The main rival teenage superhero teams of Marvel and DC are the Young Avengers and the Teen Titans. The concept of both teams is straightforward: the Avengers and the Justice League cannot fight evil forever, so they decided to train the next generation of superheroes to carry on their legacy. With the Teen Titans, they began with the sidekicks of the main DC superheroes. Their lineup includes sidekick heroes such as Dick Grayson, the first Robin, Speedy, the former sidekick of Green Arrow, and Wally West, the first Kid Flash. As time went on, their team grew to multiple teenage superheroes. Remember the old Teen Titans cartoon. No, not Teen Titans Go! If you were a kid growing up in the early 2000’s, you remember the real Teen Titans cartoon. Robin as the leader, then there was Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire. The good old days of cartoons.
That was DC’s answer to having a teenage superhero team, but Marvel had an answer. Where there were the Avengers, there were the Young Avengers. The concept was pretty much the same as the Teen Titans, except most of them weren’t sidekicks of the Avengers. Like the Teen Titans, their lineup has changed over the years, but they have their most notable members. This includes Kate Bishop, the protege of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, Speed and Wiccan, the children of Scarlet Witch and Vision, and Elijah Bradley, aka Patriot, a younger, African-American version of Captain America. Unlike the Teen Titans, these teenage superheroes didn’t really have the consent of the Avengers to act as heroes. They also tried keeping their double lives a secret from their parents. Typical teenager stuff, right?
I bring all this up because a recent interview with Kevin Feige has got me wondering something. Feige was asked if we’ll be getting the Younger Avengers anytime soon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and his response was what you’d expect. Basically, he didn’t confirm if they were going to debut, but he also didn’t deny it either. Yeah, he tends to get cryptic like that. However, in terms of the future of the Young Avengers, he explained that if they are coming, they’re going to have to work on it. That’s good news to me, because it reminds me why they’ve been so successful over the years.
How did they build up to the Avengers? It started with one solo movie and then there was a special cameo from Samuel L. Jackson. Marvel created a meticulous formula that had their movies build up to something special. That’s why the Avengers worked, and that’s why Endgame was the perfect end to that story. Now, the torch needs to be passed on. With no Steve Rogers or Tony Stark (for how much longer though?) the MCU is going to need a new batch of superheroes.
The way I interpreted Kevin Feige’s statement is that he plans on slowly building up to the Young Avengers. For all you Marvel nuts out there, you’ll notice that he’s probably already begun. One of the upcoming Disney+ shows is Hawkeye, which will introduce Kate Bishop to the MCU. She’s Clint Barton’s protege, the next Hawkeye, and becomes a prominent member of the Younger Avengers. This signals one of the stepping stones to the Young Avengers’ debut in the MCU.
But the thing is, the Young Avengers hasn’t just started with Kate Bishop. The five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame allowed Scott Lang’s daughter to get older. You know, old enough to pass as a teenage superhero. Cassie Lang becomes Stature, the size-altering member of the Young Avengers. Now that the teenage Cassie Lang has been introduced in the MCU, she’s already set to become Stature in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. So not one, but two Young Avengers members?
Hold the phone, what Marvel Disney+ show just ended? Wanda and Vision had their twin boys, Billy and Tommy, in WandaVision. This is clearly setting up for Speed and Wiccan. So not one, but two, not even three, but four members of the Young Avengers Marvel has already set up. And guess what? They’re not stopping there. America Chavez will be making her live-action debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. So now, we’ll be getting five members of the team debuting in the MCU. It sounds to me like Marvel is already working on getting the Young Avengers established in the MCU.
All we need is Iron Lad and Hulking and we’re good to go. And for the record, the Secret Invasion show, or Captain Marvel 2, and the addition of the Fantastic Four to the MCU, it seems we could be getting both of those characters very soon. I predict we will indeed be getting a Young Avengers movie, or at least a Disney+ show. I think it’s a good way to expand the MCU. Not only would they be passing the torch down to younger heroes, but they’ll be adding more diversity to the ranks as well. For example, Hulking is a notable LGBT character in Marvel Comics, so having him debut in the MCU would really add some diversity. Oh, and he’s also an alien, so that’s about as diverse as it gets.
Now what about the Teen Titans? Well, they’ve already had a successful history with multiple shows and animated movies. It’s been working for them over the years, but now that the DCEU has been growing, it only makes sense for the Teen Titans to be making their debut. What can be interesting about it is that DC can go several routes with the team. They can either show the early version of the team, or they can go a more modern approach where Dick Grayson has already become Nightwing. If that’s the case, then maybe Time Drake or even Damian Wayne can take his place. Either way, it would make for an interesting movie. Let’s just hope Ray Fisher returns as Cyborg. Seriously, he’s much better in the Snyder Cut.
So what are your thoughts, Marvel and DC fans? Young Avengers or Teen Titans?
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