They’re like Pokemon and we think we have collected them all.

We’re finally ripping the bandaid off of the Young Avengers topic and diving headfirst into who we might have joining the team up. But it wouldn’t be our show if we didn’t also hit on where and how this team might come together. All this being said, we have a ton to discuss, so let’s get right into it. If you haven’t listened to our latest podcast episode, use the button below to find your platform of choice or listen live using the link provided.

The Young Avengers Line Up So Far

Let’s start with the “simple” part of this article, which is who may be making the team that we have already seen in the MCU.

The first on our list is Billy and Tommy Maximoff, aka Wiccan and Speed. We know a good bit about both of these characters, as we have seen them in WandaVision and are set to see them (hopefully) again soon in the Agatha series. Billy takes more after his mother with his powers, able to cast spells and locate people, things we have already witnessed, for the most part. Tommy takes more after his Uncle Pietro and is best known for his speed. As Agent Hill once said with a little change, one’s fast and one’s weird. In the comics, they are better known by the last name Kaplan due to some fun reincarnation shenanigans we won’t get into.

Next is Elijah Bradley, a member we have seen, but definitely only briefly. He is the son of Isaiah Bradley, who we met in TFAWS. Elijah initially joins the team with no abilities but eventually develops super-soldier-like skills. At first, this is due to drug use, yet later, Elijah, in need of a blood transfusion has blood given to him by his grandfather, which then gives him full super soldier abilities. As I mentioned, we only met him very briefly on screen but I don’t take it lightly that they made time to show us him.

Moving right along, we meet Kid Loki. Just talking about MCU-related Kid Loki, he is bound to be pretty weird since we technically saw him chilling at the end of time. Now I know we have seen people move from different parts of time using TVA tech, but whatever they use to bring him into the right timeline will definitely be interesting. Instead of being considered a variant of Loki, Kid Loki in the comics wasn’t ‘stunted’, if you will, at his point of deflection from the main timeline. Instead, he is actually Loki trapped in a younger version of himself after dying and coming back to life (sound familiar?). Being Loki, he joins the Young Avengers and wishes to get Wiccan’s powers for himself, but eventually grows fond of the team and becomes less, well, Loki-like.

Our next Young Avenger comes to us later in the form of Kate Bishop. I think Kate is when things started to become much more clear about the direction Marvel might be going with the Young Avengers. Sounding very much like a Kate thing to do, she joins the Young Avengers by sort of forcing herself into the group. She adopts the name of Hawkeye in the comics with the blessing of Captain America, although I believe the MCU will see Clint bless her to take on his mantle.

America Chavez is next up, coming to us in MoM. As we know, she has the ability to blast a hole in timelines and move throughout the Multiverse. She supposedly can also fly and has super strength, although we haven’t seen much of that in the MCU version of her yet.

Lastly, coming from the most recent release from Marvel Studios and is the last official member we have seen in the MCU. That is, of course, Cassie Lang. Cassie, so far in the MCU, seems to be leaning towards the name Stinger, although as a Young Avenger, she is best known as Stature. She was initially planning to join the Runaways, but instead found the Young Avengers and convinced them to let her join the group. She has a love interest in Iron Lad, who will get to in just one second.

The last person I am throwing on this list as sort of a hail mary is Kamala Khan. While she isn’t typically on the Young Avengers team in the comics, Taylor and I could see Marvel pulling her in post The Marvels. I’m not sure I see her traveling in space with Monica and Carol all the time as a teenager, so I could imagine her finding counterparts in the Young Avengers and hanging around them. She’s more of a wild card in this lineup, but still worth putting out there.

Young Avengers Who Are Yet to Appear in the MCU

Continuing through the lineup, this next group is pretty well-known Young Avengers who we haven’t yet seen in the MCU.

I mentioned Iron Lad before and he, arguably, is the most important member of the Young Avengers, so it’s only right to tackle him first. We’ve discussed Iron Lad in other episodes, specifically because Iron Lad is young Nathaniel Richards, aka young Kang. His story is actually pretty sad, as he pretty much learns he is going to become the literal worse person ever and attempts to stop his future and future self by forming the Young Avengers. He wears a suit given to him by a future Kang and eventually leaves the group to fulfill his future of becoming Kang when he realizes he can’t run from his destiny. He has a romantic relationship with Cassie Lang.

