The Young Avengers: The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which now includes the Disney+ series, is constantly expanding. Future projects are announced every year, and rumors regularly fill the net about the next character to be adapted. That’s why we will present each month a movie, a series, or a character that will be or could be part of the MCU. Today, we are interested in those who will make the future of Marvel, the heroes, and heroines of tomorrow. These are, of course, the young Avengers.
Rumors about the cinematic appearance of this team of young superheroes are not new, and come up regularly when it comes to imagining the future of the MCU and the next phases that constitute it. So why is it worth looking into now? Simply because more and more young heroes and potential candidates for the team are introduced or will be introduced very soon in different films and series. While some have only had a brief appearance and are still far from a superheroic career, others have already cut their teeth and assumed their status and responsibilities. But before we take a look at the forces involved, let’s go back to the team itself: who are these young Avengers and what do they represent?
The latter appeared in 2005 in the comics under the pen of Allan Heinberg (and the pencil of the excellent Jim Cheung), while the Avengers have just separated following the extremely serious incident involving theRed Witch and costing the lives of three of them (Avengers: the separationbyMichael M. Bendis ). Touched by the dissolution of their idols, four young people with superpowers form a team in order to fill the void left by the greatest heroes of the Earth. If they will first try to imitate the identities and powers of their predecessors, the teenagers will quickly adopt their own personalities: Patriot, Wiccan, Hulkling, and Iron Landform the very first Young Avengers. They will soon be joined byHawkeye (Kate Bishop) who will take the leadership of the team, and by Stature, the daughter of Scott Lang (Ant-Man). Subsequently, tragic events (which we will return to later) pushIron Ladto to leave the team, replaced by a new and “younger” version of the Vision. It is finally the aptly named Speed who will complete this training, whose adventures will lead them to Latveria.
The team will continue to evolve over time, based on individual decisions and the careers of each member. Some will leave, and new heroes will be part of it: we can mention Miss America, Marvel Boy, or Prodigy.
Now let’s get to the heart of the matter: who could be the members of the MCU team? Let’s take a look at the possibilities, from the most likely (already known and established characters) to the most hypothetical.
Safe bets
Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)
Recently introduced in the Hawkeye series, the archer played by Hailee Steinfeld has proven herself alongside her mentor client Barton, and there is no doubt that a career as a heroine is waiting for her. Determined, full of aplomb, and older than the other members of this list, she could as in the comics represent the leader on and off the field. While its paper version took up the torch of a tragically missing Hawkeye, with the blessing of none other than Captain America himself, Kate will have to succeed Clintwho seems to be heading for a well-deserved retirement.
Stature
In the pages of the comic, Cassie Lang develops powers of size change following exposure to Pym particles since childhood. Indeed, his father is none other than Scott Lang, the superhero Ant-Man who has used these particles all his career. Like Hawkeye, Scott is an unfortunate victim of the events leading up to the breakup of the Avengers, and Cassie will join the young team in hopes of honoring him. She will then take the name of stature. If so far in the Ant-Man films, Cassie has only appeared as a little girl, 5 years have passed after the snap of Thanos’s finger, and it is indeed a teenager that we will find during Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The girl played by Kathryn Newtonshould then put on her outfit adapted to Pym particles, as shown in the trailer of the film. There is no doubt that his story will only begin, and we wish him a happier destiny than his literary alter ego…
Ms. Marvel
A recent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kamala Khan was treated to her own series as an introduction. Played byIman Vellani, the girl is now an assumed superheroine, despite an obvious lack of experience. Able to generate forms of energy, it can modulate its creations in order to expand its range or to move it on platforms. Powers that could well be linked to a mutant gene… Origins are very different from those described in the comics: Kamala is inhuman, a separate species that should not be present in the MCU, and her powers consist of a polymorphism allowing her to stretch or enlarge her body at will. Note that if the teenager was part of another “teen” team, the Champions, she was never a member of the Young Avengers in the comics. However, we cannot imagine that she would be sidelined if the group was formed in the cinema. We will find it in any case in The Marvelsin 2023.
Miss America
America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) also appeared in Phase 4, playing a pivotal role during Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Coming from another dimension, she has the amazing ability to travel between parallel universes. Staying with the Masters of the Mystical Arts to learn how to control her immense power, America probably won’t return to the big screen right away. On the other hand, she is an obvious candidate to join the possible team of young Avengers, of which she was an important member in the pages of the paper series.
Time will tell
Ironheart
Introduced very soon during the expected Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri Williams (played by Dominique Thorne) will even be entitled to his ownIronheartseries in 2023. This aspiring engineer, inspired byTony Stark, will make her own battle armor based on the Mark 41 model of Iron Man. Designated heir to the Avenger, she will be like Mrs. Marvel member of the Champions team. If we will wait (longer) to see her on-screen to judge her status within the MCU, we can not ignore her when thinking about casting for the Young Avengers, whose formation was based on the succession of their glorious idols.
