DisneyMarvel is releasing countless movies over the next couple of years. So which new Marvel characters should you expect to see? Funny you should ask!
I mean, you didn’t ask. Nerds on Earth put those words in your mouth. But with MarvelDisney’s incredibly vast catalog of characters, it’s understandable you might not be familiar with all characters from all times. I mean, only Marvel cosmic nerds knew the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy before the first movie dropped and the Guardians are pop culture mainstays at this point.
So who are some of these new Marvel characters we will soon be watching in the movies?
And, by the way, I will watch all the movies, regardless of worldwide gas storages, runaway inflation, alien invasion, or TikTok slowly decreasing humanity’s attention span to nothingness. I will find a way, even if it means I have to sell off some of the X-Men #1s I tiled on my bathroom wall in the 90s in order to pay for Disney+. Turns out caulk is hard to get off comics.
Has Marvel ever mentioned that? No, it has not. Just another thing Disney has glossed over. It’s a good thing they are giving us the below characters on the big screen!
Sersi and Black Knight
Right from the starting gun, I am cheating by listing two new characters together, but I’m justifying my chicanery because Sersi and Black Knight are often thought of together due to The Gatherers Saga that ran in 90s Avengers comics. We actually wrote about The Gatherers Saga here.
Black Knight is a long-time Avenger, having had several stints on the team. The mantle of Black Knight has been borne by three individuals, but the absolute best known is Dane Whitman, who will be the one to appear in the Eternals movie.
Wielder of the Ebony Blade, Black Knight has a flying horse named Aragorn as a mount and is a master swordsman and combat with a mystical origin that traces back to the reign of King Arthur. He’ll be played by Kit Harrington in the movie.
Sersi is an Eternal and she’s also had a significant stint in the Avengers. It was during her time on the team that she developed a romance with her teammate Black Knight, who was also attracted by Crystal, a member of the Inhuman Royal Family.
Sersi is among the most powerful of the Eternals, with the power to molecularly manipulate matter. Gemma Chan will play Sersi in the MCU film Eternals, after having played Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel.
Spectrum
We’ve already seen Monica Rambeau in WandaVision and witnessed the genesis of her powers. But we haven’t yet seen her make the full jump to superhero, so she’s included on this list, despite a previous introduction. Also, some assume she’ll take her mother’s call sign, Photon, but the colorful display of her powers in WandaVision suggest she’ll go by her other comic book codename, Spectrum.
In terms of power-set, Spectrum can transform herself into any form of energy within the electromagnetic spectrum. We’re talking cosmic rays, gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet rays, regular ‘ole visible light, electricity, infrared radiation, microwaves, radio waves, and neutrinos. So, you know, pretty much whatever energy type the writer at that time needed in order to advance the plot.
By assuming an energy-form, she gains all of that energy’s properties, meaning she can become invisible and intangible in many of her energy forms, and is capable of flight in all her energy forms, reaching up to light speed. Finally, she has the ability to project these energies from her body in the form of energy blasts from her hands. So, she’s a powerhouse.
She is played by Teyonah Parris, who was a ray of light in WandaVision, and is equally vibrant and sparkling in interviews. Her appearance in the movies will be in The Marvels.
Shang-Chi
Inspired by D&D’s Oriental Adventures books and Larry Hama’s storylines in 80s GI Joe comics that features Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, I loved kung-fu as a kid. I crafted my own nunchucks, drew ninja comics, and spent hours trying to sling throwing stars hard enough to get them to stick into trees. So, I’m stoked for the Shang-Chi movie.
Of course – although I was doing the best my foolish heart understood at the time – I got everything mixed up as a kid in the 80s. But Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings promises to present things accurately, as well as anyone can consider a comic book movie to be “accurate.” As such, it’s a movie created specifically to appeal to an Asian audience first and features Asian actors and production staff.
Canadian actor Simu Liu will play Shang-Chi and he has promised kung-fu sequences before unseen in a Marvel movie. Because, although he later received mystical powers in the comics, Shang-Chi isn’t superpowered, so it will be all hand-to-hand, which is exciting.
She-Hulk
These next four characters are again where I cheat. They haven’t been announced as first appearing in the movies. Instead, they will first appear on Disney+, with an assumed future jump into the movies.
Jennifer Walters was a successful lawyer in the Bay Area who, when visiting her cousin Bruce Banner, was in a car accident that required Bruce to do an emergency blood transfusion using his game irradiated blood. Thus, She-Hulk was born.
The unique aspect of She-Hulk is she could transform at will and kept her wits about her when she was hulking out. She-Hulk comics were known for being fun. In fact, She-Hulk was breaking the 4th wall before that schtick was popularized, then beat to death with Deadpool.
Emmy-winning actress Tatiana Maslany has been cast for the Disney+ show. Will this be Marvel’s first court room drama?
Ms Marvel
Ms Marvel is a newer Marvel character. The comic book series series protagonist, Kamala Khan, is a normal teenaged geeky girl who lives in a working class Muslim family. She wants to go to parties to fit in, but her family’s lifestyle holds her back, meaning she instead spends most of her time at home, writing fan fiction about her hero, Carol Danvers.
But one night, Kamala sneaks out to a party against her families wishes and gains shape-shifting abilities when exposed to an Inhuman Terrigan mist. Now amazed (and intimidated) at having superpowers, Kamala takes up her icon’s old alias and costume, becoming the Ms. Marvel, while juggling the pressures of school and family life.
Newcomer Iman Vellani will star as Kamala Khan on Disney+ and her star power will only embiggen from here, as she is confirmed to appear in The Marvels.
Moon Knight
Now, where have I seen Oscar Issac before he was announced to be playing Moon Knight in the upcoming Disney+ series? If only that guy had some nerd cred.
In the comics, Marc Spector is a former Marine turned CIA operative turned mercenary, who found himself near death after being betrayed by Bushman, when they stumbled upon an archaeological dig that Bushman only wanted to loot for profit. As he lay dying, Spector was approached by the Egyptian moon god Khonshu, who offered him superhuman abilities and a second chance at life in exchange for becoming his avatar on Earth.
Marc Spector is a Jewish-American rabbi’s wayward son, who has three alter egos which aid him as much in dealing with personal demons as fighting law-breakers, and which have taken a further psychological toll of causing dissociative identity disorder. He is armed with gadgets, his best friend is “Frenchie,” and Moon Knight’s strength, endurance, and reflexes are enhanced depending upon the phases of the moon.
In other words, he’s cool and more than a little bit weird.
The character debuted in Werewolf by Night, meaning he ties well with the mystical, horror corner of the Marvel Universe that was popular in the 70s, along other genre-heavy stuff like Shang-Chi. There are clearly Bronze Age fans who are helping steer the MCU.
Kate Bishop
Kate Bishop is Hawkeye’s protege who was made popular in Matt Fraction’s iconic Hawkeye comic book run, although the character appeared earlier in Young Avengers #1, making her another new Marvel character alongside Ms Marvel.
Kate Bishop grew up as the daughter of a rich Manhattanite family who discovered her father was a bully and engaged in criminal activities, although her similarities to Ivanka end there. Just like Hawkeye, Kate Bishop has no superpowers other than her sass. She is a master archer and very skilled with other martial weapons, having been trained in boxing, jiu jitsu, and various martial arts.
Hailee Steinfeld will portray Kate Bishop on her Disney+ series and she is expected to make the jump to the movies as well.
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