Young Avengers Appearances in the MCU So Far

The Young Avengers are Marvel’s modern super hero team. These teenagers are descendants, disciples, and protégés of various original or older Avengers, from Scarlet Witch to Hawkeye and plenty of other big names. With the Multiverse Saga fully underway, it’s only a matter of time until this fully realized team assembles on screen.

While the Young Avengers aren’t the only youthful team in Marvel comics, (we also have the Champions and the Runaways), there have been numerous hints and even a few bonafide debuts of the next generation of Marvel super heroes. Let’s break down these appearances from throughout Phases 4 and 5 so far. Plus, we’ll speculate where and how the remaining members will make their MCU appearances. Hint: We definitely think The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a vital chapter in their story.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Agatha All Along

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Billy Kaplan (Asgardian / Wiccan) & Tommy Shepherd (Speed)

Tommy and Billy are Wanda’s wish come true in every universe. In WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff manifests her twin boys into her fake world. Whereas in the comics, Tommy and Billy are the reincarnated versions of Wanda’s sons, though they’re born and raised in entirely different households. Tommy Shepherd is in and out of juvie. After vaporizing his school, he is imprisoned and experimented on by people intent on turning his super speed — comparable to Quicksilver’s — into a weapon. Tommy eventually joins the Young Avengers with the codename Speed.

His twin brother Billy is a super-powered warlock whose favorite Avenger is Scarlet Witch. When Billy joins the Young Avengers, he fashions himself after Thor to become Asgardian. This eventually changes to Wiccan with Kate Bishop’s suggestion. Billy is also destined to become the Demiurge, an all-powerful cosmic entity who many fear in the same way as Scarlet Witch.

Wanda’s Twins in the MCU

At the end of WandaVision, Wanda astral projects as she searches for her destroyed boys. They call out to her, and we cut to black. Her struggle to reunite with her children leads Wanda to embrace the Scarlet Witch’s potential for destruction, as seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Heartbreakingly, Wanda doesn’t get to witness her boys’ rebirths. Instead, that honor is bestowed upon Agatha Harkness in Agatha All Along.

Using his untrained magic, Billy takes over the body of a dead teen. Then Billy embarks on a journey down the Witches’ Road to regain his powers. Little does he know that the Road is a fiction which he conjures for himself and the witches alongside him. While the trials prove difficult and deadly, something really beautiful comes out of them. Billy finds Tommy’s lost soul and sticks it in a drowning teenage boy.

Children’s Crusade

Agatha All Along ends with Billy and Agatha teaming up once more to locate Tommy. Comic readers are probably shaking with anticipation as we set up for the potential MCU version of Children’s Crusade. During that run, the Young Avengers discover an amnesiac Wanda Maximoff living with Doctor Doom. Billy and Tommy’s reunion with their mom brings back all the memories she lost.

So, okay. Fantastic Four — their big bad is Doctor Doom. And we know Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU as Victor. Wanda and Billy have the same tell, that is, they create imaginary worlds to hide their suffering. The MCU’s Doom and Latveria could be an illusion conjured by a grieving and somewhat suicidal Scarlet Witch. If she populates her world with old friends and foes, there’s no telling who could turn up.

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Kate Bishop (Hawkeye)

Kate Bishop was born into a wealthy family in Manhattan. While Kate was spying on her father because of his suspicious behavior, El Matador kidnapped her. The Avengers eventually rescued her. Hawkeye, a man without powers but only skill and a desire to do good, became her role model. Kate became more disillusioned with her family’s selfishness and went on to volunteer and donate as much as she could.

The next part of Kate Bishop’s comics origin involves sexual assault. This incident prompts Kate to learn combat and self-defense as a coping mechanism. For the Hawkeye TV series, Kate learned archery to emulate her idol rather than due to a traumatic experience. As a child, she witnessed Hawkeye in action during the Battle of New York. His heroics inspire her to learn how to protect herself and her family. By the end of the series, she has proven herself to Clint as well as Yelena. Kate then appears in a post-credits scene in The Marvels, when Kamala Khan proposes a team-up.

Taking Over as Hawkeye

For comics Kate, her hero’s journey extends beyond a Young Avengers membership. There’s some death, resurrection, Ronin Hawkeye, and the Civil War event before she officially picks up the Hawkeye mantle. When she does, however, she proves herself a capable leader and Avenger. She and Clint still work together after. Kate even rescues him when he was taken by Madam Masque in Madripoor — a location utilized in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — culminating in a full-circle parallel for their relationship.

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America Chavez (Miss America)

America Chavez made her live-action debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the comics, she was orphaned at a young age after being subjected to experiments alongside her little sister Catalina. Her connection to parallel dimensions outside the time and space of the Multiverse grants her unparalleled superhuman strength, flight, and other abilities — namely the creation of interdimensional star portals. No wonder she factored into Doctor Strange’s world-hopping adventure.

