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Marvel announced last
year that they would be completely rebooting their universe following the
Secret Wars/Battleworld event. As part
of this reboot they are going to be focusing on some new and altered
characters, particularly those whose TV and movie rights are owned by Marvel
Studios. This is leading Marvel to focus
its efforts on promoting the Inhumans while downplaying the mutants, as well as
to the splitting up of the Fantastic Four, with Human Torch joining the
Inhumans and the Thing joining the Guardians of the Galaxy. So because the All-New, All-Different Marvel
is going all-in on Marvel Studios properties, I started to wonder if some of
the other characters in the A-N, A-D Marvel might be getting a push for a
future movie or TV appearance. As such,
this series will look at all the characters in the All-New, All-Different
Marvel lineup whose live-action rights are owned by either Marvel Studios or
Sony and who have not appeared in a movie yet.
Some of these are
characters I’ve written about in the past, so I will include links to those
articles and only provide relatively brief summaries.
If there are any additional
characters that you would like to see me cover in this series, let me know in
the comments.
This time I will be
talking about the teams which do not have an equivalent in the MCU.
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A-Force
A-Force is a new team
created specifically for the Secret Wars event.
The team roster is essentially a “who’s who” of all the female Marvel
heroes, brought together to bring peace to a Battleworld domain ruled by She-Hulk. The main characters are as follows:
She-Hulk-
Jennifer Walters is the cousin of Bruce Banner and became She-Hulk after
receiving a blood transfusion from Bruce.
She has many of the same powers as the Hulk, with her strength related
to her emotional state. However, she
retains her regular personality while in She-Hulk form. She is also a skilled lawyer who represents
heroes on a regular basis. I previously
wrote about the possibility of She-Hulk appearing on Netflix.
Dazzler- Alison
Blaire, a.k.a. Dazzler, is a mutant singer with the ability to convert
vibrations into light (because Marvel made a deal with a record company).
Medusa- Medusa
is the Queen of the Inhumans and has super-strong hair over each strand of
which she has complete control.
Singularity- A
pocket universe that gained sentience during the Secret War
Nico Minoru- Nico
Minoru is the daughter of dark wizards, but ran away from home to join the
Runaways, a team of other hero-children of supervillains. Nico has magical abilities.
Of the five
characters, I think Medusa is all-but guaranteed to appear alongside the rest
of the Inhuman Royal Family and that She-Hulk and Nico Minoru are both likely
to appear at some point as well. However,
Dazzler, as a mutant, only could appear in the FOX X-Men Universe. Likewise, without knowing more about the
character Singularity it seems unlikely that she could work outside of the
Secret Wars—though maybe she could fit into the Guardians of the Galaxy’s
cosmic realm; if Bradley Cooper’s a talking raccoon and Vin Diesel’s a talking
tree, pretty much anything can work!
What I think is more
important than the characters themselves, however, is the concept of an
all-female team of heroes. I think this
can absolutely fit into the MCU—and even more than that, it can be done right
now:
The first question to
ask is, “why are there only women on this team?” Answer: the threat poses a unique danger to
men, but women are unaffected. And what
character have we already seen in the MCU that fits that description? Lorelei (“Yes Men,” AoS 1x15). Lorelei can coerce men into doing her bidding,
and after her escape from Asgard’s prison Loki had her brought back to Asgard. Consequently, it would be entirely possible
for her to either escape Loki’s custody or join him in ruling Asgard. If that were to happen and all the men on
Asgard became Lorelei’s minions, Sif would need some help to retake the Nine
Realms. And where would she turn but
Earth, and her good friends at S.H.I.E.L.D.
Coulson and Maria Hill
would then bring together all the female heroes in the Marvel Universe to
confront Lorelei’s forces. Surprisingly,
the MCU actually contains enough female heroes to create a decent superhero team: Sif, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Quake,
Mockingbird, Cavalry, Jessica Jones, Elektra, and Wasp, with several more on
their way in the near future. I doubt
Marvel would go this direction before Avengers: Infinity War, but
afterward they may consider it.
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Howling Commandos
There have been several
teams called the Howling Commandos throughout the history of Marvel
Comics. The first was a team of soldiers
led by Nick Fury/Captain America during World War II, but the team we are
talking about now is a group of supernatural heroes that fight supernatural
threats. The All-New, All-Different team
is codenamed the “Supernatural Threat Analysis and Kill Experts” (S.T.A.K.E.)
and consists of the following:
LMD of Dum Dum
Dugan- After Dum Dum Dugan was killed in 1966, Nick Fury replaced him with
a life-model decoy without telling anyone.
Zombie Jasper
Sitwell- It’s Agent Sitwell, but he’s a zombie. I think that’s fairly self-explanatory. I would assume he’s from the Marvel Zombies
Universe.
