With the end of the Infinity Saga closing the book on the Avengers' storyline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many fans are wondering what the future of the MCU holds. With a global pandemic pushing back the release of several Phase Four films, Marvel's decision to release live-action television shows on Disney+ was a solution that revived and rejuvenated beloved characters while also introducing new ones. Several characters revealed in the Marvel Disney+ shows, such as Kate Bishop from Hawkeye, Kid Loki from Loki and Tommy and Billy Maximoff from WandaVision, are interesting on their own, but fans have been quick to notice another common theme that connects them: they are all members of the Young Avengers in Marvel Comics.
The Young Avengers are exactly that -- a younger, greener group of super-powered beings, including the aforementioned characters as well as heroes like Hulkling, Iron Lad and Miss America, who was revealed in the teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With Marvel's live-action television roster for 2022 including titles like She/Hulk, Ironheart and Ms. Marvel, other members of the Young Avengers from the comics may make their entrance in the MCU this year, and fans are convinced that Marvel is gearing up to introduce them as the next big superhero franchise.
Marvel has been toying with fans throughout their most recent titles, teasing either direct mentions or subtle Easter eggs of various members of the Young Avengers from Marvel Comics. With Kate Bishop becoming an instant fan-favorite in Marvel Disney+'s Hawkeye and her storyline being left open-ended in the finale, it seems that she'll likely reappear at some point in the MCU. The same could be said about Kid Loki's brief role in Loki earlier in 2021. His backstory could be an interesting one to explore in Loki's second season: how exactly did he get pruned and what led to him becoming "King" of the void?
Other characters that may resurface in the MCU are Tommy and Billy Maximoff, the children of Vision and Wanda Maximoff, who were introduced in WandaVision in February 2021. In Marvel Comics, Tommy grows up and takes on the mantle of Speed, aligning with his super-speed powers shown in WandaVision Episode 6, while Billy becomes Wiccan, with abilities like forcefield projection, matter manipulation and even some telepathic tendencies. Their Halloween costumes in Episode 6 were also heavily inspired by their comic outfits. Perhaps this was a subtle hint that we may see their grown-up counterparts in the MCU soon. With Wanda scheduled to appear in the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, and taking into account that she was possibly searching for her children after the destruction of the Hex in the WandaVision post-credits scene, it's entirely possible fans will see Tommy and Billy again.
Miss America is someone else to keep an eye on. While she hasn't been outright introduced in a Disney+ show, specific scenes from the Doctor Strange 2 trailer depict visuals that align with her powers in the comics, making her a significant power player in the MCU's future. Hailing from a parallel Utopian reality, America Chavez's powers include super strength and endurance and the ability to open star-shaped portals, which was briefly shown in the Doctor Strange teaser. As Marvel's first Latin-American LGBTQ+ character to star in their own comic series, Miss America will surely be a welcome face in the hopes of further diversifying the MCU.
Although their predecessors all got their start on the big screen, there are a few reasons why would it make sense to introduce the Young Avengers in a Marvel Disney+ show before a feature film. Consider Marvel's most recent movies and the fan response surrounding them. With Eternals boasting a huge star-studded cast and Marvel executives hyping up its release as an 'epic' addition to the MCU, fan and critical reception ended up being a mixed bag. While visually stunning and backed by a whopping $200 million budget, many felt that Eternals fell short within its actual storyline.
In a roughly two-and-a-half-hour run time, Eternals struggled to cram in all the lore and history of the MCU prior to the Infinity Saga as well as introduce 10 new main characters with varying abilities. With so much information being shoved down viewers' throats, some felt that they were unable to truly connect with the characters or get into the plot simply because they were trying to keep track of everyone on their own journeys. Eternals could have been much more successful as an episodic series, where each episode could take the time to introduce the characters, their relationships and their interwoven history and lore instead of trying to fit all of that in a standalone film.
Given how many different characters are in the Young Avengers, it could be very easy for Marvel to fall into the same trap it did with Eternals. This is why a Young Avengers series might be a better idea to introduce the new team of superheroes and their backstories before giving them a feature film with a higher-stakes plot. So far, every member of the Young Avengers from the comics that has made an appearance has done so via a Marvel Disney+ show, aside from an older Cassie Lang revealed in Avengers: Endgame. Lang eventually becomes the hero Stature in the comics, and although this hasn't been addressed or teased in the MCU so far, she may come into play as Phase Four progresses, perhaps making an appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Introducing heroes in standalone offerings before teaming up is a trend that Marvel has followed since the beginning, releasing Iron Man, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger all before introducing them as a team in 2012's The Avengers. Since the MCU already had their origin stories released, fans had no trouble jumping right into the action in Avengers, and the subsequent sequels in the other franchises following the initial outing of the Avengers only enhanced their story and continued to create more connections within the MCU. To avoid another critical blunder like Eternals, it might be best that Marvel returns to this formula before introducing the next big team of superheroes.