Dear Marvel Studios. Please consider fast tracking the Multiverse Saga to the formation of the Young Avengers. With the main major Marvel heavyweights now gone, like Chris Evans‘ Captain America, Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, and Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow, a new set of heroes should take center stage. And what’s better than having a new generation of heroes that will take over the predecessor’s place?
Remember in 2019 when Marvel Studios’ executive producer, Kevin Feige announced that “Captain Marvel will become the new face of the MCU?” Remember the backlash that statement received from angry fans, especially those who aren’t all that fond of Brie Larson? That’s the problem. It’s not that you’re introducing a huge (and possibly overpowered) Marvel hero to become the leader of the MCU, it’s that this announcement felt abrupt, especially when the Captain Marvel movie was released months prior.
If you look at the previous lineup and the love they received, the other Marvel big hitters were introduced years before the end of the Infinity Saga, to the point where fans got to know these heroes and felt heartbroken to see them die and dusted away from Thanos’ snap.
Something that I and other Marvel fans noticed was Phase Four of the MCU felt like the passing down of the torch. We had WandaVision preparing the appearance of Billy and Tommy, also known as Wiccan and Speed. Meanwhile, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever paved the way for Ironheart and Shuri’s Black Panther (before T’Challa’s son is of age to take over). And let’s not how forget the Disney Plus series, Hawkeye was did the same for Kate Bishop. On top of all of that, with speculation that Iron Lad will appear in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, the current state of the MCU is literally setting itself up for a new line of younger heroes who will be taking over the old guard.
Perhaps the hesitation was that you don’t want to take risks. You don’t want to subject these young cast members to hate, backlash and toxicity. But that excuse doesn’t help when people speculated that Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man would die in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantimania and the Ant-Man title to be passed down to his daughter, Cassie. Heck, you hired a more known actress to play the role of Lang’s daughter in hopes to get some more name recognition for your superhero movie IP. If you’re going to go all out to replace an actress, why not use it to the fullest potential and make her a new Marvel lead superhero?
Something that made the first Avengers film great was that after years of build-up and watching each Marvel superhero slowly introduced, fans lost their minds when they saw them all united as one during the battle of New York, to the point where people were willing to go to Disneyland to see a Broadway musical-style adaptation through Rogers: The Musical. Phase Four (and possibly Phase Five) is doing the same thing these previous films have done in the past. We’re introduced to new characters who are very young but are willing to risk their lives to protect their loved ones. And since the next Avengers movies will now be done towards the end of the Multiverse saga, this build-up would also blow people’s minds if we see kids from different universes unite to fight the multiverse-hopping big bad, Kang.
There is no harm in keeping the adult Avengers. After all, we saw a mentor-like relationship between Spider-Man and Iron Man, then America Chavez and Doctor Strange. We loved it to the point of wanting Tom Holland and Downey Jr to be in more projects together. Based on how Phase Four was set up and how not everyone is keen to have the other adult Marvel heroes as the new faces of the Avengers team, perhaps now is the time to have a younger, fresher, and a new generation of heroes take their place.
Fortunately, you still have time to make this change. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars had their dates pushed due to production issues. And we all know that MCU has a set plan, with Deadpool returning in Deadpool 3 with Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine, the Fantastic Four MCU adaptation, Daredevil, etc. But it is still possible to have the next generation of heroes become the new face of the MCU, whilst also incorporating the staple Marvel superhero lineup.
This is just something to consider, especially when you have children and young adults who felt represented on screen with this new batch of characters. If you want people to be excited about the MCU once more, perhaps some fresh and relatable faces is what this superhero franchise needs.
