The Marvels Confirmed The MCU's New Super Team - Here's Who Could Join Next

Contains spoilers for "The Marvels"

"The Marvels" is out in theaters, and comic book fans likely took immediate notice of a cameo that teases a new superteam coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Young Avengers.

Following Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel's (Iman Vellani) defeat of Kree Supremor Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), the film concludes with Kamala Khan making a surprise visit to Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in her New York City apartment. Like Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) meeting with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to discuss the "Avengers Initiative" in the post-credit scene of "Iron Man," Khan tells Bishop she's building a team of heroes and wants the archer by her side. Bishop agrees to join, setting the stage for the Young Avengers — a superteam that originated in comics created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung — featuring young heroes connected to the MCU's original Avengers team.

A potential Young Avengers film is still some time away. Still, the tease opens the door for several characters to band together — some of whom viewers have already met in previous films, others who have been teased in different storylines, and some heroes still needing to be introduced. Who could make up the Young Avengers in the MCU?

In the comics, Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott Lang's Ant-Man, is an original member of the Young Avengers who takes on the moniker Stature (later Stinger). Like her father, Lang's powers allow her to shrink and increase in size. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, viewers have seen three different versions of the character: First, as a child in "Ant-Man" (Abby Ryder Forston), post-snap (Emma Fuhrmann) in "Avengers: Endgame," and then getting into the action herself (Kathryn Newton) in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." In her latest appearance, she assists Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) in stopping Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) from breaking out of the Quantum Realm.

Lang is the most likely hero to join the Young Avengers next in the MCU: she's specifically name-dropped in "The Marvels" during the conversation between Kamala Khan and Kate Bishop, as the former asks whether Ant-Man has a daughter they can recruit to the team she's forming. Considering Lang's comic book connection to the Young Avengers, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" establishing her as her own hero, and her status as a legacy hero, she appears destined to join Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye on their team next. 

Billy Maximoff and Tommy Shepherd are the heroes Wiccan and Speed in Marvel comics canon. The reincarnated children of Scarlet Witch and Vision eventually find each other on the Young Avengers and learn they're twins. Billy, like his mother, has incredible magical abilities rooted in chaos magic. Meanwhile, Tommy takes after his uncle, Quicksilver, and is a speedster. 

In the MCU, both characters appear in "WandaVision" as illusions created by Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) as part of her perfect family with Vision (Paul Bettany) inside a hex in the magically-controlled city of Westview. Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne) even appear in versions of their comic book costumes in a Halloween-themed episode of the Disney+ show. Unfortunately, the series ends with Billy and Tommy being erased from existence after the magical hold on the town falls — but after reading the Darkhold, Wanda learns her sons exist in another reality. 

In "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the Darkhold leads her on a quest to reunite with her children. However, upon meeting Billy and Tommy on an alternate Earth, the Scarlet Witch realizes she's scaring them and sacrifices herself to destroy the Darkhold. Which versions of Wiccan and Speed will appear in the MCU remains to be seen, as, like their comic book counterparts, their histories are complicated. But the two characters will almost certainly be a part of the Young Avengers as they were in the comics — unless Marvel did all the work to set them up for no payoff whatsoever.

Two more young heroes who have already played a significant part in recent films could join the Young Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez hopped across different Marvel realities with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" to prevent Scarlet Witch from stealing her powers — tying her to Speed and Wiccan in a roundabout way. 

America's journey in the film concludes with her training in the mystic arts on Kamar-Taj under the tutelage of Wong (Benedict Wong), hinting at her coming into her own with her incredible multiversal portal powers. In the comics, Chavez plays a key leadership role in arguably the most popular version of the Young Avengers (by Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen, and Matt Wilson) on a team featuring Kate Bishop, Wiccan, and Noh-Varr. Chavez seems like one of the most obvious choices to add to the young superteam.

Meanwhile, RiRi Williams (Dominique Thorne), despite being known more on the page as a member of the Champions than the Young Avengers, could play a vital role in the MCU's take on the team. Debuting in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," as a genius-level inventor who becomes Ironheart, RiRi could be the Young Avengers version of Iron Man if Marvel wants to keep the roster connected only to the MCU's legacy heroes. Viewers will know more about Ironheart's future after the events of the upcoming miniseries "Ironheart."

Multiple variants of Kang the Conqueror (all played by Jonathan Majors) have appeared in the MCU: The Scarlet Centurion, Rama-Tut, and Immortus are all among those seen on the Council of Kangs in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," while He Who Remains and Victor Timely play major roles in "Loki." However, one key member of the Young Avengers in the comics, Nathaniel Richards' Iron Lad, is both a founding team member and a variant of Kang.

