Right now, both the Marvel Comics world as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are at the height of their popularity, and neither looks to be reducing. In fact, due to the introduction of Disney+, Marvel Studios and Disney can use more characters and add more shows. Several Marvel Comics characters are going to be used here and in the film world. At the same time, the comic book side is also using several characters in a bigger way. This is why we wanted to guide you into this world a bit.
We will be discussing several characters and why you should look them up and find out more about them. Marvel will likely be using them a ton in the coming months to years. In fact, when Disney bought 20th Century Fox and acquired the Fantastic Four and X-Men worlds, we all knew they’d be used more. Yet these characters are well-known for the most part. Marvel wants to use other intellectual properties in a bigger way to help grow their world. These are the men and women that are about to be huge!
[Image via Square Enix]
Kate Bishop
- First Appearance: Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
- Created By: Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung
While Kate Bishop’s backstory has switched up off and on, there are two things that seem to always travel with her regardless of her use. She is Clint Barton aka Hawkeye’s partner. He is something of a mentor for her, making Kate a skilled fighter with impressive archery abilities. The two are similar in their abilities, but Kate tends to lean into the technological side a bit more than Clint. For a while, she was merely known as “Bishop” until Clint died in the comics, allowing her to take on the “Hawkeye” codename. This made her one of the Marvel Comics characters to watch back then, yet she’s even bigger now.
Barton comes back around and that leads to “Bishop” working with Clint as a partner more. While Disney+ will be putting out a Hawkeye series in late November, Marvel Studios has bigger plans. They’d like to start up a Young Avengers film franchise, something that has been rumored since the release of Iron Man 3. Since she debuted in the Young Avengers comic book run, it only makes sense to see her in the film franchise. It finally appears as if they are setting that up in a bigger way now. It’s quite likely they’d want Kate to take up the Hawkeye mantle from Clint one day, but for now, she’ll remain as just “Bishop.”
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Nightmare
- First Appearance: Strange Tales #110 (July 1963)
- Created By: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
It has been widely reported that Nightmare is expected to be the big bad in the MCU’s first horror movie film, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Due out in Spring 2022, it is expected to be a similar team-up film to recent MCU epics. While we have yet to see much from this, Nightmare will be part of this film. The character has been one of Dr. Strange’s toughest enemies over the years simply due to his ability to take over the mind. Once you go to sleep, he’s able to take you into what is often called the “Nightmare Universe.”
However, it should be noted that Nightmare rules over the Dream Dimension entirely. Due to being one of the “Fear Lords,” it is in his nature to feed on the terror of others. He does this to draw power from the psychic energies of dreaming individuals. He can do it subconsciously, making it tough for people to know it is happening as they dream. Yet this is not good, as feeding off of people can end their lives. Nightmare is going to be one of the Marvel Comics characters people will absolutely love by this time in 2022.
[Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment]
Felicia Hardy (Black Cat)
- First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979)
- Created By: Marv Wolfman & Keith Pollard
Felicia Hardy, known mostly by her codename of Black Cat, has been a notable anti-hero in the Spider-Man comics for several years. She began her time in the Spider-Man comics as a villain. Due to being the daughter of Walter Hardy, a well-known cat burglar, she did not have the best role model growing up. A traumatic experience in college leads her to train in multiple martial arts disciplines as well as acrobatics. Eventually, that leads to her following in her father’s footsteps. While her “Black Cat” moniker might seem to be taken from the “cat-burglar” side of her character…it’s actually based on something different.
She has the subconscious ability to affect probability, bringing “bad luck” to her enemies. In the comics, she and Spider-Man fall in love, as Peter Parker is not romantically connected to Mary Jane at the time. That leads to her turning away from crime to become an anti-hero. Yet their relationship never seemed to work properly because Felicia loved “Spider-Man” and not Peter himself. Yet even after calling it quits, she still remains one of Spider-Man’s closest allies. Due to the introduction of the multiverse and new characters from the Spider-Man universe into the MCU, we’re likely going to see Black Cat very soon.
