Marvel took over the known universe by creating its own cinematic universe within it. The MCU has changed the game on superhero culture, and as it rolls into it’s next major phase, fans are waiting on bated breath for what is coming. 2019 and onward is already filled with promise, with the trailer for Captain Marvel already portraying a strong female character on-screen, and the promise of sequels for characters lie Spider-Man and Black Panther. But the tight lipped Marvel has not let on exactly what characters will come through the next phase, and which characters will come to lead franchises.

We are excited that Marvel has started to lean into more diversity, as evidence by the excitement and success of Black Panther and Captain Marvel, and we want more. Marvel has a great roster of female characters at the ready, just waiting to be adapted for the big screen, women of varying races and orientations, and women who have been good, bad, and danced with both. There are a ton of great female characters at the ready, and Marvel can easily dig into them to give us more incredible characters for the big screen. These characters are dynamic with powers ranging from dark magic to super strength. Some of them are trained in fighting and agility, and some are super intelligent, holding degrees and prestigious positions. These are 20 of the most powerful female Marvel characters that we hope show up on our screens in Marvel Phase Four.

20 KAMALA KHAN

ms marvel

Cap is going to have some competition for the ranking when Captain Marvel presumably shows up to join the MCU favorites, and while those two can wink knowingly about the title, Kamala Khan could be available to step into the old moniker, Ms. Marvel.

Khan is a shape shifting Pakistani-American from New Jersey, and the first Muslim character to headline a Marvel comic. The character is young and would be a welcome addition to the MCU, which has continued to promise more diversity. As the MCU rolls into its new phase, it would be a welcome change for it to roll in the evolving comic book characters and bring on such a character.

19 SQUIRREL GIRL

Marvel - Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Doreen Green, or Squirrel Girl, was created by the famous Steve Ditko you’ll know from Amazing Fantasy’s Spider-Man. Maybe you don’t think of Squirrels as powerful, but they are agile and quick, and Squirrel Girl is not weak. After a run in with Iron Man and company, she joined his squad. After he is captured, she rescued him and defeated Dr. Doom.

She has a history with both the Defenders and the Avengers, having once been a nanny to Danielle Cage (the daughter or Luke Cage and Jessica Jones), and fought crime alongside the Avengers. She’d be a welcome addition to the gang, and a powerful one at that.

18 SHE-HULK

She-Hulk Savage

The name Hulk is synonymous with strength and power, and She-Hulk is nothing short of the two. Jennifer Walters is a lawyer, who after an accident, needs a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner, which results in a green tinted and more powerful version of herself with her personality mostly intact.

Banner was absent for some of the bigger parts of the MCU thus far, and it looks like his arc will extend further into Phase Four. So, with Banner sticking around, it stands to reason he could be called to save lives on a micro-level, one of which could be that of his injured cousin.

17 GHOST SPIDER (SPIDER-GWEN)

Gwen Stacey’s Spidersona appeared in the hit, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but we would like to see her also join the MCU. Though she appears in a different universe, on Earth-55 where the radioactive spider bites her, instead of Peter Parker, it’s not impossible to imagine her appearing in the MCU.

With young Peter Parker around, we could easily get a visit from Gwen Stacey and have her turn into a web slinging hero, or with the Infinity Stones flying around, she could make a multi-verse bending appearance. Having Spidey in the MCU is so exiting for fans of the complete Avengers package, and it would be welcome for his strong female counter part to make an appearance.

16 NAMORA

Though we’re wary of similar characters from different properties appearing on-screen too close to each other, and Namora being comparable to Aquaman’s Mera, she’s still a character we would love to see join the MCU in the next phase. Namora gets her name from the Atlantean word for “avenging daughter,” which she adopts after her father is taken out by “surface dwellers.” She is incredibly powerful, lives in water and can survive above it, and is also able to fly with wings in her ankles.

The MCU has seen villains and heroes come from the Earth, the sky, space and the heavens above, it’s time to pull a powerful character from the sea below.

15 BLACK CAT

Black Cat’s origin involves her, as a wealthy New Yorker, raised mostly by her mother while her father was away on business trips. Felicia’s father is suddenly in a plane crash and it is revealed he is a cat burglar, and piecing that together, Felicia takes on the name of Black Cat and sets off training and becoming a Cat Burglar, and sometimes a hero.