Alongside the former Sorcerer Supreme, America contended with Scarlet Witch’s bloodthirsty rampage to find her sons. America’s Multiverse-traveling power also makes her a unique being in the MCU. She does not have any Variants. This, along with her education at Kamar-Taj, could lead to some very interesting on-screen developments.

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Eli Bradley (Patriot)

The Disney+ television series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier explored Isaiah Bradley’s story. Isaiah was a Black man who was used as a test subject for the Super Soldier Serum that eventually turned Steve Rogers into America’s hero. Sadly, Isaiah was the only test subject to survive. He was also never honored for his sacrifice or service until Sam Wilson learned this secret history.

Eli Bradley, Isaiah’s grandson, appeared briefly in the show. Much like his comic counterpart, Eli does not have superhuman abilities (that we know about, at least). Instead, when the Young Avengers enlisted Eli in the comics, he took the Mutant Growth Hormone to give himself powers. He also wore a costume similar to Bucky Barnes’ old uniform. Without main continuity mutants, we don’t know how Eli will gain his superhuman strength in the MCU. But we have some theories.

Out for Blood

Later, when Eli was injured during battle, Steve Rogers gave the young man a blood transfusion. With the combined blood from Steve and Isaiah, Eli became a true Super Soldier. Together, Kate Bishop and Eli, now going by Patriot, led the Young Avengers. In the MCU, with both of these young heroes taking center stage, they could be the trusted leaders of the next big Marvel team.

Isaiah Bradley is set to return in Captain America: New World Order, so there’s a chance Eli will be involved as well. Will Isaiah’s grandson get a blood transfusion, or training? Could Sam Wilson call upon his old ally Hawkeye for help — with Kate and Eli answer the call? We’ll find out in February.

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Kid Loki (Ikol)

A young Loki variant from the Loki series wore a costume almost identical to the Loki who appeared in the Young Avengers comics. The young God of Mischief’s comics history is complicated but we’ll simplify. Loki was completely reborn, different in many aspects from his older and deceased counterpart. He absorbed the echo of his elder self — called Ikol — after the elder Loki killed his younger self. This all occurs because they both expressed their desire to change into better beings.

In the Loki show, Kid Loki was another timeline’s Variant. The TVA pruned him and and sent him to the Void. Additionally, his backstory beyond murdering Thor wasn’t revealed. Interestingly enough, after Loki season 2, we have a bound and burdened elder Loki. He controls every timeline as the benevolent God of Stories. That does remove him from the main continuity in some respects, leaving a space wide open for Kid Loki.

Tricks Up His Sleeve

Loki’s schemes in the Young Avengers comics were to control the Demiurge — AKA Billy Kaplan. But like all of Loki’s plans, things went awry. In the end, he actually ended up caring about his team. In the MCU, it was pretty unclear what happened to the remaining Loki Variants after He Who Remains’ death. Because Kid Loki did not, by the way, appear in the Void in Deadpool & Wolverine. So where did he go?

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Cassie Lang (Stature / Stinger)

The daughter of Scott Lang, Cassie Lang is the first Young Avenger to make an MCU debut. She appeared all the way back in 2015 in the first Ant-Man movie, though at the time she was still a child and incapable of donning a super suit. Still, audiences were teased with lines about Cassie wanting to join her father on his missions as a sidekick. Then, in Avengers: Endgame, Cassie was a teenager. In Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Cassie suited up alongside Scott and Hope.

No Small Roles

Cassie’s comic origin is a fraught one. She suffers from a congenital heart defect as an infant. Undertaking her own human experiments, Cassie exposes herself to Pym Particles in her teenage years After Scott Lang’s brutal death, Cassie seeks out Kate Bishop and the Young Avengers, joining them under the alias Stature.

Cassie uses the Stinger title later in Rebirth comics. Scott Lang is alive in Rebirth, though he makes extremely poor choices. Cassie resents him and joins up with the Power Broker. This character we have met already in the MCU as the new, villainous side of Sharon Carter.

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Nathaniel Richards (Iron Lad / Kang)

Nathaniel Richards, rumored relative of Doctor Doom, is a genius from the 30th century. Nathaniel did not yet technically appear in the MCU. However, his future self sort of has. He Who Remains from the Disney+ Loki series was a Variant of Kang the Conquerer, who Nathaniel will eventually become. Loki season 2 did dash many fan theories about Nathaniel appearing within those fractured timelines. However, season 2 also showed us a young Kang tinkering happily in Chicago. Could that inventor become Nathaniel?

