For the Love of Pete, These Guys Need to Assemble Already

Really, it's impossible to pinpoint the one thing about Age of Ultron that excites me most. But getting to see Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, and Vision join the MCU? That's got to be pretty high on my list of Stellar Things.

Thinking about ushering in these MCU newcomers gets me thinking, though. If I could tap any superheroes who've been affiliated with the Avengers (or any of its splinter groups) at any point to join in on the big screen, who would it be? Who would I want to assemble?

I've steered clear of characters already slated to appear in the MCU, and tried to pick characters who could bring something new in terms of personality, power type, and the kind of dynamic they could lend to the group.

That said, here are three of my picks:

Moon Knight

When mercenary Marc Spector was killed on a mission gone wrong, he was left for dead in the Egyptian desert. But after he was pronounced dead, he woke up again--Marc believed the Egyptian moon good had resurrected him to enact vengeance. And Moon Knight was born.

Moon Knight has been called Marvel's version of Batman--he's a street-level hero with a cowl, and he's got plenty of money to make gadgets. He fights at night, too, when the moon heightens his strength, reflexes, and endurance. Unlike Batman, though, Moon Knight is kind of...insane. He's got multiple personalities--a filthy-rich socialite, a street-smart cabbie, an Egyptian moon god, even the personalities of other superheroes--buzzing around his skull.

If that doesn't sound fun, I don't know what does.

 

Echo

 

Maya Lopez's dad was a Cheyenne gangster, and he was in league with the Kingpin. When the Kingpin ended up killing him, his dying wish was that the Kingpin make sure Maya was raised well. Apparently, you can't trust Kingpin not to kill you even if you're in cahoots, but you can trust him to do you a major favor. Good Guy Kingpin went ahead and raised Maya like she was his own daughter. Of course, he also told her that Daredevil had killed her dad and sent her after the superhero--but hey. Nobody's relationship is perfect.

 

Clearly, Maya's got a backstory that's pretty different from those of other heroes already in the MCU. She has the ability to perfectly mimic, or "echo," any action she witnesses, even if it requires much more physical strength than she has. Fight sequences like that would look wizard choreographed on the big screen.

 

 

 

Beyond that, Maya can bring some real diversity to the MCU. Not only do we need more female superheroes, but Maya is also Native American and deaf.

 

Namor



 

While Namor is currently affiliated with the X-Men, he's also been with the Avengers in the past. The half-human ruler of Atlantis, he's had some conflict with humankind in the past, mostly because he felt like they threatened to bring down his realm. Though protecting Atlantis is still his top priority, he's teamed up with several superhero groups over the years, including the Avengers.

 

Thanks to his merman blood, Namor has some special abilities. These include superhuman strength, durability, agility, speed, and a prolonged lifespan. But he has to come into contact with water periodically, or else his powers gradually slacken off to something just above human; if he goes too long without that water fix, he can die.

 

 

While the "superhuman prince" angle has already been covered by Thor, Namor could still bring something new to the table. Thor's actually pretty mellow and humble, while Namor is still pretty full of himself and considers his people superior to humans. He doesn't necessarily play well with others, which could bring in some new friction and types of character dynamics. The fact that his greatest strength (access to water) can also become his downfall also allows for some interesting plot possibilities.

 

Also, like I mentioned, he's got loads of connections in the superhero world. If every Marvel fan's dreams were to come true someday and we got the chance to see the Avengers team up with the X-Men or Fantastic Four, Namor could serve as the perfect link between teams.

 

This has gotten longer than I'd expected, so I should probably stop here. But. There are loads of other superheroes who belong on this list--loads of others who would make brilliant additions to the MCU. Who do you want to join the assembly?