7 Marvel Heroes That Will Join The Avengers in Phase 4 after Infinity War

As Infinity War approaches, it's time to turn our attention towards the new heroes joining the gang...

Fan favourites Iron Man, Captain America, War Machine and Hulk are expected to end their Marvel runs with the upcoming Infinity War movie, as Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Don Cheadle and Mark Ruffalo reach the end of their contracts. To replace them a flush of new heroes is set to join the cast, as Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seeks to maintain the success of the Avengers franchise that has been up to this point defined by the group of leaving stars. Warning, though, this first one contains minor spoilers for Black Panther...

With Chris Evans most likely stepping out of the Captain America role in Avengers 4, many have speculated that the mantle may pass onto either his "best friend" Bucky (last seen in Wakanda with Shuri and T'Challa) or Sam Wilson (a.k.a Falcon), both of whom have donned the mantle in the comics after the famous "Death of Captain America" story arc. Bucky was, though, referred to in the Black Panther end credits scene as White Wolf, a hero of Wakanda who serves as Black Panther's brother on the battle field. If, then, Bucky is set to fulfill his role as a side-kick for Black Panther after Steve Rogers makes him redundant then the mantle of Captain America is almost sure to fall to fan-favourite Sam Wilson, who's wings make him as visually impressive as he is skilled in combat.

Wiccan is an powerful hero who, at this point, is almost confirmed to appear in the upcoming films. This section, though, contains comic-book spoilers for the character arcs of Scarlet Witch and Vision, although we don't know exactly how this will be translated into the Marvel films. Wiccan is the son of Wanda and Vision, who uses her powers to conjure twin boys for her and her robotic lover. The babies, who have been rumoured to appear in Infinity War, were brutally murdered by a villainous entity, causing her to go mad and wreak magical havoc upon the earth. Their souls, though, were reborn into the bodies of two young men, one of whom was young Billy Kaplan. Billy was a closeted gay high school student fascinated by his favourite Avenger the Scarlet Witch. When he discovered he had similar powers to her, though, he started on an adventure that led him to becoming one of the strongest sorcerers the Marvel world has ever known as well as a re-uniting with his mother Wanda Maximoff. Wiccan fought alongside Hulking, Miss America and Loki in the "Young Avengers" comic series.

With Fox having its movie assets bought out by Disney, Marvel will be free to introduce X-Men characters within the Marvel world, and Storm, along with Wolverine, looks to be first to make the jump. Storm is perhaps the new hero with the biggest fan-base rumoured to join the Marvel universe and is almost certain to make her debut in Black Panther 2. Ororo Munroe was actually at one point married to King T'Challa, making the pair Marvel's most prominent power couple (excuse the pun). Her powers include the abilities to manipulate weather, and Munroe is often referred to as a vessel for the spirit of an African goddess, much like her spouse the Black Panther.

Hulkling is another member of the Young Avengers who is rumoured to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Real name Teddy Altman, Hulkling is the secret son of Captain Mar-Vell (a Kree super-soldier played by Jude Law in the upcoming Captain Marvel film) and a Skrull princess names Anelle. The Kree (already introduced in the first Guardians of the Galaxy) are an alien race at war with the Skrulls, a shape-shifting extra-terrestrial species. As the product of a Romeo and Juliet-esque romance, baby Teddy was smuggled to Earth by his Skrull nurse, who raised him undercover as a single mother in human form. Hulkling went on to play a major role in the Kree-Skrull war, and while a member of the Young Avengers he fell in love with Wiccan a.k.a Billy Kaplan, the spiritual son of Scarlet Witch. 

She-Hulk is one of the most iconic Avengers in Marvel comics to have not yet received an on-screen translation. Jennifer Walters, a small-town lawyer, was the victim of a deadly shooting on the day her cousin Bruce Banner happened to be in the neighbourhood (convenient, yes). After a rushed blood transfusion between the two (Bruce was the closest match), Jennifer puled through, but received her cousin's hulk-ish powers along with her new lease of life. What resulted was the creation of an intelligent and powerful superhero who is set to join the Avengers after Mark Ruffalo leaves the cast in the upcoming fourth Avengers film.

Kamala Khan, Marvel's first muslim hero to headline her own comic book, took over the mantle of Ms. Marvel after Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson in the Marvel films) rebranded herself as Captain Marvel. Her powers include the ability to stretch her body and reshape it into literally anything. This polymorph resides in Jersey City which sits across the river from Manhattan, and works to meld her Pakistani-American heritage with her new-found identity as a high-school hero. Due to her younger age, don't be surprised to see Khan introduced in the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming.

This final entry is one of the most exciting. As rumours have it, Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver is set to be revived by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War through the use of the Soul Stone Infinity Gem. It is not sure why this would be, but the general idea is that Thanos will use the re-animated body of Pietro Maximoff to terrorize his twin sister Scarlet Witch, causing her to have a mental breakdown and unleash her explosively dangerous powers. Hopefully, though, Taylor-Johnson will stick around and join the Avengers team for good as the movies progress. He was an excellent addition to Avengers: Age of Ultron, so his untimely demise may have not been for nothing if we're set to get more of this speedster on our screens.

What do you think of these new additions to the gang? Together, they are set to join Ant-Man, The Wasp, Doctor Strange, Vision, The Winter Soldier, Valkyrie, Black Widow, Shuri, Black Panther, Okoye, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy to form the basis of the new Marvel team after Infinity War wreaks havoc in May. Stay tuned to JG Review for more Marvel coverage as we reach the upcoming Avengers 3, and make sure to check out my review of Black Panther by clicking here.

Written by James Green