The upcoming phases of the MCU are going to shake things up as Ryan Scott and many others are realizing after the announcements that came at Comic-Con, as Phase 4 seems like it’s going to be setting the stage for Phase 5 in a big way. More than anything though it would seem that we’ll be seeing a whole new lineup for the Avengers, with perhaps only one or two familiar faces that might show up if one was to take a guess. As we already know, Black Widow is gone, Captain America is now an old man, and Iron Man, well, it might be too soon for some people to really come out and say it. Thor is off with the Guardians of the Galaxy and seems to have another movie of his own coming out, while the Hulk’s story seems in limbo as of now, and Bucky and Falcon are going off to their own show as of now. Right now the old Avengers we grew used to are disbanding in a big way, and there’s no telling whether Jeremy Renner will really want to come back as Hawkeye or if we could see a movie based on his character come up. All we do know at this point is that by Phase 5 it seems like we’d best be ready for another Avengers movie, and one that will be showcasing a new team that will be coming together for one reason or another.
In the comics this is pretty standard since the Avengers has been an expanding team for decades as they’ve welcomed untold numbers of members into their ranks, from solid acting members to the reserves that came and went as they were needed. A few of the X-Men even had stints with the Avengers at various times in history, though Beast was one of the most prominent since he sided with the Avengers a few times. Wolverine even made his way into their ranks in the past, but as you can imagine his ideologies weren’t exactly along the same lines at times since he’s almost always been one of the most violent heroes in the Marvel universe. But in Phase 5 it would appear that someone is either dropping a big hint from the picture above, or someone is being extra hopeful since when you think about it, Valkyrie has New Asgard to run, Mantis is a part of the Guardians, unless she’s decided to stay on earth, and Black Panther has an entire nation to run. Of course in the world of the MCU when you’re needed, you’re needed, and that’s it.
Thankfully each one of these individuals above, even the Thing from the Fantastic Four, have been a part of the Avengers in the past, and have proven to be quite valuable members at certain times as Carol Danvers was instrumental in the second Civil War story, which unfortunately wasn’t quite as popular as the first engagement. Still, there are enough story lines left lying around that an Avengers 5 movie might work as well as some people are wanting, especially since the power level hasn’t really waned between the lot of them, and the skill set has changed somewhat. Think of this way, in the first Avengers we had a super soldier, a green-skinned embodiment of rage, a Norse legend, a genius billionaire with an unprecedented suit of armor that could do just about anything, and two assassins, one of whom was an expert marksman. If you go by the picture above we’ll be getting yet another Norse legend, an extraterrestrial with martial skills and the ability to intuit what someone is thinking by touch, a web-slinging teenager with an equally impressive suit of armor, a cosmic-powered woman that can blast her way through spaceships, a being composed of living rock, a king with his own suit of armor that’s no less impressive, and a master of the mystical arts. Some might call that a serious upgrade, and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but personally I would love to see Hawkeye stay with the group, but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards at the moment.
Only one hangup remains at this point, and it’s the idea of hanging the MCU on the shoulders of Captain Marvel, who is supposedly the next face of the franchise. No, it’s not bad thing because she’s a woman, and it’s not a bad thing that she’s not as charismatic as RDJ. Well, that could be an issue later but right now her entrance in Endgame was perfect since she didn’t end up taking over the movie as people were afraid of, and she was a serious boost to the heroes when they needed it. Moving ahead it seems that if the MCU can refrain from the overly feminist ideals and simply make the movies to entertain, not to push an ideology, then their success will continue unchecked. Keep the Avengers the way they’ve been, a powerful and impressive group that has now stretched their ranks to be more inclusive.
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