Debuting in "Young Avengers" #1 (by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, John Dell, Justin Ponsor, and Cory Petit), Richards is from an advanced reality in the far future. He comes into conflict with Kang after the villain tries to jumpstart his future earlier than planned by giving him an Iron Man-like armor and showing him how he becomes the Conqueror. To prevent his dark fate as Kang from coming true, Richards travels back in time and recruits his own team of Avengers while adopting the moniker Iron Lad. Throughout his time in the comics, Iron Lad struggles with who he's destined to become, doing everything he can to prevent the creation of Kang.

Iron Lad hasn't been teased in the MCU yet. But it would make sense to introduce a young version of the Conqueror who fights his future self as part of the Young Avengers. Having a heroic Kang variant in the next generation of heroes would create an interesting conflict between the past, present, and future versions of the villain.

Two prominent Young Avengers in the comics have had minor roles in the MCU, hinting at bigger things in store. 

In "The Falcon and Winter Soldier" live-action series, viewers were introduced to Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a former Korean War veteran and test subject injected by the Super Soldier Serum as a part of Project Rebirth. In the show, Elijah Richardson portrays his grandson Eli, who is living with Isaiah when Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) arrives to learn about the former hero. In "Young Avengers" #1, Isaiah, a former Captain America, sees his grandson follow in his footsteps, joining the team and taking up the mantle of Patriot with his own enhanced powers. While Eli hasn't become Patriot in the MCU, Marvel appears to be slowly setting up his potential heroic turn.

In Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson's "Young Avengers" run, Kid Loki found his way onto the team. The reborn trickster god struggles with his future fate as a villain, while his teammates are largely unsure whether he can be trusted. He proves to be a valuable, unpredictable team member, albeit extremely cheeky and mischievous. Kid Loki showed up in the "Loki" streaming series, where Jack Veal played him as a variant of the titular character sent to the Void for killing his brother, Thor. Kid Loki's future in the MCU hasn't been revealed, as he was last seen helping Loki escape the dark realm while choosing to stay himself.

A handful of Young Avengers from the comics haven't yet been mentioned in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making their future status with the team unclear. The list includes Noh-Varr, a powerful Kree-insect hybrid who has romanced both Kate Bishop and, later, the male hero Fuse. David Alleyne, aka Prodigy, is a mutant who can absorb knowledge from those he encounters and develops a relationship with Speed. A version of Vision named Jonas plays a prominent role in the original "Young Avengers," as a sentient suit of Iron Lad's armor implanted with Vision's memories. 

However, arguably the most important hero from the Young Avengers who has yet to be mentioned in the MCU is Hulkling. The son of the Kree hero Mar-Vell and the Super-Skrull Princess Anelle, Hulkling's unique physiology makes him an important figure in the universe. With the power to shapeshift, an impressive healing factor, and super-strength, Hulkling is among the strongest of both alien races he derives from. 

As a result of his heritage tying him directly to the warring Kree and Skrulls, he eventually takes up the mantle of Dorrek VIII, the King of Space, helping slow down the cosmic conflict. At the same time, Hulkling marries Wiccan, making them one of the highest-profile queer couples in comics. They've since starred in numerous storylines together, including the "Empyre" event. With the Kree and Skrulls playing key parts in several films and the recent "Secret Invasion" series, Hulkling is a safe bet to get the live-action treatment soon.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe could also add new members to a potential Young Avengers roster who haven't been part of the team in the comics. The MCU is no stranger to making changes to powers, storylines, and teams from the books, such as the "Thunderbolts" looking nothing like their usual comic book counterparts and the fact that Kamala Khan is leading the Young Avengers despite never doing so on the page. So when the Young Avengers show up, they might look quite different than they do in the comics.

Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is at a turning point as a hero after Doctor Strange makes the world forget him at the end of "Spider-Man: No Way Home." If the MCU wants to reintegrate the web-slinger with heroes around his own age, he'd fit in well with the Young Avengers. But considering the high profile of Spider-Man, it's more likely he will continue to star in his solo films for the time being. Another potential candidate to join the young superteam is Skaar (Wil Deusner), the son of the Hulk. The character made a small cameo in the "She-Hulk" finale, hinting at bigger plans for the super-strong hero. 

As of now, the Young Avengers' role in the MCU isn't fully known. However, with the post-credit scene in "The Marvels" teasing the formation of the fan-favorite team, viewers can expect to see some version of this group of young heroes in the future.