I expect the 67 characters in AVENGERS: INFINTY WAR parts 1&2 will (...along with a whole heap of villains both old and new...), include most, if not all, of the following ...
AVENGERS: Nick Fury, Maria Hill, HAWKEYE, BLACK WIDOW, AGENT 13, CAPTAIN AMERICA,, FALCON, WINTER SOLDIER, IRON MAN, WAR MACHINE, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, THOR, Eric Selvig, Jane Foster, HULK, Helen Cho, SCARLET WITCH, VISON, ANT-MAN, WASP, Hank Pym, BLACK PANTHER, and maybe Carol Danvers?
ASGARDIANS: SIF, HEIMDALL, FANDRAL, HOGUN, VOLSTAG, ODIN
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: STARLORD, GAMORRA, DRAX, ROCKET, GROOT, YONDU, Nova Corps
SPIDER-MAN
DOCTOR STRANGE
...with cameos at the very least from...
DEFENDERS: DAREDEVIL, JESSICA JONES, LUKE CAGE, IRON FIST, HELLCAT, MISTY KNIGHT, NIGHT NURSE
PUNISHER
ELEKTRA
...and some involvement from a large number of the...
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Phil Coulson, Melinda May, “Mac”, Leo Fitz, Gemma Simmons, A Koenig, DEATHLOK, QUAKE & the “SECRET WARRIORS”, MOCKINGBIRD, LANCE HUNTER, DOMINIC FORTUNE.
But the question I'm asking myself is...
WHO WILL BE THE NEXT AVENGER?
I'm guessing the existing AVENGERS team by the time INFINITY WAR pt 1 kicks off will be the four new additions from the end of A:AOU, namely WAR MACHINE, SCARLET WITCH, VISION and FALCON, plus the two who feature in CIVIL WAR and their own movies during Phase 3, ANT-MAN and BLACK PANTHER, (Although depending on CA:CW's outcome, we might get WINTER SOLDIER on the team as CAPTAIN AMERICA,, in which case I'd take out WAR MACHINE as the first one of those 6 to join.).
Where CAP will be following the events of CA:CW I wouldn't like to guess, but however that ends, I think we'll see either BARNES or WILSON take up the shield before INFINITY WAR is over, and that, whoever carries the shield, their story will continue outside of the main AVENGERS team, possibly with an expanded team of “Secret Avengers”. (Personally I'd like to see BUCKY-CAP & FALCON with CAPTAIN STEVE ROGERS around in a more senior role, though I'm not ruling out SAM WILSON getting a shot at being CAPTAIN AMERICA at some point.)
There's also WASP to consider as ANT-~MAN AND THE WASP (which I really hope features both Bill Foster and Rita de Mara) falls between the two parts of A:IW and CAPTAIN MARVEL who gets her own film after A:IW but may appear beforehand as CAROL DANVERS, either way, she'll eventually be on the team which by then will likely consist of CAPTAIN MARVEL, BLACK PANTHER, WASP, ANT-MAN, SCARLET WITCH … (I haven't included VISION here as I think he may die as a result of the Mind Stone being removed in A:IW and by the end of part 2 we'll could see ADAM WARLOCK with it.), ...and one other...
Some might say DOCTOR STRANGE would be an obvious addition to the AVENGERS with his solo movie coming later this year, but there are good reasons why this is not the best place for him in the MCU...
The NEW AVENGERS he was involved with features characters such as LUKE CAGE, IRON FIST and JESSICA JONES along with the likes of SPIDER-MAN and WOLVERINE.
Aside from the fact that Logan is never coming to the MCU in the near future, SPIDEY's got his own place on the big screen whilst Cage, Rand and Jones have got theirs on Netflix, in the form of the DEFENDERS, whose name is taken from the team which originally featured STRANGE, NAMOR, HULK and SILVER SURFER, so that team isn't happening any time soon either.
