Throughout the first three Phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there were only two actual superhero teams — the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. But with the arrival of Phase 4, the MCU is already starting to get much, much bigger.
With the Eternals already introduced and the Fantastic Four soon to join the fray, it’s clear that the number of hero teams in the MCU is only going to keep growing larger. And while the Infinity Saga only featured a single Avengers team, it’s possible that future Avengers films could borrow from the comics and feature multiple Avengers lineups coexisting and interacting with one another. In fact, it’s very possible that the stage is already being set for that exact scenario.
The Young Avengers
Phase 4 already seems to be building towards one team in particular: the Young Avengers, a group of teenage superheroes inspired by the legacy of the original Avengers. The Young Avengers have had several different members in the comics, many of whom have already been introduced in the MCU. The most prominent example is of course Kate Bishop, who is one of the main protagonists of the Hawkeye TV series. However, she’s far from the only instance.
Eli Bradley, the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, appears briefly in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and is better known to comic fans as the Captain America-inspired hero Patriot. Meanwhile, Ant-Man’s daughter Cassie Lang becomes a hero in the comics using Pym tech of her own, becoming the size-shifting Stature. Billy and Tommy Maximoff, Scarlet Witch and Vision’s twin sons from WandaVision, similarly grow up to become Wiccan and Speed — and the final episodes of WandaVision have already shown them developing their powers. Even Kid Loki, one of the Variants introduced in Episode 5 of Loki, ends up joining the team in the comics.
And as if that wasn’t enough evidence, yet another Young Avenger will be appearing in this year's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — the dimension-hopping America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez. Needless to say, a Young Avengers team-up in the MCU is inevitable, and at this rate it’s starting to seem like the Young Avengers might be joining forces before the original Avengers get back together. If the team ends up making its debut on film instead of TV, then kicking off the next Avengers trilogy with a Young Avengers movie instead of a classic Avengers film, it could potentially be an interesting way of examining the legacy of earth’s mightiest heroes.
The Dark Avengers
However, the Young Avengers aren’t the only new team that Phase 4 has been setting up. The enigmatic Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (or just Val for short) has already become a recurring presence as a sort of anti-Nick Fury, serving as a shady employer for morally ambiguous figures like John Walker and Yelena Belova. It’s currently unknown who Val is working for — fan theories have suggested everyone from Hydra to Kingpin — but she seems to be putting together a team of her own, albeit one much darker than the Avengers.
Many fans believe that Val will be the mastermind behind the Thunderbolts, a Suicide Squad-style team of reformed villains from the comics. However, another prominent theory is that Val’s team will be the Dark Avengers. Originally founded by Norman Osborn in the comics, the Dark Avengers are ostensibly a hero team, but without the moral principles that make the Avengers so heroic. Like the Young Avengers, a Dark Avengers movie could provide a fun change of pace while also serving as an interesting reflection on the original Avengers.
The New Avengers
Of course, it’s inevitable that a more traditional Avengers team will eventually return to the MCU. However, it likely won’t resemble the Avengers that fans are used to. With Iron Man and Black Widow dead, Captain America and Hulk retired, and Thor offworld, the next Avengers team will likely be composed mostly of the second generation of heroes. Sam Wilson as the new Captain America is an obvious candidate for membership, as are Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Shang-Chi, and Ant-Man. The futures of Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, and Vision are currently unclear, but they could easily be part of the team as well, as could She-Hulk and Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor.
Such a massive shakeup in team membership after a cataclysmic battle calls to mind the 2005-2010 New Avengers comic by Brian Michael Bendis, which depicts the Avengers reforming with a new lineup after briefly disbanding. The initial roster included Captain America and Iron Man, joined by newcomers Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, and Spider-Woman. Later members would include Maya Lopez, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Carol Danvers (as Ms. Marvel), to name only a few. As indicated by the roster, these New Avengers split their time battling both global and street-level threats, battling villains like Electro or the Hand just as often as the Skrulls or Loki — or the aforementioned Dark Avengers.
After four movies of the Avengers fighting massive world-ending threats, scaling things back a bit could be a good way to keep things fresh. Likewise, introducing other Avengers teams before the return of the more traditional Avengers might draw the ire of some fans, but it could also help build hype for the New Avengers as well. If the Young Avengers and Dark Avengers really do get their own movies before the classic team gets back together, it’d definitely be an unconventional approach for an Avengers trilogy. Even so, it’s an experiment that could potentially pay off.