Ever since Avengers: Endgame hit theaters back in 2019, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been eagerly speculating what the next team-up of Earth’s mightiest heroes will look like. And while not all of the original Avengers are still around, Phase 4 has brought no shortage of new heroes to carry on their legacy.
With so many superheroes active in the Marvel Cinematic Universe these days, there isn’t enough room for all of them on a single Avengers roster. As such, there will inevitably be several big names and fan favorites alike who will end up getting left out. But with that in mind, here are five heroes who would be perfect picks for the new Avengers in their next MCU outings, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Captain America (Sam Wilson)
This one is almost too obvious — after all, it isn’t really the Avengers without Captain America. And while Steve Rogers may be retired, he already has a worthy successor in the form of Sam Wilson, the former Falcon. After his journey in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam has finally accepted Steve’s legacy and proven himself as a true hero in his own right. However, he still has a long way to go before he becomes the kind of inspiring leader that Steve was.
If Sam ends up leading the new Avengers, it’ll be interesting to see how a less experienced Cap deals with the newfound responsibility. But whether or not he ends up becoming team leader, his status as the new Captain America makes Sam Wilson a natural fit for the new Avengers. Plus, Steve played a major role in the original “Kang Dynasty” comic, so it’s likely that Sam will take his place as one of Kang’s major nemeses in the MCU.
Captain Marvel
From one Captain to another, here’s another natural choice for the next Avengers roster. Carol Danvers’ role in Avengers: Endgame may have been brief, but she’s still already served as a member of the team, so she’s one of the most likely candidates to be part of the new lineup. As the mid-credits scene in Shang-Chi showed, she’s still in close contact with her Earth-based comrades, so she clearly hasn’t cut ties with her former teammates. Meanwhile, from a real-life perspective, Captain Marvel is currently the MCU’s highest-profile female character, so it’d be surprising if she didn’t feature prominently on the new Avengers team. Between her status as a major powerhouse and the potential character dynamics she brings to the table, Carol would definitely be a valuable asset to the team.
Shang-Chi
Of course, not every member of the new team can be a returning member — there needs to be some new recruits as well. And of all the new heroes introduced in Phase 4, few have been quite so popular as Shang-Chi. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings received widespread acclaim last year from both critics and fans alike, and the titular hero became an instant fan favorite thanks to Simu Liu’s performance. And since that film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, has been confirmed as the director of Avengers: Kang Dynasty, it’d be more surprising if Shang-Chi wasn’t a member of the new team.
Thor
At the same time, it’d be a shame not to include any members of the original six Avengers. And since Hulk and Hawkeye both have natural successors lined up in the form of She-Hulk and Kate Bishop, the natural choice is Thor. Fresh off the heels of Love and Thunder, Thor is poised to take on a new role as a protector and mentor to the next generation.
While he isn’t much of a natural leader, Thor would still have a valuable role to play on the new Avengers, offering guidance to his less experienced teammates. And of course, he’s still one of the most powerful heroes in the MCU, so he’ll be bringing plenty of thunder on the battlefield as well. The rest of the original Avengers’ Big Three might be gone, but Thor is still here to carry their legacy — not to mention a very big hammer.
Spider-Man
And finally, it isn’t a crossover between Marvel’s greatest heroes if Spider-Man isn’t there. On the one hand, Peter Parker’s new status quo following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home indicates that he’ll be settling into his traditional street-level role going forward, so it might feel counterintuitive to see him join the Avengers again so soon. But even so, Spidey's such an integral part of the Marvel Universe that it’d be a shame to leave him out. After all, what’s the point in having Spider-Man in the MCU if he gets left out of the biggest team-ups?
Additionally, while Spider-Man has no real connection to Kang in the comics, he has a prominent role in the original 1984 Secret Wars crossover. Most famously, it’s the storyline in which he first receives the Symbiote costume that would eventually become known as Venom. So now that the mid-credits scene of No Way Home has given the MCU its own Venom Symbiote, it’s possible that history will be repeating itself in Avengers: Secret Wars.