[Image via The Walt Disney Company]
White Panther/Tiger/Wolf
- First Appearance:
- Hunter – Black Panther (Vol. 3) #4 (December 1998)
- Kevin Cole – Black Panther (Vol. 3) #50 (December 2002)
- Ava Ayala – Avengers Academy #20 (October 2011)
- Created By:
- Hunter – Christopher Priest, Mark Texeira
- Kevin Cole – Christopher Priest, Dan Fraga
- Ava Ayala – Christos N. Gage, Tom Raney
The story of the White Panther, White Tiger, and White Wolf is a bit complicated. They each have different origins, truthfully. At one point, T’Challa’s adopted brother Hunter takes on the White Wolf codename. White Tiger is a former protege of Kraven the Hunter named Ava Ayala who gets her abilities from an amulet. White Panther was a former police officer named Kevin “Kasper” Cole who eventually appeared as a white suit version of Black Panther. He is never able to be as good as T’Challa due to not consuming the herb all Panthers consume. This is only for Black Panthers, yet he needs to have it.
Killmonger offers him a synthetic version, which he only does if Cole drops the White Panther name. He then becomes “White Tiger.” As you can imagine, this is very complicated. It is widely assumed due to the real-life death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, T’Challa’s sister Shuri will be the new Black Panther. Yet there have also been plans to introduce Hunter, which further complicates things. As Bucky Barnes has taken on the White Wolf codename. Thus, we could see Hunter but as the White Panther instead. They could also introduce White Tiger down the line for Cole or Ava.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Cassie Lang (Stature)
- First Appearance:
- As Cassie Lang – Marvel Premiere #47 (April 1979)
- As Stature – Young Avengers #6 (May 2006)
- Created By:
- Cassie Lang – David Michelinie & John Byrne
- Stature – Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung
Cassie Lang manages to become a hero in Marvel Comics, just like her father before her. The daughter of the latest Ant-Man, Scott Lang, Cassie decides to take on a similar role. Due to growing up around her father, she becomes very familiar with Ant-Man and even Wasp technology. Sadly, due to the actions of an insane Scarlet Witch, her father is killed. This sends Cassie to retreat into herself, with her mother and step-father unable to really do much good. She feels she can be of great help to the crime-fighting sector just like her father.
Initially, Cassie considers joining the Runaways until seeing the Young Avengers on TV. Lang then goes to the Avengers Mansion to join the group but is turned away. Angered by this, she accidentally increases her size. Apparently, Cassie had been stealing Pym Particles for many years, but they never seemed to work on her. Until now! Clearly, she is too useful to turn away, leading Cassie to take on the codename Stature and join the team. The MCU has already introduced an older Cassie, then recast her with a new prominent young actress for Ant-Man 3. It seems clear we’ll be seeing much more from her.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Nova (Sam Alexander)
- First Appearance: Marvel Point One #1 (November 2011)
- Created By: Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuinness
Before we get too far, it should be noted that there have been two characters that went by the name “Nova.” The original was named Richard Rider. Do keep in mind that Nova was a member of the Nova Corps. This means he was part of a large group but Rider stood out among them. He sort of disappears in the Marvel Universe. We’d later be told the story of Sam Alexander, who has a father that used to be in the Nova Corps. years beforehand. He’s alerted to this by Gamora and Rocket Raccoon, two members of the Guardians of the Galaxy group.
Sam merely needed to put on the Nova helmet to attain the powers it came with. However, he might have power, but his lack of experience is a big problem. Gamora and Rocket decide to train him, leading to Sam joining the Guardians. The expectation is that we will see Sam pop up in the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 film. It could also lead to him taking part in the Young Avengers later on as well. That said, Nova is one of the Marvel Comics characters we’ll be seeing quite a lot of. This could start with Rider first, then Alexander. However, both could show up around the same time.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Squirrel Girl
- First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 2 #8 (Winter 1991)
- Created By: Will Murray & Steve Ditko
Marvel Comics has absolutely loved using Squirrel Girl in some incredibly weird places over the years. Heck, she once really took down Thanos! Her main creator, Will Murray, claimed she was created to bring lightheartedness to stories. Marvel Comics had gotten relatively dark, especially content Murray worked on. Thus, adding someone who could bring in something fun made sense. She is “technically” a mutant like the X-Men, but never seemed to be connected to their group. Instead, Squirrel Girl took part in one of the Avengers squads.
