by Hayley Charlesworth
With the additions of Agent Carter and Daredevil to the small screen, and with movies on the way for characters like Captain Marvel, Antman, Black Panther and more, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is ever expanding. But as we gear up for the culmination of Phase 2 with Avengers: Age of Ultron, there are still a wealth of characters who deserve a spotlight. We couldn’t possibly hope to cover the many, many heroes deserving of their own franchise, but here are just a few picks of some who could make the successful transition from page to screen.
With the additions of Agent Carter and Daredevil to the small screen, and with movies on the way for characters like Captain Marvel, Antman, Black Panther and more, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is ever expanding. But as we gear up for the culmination of Phase 2 with Avengers: Age of Ultron, there are still a wealth of characters who deserve a spotlight. We couldn’t possibly hope to cover the many, many heroes deserving of their own franchise, but here are just a few picks of some who could make the successful transition from page to screen.
Black Widow and Hawkeye
Calls for these two established Avengers to have their own franchises are already very loud, especially in the Black Widow camp, and it is astonishing that Marvel hasn’t already leapt on this thriving fanbase. While there are plenty of directions for these two characters to go in, it may be best for them to start their journey together, with the oft-speculated about Budapest mission serving as the origin film for both characters. From there, the two could split. Natasha Romanov’s films could be spy thrillers, dealing with Natasha reconciling her KGB-past with her post-SHIELD present, and maybe tying in her connection with the Winter Soldier. As Clint Barton’s comic book wife Bobbi Morse has been given a different backstory in Agents of SHIELD, his narrative could instead follow the fantastically inventive Hawkeye comic series by Matt Fraction, with Clint and Kate Bishop (also Hawkeye) taking down crime in New York City. Honestly, we just want to see Clint’s canine sidekick Lucky (code name Pizza Dog) on the big screen.
Young Avengers/Runaways
Young Avengers could work as both a standalone or as a spin-off from Hawkeye (if that was made) due to the shared character of Kate Bishop, and while a film would be great, a Netflix series would probably serve this team best. With characters ranging from the universe-bending Wiccan (son of the Scarlet Witch), to the 60’s girl group-loving alien Marvel Boy, by way of a teen Loki, Young Avengers is a series diverse in abilities, ethnicities, sexualities and priorities, and would draw in an audience for Marvel not currently being catered to by their current crop of characters. But while the Young Avengers are teens inspired by their superhero idols, the Runaways are the super-powered children of villains. There are many comic crossovers between the characters, so creating Runaways as a companion series with regular crossovers, as with Arrow/The Flash, Buffy/Angel etc. would expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe in further exciting directions.
Captain Marvel
Picture the post-credits scene of Captain Marvel. A poster of Carol Danvers is displayed proudly on a bedroom wall. That bedroom belongs to a Muslim teen named Kamala Khan, who has just developed shape-shifting powers. It’s the perfect lead-in to either Ms Marvel’s presence in the Captain Marvel sequel, or Kamala’s own ass-kicking adventures. Either way, the rave reviews for Ms Marvel’s comic run, not to mention Hollywood’s lack of role models for Muslim girls, means this character is crying out for big screen attention.
X-Factor
Film noir and comic book adaptations are not a revolutionary marriage. The form has always lent itself well to darker or urban comic stories. Of all the many iterations of X-Factor (an X-Men spin-off), Version 3 by Peter David is the one best suited to the medium. Centring on a mutant detective agency, X-Factor v.3 is directly influenced by noir cinema, from the narration of the protagonist, to the setting, to the colours used on the panel, only with added mutant abilities.
The sense of humour on display is sarcastic in tone, and each protagonist has some sort of mystery to them. Leader Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man) was briefly and disappointingly seen in X-Men 3: The Last Stand, but the team is full of fantastic, unique characters like the literal know-it-all Layla Miller and the Captain Jack Harkness-esque alien warrior Shatterstar. It also has a strong, self-contained story that is perfect for a new franchise, but with just enough connection to the X-Men universe to pull in that fanbase.
The sense of humour on display is sarcastic in tone, and each protagonist has some sort of mystery to them. Leader Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man) was briefly and disappointingly seen in X-Men 3: The Last Stand, but the team is full of fantastic, unique characters like the literal know-it-all Layla Miller and the Captain Jack Harkness-esque alien warrior Shatterstar. It also has a strong, self-contained story that is perfect for a new franchise, but with just enough connection to the X-Men universe to pull in that fanbase.
Lady Sif and the Warriors Three
Already an integral part of the Thor franchise, and with Lady Sif occasionally appearing in Agents of SHIELD, this would be a familiar cast and story (as with Agent Carter) to invest in, as well as an ideal way to keep up with Asgard whenever Thor is busy with the Avengers or Jane Foster on Earth - sorry, Midgard. However, as with Agent Carter, the tale of Asgard’s defenders may be better suited to a limited TV series.
Sinister Six
With DC’s Suicide Squad and Disney’s (who own Marvel) Maleficent, villains are in vogue. Any number of Marvel villains could get their own film. The obvious choice would be Loki, but with Marvel now having the rights to use Spider-Man again, there may be hope of a film focusing on his own Rogues Gallery. It would be a way of continuing Spider-Man’s presence in cinema without yet another rehash of his origin story, though another way of doing this could be to use the Miles Morales Spidey instead of Peter Parker. Either way, Spider-Man has too many great villains that have been ignored, and if they could get back Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, I think we’d all be very happy indeed.
What Do You Think?
What other characters deserve a cinematic outing?
Who needs their own stand alone film ?
Let us know in the comments!
Age of Ultron is out in cinemas now! Read Cookie's review
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