7 Marvel Teenaged Superheroes

We have been putting together our teams of Marvel teenaged superheroes and I have to admit, I could easily build a Super Teen Avengers with 30 members easy, so it has been heartbreaking to get the list down to 7.

You can read Adkins list of Marvel superhero teenagers here and Clave’s list here.

I have decided that I want a super nerd team that also kicks a lot of butt. So here is my list:

7 Marvel Teenaged Superheroes

1. Alex Power

You can’t put together a teenager team and not think about the Power Pack. Clave put Lightspeed on his list and while I admire his decision, he picked the wrong one. Alex Power is the man.

Maybe it is because I am an older brother but I always had a connection with Alex. He bears all this responsibility after his siblings and he are given powers by an alien that looks like a giant horse. So I dig the character but I also dig his power.

Now part of me wants to cheat and take the Alex of the era when he took all the powers on himself and away from his siblings but it feels like I am cheating. Alex has gravity manipulation and it works in classic ways (he can fly, lift others) but in offensive ways as well, like using it to slam down opponents. Plus Alex is a nerd and, truthfully, he might be the de facto leader of my team. (And Franklin Richards deserves his own post at some point…)

 

2. Idie Okonkwo

Idie is a recent addition to the X-Men universe, coming along during the Generation Hope run and then moving on to Jean Grey School in Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-men, which I am currently reading and adore.

Idie’s powers are interesting, as she can control temperatures, meaning she can do fire and ice, which I have always thought was a cool concept.

But I also like Idie because she isn’t sure she wants to be a hero, even to the point of thinking her mutation makes her a sinful monster, because of a deep religious upbringing. That complexity is one of the things I like about her and what they are doing with her.

 

3. Amadeus Cho

So it is time to kick up the brain quotient even more. If Alex Powers is Peter Parker level smart, Amadeus Cho is Reed Richards plus some sensible combat planning. Amadeus shows up first in Marvel comics as a friend of the Incredible Hulk, then Hercules.

Cho has since bounced around in a variety of places but 2 things are always true:

1. He is one of the 10 smartest people on the planet and
2. He wants to be on a team really, really badly, despite his lone wolf demeanor.

He would be an excellent tech guy or tactician but a terrible leader, which he would be slow to admit.

 

4. Hulkling

The fact that Adkins and Clave passed on the Young Avengers makes me wonder if I am a bad friend and haven’t pushed that excellent series enough to the two of them. Because the Young Avengers first run is spectacular storytelling.

Hulking is Teddy Altman, a child of a Kree/Skrull romance. He has the shapeshifting abilities of the Skrull and his powers are mostly patterned after the Hulk, with him being stronger than most Kree and having the enhanced healing factor of the Skrull. (Think JV Wolverine).

Hulkling would admittedly be an oddball in the world of super-nerds I am assembling but every team needs a heavy hitter and Hulking is a hero at heart!

 

5. Mirage

Okay, so she isn’t a teenager now. But having an original New Mutant feels like a necessity. Also, Mirage’s power set and background would make for great storytelling.

Dani Moonstar is a Native American, whose family passed on to her some knowledge about magic. Plus, her power is to prey on the fears of the people around her. Also, because of circumstances too long to explain (See: Asgardian Wars) she is a Asgardian Valkyrie. I mean, she is basically a catch-all starting point of any kind of story you want to tell. (And I really wanted to put the Warlock Cyper combo and cheat like Clave did with Cloak and Dagger but I didn’t. But so tempted. Easily the last cut.)

 

6. Chase Stein

A member of the Runaways, Chase has had an interesting twist and turn and series of events. His innate power is that he has an uncanny ability to understand technology, so he fits right in with this team. But he also has other powers he has picked up. For example, right now, Chase has the Darkhawk amulet, giving him flight and laser weapons.

But I want Chase mainly because of his heart. He is the guy that wants to be a hero and do the right thing, even when he isn’t necessarily powered.  Plus at one point he had a psychic link with a dinosaur, which I’d revisit if I was writing this team.

 

7. Death Locket

Rebecca Ryker is a new character in the Marvel Universe, showing up in Avengers Arena. She survived an accident that killed her mother and brother and her dad pieced her together with the Deathlok technology he had.

Death Locket is still learning what it means to be a hero and definitely doesn’t have a full sense of her powers yet. Having her around and having these smart minds around to tinker with her abilities would be really interesting.