2) Wiccan & Hulkling
Young Avengers sounds like a dumb idea. What are we talking about here? A baby Iron Man? A toddler Thor? Fortunately, the potentially gimmicky premise was handled surprisingly well by Marvel, receiving praise from fans for its new teen characters who came together when the Avengers disbanded briefly.
The book’s first run won the 2006 Harvey Award for Best New Series, as well as the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book, thanks to the portrayal of Wiccan and Hulkling’s budding relationship.
Wiccan is the reincarnated son of the Scarlet Witch and her android husband The Vision. Hulkling is a hybrid born of alien parents from two different species. Nothing about this couple is conventional in a sense, but the exploration of their relationship is handled in a very realistic, organic way.
As the youngest characters on this list, Wiccan and Hulkling are particularly important, providing young adults with positive role models that reflect their own struggles as they come to terms with who they are. These are the fans who need to see LGBT representation on the big screen mist.
Young Avengers could certainly be a cinematic prospect later down the line, and if not, both Wiccan and Hulkling have recently become full-fledged Avengers in the comics. However, Wiccan’s origin story may need altering depending on where Marvel studios takes the unorthodox relationship between Scarlet Witch and The Vision.
