 |
| Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com |
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 is the last
article I expect to write in this miniseries. In this one I’ll cover all the
remaining characters owned by Marvel or Sony and which are getting their own
titles in the All-New, All-Different Marvel lineup. If there’s one you expected
to see but haven’t seen, check either of the team articles, linked at the
bottom of the page. If you think I missed someone, let me know in the comments!
 |
| Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com |
Angela
Angela is a unique
character in that she was not originally created by or for Marvel Comics. Instead,
she first appeared in the Spawn comics as an angel working for Heaven
against Spawn. However, her rights were later sold to Marvel Comics, which
worked her into their universe. Oh, and I think at least part of the
reason she’s so popular is because her outfit combines the aesthetics of a
dominatrix, a stripper, and slave-Leia!
In Marvel Comics,
Angela (Asgardian name “Aldrif”) is one of the Angels, the residents of the
“Tenth Realm,” named “Heven.” However, in reality it is revealed that he is the
long-lost sister of Thor and Loki, thought dead in a war between Heven and
Asgard. Odin had banished Heven from the Nine Realms as punishment for killing
his daughter, not realizing that one of the Angels had rescued the baby and
raised her as an Angel. Once her true lineage is revealed, Angela is banished
from Heven and leaves to wander the universe.
Angela has many of the
same attributes as other Asgardians: immortality and superhuman strength,
speed, and the like. In addition she is a trained warrior and carries a huge
sword. She can also fly.
 | |
| Yeah, that outfit's not gonna happen in the MCU!Image Courtesy en.wikipedia.org |
I can definitely see
Marvel working Angela/Aldrif into the MCU—and it can be done fairly easily. Of
course the obvious option is for Angela’s full back story to be adapted into a
future Thor movie: the Angels from the banished Tenth Realm of Heven
declare war on Asgard, and the war is ended when Angela’s true parentage is
discovered. However, the easier option would simply be for her to be introduced
in Thor: Ragnarok as Thor’s sister. They would need to explain away her
absence in the coronation scene from Thor, but I suppose it would be
easy enough to say that she was in the crowd rather than on the dais. Regardless,
they could slightly alter the character by saying that though she received
training in the martial arts as a member of the Royal Family, she chose to
eschew the life of a warrior and devote herself to other pursuits. This all
changes in Thor: The Dark World after Frigga’s death (uh… spoiler?) when
she demands that Sif train her in the way of the sword. When Thor: Ragnarok
picks up, she is a skilled warrior second only to Sif. Oh, and I really don’t
think Marvel Studios would keep the same costume for her, as they have consistently
chosen functional suits over non-functional stripper outfits for their
heroines. Sorry, guys.
 |
| Image Courtesy www.ew.com |
Moon Girl and Devil
Dinosaur
Moon Girl and Devil
Dinosaur is a reimagining of the Devil Dinosaur comics which
featured Moon-Boy, so I will have to talk about Moon-Boy here, though I’m
not sure how much of his history will carry over to this iteration of the
character.
Moon-Boy is a member
of a tribe of hunter-gatherers known as “Small Folk” in a parallel universe
where dinosaurs and humanoids live alongside each other. He discovered a female
dinosaur and her three young who were being attacked by a rival tribe. The
tribe killed the mother and two of the young, but when they attempted to kill
the third baby their fire activated a mutation that changed his skin from green
to red and gave him super-strength and human-level intelligence (because
comics). Moon-Boy cared for the young dinosaur and named him “Devil” because of
his red color. The two go on multiple dimension-hopping and time-travel
adventures, eventually arriving in the mainstream Marvel universe in the
present day. In the main Marvel universe they decide to settle in the Savage
Land (a region of Antarctica where dinosaurs live). However, they are separated
when Moon-Boy is captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., leading the dinosaurs of the Savage
Land to invade America to reunite them.
Considering the
popularity of dinosaurs (as attested by the popularity of Jurassic World),
it would certainly be possible for Marvel to introduce Devil Dinosaur
and Moon-Boy/Girl into the MCU. I’m not entirely sure how they could have gone
unnoticed thus far (Devil Dinosaur is, in fact, a giant red T-Rex, after all!),
but the Savage Land (or its equivalent if Marvel Studios doesn’t own those
rights) is a possibility. In terms of where they could appear, I think a movie
is really the only option. I mean, does anyone think that they could create a
realistic live-action dinosaur on a TV budget? ‘Course, The Flash
did a gorilla, so…
 |
| Image Courtesy www.marvel.com |
Red Wolf
Red Wolf is a persona
adopted by a number of Cheyenne Indian heroes from the 18th century
up to modern times. From what I can tell, this particular Red Wolf is Johnny
Wakely, the first recorded Red Wolf. He is a Cheyenne child adopted by a white
couple who witnesses the murder of his parents by American Indians in a
retaliatory strike. He struggles to find a place in the white world because of
his heritage, but also struggles to find a place in the American Indian world
because he was raised by whites. He is eventually visited by the spirit of a
Cheyenne wolf god and given the abilities and outfit of the “Red Wolf.” He uses
these abilities to foster peace between native and white populations.
