Avengers 4: Five Marvel heroes that can be introduced

4. Hercules

Like Thor, Hercules is a mythical hero that Marvel has made its own. First introduced in the Marvel-verse in 1945, the “Prince of Power” has strength and combat skills rivaling and sometimes surpassing Thor’s. He’s also distinctive from Thor in personality, as he’s less haughty, more gregarious, and is a hard-drinking womanizer. He’s also been a reliable Avenger over the years, and taken on threats both global and universal. He’s also crossed paths with Eternals, who may be coming to the MCU.

That said, introducing Hercules would be a surprising and challenging direction for the MCU to go in. The MCU has not given any indication that other pantheons of gods exist, and Hercules would open the door to Zeus, Hera, and more. It will be critical to present Hercules and Olympians in a fresh, unique way, given the many ways we’ve seen Greek mythology in film over the years, including in DC’s Wonder Woman. One approach would be to introduce the characters in modernized form, something Marvel Comics did through the Olympus Group, an Earth-based corporate front for the gods.

As to where Hercules has been all this time, the Olympians could have forbidden him to intervene in Earth’s conflicts until now – perhaps out of indifference to mortals’ problems or even deference to the Asgardians as Earth’s defenders. As to what he brings to the table – other than major muscle – keep in mind the Olympians are just as ancient and powerful as Asgardians. With Odin gone since Thor: Ragnarok, their insights and magic could be essential to countering the Infinity Stones.