Sweeping Strides Towards Their Next Team

 While fans are understandably hyped for the possibility of Avengers 5, the more exciting property that Marvel Studios has been building towards throughout MCU Phase 4 is actually the Young Avengers. The Young Avengers were first introduced in Marvel Comics in 2005, with a reboot in 2013 to coincide with the Marvel NOW! initiative. The original team consisted of adolescent superheroes who had links to established members of the Avengers such as Iron Lad, Wiccan, Patriot, and Hulkling.

Since then, other young heroes have been enlisted into the Young Avengers including Kate Bishop (as Hawkeye), Kid Loki, Speed, and Miss America also being involved amongst others. Throughout MCU Phase 4, the majority of these heroes have been teased or confirmed to appear in future Marvel Studios properties. In addition, with The Avengers and its three sequels being some of the biggest movies of all time, Marvel has been planting the seeds for a possible new line-up of adult Avengers following the loss of major names like Iron Man, Black Widow, and Captain America.

How MCU Phase 4 Has Setup The Young Avengers & Avengers 5

WandaVision introduced the characters of Billy and Tommy—known as Wiccan and Speed respectively—as Wanda and Vision's children. While it remains to be seen if/how the two will feature into Marvel's future plans, the seeds have been planted for two of the comics Young Avengers members. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, audiences were introduced to Isaiah Bradley and his grandson, Eli Bradley. While Eli didn't play a huge part in the Disney+ series, his future in the MCU could be much bigger given he became the Young Avenger known as Patriot in the comics. Additionally, a variant of Kid Loki appeared in Loki season 1, Kate Bishop co-starred alongside Clint Barton in Hawkeye, and America Chavez (aka Miss America) is set to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Marvel's planted seeds for Avengers 5 have not been as easily noticeable. Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye and Doctor Strange are still playing pivotal roles in MCU Phase 4, making it less necessary for the studio to make large, sweeping strides towards their next team of Avengers. Instead, more focus has been put on building up several previously overlooked heroes. WandaVision saw Wanda fully transformed into the Scarlet Witch, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier further explored Bucky while Sam took on the mantle of Captain America following Steve Roger's MCU departure. Both characters are set to feature heavily in the MCU going forward, no doubt with a potential future Avengers appearance in mind.

The foundation of Avengers 5 has also been firmed up with the introduction of new characters to the franchise. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings saw its titular hero Shang-Chi being introduced to Captain Marvel and Hulk by the end of the film. Thor: Love and Thunder, set for release in June 2022, will feature Jane Foster's brand new iteration of Thor—another potential addition to the Avengers. There's a very good chance that other future MCU Phase 4 characters could be featured in the next wave of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, such as Moon Knight, Ant-Man, Wasp, and Captain Marvel to name a few.

Young Avengers Allows For Fresher, More Unique Character Dynamics

With the Young Avengers primarily being introduced in TV format on Disney+, it is logical that Marvel will look to create a Young Avengers show to bring together all of these elements. By bringing together names like Wiccan, Speed, Eli Bradley, Kate Bishop, Kid Loki and America Chavez as the potential MCU Young Avengers lineup, Marvel will be showcasing a brand new set of characters teaming up for the first time since the original Avengers event. This allows for an entire array of exciting, first-time interactions and dynamics that the core Avengers team just can't accomplish in the same way after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Young Avengers, on the other hand, would allow for much fresher and more interesting character dynamics. Not only would characters be coming together for the first time, evoking the amazing feeling of watching the first Avengers in 2012, but all of these characters would be something entirely different to Avengers teams thus far—they'd be young. Seeing a group of teenagers, even children in Wiccan and Speed's cases, having to come together and work out how to function as a team for the first time would be enthralling. Not only would this showcase the humorous side of Marvel's formula that fans have come so accustomed to, but it could also lead to some truly great character dynamics, building relationships that could last multiple years into the future of the MCU and allowing these young characters to grow up together on screen.

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Young Avengers Can Deliver More Intimate & Personal Stakes Than Avengers 5

Leaping off of the idea of Young Avengers having more interesting character dynamics, the show could, through this, lead to more intimate and much more personal stakes than Avengers 5. All four previous Avengers movies have had universe-altering stakes, often leaving fans satisfied yet overwhelmed with the sheer size of what could have been lost. What a Young Avengers show (or movie) could bring then is much more simplified, yet emotionally satisfying stakes for the young team. If Marvel Studios chooses to leave the universal conflicts to the core Avengers team, that leaves the door open to more grounded storytelling.

It is hard to envision a team such as the Young Avengers having to face foes akin to Thanos or Ultron like the Avengers of the past. Therefore it makes much more sense to have them face off against an enemy that could be much more closely tied to their own lives, such as a variant of Kang who is linked to Young Avengers comics. Having something that specifically affects the younger generation of the MCU would not only make the team feel more isolated and therefore intimate as a group, but give them a reason to assemble.