She’d also take part as a supporting character in comics where her comedic or lighthearted tone was needed. This included several Luke Cage and Jessica Jones stories. Yet then Marvel just refused to use her for around a decade before her return in the 2000s. Recently, she has taken part in a lot of younger teams and used as Ms. Marvel’s friend. She will likely be added to the MCU the same way. With the mutants also coming to the MCU, it seems that Marvel is preparing to bring her in with them. They also might even be preparing for an Inhumans revival along with it, which could allow them to re-do her origin.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Speed (Tommy Shepard/Maximoff)
- First Appearance:
- Thomas Maximoff – The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #12 (September 1986)
- Thomas Shepard – Young Avengers #10 (March 2006)
- Created By:
- Thomas Maximoff – Steve Englehart & Richard Howell
- Thomas Shepard – Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung
Scarlet Witch and Vision have twin sons within the comics, Tommy and Billy. They initially debuted in the Scarlet and Vision comic series from the 1980s. However, once this story arc ended, they disappeared until the Young Avengers storyline. The issue here is that both boys are known as Maximoff twins but decades later, they were long-lost twins that did not meet up until they took part in the Young Avengers story. Tommy is a lot like his uncle, Quicksilver. He too has an issue with the law as well as super-speed.
However, some claim he is actually faster than Quicksilver. It could be that Marvel Studios did not want to have an official Quicksilver return simply due to their plans to introduce Speed. Due to the MCU already debuting the twins in WandaVision, it only makes sense to see them again. Due to how fast they aged as well, we could see them next as young adults. Also, with the mutants making their way into this universe soon, we might see them return to MCU reality as the sons of Vision and Scarlet Witch. However, they might still remain lost in the universe until a Young Avengers film or series takes place.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Wiccan (Billy Maximoff/Kaplan)
- First Appearance:
- William “Billy” Maximoff – The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #12 (September 1986)
- Billy Kaplan – Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
- Created By:
- William “Billy” Maximoff – Steve Englehart & Richard Howell
- Billy Kaplan – Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung
Pretty much everything is the same for Billy except for his powers and part of his background. Like his twin brother Tommy, he initially debuts in the Scarlet Witch and Vision comic series from the 1980s. Billy also shows back up later on for the Young Avengers comic series. Billy’s powers are almost exact copies of what his mother can do. He too uses chaos magic and can warp reality. It took him less time to understand and use his powers properly compared to Wanda.
Wanda often struggled due to the lack of any direction or leadership. This was even more prominent in the MCU version of the character. When Billy becomes Wiccan, he has a lot of help to master his powers. Due to what he can do, he becomes a massive asset to multiple teams in Marvel over the years. On top of this, he is one of the most notable gay characters in Marvel Comics history. Due to the MCU’s need to push more representation out there, we’ll likely be seeing a ton of Billy once he returns to the MCU. The twins overall will be major Marvel Comics characters that will become huge pretty soon.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Morgan le Fay
- First Appearance: Black Knight #1 (May 1955)
- Created By: Stan Lee & Joe Maneely
Morgan le Fay is a powerful villain that is inspired by the same character from the King Arthur legend. In Marvel Comics, King Arthur is a mythic and Morgan happens to be his sister who is also half-faerie. Due to her elf background, Morgan is immortal and has been around for thousands of years. Due to her immortal status, she has had the time to master various mystic arts from throughout the Marvel Universe. While many often assume she is a Dr. Strange villain, that is not technically true. She appeared as a big bad for the Black Knight character in her debut.
Yet she’d go on to become a major threat to the Avengers too. Probably her biggest foe in the world of Marvel is actually Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew). This could be due to her scientific background being a fun mix with Morgan’s magical background. There is a plan to use Morgan a good bit more, even though she was a major part of the third season of Runaways recently. She could be popping up in other Disney+ series, including the recently announced Agatha Harkness series. Thus, Morgan is one of the Marvel Comics characters that could be huge soon.
[Image via The Walt Disney Company]
Kang The Conqueror
- First Appearance:
- As Rama-Tut – Fantastic Four #19 (October 1963)
- As Kang – The Avengers #8 (September 1964)
- Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Kang the Conqueror is one of the most notable villains in Marvel Comics. While he has mostly been a villain for the Fantastic Four and Avengers, he has also had a lot of run-ins with Iron Man too. Kang was actually born in the 31st Century on “Other Earth,” meaning we’re roughly 1,000 years in his past right now. Due to the technology of the time, Kang is able to figure out time travel and this sets off several multiverses where Kang “conquerors” several universes. Often aided by the many copies of himself.
