Warning: This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
As we near the end of Phase Four, it’s definitely feeling like this current era of the MCU is less the Multiverse Saga and more the Multigenerational Saga as there’s been such a strong emphasis on the Avengers moving from superheroes to super-parents. The past two years of the franchise have seen an influx in next-generational characters as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have apparently decided en masse that it’s time for them to settle down and raise a family.
The latest example of this comes in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, albeit with an additional tragic twist, as the sequel’s post-credits scene introduces Toussaint, aka T’Challa Jr. (Divine Love Konadu-Sun) — the secret lovechild of the late King T’Challa and Nakia. The son of the Black Panther is just the latest child of an Avenger to find their way to our screens. But, just in case you’re losing track, here’s every single one featured in the MCU to date.
Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel Barton
The first kids of an Avenger we encountered in the MCU were obviously the children of Clint Barton, as first introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which Laura Barton was pregnant with the couple’s third child. Lila, Cooper, and Nathaniel went on to return for that harrowing Avengers: Endgame opening scene, and then naturally appeared in a few episodes of the Hawkeye show.
Cassie Lang
Uniquely, even when it comes to Hawkeye, Scott Lang’s status as a superhero dad was baked into his character from the off, as his relationship to his daughter Cassie has been the driving force of his two solo movies to date. Following Teen Cassie’s introduction in Avengers: Endgame, she’s set to follow in her pop’s tiny footsteps in next March’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Morgan Stark
After beginning as a feckless playboy, giving Tony Stark a kid was the perfect way to send off his arc in Avengers: Endgame. Morgan Stark made a big impression on the fandom in that event movie, and it was no easy feat to steal the show away from dozens of superheroes, so it’s curious that we haven’t heard a peep out of the character since. Here’s hoping for more Morgan in Phase Five.
Tommy and Billy Maximoff
Wanda Maximoff created the perfect family for herself in WandaVision, recreating her husband Vision and generating her twin sons Tommy and Billy, but sadly her domestic bliss was not to last. Her grief over losing her children even led to her descent into the dark side in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Nevertheless, odds are the boys will be back in town soon enough.
Love
The MCU isn’t all about biological children, though, as the end of Thor: Love and Thunder proved. Once Gorr’s daughter Love was resurrected thanks to Eternity, the God of Thunder adopted the girl as his own, with their final scene promising that the pair are a superheroing daddy/daughter duo. And given that Love is played by Chris Hemsworth’s IRL daughter, we’re betting Love will never die in the MCU.
Skaar
It was a badly kept secret that Skaar was going to turn up in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and sure enough the Sakaaran son of Hulk appeared right at the end of the show’s season finale. Expect big things to come from him, as we’re anticipating some kind of World War Hulk project to spawn from his arrival. Although hopefully Bruce will encourage his kid to get a haircut before we see him next.
Toussaint/T’Challa II
Last but not least, the newest addition to the children of the Avengers is Toussaint, aka T’Challa II, who has been raised away from the pressure of the Wakandan throne in Haiti his whole life after he was born sometime prior to The Snap. We have so many questions about what could happen with Nakia’s son, but it’s just about possible we’ve met the next Black Panther once Shuri eventually decides to retire the mantle.
Published: Nov 14, 2022 02:21 pm