Hulkling is next, a shapeshifter who is super strong (this is him in a nutshell). He is an original member chosen by Nathaniel and is the son of Captain Marvel (the comic book male version, although a possible loophole in how the MCU might bring him in) and a Skrull. He is in a romantic relationship with Wiccan aka Billy.

There is also a ‘Young’ Vision as I will refer to him, to not get muddled with the not young Vision. He is created from the Iron Lad suit and combined with Nathaniel’s emotions. A strange relationship forms between him and Cassie due to this connection. However, Young Vision meets his demise when Nathaniel returns and kills him. So fun.

The last two are slightly more obscure in the sense that the MCU may or may not bring them in. The first is Marvel Boy, a Kree who has enhanced speed, stamina, and strength. While he has the Kree connection, it’s unclear, other than Hulkling, who he may connect with to join the team.

Last is Prodigy. This one is a little gray due to Prodigy being a former X-Men, and well, I don’t need to remind everyone that so far we don’t have the X-Men in the MCU. I think Prodigy is contingent on the next part of our conversation, which is when and where the Young Avengers may come in. He joins the Young Avengers through Speed after he himself loses his mutant abilities.

When and Where We Might See the Young Avengers

Now that we know the lineup, the big question comes in the form of when will the Young Avengers actually happen? As we all know, they aren’t on the slate for Phases 5 or 6, although there are some solid blanks in the lineup. Is it possible they will fit in the next two phases somewhere? One of our theories points to yes and the other to no, so let’s get into it.

The one pointing to yes suggests that the Young Avengers may appear yet in Phases 5 or 6, brought together by the impending threat of Kang. This holds merit, as the true origin of the Young Avengers is the fact Nate forms them to defeat his future self. Since this is the age of Kang, I see this being a huge possibility and not really hard to do. It easily could slide into a slot that is open in Phase 6, and as the rest of this post proves, we’ve clearly seen a good number of the main members already. This would also mean they would all likely be brought together through whatever connections they already have, so Kate’s being Clint would mean Clint is how she meets, let’s say Cassie because of Scott. Essentially their mentors or Avengers connection would bring them all into the fold. Past Secret Wars and Kang Dynasty, we have to assume Kang is defeated, which strengthens the thought that the Young Avengers have to at least form before that unless the MCU doesn’t follow the track of Nate creating them to defeat his future self.

So while the first theory does have merit and I could see it working out really well as far as flow and continuity, this second theory proposing that the Young Avengers will wait until Phase 7 to form holds my heart a little. And that’s mainly because I think we will have a different team up, an official Avengers team, formed for the big battles of Phases 5 and 6, and forming the Young Avengers at the same time seems just a little too much. Not to mention, Secret Wars is going to have wide effects, which opens the door to bringing in the members of the Young Avengers that we haven’t yet seen or to clarify Billy and Tommy since they technically don’t really exist on Earth 616. To summarize why I think they’ll wait until Phase 7 it goes like this: Secret Wars is crazy and the ramifications will be widespread. But on the positive side of waiting for the team to come together, I think we would be able to really focus on them in Phase 7 and give them the time of day, maybe even have them be considered our main team. They have great storylines, so I wouldn’t be angry getting 2-3 team-up movies from them later down the line.

So it’s definitely a little crazy where we stand with the Young Avengers, but it’s important to prepare for them as they will come eventually, we’re positive about that. I hope that this little run-down has made you feel at least a little more prepared for when it happens. Next up for us is an episode all about the man of the hour himself: Kang the Conqueror. Or I guess just Kang since we will be running down his notable variants and who he is as a character. Don’t miss out on another post-Ant-Man 3 episode, as Marvel just blew your mind, so let’s talk about it.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Avengers#Members

Image: “Young Avengers”, Ariel, Discussing Film