Due to the endless Kang’s showing up, often with incredible future tech, taking him down is nearly impossible. The big thing about Kang that one needs to know is that he is in all time, from beginning to the end, all across the multiverse. This means there are many villainous versions but also heroic versions too. The MCU decided to use the “Variant” concept, where killing “He Who Remains” would unleash numerous variants of himself. That includes the single variant of Kang. Due to the Loki variant, Sylvie, killing him…Kang is going to be arriving soon. The first stop is Ant-Man 3, but what of his other variants?
[Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment]
Miles Morales (Spider-Man Of Earth 1610)
- First Appearance: Ultimate Fallout #4 (August 2011)
- Created By: Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli
While the Peter Parker version of Spider-Man was great, Marvel Comics creators eventually wanted to experiment with new “Spider” inspired characters. That led to Spider-Woman among others showing up. Yet Marvel Comics characters in this sector could be taken anywhere. This allowed them to use a half-Black, half-Hispanic kid named Miles Morales. On his Earth, Peter Parker dies trying to protect his world. Yet just like Parker, Miles gets bitten by a spider. Except, the spider who bit him happened to have more traits, likely due to more experiments being run on it.
The character existed separately from the rest of the Marvel Universe initially. That was until a crossover took place that led to Miles entering the mainline universe. His wild popularity among readers led to further use. He has yet to show up in the MCU, but Miles has been a huge addition to Spider-Man television shows and recent video games. He even was the main character in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animated movie. Morales could have a small role in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home film too. Expect a larger role in future Spider-Man films though, especially with Tom Holland’s recent comments.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Prodigy (David Alleyne)
- First Appearance: New Mutants, Vol. 2 #4 (October 2003)
- Created By: Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, & Keron Grant
While there has been another “Prodigy” character in Marvel Comics, the David Alleyne version is potentially the most popular among fans today. David was a mutant that had the power to absorb the knowledge and even skills of those around him within close distance to him. Although, he could not technically control this which he likely enrolled at the Xavier Institute to figure out. This power and his high-level intellect made David a perfect leader for the newer mutant squad of his time. However, the House of M storyline led to around 90% of mutants losing their powers.
Referred to as “M-Day” within Marvel Comics, many top mutants were now powerless. David was sadly one of them. However, he was still able to retain all the knowledge and skills he learned before M-Day. Of course, this still made him a major asset to the X-Men. However, David eventually did regain his powers like many other mutants who lost them. It is expected that we will either see Alleyne show up for the Young Avengers content in the MCU or as a newer mutant in upcoming X-Men content. Expect him to be someone you see a lot of soon.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
America Chavez (Miss America)
- First Appearance: Vengeance #1 (Sept. 2011)
- Created by: Joe Casey & Nick Dragotta
America Chavez is well-liked due to the several boxes she ticks for fans. She is a young black woman who does not look like the traditional “barbie doll” superheroine. It makes her stand out as different, which fans love. While she is from a parallel dimension to ours, she is still unique among her own people. Her powers apparently came from a Demiurge magical connection. Notable for her super strength, speed, and durability, she has also shown invulnerability to many attacks. Oh yeah, AND she can fly along with it.
At some points, we’ve even seen her travel through time as well as multiple other dimensions, which is key to her MCU role upcoming. While some of the Marvel Comics characters on our list so far are rumored to be headed to the MCU, America is guaranteed to be. She is going to appear in Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness movie in 2022. It is uncertain how large her role will be as of yet, the expectation is that it will be pretty significant. Thus, she is one of the Marvel Comics characters who will likely be huge pretty soon.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Mister Sinister
- First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #221 (1987)
- Created By: Chris Claremont & Peter Milligan
Mister Sinister ranks as one of the greatest villains in comic book history. Yet his creation actually came out of frustration with the X-Men constantly having to go up against Magneto and the Brotherhood for writer Chris Claremont. Sinister gave them a chance to explore new storylines, especially those that could get incredibly personal. However, Sinister himself rarely found himself involved in conflicts as he thought of himself s “just a scientist.” Often, he uses assassins and other agents to do his fighting for him. However, he is like an evil Charles Darwin. He’s obsessed with engineering the perfect superhuman.
