While it wasn't really an issue before Disney purchased Marvel, the fact that Universal Pictures holds the distribution rights to any solo movie starring The Hulk has been problematic in recent years. That's why we've only seen the Green Goliath in
The Avengers movies and
Thor: Ragnarok, as Disney isn't going to pay for a
Hulk movie that ultimately benefits Universal.
Well, according to a new rumour that's doing the rounds today, Marvel Studios may have regained full control of both The Hulk and Namor the Submariner (another iconic Marvel Comics hero the rival studio had the rights to distribute).
While it's unlikely that Namor will get his own movie due to inevitable comparisons to DC's Aquaman, he could potentially be used as both an antagonist and potential future Avenger. As for The Hulk, we know that Kevin Feige has asked Mark Ruffalo to pitch ideas for the Jade Giant's future, so it's possible we'll see him in a solo adventure after
She-Hulk.
This is only a rumour for now so it's best to take it with a pinch of salt.
It does add up, though, and with rumours continuing to swirl that Namor could make his presence felt in movies like
Black Panther II and
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the future is starting to look bright for the underwater anti-hero (keep in mind that Namor has been rumoured to show up in the MCU as far back as
Captain America: The First Avenger).
What do you guys think about this rumour?
Hit the "View List" button for a ranking of every official
member of the MCU's Avengers from worst to best!
War Machine
Sorry, War Machine fans! (if you do, in fact exist). This member of the team is definitely formidable, but aside from being a poor man's Iron Man, he's never really brought much to the table.
Rhodey's a good guy and his weapons are definitely useful in battle but they don't really turn the tide and, honestly, it's hard to escape the feeling that Earth's Mightiest Heroes would be perfectly fine without him. With Iron Man dead and gone, it seems doubtful that it will be War Machine who steps up and fill the void, hence why E.D.I.T.H. was left to Peter Parker instead!
The Vision
The Vision certainly proved himself a hero when he joined Earth's Mightiest Heroes to take the fight to Thanos, but can the android really be trusted? Well, he sacrificed everything for his fellow Avengers, but it wouldn't surprise us if he ended up showing mercy to his villainous "father," Ultron.
Putting that aside, though, while The Vision is definitely worthy of a place on the team, he's somewhat fallen by the wayside since
Avengers: Age of Ultron and his mistake in
Captain America: Civil War is what led to Rhodey losing the use of his legs (proof that he still has a lot to learn when it comes to being a hero).
Okoye
With T'Challa and Shuri gone, Okoye no doubt did an amazing job looking after Wakanda and helping The Avengers protect the world in the fallout from the Mad Titan's attack on the universe.
Beyond that, we didn't really get to see her contributions to the team, but it's clear that Black Widow saw her as a trusted ally and she had a lot of badass moments in that final battle against Thanos.
The Falcon
It almost feels wrong placing our new Captain America in such a low position, but Sam Wilson has a lot of work to do before he can be viewed as an Avenger anywhere near as great as Steve Rogers.
He's proved himself in battle but has never been given the opportunity to really step up. However, The Falcon helped turn the tide in Wakanda when Thanos' forces attacked in
Avengers: Infinity War and time will now tell whether he can be a true leader and worthy of the "Captain America" mantle.
Something tells us that will all be addressed in
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, though!
Hawkeye
As just a regular dude with a bow and arrow, Clint Barton is certainly deserving of a place on The Avengers as he's never shied away from doing the right thing. After the death of his family pushed him down a dark path, Hawkeye will likely never be the same again and his time as an Avenger could be nearing its end, especially with the young Kate Bishop looking to inherit that mantle soon.
That takes nothing away from Clint, though, as he has not only been willing to sacrifice himself on multiple occasions, but also helped forge Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch into heroes. However, his time as Ronin has definitely tarnished his legacy as an Avenger to a large extent.
Scarlet Witch
Wanda is an absolute powerhouse and in the heat of battle, there's likely no one else the team would rather have on their side. She's also reckless and not fully in control, though, something which was evident when she accidentally killed all those people in
Captain America: Civil War.
Her actions played a huge role in the creation of the Sokovia Accords and while she's shown that she'll always do the right thing, Wanda is now more unhinged than ever, especially after Vision's demise. That's something Marvel Studios will explore in
WandaVision and depending on how things play out there, her time an Avenger could reach its end in an extremely messy way.
Nebula
Made a member of The Avengers in
Avengers: Endgame, it's hard to say how much Nebula cared about being part of this group but she stepped up and travelled through time, fought her father and sister (again), and even killed her past self in order to help bring half the universe back to life.
Needless to say, that more than earns this Guardian of the Galaxy a place above the likes of The Falcon, War Machine, and Scarlet Witch even if her time with the team was fairly limited.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket only just pips Nebula to the post, but he's another Guardian who overcame the odds to become a memorable member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in
Avengers: Endgame earlier this year.
