The Avengers are entering a new phase after the events of Avengers: Armageddon, something that fans of the team are used to by now. While Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can seem like massive monolith that has just always been there, change has always been one of the group’s watch words. The Avengers as an organization are always there, but the team itself is almost constantly in flux, with new members joining and old members leaving, its place in the universe sometimes being in the stars and other times in the gutters. There’s a reason that the best Avengers rosters are mutable – it’s the team that every Marvel hero wants to join, leading to numerous candidates coming along.
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They’re the biggest group in the Marvel Universe and joining them is one of those triumphant moments that every hero remembers forever. There are numerous characters who are shoe-ins for the team, but often we get thrown a curveball, a hero, or even a villain, joining up and knocking it out of the park. There are a lot of heroes out there that could join the team and become stars overnight. These five Marvel characters could be the next big Avengers if Marvel gave them the chance.
5) Cosmic Ghost Rider
Cosmic Marvel is home to the most powerful characters, and even among this number of overpowered heroes and villains, the Cosmic Ghost Rider feels like overkill. This is Frank Castle, a Punisher from an Earth where Thanos killed everyone on Earth. Castle became the Ghost Rider to get vengeance for humanity, following the Mad Titan into space as he destroyed every living being in his way. Eventually, this new Spirit of Vengeance became the herald of Galactus, gaining the Power Cosmic. He started to go mad, leading him to become the unbalanced hero he is today. Cosmic Ghost Rider made a massive splash, but faded away; he was a bit too Deadpool-esque at times and he started to feel kind of same-y. It’s been a while since we’ve seen him and pushing him to top of the charts, the Avengers, could be smart. He’s usually a space character, but bringing him to Earth, allowing him to see the civilization that he wanted revenge for flourishing, would be a recipe for change and growth. No one expects him to be an Avenger and that’s part of why it’s such a great idea.
4) Quake
Quake was a character who had tons of potential that was never really met. She first appeared in Secret War, working as a SHIELD agent who was an ally of Nick Fury with vibrational powers. She felt like she was being set up as some kind of mole in Maria Hill’s SHIELD, but there was so much else going on that she got lost in the shuffle until Secret Invasion, when she had a short time in the sun with Secret Warriors. The character would get adapted in Agents of SHIELD, getting another little push that didn’t work, and would be made into an Inhuman, another attempt to make her more popular that failed. Quake is a character in limbo right now and it would be so very easy to change that. She’s both an extremely powerful hero and a cool spy character, able to work in both worlds, something all the best Avengers need to be able to do. Quake has been on the cusp numerous times, and becoming an Avenger could finally push her over.
3) Speed
Scarlet Witch is reaching new levels of popularity, with Marvel pushing her to the moon. Wanda has several interrelated characters that she could take along with her if the House of Ideas played their cards right, especially Speed. Speed is Tommy Shepherd, a teen with superspeed powers who just so happens to have the soul of Tommy Maximoff, created by Wanda from the essence of Mephisto years ago (the whole thing is kind of confusing timey-wimey weird soul stuff). In a lot of ways, he’s kind of Quicksilver Jr., but in his own way, and that’s a character the Avengers could always use. Tommy’s speed powers would fit beautifully into any Avengers roster, and joining the group would allow him to become even better with his powers than before. He’s also an interesting character if you play him right. He’s basically an artificial being in a lot of ways, having to deal with the fact that his birth is one of the strangest things that you could possibly imagine. There’s so many directions you can take Speed as an Avenger, making him a tantalizing choice for the group.
2) Noh-Varr
Noh-Varr is the best Marvel character you’ve never heard of. He was introduced in Marvel Boy, a 2000 Marvel Knights miniseries that brought Grant Morrison to the House of Ideas until 2004. He was an alternate universe genetically-engineered Kree soldier, with enhanced strength, speed, durability, and various biological enhancements and implants, often referred to as a “cockroach”, able to survive anything anywhere. Armed with powerful weapons and technology from his trip through the multiverse with the crew of the Kree ship Marvel, he’s extremely formidable. He’s been an Avenger several times, once as Captain Marvel with the Dark Avengers and once with the Heroic Age roster as the Protector, but he never really got any focus and that needs to change. It’s long past time to get Noh-Varr back with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. His tenures with the Young Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy have made him a more well-rounded character and he’s more ready for the big leagues than ever.
1) Patriot
The Young Avengers have an interesting history. The team first appeared in the “Avengers Disassembled” era, with a group of teen heroes stepping up to pay homage to the heroes of the past, including Elijah Bradley. Bradley was the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, a black soldier who was dosed with the super soldier serum as a test before it was given to Steve Rogers, going on secret missions in World War II. As Patriot, and armed with Captain America’s original shield, he led the team, but would be gravely injured, leading to him getting a blood transfusion and gaining super soldier level abilities. Patriot could have been the perfect sidekick for Cap, but this was back during the Winter Soldier era of the character, so there was really no way for it to happen (although it would have been great to make him Bucky Cap’s Bucky). Elijah was never able to take off and has fallen far away from the spotlight of the ’00s and ’10s. Making him an Avenger would be the best way to reintroduce him to fans. He’s a character who needs a chance to grow and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would be fertile ground for him.
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