When Avengers: Endgame wrapped, Marvel fans were led to believe that the Avengers era of the MCU was officially done. As reported by Inside the Magic, Kevin Feige himself referred to Endgame as the team’s last film. During an episode of Disney+’s Marvel: Assembled, he made it very clear, saying, “Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now past their tenth anniversary, and with the release of the final Avengers movie, we’ve finally completed a 22-movie Infinity Saga.” That’s right: the release of the final Avengers movie.
Then came San Diego Comic-Con, and all that was out the window. Among Feige’s many announcements, the biggest may have been his Phase 6 reveal with two new Avengers movies, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. That means that we will no doubt get a new Avengers lineup, especially since the original Avengers lost half its members.
The most obvious choices are those that have taken up the titles from the first incarnation of Avengers. The smart money is on Captain America Sam Wilson, She-Hulk, Hawkeye Kate Bishop, and the new Black Widow, Yelena Belova. For today, it’s not about the easy choices, which also means we’re going to leave off anyone who was in Endgame’s gigantic battle scene, so no Howard the Duck in this post.
Who could lead the team into The Multiverse Saga? Here are some suggestions.
WOLVERINE
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law may have dropped a Wolverine Easter egg in the show’s second episode. There is a website headline that reads, “Man fights with metal claws in bar brawl.” While there are other Marvel characters with claws, the She-Hulk crew clearly wants us to connect the dots to Wolverine, possibly for a joke later in the season.
Whether that actually was a Logan allusion or not, I expect we’ll see Taron Egerton in full character between now and Phase 6. Don’t forget, Wolverine has dual membership in both the Avengers and the X-Men; he would be an easy fit with the team.
BLADE
In recent years, Blade was added to the Avengers, but that doesn’t mean too much. At this point, practically everyone has been an Avenger; that membership card isn’t quite the status symbol as it once was. It’s the timing of his invite that should stand out.
Again, the comics often preview things to come for the MCU. Just three years ago, he was the unlikely choice for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and he led the team in an equally unlikely war with some vampires because, well, it’s Blade. Wouldn’t you know that was the same year that Kevin Feige made the big announcement that a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali would be coming to the MCU? Put the two together, and Blade will be a prominent Avenger in Phase 6.
HERCULES
Since Marvel is carefully replacing the original Avengers, someone will need to fill in for Thor whenever Chris Hemsworth’s time in the MCU is done. That could come sooner rather than later since Infinity War and Endgame set the precedent of major character deaths. Here you have another character who can fill the godly quota for an Avengers team, plus he is historically a classic Avenger. In fact, he officially joined the team in 1967.
LOVE
At the conclusion of Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr the God Butcher traveled to Eternity to make his one wish come true. At one point did Eternity become the wishing well of the MCU? That’s nothing from the comics, and many fans found the plot thread on the sillier side, but such is Taika Waititi. As Gorr died, Thor promised to watch over the little girl, whom we discovered was the titular Love. Maybe it was a bit campy and didn’t make a lot of sense, but it was no less heartwarming.
By the film’s final scenes, we discover that Love is no ordinary kid. She shoots lasers from her eyes, and she is somehow worthy to wield Stormbreaker (either that or Waititi just wanted her to have the battle axe and tossed canon aside, which is a very Marvel Studios thing to do). In all likelihood, this isn’t Gorr’s daughter at all, but rather Eternity taking human form. At any rate, “Kid Eternity” (not to be confused with the DC character) could take her adopted father’s place as a future Avenger. Since we’re dealing with Kang and time travel, she could be aged up in-story.
THE NEW AVENGERS
Obviously, there are several other characters either in the MCU or on the way who would make for great Avengers. Since this isn’t a doctoral thesis paper, we’ll have to save the others for another day.
Want more Phase 6 spec?
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