The New Avengers are taking up the spots left by the old Avengers, it looks like. But who could they be and what makes them worthy?
The “old” Avengers we said farewell to in Phase 4
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a movie universe I fell in love with in the past decade. From Iron Man to Captain America to Black Widow. All my heroes and heroines came to life on the big screen. Some of them have already departed it, I am sad to say.
Captain America’s ending in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
But all good things come to an end. We have watched several heroes die or disappear for a greater cause. For instance, Captain America took it upon himself to put the Infinity Stones in the time frames where they belong.
While on the mission to restore the universe to its original state, Steve Rogers ran into Peggy Carter and realized how much he longed for a normal life where you dance with your girl on a date night and buying a house to start a family with is your biggest adventure instead of throwing your shield at Hydra members.
Steve’s ending meant that his journey had come full circle: he got the girl and lived a full life where he made his own decisions. The shield was passed on to The Falcon who went on to have his own TV show called The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.
Iron Man has come full circle
Iron Man saved the universe by snapping his fingers and restoring the universe before the blip. Meaning that 50% of the people who disappeared came back with the snap of a finger. And by doing that Iron Man actually sacrificed himself for humanity.
The circle was completed the moment he snapped that finger. It has been a tremendous journey for Iron Man who started out as someone whose big ego often got in the way of a lot of things. Instead, he made the ultimate sacrifice and died so that many others could live. It was a heroic ending and very fitting for Tony Stark.
Black Widow made way for the New Avengers
Black Widow was a woman of many talents, the ultimate spy and she worked for all sides except the bad ones. Well, she was trained by the KGB so there you go.
But as the movies were released, Black Widow got more and more comfortable with the role of a hero. Ultimately her past caught up with her in Captain America: Winter Soldier but Romanov bounced back and was part of the team again with a new cover.
When Thanos wiped out half the universe Nat was the go-to person when the remaining members needed help. And when the opportunity arose to undo Thanos’ damage, Black Widow was first in line to convince Tony Stark that this is what needs to be done.
The team was put in pairs in order to get the Infinity Stones and Black Widow and Hawkeye were paired together to go to Vormir. As legend would have it:
“Soul holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say, it is a certain wisdom”.
“Tell me what it needs”.
“To ensure that whoever possesses it understands its power, the stone demands a sacrifice”.
“Of what?”
“In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. A soul for a soul.”
―The Stonekeeper and Thanos
And after a one-on-one fight with Hawkeye, Black Widow made the ultimate sacrifice and ended herself so that Hawkeye could take the soulstone to restore the universe and live a happy life with his family. Her reasons for ending herself were completely altruistic and also because she nothing to live for.
Who will be The New Avengers in the MCU
With the three pillars that were a major driving force behind the team, the question became: who will fill these shoes? And what will the future team look like?
Let’s see, so far we have had several television shows and a bunch of movies with members who were either an Avenger in the comics or a backup Avenger.
Falcon and The Winter Soldier
It goes without saying almost that these two will be a part of the New Avengers team. Because why have Captain America’s shield and adjusted suit and just be outside the Avengers.
But what does Falcon bring to the table? He has Captain America’s shield but lacks the strength to wield it as Steve Rogers did so he will have to figure out a new way to use it.
This means he will use it more defensively, to shield himself from bullets or blasts or fly at high speed into a mob. He also has tactical knowledge from the war and he still has a robot falcon so he can scout areas real quick.
Winter Soldier brings espionage training, hand-to-hand combat and tactical knowledge as well. His only weakness is his robotic arm when he goes against Wakandian wishes which could prove interesting after Wakanda Forever where a (possibly) new Black Panther was teased in the trailer.
The Marvels
I have written a season 1 review of Ms Marvel but also mentioned a new movie coming up called The Marvels which will feature Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan.
All three of them have been or are still members of The Avengers. So with the three of them joining, it is going to be very confusing when someone goes “Hey Marvel! Help us out!!” I kid of course.
Carol Danvers is still the original MCU Captain Marvel. Monica Rambeau was renamed to Photon and Ms. Marvel doesn’t even have a name yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And besides, Ms. Marvel has been designated as a mutant.
Carol Danvers is an expert hand-to-hand combatant, skilled pilot and has the heart of a lioness. So she is definitely a part of the new team.
Photon however doesn’t even know yet that she has powers and thus is unconsciously incompetent when it comes to the use of her powers.
Photon would bring detective skills to the table. While Kamala is steadily learning how to deal with her powers and she would bring youthfulness and a fresh look to the team.
Moon Knight
Moon Knight has been a backup Avenger in the comic for decades and even though he is a very skilled combatant and can do pretty much anything I would say he is a liability for the team and that’s just because of his schizophrenia.
He is Steven one moment and then Jake, and then Marc. That’s not what you want in a fight I would say BUT then again, all three of the personalities bring different things to the table in a fight.
Like Marc is a mercenary. Steven knows history and Jake is a ruthless alter but that was a mid-credits scene so we don’t know much about Jake yet. Moon Knight would be a fit but a liability at the same time.
Yelena Belova / Black Widow
The Black Widow movie acted as a prequel to all of the Marvel movies and they have fairly succeeded. The movie also is a farewell to Scarlett Johansson, who played Black Widow with such grace and she will be sorely missed by fans.
However, the Black Widow movie also introduced us to Yelena Belova, who will take the place of the former Black Widow. So expect a nice twist on the Black Widow character with Florence Pugh, the new Black Widow, saying the following: Pugh admired Belova’s bluntness and determination, and noted that the character is a skilled fighter but does not know how to live a normal life. So that is pretty promising.
Other members I can see in the New Avengers are Ant-Man and Wasp, She-Hulk, Warmachine, Doctor Strange and Shang-Chi.
Ant-man’s Quantumania is yet to premier and the same goes for She-Hulk and Warmachine but all of them are ready to go as The New Avengers and if Phase 4 is an indication, we won’t miss the old Avengers too much!
