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| Image Courtesy www.screenrant.com |
Are there any Avengers
characters that can be ruled out entirely for inclusion in the MCU? I’m not talking about the mutants and
Fantastic Four—both of those groups are owned by Fox and it would probably take
an act of God for any of them to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Instead, I’m talking about the characters who
are part of the Marvel canon and are not associated with a property which has
had its movie rights sold to another studio.
Can we really count out any characters for making an appearance
somewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
This is a question
that ScreenRant posed this past week in an article entitled “15 Avengers Who Will Never Be Featured In Marvel Movies.” The writer, Agustin Guerrero, lists 15 comic
book characters whom he does not think will ever appear in the movies. And while I agree with his reasoning to a
point, I think he is overstating his case with some of these characters. So I’m going to go through all 15 characters/groups
with my take on whether or not they will appear in the MCU. However, I will expand it to include all
media—films, TV, tie-in comics—so that may account for some of our
disagreements. I’ll summarize Guerrero’s
history of the character, give his reasoning for excluding the character, and
then give my take on whether or not the character can appear. Where possible, I will give a possible
scenario for inclusion.
Note: This is very long, so I am breaking it up
into 2 parts; the second part will publish tomorrow morning.
Two-Gun Kid
History
A Wild West
lawyer-turned-vigilante, the Two-Gun Kid fought criminals and aliens with his
eponymous 2 guns until time travel brought him to the present. In the comics he was a bounty hunter working
for the pro-registration forces during the Civil War.
SR Reason for
Exclusion
Because Two-Gun Kid
was brought to the present through time travel—something which the MCU has yet
to explore—SR doesn’t think he has a chance of joining the Avengers. And although the Time Gem will have to appear
at some point, SR thinks using it to bring Two-Gun Kid to the present would be
a waste.
My Response
Though I see SR’s
argument against his inclusion, I disagree for the exact reason he gave. The Time Gem will have to appear at some
point between now and 2019’s Avengers: Infinity War Part 2, and when it
does things are going to get really funky.
Who’s to say that the Time Gem won’t start bringing characters from the
future and past to the present? Though
it would indeed be a waste of potential to just grab a random Old West gunman
and plop him in the present, it would not be a waste if he were only one of a
number of time travelers.
I would call it
unlikely, but by no means impossible, for him to appear.
Possible Scenarios
The Time Gem activates
and starts bringing characters from the past and future to the present,
including characters like Spider-Man 2099, Phantom Rider (Old West Ghost
Rider), and Two-Gun Kid. The
time-displaced heroes must fight off time-displaced villains before joining the
modern-day Avengers to defeat Thanos and disassemble the Infinity Gauntlet, at
which point they are all given the option of returning to their own timeline or
remaining in the present.
Another possible
scenario is that Marvel introduces the concept of time travel on Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. when some phenomenon brings Two-Gun Kid to the present—either following
in the wake of the Time Gem’s first appearance and associated with it, or completely
unassociated in advance of its appearance.
Two-Gun Kid fights with S.H.I.E.L.D. while they try to find a way to
return him to the past. Considering that
he’s a cowboy who rides a horse and shoots old pistols, he would be
ridiculously easy to handle on a TV budget.
Neither of these
scenarios is necessarily likely, but neither is outside the realm of
possibility.
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| Image Courtesy en.wikipedia.org |
Doctor Druid
History
Doctor Druid is a
minor magician, telepath, and hypnotist.
His powers also include invisibility and appearance alteration (thanks
to hypnosis). He joined the Avengers,
but was manipulated by villains a lot before leaving the team. He also has a son, Sebastian Druid, who was a
member of the Secret Warriors in the comics.
SR Reason for
Exclusion
His power set is just
a lesser version of Doctor Strange’s, and the comics have even revealed that
the whole point in giving him magical powers was as a backup for Doctor Strange
if he didn’t succeed in becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. In other words, he’s a duplicate of Doctor
Strange.
My Response
Just because a
character is a duplicate of another character does not automatically exclude
the duplicate: Mockingbird and Black
Widow, War Machine and Iron Man, Winter Soldier and Captain America, Hulk and
(rumored) Red Hulk. In fact, there’s a
definite need for these duplicate characters since there is always the
possibility of an actor choosing not to return to the role. Recasting is an option, but having a
“duplicate” take over the mantle is another option if the story warrants it.
Additionally, because
Marvel is interested in bringing more magical elements into the MCU, it is
entirely possible that they will introduce a number of magical characters all
together. Doctor Strange (and possibly
Cleo) is/are coming in Doctor Strange next year. Iron Fist will join the MCU next year
also. This year we are getting the
Secret Warriors on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Sebastian Druid is one of
the comic book members (though I gave him a “3”
in terms of likelihood to join the AoS version of the team). If Druid appears on AoS, that would be
a good opportunity to also introduce dear old dad, as well.
I would call him unlikely
at present in any medium other than TV, but give him an outside shot at joining
the MCU in a future Doctor Strange movie as a potential future
replacement if/when Benedict Cumberbatch hangs up the cloak.
Possible Scenarios
Doctor Druid appears
in the first half of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 as the father of
possible Secret Warriors recruit Sebastian Druid.
Triathlon
History
Triathlon is a
disgraced former Olympic athlete who was given the powers of the 3-D Man after
joining the Triune Understanding cult.
Thanks to his new powers, he has triple everything: strength, healing, senses, and speed.
SR Reason for
Exclusion
There’s no 3-D Man, so
where did the powers come from? Plus,
his powers are inherently silly.
My Response
Yeah, pretty much what
they said on the second part. However,
even without an established 3-D Man, there’s no reason Triathlon can’t be the
first character given those powers by that weird three-based cult.
