In the early days of the MCU, Marvel Studios was slow to integrate new title characters into its core ensemble of superheroes. The studio prioritized sequels centered on the likes of Iron Man and Thor over origin films that would introduce more capes into the mix. And then an Avengers movie (or Captain America: Civil War) would bring these core superheroes together every two to six films, with those team-ups serving as a through line in the Infinity Saga as the universe gradually expanded. But Marvel has changed its release strategy since the start of the Multiverse Saga in 2021, and the Avengers don’t even exist in the MCU anymore.
Fifteen movies and 14 live-action TV shows will separate 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Doomsday by the time the latter arrives in May 2026. A bunch of those projects are sequels, but many of them are also origin stories that use the star power of returning characters to help introduce a new generation of superheroes. At this stage in Marvel’s main narrative, the surviving former members of the Avengers are scattered across the planet or beyond. The residents of Earth-616 have grown so desperate that they’re about to turn to a group of former assassins, murderers, and Russian spies to save the world in Thunderbolts*.
In Captain America: Brave New World, Sam Wilson has been given the daunting task of assembling a new team of Avengers. What with all the parallel universes and the dizzying number of story lines that are progressing in tandem, the MCU has become a mess whose plot and character roster are getting more and more difficult to keep track of. Watching each new TV series or movie feels akin to studying for a test that still hasn’t arrived, with joyless films like Brave New World and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania doing little more than setting up Marvel’s next projects.
So we’re here to give Captain America—and anyone who can’t recall the dozens of active MCU superheroes—some help. We’re going to present Wilson with a list of superhero candidates to consider for the next iteration of the team, including updates on the ones he clearly hasn’t been keeping in touch with. For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll disqualify any hero who fits into these categories:
- They’re already on another superteam or likely in line to join one. That means there won’t be any members of the Thunderbolts, the Guardians of the Galaxy, or the Eternals, or anyone who seems to be a better fit for the prospective team of Young Avengers that Kamala Khan is constructing.
- They live in another universe. Sorry, Deadpool, but you’re not making the team this time, either.
- They haven’t been introduced in the MCU yet. There are still several Marvel Studios projects coming out before Avengers: Doomsday that will feature characters making their MCU debuts, including the Fantastic Four and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Wonder Man. But it’s probably a little late in the game for a new arrival to walk on to the Avengers.
- They’re considered to be a true “street-level” superhero. Not every superhero is equipped to fight off aliens in space, and that’s OK. Granted, former Avengers Hawkeye and Black Widow essentially had street-level powers, but they were regularly featured in the MCU’s most momentous events. If Marvel Studios has thus far confined a character to the type of “grounded, character-driven stories” that fall under the new Marvel Spotlight banner—I’m thinking mainly of Daredevil, Echo, and the Punisher, who is set to return in Daredevil: Born Again—it seems unlikely that they would also be included in an Avengers lineup. Besides, I doubt any of them would even want to join.
- They have non-superhero obligations and (probably) couldn’t be bothered to join a team. This category includes Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries who fought in the final battle against Thanos in a suit of armor of her own; King Valkyrie, who’s busy running New Asgard; and Namor, the king of Talokan. It’s very possible that any or all of these characters will return in Avengers: Doomsday in some capacity, but I doubt that any of them would be quick to drop their responsibilities to join the Avengers.
For each candidate, we’ll provide a brief report on who they are, what crisis they might have averted recently, and whether they have kids now. And we’ll also assess how likely they would be to sign up for the Avengers if and when Wilson calls them in a cold sweat, wondering aloud why he and Joaquín Torres have been tasked with defending the world from aliens and alternate universes even though they don’t have any superpowers. I’ve given only minor consideration to casting rumors or Marvel’s financial motivations, because where would the fun be in that?
Let’s see who could join the Avengers ahead of the MCU’s next apocalypse, when Robert Downey Jr. will return to the MCU as Doctor Doom.
