10. Wonder Man
When Joss Whedon was asked which other Avengers he would like to bring to the big screen last year, he replied: “A boatload. Pretty much everyone but Wonder Man. I never did figure out what he was for.” Oh. Probably best not to get our hopes up on this one then, but introducing Simon Williams wouldn’t be the worst thing Whedon could do. After all, he first joins them at the behest of the villainous Baron Zemo, but ultimately sides with the superhero team and becomes an integral part of the Avengers. In fact, it’s his brain patterns which Ultron – a murderous android inadvertently created by Hank Pym – uses to create the next superhero on this list...
9. Vision
The chances of Vision appearing depend on which direction Joss Whedon takes the sequel in. However, it would arguably make the most sense for him to follow The Ultimates and have Hank Pym create early versions of both Vision and Ultron, thereby leaving the door wide open for both to be fleshed out in future instalments. Many fans were hoping that Agent Coulson would be brought back as the Vision, but his appearance in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show may have put an end to that. Regardless, Vision is a great character and the androids’ complicated relationship with the Scarlet Witch is another interesting possibility to be explored.
8. Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch
You may be wondering why the brilliant brother/sister duo are so far down on this list, but after Joss Whedon recently confirmed that they will indeed appear in The Avengers 2, it’s now become a case of WHEN we’ll see Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch rather than IF. While some complicated rights issues with 20th Century Fox (their father is Magneto; a mutant character owned by that studio) may have to mean that their interesting origin story will be scrapped, the appeal of seeing a superhero with superhuman speed and another with the power to alter reality certainly opens up a lot of exciting story possibilities.
7. Red Hulk
Despised when he was first introduced and still not particularly loved by the majority of fans, Red Hulk (Rulk?) would still potentially make for a very interesting addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some fans are already speculating that General Ross (played by William Hurt in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk) may use a combination of Gamma radiation and the Extremis virus – which Kevin Feige has already confirmed will return – in order to transform himself into the rage fuelled hero. However, it’s hard to imagine where he could fit in with the team and it’s perhaps better if Marvel save him for the planned solo Hulk movie before we start thinking about the two fighting side-by-side along with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
6. Luke Cage
Regardless of whether you loved or hated Brian Michael Bendis’ run on The Avengers titles, there’s no denying that he injected life into the character known as “Power Man”. Luke Cage was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit and underwent an experimental procedure (in exchange for parole) which left him with super strength and steel hard skin. The biggest advantage of an appearance in The Avengers 2 would be the fact that this could introduce us to a whole other area of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – street level heroes like Daredevil, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones – as well as the fact that Cage ultimately ends up leading the Thunderbolts; a team of super-villain convicts given a chance to redeem themselves.
5. Nova
Should The Avengers 2 take Earth’s Mightiest Heroes into outer space to face off against Thanos, who better to accompany the team than Richard Rider, a.k.a. Nova? James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be our first glimpse into the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so if they introduce him there first, the fan favourite character is then in the perfect position to pop up in Joss Whedon’s superhero ensemble sequel. Rider eventually makes the ultimate sacrifice to stop Thanos, and as the director has a penchant for killing off beloved characters, don’t be shocked to see the same possibly happen in 2015!
4. Captain Marvel
No, not THAT Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers was an officer in the United States Air Force who got caught in the crossfire of an explosion of an alien device and as a result was imbued with superhuman strength, speed, energy projection and flight. Make her a S.H.I.E.L.D. or S.W.O.R.D. agent who accompanies The Avengers on their trip into outer space and her origin story could be easily be done and dusted by the end of the second act. Originally known as Ms. Marvel and recently rebranded as Captain Marvel, Danvers is one of the greatest superheroes in the Marvel Universe and the team would certainly benefit from another strong female member (a type of character that we know Whedon has a soft spot for).
3. Abigail Brand
While she’s not a superhero as such, the half mutant/ half alien head of S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) was created by Joss Whedon during his run on comic book series, Astonishing X-Men. She basically runs an offshoot of S.H.I.E.L.D. that defends the Earth from extra-terrestrial threats, and with both the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and Thanos on the way, now is a perfect time for Brand to make her big screen debut. The Peak space station is even cooler than the Helicarrier, so assuming that would come along with Brand and her team, there’s no way that using her in The Avengers 2 would be anything other than essential.
2. Black Panther
Black Panther is a character long overdue for his own movie. The fact that it STILL hasn’t happened is bordering on being unforgivable. Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito said last year that creating the African city of Wakanda would be “difficult”, so making T’Challa one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and putting him in the capable hands of Joss Whedon would certainly be a great way to hopefully get past any of those concerns and set the character up for his own movie in “Phase 3”. His intelligence makes him more than a match for Tony Stark and in the comic books and his father actually faced off against Captain America during WWII! There’s no way that wouldn’t be interesting to see play out.
1. Ant-Man & Wasp
Everyone loved The Avengers, right? Well, regardless of how great a movie it was, you may struggle to find a comic book fan who wasn’t at least a little disappointed that these two founding members of the superhero team didn’t get involved with Loki’s attack on Earth. However, the sequel is the perfect place for this to happen. With Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man finally set to hit the big screen just months after the release of The Avengers 2, this movie would be the perfect place to introduce Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, especially as Ant-Man reportedly tells the story of Scott Lang stealing Pym’s suit in a big to save the life of his daughter. That means Pym could be brought back in the third instalment as either Yellowjacket or Giant Man!