With all of his friends dead at the hands of Thanos, Rocket did what he had to do in order to bring them back and helped Thor get through a crisis which very nearly saw the God of Thunder give up.
Quicksilver
The fastest man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have made only a solitary appearance in
Avengers: Age of Ultron, but would the team have still defeated Ultron without him racing into action?
It's hard to say for sure, but his most heroic moment came when he saved Hawkeye life by taking the bullets meant for him. Despite hating what Earth's Mightiest Heroes stood for, Quicksilver did what was right to rescue his home and by saving Hawkeye's life, he proved that he understood there was something bigger than him and that he was an Avenger who deserves to be remembered.
Captain Marvel
Carol Danvers had a minor role in
Avengers: Endgame but she continued to protect outer space after Thanos decimated the universe, and then almost single-handedly saved the team when she returned to Earth and destroyed the villain's ship and a huge chunk of his army at the same time. Iron Man probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to wield the Infinity Stones otherwise, that's for sure!
Able to stand up to Thanos, she's definitely the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most powerful superhero and while her status as an Avenger remains up in the air, the team will benefit from her presence.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man was made an official Avenger in
Avengers: Infinity War when he sneaked into outer space and took on his greatest challenge yet battling aliens and Thanos himself on Titan.
After dying in his mentor's arms, the web-slinger returned in
Avengers: Endgame to fight alongside Iron Man one final time. Unfortunately, it seems like his time as a member of this team (or whatever remains of it) is over because he's now been branded a criminal and Mysterio's killer!
Still, in the short time he was an Avenger, Spider-Man definitely made one heck on an impact!
Thor
The God of Thunder has never really been much of a team player, hence why he's left the team to go off and do his own thing on so many occasions (he wasn't even present for the superhero Civil War).
When Thor does show up, though, he's someone who the rest of The Avengers can definitely rely on and you need only look at
Avengers: Infinity War for proof of that! His powers came in particularly handy during the team's earlier battles as well and the world may not be here without him.
Ant-Man
It's fair to say that most of us probably never expected to see Scott Lang become an Avenger, but whether we're talking about Ant-Man kicking ass in
Captain America: Civil War after quite rightly aligning himself with Steve Rogers or being the one to suggest time-travel in order to bring back half the universe in
Avengers: Endgame, this pint-sized superhero has made the MCU a better place.
Whatever form the next iteration of Earth's Mightiest Heroes takes, Ant-Man should definitely be there because Scott is, well, a much bigger hero than a lot of people give him credit for.
Black Widow
An original member of The Avengers, Black Widow's evolution has been fascinating to follow from the start, and by the time
Avengers: Endgame rolled around, she made the ultimate sacrifice.
In order to help Hawkeye get both the Soul Stone and his family, Natasha made a fateful leap which saw her give her life in order to save the universe. That's arguably her most heroic action in the MCU, of course, but it's not like she's ever shied away from putting herself in the line of fire to do the right thing. That's an incredible trait and one which earns her such a high place on this list.
The Hulk
Yes, The Hulk lost control and went on a horrible rampage in
Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the Jade Giant also willingly gave up his happiness at the end of that movie when he sent himself into outer space to avoid doing any more damage to the world. As a mindless beast, the hero helped turn the tide on a number of occasions but it was Bruce Banner who stepped up in
Infinity War.
Later, he would transform himself into "Smart Hulk" and with both the brains
and brawn, the Green Goliath used the Infinity Stones and literally managed to save half the universe in the process.
Iron Man
We've talked a lot about sacrifice in this feature, but whereas Natasha had little more to lose than her life (which is, of course, huge), Tony Stark said goodbye to both his wife and young daughter in order to stop Thanos once and for all. It's not the first time he almost lost everything, of course, as it was back in 2012 that the Armoured Avenger willingly carried that nuke into outer space.
Iron Man made some mistakes in
Captain America: Civil War, but it was still easy enough to see why he took that stance and to head into that battle against Thanos with tech capable of wielding the Infinity Stones, it's clear that he always knew he would have to do what's necessary to save the universe. Needless to say, that proves Iron Man is not
the greatest Avenger but definitely one of them!
Captain America
The first Avenger and the best Avenger, Captain America has always done the right thing and while he too made some questionable decisions while protecting Bucky, this iconic hero ultimately earned his happy ending, especially after proving himself "worthy" in
Avengers: Endgame this year.
His time as a member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes is obviously at its end, but his legacy will never be forgotten and since the very first time the team assembled, Captain America has been a TRUE hero.
Do you agree with this ranking of each member of The Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? How would you rank them? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section!