Quantumania - CASSIE LANG!

Marvel Legends - Cassie Lang (Ant-Man & Wasp Quantumania BaF) - Hasbro 2023

One more glorious step towards the Young Avengers in the MCU! The Young Avengers comic is one of my favorite superhero team books of all time. In the story, the Avengers were missing and Vision initiated this failsafe protocol where a group of backup Avengers were gathered to form a replacement team. They are all young versions of the classic characters, often with some familial pedigree. Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott Lang, joined the team as Stature. In the MCU and Disney+, there have been 8 or 9 Young Avengers characters introduced so far in unrelated projects. So, in my mind, a Young Avengers series or film is definitely coming. Cassie Lang has made a handful of MCU appearances, but it was in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that we first met her as a young woman in a costumed role. She never adopts a codename in the movie, but in the comics she has been: Stature, Stinger, Ant-Girl, and Giant-Girl. I kind of hope she gets a new name to add to her collection. Let's check out Cassie below!

Marvel Legends - KATE BISHOP!

Marvel Legends - Disney+ Infinity Ultron Wave - Kate Bishop - Hasbro 2022

I can't tell you how excited I am about the Young Avengers direction that the MCU most definitely seems to be heading. With the original Avengers actors slowly aging out of the franchise (their words, not mine), the Young Avengers will make a fantastic next phase. I think anyone who has read the Original Young Avengers series, and followed it with the Children's Crusade, would be as excited as I am. So far we've met Tommy and Billy in Wandavision, America Chavez in Multiverse of Madness, Kid Loki and Sylvie in Loki, Cassie in Ant-Man, Eli in Falcon and Winter Soldier, and now Kate in Hawkeye. (Plus I'm willing to bet Yelena, Ms. Marvel and Ironheart will break canon and somehow be included). I really enjoyed Hailee Steinfeld in the role of Kate Bishop in Hawkeye. I never read the various early 2010's Hawkeye series when she was either the star or supporting character, so the show was brand new material for me and I loved it. Let's check out Kate Bishop Hawkeye below!

Marvel Legends - AMERICA CHAVEZ!

Marvel Legends - Doctor Strange (Rintrah BaF) - America Chavez - Hasbro 2022

Marvel has a great trend in recent years of reinventing old underused Golden Age characters for a young modern audience. I first took notice when a new Sun Girl was introduced in the 2014 New Warriors comic. It was a fun fresh take on a nearly forgotten character. But a few years earlier a new Miss America got the same treatment with the introduction of America Chavez as a young Miss America. I'll admit I don't know too much about this character. I read a bit of the 2013 Young Avengers book when she joined the team, and I picked up a couple of her first solo issues, but I'm currently catching up before the Multiverse of Madness movie. From what I gather, America Chavez has a very Superman-esque origin story. She's from another world (dimension?) and is sent to Earth as a child where she is discovered by a young Brooklyn family who raise her as their own. She has super strength, speed, and durability, and also can generate these glowing star-shaped portals which allow her to travel between realities.

Marvel Legends - SYLVIE!

Marvel Legends What If...? (The Watcher Series) - Sylvie (Loki) - Hasbro 2021

When I started watching Loki on Disney+ earlier this year, I had pretty low expectations. I wasn't the biggest fan of Falcon and Winter Soldier (never finished it in fact). And after the creative wonder of WandaVision, I didn't expect a show focused on a duplicitous trickster (who I was never a big admirer of even in comics) to capture my attention. I only started watching because my friends in a nerdy group chat I'm in  insisted I start and I had hopes that Lady Loki would make an appearance. Long story short, I ended up really enjoying the show. Despite themes of time travel and alternate realities (which I find exhausting and tedious after 30+ years reading comics and sci-fi), I was intrigued and really enjoyed it. An unexpected joy was the introduction of Sylvie Laufeydottir, an alternate timeline Loki and the MCU's version of Sylvie Lushton (the Young Enchantress character from the Young Avengers comics). One more step towards the Young Avengers movie I predict is coming. Let's check out Sylvie below!

Marvel Legends - KATE BISHOP HAWKEYE!

Marvel Legends - Toys R Us Exclusive Avengers 3-Pack - Hasbro 2016

When I first saw this Toys R Us exclusive 3-Pack solicited earlier this year, I was immediately reminded of the amazing Young Avengers comic series from 2005. Obviously Kate Bishop owes her origins to the Young Avengers, but at first glance I thought The Sam Wilson Captain America was Eli Bradley as a grown up Patriot and I thought Vision was an alternate version of the Young Avengers' Vision. I hadn't been aware that Falcon ever became Captain America and I haven't been reading the new Vision series, so I had no clue who her companions were. It was a little deflating to realize my mistake, but I'm still super happy that we got a Kate Hawkeye. Now all we need is a Stature and Speed (and of course updated figures of all the rest). If you haven't read the first run of Young Avengers yet, I highly highly suggest you do. It's truly one of the most enjoyable comics I've ever read. I just started re-reading it all last night. Let's check out Kate Bishop as Hawkeye below!