The Candidates
The New Generation of Superheroes
Black Panther (Shuri)
Played by: Letitia Wright
First appearance: Black Panther (2018)
Last appearance: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Last known location: Meeting her nephew in Haiti
Report: Shuri never wanted to become the Black Panther. But she had no choice but to take on the mantle after the death of King T’Challa and the emerging threat of Namor and his kingdom’s attack on Wakanda. Shuri takes the heart-shaped herb that confers the Black Panther’s powers—after reconstructing it herself—and dons a new Black Panther suit to defeat Namor and put an end to the war between their kingdoms.
Likelihood: High. Marvel Studios had plans to feature T’Challa as a central figure in the Multiverse Saga, but that all changed after the death of the great Chadwick Boseman. Wakanda Forever did a remarkable job of adjusting its story in a way that allowed it to honor Boseman while still letting the franchise carry on. The film is about grief, among other things, and Shuri’s healing process seemed to be just beginning in the post-credits scene where she met Toussaint, T’Challa and Nakia’s son. Toussaint, whose Wakandan name is T’Challa, could be Marvel’s way of eventually recasting the character with some grace. But the title of Black Panther will belong to Shuri for the foreseeable future, and it’s hard to imagine that she won’t have a spot on the Avengers.
White Vision
Played by: Paul Bettany
First and last appearance: WandaVision (2021)
Last known location: Flying away from Westview, New Jersey
Report: The original Vision died in Avengers: Infinity War. White Vision is the new synthezoid created by S.W.O.R.D. in WandaVision. The intelligence agency used the old Vision’s corpse—and a jolt of Wanda Maximoff’s Chaos Magic—to reassemble him, but they’re distinct individuals. White Vision gained the former Avenger’s memories when he met the zombified version of Vision that Wanda spawned in Westview, but White Vision simply flew away after discovering his old identity and the nature of his existence. No one really seemed to care that he left; he could still be flying, for all we know.
Likelihood: Low. While the Avengers could use another Vision on their side, this synthezoid has a lot of soul-searching to do before being considered for a spot on the roster. With the next WandaVision spinoff, Vision Quest, expected to premiere sometime in 2026, White Vision’s story could continue before Avengers: Doomsday arrives. If the timing works out, that series will give us a much better idea of whether he’ll have a role on the team in the upcoming movie.
Photon (Monica Rambeau)
Played by: Teyonah Parris
First appearance (as an adult): WandaVision (2021)
Last appearance: The Marvels (2023)
Last known location: Waking up in another universe in the care of Beast and the X-Men
Report: In WandaVision, Rambeau walked through Wanda Maximoff’s hex and gained energy-based abilities that have made her very powerful. She then formed an elite superhero team with Captain Marvel and Kamala Khan in The Marvels (even if few moviegoers were there to witness it). At the end of the film, Rambeau uses her newfound powers to close a tear between realities, and she gets stuck on the wrong side of the interdimensional rupture. But she’s still alive, somewhere.
Likelihood: Medium. Rambeau would be great for the Avengers, but good luck sending that invite across the multiverse. Photon is on her own, but at least she’s found an alternate version of her mother who’s still alive and a smart, furry scientist to help her find her way home. If she can hitch a ride back to her home universe in time to save it again, chances are she’ll be on the team.
The Falcon (Joaquín Torres)
Played by: Danny Ramirez
First appearance: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Last appearance: Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Last known location: A hospital in Washington, D.C.
Report: Torres took on Wilson’s old mantle as the Falcon in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and he clearly has a lot to learn. The former intelligence officer for the U.S. Air Force is pretty handy with computers, but his combat skills are … questionable. In Brave New World, he tried to impress Captain America by taking down a fighter plane on his own, and he almost died in the process. Torres also has an energy that screams “just happy to be here,” so Wilson would have to consider how his overeager demeanor might affect the team’s chemistry.
