Origin

Five former recruits from the 50-State Initiative decide to stick together after the program folds, believing they could do better without government supervision.

Creation

The Paladins debut in Captain America/Iron Man #2 by Derek Landry and Angel Unzueta

Roster

Vox: Former team leader of The Action Pack, the Kentucky team

Prima Donna: Member of The Action Pack, the Kentucky team

Think Tank: Member of Freedom Force, the Montana team

Pioneer: Member of The Harvesters, the Kansas team

Fifty-One: Member of The Rangers, the Texas team.

Major Story Arcs

The Overseer

The Paladins were desperate to make a name for themselves, so they worked with Veronica Eden, who dreamed of leading Hydra, to fake superhero battles. When Eden was arrested, The Paladins decided to activate The Overseer from Eden's storage to replace her but were easily overwhelmed. Fifty-One was the only one regretting abandoning Overseer to its own devices. He wanted to warn someone, but Paladin member, Think Tank, psychically controlled him. To protect themselves, The Paladins turned Fifty-One into the villain they could publicly fight.

When Fifty-One broke free of the telepathic control, he broke Eden out of prison, getting the attention of Iron Man and Captain America. They believed the story The Paladins told about Fifty-One going rogue, so they returned Fifty-One to their custody after catching him. The Paladins almost killed him when Cap and Stark learned the truth and came to Fifty-One's rescue.