It's been several months since Kate Bishop was introduced as a playable hero in Marvel's Avengers, the Square Enix-published live-service videogame based on Marvel's ultimate superhero team. Now, finally, Kate's mentor Clint "Hawkeye" Barton has also been added to the game, along with a big new post-apocalyptic location for fans to enjoy.
Square Enix also revealed that Black Panther will be the next playable hero, coming this Summer, with the Sony-exclusive Spider-Man DLC on its way too. There's potential for many Marvel heroes to make the jump to Marvel's Avengers, although some are more likely than others.
Need To See: Captain Marvel
From the very beginning of Marvel's Avengers, the most frequently teased character is Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel. Kamala Khan, the main character of the campaign, is a huge fan of Captain Marvel. Her bedroom is covered in posters of Danvers, and when A-Day happens Kamala's actually wearing a Captain Marvel T-shirt.
This is why Kamala Khan takes the name Ms. Marvel - because Carol Danvers definitely exists in this universe. It also would be great to play as an almost Superman-level hero in this gameplay style.
Unlikely To Get: Squirrel Girl
One of the most entertaining Marvel heroes is Doreen Green, otherwise known as Squirrel Girl, one of the more recent (she was introduced in 1991) and lighthearted creations from the comics.
She is a member of the Avengers and has heightened agility, senses, and strength, not to mention a big prehensile tail. She also has the power to talk to and command squirrels, which is probably the biggest issue when it comes to putting her in Marvel's Avengers as that would be difficult to render on-screen. She's also possibly too comedic for the game and wouldn't be suitable for its more serious storyline.
Need To See: Falcon
If there's one major problem with the current Marvel's Avengers line-up, it's diversity. While it's fantastic that Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teenager, was chosen to be the lead character of the campaign, she remains the sole person of color on the roster until Black Panther arrives. Therefore, another character who would be a great addition to the game is Sam Wilson, the Falcon.
Sam Wilson's wings would make for a unique way to fly and fight, and his drone Redwing could make for some cool special attacks. With Falcon currently headlining his own Disney+ TV series, it's the perfect time to get him in Marvel's Avengers.
Unlikely To Get: Guardians Of The Galaxy
Before it was released, the Guardians of the Galaxy movie was considered one of the biggest risks Marvel Studios had taken. Aside from being an expensive effects-driven film, Guardians of the Galaxy was a pretty obscure property. It would prove a huge success though, and the Guardians are now one of the more beloved Marvel IPs.
However, they're not a good fit for Marvel's Avengers. Aside from already being their own separate super-team, not to mention being space-based when the game is more earth-bound, for years there's been a very strong rumor that Square Enix and Eidos Montreal's next game after Marvel's Avengers will be a Guardians of the Galaxy game, so they're unlikely to turn up now.
Need To See: Wanda Or Vision
The massive success of the first Disney+ MCU series WandaVision has reminded a lot of fans why both Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and Vision are such fantastic characters, so they really need to turn up in Marvel's Avengers. Even beyond that, both or either would be fantastic additions to the playable roster.
While it's entirely possible that Dr. Strange may get added to the game first, having a magic-based character would open up a completely new type of move-set. As for Vision, his intangibility would allow for some neat new gameplay possibilities, especially if he can walk through walls but his teammates can't.
Unlikely To Get: Deadpool
Deadpool is one of the most popular characters in Marvel comics and he would be a fantastic addition to Marvel's Avengers, what with his expertise in swords and firearms, healing factor, and constant quipping. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to happen.
For starters, Marvel's Avengers is a family-friendly game and Deadpool is known as being a decidedly adult character, as illustrated in his movies. Furthermore, he's had games of his own in the past, meaning there may be some videogame rights issues that Square Enix might not be willing to touch.
Need To See: Ant-Man
Hank Pym was one of the first characters to be shown in Marvel's Avengers, back when the game was revealed at E3. At the end of the gameplay demo, Hank showed up with a miniaturization gun and shrunk a giant robot. Pym played a significant role in the campaign, but everyone assumed Ant-Man would become a playable character soon after the game's release, and so far he hasn't even been announced yet.
This is a shame, since the game already has fun making Ms. Marvel stretch to giant size for her ultimate ability, so a character that can fight by becoming both big and small would be a lot of fun. Plus, Hank's already in the game, so it makes so much sense too.
Unlikely To Get: Venom
He may be a villain, or at best an anti-hero, but Venom is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel universe. The Venom movie with Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2018, and there's a sequel coming later this year, Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Unfortunately, despite Spider-Man supposedly coming to Marvel's Avengers at some point, due to possible rights issues - the Venom movies are made by Sony and are only tangentially connected to the MCU - Venom is a character who's probably more likely to show up as a villain rather than a playable hero.
Need To See: The Fantastic Four
Aside from the X-Men, the Marvel property that has fans most excited about a long-delayed entrance into the MCU is the Fantastic Four. Marvel's first family got three middling-to-bad movies at Fox, but now they have a proper MCU reboot on its way from Spider-Man: Far From Home's Jon Watts.
Fans are about to get very excited about the Fantastic Four again, which is why it would be perfect to bring them all into Marvel's Avengers. Each one has powers that are already represented in the game - invisibility, flight, elasticity, smashing - so it wouldn't be outrageously difficult to fit them in.
Unlikely To Get: The X-Men
When Evan Peters, Quicksilver in the X-Men movies, showed up in WandaVision fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that the X-Men would enter the MCU through the Multiverse. That's not happening yet, but excitement is still high for the inevitable first appearance of mutant-kind in the MCU.
However, it's highly unlikely that Wolverine or any of the other mutants will show up in Marvel's Avengers. The game has not made any indication that mutants exist, and even if they did, the X-Men would be deserving of their own game, not shoehorned into Avengers as they could easily take over the whole title - and that's not the story Square Enix is trying to tell.