, and Hawkeye, when Martin knows Hawkeye was Goliath. But it never came to be, so it’s all a moot point, now."