After an exhaustive wait, the MCU finally gave official confirmation of the Young Avengers with a teasing scene tucked into the end of The Marvels.
The youthful team is a go, meaning the hordes of Young Avengers fans are years, at most, away from an official Young Avengers offering. We don’t know if it will come in film or television form just yet, nor do we know whether it will exclusively follow the team, or if they will instead enjoy a background role in a separate release. There are a lot of question marks currently surrounding almost every aspect of the project, from what form it will take to who will make up the new team. A few people are all but guaranteed, but questions surround several others are throwing the entire lineup into doubt.
The MCU’s Young Avengers lineup
The MCU has introduced almost every original member of the Young Avengers in some capacity, so it seems likely a familiar lineup will debut with the MCU Young Avengers project. The MCU future of at least one member of the OG team recently came into question, however, leading some fans to believe we’ll be seeing a major shake-up. Add the addition of Kamala Khan — a member of the Champions, rather than the Young Avengers, in Marvel comics — and we’re certain to see a fairly different team make the transition from comics to live-action.
Kate Bishop
Kate is a guaranteed member of the Young Avengers, based on that enticing The Marvels scene. In the final moments of the MCU release, Kamala Khan — using tech “borrowed” from S.A.B.E.R. — tracks down Kate and invites her to join a new team of youthful superheroes.
In Marvel comics, Kate eventually serves as one of the primary leaders of the Young Avengers. Considering Kate’s canon age in the MCU — which places her as a young adult, rather than a teen — she’s likely to once again secure this position, as likely the oldest member of the group. Taking on the title of Hawkeye, Kate boasts no actual superpowers, but has plenty of skill when it comes to marksmanship.
Kamala Khan
Then there’s Kamala herself, who is likewise a candidate for leader. Kamala is a fair bit younger than Kate, of course, but she’s the one pursuing the team’s actual formation. That puts her in a position to lead, which could at least see her share the duty with Kate. As Ms. Marvel, Kamala possesses two of the universe’s most powerful objects — bangles that grant her mind-bending powers.
Regardless of who becomes leader, these two are the only concretely confirmed members of the Young Avengers. Interestingly, they never share a team in Marvel comics, because Kamala is actually the leader of a separate youthful group. She, along with Spider-Man and Nova, formed a separate group (The Champions) after departing the Avengers. They’re technically separate from the Young Avengers, but it seems the MCU might have its sights set on combining the two for the big screen.
Cassie Lang
Cassie Lang’s inclusion in the MCU’s Young Avengers is nearly as assured as Kate and Kamala’s. She even got a mention in that brief The Marvels scene, and — despite audience reactions to the film itself — her full debut in Quantumania makes her a clear contender for the group.
Cassie is an original member of the Marvel comics version of the Young Avengers, and she’ll make a great addition to the team in the MCU. Cassie has a brilliant scientific mind, a good heart, and her father’s determination, so she’ll doubtless level up whatever project the Young Avengers eventually debut in. As Stature — her superhero name — she’s got the same general power set as her dad, but tends to enjoy being larger-than-life more than being ant-sized.
America Chavez
Then there’s America Chavez, another recent MCU addition with clear ties to the Young Avengers. She’s not an original member, but Chavez quickly became a standout in Young Avengers comics, and she’s likely to do the same in the MCU. The franchise is quickly becoming overwhelmed by eager new recruits, and — considering the recent quality of its releases — that can only be a good thing.
Perhaps these new additions to the team will help to elevate the franchise back to its former heights. It will certainly be interesting to see such an ecclectic team come together, particularly considering how powerful some of them are. America proved herself to be among the strongest of the MCU’s young heroes in Multiverse of Madness, and she’s still learning to control her multiversal powers. The future truly is limitless.
Billy Maximoff
Another incoming hero with near-limitless potential is Billy Maximoff, the overpowered child of the Scarlet Witch, one of the MCU’s most formidable heroes (and villains). How, exactly, he’ll join the young heroes of Earth-616 is still a mystery, of course, considering that he and his twin don’t exist in this universe, but the bigwigs at Marvel Studios will no doubt cook up an explanation.
Billy takes on the moniker of Wiccan (after initially going by Young Thor or the Asguardian) once he becomes a full-fledged hero, and his power set is pretty expansive. He can do almost anything he sets his mind to, so long as he can find the right combination of words to make it work.
