The Avengers Should Become The Ultimates in Marvel Phase 4
The Avengers are the ultimate superhero team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What form Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will take after the impending chaos that will occur thanks to the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 is anyone’s guess. However, we know for sure there will be a Marvel Phase 4, kicked off by the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. And the world will still need the Avengers to protect it.
Some of the heroes may not survive their confrontation with Thanos over the Infinity Gauntlet, and speculation is rampant about what will happen in Avengers 4 – it may be an adaptation of Secret Wars or time travel may rewrite the history of the MCU as we know it. However things shake out, Tony Stark’s nightmare will have come true: Stark was terrified by the sight of the Chitauri fleet at the conclusion of The Avengers, and his failure with Ultron was a result of him wanting to build a ‘suit of armor around the world’ to protect it from alien threats.
Aliens coming to Earth, whether they are friendly like Thor or intergalactic menaces like Thanos, are now a fact of life in the MCU. In Phase 4 and beyond, the Avengers will have to rise to the challenge of continuing to meet alien threats. They must go the extra mile and become proactive to solve the problem of cosmic invaders. In short, the Avengers must become the Ultimates.
WHO ARE THE ULTIMATES?
The MCU’s version of the Avengers are actually based upon the Ultimate Universe’s incarnation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes from the early 2000’s. In those Marvel Comics, which introduced the idea of Nick Fury looking identical to Samuel L. Jackson and inspired Jackson’s subsequent casting as the MCU’s premiere super spy, the Avengers were called the Ultimates. However, the version of the Ultimates we refer to is from the more recent comics; the team formed as a result of the 2015 Secret Wars event as written by Al Ewing and originally illustrated by Kenneth Rocafort.
In today’s Marvel Universe, the Ultimates are ‘the ultimate team to solve the ultimate problems.’ Comprised of Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Blue Marvel, Ms. America Chavez, and Spectrum, the Ultimates are a space-faring unit whose primary goal is to solve the problems that would otherwise manifest and threaten the universe. Their first mission was to solve ‘the problem of Galactus’, the Marvel Universe’s devourer of planets who has tried to eat the Earth more than once. The Ultimates are comprised of some of the Marvel Universe’s most powerful and brilliant heroes, their scope is literally multiversal, and unlike the traditional superhero paradigm of reacting to super villains, the Ultimates proactively challenge the biggest problems facing the Marvel Universe.
The Ultimates are what the Avengers need to become in Phase 4. Whatever happens with Thanos, the Black Order, and the Infinity Gauntlet, the greatest threats to the MCU are]going to keep coming from outer space. It will be paramount for the Avengers to organize themselves the way the Ultimates have in the comics, not just to react to the next invasion, but to go forth into space when need be to solve the problems before they even reach Earth.
Dealing with an extraterrestrial threat to Earth is the very reason the Avengers Initiative was implemented. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye assembled specifically because even S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t have the power to defeat Loki and the Chitauri. Even after they beat Loki, the Avengers continued to take on alien-derived menaces. The Avengers went around the world dismantling HYDRA, who were using Loki’s scepter containing one of the Infinity Stones, specifically the Mind Stone. Ultron’s sentience came about because of the Mind Stone, as did the powers of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. The Vision was also given life and his powers by the Mind Stone, so all of that is directly related to alien threats.
In fact, it was when the Avengers’ attention was targeted towards Earthbound problems that they got into trouble, and inevitably found themselves torn asunder. The mission in Laos to capture Crossbones resulted in Scarlet Witch’s fatal error that got Wakandan citizens killed and resulted in the UN drafting the Sokovia Accords, which led to the Avengers’ Civil War.
When he protested signing the Sokovia Accords, Steve Rogers declared that “The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place.” But the Avengers have been most effective directing their powers at extraterrestrial threats, not just run of the mill super villains. Fighting off alien invasions is the best way to utilize the sheer power of world-beaters like Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and Scarlet Witch. Of course, the Avengers will face all they can handle and more when Thanos arrives in Infinity War.
HOW THE ULTIMATES COULD WORK IN THE MCU
With Black Panther already established and Captain Marvel set to debut in 2019, two of the core members of the Ultimates will already be part of the MCU when Phase 4 rolls around. The casting of Dewanda Wise to join Brie Larson in Captain Marvel indicates Wise could be playing Monica Rambeau, who is Spectrum, which would make three of the five Ultimates in the MCU. Whether or not Blue Marvel or Ms. America Chavez also join the MCU – and they should, especially Ms. America – Captain Marvel and Black Panther are two superheroes whom Marvel Studios are designing as future leaders of the MCU franchise. They are going to be major players going forward, and that would very likely include being part of the Avengers.
The MCU has plenty of established heroes of the necessary power levels and even cosmic experience who could join Captain Marvel and Black Panther as part of an Ultimates-style incarnation of the Avengers. Doctor Strange has magical powers that encompass other dimensions, planes, and realities. Ant-Man and the Wasp’s shrinking abilities give them access to the quantum realms. There’s Valkyrie, who regained her desire to fight for greater ideals in Thor: Ragnarok, and is one Asgard’s greatest warriors. The Ultimates could also utilize the deadly talents of someone like Nebula, who has been across the galaxy, and knows the ins and outs of other races like the Kree. In addition, the Triskelion is conveniently vacant and available as a base of operations for the Avengers, just as it’s the headquarters of the Ultimates in the comics.
It’s doubtful Marvel Studios would abandon a world-famous brand like “The Avengers” and rename them as “The Ultimates”, but the Avengers of Phase 4 can still be like the Ultimates where it counts: with a mission charter explicitly stating that the team exists to not only deal with extraterrestrial threats but to solve problems arising from aliens before they even reach Earth. Whatever form the Guardians of the Galaxy take in Phase 4, this would still substantially differ from James Gunn’s franchise as the Guardians are not expressly about protecting the Earth itself as the Avengers would be. The Guardians can guard the galaxy, but the Avengers must safeguard the Earth – and to do that they should specificallt take on and remedy alien obstacles to Earth’s safety. Besides, once the Guardians come to Earth to fight Thanos, crossover potential between the Guardians and Avengers only increases.
Finally, an Ultimates-style version of the Avengers can also become like the Infinity Watch of the comics. If the Infinity Stones remain a part of the MCU after the next two Avengers movies, they will need safeguarding by Earth’s Mightest Heroes. Keeping an eye on the Infinity Stones should no longer be entrusted to random beings like the Collector in such a haphazard fashion. The Avengers should also proactively ensure the Infinity Stones don’t once again fall into the hands of someone like Thanos bent on universal destruction.
The ultimate problems in the MCU come from outer space. It would be incredible fun to see some of Earth’s superheroes like Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and even Spider-Man heading into space to pit their combined might and brainpower up against whatever cosmic being wants to wreck havoc upon Earth next. With the recent Disney purchase of Fox‘s properties heralding the X-Men and Fantastic Four possibly joining the MCU, the universal threats could eventually include Galactus and the Dark Phoenix. In Phase 4 and beyond, the Avengers need to assemble a team that thinks and acts both locally and cosmically – they need to become the Ultimates.
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