*Avengers: Endgame Spoilers Ahead!*
There was one scene in Avengers: Endgame that poignantly marked the end of an era, but it might have also hinted at the beginning of a new one.
The scene we are referring to is the final farewell to a fan-favourite character – Tony Stark. When Pepper holds a small funeral for the fallen Avenger at their lakeside home, the whole team is there to grieve the loss of their fellow-superhero Iron Man, and their friend.
But the camera notably pans across various younger characters, who could possibly be the beginnings of a new, up-and-coming Avengers team to carry on the superhero legend, and the Marvel universe.
One of those kids is Harley Keener, who Tony met in Iron Man 3 when he broke into the young boy’s garage to hide out and recover. Harley shared Tony’s love for building, they shared a bond and Tony left behind an Iron Man suit. Is this just a sentimental grace note or a nod to the future of Iron Man?
The Young Avengers are an actual team introduced into the Marvel Universe in 2005, by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. They were a group of teenage heroes who are like baby iterations of the famed Avengers crew, while also being their own original characters. There’s Iron Lad, Hulkling, Patriot representing Captain America and Wiccan representing Thor.
In the first issue the Young Avengers are joined by Kate Bishop as Hawkeye, and in the second issue the team is joined by Cassie Lang, daughter of Ant-Man Scott Lang.
Back to the funeral scene in Endgame, we see Harley Keener, Cassie Lang, and Lila – who is learning the skills to take on the mantle of Hawkeye. Is this a new team in the works? We hope so!
The great thing about the Young Avengers is that the original story infused some much-needed diversity of representation into the MCU. There are young people of colour in the line up (notably, Patriot is a young black man), and a popular relationship is a queer one between Wiccan and Hulkling.
Add Black Panther’s Shuri and our young Spider-Man to the mix and we have a winning next generation of Avengers that we would be happy to see save the world on screen.