Vampire by Night-
Nina Price is descended from a long line of werewolves, but she was also bitten
by a vampire, making her both a werewolf and a vampire. During the day she is a regular human, at
night she is a vampire, and during the full moon she becomes a white wolf. She is not affected by sunlight and has an
advanced healing factor.
Man-Thing- I
previously talked about Man-Thing in conjunction with possible Secret Warriors. Basically, it’s a man who was bonded with
swamp ooze.
Warwolf- Vince
Marcus is a cyborg built by the creator of Deathlok. He has the standard superhuman traits of
super strength, speed, senses, durability, and the like, as well as claws and
fangs. In addition he uses a dagger and
energy pistol.
Manphibian- Manphibian
is an alien that came to Earth thousands of years ago. He has super strength, sharp claws, and
extremely durable skin.
Orrgo- Orrgo is
a “space god” who has attempted to take over the Earth multiple times. However, he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and
joined the Howling Commandos. He has
“great mental powers.”
Teen Abomination-
Jamie Carlson was exposed to gamma radiation at the age of 13 when a machine
malfunctioned during an experiment. The gamma
radiation turns him into a creature similar to the Abomination.
Hit-Monkey-
Hit-Monkey is a Japanese Macaque that learned martial arts by watching a hunted
assassin living with his troop. After the
group hunting the assassin found him and killed both him and the monkeys,
Hit-Monkey attacked and killed the killers and then vowed to spend the rest of
his life killing assassins.
Considering that
Man-Thing technically already exists in the MCU (Maria Hill had to answer
questions about him before Congress in “Nothing Personal,” AoS 1x20), I
don’t think we can really rule any of these characters out. However, I find the LMD of Dum Dum Dugan and
Zombie Sitwell to be somewhat unlikely—though ironically both of those
characters would be easy enough to bring into the MCU as they’ve already
sort-of been cast. Of the other 6
characters, I think Warwolf would be the easiest to introduce as we’ve already
seen Deathlok and the program that created him.
The bigger question
is, “where would this particular Howling Commandos team fit into the MCU?” This team could theoretically fit anywhere,
though a movie would be the obvious choice:
a movie would offer a much better budget to create Man-Thing,
Manphibian, Orrgo, and Teen Abomination.
Conversely, an appearance on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. might work
just as well, especially as it is being billed as a S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored
team. If it were to appear on Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D., I would expect it to make a few small cameos, rather than
becoming regular characters and making regular appearances.
However, the ideal
scenario might be a Netflix mini-series which could explore all the characters
more fully.
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| Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com |
Illuminati
Most people are
familiar with the Illuminati as a group comprised of the smartest minds in the
Marvel Universe, representing the various superhero groups—this is the group
responsible for shooting the Hulk into outer space, kicking off the Planet Hulk
and World War Hulk storylines. They also
protected the Infinity Stones for a while after Thanos’ defeat.
However, in the
All-New, All-Different Marvel the Illuminati will actually be a group of
villains:
The Hood- Parker
Robbins becomes the Hood when he kills a demon and takes its hood and
boots. Robbins then works to become the
Kingpin of the New York supervillains by bribing them into helping him. He has also possessed and used the Infinity
Stones. Using his mystical boots gives
him the ability to walk on air, and wearing the cloak and holding his breath
makes him invisible.
Titania- Mary
MacPherran gained superpowers from Doctor Doom in exchange for her service in
his army of supervillains. She later
becomes the wife of Carl Creel, a.k.a. the Absorbing Man (who has appeared on Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. and was referenced on Daredevil). She was also given the Power Gem to get
revenge against She-Hulk. Titania
possesses superhuman strength and is resistant to injury.
Enchantress-
Amora the Enchantress is an Asgardian magic user and the sister of
Lorelei. Amora has been a member of a
number of different supervillain teams, most notably the Masters of Evil. She has a wide range of magical abilities,
including teleportation and illusions.
Mad Thinker-
The Mad Thinker is an evil genius (if the name didn’t give it away) who has
fought the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Avengers over the years. He is a genius who designs and builds a lot
of different robots, armor, weapons, and the like.
Thunderball-
Thunderball is a member of the Wrecking Crew, a group of villains who received
super strength from a magic crowbar enchanted by Loki. Before this, however, Thunderball (Dr. Eliot
Franklin) was a genius physicist and specialist in gamma radiation. Thunderball has super strength and limited
invulnerability and uses an indestructible wrecking ball as a weapon.
Black Ant- Eric
O’Grady is the third Ant-Man,
a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who stole the suit to use for his own purposes.