What we have coming to Netflix is a DEFENDERS team that is actually a hybrid of HEROES FOR HIRE (Cage, Rand, Knight) DEFENDERS (Cage, Rand, Walker, Murdoch), and the NEW AVENGERS (Cage, Rand, Jones, and to some extent Murdoch), and DOCTOR STRANGE has been a pivotal member of two of those teams (DEFENDERS and NEW AVENGERS), so it would make sense that he have some level of interaction with the MCU “DEFENDERS”, which I think could see him walk between the MCU MOVIES and the DEFENDERS series in the same way Coulson, Hill, Fury and Sif have all appeared in both the movies and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It would also make sense if the DEFENDERS were to seek Strange's assistance in defeating MEPHISTO in the miniseries which then opens the door for GHOST RIDER to enter the MCU and we may latter see some kind of MIDNIGHT SONS-meets-LEGION OF MONSTERS team-up (though most definitely using the MIDNIGHT SONS name) with characters like BLADE, DAMIEN HELLSTORM and MAN-THING making an appearance on Netflix or in a Strange sequel over the course of Phase 4 or 5.
…So because there's so much more that DOCTOR STRANGE can be doing (in spite of the fact we aren't likely to see the classic DEFENDERS line-up), and because the NEW AVENGERS team he was part of is represented to a greater degree by the Netlfix DEFENDERS than it ever will be on the big screen, the AVENGERS doesn't look like the place for him.
There are dozens of candidates you could choose from to add to the AVENGERS so let's rule a few out...
We're pretty much out of viable 60s & 70s recruits...
The TWO-GUN KID would, I believe, be best used in ABC''s AGENT CARTER, providing a 1940s parallel for the scenario CAP finds himself in at the end of CA:TFA, and, going back to earlier recruits, I also think Dane “THE BLACK KNIGHT” Whitman would be suited to a 1940s reworking as well, they are an earlier kind of hero and belong in an earlier setting than the heroes of the modern day. (The modern day SWORDSMAN or even RONIN would fill the role better if a blade-wielding character was required on the team).
I don't think MANTIS is at all likely, MOONDRAGON is more of a contender for something like INFINITY WATCH following on from INFINITY WAR and the GOTG films and BEAST is a complete no-go for obvious reasons.
From the 60s and 70s that pretty much leaves HERCULES, who there have been a BAZILLION versions of on the big and small screens over the past couple of decades, plus we're only just getting to the end of an ASGARDIAN trilogy, so it's not the right time to just replace that with a host of OLYMPIANS, which is what you need to give “HERC” a good backdrop. so no SERSI, ARES or PHOBOS in the MCU just yet either. (I wouldn't rule HERCULES out permanently though, particularly as AMADEUS CHO is looking likely to appear).
Some later characters are less memorable and pretty much guaranteed not to appear anywhere but the ABC/Netflix series, some not at all (FIREBIRD, DEMOLITION MAN, FORGOTTEN ONE, LIVING LIGHTNING, 3-D MAN and SILVERCLAW)...
...some are more likely to appear iin the GOTG (STARFOX, NOVA, JUSTICE), INHUMANS (CRYSTAL), and DOCTOR STRANGE (DOCTOR DRUID) films, (and I'm not about to bring the current status of NAMOR's film rights into any speculation with so many characters in it)...
...others such as MOON KNIGHT and ECHO/RONIN, are more connected to the DEFENDERS' corner of the MCU and I can't see the likes of VALKYRIE and DARKHAWK popping up anywhere else either.
If TIGRA ever appears I suspect they'd use a token team-up with BLACK PANTHER as an opener even though it would be a departure from the comics. Yeah she's cool, she's a Tiger and that, but she doesn't really do a great deal except stand around being stripey.
THUNDERSTRIKE would just be THOR-lite (though I would like to see BETA RAY BILL in the MCU)
SHE-HULK would be a disappointment for fans wanting more of the HULK himself, and if we're going to get other characters such as DOC SAMSON, A-BOMB, RULK and SHE-RULK then it might as well be in one single blow in a proper HULK movie with the LEADER and co.
MONICA RAMBEAU is a fan favourite but now we've got the Carol Danvers CAPTAIN MAREL on the way it doesn't seem that now is her time.
John Walker, the US AGENT would be a poor substitute for any of the three possible CAPTAIN AMERICA candidates. His story could possibly be worked into a later CA movie but I'm more inclined to think Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or one of it's spin-offs would be the best place to bring his story to the MCU.
I would note here that I know **** ALL about Wendall “QUASAR” Vaughn.
JOCASTA and maybe AARON STACK could both make an appearance if ULTRON ever shows his face again (once again, I'm not so familiar with these two), but I don't think anyone's going to be rushing to fit them into the bigger story, and ULTRON's story is up in the air now he's the product of Stark and not Pym, so I'm not sure how all that's going to continue.
