Captain Marvel Teased A Proper Avengers Replacement For MCU Phase 4

Marvel Studios may have subtly used Captain Marvel to introduce a future superhero team who can replace the Avengers. The first film starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers introduced audiences to one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most powerful heroes, but also one of the most influential. Even though we are just now meeting her, Captain Marvel's connections to the larger MCU run deep.

One of the biggest reveals that comes in Captain Marvel's ending directly ties to Nick Fury's Avenger Initiative, the program he created to recruit the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor to become Earth's mightiest heroes. They may be the first members of the team, but they aren't the first heroes that Fury encountered. Captain Marvel shows how he met Carol Danvers back in 1995 and his mindset was forever changed. It was because of Carol's heroic ways and revealing to him that aliens exist that Fury quickly realized that Earth needs more super powered protection.

But, when Fury initially begins drafting up the Avenger Initiative, it doesn't include the Avenger name that has now defined the MCU. Fury only makes this change after discovering that Carol's callsign when she was a pilot was Avenger, so he decides to name the whole initiative after the woman who inspired the thought to begin with. If it wasn't for this discovery, Fury may have kept his original name idea, the Protector Initiative. While this may seem like a throwaway moment on the surface, this could also be Marvel Studios slyly setting up a new superhero team: The Protectors.

This Page: The Protectors Explained
Page 2: The Protectors Could Be A Phase 4 Team

Who Are The Protectors?

The Protectors are a rather new creation in Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in "Totally Awesome Hulk #16" in 2017 and were created by Greg Pak and Mahmud Asrar. The team consists of a lineup of some of Marvel's biggest and most prominent Asian heroes. Amadeus Cho aka Totally Awesome Hulk is the muscle of the group, but he is joined by Kamala Khan aka Ms Marvel, the Master of Kung Fu Shang-Chi, Jimmy Woo, Cindy Moon aka Silk, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jake Oh.

Although they don't immediately set out to be the super team of their own, a bond is quickly formed between them during a charity event in Manhattan. But, an unforeseen attack by the Imperial Guard of Seknarf Seven takes them and some civilians off world and is the birthplace of The Protectors name. Using their combined skills, they're eventually able to thwart the Imperial Guard and return everyone safely home, with the help of Alpha Flight. The Protectors may be less than two years removed from their comic debut, but some of these characters are already established in the larger universe in some way, and after this tease, could they be the future?

The Protectors Members Already In The MCU

Despite the notoriety of some of the other members of the Protectors, it's actually Jimmy Woo who's been most established. Comedian Randall Park debuted as the character last year in Ant-Man and the Wasp. He's far from the Agent of Atlas that Woo is in the comics, but there's room for him to get there. In the MCU, Woo is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who is recruited by the FBI after the former's downfall. He becomes Scott Lang's parole officer and is determined to catch Scott in the act of breaking the law. This proves to be more difficult than Woo imagined, and now that Scott served his time on house arrest, Woo's future in the MCU is free to explore.

The rest of the team has yet to appear in any major way, with only Cindy Moon loosely established as existing in the MCU so far. Tiffany Espensen made her debut as the character in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but it has been a very small role so far. Espensen is returning for Spider-Man: Far From Home later this year, and even though there has yet to be any sign that she has Spider-Man powers of her own, the sequel could potentially tease this heroic future.

Related: Casting Shang-Chi In The MCU

And speaking of Far From Home, there's been plenty of speculation surrounding the role of Remy Hii's character, with Protectors members Amadeus Cho and Shang-Chi both being popular suggestions. However, with Fury and Maria Hill's involvement possibly pointing to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s revitalization, could it be that he's actually Jake Oh? Hii could fit in perfectly as an undercover agent posing as one of Peter's classmates who gives Fury an extra set of eyes on Peter.

If this theory is correct and Hii isn't Cho, there's still a small amount of set up already in place for his eventual debut. Helen Cho, his mother in the comics, appeared in a small but important role in Avengers: Age of Ultron. There was no mention of her having a near teenage son, so his MCU future has yet to be firmly established or hinted at, but her role could be the gateway to Amadeus joining the MCU.

Page 2 of 2: The Protectors Can Be MCU Phase 4's Team

Are The Protectors A Phase 4 Team?

Marvel Studios is trying to keep as much of what happens after Avengers: Endgame a secret as they can, but there's still been plenty of unofficial reports about what they are planning. Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel have not been teased in-universe up to this point, but they both appear to have bright and immediate futures that could culminate with the MCU assembling the Protectors.

Shang-Chi's future may be the biggest of all of them and his planned solo movie could be the key to setting up the rest of his team. Dave Callaham is currently writing the script for Shang-Chi, and even though plot details aren't known, Marvel wants a predominantly Asian cast. The movie has even continued to pick up steam now that Destin Daniel Cretton has been hired to direct the film. With a solo movie quickly coming together for Shang-Chi, the studio will likely want to see him become a larger part of the universe in the near future, in the same vein that they set up Spider-Man and Black Panther in-universe prior to their solo films.

There's also been plenty of discussion surrounding when Marvel Studios will introduce Kamala Khan into the MCU. She's one of Marvel Comics' best and most popular new characters, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has been teasing that they do have plans to properly tell Kamala's story at some point. Now that Captain Marvel is in theaters and performing incredibly well at the box office, a sequel is incredibly likely to happen. Although there are different directions they could go, it does sound like Kamala would be involved if Captain Marvel 2 takes place in the present day. With that regard, Captain Marvel's trilogy (should Marvel produce one) could follow in the footsteps of the Captain America trilogy, which also introduced notable side characters and potential successors (with Kamala Khan taking on the Ms. Marvel persona).

With Woo and Moon already loosely established in the MCU, Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel on the way, light set up for Cho, and our theory that Remy Hii is Jake Oh, the Protectors could be fully formed by the end of MCU Phase 4. Many fans expect Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, Chris Evans' Captain America, and Chris Hemsworth's Thor to leave the MCU after Phase 3, and even though there are much bigger characters already perfectly fit to fill their voids on the main Avengers roster, Marvel Studios may also want to add more smaller teams to tackle problems in the future. The Protectors are a promising and diverse team that could do just that, and they could even add someone like Wong (Benedict Wong) to the mix to add some magic to the group's power set.

The Protectors' future in the MCU is a giant question mark at this point in time, but this possible tease in Captain Marvel may indicate that Marvel Studios does have plans to bring them to the forefront. With Marvel's tendency to play the long game and many of these characters likely on their way to the big screen, The Protectors are suddenly a team to look out for in the ever growing future of the MCU.