Marvel Studios did what many thought was impossible in 2012 by assembling Earth's Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers. A sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron, followed three years later before the stakes increased exponentially in Infinity War and Endgame.
With the end of the Multiverse Saga rapidly approaching, this era of storytelling will be capped off with Doomsday and Secret Wars. Beyond that, the plan is reportedly for the MCU to be softly rebooted, likely leading to recastings and the X-Men and Fantastic Four calling the Sacred Timeline home.
But what of The Avengers? We're sure they'll still have an important role to play and, in this feature, we're exploring the way the franchise can evolve in a new MCU. From new locations to the type of stories being told and the team's place in this shared world moving forward, we have a lot of thoughts on where they go from here.
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10. Avengers Mansion
Originally Howard Stark's Manhattan home, Tony Stark would later use his father's Fifth Avenue mansion as a base for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The team spent decades calling Avengers Mansion their home, and it eventually housed everything from training facilities to several Quinjets.
Most interesting was the fact most of the team ended up living here, with She-Hulk, for example, politely asked to leave after her nighttime antics started bothering her fellow Avengers.
It appears Marvel Studios never seriously considered bringing Avengers Mansion into the MCU, a shame when there's so much fun to be had at this location. After all, many of our favourite comics featuring the team saw it come under attack from their enemies!
9. Spider-Man vs. The Avengers
From the start, Spider-Man has been an ally to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. It makes sense because Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures both wanted the wall-crawler front and centre in the Avengers franchise (something we anticipate being the case in Doomsday and Secret Wars as well).
Heading into the next Saga of storytelling, we'd like to see Spider-Man at odds with this team. Like Daredevil, he's not a team player and with his newfound vigilante status, Spidey should clash with his fellow heroes rather than fighting alongside them.
In Spider-Man 5, for example, we'd love to watch as Peter Parker breaks into The Avengers' base, only to find himself at odds with whoever's at home. Remember how much fun Ant-Man's clash with The Falcon was in Scott Lang's first solo outing?
8. Jarvis
No, not J.A.R.V.I.S. We're talking about Edwin Jarvis, Tony Stark's loyal butler who ends up being a crucial ally to every Avenger who passes through the mansion's doors.
The MCU has established that Edwin was indeed Howard Stark's butler and the character, played by James D'Arcy, has appeared in Agent Carter and even Avengers: Endgame. However, a reboot presents an opportunity to put a new spin on this fan-favourite manservant.
For starters, he needs to be more than just Iron Man's Alfred Pennyworth. Making him the team's eyes and ears back at their base and a butler tasked with keeping the heroes in line would be a blast...and make it hurt all the more if the events of The Avengers #59 and #60 were adapted.
7. Multiple Teams
If the MCU's expansion has proved anything, it's that there are too many heroes for a single team of Avengers. One way to handle that would be by introducing groups like the Defenders and Champions. Another is to introduce more than one set of Avengers.
From the New Avengers to the Young Avengers, the West Coast Avengers, and even the Savage Avengers, Marvel Studios needs to expand this franchise beyond sporadic event movies.
That's an admittedly risky approach and we'd hate to see the series diluted. However, handled correctly, all those characters who can't quite hold their own in solo projects - Hercules, Namor, and the Thunderbolts* roster (rumoured to be the "New Avengers), for example - would get the chance to shine in meaningful and exciting ways.
6. A New Avengers Movie Every 2-3 Years
While COVID and last year's WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes need to take some of the blame, by the time Avengers: Doomsday is released, it will have been seven years since Avengers: Endgame broke box office records.
That's far too much time and, moving forward, we'd like Marvel Studios to ensure there's a plan in place that will bring new Avengers movies to the big screen every two to three years.
They don't all need to be earth-shaking events; they can be smaller-scale, yet still epic, tales similar to what happened in The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. If there are indeed multiple teams, then this approach would work perfectly.
5. The Original Lineup
If Marvel Studios does reboot The Avengers, is it too much to ask that we see the original lineup, even if it's only in flashbacks? Iron Man, Thor, and The Hulk were all part of the MCU team, but throwing Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne into the mix as Ant-Man and The Wasp (in their prime) would be a blast.
If their respective comic-accurate costumes were included, it would be a definite plus, though we can appreciate the ship might have sailed on that happening.
A slow-burn approach to this group's adventures contradicts our previous suggestion, but it also has potential. Just picture Earth's Mightiest Heroes discovering Captain America in place of S.H.I.E.L.D.
4. Superhero Rivalries And Romances
If there's one thing The Avengers franchise has never really had time for, it's romance. Yes, we know most of you will probably argue it shouldn't be a priority in these action-packed epics, but it's been part of the team's status quo since the start.
Ant-Man and The Wasp, for example, were romantically linked from the day these heroes first assembled. Since then, we've seen Thor and She-Hulk, the Scarlet Witch and Captain America, and Hawkeye and Black Widow all find love on the field.
The Vision and the Scarlet Witch's MCU dynamic should give you an idea about how much fun this can be in future movies.
3. Classic Villains
We've seen Earth's Mightiest Heroes battle the likes of Loki, Ultron, Baron Zemo, and Thanos on screen, so it's not like Marvel Studios has failed in this respect.
However, there are plenty of other baddies from the comics we'd like to see The Avengers assemble against in future movies (where reality itself isn't necessarily on the line). Among those who instantly spring to mind are the Masters of Evil, Count Nefaria, the Super-Adaptoid, and a better version of the Wrecking Crew than what She-Hulk: Attorney at Law delivered.
We're sure this is coming but, c'mon, let's scale things back a little and put threats like Thanos and Doctor Doom on the shelf so The Avengers can be tested in new and unexpected ways.
2. Cosmic Avengers
We've seen some of The Avengers head into outer space to do battle with Thanos, but when it comes to a full-blown cosmic epic...well, we're still waiting.
Confining the Kree/Skrull War to a subplot in Captain Marvel before messily continuing it in Secret Invasion has proven to be a major misstep on Marvel Studios' part. And the less said about The Marvels, the better. As one of the most epic Avengers comic book stories, it's a crying shame this hasn't been brought to the big screen and done justice.
That can easily be rectified down the line by sending this team into outer space to combat an alien war. The likes of Mar-Vell and the Fantastic Four could be thrown into the mix for a crossover event with the potential to leave jaws on the floor.
1. Avengers Vs. X-Men
Talking of crossovers, this needs to be the next big story Marvel Studios builds to. However, for this to work, The Avengers franchise will have to be rebooted.
Simply put, it won't be the same seeing this story play out without characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and The Hulk. The premise has a tonne of potential either way, but the tension between these two teams needs to be explored over several years before a boiling point is reached and they go to war.
We can see this movie breaking countless box office records and, when it comes to who should win, we'd suggest the two teams eventually unite to tackle a bigger threat. We might get a watered-down version in Doomsday or Secret Wars, but this needs to be its own movie one day.