Though much of the Spider-Man property remains with Sony, and they’ve announced a possible Black Cat project, the character of Liz in Far From Home has a lot of similarities to Felicia, and is at the very least, a close friend of Peter. She could absolutely be worked into the MCU.

14 IRONHEART

With the retirement of many Avengers, and the ushering in of the new, it’s not impossible to imagine another Iron Man protégé joining the MCU. M.I.T. student Riri Williams builds her own Iron Man suit, and takes on the alias, Ironheart. Tony Stark has become the Avengers’ dad, or maybe cool uncle, training and endorsing Peter Parker as Spider-Man and gifting him his suits.

He was one of the early recruits and later recruiters of the Avengers, and could easily re-up on his recruitment before retirement and bring Riri into the crew. She’s fit seamlessly into stories with Black Widow and Cap before, and would be a welcome addition to their Phase Four squad.

13 MEDUSA

Medusa Inhumans

Though it’s hard to imagine anything being too far fetched as a power source in the MCU, it was incredible when Scarlet Witch’s magic powers, and later Doctor Strange’s, ushered in a different sort of power source beyond X-genes and Super Serums. Medusa’s psychokinetic hair, which she can will like a limb, would fit right in with the magical universe.

A member of the Inhumans, she has appeared in the show, but we want her on the big screen. Her incredible head of red hair would be a striking on-screen addition, and her power would fit well into the MCU. Her power makes her reminiscent of the ancient snake-haired woman who turned onlooker to stone, which we’d call pretty powerful.

12 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

Captain Universe isn’t a character, but a persona, that has merged with multiple characters throughout time. Captain Universe is the protector of the cosmic entity, Eternity and in possession of the Enigma Force.

Tamara Devoux of Earth-616 received the power of the Enigma Force after having amnesia from a car accident. Tamara was chosen by the universe because she was broken and dying, like the universe was, and it needed her protection. Her strength is what made her the choice to carry the Enigma Force. Her pain and hurt were not a weakness, but that which gave her strength, making her a powerful female we would love to see in the MCU.

11 AMERICA CHAVEZ

Miss America from the comics

Appearing in 2011, and getting her own series in 2017, America Chavez represents the changing winds of comic books and character representation. She is Latin American and LGBTQ, making her the first Marvel character like her to star in a series run.

From another dimension, the Utopian Parallel, Chavez absorbed some of the powers of those who surrounded her, Demiurges. Running away and skirting her responsibilities after her mothers sacrificed themselves to save her universe, she passes through different realities, using her powers and taking on the name "Miss America". She’s powerful enough to have once been recruited by a teenage Loki, and was a member of an all-female Avengers team during "Secret Wars".

10 ENCHANTRESS

Enchantress-Amora

Amora, the first to adopt the moniker of Enchantress, was born on Asgard. She has a history with Thor, having once tried to trap and end Jane Foster, on the instruction of Odin who saw the human love interest as a distraction. Working with the Executioner, she fights Thor, trying to turn his hammer into a serpent, but fails, and is banished from Asgard by Odin.

Enchantress then becomes an early member of the Masters of Evil alongside Baron Heinrich Zemo. Her power allowed her the ability to convince the most powerful member of the Avengers, Thor, to attack the Avengers from within.

9 SILVER SABLE

Silver Sable

Silver Sable, a mercenary, dedicated her life to hunting down evil war criminals as the leader of the Wild Pack. She devoted her life to this after losing her mother to an awful attack. She is a highly skilled marksman, swordsman, and has practices and mastered various forms of martial arts.

As time went on, Silver Sable has fewer war criminals to bring to justice, so set her sights on recovering stolen goods and catching criminals for private companies. She has worked alongside Spider-Man on multiple occasions, sometimes as his ally and others as his foe. With the entanglement of Hydra and the rise of Spider-Man to be expected in the next phase, Silver Sable would be a great addition to the MCU.

8 PHYLA-VELL

With Captain Marvel smashing her way into the MCU, and the introduction of Mar-vell, there is room for the extended “Vell” family to make appearances. One such powerful female member is Phyla-vell, a cloned sister of Genis-vell created when he destroyed and reset the universe, and daughter of Marvel and Elysius.