As with most time travel stories, Nathaniel’s comic origin is somewhat complex. Suffice it to say, Nathaniel escaped his reality to try to prevent his own path of destruction. In doing so, he formed the Young Avengers and led them under the alias Iron Lad. Now, Riri Williams is going to fill those metallic shoes in Ironheart. Therefore, it feels somewhat unlikely that Nathaniel will appear in the MCU at all. But we can never discount a surprise cameo or timey-wimey twist in super hero sci-fi.

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Vision (Jonas)

If you’re thinking about Tony Stark’s upgraded JARVIS interface, Jonas is not that Vision. Nor is he The Vision, the original A.I. that was reprogrammed and subsequently “remade” in WandaVision. No, Jonas is what remained of Vision after the present-day Avengers Mansion was destroyed in the comics … following Scarlet Witch’s villain era. And we know, thanks to Thunderbolts*, that Tony’s tower is decimated in the MCU.

I, Robot

Nathaniel Richards uploaded this Vision into his futuristic neuro-kinetic armor. Such a merger enabled Nathaniel to access a database of young heroes affiliated with the Avengers. When Kang the Conquerer attacked, Nathaniel removed his own armor and Vision’s O.S. caused it to become a sentient being. Vision then realized he was younger and less mature than the original Vision — but nonetheless still a brilliant strategist and capable Avenger. He altered his appearance at Cassie Lang’s request to become Jonas.

Was the all-white Vision an homage to Jonas? We’re uncertain right now how Jonas may fit into the larger picture of the MCU. However, Agatha All Along teased that the character’s parts and programming are scattered. Or at least supervised heavily under government control. Should the scraps fall into Nathaniel’s wrong/right hands, things could get very interesting.

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Noh-Varr (Marvel Boy)

Noh-Varr was a member of the militaristic Kree race. You’ll recall these are the beings in the MCU that kept Captain Marvel captive. So already we can assume Noh-Varr exists somewhere offscreen in the Captain Marvel movies. However, he’s never debuted canonically.

In the comics, a mind-controlled Noh-Varr began as an antagonist for both the Runaways and Young Avengers. Marvel Boy traveled through space. The Young Avengers recruited him, then he was recruited by the Skrulls. Noh-Varr also romanced Kate Bishop as well as Hercules (who appeared in a post-credits scene of Thor: Love and Thunder). Because Noh-Varr was never an extremely essential team member, we’ll count him as a big “maybe” for future projects.

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Teddy Altman / Emperor Dorrek VIII (Hulkling)

Teddy Altman is undeniably one of the most powerful and cosmic heroes of the Young Avengers. He is half-Skrull, half-Kree, Emperor of their alliance, and husband of the Demiurge Billy Kaplan. Additionally, Teddy is the son of the original Captain Marvel, a Kree male named Mar-Vell, and the Skrull Princess Anelle. This hero can shapeshift, and altering his appearance is vital in his youth as he lives on Earth and has to blend in with the human population. When he joins the Young Avengers, though, he decides that real friendship was more important than fitting in. So, he shows his true green-skinned self and adopts the name Hulkling after the Hulk.

Like Noh-Varr, Teddy could very well already have an offscreen place in the MCU. Most fans expected him to appear in Secret Invasion or The Marvels. Obviously, that didn’t happen. However, a character named Eddie debuted in Agatha All Along. Billy Kaplan’s boyfriend has a familiar haircut and penchant for activewear. He also seems pretty interested in Billy’s research on magic and aliens. Could Eddie be a fake out? Sure. But since Teddy and Billy are soulmates, we’ll cross our fingers that they’ve already found one another in the MCU.

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David Alleyne (Prodigy)

David Alleyne, or Prodigy, is actually a mutant and member of the X-Men. Intelligent and wise beyond his years, he also has the ability to telepathically absorb the knowledge and skills of anyone nearby. Because he wants his intelligence to be authentic, he repressed his mutant abilities until he was recruited by Dani Moonstar and brought to Xavier’s Institute.

In the comics, David and Tommy Shepherd were close friends who worked together at a super hero support hotline. When Speed gets kidnapped, David joins the Young Avengers in order to rescue him. David and Tommy have since started dating, so with Tommy’s inclusion in the MCU, David may join him. Whether he will be a mutant or not is difficult to discern at this time, since all other mutant backstories have been altered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity.

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With every single one of the Young Avengers being set up to appear in the MCU, at this point it’s a question of “when” not “if.” It will be incredibly exciting to see how the Marvel movies introduce the newest generations of heroes, and how their stories will shape the future of the MCU.

Which of the Young Avengers are you most excited for in the MCU? Connect with other Marvel fans in side.show/geekgroup or in the Sideshow Social Network. And as always, don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!