It seems like every time Marvel releases a new project, yet another member of the Young Avengers is introduced.
Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Ironheart in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Billy and Tommy Maximoff aka Wiccan and Speed in WandaVision, Eli Bradley aka Patriot in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Kid Loki in Loki season one.
Dating all the way back to 2018, Kevin Feige confirmed Marvel is “planting seeds” for the Young Avengers. Indeed, those seeds have been firmly planted, but at this rate, they’re in danger of rotting. Even superheroes only stay young for so long.
As Marvel inches closer to the halfway point of the Multiverse Saga, the studio — or better yet Kevin Feige — can’t seem to make up its mind about whether to follow through on all these Young Avenger Easter eggs it’s planted over the years (you can’t even call them Easter eggs at this point — they’re full-blown chickens), or turn the attention to other, more adult superhero groups such as, say, the Thunderbolts, or yes, even the Midnight Sons.
The Thunderbolts — a group of anti-heroes formed under the command of soon-to-be President of the United States Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross — will make their grand MCU debut in the self-titled film starring several recurring MCU characters: Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp, Red Guardian from Black Widow, Yelena Belova from Black Widow, Taskmaster also from Black Widow, U.S. Agent aka John Walker from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier.
And yet, if you look more closely, you’ll find evidence that Marvel is quietly setting the table for an entirely different team to pounce on the scene, the Midnight Sons. The Midnight Sons, for those who need a refresher, is a group focused more on the supernatural side of things; think: demons, vampires, witches, Lilith, things of that nature.
Several team members have already been introduced: Moon Knight, Blade, Wolverine, Elsa Bloodstone from Werewolf by Night, and the most well-known in the MCU who’s been sitting pretty this whole time, Doctor Strange.
In the comics, the Midnight Sons were formed by Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch, the two people who took up the mantle of Ghost Rider. In case you missed the news, it just so happens that a new Ghost Rider project is rumored to be in the works at Marvel Studios. Johnny Blaze marks the latest (possible) edition to the Midnight Sons, but he’s not the only one on the way. The sorcerer Jennifer Kale is also a member of the team and she just so happens to be appearing in Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Plus — get this — she’s Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch’s cousin.
With all that being said, I just have one thing to say to you, Mr. Kevin Feige: stop teasing us with all these different teams! Pick one. Preferably the one you started teasing in the first place. You know, the one that’s time-sensitive.
I’m all for the Midnight Sons, don’t get me wrong. In fact, I’d choose them over the Thunderbolts any day. But if I had my druthers, I’d want to see the Young Avengers finally — finally! — make their MCU debut after being teased for this long.
That’s really all there is to it. I could belabor the point, but there’s no use. Pick a team, Kev, and stick to it, because the Lord knows it’s taking you this long to just reform the Avengers. I’ve already grown some grey hairs since Endgame. If I’m a silver fox by the time the Young Avengers make their theatrical debut, I’ll never forgive you. (Unless they’re spectacular, at which point, I will kindly remove my foot from my mouth.)
