How Powerful Avengers 5's Line-Up Is Compared To Phase 1's Original Team

Are the Avengers 5 heroes more powerful than Marvel's original MCU lineup - and how big is the difference between team strength? The assembling of Marvel's greatest heroes in 2012's The Avengers was a groundbreaking moment of cinema. That original lineup consisted of Steve Rogers' Captain America, Tony Stark's Iron Man, Bruce Banner's Hulk, Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow, Clint Barton's Hawkeye, and Thor Odinson's... Thor.

Though it doesn't seem the Avengers will be assembling anytime soon, Marvel's potential lineup for The Avengers 5 looks very exciting indeed. Recently described as the MCU's "anchor" by Kevin Feige himself, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange is a relative shoo-in, and the same goes for Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, assuming she can be bothered to show up. Other straightforward picks would be Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson's new Captain America, and Tom Holland's Spider-Man. According to Mark Ruffalo, Disney+'s upcoming She-Hulk series will be a "passing of the torch," so let's also include Tatiana Maslany's Jennifer Walters (especially since she's a little too old to be hanging out alongside Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel and Ironheart in the Young Avengers). Tentatively, we'll omit Ant-Man, since Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania's Cassie Lang recast suggests a potential MCU baton-passing in Phase 4, and also Scarlet Witch, who doesn't look very Avenger-y in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That gives us a projected Phase 5 Avengers lineup of: Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man, Captain America II, and She-Hulk.

For the purposes of this exercise, we'll pit our potential MCU Avengers 5 lineup against the original team as they were by the end of Phase 1 (during The Avengers). The OG heroes also get backup from War Machine and Nick Fury. The battle would inevitably be closely run, with individual victories on both sides. When all is said and done, however, expect the modern Avengers to emerge victorious - largely thanks to the efforts of two senior members...

Avengers group shot from The Avengers 2012

The first key battle comes as a hail of red, white and blue between Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. Using his aerial advantage and Redwing, Sam gives his Captain America predecessor a few scares in a surprisingly hard-fought battle. Ultimately, however, Super Soldier serum proves the difference, and Steve Rogers politely dispatches his dear friend... hopefully from the left. A clash of the cousins next, as Hulk duels She-Hulk. Since Jennifer Walters hasn't yet debuted in the MCU, comic lore is all we can go on, and in most incarnations, Hulk is physically stronger. Jennifer is a better fighter, more strategic, and has better control, but those attributes could only hold out against her raging cousin for so long, leaving She-Hulk defeated (but only after dealing some proper damage to Bruce Banner on her way down).

Captain Marvel and Thor have already battled in the MCU through What If...?, and many fans felt disappointed Carol Danvers wasn't more dominant. Fortunately, What If...? effectively confirms Captain Marvel held back against the God of Thunder, and if we unleash her full potential for this Phase 1 vs. Avengers 5 scrap, Carol defeats her Asgardian opponent. It feels right that Spider-Man should fight Iron Man, even if the latter has no idea why this New York kid keeps yelling "Mr. Stark!" That's another tough, closely-run battle, especially since Phase 1 Iron Man is less experienced and his suits are less advanced. Stark's ingenuity would likely find a way to ground Spidey, but Peter's web-slinging probably renders Iron Man's armor (and War Machine's) useless for the remainder of the battle. Our final key flash-point is a martial arts masterclass from Shang-Chi and Black Widow - the Red Room vs. the Ten Rings. In pure hand-to-hand combat, the outcome would be close, but as soon as Shang-Chi begins throwing Rings around, the tide turns in his favor.

With individual face-offs over, that leaves Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel and Shang-Chi vs. Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury. And therein lies the true difference in power between Marvel's Phase 1 and Avengers 5 - nobody in the original team has the capacity to deal with Captain Marvel or Doctor Strange. Danvers is the closest the MCU has come to Superman - so strong, she needed to go missing for most of Avengers: Endgame. Strange's mystic arts, meanwhile, cause problems for every single Phase 1 Avenger. If any of them actually landed a slap on Strange, he'd go down like a sack of potatoes, but that's considerably easier said than done, and imagine all the damage Strange would cause in the meantime. As long as Cumberbatch and Larson stick around, the MCU's The Avengers 5 team are always worth betting your money on.