The character most likely to lead the Avengers is actually being hidden by the Eternals movie. In the first trailer, a remark was made about the possibility of Ikaris (Richard Madden) leading the Avengers. It was meant to be a joke, but that doesn’t mean that the events of the movie won’t ever have any bearing on who ultimately takes over leadership of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

With Captain America, Iron Man, and Black Widow all being gone, the state of the Avengers is currently in flux. It wasn’t until Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that there was a sense that the team was still operating at some capacity. As for who’s in charge, that remains unclear. It could be that none of the active MCU superheroes have risen to the occasion since the ending of the Infinity Saga. Plus, the conversation about the Avengers being without a leader indicates that in the timeframe of the Eternals movie, no replacement has been found.

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It may be years before someone else takes the reins, but it’s possible that the character who will get this position is being introduced as early as Eternals. Despite his very limited presence in the marketing, one of the best candidates for the job in the MCU is the Black Knight aka Dane Whitman, a major Avengers character in Marvel Comics. Played by Kit Harington, Whitman is the modern-day love interest of Sersi and a human with no apparent superpowers. Marvel has already confirmed that the character of Whitman won’t become the Black Knight or even wield the Ebony Blade, thus making him a less than obvious choice to be the next Avengers leader. That being said, taking command of the team could still be the long-term plan for his character.

Black Knight’s comic history illustrates why Marvel could have their eye on him as the next hero to lead the team. Dane Whitman may not have had a significant presence in the last two decades of comics, but he was a mainstay of the group in the 1980s and the early 1990s. Partially as a result of being associated with the team for such a long period of time, Black Knight was eventually made the team’s field leader. He even became the face of The Avengers comic and was more prominently featured on the covers and in the stories than all other characters at the time. Black Knight didn’t have superpowers like many of his allies, but his expert swordsmanship and tactical mind made him a capable choice for the role.

Without a chance to become the Black Knight or get his hands on the Ebony Blade in the Eternals movie, Dane Whitman may not be able to make a ton of progress toward evolving into the next Avengers leader, but there are ways for Marvel to build up to that in the film. It’s possible that at some point in the story, Marvel will subtly set up Black Knight's MCU future by giving him a take-charge, heroic moment that does justice to the comic book hero.

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