Ever since Avengers: Endgame, fans of the MCU have been wondering when we might see another Avengers film. While I don’t believe we’ll ever get an actual Avengers movie ever again, I do believe that we could get the Young Avengers. Getting massive team-up movies amongst most, or all, of the heroes of the MCU will definitely happen as well moving forward. Much like the newly rumored “Secret Wars” which might’ve been setup in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Due to the wild success of Infinity War and Endgame, Marvel Studios will definitely keep those kinds of movies coming, because at the end of the day money’s money and those two movies grossed a collective near $5 billion profit worldwide. There’s room for growth in the MCU and as they’ve been setting up a handful of teenage superheroes, it seems like the Young Avengers could be coming sooner rather that later.
The MCU has been subtlety teasing, and in some cases flat up introducing young heroes of late. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier we were introduced to Eli Bradley, who in the comics became Patriot, as well as an extreme drug addiction to the Super Soldier Serum. We also met both of Wanda’s children in WandaVision, who may or may not come to Earth-616 somehow eventually, and due to the fallout of The Multiverse of Madness, it seems unlikely… for now. Her son Billy becomes the hero known as Wiccan, who obtains mystical powers of his own, while his brother Tommy (Speed) is fast just like his deceased uncle Pietro. Cassie Lang has also been recast for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with rising actress Kathryn Newton, who gains powers much like her father Ant-Man, and goes by the name of Stature.
Then of course there’s the Hawkeye series which set the stages for Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop to take on a superhero name of her own as she’s in the beginnings of fully becoming a superhero. More recently we met America Chavez in The Multiverse of Madness whose now trying to master her universe-hopping powers, as well as her mystical abilities in Kamar-Taj. There’s also the Ironheart series coming to Disney+ at some point in late 2022 or 2023, with the titular character Riri Williams set to make her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. And of course, how can I almost forget, June 8’s Ms. Marvel series which is also dropping on Disney+.
Image via: Nate Olshan
The Young Avengers were formed by a young Nathaniel Richards (Kang the Conqueror) wearing armor from the future, after he fled Kang the Conqueror, his future self. He arrived at Avengers Mansion, but it was abandoned in light of the Scarlet Witch's mental breakdown and subsequent damage which followed… Sound familiar? Nathaniel headed to Stark Industries, and he was able to access the A.I. of Vision and uploaded it into his armor. The A.I. explained that it contained the Avengers Fail-Safe Program, listing young heroes related to the Avengers who could become the new Avengers.
He formed a team with Eli Bradley, Billy, and Teddy Altman (Hulkling). They took every mission available, such as rescuing people during a fire, and even saving cats that were stuck in trees. After their first mission was recounted in the Daily Bugle, Jessica Jones was sent to investigate the heroes who had been nicknamed at the time: Iron Kid, Lieutenant America, Teen-Hulk, and Thor Jr. Captain America and Iron Man also investigated this on their own. Cassie Lang was interested in following her father's legacy, and her powers were accidentally triggered during an argument with the other members. Kate Bishop accompanied the newfound team as well, after a mission of theirs crossed paths with the Hawkeye protégé.
Image via: Marvel Comics
Seeing how Kang the Conquer is going to be the next main villain of the MCU, it’s safe to assume that we could also see a younger version of himself hellbent on assembling a new team of heroes to eventually take down his villainous self from the future. After-all, Kang from the future was fully aware of this as he let it play out, only to seduce young Nathaniel into trying to takedown the team from within, and to hit Earth’s Mightiest Heroes hard in the process, towards the end of the story. Nathaniel Richards had ulterior motives that he was hiding from the Young Avengers, that he’s Kang and trying to stop his future self while also trying to stop the Young Avengers from killing his future self, and it quickly became the temporary downfall of the team.
The boy who would grow up to become one of the greatest villains the Marvel universe has ever known, tried to go back in time to create and destroy the Young Avengers to thus, stop them from killing his future self after Kang lied to him and said that he was killed by them. Nathaniel went to the early 21st century, and it was revealed that Nathaniel had gone to an alternate reality where a villain known as Victorious destroyed the Avengers. In the disguise of Iron Lad, he was able to convince the largely undisciplined teens that they needed to become a more formal team. Unbeknownst to him, however, Victorious had followed him, and the villain attacked him and stole his armor, then tracked down his younger self, Victor Mancha, and had him infiltrate the Young Avengers.
Image via: Den of Geek
Posing as Iron Lad, young Victor Mancha misled the Young Avengers, having them fight against villains who were far above their abilities. It was his hope that they’d be killed in combat, thus preventing them from stopping his future self, but after one fight left a member of the team in near death, the Young Avengers learned of Mancha's duplicity, causing a fight that killed Kang (but it was a trick) and nearly killed Chase Stein (Talkback) of the team. In the end, Chase managed to save himself by using Iron Lad's armor to heal his wounds, and the younger Victor Mancha killed Victorious and then stole Kang's time belt and disappeared. Thereafter, the Young Avengers resolved to continue serving as the Young Avengers, using their spout with Nathaniel as motivation.
In seeing how Marvel Studios has setup a plethora of young heroes who we will definitely see again someway somehow, it bodes the question… Is the MCU gearing up for a story like this? While the Young Avengers aren’t very popular in the comics to say the least, this story from the early 2010s remains as their most popular one to to date with the strongest story as well. It’s one that could be used as a means of setting up Kang quite perfectly as a formidable threat in the MCU. Time is his ultimate superpower at the end of the day, not his high-tech gadgets from the 30th century, not his vast intellect which rivals that of Reed Richards, but his knowledge of time and events that have happened both past, present and future, as well as his ability to travel in time at ease. A story along these lines would be a means of assembling the Young Avengers perfectly, and would fully set the stage for what Kang can do moving forward.
While the Kang/Iron Lad connection might not be a route that Kevin Feige and his team decides to go down, it’s a key point to the lore that should be mentioned. Each member of the team has a connection to a member of the Avengers, and with Kang coming into the fray shortly, having a member of the team quite literally being Kang, would serve as a great way for the heroes of the MCU to get the time-traveling villain on their radar. There are many storylines that could be explored as well, but this one seems like it will be what Marvel Studios decides to do.