Likelihood: Almost certain. Well, I wouldn’t have recommended Torres, but we’re looking at our first—and only—official member of the new Avengers aside from the captain himself. Wilson already extended a soft invite to Torres while visiting him in the hospital at the end of Brave New World. This is why it’s better to keep your friends and your work separate sometimes.
Shang-Chi (Xu Shang-Chi)
Played by: Simu Liu
First and last appearance: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Last known location: Singing karaoke with Wong and Katy Chen (Awkwafina) in New York City
Report: Shang-Chi underwent intense martial arts training during his childhood as his father, Wenwu—the leader of an ancient terrorist organization—groomed him to become a deadly assassin. But he chose his own path, leaving a life of crime behind him. Shang-Chi turned against his father, inherited Wenwu’s mystical rings of power, and defeated a dragon-like Soul Eater in another dimension. Not a bad all-around performance in his debut.
Likelihood: High. Shang-Chi is one of the few heroes from the new generation who seems like a lock to join the Avengers. He might not have any actual superpowers, but his rings make up for it. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was expected to get a sequel, but it’s been four years since the original was released in theaters, and updates on the next movie’s progress continue to be scarce and unclear. Still, Shang-Chi is one of the better films in the Multiverse Saga, and the fact that it even has a sequel in development seems to indicate that Marvel is interested in featuring its star in future projects.
Moon Knight (Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley)
Played by: Oscar Isaac
First and last appearance: Moon Knight (2022)
Last known location: Killing the villain of the series (during a mid-credits scene) in London
Report: Moon Knight has dissociative identity disorder, and he has two distinct personalities—Spector and Grant—in addition to a second superhero alter ego, Mr. Knight. Much of Moon Knight is about Grant learning to understand his mental illness and his newfound abilities as he gets caught up in a mystery that brings him face-to-face with Egyptian gods and jackals. By the end of the miniseries, Grant and Spector learn to coexist with Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god, whom they’ve served as an avatar ever since Khonshu saved Spector’s life and granted him superhuman abilities. But the mid-credits scene in the finale reveals that they have a third alter ego, Jake Lockley, who is more brutal and has a secret arrangement with Khonshu that Grant and Spector are unaware of.
Likelihood: Medium. Honestly, this guy has a lot going on in his life as it is, and he should probably work through a few more things before joining a public-facing superteam. Grant could black out and wake up with his hands covered in Torres’s blood, for all we know. Still, Isaac is a recognizable star, and Moon Knight was a member of the Avengers in another universe during the most recent season of What If …?, so I wouldn’t count him out just yet.
She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)
Played by: Tatiana Maslany
First and last appearance: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
Last known location: Returning to work as a superhero lawyer in Los Angeles
Report: After getting into an accident while in a car with her cousin Bruce Banner, Walters was exposed to Banner’s gamma-irradiated blood. Her subsequent transformation would soon earn her the nickname “She-Hulk.” But instead of becoming a superhero overnight, Jen decided to continue working as a lawyer. Although she received only limited Hulk training from her cousin and has little combat experience, She-Hulk has proved herself to be a fast learner. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s strong enough to break through the fourth wall.
Likelihood: High. It took her some time, but Jen finally embraced her new life as a lawyer and superhero by the end of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. She broke through the fourth wall of her own TV show to defeat K.E.V.I.N. (Feige), so surely she can handle whatever’s coming next. Who knows; maybe she’ll just decide to stop Avengers: Doomsday in the middle of the film and tell Robert Downey Jr. to go home and finally leave these superhero movies behind for good.
