Marvel's Five New Avengers Characters Joining The MCU In 2020 Explained

Marvel is bringing a total of five Avengers characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2020, and it will all happen in the span of just a few months. All of the projects featuring Marvel's new Avengers characters will release in the second half of the year.

With all the shows and movies currently in development, an impressive number of Avengers characters are set to join the MCU in Phase 4. Marvel has eight MCU shows hitting Disney+ in Phase 4, plus six movies releasing between 2020 and 2021. In 2021 alone, Marvel Studios will release Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Loki, and Marvel's What If...? on the streaming service. And for the first time ever, Marvel will release four films in one year: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: Homecoming 3, and Thor: Love and Thunder will hit theaters in 2021.

Despite all the content Marvel has planned for 2021, most of Phase 4's new Avengers characters are actually debuting in 2020. This is rather surprising, considering that in comparison to Marvel's jam-packed schedule for 2021, 2020 could be described as a light year. This year, Marvel is only releasing two movies, which hasn't happened since 2016, and two Disney+ TV shows. Phase 4 will kick off with Black Widow's long-awaited solo movie, followed by Eternals in November. Disney+'s first two MCU TV shows, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision will premiere later in the year. Here are all the new Avengers characters confirmed to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2020.

U.S. Agent

Falcon and the Winter Soldier will introduce John Walker aka U.S. Agent, played by Wyatt Russell. In the comics, John Walker is an ex-soldier who bought his super strength off the black market. In the late 1980s, he was selected by the government to replace Steve Rogers as Captain America. He was a different kind of Captain America for Marvel Comics, as he shared different values and was much more aggressive. After being assigned a partner named Battlestar, John Walker fought terrorists as Captain America until unexpected tragedies drove him over the edge. Later, he re-emerged as "U.S. Agent" and became a key member of West Coast Avengers, where he clashed often with its team leader, Hawkeye. U.S. Agent's standoffish and aggressive nature has remained a fixture of the character throughout his years in Marvel Comics, making him someone that many of his fellow Avengers have struggled to get along with.

As for how Falcon and the Winter Soldier will utilize the character, the show is clearly adapting at least some version of the comic book story where U.S. Agent becomes Captain America, except in this case, the story will involve Falcon and Winter Soldier, rather than Steve Rogers. It's possible that after his time as Captain America ends he'll follow in his comic book counterpart's footsteps and become the Avenger, U.S. Agent.

Sersi

Sersi is a member of the Eternals and one of the most powerful heroes in the ranks of the Avengers. Sersi possesses all the powers of Eternals and is exceptionally adept at matter manipulation, which makes her a force to be reckoned with. Known for being a party-loving Eternal who enjoys mingling with humans, Sersi is a bit different from most Eternals and one of only three Eternals to join the Avengers. Sersi joined the team after an invitation from Captain America and quickly developed an attraction to Black Knight. After contracting an Eternal disease, Sersi had to be psychically bonded with Black Knight to keep her from losing control. During this time, Sersi was a major character in Marvel's Avengers comic, and her potential for destruction made her the Avengers' equivalent to the X-Men's Jean Grey.

Gemma Chan will bring Sersi to life in Marvel's Eternals. Whether or not she'll have all her abilities hasn't been revealed, but set photos indicate that Sersi will have energy powers of some kind. Also, though Sersi may or may not become an Avenger in the MCU, at least one major part of her time with the Avengers will be adapted to the big screen, and that's her romance with Black Knight, which was confirmed through set photos.

Black Knight

Perhaps the most important Avenger joining the MCU in 2020 is Kit Harrington's Black Knight a.k.a. Dane Whitman in Marvel's Eternals. In the comic books, Black Knight is Marvel's most skilled swordsman and the owner of an ancient, cursed sword called the Ebony Blade. Black Knight is the latest in a long line of swordsmen who have been entrusted with the mystical sword. The Ebony Blade carries a blood curse that slowly strips away the sanity of the wielder, but Black Knight has spent most of his superhero career fighting against it. Black Knight was a major member of the Avengers during the 1980s and the 1990s and even served as co-leader of the team for a few years. During the early '90s, Black Knight was so important to the Avengers that he essentially became the face of the team, appearing front-and-center on many of the comic covers and playing central roles in their biggest stories.

Despite Sersi being his only connection to the Eternals, Black Knight is reportedly the male lead of Eternals and is thus far the only confirmed human character in the movie. How Dane Whitman will fit into the story or if he will become Black Knight during the movie remains unclear, but Harrington's character could be integral to the future of the MCU.

Gilgamesh

The Eternal known as Gilgamesh is considered to be an outsider among his people. After breaking the rules of the Eternals and helping the humans with their problems, the proud but righteous Eternal was banished centuries ago and given the moniker, "The Forgotten One." Physically speaking, Gilgamesh is among Marvel's strongest characters and is even on par with Thor and Hercules. Gilgamesh was also a member of one of the strangest lineups in Avengers history. In 1989, Captain America assembled Thor, Gilgamesh, Mr. Fantastic, and Invisible Woman to become the next iteration of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The extremely obscure Avenger will be portrayed by Don Lee in Eternals. His role in the story hasn't been revealed, but since Eternals is headed to ancient Babylon, a place with strong historical connections to Gilgamesh, his past could be explored in the film.

Monica Rambeau

Monica Rambeau is the first female Captain Marvel and a superhero who can turn into different forms of electromagnetic energy. Also known by the names "Photon" and Spectrum," Monica joined the Avengers during the early 1980s and stayed with the team for most of the decade. Monica was a natural leader whose instincts and ability to command respect from her team members caused them to make her the new Avengers chairman.

WandaVision will introduce an adult version of Monica (Teyonah Parris), who was just a child in Captain Marvel. She will apparently be an agent of the secret organization, S.W.O.R.D. It's still not known if she'll have the powers of her comic book counterpart, but a superhero career for the character could be in the cards, whether it be in WandaVision, Captain Marvel 2, or a different Marvel Cinematic Universe project entirely.

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