ANT-MAN seems to have replaced IRON MAN as the “guy in a hi-tech suit” franchise, but if Tony does get another film I suspect it will be ARMOR WARS considering how much of his tech he left lying around in IRON MAN 3, and another former Avenger JACK OF HEARTS might pop up in such a film (along with characters like STINGRAY, Abner “BEETLE/MACH V” Jenkins and GHOST), but again, he's not a contender for the team.
ARACHNE, SPIDER-WOMAN and AGENT VENOM would all be too soon after BLACK WIDOW and SPIDEY's participation to not seem like token spider-themed heroes, that's not to say I don't think they have a place in the MCU in the near future...
“SPIDER-WOMAN: AGENT OF HYDRA” would be well suited to a Netflix series, and Flash Thompson as “VENOM: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.” is a story that would work better given more than the two hour confines of a movie, but of course we've got the Eddie Brock and Mac Gargan versions of VENOM to think about too, who I think will appear on the big screen before AGENT VENOM appears anywhere.
That leaves ARACHNE of the three “spidery” candidates, who I wouldn't say has a place on the team yet either, simply because it wouldn't be much of a departure from the BLACK WIDOW and we've already got a 50% female team with CAPTAIN MARVEL, SCARLET WITCH and WASP.
Like SPIDER-WOMAN, the SENTRY is a character with a complex backstory, though like AGENT VENOM he's a very recent character in AVENGERS terms.
Unlike either of those two characters, however, his power-level doesn't lend itself to the small screen, so ruling him out for a year or two until there's a settled enough roster to focus on his story, that leaves us with one obvious choice for the next addition to the AVENGERS...
...Mr Simon “WONDER MAN” Williams.
If we ever get more HULK movies that then paves the way for Williams and Danvers to lead a “MIGHTY AVENGERS” team of characters who haven't previously encountered the HULK to meet him and his allies in a WORLD WAR HULK scenario, and that would be the time to add the big hitters like SENTRY and ARES, as well as introducing SHE-HULK, SAMSON and A-BOMB if they haven't already appeared.
ARACHNE would also fit on such a team but I think when she does make it onto the AVENGERS roster it will possibly be as Carol Danvers' replacement.
So what are people's thoughts?
Will WONDER MAN be the next addition after WASP and CAPTAIN MARVEL or do you think it could be someone else?
AVENGERS: Nick Fury, Maria Hill, HAWKEYE, BLACK WIDOW, AGENT 13, CAPTAIN AMERICA,, FALCON, WINTER SOLDIER, IRON MAN, WAR MACHINE, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, THOR, Eric Selvig, Jane Foster, HULK, Helen Cho, SCARLET WITCH, VISON, ANT-MAN, WASP, Hank Pym, BLACK PANTHER, and maybe Carol Danvers?
ASGARDIANS: SIF, HEIMDALL, FANDRAL, HOGUN, VOLSTAG, ODIN
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: STARLORD, GAMORRA, DRAX, ROCKET, GROOT, YONDU, Nova Corps
SPIDER-MAN
DOCTOR STRANGE
...with cameos at the very least from...
DEFENDERS: DAREDEVIL, JESSICA JONES, LUKE CAGE, IRON FIST, HELLCAT, MISTY KNIGHT, NIGHT NURSE
PUNISHER
ELEKTRA
...and some involvement from a large number of the...
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Phil Coulson, Melinda May, “Mac”, Leo Fitz, Gemma Simmons, A Koenig, DEATHLOK, QUAKE & the “SECRET WARRIORS”, MOCKINGBIRD, LANCE HUNTER, DOMINIC FORTUNE.
But the question I'm asking myself is...
WHO WILL BE THE NEXT AVENGER?
I'm guessing the existing AVENGERS team by the time INFINITY WAR pt 1 kicks off will be the four new additions from the end of A:AOU, namely WAR MACHINE, SCARLET WITCH, VISION and FALCON, plus the two who feature in CIVIL WAR and their own movies during Phase 3, ANT-MAN and BLACK PANTHER, (Although depending on CA:CW's outcome, we might get WINTER SOLDIER on the team as CAPTAIN AMERICA,, in which case I'd take out WAR MACHINE as the first one of those 6 to join.).