Phyla-vell, who now goes by Martyr after shedding the moniker of Quasar, is incredibly powerful like the kree in her family before her. She has extreme intelligence, can will constructs, absorb and blast energy and has super strength. With the power of Captain Marvel in the MCU, she could easily usher in other space gals, and welcome Phyla-vell to the MCU.

7 QUASAR (AVRIL KINCAID)

After the status of Quasar was left behind by Phylla-vell, Avil Kincaid, stepped into the role. A member of S.H.I.E.L.D., Kincaid was a plain clothes operative until she was needed for more.

She fits right into the MCU, having once used her cosmic awareness to sense that the Chitauri attackers were not all taken out, working with Maria Hill, Captain America and Carol Danvers. She’d been a key member of the team in fighting their armies, and has incredible abilities similar to those of Phylla-vell who once held the seat. She is able to fly, and teleport, has the cosmic awareness, can use quantum energy to will constructs, and can create mental projections.

6 LILITH

If there’s one thing the MCU could absolutely use, it is a demon princess. Born out of forbidden love, Lilith learned to be a feared fighter by Lonus, a demon. Lilith’s abilities include super stamina and strength and dark magic with the ability to summon her demon children to earth. There’s another Lillth who’s the vampire daughter of Dracula. She has the powers of a vampire, able to transform into a bat or the mist.

Both Lilith’s have had run-ins with Doctor Strange, whom we imagine will be a big part of the MCU, so both dark princesses would be welcome. Vampire Lilith was also a part of the Howling Commandos, a team we’d like to see more of on-screen.

5 MOCKINGBIRD

Mockingbird

Mockingbird, or Barbara Morse, is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who has served alongside various iterations of the Avengers. She’s brilliant, having gained her PhD in Biology, and worked alongside Dr. Calvin to try and emulate the super solider serum, which created Captain America. Her intelligence gets her the attention of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and her history in gymnastics gets her out in the field.

Morse has had a history of espionage within S.H.I.E.L.D. and the US government, being recruited by the agencies to protect and investigate wrong doing and inside jobs. We would love to see her away from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and into the big screen spotlight that she deserves.

4 MOONSTONE

Karla Sofen's power is almost limitless. Moonstone gets her power from the stones she names herself after, and has a longer list of powers than almost any Marvel character, including gravity control, energy shields, telekinesis and energy absorption.

She is an M.D., specializing in psychiatry, so move over Fraser Crane. In practice, she was working with the one who controlled the moonstones, and used a hallucinogenic gas to convince him to reject his powers, allowing her to absorb then. She has played both good and evil and has the power to control the Hulk. Another recruit of Zemo’s Masers of Evil, she would be a welcome addition to the MCU villains.

3 SILK

Silk Spider-man

The spider that bit Peter Parker wasn’t finished after just one bite. It also bit Cindy Moon, who, like Peter, took on incredible spider life powers. She was unable to control her powers, and was trained by Ezekiel, who ultimately trapped and hid her from the world. Having found out about her, and needing her, Peter rescues her from the bunker and tells her that she is no longer in any danger from Morlun. She is eventually excited and asks to be called Silk, and joins Peter.

Cindy Moon actually makes a brief appearance as Peter’s classmate in Spider-Man: Homecoming, so hopefully this was not just an easter egg, and Silk will be one of the powerful females to join the MCU.

2 MERCURY

Mercury New X-Men

Though the X-Men exist (for now) in a different universe, X characters have appeared in the MCU, like with Quicksilver, so it’s not impossible to imagine Mercury will make an appearance. A member of the Hellions, she doesn’t have a tonne of interaction with the Avengers or their various friends and enemies, but she is a powerful and incredible character that would be so incredible to see adapted for their storylines.

She is able to turn into a mercury puddle, and her physiology allows to be in a molten metal state, even as she is in her human form. Much like a film favorite, Terminator 2’s T-1000.

1 SUPERGIANT

Supergiant is another one of Thanos’ adopted children. He found her in an orphanage and adopted her after she asked to be put down as a reward after witnessing Thanos end another of his children. He made her a deal that he would if she helped him take out his other children.

Supergiant has a wish to be ended and a desire to take lives, like Thanos, which made her a perfect but unstable recruit for him. We have seen Thanos’ other children in the MCU, although their appearance was very brief. The natural progression would be to recruit Supergiant into the mix, especially since there are no children of Thanos left.