Legacy Superheroes
War Machine (James Rhodes)
Played by: Don Cheadle (formerly Terrence Howard)
First appearance: Iron Man (2008)
Last appearance: Secret Invasion (2023)
Last known location: Being carried out of New Skrullos
Report: You think you know someone, and then you find out they’ve actually been a shape-shifting alien for a long time. Like, potentially a very long time. At the end of Secret Invasion, Nick Fury helps free the real James Rhodes from a Skrull containment pod, and it’s unclear just how long he’s been there. (And it doesn’t seem like Marvel really knows, either.) Rhodes’s impostor had picked up a pretty sweet gig working in the White House, but the real former airman was in a deep slumber, wearing a hospital gown. There’s a chance that the body swap happened recently, and there’s also the possibility that the Rhodey we thought we knew has been an alien since … 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
Likelihood: Medium. Secret Invasion was a tough series to watch, and what it did to Rhodes’s character is an unfortunate by-product of the huge mess it made. It’s unclear whether War Machine’s long-delayed solo project, Armor Wars, will ever come to fruition and provide clarity on what has become of Rhodes in recent years. Iron Man’s old pal might have some trauma to work through before returning to the battlefield, but the Avengers would probably take him back regardless.
Hulk (Bruce Banner)
Played by: Mark Ruffalo (formerly Ed Norton)
First appearance: The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Last appearance: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
Last known location: Attending a family barbecue in Los Angeles
Report: Bruce Banner and the other guy inside him have learned to coexist. Hulk now has Banner’s intellect and the strength of the gamma-irradiated monster Bruce spawned by accident. And as we saw in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, he’s ready to help lead the next generation of superheroes, including his son, Skaar.
Likelihood: High. Unless Hulk has better things to do (like maybe giving his son his first Terran haircut), he should be a crucial member of the new team. He’s one of the founding members of the Avengers, and Banner’s experience would be invaluable. And nobody has to worry about him losing control and smashing everything around him to pieces anymore, either.
Thor Odinson
Played by: Chris Hemsworth
First appearance: Thor (2011)
Last appearance: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Last known location: On a beach somewhere on a distant planet, preparing to fight aliens alongside his adopted daughter
Report: In Thor: Love and Thunder, the Asgardian goes through something of a midlife crisis. He hangs out with the Guardians of the Galaxy for a while, reconnects with his ex, and tries to figure out what to do with himself now that he no longer has Asgard to rule or a brother to battle. But after fighting Gorr the God Butcher at the end of the film, Thor decides to adopt the villain’s daughter as his own. It’s certainly one way to find a new sense of purpose in life.
Likelihood: Medium. Cap would surely love to have a little bit of thunder on his side, but does Thor even want to be an Avenger again? Would the kid come with him? Thor is a bit of a wild card, but Hemsworth’s God of Thunder is the last one left of the Avengers’ original Big Three—which also included Iron Man and Steve Rogers’s Captain America—so it seems pretty likely that Marvel will find some reason to justify featuring him in Doomsday.
Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
Played by: Jeremy Renner
First appearance: Thor (2011)
Last appearance: Hawkeye (2021)
Last known location: Spending Christmas at his farmhouse in Iowa
Report: In Hawkeye, Barton is forced to confront his dark past as the violent vigilante known as Ronin and tie up other loose ends from his superhero days. He meets Kate Bishop, a gifted young archer who is eager to learn from him. And begrudgingly at first, Barton steps into the role of a mentor, helping Bishop become his Hawkeye successor by the end of the miniseries. Barton hasn’t officially hung up his bow and arrow for good, but he’s happily settled into superhero retirement on his farm with his family and a very good dog.
Likelihood: Low. Sorry, but Barton is washed anyway—and he’s earned the right to be. He was trying to settle down even before Thanos’s snap turned the rest of his family to dust, and he decided to swing around a katana for five years until he helped bring everyone back from the dead. Just let Barton come back as an Avengers consultant—I don’t know if any number of ice packs could help him endure another doomsday.
Star-Lord (Peter Quill)
Played by: Chris Pratt
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Last appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Last known location: Reuniting with his grandfather in Missouri
Report: At the end of Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 3, Quill almost dies after the Guardians’ fight against the High Evolutionary. Then he has to watch as a version of Gamora from an alternate dimension walks out of his life, leaving him with a final reminder that she was never the Gamora he knew and loved. And so he decides he needs a change in his life. Quill leaves the Guardians in Rocket’s care and returns to Earth to see his grandfather for the first time since he was abducted as a child.