Where CAP will be following the events of CA:CW I wouldn't like to guess, but however that ends, I think we'll see either BARNES or WILSON take up the shield before INFINITY WAR is over, and that, whoever carries the shield, their story will continue outside of the main AVENGERS team, possibly with an expanded team of “Secret Avengers”. (Personally I'd like to see BUCKY-CAP & FALCON with CAPTAIN STEVE ROGERS around in a more senior role, though I'm not ruling out SAM WILSON getting a shot at being CAPTAIN AMERICA at some point.)
There's also WASP to consider as ANT-~MAN AND THE WASP (which I really hope features both Bill Foster and Rita de Mara) falls between the two parts of A:IW and CAPTAIN MARVEL who gets her own film after A:IW but may appear beforehand as CAROL DANVERS, either way, she'll eventually be on the team which by then will likely consist of CAPTAIN MARVEL, BLACK PANTHER, WASP, ANT-MAN, SCARLET WITCH … (I haven't included VISION here as I think he may die as a result of the Mind Stone being removed in A:IW and by the end of part 2 we'll could see ADAM WARLOCK with it.), ...and one other...
Some might say DOCTOR STRANGE would be an obvious addition to the AVENGERS with his solo movie coming later this year, but there are good reasons why this is not the best place for him in the MCU...
The NEW AVENGERS he was involved with features characters such as LUKE CAGE, IRON FIST and JESSICA JONES along with the likes of SPIDER-MAN and WOLVERINE.
Aside from the fact that Logan is never coming to the MCU in the near future, SPIDEY's got his own place on the big screen whilst Cage, Rand and Jones have got theirs on Netflix, in the form of the DEFENDERS, whose name is taken from the team which originally featured STRANGE, NAMOR, HULK and SILVER SURFER, so that team isn't happening any time soon either.
What we have coming to Netflix is a DEFENDERS team that is actually a hybrid of HEROES FOR HIRE (Cage, Rand, Knight) DEFENDERS (Cage, Rand, Walker, Murdoch), and the NEW AVENGERS (Cage, Rand, Jones, and to some extent Murdoch), and DOCTOR STRANGE has been a pivotal member of two of those teams (DEFENDERS and NEW AVENGERS), so it would make sense that he have some level of interaction with the MCU “DEFENDERS”, which I think could see him walk between the MCU MOVIES and the DEFENDERS series in the same way Coulson, Hill, Fury and Sif have all appeared in both the movies and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It would also make sense if the DEFENDERS were to seek Strange's assistance in defeating MEPHISTO in the miniseries which then opens the door for GHOST RIDER to enter the MCU and we may latter see some kind of MIDNIGHT SONS-meets-LEGION OF MONSTERS team-up (though most definitely using the MIDNIGHT SONS name) with characters like BLADE, DAMIEN HELLSTORM and MAN-THING making an appearance on Netflix or in a Strange sequel over the course of Phase 4 or 5.
…So because there's so much more that DOCTOR STRANGE can be doing (in spite of the fact we aren't likely to see the classic DEFENDERS line-up), and because the NEW AVENGERS team he was part of is represented to a greater degree by the Netlfix DEFENDERS than it ever will be on the big screen, the AVENGERS doesn't look like the place for him.
There are dozens of candidates you could choose from to add to the AVENGERS so let's rule a few out...
We're pretty much out of viable 60s & 70s recruits...
The TWO-GUN KID would, I believe, be best used in ABC''s AGENT CARTER, providing a 1940s parallel for the scenario CAP finds himself in at the end of CA:TFA, and, going back to earlier recruits, I also think Dane “THE BLACK KNIGHT” Whitman would be suited to a 1940s reworking as well, they are an earlier kind of hero and belong in an earlier setting than the heroes of the modern day. (The modern day SWORDSMAN or even RONIN would fill the role better if a blade-wielding character was required on the team).
I don't think MANTIS is at all likely, MOONDRAGON is more of a contender for something like INFINITY WATCH following on from INFINITY WAR and the GOTG films and BEAST is a complete no-go for obvious reasons.
From the 60s and 70s that pretty much leaves HERCULES, who there have been a BAZILLION versions of on the big and small screens over the past couple of decades, plus we're only just getting to the end of an ASGARDIAN trilogy, so it's not the right time to just replace that with a host of OLYMPIANS, which is what you need to give “HERC” a good backdrop. so no SERSI, ARES or PHOBOS in the MCU just yet either. (I wouldn't rule HERCULES out permanently though, particularly as AMADEUS CHO is looking likely to appear).