Red Wolf is a skilled
warrior and marksman with superhuman strength and the like. He is also the
first American Indian superhero in Marvel Comics.
From the standpoint of
diversity alone, I think it’s a pretty good bet that Red Wolf will appear in
the MCU sooner or later. Based on his abilities he could appear just about
anywhere; super-strength and marksmanship aren’t exactly big-budget powers! As
far as where he could fit in story-wise, however, I really don’t have any idea.
I think Marvel could work him into Captain America: Civil War as a superhero who represents his people,
similar to Captain America and Black Panther. He could fit into Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. fairly easily as another superhuman that S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps
tabs on. He could even receive his own period-set movie after Infinity War
or Netflix series after The Defenders.
 |
| Image Courtesy www.geek-finity.com |
Silver Surfer
I almost didn’t
include Silver Surfer on this list as his live-action film rights are owned by
FOX as part of the Fantastic Four property. However, considering that I talked
about the Thing, Human Torch, and Galactus in my article on MCU Teams, I
suppose I may as well talk about the Silver Surfer now.
The Silver Surfer is
an alien named Norrin Radd who made a bargain with Galactus to serve as the
Devourer’s herald and find planets for him to devour in exchange for Galactus’
promise to leave his home planet in peace. Galactus accepted the bargain and
gave him a portion of the Power Cosmic as well as his surfboard to aid him in
locating planets which Galactus could then consume.
When the Surfer came
to Earth, he met the Fantastic Four and was so taken with them that he chose to
rebel against Galactus and drive him away from Earth. Following Galactus’
repulsion, the Surfer became a superhero on Earth and one of the original
members of the Defenders (along with Namor, Hulk, and Doctor Strange).
The Silver Surfer is
granted a ton of powers by the Power Cosmic, including flight, space travel,
matter conversion, energy projection and manipulation, and about a zillion
others.
The Silver Surfer (and
Galactus) could easily be fit into the MCU, particularly on the cosmic side, if
only FOX wasn’t so darn stubborn about holding onto those precious, precious
Fantastic Four movie rights despite their obvious inability to actually make a Fantastic
Four movie. However, with this latest colossal failure, maybe they will be
forced to make peace with Marvel, giving us a chance to see the Avengers and
Fantastic Four together take on the Devourer.
 |
| Image Courtesy www.geek-finity.com |
Starbrand and
Nightmask
Star Brand and
Nightmask are a pair of cosmic-ish-powered heroes who played pivotal roles in
the Marvel NOW! event. Both characters are like avatars granted special
abilities by a certain glyph. The glyphs only appear when the world is about to
experience what is called a “White Event,” a cosmic event which grants certain
people superhuman abilities. The Star Brand and Nightmask wielders are supposed
to guide the world through this transitional period.
The Star Brand glyph
grants its possessor infinite power. This particular Star Brand is a college
student named Kevin Connor who accidentally destroys his college when the glyph
manifests on him. Connor eventually joins the Avengers.
Nightmask is an
artificial human created on Mars by Ex Nihilo, a “Gardener” charged with
perfecting any life which he encounters. Nightmask joins the Avengers and Star
Brand in defeating Ex Nihilo to prevent him from destroying and re-making life
on Earth. Eventually all three (Star Brand, Nightmask, and Ex Nihilo) join the
Avengers as regular members. This Nightmask has the ability to communicate with
and control technology, as well as the ability to project energy blasts and
generate portals.
While both of these
guys could conceivably appear in the MCU at some point—and their virtually
unlimited power would be a definite asset against major threats like Thanos—I think
in their current form they may be too powerful for the MCU. That’s not an
automatic disqualifier, however; they can be depowered slightly to bring them a
little more in line with the power levels of the other characters. Alternatively,
they could remain as virtually-omnipotent as in the comics and instead either
be used sparingly or introduced to show the rest of the heroes training them.
As far as where they
could appear, I don’t see it happening in anything less than an Avengers
movie, perhaps in Phase 4 or 5.
Conclusion
So now I’ve gone
through just about all the characters in the All-New, All-Different Marvel
line-up—excluding those owned by FOX and those who have already played major
roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of the characters in this particular
grouping, I think all of them could potentially appear in the MCU, though
Angela and Red Wolf are probably the most likely to appear.
From looking through
all of these characters, there really isn’t a ton that we can say for certain. There
are very few who are a “lock” to appear in the MCU. Many would help to change
things up substantially, but would carry with them a risk of upsetting the
balance in the MCU. However, one thing we can definitely say for certain is
that Marvel is in no danger of running out of potential characters. And if some
of these characters start to appear in the MCU, they will really change things
up!
Which is your favorite
of these characters? Which do you really want to see in the MCU? Are there any
characters that I haven’t talked about and you want to know more about? Let me
know in the comments!
If you want to get an
email whenever I publish a new article, go to the top of the page and enter
your email address in the box labeled “Subscribe to Mostly MCU Reviews” and
click “Submit.”
Previous Articles in This Miniseries:
Spider-Verse
No comments:
Post a Comment