Patriot
Elijah Bradley is the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, known asCaptain America Black, who was among the American soldiers on whom the super-soldier serum had been experimentally tested, at the expense of their health and even their lives. If Eli is a fan of Steve Rogers, it is primarily in tribute to his grandfather that he wears a starry suit and the name of Patriot. He is one of the founders of the Young Avengers, whose leadership he will fight with Kate Bishop. If you’ve seenFalcon and the Winter Soldier, the story of Isaiah Bradley should not be unknown to you. Sam Wilson met him during the series, and with him his grandson! Indeed, Eli has already appeared in the MCU, in the guise of Elijah Richardson. Although we have seen very little, the young man seems attached to the pride that represents his grandfather, and no doubt we will have the opportunity to see him again, why not dressed in a blue and red suit?
Wiccan / Speed
This is a more complex case. In the comics, Wiccanis one of the founding members of the Young Avengers, and he will meet another young man endowed with superpowers that looks suspiciously like him: Speed. He will join the team, and both will soon discover the truth about their origins: they are actually the twin children of Wanda Maximoff, theRed Witch who devastated the Avengers and mutants in her madness. The latter had created her sons from scratch, from lost souls. When his children disappeared, their souls found their way into the bodies of Billy KaplanandTommy Sheperd. Billy inherited his mother’s powers as a wizard, and Tommy inherited super-speed powers from his uncleQuicksilver, Wanda’s brother (for more understanding, read The Children’s Crusade, 2010).
A lot of this story sounds familiar, right? InWandavision, Wanda, greatly affected by the loss of Vision, creates an alternate reality within a small town in which she lives peacefully alongside her husband… and twins Billy and Tommy. As she loses this false reality, the Witch, corrupted by the Darkhold, goes in search of her children through the multiverse (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). If she will not reach the end of her crazy quest, the question arises: have the souls of the twins really disappeared? Or will we soon discover two new teenagers with formidable powers? Be continued…
What if…
Hulkling
One of the very first Young Avengers, alongside his Wiccan boyfriend (now husband), Teddy Altman is a shapeshifter capable of shaping his body and therefore his appearance at will. He will soon discover that these powers come from his hereditary connection with the Skrulls, shapeshifting aliens like him. Teddy, whose real name is Dorrek VIII, is indeed the result of an unlikely union: that of the superhero KreeMar-Vell, and a Skrull princess named Annelle. Since the two peoples have been at war for almost always, the child was sent to Earth to protect him, this birth being frowned upon on both sides. Teddy’s legacy was at the heart of the great Empyre event (2021). No mention of the young hero has yet been made in the MCU, but his connection to Wiccan and his important status within the Young Avengers lend credence to a possible introduction later, for example during the Secret Invasion series which will largely focus on the Skrulls.
Iron Lad
Finally, let’s finish in style with Iron Lad, also a founding member of the Young Avengers, but also the first to leave the team. Initially presenting himself as a young fan of Iron Man, he quickly confesses to Captain America his true identity: it isKang, the great enemy of the Avengers, and a time traveler. He actually comes from the XXIII century and is destined to become the terrible king the Conqueror. His presence in our time disturbs the flow of time, he must finally leave in order to fulfill his sad destiny. With the imminent arrival of Kang the Conqueror in the MCU (introduced inLokivia one of its variants, he will be the main antagonist of the movieAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), we can wonder if the story of this young Kang will be adapted, and linked to possible Young Avengers. The title of the next movie Avengers (The Kang Dynasty) suggests that there will be several versions of the supervillain, and it is not crazy to imagine that Iron Lad could be included.
To conclude: the Young Avengers, when and why?
Despite the multiple introductions of young superheroes and heroines during phase 4, a project about a team bringing them together is not to be expected anytime soon. If the schedule of phase 5 of the MCU has already been revealed, we can still hope for some surprises, but it is more likely that we will have to wait at least until phase 6. For this one, only the two Avengers films and the feature film on the Fantastic 4 have been announced. But the hope that this project will be born by then exists, for various reasons. First of all, the number of heroes likely to integrate the young Avengers introduced during phase 4 calls out and suggests a longer-term plan. We can mention Kate Bishop, America Chavez, and Ms. Marvel, and this without counting the change of status of Cassie Lang and the arrival of Ironheartto come.
In addition, the void left by the absence of Avengers is set to be filled, and it is quite possible that just like the thunderbolts, young fans of the illustrious members of the team will try to take up the torch. Indeed, the will of the heroism of these characters often results from an aspiration to become like their idols. Kate Bishop (a big fan of Hawkeye), Kamala Khan (Captain Marvel), or even Elijah Bradley (Captain America) or maybe Riri Williams (Iron Man) obey this pattern. In any case, it would be wise to set up this project in the coming years, the latter allowing the exploitation of many story arcs started or to come, from Wandavision to the advent of Kang, and also to offer the new post-Endgame audience a young team breathing a new dynamic. Hoping however that the lightness of tone that could be proposed does not go hand in hand with that of the writing or the stakes (hello Ms. Marvel).
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