Avengers 4: Five Marvel heroes that can be introduced

2. Namor

Namor is a character who needs to be in the MCU. Introduced in 1939, Namor is the half-human (technically mutant), half-Atlantean ruler of Atlantis, and he’s superficially similar to DC’s Aquaman. He’s also extremely physically powerful and can fly, although time out of water weakens him.

However, he’s been a villain as often as a hero, due to pride, arrogance and always placing Atlantis above the surface world’s problems. He’s served in the Defenders and Illuminati, but also fought the surface world, including Wakanda. He would offer an interesting and complex character for Marvel’s Phase 4, while also offering a great supporting character for the Fantastic Four, given he’s allied with both them and Dr. Doom over the years.

From a story standpoint, it’s easy enough to introduce Namor: he wouldn’t have cared about the surface world’s problems until Thanos wiped out half of all life – including Atlanteans. He’d have little choice but to emerge now, and ally with the Avengers to seek vengeance against a mutual enemy.

That said, it would be a stretch to make Namor especially useful in Avengers 4. He’s powerful and cunning, sure, but there’s not much in the comics to suggest Atlantis would bring special knowledge or resources to the table. Namor did at one point possess shards of a Cosmic Cube, so that might be an option if the MCU wanted to properly introduce that powerful object.

Introducing Namor also faces another problem: messed up film rights. Universal Pictures holds distribution rights to the character, and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently told IGN the character remains complicated to use, though “I think there’s a way to probably figure it out.” Those comments suggest it will still be a while before we see the Sub-Mariner in the MCU, though it’s good to hear it remains possible.