An encounter with Apocalypse leads to the once known “Nathaniel Essex” becoming Mr. Sinister. This made Essex ageless and regenerative, which allows him to continue his obsession, now with minor powers he could get through experimentation. Sinister would become obsessed with Cyclops and Jean Grey, believing them to be the perfect beings. Thus, he constantly tries to get their DNA somehow. It even becomes such an issue, the two have to travel to the future to be safe at one point. Sinister is rumored to be the villain for Deadpool 3 or Avengers 5 and could serve a larger role in storylines going forward.
[Image via Square Enix]
Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)
- First Appearance: Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013)
- Created By: Sana Amanat, Stephen Wacker, G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, & Jamie McKelvie
You’d be forgiven for being a bit thrown by the name, as Carol Danvers served as Ms. Marvel for many years before officially taking over as Captain Marvel. Kamala Khan is a huge fan of Carol’s, making the name sort of an homage to Danvers. While she is one of the most famous Inhumans, she did not get her powers until the “Inhumanity” storyline when a Terragen Bomb goes off. She emerges from the inhuman dome that covers her with shapeshifting abilities.
Her impact on Marvel Comics is drastic, but Kamala also impacted the comic book world overall. Ms. Marvel is the first Muslim to have her own solo comic book series, especially for a major publication. The story does not shy away from discussing major differences between the American-Muslim experience versus that seen elsewhere. In fact, you could say her hijab is critical to both her character and her Muslim roots. Marvel Studios and Disney have been wanting to use Kamala a lot more over the years and will now be doing so in her own Disney+ series, coming in 2022. She’ll also appear in The Marvels film in 2023.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Patriot (Eli Bradley)
- First Appearance: Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
- Created By: Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung
There have been roughly three different versions of the Patriot character in Marvel Comics. However, our focus is on the Eli Bradley version of the character. He happens to be the grandson of Isiah Bradley. Isiah was one of the super soldiers from the time of the original Captain America, Steve Rogers. When Rogers went missing during the latter portion of World War II, Bradley took on the Captain America mantle himself. He only gained his powers due to the government testing out different super-soldier serums on black men in an attempt to recreate the serum Steve Rogers had.
Due to Eli’s mother being born before Isiah was being experimented on, Eli could not get his powers from his grandfather. Rather, he got them by using the Mutant Growth Hormone or MGH. Yet those artificial powers became permanent when his grandfather later gave him a blood transfusion. While Patriot is possibly going to be used as Sam Wilson’s Captain America sidekick in the MCU at first, due to being introduced in the Falcon and The Winter Soldier series. He will likely only serve this role for a short time before a Young Avengers movie or series comes about.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Adam Warlock
- First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #1 (April 1972)
- Created By: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Roy Thomas, Gil Kane
In his debut, Adam was made into a messiah-like figure. Scientists on Earth calling themselves “The Enclave” created an artificial yet perfect human. Being known as “Him” at the time, Adam rebels and travels into space. In that timeframe, he comes across the High Evolutionary, a massively powerful character. HE gives HIM the “Warlock” name. HE requests Warlock’s help with saving his created planet, Counter-Earth.
This is when Warlock is given the Soul Gem, the same gem Vision is known for using. Warlock saves the planet and eventually encounters the corrupt Universal Church of Truth. It happens to be run by a future version of himself driven mad by the Soul Gem named Magus. To prevent this version from existing, he travels back to absorb his own soul. All of this results in Adam coming across the Guardians of the Galaxy among other galactic characters. Warlock will be appearing in the GOTG 3 film, making him one of the top Marvel Comics characters to keep your eyes on in the next MCU Phase.
[Image via Marvel Studios]
Moon Knight
- First Appearance: Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975)
- Created By: Doug Moench & Don Perlin
Moon Knight is a beloved character in Marvel Comics that is going to be huge in the MCU too. Marc Spector, the son of a rabbi, is not a big fan of violence or ending others. Yet he goes on to be a Marine and CIA operative, then a mercenary. On a job, he sees a fellow mercenary ruthlessly kill an archeologist. While Marc gets their daughter and colleague out, he gets horribly wounded trying to end the mercenary who’s hired to kill everyone there.