Likelihood: Medium. While it might be a bit odd for Quill to suddenly switch teams like a ring-chasing NBA veteran, he’s now a resident of Earth again. It would only make sense for him to join the squad when his new home world calls on him for help.
Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and the Wasp (Hope Van Dyne)
Played by: Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly
First appearance: Ant-Man (2015)
Last appearance: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Last known location: Grabbing dinner with their families in San Francisco
Report: This duo fought against Thanos, and they’re still busy taking on other multiversal threats. In Quantumania, Lang and Van Dyne get sucked into the Quantum Realm and meet Kang the Conqueror. With the help of their families and some massive CGI ants, they defeat Kang and prevent him from causing all sorts of chaos across the multiverse. Scott’s daughter, Cassie, has joined the superhero family business and will become a member of the Young Avengers soon enough. But Scott and Hope are back to their normal lives for now, and Scott has some new material for his memoir.
Likelihood: Low for the Wasp, high for Ant-Man. Van Dyne has her hands full running the Pym Van Dyne Foundation, which will probably be Marvel’s way of writing Lilly’s acting retirement into the story. But Lang has had enough time to write that memoir and start a podcast—and it doesn’t seem like Rudd is going anywhere. I’m sure that the most unserious Avenger can squeeze some meetings into his calendar.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Played by: Tom Holland
First appearance: Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Last appearance: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Last known location: Starting a new life in New York City
Report: Parker may be a genius, but he made some pretty dumb decisions in No Way Home, starting with convincing Doctor Strange to cast a powerful spell to boost his chances of getting into college. Now his aunt is dead, and no one in the world remembers who he is. But he’s still Spider-Man, and he’ll need to find some source of income to pay for his new apartment in New York City. Maybe Wilson will make sure that the Avengers get paid by the government this time around.
Likelihood: High, but this one is complicated. Wilson has no clue who Parker is anymore, and neither does anyone else, thanks to Doctor Strange’s spell at the end of No Way Home. It might not be so simple to recruit him to the team. But Spider-Man will likely be a central character in Doomsday, even if Parker will have to spend some time reintroducing himself to his coworkers.
Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange)
Played by: Benedict Cumberbatch
First appearance: Doctor Strange (2016)
Last appearance: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Last known location: Entering the Dark Dimension with Charlize Theron’s Clea
Report: Strange isn’t on a great run right now. He almost destroyed the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home. And although he saved America Chavez’s life and stopped Wanda Maximoff in Multiverse of Madness, he also grew a third eye at the end of the film due to his use of the all-powerful Darkhold to dreamwalk into the corpse of his multiversal counterpart. In the mid-credits scene, a sorceress named Clea enlists Strange’s help, telling him, “You caused an incursion, and we’re going to fix it” just before slicing open a portal to the Dark Dimension for them to step into. Strange might be a little preoccupied for a while.
Likelihood: Medium. Inviting Strange to the team may prove to be difficult. I can’t imagine that it’s easy communicating with someone in the Dark Dimension. Cumberbatch also told Variety that Strange will be absent in Doomsday due to “the character not aligning with this part of the story” and that he would be “in a lot” of Avengers: Secret Wars. Of course, it’s always possible that Cumberbatch is lying about all of this, which has become something of a tradition for MCU actors. Either way, Strange will play a big role in the future of the MCU whether he’s officially an Avenger or not.
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Wong
Played by: Benedict Wong
First appearance: Doctor Strange (2016)
Last appearance: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
Last known location: Breaking Emil Blonsky out of prison to take him back to Kamar-Taj
Report: If we count his cameos in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, along with his larger role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and parts in Spider-Man: No Way Home and What If …?, Wong has already made several appearances in the Multiverse Saga. He became the Sorcerer Supreme after Doctor Strange disappeared during the snap, and he’s held on to the job ever since—even after Strange blipped back to life. Wong’s mastery of the mystic arts would be a valuable asset to the Avengers with or without Strange at his side. Plus, he’s already going out for karaoke trips with potential teammates. That’s the kind of person we need to build some chemistry on this squad.
