You never know what you’re going to get with Marvel Studios. One minute, you’re hearing that the plan is to lessen the number of shows going forward, only for there to be multiple Disney+ programs being released in 2025. Among the already debuted are Daredevil: Born Again and Ironheart. Later this year, barring unforeseen events, the Wonder Man mini-series (starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) will premiere. While a lot of news about Wonder Man hasn’t come out as of yet, something promising was mentioned in a recent Q&A with insider Alex Perez (via The Cosmic Circus).
One of the questions asked about Wonder Man was: “Any crumbs for his role moving forward? Maybe we will see the West Coast Avengers?” Perez had a simple and very direct response. “You’re thinking in the right direction.” It may not seem like much, but it says a lot with few words.
Between the praise of Daredevil: Born Again and Thunderbolts* / New Avengers, and the excitement of Avengers: Doomsday, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a weird spot. The responses from social media vary from “THE MCU IS BACK!” "it's so over". And since you can’t please everyone, the best bet is to go for what works. In this case, the name of the Avengers.
When people hear the Avengers in relation to movies, they think of life-changing moments and funny quotes from classic films. It helps that Marvel does a good job of bringing the name out at the right moments (the New Avengers reveal in Thunderbolts* was the perfect example of this). With that in mind, using the West Coast Avengers could be a good idea to get new characters over after the originals are gone.
The first West Coast Avengers series (which was a mini that debuted in 1984) starred Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Bobbi Morse (Mockingbird), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Tigra (Greer Nelson), and Wonder Man (Simon Williams). These names may not jump out at you, but neither did Iron Man / Tony Stark until Robert Downey Jr. played him in Marvel Studios' first movie in 2008. All Marvel needs is the right performers. When that happens, you’ll have more than a hit; they can potentially become household names. For example, Florence Pugh was always going to be a star, but her role as Yelena Belova in the MCU skyrocketed her already-blossoming career.
If you look at the MCU's version of the West Coast Avengers roster, Tony Stark is dead, Bobbi Morse from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may or may not have been part of the MCU (the MCu's continuity is complicated when it comes to the former Marvel TV shows), and Clint Barton’s future is up in the air. That means either new characters would have to be cast if the MCU were to introduce the West Coast Avengers in Wonder Man or the legacy characters (Riri Williams, America Chavez, and Kate Bishop) could get involved there. The latter makes more sense since one of the West Coast Avengers rosters (Kelly Thompson’s run) featured younger heroes. It could be the perfect combination of established characters and new ones. And since there is a Young Avengers / Champions project in the works, Wonder Man could potentially tie into its creation if it references the West Coast Avengers.
For now, we’ll have to wait and see if there is a plan for the West Coast Avengers in the MCU. It would be cool to see who Marvel uses for their roster. Maybe this is where Moon Knight makes his inevitable return. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out.