Rick Jones is also responsible for the creation of the Avengers. When the evil Loki was controlling the Hulk, he called on Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp for assistance. Later on, the Avengers found Captain America, who had been frozen since World War II. Captain America then became closely related to the Avengers and, for a while, Rick Jones was his sidekick.

After they broke up, Rick Jones found himself drawn to a pair of Nega-Bands. When he placed the gold, cosmic bands on and slammed them together, his atoms were switched with those of Captain Mar-Vell, who was trapped in the Negative Zone.  (See history of Captain Mar-Vell)

The two soon found themselves involved in the Kree-Skrull War, which was later put to an end, when the Kree Supreme Intelligence unlocked psionic potential of Rick’s mind, called the Destiny Force.

Later on, Captain Mar-Vell died from cancer, from being exposed to a deadly nerve gas. Rick then went back to his association with the Hulk, where he met Marlo Jones. They had a good relationship, until a woman claiming to be Rick’s mother, who wasn’t really, killed Marlo. Rick was driven into a depression and sought the help of anyone who could help. The Leader, a villain of the Hulk’s, offered to revive her, but was only able to bring her into a deep coma state, before being stopped by a mad Hulk.

She eventually awoke and the two were married. They late started their own talk show called, "Keeping up with the Jones." Later, Hulk, absent of Bruce Banner due to the Onslaught incident, threw Rick Jones against a wall, paralyzing him. The incident, along with the death of Betty Banner, caused Rick to feel sorry for himself and isolate himself from his wife.

Rick’s Destiny Force powers then resurfaced, causing the Time Keepers to want Rick dead, so that they can wipe out humanity and prevent them from taking over other civilizations. Rick Jones calls seven Avengers from different times to his aid, one of which is a future Captain Marvel, who becomes an Avenger in the future. By the end of the war, they learn that the future Captain Marvel is actually Genis and Rick Jones combined. When Rick Jones becomes injured during battle, Captain Marvel merges with the present day Rick Jones.

When Rick Jones returns to the present reality, he finds Nega-Bands on his wrists. When he snaps them together, his atoms are replaced by the present day Genis, not the future one because of a temporal-flux. The bonding with Rick, causes Genis’s costume and body to change into how Captain Marvel in the future looks. Captain Marvel also has the new ability of cosmic awareness.