Can Marvel Replace the Avengers?

What superhero team can possibly replace the Avengers? With the inception of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe right around the corner, Marvel Studios naturally plans to continue their incredibly successful shared universe. The back-to-back epics of Avengers: Infinity War and next year's Avengers 4 is meant to conclude the grand cycle of the MCU that began with Iron Man in 2008. After that, there will no doubt be new franchises launched in Phase 4, and one of them will attempt to replace Earth's Mightiest Heroes.The odds are extremely favorable that Marvel will be successful in igniting a new superhero franchise in Phase 4. After all, prior to 2014, few had even heard of a space-faring super team that featured a gun-toting raccoon and a talking tree. Now, Guardians of the Galaxy is beloved all over the world. Marvel's Midas touch and the brand loyalty they've earned from fans over the last decade should work again in their favor with whatever new franchises they attempt to launch, which reportedly will include The Eternals.

Replacing the Avengers will be no easy feat, however. Although Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated that more Avengers movies capitalizing on that renowned brand name aren't out of the question, Marvel Studios has promised that Phase 4 will be different from what has come before. Superheroes like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange are already being positioned to move the MCU forward into the future (once Avengers 4 returns them to life, that is). Still, finding a new superhero team to possibly take the Avengers' place is a daunting task.

Looking at Marvel's source material, here are some viable potential options for a new Avengers-level superteam franchise in the MCU:

The Ultimates

"The Ultimates" are what the Avengers were called in Marvel Comics' Ultimate Universe and indeed, they're what the MCU's Avengers were based on. However, in recent comics, the Ultimates has come to mean something else: the team consisting of Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Spectrum, Miss America Chavez, and Blue Marvel was reconceived as a gathering of Earth's most powerful heroes dedicated to tackling the universe's biggest problems. From solving the issue of the planet-killer Galactus to discovering who imprisoned Eternity itself, the Ultimates' scope was mind-bendingly cosmic.

It wouldn't be a stretch for Captain Marvel, who is described as the most powerful hero in the MCU, to lead the existing heavy hitters like Thor and Black Panther as well as newer heroes yet to debut under the Ultimates banner. In the wake of Thanos' literally decimating half of the universe, a new cosmic-minded Avengers-level superteam may be just what the MCU needs.

The Defenders

The Defenders were what the Marvel heroes on Netflix were known as when they teamed up in the 2017 miniseries. But Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones didn't appear in Infinity War, nor are they likely to ever be a part of any MCU movies. However, in Marvel Comics, the Defenders were originally an unlikely team consisting of Hulk, Doctor Strange, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer, and Valkyrie. It just so happens three of those characters are already very popular heroes in the MCU.

While fans await the Disney/FOX deal so the Silver Surfer can finally be part of Marvel Studios, spinning off Strange, Hulk, and Valkyrie into their own team up would be easy to do. And it's even fine if Netflix's heroes keep "the Defenders" name; after all, Hulk and Valkyrie were already part of an even more popular team they can reboot - the Revengers.

A-Force

With heroes like Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, the Wasp, Gamora, Okoye, Shuri, and Valkyrie, the future of Marvel Studios is female. Any of combination of those ladies - plus whomever else Phase 4 introduces - could assemble into something both fans and the actresses themselves have pitched: an all-female Marvel team. The Infinity War moment when Scarlet Witch, Okoye, and Black Widow teamed up to take out Proxima Midnight in the Battle of Wakanda was a genuine crowd-pleaser. Imagine that, but spread out of the course of a whole movie, with Marvel's greatest female heroes all together.

A-Force was a 2015-2016 comic book series centering on an all-female team of Avengers. If they attempt to do an A-Force movie, the team's name allows Marvel Studios to keep the famous "A" logo of the Avengers while still spinning the heroes off into something new and different.

Champions

As a teenager growing up in the MCU while also being an Avenger, Spider-Man signals a future youth movement in the movies. In Marvel Comics, the young heroes like Ms. Marvel, Nova, and Spider-Man (Miles Morales) were Avengers who quit the team over philosophical differences and recruited other young heroes to form their own group, the Champions.

Peter Parker and Shuri are the most prominent teenage heroes in the MCU, while Scarlet Witch is not much older than they are. Miles Morales is confirmed to exist in the MCU, and it wouldn't be hard for Phase 4 to introduce a few more young heroes like Ms. Marvel and Nova in order to launch a teen superteam, with Peter Parker perhaps taking the leadership role as their most experienced hero.

X-Men

Of course, it's very possible Marvel Studios is simply waiting for the green light from the Disney/Fox deal so they can finally commence plans to bring the X-Men in the MCU. Only the X-Men, which has been a highly successful movie property since 2000, rivals the Avengers in name-recognition and popularity among Marvel fans and general audiences alike. If and when the mutants are added to the MCU, the sheer number of characters and the staggering potential for team-ups and spinoffs would explode.

First and foremost, however, would be Marvel Studios recasting the X-Men from the ground up, and then solving the question of how the mutants can be integrated into the MCU. And while some of the X-Men films from Fox like X2: X-Men United and X-Men: Days of Future Past have been critical and commercial hits, the studio's overall handling of the property has led to a convoluted continuity and a number of lackluster films.

Meanwhile, fans are dying to not only see favorites like Wolverine, Storm, and Magneto meet the Avengers, but they're also excited for the clean slate being part of the MCU would offer the mutants. Down the road, a mixed superteam of mutants and Avengers like in the Uncanny Avengers comics could be another potential direction Phase 4 could explore.

Fantastic Four

Another potential crown jewel Marvel franchise, and the one that has never been properly done to fans' satisfaction, is Fantastic Four. Whatever cache Fantastic Four earned from the films directed by Tim Story in 2005 and 2007 was totally undone by the disastrous 2015 reboot helmed by Josh Trank. Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Thing, and the Human Torch have been in Hollywood's version of the Negative Zone ever since. Therefore, fans can't wait to see Marvel's First Family in the MCU when the Disney/FOX deal is finalized.

With the hit film A Quiet Place becoming a franchise, there is already tremendous interest in the possibility of Reed and Susan Richards played by the real-life married couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt in the MCU. But regardless of which actors ultimately win the roles of the fabulous foursome, their unique combination of super science, themes of exploring the unknown, and squabbling family dynamics are begging for a reboot. The Fantastic Four belong in the MCU, and fans feel only Marvel Studios can ultimately do them justice.

The Avengers

It's also quite possible the only franchise that can ultimately succeed the Avengers will be a new iteration of the Avengers. After all, Earth's Mightiest Heroes have already been shown to have a flexible roster, with a new team succeeding the original incarnation at the conclusion of Age of Ultron. Even if the six big guns who founded the team are no longer in play, there are plenty of heroes who could earn a seat on the Avengers Quinjet. Whatever happens after Avengers 4, Marvel deciding to continue cashing in on the lucrative and mega-popular brand name would not only be understandable, they'd be crazy not to.