Marvel Comics has housed countless teams of heroes and villains alike, contributing to the depths of their vast universes across multimedia platforms. Cinematically, Marvel Studios has thrilled fans by bringing their favorites to life. Through live-action adaptation, the studio has successfully combined the heightened and fantastical worlds of comic book superheros with more humanized points of view. Indeed, the MCU franchise has solidified its reputation as an unstoppable force in the industry — one need only look at Spider-Man: No Way Home overtaking Avatar at the domestic box office to see that.
What the MCU has ultimately accomplished is a bringing-together of seeming disparate franchises. In the Infinity Saga, the studio released individual Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor films before uniting them all in The Avengers. Now, several phases and dozens of films later, the MCU is continuing its trend of introducing individual superheroes with the intention of, one day, uniting them. In fact, considering Phase 4’s titles, audiences have been eyeing the arrival of groups like the Young Avengers and West Coast Avengers. What’s more, in early 2021, Kevin Feige offered insight on the Young Avengers, all but confirming the formation of the group. That said, new characters and theorized plot lines have opened up increased fan-discussion around the possibility that the Young Avengers be formally introduced soon. Based on what — and who — has been released since Avengers: Endgame, it’s hard to deny that the MCU appears to be assembling the Young Avengers. Here’s how.
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Who Are the Young Avengers?
Marvel Comics
The Young Avengers were a product of the 2004-2005 Avengers Disassembled comic book run that recreated a team that inspired a reformed Avengers team based on Vision’s plan to rekindle the team’s legacy. The team was recruited after the originals had long disbanded. The Young Avengers were first introduced in the comics by creators Jim Cheung and Allen Heinberg, and made appearances in major comic events such as Secret Invasion, Children’s Crusade, and Civil War. Following their initial introduction into the extended Marvel Comics universe, members of the Young Avengers were given solo stories and spin-off print series to explore their own challenges and identities. The initial team remained fairly consistent and added new members as their lore expanded.
The team of teens features a diverse collection of members throughout the comics and other Marvel-based content. Nathaniel Richards of Earth-616 adopted the identity of Iron Lad after rejecting Kang the Conquerer’s alliance. He was repulsed by the horrors he had seen through Kang’s actions and declined the potential future of their partnership together. Elijah Bradley, the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, donned the alter-ego of Patriot after receiving a blood transfusion from his super-soldier grandfather. William “Billy” Kaplan, otherwise known as Wiccan, and his twin brother Tommy, join the ranks of the team as Speed. The daughter of Avenger Scott “Ant-Man” Lang, Cassie, follows in her father’s footsteps and finds herself as a member of the Young Avengers. Hulkling, or Teddy Altman, was an additional recruit made by Richards as he was determined to seek out members for his burgeoning supplemental team of superheroes. Kate Bishop’s inclusion stemmed from a similar perspective shared by Lang, and she served as a protégé to Clint “Hawkeye” Barton before claiming the alias as her own.
Will the Young Avengers Be in the MCU?
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios is keen on keeping a window of opportunity open as they have begun to stray away from the more “popular” characters and have welcomed exposition about their lesser-known heroes. A new wave of feature films and television series have permitted the studio to use their properties to move beyond the basics of Iron Man, Captain America, and additional characters with immense popularity. While there is intent to honor the legacy of the Avengers that were rewarded with slew of media revolving around them, it has been acknowledged that there is a need for originality within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Young Avengers are the ideal expansion of the Marvel Comics into their growing live-action counterparts.
Right now, there have only been rumors that the Young Avengers have made their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The fan base has notoriously allowed their anticipation to cloud their expectations, meaning that mistruths and speculations are interpreted as legitimate “studio leaks.” The power of the internet gives anyone the potential to throw any theory or idea around, resulting in greater conversations that concern a fandom as a whole. Contrary to the excitement around the members of the Young Avengers making their cinematic debut, history weaves a cautionary tale of headstrong and disproved anticipation — remember when the internet was determined Mephisto would be in WandaVision? Over-analytical fans have confidently stated their predictions online, and have consequentially been proven wrong or, worse, disappointed.
Who Could Be Part of the Young Avengers
Kate Bishop in Hawkeye and Elijah Bradley in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier officially made their (nearly comic-accurate) live-action debuts last year. Additionally, Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd were introduced in WandaVision — and, as the post-credits scene suggests, they’re still alive — and Kid Loki had a small role in Loki. What’s more, coming up are Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While these heroes make up the core, canonical Young Avengers, a string of projects like Ironheart and Ms. Marvel will star younger heroes — Riri Williams and Kamala Khan, respectively — who could all potentially be part of the group. Riri will reportedly play a role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Kamala is expected to show up in the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels. It’s also worth mentioning that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova could functionally serve as interesting members of the Young Avengers as well. Whatever the case, aside from two key members of the comics’ Young Avengers, it appears that the team is slowly yet surely piecing itself together, meaning that they could find themselves sitting at the heart of Marvel’s future.
