The DC and Marvel universes are each defined by a trio of heroes that unite the overarching realities in their own way. For DC, Superman embodies the concept of genuine heroism, Batman what one man can do with enough intelligence, resources and drive, and Wonder Woman brings the mythological and supernatural to bear. Marvel's trinity of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man works in a fairly similar way, though in recent years, they all stepped down from their mantles. And as a result a new, much younger and far more diverse trio effectively took their place.

Specifically, the new trio consists of Miles Morales' Spider-Man, Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel, and the current Nova, Sam Alexander. All three of them have proven to be an effective trio and cohesive team, and the shared experience they have of being forced into inheriting a big legacy has served as a much more effective link between them than Cap, Thor and Iron Man have.

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Like all teenagers, their first meeting ( which came in the early issues of All-New, All Different-Avengers) saw them not getting along well, with Kamala going overboard in chastising Sam for being too destructive in a short Jersey brawl. But a fun dynamic between the three of them developed as they navigated their way through being Avengers alongside Vision, Tony Stark, Sam Wilson during his Captain America tenure, and Jane Foster's Thor. The decision to add the three of them in as the first Avengers team post-Secret Wars and Miles' transfer to the prime Marvel Universe shows how far they came in the preceding years, and in the lead up to the multiversal mashup.

Though the three of them aren't exactly a grouping that you'd call conventional, it's been shown time and again that they's more than capable of picking up the slack left by their predecessors, and in some ways even succeed where more experienced fellow heroes have failed. In particular, they surpass the original Avengers trinity in that they actually feel like a trinity.

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Since the original Civil War in 2007, it could be argued the original trio was more like a duo: both Civil War and the Secret Wars prelude Time Runs Out were primarily about Steve and Tony's clashing ideals while Thor was simply a game piece for both to move around when he allied with either one. It was Steve and Tony who vetted various candidates for the Avengers Machine during Hickman's run rather than the three of them. Even in the midst of Odinson's recent troubles, where he could no longer pick up his hammer Mjolnir, he never really interacted with either of them, instead choosing to wallow in self isolation.

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Conversely, Miles, Kamala, and Sam have continuously had one another's back when the situation called for it. When Captain Marvel and Stark led a cadre of heroes against Bruce Banner in Civil War II and it resulted in the Hulk's death, the three of them had the very real teenage reaction of finding comfort in each other. Later, when Miles was fated to kill a then-HYDRA controlled Captain AmericaKamala and Sam (along with the young Cyclops and Riri Williams) quickly split off from Stark's team of heroes to find their friend before the inventor or Captain Marvel could find him.

If those two moments didn't cement their bond, then making the choice to leave the Avengers and start the Champions after the second Civil War certainly did. Since bringing other teen heroes into the fold, the three have routinely shown up in each other's books -- or rather, Miles and Kamala's books, since Sam's second short-lived solo was canceled in 2016.

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As a trio made up of a Muslim girl, Hispanic boy and Afro-Latino boy, it's clear that Marvel wants these three to be the foundation for what the Marvel universe can become. All three have shown up in various Disney cartoons and video games in recent years, though they've been oddly separated. (Now that Ultimate Spider-Man, which Nova starred in, has been phased out by the Miles-including Marvel's Spider-Man, it's unclear which show still takes place in the universe of Avengers Assemble Kamala has appeared in.)

With the original makeup of Avengers set to bow out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year, there'll need to be a new team that takes center stage. These three are prefect to form a new central core for young heroes as Stark, Rogers and Thor did for the first batch of movies. Young they may be, they've already begun to be seeded in the films themselves. The Nova Corps was decimated after Thanos' off-screen attack in Avengers: Infinity War, providing a basis for Sam to receive a helmet; Miles was confirmed to exist in last year's Spider-Man: Homecoming; and Marvel's said to have plans for Kamala once Brie Larson's Captain Marvel releases this March.

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It's been shown for years now that diverse films sell as well as superhero films starring white leads, and with the MCU being so team-up happy as of late, Marvel could easily bill a team up film with the three of them as the launch of a Championsfranchise.

In Avengers #1, Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness and Mark Morales begin with Stark, Thor, and Rogers discussing their place in the grander Marvel Universe, and whether they're the three who should take point. Tony thinks it's time to step aside, while Steve and Odinson are convinced that it has to be them. Stark may be more right than he knows, and Kamala, Sam and Miles are more than ready to rise to occasion.