Likelihood: Medium. Other than training whichever sorcerers are still left at Kamar-Taj after the Scarlet Witch brought chaos to its doorstep in Multiverse of Madness, Wong seems to have a lot of time on his hands. Maybe too much. It’s a little surprising given his lofty title of Sorcerer Supreme, but he sure seems to be watching a lot of The Sopranos and hanging out regularly with some woman named “Madisynn.” Joining the Avengers could provide the kind of structure he needs, but his chances depend on whether Marvel wants to feature Wong in an even bigger way.
Mantis
Played by: Pom Klementieff
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Last appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Last known location: Leaving Knowhere with her new pet Abilisks
Report: Like her half brother Quill, Mantis decides that she’s ready to leave the Guardians at the end of Vol. 3. “My whole life, I did whatever Ego wanted,” she says. “And then, I did whatever the Guardians wanted. I need to go out and discover what I want.” Although Drax tries to join her on her journey of self-discovery, she refuses his offer, bringing with her only a trio of Abilisks—which are massive, tentacled creatures—for company.
Likelihood: Low. Although Mantis would be a great addition to the Avengers, she just left the Guardians of the Galaxy to embark on a journey of her own. It wasn’t an easy decision for her to part ways with her only friends, so it’s hard to imagine that she would join a new team so quickly. And unlike Quill, she wasn’t on her way to Earth, so reaching her might not be so easy.
Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
Played by: Brie Larson
First appearance: Captain Marvel (2019)
Last appearance: The Marvels (2023)
Last known location: Moving into Monica Rambeau’s home in Louisiana
Report: Captain Marvel remains one of the most powerful superheroes in the universe. At the end of The Marvels, she flies into a dying sun and recharges it, restoring life to an entire planet. But her friend Monica is lost somewhere in the multiverse, and Danvers has decided to keep watch on Monica’s house until she returns. That means that for once, Danvers isn’t off saving some distant planet or in deep space searching for a new home world for the Skrulls.
Likelihood: High. Danvers is as available to join the Avengers as she’s ever been. But she’s always been unpredictable and just a bit unreliable. Even if she isn’t a member when Doomsday arrives, Captain Marvel will probably show up just in time to save the day and make you wonder, “Couldn’t she have just taken care of this whole problem by herself?”
If this long list of superheroes isn’t proof enough, there are a lot of crime fighters running or flying around the MCU these days. Too many, one might argue. And this isn’t even close to an exhaustive list of active heroes, many of whom will be featured in Avengers: Doomsday one way or another. But to summarize our final results, these are the candidates who seem most likely to join Captain America’s next iteration of the Avengers: Falcon, Shang-Chi, Black Panther, She-Hulk, Hulk, War Machine, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, and Spider-Man.
A 10-person Avengers team (composed of Captain America and these nine candidates) would be far too small to face whatever Doctor Doom has planned in the not-so-distant future. The original Avengers had only six heroes, but that number grew to upward of 16 members toward the end of the Infinity Saga. A lot of the other names on this list will likely find their way onto the team as well, even if it won’t make any sense for some of them on a narrative level.
Marvel Studios has a lot riding on Avengers: Doomsday salvaging the end of the shaky Multiverse Saga. And either the movie will require its viewers to know an exhausting amount of backstory when they enter the theater, or it will try to recap that history on the screen through clunky expositional dialogue, much as Brave New World reminded its audience of what happened in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. It might take a truly heroic effort to save this upcoming crossover from becoming the complete debacle that it’s shaping up to be, and Marvel is banking on the Avengers brand name to bear much of that responsibility. Which makes it all the more crucial for the studio to assemble a team that’s up to the task.
