Meet Marvel's next generation
Continuing its track record for strong origin stories, who will the MCU introduce next? Empire’s Marvel experts make their case
1 __ MOON KNIGHT (MARC SPECTOR)
Who is he?
Marc Spector, former CIA agent-turnedmercenary, has a near-death experience which bonds him with an Egyptian moon god. Returning to New York, he adopts the identity of millionaire Steven Grant and cabbie Jake Lockley, and fights crime. Lots of crime. At night.
Why should he join the MCU?
CHRIS HEWITT: He’s (not) Batman. A billionaire playboy by day who becomes a costumed crime-fighter by night would ordinarily have the DC lawyers reaching for the cease and desists, but Moon Knight has enough about him to separate the Batwheat from the Batchaff. He has powers, for one. And three — three! — separate identities means he could actually be the Jason Bourne of the MCU, battling with repressed memories. Oh, and just to further distance himself from Batman, he wears white. Suck it, lawyers!
DAN JOLIN: Being all dark and gritty and everything, this is a character you might normally expect to see on the Netflix strand of the MCU, alongside Daredevil and The Punisher. But the big screen could easily find room for him (if his identities are handled appropriately).
2 __ SQUIRREL GIRL (DOREEN GREEN)
Who is she?
Squirrel Girl began as a joke (a good one!) in 1991, but since the 2015 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl reboot she’s been the funniest, weirdest hero Marvel has. With “the proportional strength and speed of a squirrel” and a squirrel sidekick called Tippy-toe, she studies computers by day and in her spare time defeats the likes of Thanos and Galactus. What, like it’s hard?
Why should she join the MCU?
HELEN O’HARA: Squirrel Girl would not only be the first Avenger with more than 15 per cent body fat (representation!); she’d be the first with a tail. Her generally cheery attitude could leaven all the emoting, and the prospect of a supervillain being chewed by her squirrel armies is fun. Maybe less so for the villain.
DAN JOLIN: Recent MCU entries have shown how well pushing the comedy can work, so the idea of going all-out for laughs with Squirrel Girl doesn’t seem too out-there. Although anyone who’s seen Charlie And The Chocolate Factory would agree that, actually, squirrels can be pretty terrifying.
3 SHE-HULK __ (JENNIFER WALTERS)
Who is she?
Bruce Banner’s timid, diminutive lawyer cousin who, after an attempted Mob hit, receives a life-saving transfusion of Bruce’s gamma-tainted blood and develops a diluted version of his big, green transformative powers. Unlike Hulk, she retains her considerable intellectual faculties, doesn’t lose control (though rage does strengthen her) and is trim and statuesque rather than burly and monstrous. She also broke the fourth wall long before that Deadpool came along. Why should she join the MCU?
DAN JOLIN: Marvel writer Peter David once said She-hulk “has the potential to be our Wonder Woman”, and that feels particularly true when you consider how Walters — a brilliant, civil-rights championing lawyer as well as a greenskinned strong-woman — could work on the big screen. And the comic-book development that meant she could never switch back to her regular self would make for some really interesting drama.
CHRIS HEWITT: One day, possibly even soon, Mark Ruffalo’s contract is going to run out. And while Marvel could be willing to recast the Hulk, there’s a feeling that if Ruffalo goes, then so does the big green guy. So there could be a vividly virid vacancy soon, and who better to fill it than a Hulk who’s a complete contrast to the monosyllabic jade giant?
4 __ MS MARVEL (KAMALA KHAN)
Who is she?
A first-generation Pakistani-american, 16-year-old Kamala Khan is already living a double life: obeying her strict, loving parents at home but escaping into nerdy, American teendom with her friends. When she’s caught in a Terrigen Mist she becomes an ‘Inhuman’, with the power to shape her body, or any part thereof, into almost anything, of any size.
Why should she join the MCU?
HELEN O’HARA: Khan’s funny, cool and spectacularly nerdy: she tells Wolverine all about her fanfiction (Wolverine and Storm in space!) while they fight together, and worships Captain Marvel. As the MCU’S Peter Parker matures, it would make sense to bring in a new, younger team member who’s still settling her own identity and powers.
CHRIS HEWITT: She’s exactly the injection of new blood and sparky personality that the MCU will need in the aftermath of the next Avengers film — and also, refreshingly, another example of the comic book company’s commitment to diversity, which is slowly but surely crossing over to the films.