With “The Avengers” breaking box-office records this past weekend, a sequel is inevitable. But even including the after credits scene, there are still many characters that can be added or swapped into the current team, as well as a slew of villains waiting in the wings for their shot at some Hollywood fame. Here is my list of the top five Heroes and Villains that should appear in “The Avengers” sequels. Also, I am not discounting the after credits scene, but I think a build towards that confrontation should happen in the background, maybe as part of “Thor 2″ (scheduled for November 15, 2013), and then a recap for the beginning of “The Avengers 3″. “The Avengers 2″ should have a threat closer to home in my opinion, as we just did the space invasion thing in the first movie.
- Editor’s Note: as of this writing, a sequel has, indeed, been announced by Marvel/Disney.
The Heroes:
A no brainer of an addition and easily one of the most ready to spin-off into a potential franchise. T’Challa is king of a technologically advanced African country that has isolated itself from most of the world. Being a modern king he was educated in his tribal ways but also in the outside world. He is also one of the smartest men on the planet. Adding some color to the team is definitely a plus but the man has resources even Stark doesn’t have. Can replace Hawkeye or Cap.
I think someone mentioned bringing She-Hulk to life in a planned “Hulk” film, and then having her join the Avengers. Good call! She would be the muscle of the team but also the heart and fun. The gamma blood transfusion that made her the Jade Amazon also let loose her inhibitions a bit…I’d like to see them play her with rage issues. She retains her personality normally but if she gets enraged she goes full on Hulk mode. Can replace Hulk.
The android Avenger! Of course you can’t have Vision without Ultron and that will come later. But Vision would be a great addition to the team. Make him more technologically adept, but still trying to be human. He’d be more like Data from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” — fully aware and willing to use his technologically advanced body to hack systems and such, but he’d be trying to understand human nature as well. He’d be a great POV for humanity’s issues. Can replace Iron Man.
I put both the characters down as they are technically connected — Ms. Marvel inadvertently gets her powers from Captain Marvel. With the whole alien thing going on and the threat of invasion not being out of the question, what with two major alien races still out there and with one being the Kree, Captain Marvel is a no brainer. Captain Marvel is an advanced scout who was to determine Earth’s usefulness in a galactic war but came to love humanity, the first movie sets up a lot for him. Have Carol Danvers (aka Ms. Marvel) be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that meets the now-out alien and vouches for him and then receives powers as he dies (no spoiler as his death was a major moment in comics).
Simon Williams is the brother of one the Avengers’ most persistent foes: the Grim Reaper. He’s also the half brother of the Vision and is the basis for the android’s mental patterns. That said Williams became a hero in his own right after a short stint as a villain. He was also an aspiring actor. Let’s go with the whole aspiring actor who had to bail his brother out of something and then got caught up in a criminal scheme by his brother’s superior. He undergoes the treatment for his powers to work for this person as payment for his brother’s failure. Realizing his abilities allow him to fight them he switches sides and joins the Avengers. The Hollywood aspect would allow for some fun stuff. Can replace Thor.
I put Pym in honorable mention simply because he’s a mainstay and was one of the originals in the comic. But the character also has a solo movie in the works with a script by Edgar Wright. Not sure if it’s Pym or his predecessor Scott Lang, but either would work. If they make it Pym then Lang can join the Avengers in his place. Either way both are beloved versions of the character and would be welcomed.
Note: When I mention replacing characters it’s more along the lines of if they want to switch the roster up a bit. I don’t see all these people being added and the others dropped. So yeah we can have Cap leading a team that has Black Panther, Iron Man, She-Hulk, Mrs. Marvel and Thor, for example.
On to the Villains!
With many different incarnations you could really just mix and match from any of the previous versions really. Baron Zemo created the first group, and that automatically gives it a tie in to Captain America. Usually made up of a number of enemies of the current roster of Avengers, their membership is too large to recount but key members included The Enchantress and the Executioner (Thor’s enemies), The Melter and the Living Laser (Iron Man’s), and Klaw. This would be a great group to create using updated and retooled villains from previous solo films.
Well since we’ve had an alien invasion, what’s wrong with some time travel. Kang the Conqueror comes from the future to ensure his present comes to pass, and in some cases to make sure he is supreme ruler over the future. With super advanced technology, a knowledge of a timeline that has not yet come to pass, and the ability to erase people from time Kang and his army would pose a great threat. Throw in some temporal anomalies, and maybe a time jump to a totalitarian Earth would rock!
A criminal organization based on the symbols of the Zodiac, each of the twelve members employ devices or had powers that pertained to their symbol. I’d retool them as a terrorist organization with the same members and an ambition to destroy the world’s governments (all of them) and rule instead. There was also a mystical item retained by the leader of the group called The Zodiac Key. Another lost treasure from Odin’s vault? Could be.
The first of two robot villains. The Adaptoid was created by A.I.M. and so again there could be a Captain America or S.H.I.E.L.D. connection. The Adaptoid has the ability to mimic any hero’s abilities and take on parts of their appearanceo, often becoming an amalgam of all the characters he’s copying. This one-man army has plagues the Avengers on many separate occasions and has even created an army of Adaptoids at one point. Now that would be a battle.
The ultimate robotic villain. Ultron was created by Hank Pym to help him in his lab. Subsequent stories have had him built for defensive purposes for the government. I like that idea actually. Anyway long story short, as with all robots with a mind of their own he quickly decides that his programming to protect humanity is flawed as humanity seems destined to destroy itself and so reprograms himself to do it for us. Ultron later creates the android Vision, which like him betrays his creator and joins the Avengers. Ultron has upgraded himself many times, has given himself an almost indestructible adamantium body, and created an army of Ultrons as well. He’s definitely my choice for the next film, with the big bad from the end of the first movie coming after.
So there you go. Hopefully some of this comes to pass. If not it’s one fanboy’s ideas on what would work.
