This past weekend The Avengers went down in comic-book movie history. It broke box-office records, making over $200 million in just one weekend. More importantly, it was a success in terms of its goals– bringing together the Big Damn Heroes of the Marvel Universe from their individual movies and teaming them up in a big, satisfying way.
So it goes without saying that Avengers 2 is a lock. They even threw in the obvious Sequel Bait in the credits sequence. I’m just hoping they lock down the details relatively soon, because I’m already excited. Unfortunately, I can’t see them getting it together earlier than Summer 2015.
If I have one complaint about Avengers, it is that it comes too close to the Smurfette Principle: the team is Black Widow and five guys. This is not Joss Whedon’s fault, I’m sure. Knowing his work, he probably did a lot of fast talking just to get Maria Hill in among the cast. But I know that the team of the movie was essentially handed down by studio edict. So, hopefully, Avengers 2 is going to rectify that. Though, reasonably, there are only so many New Avengers that can be added, and they aren’t all going to be women.
It seems like they really might get the Ant-Man movie off the ground, so he would be a likely add. With him, it’s pretty easy to add Wasp to the team (if she isn’t a key part of the Ant-Man movie, which she totally should be). And it wouldn’t hurt to maintain her original background, if for no other reason than to be a counterpoint to Black Widow: a socialite heiress with a solid head on her shoulders. She’s not Paris Hilton; she’s Ivana Trump. If, you know, Ivana had superpowers.
My other key choice would be Ms. Marvel, aka Capt. Carol Danvers. Since it’s looking like Avengers 2 will be going cosmic, her origin of being an Air Force pilot who is empowered when exposed to alien technology would fit in quite nicely. Plus Ms. Marvel ought to be (but isn’t really) Marvel’s equivalent of Wonder Woman: the universe’s most notable female hero. Frankly, the Marvel Universe doesn’t have someone would quite fits that bill. Black Widow isn’t it. Nor is Invisible Woman, Elektra, Phoenix or Storm. Let’s give Ms. Marvel a proper showcase.
I would personally love to see Mockingbird show up in Avengers 2, and she has the advantage of fitting into the world of the Marvel movie-verse quite easily. SHIELD agent turned hero, with strong emotional ties to Hawkeye, and like Hawkeye and Black Widow, she’s a highly skilled “normal” instead of superpowered. Though it works best if she and Hawkeye are married, so unlike having a strong professional bond that he and Natasha have in the movie, they can be a hot couple who kicks ass. The Mr. and Mrs. Smith of the Marvel Universe. Of course, her actual comic-book background is pretty damn close to movie-verse’s background for Black Widow. So close as to seem redundant. And while I’m a big fan, she’s a bit too obscure. (Though, apparently, they are considering an Alias-like show starring her for ABC Family, that will be tied to the Marvel Movie-verse. So, you never know.)
Those would be my choices. Many fans seem to be pushing for Scarlet Witch, though I respectfully disagree. I understand the reasoning: she was the second woman to join the team, she’s a long part of Avengers history. But given her backstory is entangled with elements that the Marvel Movie-verse can’t use (mutants and Magneto), and you’d HAVE to bring Quicksilver along with her… eh. It seems too much.