Within its first week, #AvengersEndgame earned a whopping 1.9 billion dollars, obliterating box office records… but what’s next? Consider this your first SPOILER WARNING!!!
It’s all said and done, right? Marvel’s done it. They’ve created a franchise that will most likely birth the top-grossing film of all time.
If someone asked me if Marvel had wrapped it all up, over text, I’d reply ‘lols nah breh,’ or some ‘hold my asgardain ale’ gif.
Our Contenders Are...
The MCU still has tinges of the original "big three," even if they don't play as big of a role in the MCU's future. The first character is pretty obvious to me: Peter Parker will serve as the new Iron Man proxy. He was Iron Man’s ‘ward,’ as Doctor Strange calls him, he’s a handy inventor himself, and he’s got connections to the Avengers through Captain America and Professor Hulk. He’ll have plenty of tech to work out his new suits (like the noir we’ve seen in the trailers). But he offers a youthfulness and coming-of-age narrative that we haven't seen yet, even from the baby-faced Thor in his first solo outing.
Oh, and if the parallels end there for you, don’t forget that Nick Fury is recruiting Pete for this particular mission, exactly like Iron Man. Frankly, I can also see an arch where Peter becomes the new Head of SHIELD. I don’t even know if that’s in the comics (as resident writer Myles Primm can vouch for), but I think it would be at least FUN to see, though probability is low.
I’m calling T’Challa as the new proxy to Steve Rogers. The reason I don’t say Sam Wilson (he got Cap’s friggin shield!!) is he’s already got his own buddy comedy series with the Winter Soldier debuting on Disney+ in a few months, so I’m gonna let him slide. For now.
T'Challa is a principled young leader, and has a near endless supply of vibranium to boot, a space rock that at least thematically connects us back to the bigger universe of Marvel.
Wrapping up our big hitters, I feel Captain Marvel will serve as the new stand-in for Thor. She’s got the ability to travel at light-speed (or close to), just like the Bifrost did for Thor, and she’s uber-powerful. She’ll connect us to the cosmic level of the MCU.
And here’s where I get into the side-characters. Yes, I’m cutting off the ‘tent-pole’ characters of the New MCU at three, just as the first one, but that doesn’t mean the other characters won’t have stories just as engaging or important as the main three.
Basically, Doctor Strange, Professor Hulk, and Thor will have consultory roles to the new heroes coming into the story, with minor roles in the new SHIELD (or similar organization) headed by Nick Fury. Hawkeye and Ant-man will be more involved with SHIELD, though they will both most likely not be in the field. It wouldn’t be beyond my reasoning to imagine Hulk, Hawkeye and Ant-man as a new council backing SHIELD!
Keep in mind, Marvel is now laying the groundwork for a new grand story and "big bad," and potentially new heroes to join the fight for humanity and the universe. For me, it makes sense that we start small, back on our own turf on Earth, and expand our stories, new and recurring characters, and their powers outward into the cosmos.
We’ll start with Spiderman: Far From Home. Rest assured, Peter will want to date MJ, get to experiment with his Tony Stark-inspired tech innovations, and will kick some major butt along the way.
Ant-man and the Wasp should definitely get a sequel. I loved their chemistry, and loved how they included the Quantum Realm into the overall narrative of the Infinity Saga. I’d like to see that explored even more.
Next is Black Panther 2. C’mon, it’s the second highest grossing film for Marvel, who WOULDN’T want a sequel back at Marvel’s HQ? AND, the narrative was AWESOME! We’ll continue to explore how T’Challa is integrating his country into the world, and struggling to be a good king. This will also be a fresh take of the Thor story, because the entire time, Thor was aspiring for a kingdom, where T’Challa already has one, and is humble enough to desire to be a good king.
Next, we’ll jump to Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (or ‘The Ultimate Edition,’ definitely a play on the Ultimates series in the comics). As much as I’d love to see the Asgardians of the Galaxy return to earth for Peter Quill to face more of his family issues, I feel like it will ACTUALLY turn out to be a corny, crass, hilarious version of a knight’s journey to "save the princess" from the monster. Peter, our Starlord in shining armor will face a quest rife with challenges: being a dad to Groot, keeping Drax and Rocket from killing one another, and fending off Thor’s advances on his love, Gamora. Perhaps Adam Warlock will be the monster standing between them and Gamora? Only time will tell if my fanboy prophecies are correct.
As a breath between the two cosmic stories, we need something to clear our palette. Enter Black Widow. With her arc cut short by Endgame, it stands to reason that the retroactive story they tell would be a fitting memoir her story. As well, where she was sacrificed to obtain the Soul Stone in Endgame, having her entry follow GotG3 where Adam Warlock is powered by the Soul Stone itself would be a thematic connection, too.
Next is Captain Marvel, and #SorryNotSorry, I feel like we need a Captain America: The Winter Soldier-level character reboot here. I’ll be real, her character fell flat for me. There were genuine moments in her first outing that felt AMAZING to witness, but they were cut short by choppy scenes and dialogue that didn’t really involve her. I’ve gotta think about this one, maybe see the first a few more times.
And from the earthbound to the cosmic, we end with Doctor Strange 2, but to start with him, I need to backtrack to Tony Stark, cuz his story is one that's INTEGRAL moving forward.
One of the coolest aspects of Iron Man in the comics was his fights against supernatural threats, as much as his technological ones with the likes of Obadiah Stane (deceased in the MCU). With Doctor Strange being the only parallel to Stark now, it would be easy to turn this on it’s head, with Strange fending off technological threats that extend into the supernatural (maybe using pirated Asgardian tech, and other alien tech wouldn’t be too far off). It’s here that we could explore more cosmic-level entities. We’ve already met Dormammu in the Dark Dimension… who’s to say we can’t meet a few more, like Mistress Death, Eternity (as mentioned in GotG Vol. 3), and more. But with all of this in mind (and as a post-credit scene), Doctor Strange might need a bit of help, so he pursues SHIELD and Nick Fury, who informs him of a scientist doing groundbreaking research that would join the Quantum and Cosmic Realms with a powerful new bridge. This might be to create a new source of energy for the planet, but if it fails, it could create a rift in the dimensions and spill into our world. What's more, Strange has to act without the Time Stone, so seeing into the future will be impossible for him. That lifeline will no longer exist for him, or the universe.
Plus, Asgardian tech could mean completely unnecessary but totally welcomed cameos from Korg, Meik, and Valkarie. #YesPlease
And ALL OF THIS... all of this build up leads me into the next Avengers film. Which Avengers film, you might ask? Well, with the OLD Avengers retired... you might say that some New Avengers could take up the mantle? You'll have to read more in my next piece!
Thanks for joining me here! This is MCYou signing off. Stay nerdy, and have a great one.
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