I’d call Triathlon’s
chances of joining the Avengers slim, but there is an opening on the
Avengers roster for a speedster, so…
Plus, AoS is always looking for weird D-list heroes to introduce!
Possible Scenarios
He appears as a
sort-of semi-established hero in Captain America: Civil War who wants to
join the Avengers (highly unlikely).
Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. introduces him as a member of the Secret Warriors whose powers
come from being an Inhuman (slightly more likely).
Justice/Marvel Boy
History
Vance Astrovik was
visited by a time-traveling future version of himself (who actually became a
member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy who wielded Cap’s shield). The encounter triggers his mutant telepathic
abilities, and he founds the New Warriors when the Avengers reject him. He later joined the Avengers before losing
his powers after the House of M storyline.
SR Reason for
Exclusion
There aren’t any
teenage superheroes in the MCU right now.
And he’s a mutant.
My Response
The fact that he’s a
teenage superhero isn’t a deal-breaker for me; I think teen heroes are going to
start popping up in the MCU fairly soon, especially if the Ms. Marvel
rumor turns out to be true. However,
because he’s a mutant, I’m pretty sure his film rights are with Fox—meaning
there’s no way for him to join the MCU.
Possible Scenarios
Pretty much none
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| Image Courtesy marvel.wikia.com |
Black Knight
History
Dane Whitman is a
descendant of the original Black Knight (a knight in the time of King
Arthur). After his uncle used the Black
Knight title as a criminal, Dane adopted the persona to become a hero. After proving himself to the Avengers as a
hero, he is invited to join the Avengers.
He rides a flying horse and fights supernatural threats
SR Reason for
Exclusion
There’s a Black Widow
and Black Panther already; there’s no room for another “Black ______”
hero. And he’s basically the human male
version of Valkyrie, a female Asgardian swordswoman who also rides a flying
horse. Valkyrie would be more
“palatable” to the MCU than the Black Knight.
My Response
Like I said above, the
fact that he’s a duplicate of Valkyrie doesn’t automatically disqualify him. And if they’re willing to use the name “Black
Panther” (which is the name of a 60s-era militant civil rights group), I don’t
think they care about name issues!
Possible Scenarios
The Black Knight is an
established English superhero who is shown fighting alongside other British
heroes against Thanos’ forces in England during the Infinity War movies.
Another option is for
him to appear on either Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Coulson has talked about
England a couple times) or one of the Netflix shows (the character is also a
member of the Defenders in the comics).
I’m not sure if a flying horse would work on a TV budget, but you never
know.
Jocasta
History
Ultron created Jocasta
to put Janet Van Dyne’s consciousness into her and make her his girlfriend. However, she turned against Ultron and
eventually joined the Avengers.
SR Reason for
Exclusion
She’s a duplicate of
Vision. And Ultron’s been defeated.
My Response
Duplicates aren’t
automatically out. And Ultron’s been
defeated a dozen times in the comics and just keeps coming back. If Marvel wants Ultron to return, he’s gonna
return.
Possible Scenarios
Ultron returns in a
future Avengers movie after Infinity War and creates Jocasta as his
second-in-command, but she turns on him.
 |
| Image Courtesy en.wikipedia.org |
Silverclaw
History
She is the daughter of
a South American man and a goddess who was sponsored by Edwin Jarvis (the
Avengers’ butler). She learned about the
Avengers and came to America. As the child
of a goddess, she can adopt animals’ physical traits.
SR Reason for
Exclusion
Jarvis is J.A.R.V.I.S.
in the films. She disappears after Civil
War.
My Response
It is easy enough to
get around the fact that Jarvis was Howard Stark’s butler in the ‘40s and is
almost certainly dead now by simply ignoring it. Alternatively, Silverclaw could be a character
who appears on Agent Carter if they want to keep the Jarvis connection
intact. Her back story can be adapted to
the MCU easily enough, considering that they’ve already established the gods=aliens
angle.
The fact that she
disappears after Civil War really doesn’t mean anything; most of the MCU
movies/TV series take huge liberties with the source material (see: Guardians
of the Galaxy). If they want a
Hispanic woman on the team, she’s as good an option as any.
Possible Scenarios
She debuts in Agent
Carter season 2 as a young girl that Edwin Jarvis has been sponsoring at an
L.A. orphanage. Over future seasons she
manifests her powers and reveals that her mother was an alien whom her father’s
people worshiped as a god. Eventually
Silverclaw joins S.H.I.E.L.D. as one of its first “gifted” agents. In the ‘70s, Silverclaw, Ant-Man, and Wasp
form a S.H.I.E.L.D. STRIKE team to deal with hostile gifted.
Smasher
History
Smasher discovers
“Exospex,” a pair of Shi’ar goggles that give her access to a bunch of
different powers (speed, strength, durability, interstellar travel, energy
blasts, etc.), though she can only use one power at a time.
SR Reason for
Exclusion
The Exospex would take
a great deal of explaining for them to make sense in the MCU. Because she is connected closely to the
Shi’ar, her rights probably belong at Fox with the Fantastic Four.
My Response
I disagree on the
first one; it’s easy enough to just say, “This 0-8-4 is some weird alien pair
of goggles that gives superpowers.” Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. explains artifacts that way every so often. The bigger issue is the Shi’ar
connection. If Marvel still retains the
small-screen rights to all its characters, they could include her on TV, but
that’s the only possibility.
Possible Scenarios
Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. introduces a character who uses an 0-8-4 to gain
superpowers—but it’s totally not a pair of Shi’ar goggles!
Conclusion
Those are the first 8
characters from the ScreenRant article; be sure to return tomorrow for the
other 7! In the meantime, which of these
characters would you like to see join the MCU?
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