Dying, Spector is taken into an unearthed tomb for shelter and placed before a statue of the Egyptian Moon God, Khonshu. To his shock, Marc assumes he is dying but awakens fully healed by the “moon’s night.” He believes Khonshu wants him to be the Moon’s Knight, and save others. There is one problem, Marc is a certified schizophrenic. He has to balance being a hero while not being in the best mental state. This is one of the Marvel Comics characters that is truly incredible. Moon Knight will be a monster hit with fans as the hero debuts in his own Disney+ series in 2022.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Namor The Submariner
- First Appearance: Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939)
- Created By: Bill Everett
For the longest time, ownership of “rights” has prevented Namor from being used in the MCU. Yet he is rumored to be a major fixture in Black Panther 2. This makes sense, as Wakanda and Atlantis have been enemies to one another since ancient times. Of course, Namor rules the infamous Atlantis and it would have been great to see him take on T’Challa. Yet it’ll be great to see him regardless. People often forget that Namor really came into Marvel Comics as a bad guy. Considered Marvel’s first “mutant,” he had several altercations with heroes. This includes Black Panther but also the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.
However, his decision to be against others tends to always be due to his belief that Atlantis is in jeopardy. In fact, he appeared during the height of World War II as an enemy to the United States. Yet Namor still battled against Hitler’s Germany. The Submariner saw them as a huge threat too. Namor has since served mostly as an anti-hero. Due to the film rights now being owned by Disney officially, they are able to use Namor in the MCU. Thus, the BP2 appearance is almost a certainty at this point. Finally, we will see one of the biggest Marvel Comics characters in the MCU!
[Image via Marvel Comics]
She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)
- First Appearance: The Savage She-Hulk #1 (February 1980)
- Created By: Stan Lee & John Buscema
Jennifer Walters, like her cousin Bruce Banner before her, had a great interest in science. However, her biggest interest was the law and making sure it was upheld. Thus, she operated as a lawyer. Yet one day, she was injured badly and needed a blood transfusion to survive. It was an emergency, and the only person that could help her was her cousin. When Bruce gave her some of his blood, it also gave her Hulk-like abilities too. Yet her case is mild by comparison. While Jennifer becomes larger and powerful, she only has a green hue and is not fully green.
She also kept her personality and intelligence, which Banner often could not keep when he transformed. She also has emotional control, yet can get angry and become far stronger like Hulk before her. Like Bruce, Jennifer can turn off her Hulk nature but later on, the transformation to “She-Hulk” becomes permanent. While uncertain how they will tell the story, a series for She-Hulk will be heading to Disney+ in 2022 where she is very likely to shine. She-Hulk is one of the most popular Marvel Comics characters who hadn’t debuted in the MCU, so many are happy she’s coming.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Iron Lad (Nathaniel “Nate” Richards)
- First Appearance: Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
- Created By: Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung
Iron Lad is a VERY interesting character that Marvel Studios has been laying the seeds to debut ever since Iron Man 3 took place several years ago. Some might see the name and assume some random kid takes the Iron Man mantle, but that is not the real story. His ancestor happens to be the father of Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards. Yet his family tree extends much further than this. Nathaniel Richards is supposedly a young version of Kang the Conqueror, what many might call a “variant” of him. One day, Nate is about to be attacked by bullies when a time-traveling Kang saves him.
This knife attack on the young Richards actually helped to shape his future villain self, as he spent several years in a hospital from it. Kang decides to inspire his younger self by showing future battles and conquering that he’d one day do. This backfires, causing Nate to want to stop his future self. He starts the Young Avengers in an effort to prevent his future. Now, equipped with a bio-metal suit that responds to his mental commands, he and the youthful Avengers will stop future Kang. With the introduction of Kang and Young Avengers in the works, Iron Lad will become a very popular character in the MCU!
