The Young Avengers are a team of sidekicks young heroes in the main Marvel comics timeline who band together as part of the Avengers Fail-Safe Program. Basically, if the adult Avengers are ever out of commission, the kids are called in to save the day. A large part of phase 4 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe involved bringing several of these young heroes onto the big screen, heavily implying plans to assemble them for a team-up in phase 5.
Let’s break down every potential member of the MCU’s Young Avengers.
Young Avengers from the comics
The MCU doesn’t always remain faithful to the source material, but when it comes to the Young Avengers, many of them have been introduced to the MCU with most of their recognizable features intact.
Kate Bishop, a.k.a. Hawkeye from Hawkeye
In the comics, Kate Bishop was one of the leaders of the Young Avengers. In fact, she was first introduced in the Young Avengers series. But the MCU’s version of Kate differs from the comics version in many ways, including being an only child, her dad having died when she was young (as opposed to her mom), and her actually having been mentored by Hawkeye (presumably) before joining the Young Avengers. Still, her interactions with Yelena really make me want to see how she’ll interact with other young heroes in the MCU.
America Chavez from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
I have mixed feelings about this version of America, mostly because she felt more like a MacGuffin than her own character; she was barely recognizable as the spunky, bulletproof lesbian who generally solves things by punching star-shaped holes in them. But the movie does end with her in a slightly more confident place and I’m hopeful that Xochitl Gomez will be given room to grow the character.
Patriot from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
One character you likely forgot—or didn’t realize—is a hero in the making is Elijah Bradley, grandson of Isaiah Bradley, the Black Captain America. Briefly introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Elijah seems to be the current caretaker for his grandfather. We don’t know yet if he inherited any of his grandfather’s strength or enhanced abilities, but if he did, it makes sense that he’d try to keep it quiet given what the government did to his grandfather.
Cassie Lang from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
The daughter of Scott Lang, Cassie has been around longer than most of the other MCU Young Avengers, having been introduced all the way back in 2015’s Ant-Man. She was recast for Ant-Man and the Wasp, and again for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in which she’s played by Kathryn Newton. Quantumania goes a step further by showing Cassie getting in on the family business, both in terms of science and costumed heroics.
Kid Loki from Loki
The MCU’s Kid Loki is a variant of Loki that manages to do what almost no other Loki has done: Kill Thor. As a result, the TVA deletes him from the timeline and sends him to the Void, where he becomes the King of the Loki Variants … until his inevitable betrayal by other versions of Loki. While Classic Loki sacrifices himself to give Loki and Sylvie a chance to escape, Kid Loki is presumably trapped in the Void—though Sylvie and Loki seem to prove that escape is possible.
Tommy and Billy Maximoff from WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Tommy and Billy Maximoff are a little more complicated, both in the main MCU and in the main Marvel comics timeline. In the MCU, Wanda’s children effectively don’t exist, having been erased after their mother brought down the Westview Anomaly that created them. However, Tommy and Billy have been shown to exist in other universes (whether or not they have powers has not been confirmed). In the main Marvel comics timeline, these two were reincarnated into the mutant heroes Speed and Wiccan, who eventually join the Young Avengers. That said, we might have to wait until the X-Men are introduced to the MCU to see these two again.
Vision
Vision was also part of the Young Avengers team in the comics, which makes sense when you remember he’s only actually been alive for less than five years. White Vision is still out there somewhere and could make for a really interesting addition, being a sort of legacy hero but also … not. Obviously, it might be a little weird for Tommy and Billy to be on a superhero team with someone who looks, sounds, and acts like their dad, but that’s a bridge to cross if we come to it.
Other potential Young Avengers
All of the previously mentioned characters were members of the Young Avengers in the comics and are likely to interact in the MCU eventually. But what about some other young heroes in the making? Here are some other superheroes we’ve met who are likely to join the roster in phase 5 and beyond.
