The Young Avengers are slowly but surely coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although the franchise's plans for them have slowed down significantly over the years, the wheels are still in motion for their inevitable team-up. This has remained clear through the multiple young heroes that have been introduced since the Multiverse Saga launched an the slow build towards multiple mini crossovers.
WandaVision gave us Billy and Tommy Maximoff, Ms. Marvel gave us its own titular superhero, and Hawkeye gave us Kate Bishop, as the young heroes continue to show up to help save the people of the MCU. According to reports, it's all been building to an eventual project for the stars of tomorrow, with insiders claiming that it will be a Disney Plus series known as Champions - perhaps alluding to their new team name in the MCU. However, they are also rumored to make cameos in Avengers: Doomsday, so we might catch up with some of them sooner rather than later.
Like the Avengers themselves, they will be a bunch of uniquely talented individuals who all bring their own powers and abilities to the table. Before they assemble on our screens, let's get to know each one of them a little better - ranking them from weakest to strongest as we go.
9. Eli Bradley / The Patriot
Portrayed by: Elijah Richardson
MCU appearances: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Eli Bradley surprised us all when he made his MCU debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The character known as The Patriot in the Marvel Comics is the grandson of Isaiah Bradley and fans are hoping to see him suit up as his comic book counterpart in the not-too-distant future. However, that has yet to happen as his role in the Disney Plus series remains his only MCU appearance thus far. He was supposed to return along with Isaiah in Captain America: Brave New World but he was ultimately cut due to the film having too many characters.
In the comics, Eli eventually inherits his grandfather's abilities from a blood transfusion, gifting him with all of the super-soldier attributes you can imagine: Super-strength, durability, quick healing etc. However, as he has yet to exhibit any of these attributes in the MCU (and it's unclear if Marvel Studios plans to bring the character back), we have to rank him at the bottom when it comes to abilities.
Here's hoping that a future appearance from Eli sees him develop some powers or abilities so that he can join the MCU's Young Avengers / Champions!
8. Kate Bishop
Played by: Hailee Steinfeld
MCU appearances: Hawkeye, The Marvels
Kate Bishop was one of the earliest of the Young Avengers line-up to be introduced to the MCU, making her debut back in 2021's Disney Plus series Hawkeye. Initially a super-fan of Hawkeye himself, Clint Barton, Kate liked to think of herself as an expert marksman and a superhero-in-training, but it wasn't until she landed herself in some trouble that she truly began to realize everything it took to be a superhero. Thankfully, she had it all within her.
Kate learned from the best as she has since received extensive training from Clint, essentially taking over the Hawkeye mantle from the retired hero. Her talent with a bow and arrow can be added to a long line of skills that includes being a formidable martial artist, strong swordsman, and a particularly impressive acrobat - and she was able to use all of these skills to avoid, confound, and ultimately defeat the Kingpin. That was before she learned everything she now knows from Hawkeye. Imagine how unstoppable she is now.
The young archer is the first of the Young Avengers officially recruited by Ms. Marvel and, honestly, Kamala Khan made a wise choice indeed.
7. Cassie Lang / Stature
Portrayed by: Kathryn Newton, Abby Ryder Fortson, Emma Fuhrmann
MCU appearances: Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Endgame, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Cassie Lang has been the longest-standing Young Avenger of them all, but it's only within the past few years that she actually became a costumed superhero. The daughter of Ant-Man, she has been a part of the MCU franchise since 2015, first appearing as a child and eventually growing into a teenager throughout the five years of The Blip. Now, she's an adult, and she's a chip off the old block indeed.
Like her father, Cassie stands up for the little guy, campaigning on behalf of those in need. She also dabbles in the Quantum Realm, coming into her own in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania when she helped Scott and Hope van Dyne - along with the original Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne - defeat Kang the Conqueror.
She boasts the same power moves as Ant-Man and the Wasp as she's able to make herself smaller, larger, and even travel through the Quantum Realm. Like Scott and Hope, she's also incredibly smart with a high intellect capable of figuring out problems that super-size can't. And all of that makes her primed and ready to join the Young Avengers whenever they assemble on-screen.
6. Ironheart
Played by: Dominique Thorne
MCU appearances: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart
Riri Williams was among the earliest of the younger heroes introduced in the MCU's Multiverse Saga as she made her debut in 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever but she's also among the most recent we have caught up with. The frustrating delay of Disney Plus series Ironheart actually ended up allowing us to get reacquainted with the character, which also allowed her to highlight where her greatest strengths lie.
With a talent for working with tech that would rival even the great Tony Stark, Riri was able to build her own suit of armor just like the Iron Man suit. She managed to take that even further, adding extensive weaponry to the suit, an AI version of her best friend to guide her, and even managing to imbue it with magic. And that resourcefulness that she is renowned for makes her tech talents all the more formidable.
Like Tony Stark, she's more than a suit of armor. And it's that "more" than will make her an important member of the Young Avengers.