Some later characters are less memorable and pretty much guaranteed not to appear anywhere but the ABC/Netflix series, some not at all (FIREBIRD, DEMOLITION MAN, FORGOTTEN ONE, LIVING LIGHTNING, 3-D MAN and SILVERCLAW)...
...some are more likely to appear iin the GOTG (STARFOX, NOVA, JUSTICE), INHUMANS (CRYSTAL), and DOCTOR STRANGE (DOCTOR DRUID) films, (and I'm not about to bring the current status of NAMOR's film rights into any speculation with so many characters in it)...
...others such as MOON KNIGHT and ECHO/RONIN, are more connected to the DEFENDERS' corner of the MCU and I can't see the likes of VALKYRIE and DARKHAWK popping up anywhere else either.
If TIGRA ever appears I suspect they'd use a token team-up with BLACK PANTHER as an opener even though it would be a departure from the comics. Yeah she's cool, she's a Tiger and that, but she doesn't really do a great deal except stand around being stripey.
THUNDERSTRIKE would just be THOR-lite (though I would like to see BETA RAY BILL in the MCU)
SHE-HULK would be a disappointment for fans wanting more of the HULK himself, and if we're going to get other characters such as DOC SAMSON, A-BOMB, RULK and SHE-RULK then it might as well be in one single blow in a proper HULK movie with the LEADER and co.
MONICA RAMBEAU is a fan favourite but now we've got the Carol Danvers CAPTAIN MAREL on the way it doesn't seem that now is her time.
John Walker, the US AGENT would be a poor substitute for any of the three possible CAPTAIN AMERICA candidates. His story could possibly be worked into a later CA movie but I'm more inclined to think Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or one of it's spin-offs would be the best place to bring his story to the MCU.
I would note here that I know **** ALL about Wendall “QUASAR” Vaughn.
JOCASTA and maybe AARON STACK could both make an appearance if ULTRON ever shows his face again (once again, I'm not so familiar with these two), but I don't think anyone's going to be rushing to fit them into the bigger story, and ULTRON's story is up in the air now he's the product of Stark and not Pym, so I'm not sure how all that's going to continue.
ANT-MAN seems to have replaced IRON MAN as the “guy in a hi-tech suit” franchise, but if Tony does get another film I suspect it will be ARMOR WARS considering how much of his tech he left lying around in IRON MAN 3, and another former Avenger JACK OF HEARTS might pop up in such a film (along with characters like STINGRAY, Abner “BEETLE/MACH V” Jenkins and GHOST), but again, he's not a contender for the team.
ARACHNE, SPIDER-WOMAN and AGENT VENOM would all be too soon after BLACK WIDOW and SPIDEY's participation to not seem like token spider-themed heroes, that's not to say I don't think they have a place in the MCU in the near future...
“SPIDER-WOMAN: AGENT OF HYDRA” would be well suited to a Netflix series, and Flash Thompson as “VENOM: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.” is a story that would work better given more than the two hour confines of a movie, but of course we've got the Eddie Brock and Mac Gargan versions of VENOM to think about too, who I think will appear on the big screen before AGENT VENOM appears anywhere.
That leaves ARACHNE of the three “spidery” candidates, who I wouldn't say has a place on the team yet either, simply because it wouldn't be much of a departure from the BLACK WIDOW and we've already got a 50% female team with CAPTAIN MARVEL, SCARLET WITCH and WASP.
Like SPIDER-WOMAN, the SENTRY is a character with a complex backstory, though like AGENT VENOM he's a very recent character in AVENGERS terms.
Unlike either of those two characters, however, his power-level doesn't lend itself to the small screen, so ruling him out for a year or two until there's a settled enough roster to focus on his story, that leaves us with one obvious choice for the next addition to the AVENGERS...
...Mr Simon “WONDER MAN” Williams.
If we ever get more HULK movies that then paves the way for Williams and Danvers to lead a “MIGHTY AVENGERS” team of characters who haven't previously encountered the HULK to meet him and his allies in a WORLD WAR HULK scenario, and that would be the time to add the big hitters like SENTRY and ARES, as well as introducing SHE-HULK, SAMSON and A-BOMB if they haven't already appeared.
ARACHNE would also fit on such a team but I think when she does make it onto the AVENGERS roster it will possibly be as Carol Danvers' replacement.
So what are people's thoughts?
Will WONDER MAN be the next addition after WASP and CAPTAIN MARVEL or do you think it could be someone else?
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