Princess Shuri from Black Panther and Wakanda Forever
During the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shuri followed in her older brother’s footsteps and became the new Black Panther. While I could see her taking her brother’s place as an Avenger, I think it would also be interesting to see her surrounded by other young heroes, many of whom are also science geniuses who have suffered great losses. Basically, I want the Young Avengers to be a support group and social club as much as it is a superhero team.
Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart made her debut in Wakanda Forever and is already confirmed to be getting her own Disney+ show. She’s another character I would love to see interact with heroes her age. I want to see her and Peter Parker geek out over Stark tech. I want her and Morgan Stark to go flying together. There are a lot of possibilities here!
Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man
Peter isn’t exactly a sidekick, given that he’s an adult living on his own without any connections or support. But he’s still very young and after Doctor Strange cast his spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter’s membership with the Avengers is in question. Besides, he lives in the same city as Kate Bishop; I know it’s a big city, but if she stays active, then the two of them crossing paths is hopefully an inevitability. I’m still confused as to why he didn’t show up at the Rockefeller Center battle in Hawkeye. That’s literally in his neighborhood!
Cooper, Lila, and Nate Barton
While Kate Bishop is the current holder of the Hawkeye name, Lila has previously shown some interest in archery (see: Avengers: Endgame) and it’s easy to imagine Lila and her brothers also getting in on the action. Maybe Nate could be mentored by Yelena and become the first boy Black Widow to honor his namesake (kidding).
Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel from Ms. Marvel
We will have to wait until November to get the answers to the cliffhanger post-credits scene in Ms. Marvel. But after that, I can see Kamala Khan meeting up with a lot of the other young heroes and getting to fangirl over being mentored by your idols.
Hulk’s son Skaar from She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Skaar was introduced in the post-credits scene of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and he’s still a bit of a mystery. Obviously, he was conceived during Hulk’s time on Sakaar, which—due to its placement outside of time and space—means he arrives on Earth as a teenager.
It’s possible that he could replace Hulkling on the roster, but given that the Skrulls and Kree will both feature in upcoming movies, there may yet be a chance.
Yelena Belova from Black Widow
Yelena is a weird case because, at 30 years old, she’s an adult by all accounts. But Florence Pugh herself is five years younger than her character and that, plus the dynamic she has with Kate Bishop, seems to indicate that the MCU is continuing the tradition of Hawkeye and Black Widow being best frenemies.
Sprite from Eternals
Technically, Sprite is older than Thor. However, she was only recently given the ability to age by her fellow Eternal Sersi, meaning she’ll still look like a young woman for a while. Given there’s no news of an Eternals sequel or much mention of the movie in general (apart from some movie posters of Kingo), it’s hard to say whether or not they’ll bring Sprite and the other Eternals back. Still, Sprite appearing in a team of Young Heroes could add some much-needed adult supervision.
Love, daughter of Gorr the God Butcher from Thor: Love and Thunder
Love was adopted by Thor after her father, Gorr the God Butcher, brought her back to life. She also seems to have been given some powers as a result of the resurrection and joins her adopted father in protecting the little guys. While I get the feeling some heroes may not feel comfortable with a young child joining them, Love has shown herself to be very proficient with Thor’s axe.
Morgan Stark from Avengers: Endgame
Obviously, five-year-old Morgan Stark is not going to be walking onto battlefields anytime soon. However, she has clearly shown an interest in the Iron Man tech. And considering how quickly time can pass in the MCU (especially through the power of recasting), it’s hard to imaging Morgan not coming back eventually. Though her scenes were cut from the movie, Katherine Langford had been cast as a teenage version of the character in Endgame. In any case, I could see her becoming an Iron Lady in 10 years or so.
Prince T’Challa from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Another very young child of an Avenger, Toussaint, a.k.a. Prince T’Challa the Second, may eventually follow in his father’s and/or mother’s footsteps—though hopefully not for a very long time.
(featured image: Marvel Comics)