[Image via Marvel Studios]
White Widow (Yelena Belova)
- First Appearance: Inhumans #5 (March 1999)
- Created By: Devin Grayson & J.G. Jones
Yelena Belova was introduced in Marvel Comics years ago but just showed up in the MCU with the recent Black Widow film. On a funny note, many feel Yelena was the true star of the film due to how impressive Florence Pugh was in the role. Thus, it might be cheating to say she is one of the Marvel Comics characters about to be huge. As she is starting to see that already. In the comics, her role was pretty similar to how it was in the movie. Yet it differs just a bit. For one, Yelena was an enemy of Natasha’s initially.
In fact, when we’re first introduced to her, we find out she is sent to kill Natasha. Yet the two end up becoming allies after they realize who the true enemy is. Like Natasha, she was trained to be a spy and assassin in the Red Room too. While Yelena goes on to take the Black Widow codename, this changes up a lot. Many believe she will be the White Widow, as the multiverse is likely to bring a version of Natasha in to take over the Black Widow codename from her fallen version. Belova is expected to be used quite a lot, especially in upcoming Disney+ content.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Korvac
- First Appearance: Giant-Size Defenders #3 (Jan. 1975)
- Created By: Steve Gerber & Jim Starlin
Korvac is considered to be one of the greatest galactic threats in Marvel Comics. Point blank, there are maybe 4 people considered stronger than him and they are either Gods or the literal writers themselves. In the alternative Earth-691, Michael Korvac betrays humanity to the Badoon alien race in 3007 AD. Yet he is eventually caught asleep while working and as punishment, the Badoon grafts his upper body into a machine. That turns him into a cyborg with updated alien technology inside of him. The Grandmaster and Elder of the Universe send him back in time to fight the Defenders and Dr. Strange.
Korvac lost this fight but did so on purpose. He used this time to scan the Grandmaster’s cosmic power, allowing him to gain several cosmic abilities. With this newfound power, he kills the Badoon leaders. While he decides to conquer the cosmos and attempts to make the Earth’s sun go supernova to distract the world’s heroes, he is stopped. Yet a run-in with Galactus allows him to gain the “power cosmic.” Korvac is then a God and consistently gets into some incredible incidents. He’s set to appear in Captain Marvel 2 as the big bad. He’ll surely be one of the Marvel Comics characters that people will love instantly.
[Image via Marvel Comics]
Mephisto
- First Appearance: The Silver Surfer #3 (Dec. 1968)
- Created By: Stan Lee & John Buscema
Mephisto is best described by calling him Marvel’s version of the Devil. Seriously, that is basically what this character happens to be. While he has been a cosmic threat, he often stands out as a magical being that affects several layers of the universe as well. He was initially introduced as a big bad for the Silver Surfer and Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider). Yet he’d go on to have altercations with the likes of Dr. Strange and most notably, Spider-Man.
Due to having his fingers in so many different areas of the universe, he has become a major figure in the universe. Thus, he’s one of the Marvel Comics characters everyone expected to see in the MCU by now. While he has appeared in Ghost Rider movies, those are not MCU canon. Yet Mephisto is expected to be introduced into the MCU very soon, likely by the upcoming Dr. Strange film. When he pops up, he’ll likely be around for quite a long time. Get used to him everyone. The Devil is here.
[Image via Sony Pictures]
Ghost Spider (Gwen Stacy)
- First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965)
- Created By: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Gwen Stacy was initially introduced as an early love interest for Peter Parker. Yet writers wanted to have Peter not only grow up more but look vulnerable. There isn’t a better way to do this than to hit them with something heartbreaking. The Green Goblin causes Gwen to fall from a great height, only to be caught by Peter. Yet the webbing caught her badly and she died. While she is dead in the mainline Marvel universe, the introduction of the multiverse gave her the opportunity to return. Marvel writers felt, given her consistent popularity, they could use her more in the multiverse.
That led to two characters being formed for her: Spider-Gwen and Gwenpool. Though the latter was fun, it was short-lived. Spider-Gwen became fun to read and the comic success led to Marvel taking it more seriously. Gwen needed to be seen as something more, resulting in her new “Ghost Spider” codename. Now, she is a huge part of the Spider-Verse. We will be seeing a lot from Gwen in the MCU but Marvel and Disney have already included her in many animated projects. Ghost Spider could even appear in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home movie too!
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our Sources:
Marvel Comics
Marvel Studios
The Walt Disney Company
Inverse
Hollywood Reporter
Polygon
Deadline
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