5. Speed
Played by: Jett Klyne, Ruaridh Mollica (upcoming)
MCU appearances: WandaVision, VisionQuest (upcoming)
Tommy Maximoff is one of the sons of the Scarlet Witch and Vision, making him an extremely powerful force already. It's insane that we can say that after just one appearance from him - in which he was a child created as part of an idyllic sitcom by the Scarlet Witch - but that's how much potential both he and his brother Billy have.
While Billy gets his powers from Wanda Maximoff herself, Tommy actually inherits his powers from his uncle Pietro, a.k.a. Quicksilver. Yes, he's a speedster, and we saw that in full effect in WandaVision when the fake version of his uncle, crafted by Agatha Harkness, helped him unlock his abilities. And that's only the beginning for him and his fast feet.
We know that an adult version of the character will make his debut in VisionQuest, with Ruaridh Mollica taking over the role. It seems as if his brother's attempt to place his soul into another body in Agatha All Along was successful, and Tommy's journey outside the Hex will show us what he's really capable of.
4. Skaar
Played by: Wil Deusner
MCU appearances: She-Hulk: Attorney At Law
The son of the Hulk made his long-awaited, long-rumored debut in the season finale of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. It was a moment that might have been mismanaged due to the light-hearted nature of that particular series, because it hides the fact that Skaar is actually an incredibly formidable character that might not look as, well, harmless the next time we see him.
See, Skaar is the son of the Hulk and a mystery woman from the planet Sakaar (his mother is Caiera the Oldstrong in the Marvel Comics but her identity in the MCU has not yet been confirmed). With that in mind, he has the brute strength and regenerative healing factor of Bruce Banner's green alter-ego along with the "old power" that he likely inherited from his mother. What does that mean? Well he might just be able to manipulate the earth (potentially causing volcanoes to erupt or earthquakes to occur) and make his own skin harder than rock itself. Good luck beating him in a fist-fight!
Yeah, Skaar is not to be underestimated.
3. America Chavez
Played by: Xochitl Gomez
MCU appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
If you want to know how strong America Chavez is, just remember that this is the girl who got caught in a war between the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange. Known as Miss America in the comics, she has the power to burst open a gateway to the multiverse, simply walking through a star-shaped hole in the space-time-continuum into any parallel universe that she wishes. Although it has taken her sometime to control it, she is currently in Kamar Taj honing her abilities under the watchful eyes of Wong and Doctor Strange.
It's been a while since we have seen America on our screens, but it's pretty clear that she will be back at some point. Considering that she was such an important part of the Multiverse Saga, it's a bit disappointing that the next time she appears could be after the conclusion of this saga, potentially rendering her limitless powers a bit redundant, but that doesn't change the sheer scope of those abilities.
America could do the one thing that the Scarlet Witch couldn't. That alone should tell you how powerful she is.
2. Ms. Marvel
Played by: Iman Vellani
MCU appearances: Ms. Marvel, The Marvels
Kamala Khan is undoubtedly among the most powerful new characters introduced in the MCU's Multiverse Saga. Iman Vellani's lovable hero made her debut in her own self-titled Disney Plus series in 2022 and she very quickly won over fans with her enthusiastic personality. But she also surprised us all when it was revealed that she was actually the MCU's first-confirmed mutant - a change from her Inhuman origins in the Marvel Comics.
The character's connection to her ancestry through her grandmother's sacred Bangle (which turned out to be a Quantum Band) and her ability to travel to the Noor Dimension makes her a supernatural force-to-be-reckoned-with. She can produce cosmic energy in the forms of "embiggened" fists (which can pack quite the punch) while also using it to create shields, platforms to jump on/off, and structures to trap any villains she crosses paths with.
A longtime Captain Marvel fan, Kamala gets to live out her dream by channelling Carol Danvers in her heroics each and every day. She's also a deserving leader of the Young Avengers, having already recruited Kate Bishop to her new team. We can't wait for her next appearance!
1. Wiccan
Played by: Julian Hilliard, Joe Locke
MCU appearances: WandaVision, Agatha All Along, VisionQuest (rumored)
There is simply no understating this: Wiccan is, by far, the most powerful member of the Young Avengers. The son of Wanda Maximoff, he inherited all of the Scarlet Witch's chaos magic, which makes him one of the most unpredictably powerful characters in the whole MCU. The fact that he learned how to hone and develop those powers from all-powerful ancient witch Agatha Harkness just makes him even more dangerous to any potential enemies.
In the short amount of time that we have gotten to know him, Billy hopped into William Kaplan's body, unknowingly constructed the Witches' Road - something that never truly existed - united a coven of disagreeing witches, and placed the soul of his twin brother Tommy into another person's body. Who knows what else he's capable of. Like his mother, he can think whatever he wants into reality and distort that very reality to his will; it's a terrifying power with all the potential in the world (or, well, multiverse!).
We'd highly recommend reading some Wiccan comics to get an idea of his capabilities before his return, because the incredible things we've already seen in WandaVision and Agatha All Along only scratch the surface of his potential.