None of these
characters seem particularly unlikely to appear in the MCU at some point down
the line. Titania could easily be
referenced or appear on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the wife of Carl
Creel. Enchantress would fit well in Thor:
Ragnarok or even on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which has already shown
her sister). Thunderball and the rest of
the Wrecking Crew could appear in the in-development Damage Control
series. Black Ant would make a decent
villain for a future Ant-Man movie, or alternatively could appear on Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. (or elsewhere) as a Hydra agent using a version of the
Yellowjacket suit powered by the Pym Particles stolen from Pym Technologies.
As far as the team
itself, I had thought that the Illuminati (the group of heroes) would be an
interesting concept for Phase 4 after the Infinity War, once Thanos is defeated
and the heroes need to figure out what to do with the Infinity Stones. However, the villainous Illuminati could also
be an interesting way to go with the Infinity Stones, as a couple of them are
already associated with the Infinity Stones.
Another alternative is for the Illuminati to be introduced as the
parents of the Runaways.
Even if some iteration
of this particular villain team doesn’t appear in the MCU, it’s all-but
inevitable that there will be a villain team-up sooner than later. After all, we’ve already seen one team of
villains on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the episode “One of Us” (2x13),
and there may be one coming in Luke Cage. The Masters of Evil, Thunderbolts (Marvel’s
Most Wanted, perhaps?), and
Sinister Six are all options for other villain teams to appear in the MCU.
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Squadron Supreme
The
Squadron Supreme was originally introduced to Marvel Comics to answer the
age-old question: “Who would win in a
fight between the Avengers and the Justice League?” Unfortunately, the Justice League was already
taken, so Marvel settled for introducing their own versions of all the major members
of the Justice League.
In the All-New,
All-Different Marvel, however, the Squadron Supreme will have many of the same
members, but they will all be the last survivors from their respective
universes. Consequently, they desire to
prevent this universe from suffering the same fate as their own. The members are as follows:
Hyperion
(Earth-13034)- Hyperion is an Eternal sent to Earth as a baby to escape his
dying world. He was raised with a high
degree of morality and became a superhero.
His powers are essentially those of Superman. (But he’s totally not Superman!) When the multiverse started collapsing, his
universe started to collide with another one.
He and all the heroes from the 2 universes attempted to hold them apart,
but the universes and all the other heroes were destroyed, leaving him the sole
survivor.
Doctor Spectrum
(Earth- 4290001)- Doctor Spectrum receives his/her power from a sentient
gem called the Power Prism. He has the
abilities of flight, energy projection and manipulation, and the ability to
survive in space. However, the Power
Prism is vulnerable to ultraviolet light.
(But he’s totally not Green Lantern!) This particular Doctor Spectrum is a woman,
though not much else is known about her.
Nighthawk
(Earth-31916)- Kyle Richmond does not have any superpowers. Instead, he is
a rich kid who uses his wealth to train in martial arts and develop weapons and
gadgets to become a vigilante. He also
remains aloof from the Squadron Supreme of his original universe. (But he’s
totally not Batman!) This
Nighthawk is African-American.
Thundra (Earth-715)-
Thundra is a “Femizon” from a technologically-advanced matriarchal
society. She traveled back in time to
fight the Thing, considered to be the strongest man ever. She has superhuman strength, resistance, and
the like, and is a trained warrior who uses a sword, chain, and bracelet. (But she’s totally not Wonder Woman!)
Blur (Earth-148611)-
Jeff Walters is a fast food restaurant manager whose body vibrates extremely
fast. He has superhuman metabolism and
speed. (But he’s totally not the
Flash!)
Power Princess (Utopolis)-
Power Princess is a genetically-advanced human (or alien) who is the princess
of her island (or realm). She has
superhuman strength and durability and fights with a shield. (But she’s totally not Wonder Woman,
either!)
Simply put, I don’t
see the Squadron Supreme getting their own movie any time soon, considering
that DC is bringing the actual Justice League to the big screen! That’s not to say that they can’t appear in Avengers:
Infinity War or another movie—or even on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—as a
team that’s sort of a combination between the Guardians of the Galaxy and
Avengers. In fact, I even suggested in
my Damage Control article
that they could serve as a sort of universal protection force seeking to
preserve the MCU. However, I would expect
whatever role they play in the MCU to be greatly minimized, considering that
every member of the team is essentially a carbon-copy of a DC character.
Conclusion
Even if none of these
characters or teams ever appear in the MCU, I hope that you found this article
interesting. Each of these teams has a
lot to offer to the MCU in terms of characters and potential stories. Will they all appear in the MCU? Probably not, but if any of them did I would
not be upset. I think that of the four
listed, A-Force (an all-female team-up) and the Illuminati (a super-villain
team-up) are the most likely to appear at some point.
Which of these
characters would you like to see in the MCU?
Which of the teams do you think is most likely to appear in the
MCU? Let me know in the comments!
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Previous Articles in This Miniseries:
Spider-Verse
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