Riri Williams
She’s not an OG Young Avenger, but Riri boasts the unique privilege of association with both the Young Avengers and Champions over her tenure in comics. Her links to both teams makes for a nice bridge between them, and likewise makes her a stellar fit for the incoming Young Avengers project.
Riri goes by Ironheart when decked out in her impressive Iron Man-esque armor, which grants her near invulnerabilty. She’t no Thor, of course — particularly not outside of her armor — but the hardy getup is enough to elevate her to the heights of even her superpowered peers. Rumors indicate that Ironheart is among the shoe-ins for the MCU’s team, which is great news for the character’s many fans.
Tommy Maximoff
Their MCU origin story is — so far — pretty different from their debut in comics, but the Maximoff twins are still top contenders for the franchise’s Young Avengers team. If his brother is involved with the team, its inevitable that Tommy will eventually join as well, but exactly what that will look like is still a mystery.
Regardless, Tommy — or Speed, as he’s known in his green and silver getup — is all but assured to be a Young Avenger eventually. Thanks to his… unique origins, Tommy’s power-set is almost identical to that of his uncle, Pietro Maximoff. He can move his molecules fast enough to phase through matter, run up to 761 miles per hour, and boasts the typical superhuman strength, durability, and agility that comes baked into most superheroes. He’s a force to be reckoned with.
Potential Young Avengers
On top of those listed above, a number of additional team members eventually join the Young Avengers. Some of these characters were part of the original comics lineup, but aren’t guaranteed a position on the MCU’s team, and others are placed so conveniently in recent MCU releases to be anything but Young Avengers plugs. That is, unless the MCU decides to completely ignore the work it already put in and simply write them out of the story.
Teddy Altman
He’s not part of the MCU just yet, and some theories see him excluded from the team completely, but the Young Avengers would be incomplete without Teddy. Also known as Hulkling, Teddy is a shapeshifter of staggering skill, along with the classic lineup of super speed, strength, durability, agility, etc. He’s not technically related to the Hulk — and the entrance of the Hulk’s actual child, Skaar, is stoking speculation that he’ll replace Teddy — but he earned his name from the shape he most often takes when fighting crime. I won’t spoil his background here, in case he does earn a spot in the MCU, but no doubt the actual reason behind his unique appearance will come out eventually.
Eli Bradley
The kid that will eventually take on the moniker of Patriot earned his MCU debut with Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but there’s reason to doubt Elijah Richardson’s future as Eli Bradley. He’s reportedly not involved with 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World, despite his clear connections to the history of Captain America, and that alone is enough to cast doubt over his MCU future. Richardson did a wonderful job bringing the resentful young Bradley to life, however, and Young Avengers fans would be robbed if we lost the opportunity to watch this character grow, gain powers, and become a leader, just like his grandfather.
Kid Loki
Kid Loki, like Eli, has already enjoyed his MCU debut. He was first introduced in Loki season 1 and, while he’s not part of the original Young Avengers lineup, his eventual entrance onto the team is exceedingly likely. Played in the MCU by Jack Veal, the character is an enduring member of the team in comics, and a popular one at that. Unsurprisingly, as a hero Kid Loki boasts generally the same powerset as his adult counterpart, offering up a range of powerful magical abilities on top of the classic superhero level ups.
Iron Lad
Iron Lad is a confusing, but potentially vital, element of the Young Avengers. Its reasonable to think that he is less necessary to the team, now that Kamala has taken on the task of forming it, but Iron Lad offers up some seriously interesting potentials Marvel would be foolish to waste. That’s largely due to the character’s true identity, which makes him one of the most dangerous men in the Marvel universe — and one with a massive future in the MCU. An older, alternate version of Iron Lad — or 20 — have already seen their MCU debut, and introducing Iron Lad with the Young Avengers could present some thrilling potentials. The character, as a member of the Young Avengers, largely leans on advanced tech similar to that worn by Iron Man — thus the name.
Love
Last but certainly not least we have Love, the daughter of Gorr the God Killer and surrogate daughter of Thor. Played by Chris Hemsworth’s real-life daughter, India Rose Hemsworth, the character was a minor inclusion in Thor: Love and Thunder, but she’s got boundless potential as we look ahead at the future of the franchise. She appears to boast powers similar to an Asgardian — the classic super strength, speed, and agility, on top of cosmic energy manipulation — and she can even shoot beams of optic energy out of her eyes, Superman-style.