Old school is new again.
Classic names in Avengers history are poised for major comebacks. Even some of really old school members with brief tenures on the team are being resurrected. Some characters who may make you say, “were they really Avengers…for like a minute?”
Two Wasps and a casting revelation by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn made us time travel back into issues of Avengers past.
Before we share the four Avengers ready for a comeback here’s a look at some famous names coming back to comics and movies:
The Wasp is having a moment. Janet Van Dyne is guest starring in All-New Wolverine. An all-new Wasp will debut in the FCBD Civil War II by Mark Waid and Alan Davis on Free Comic Book Day then joins the cast of the All-New, All-Different Avengers. In the movies, Ant-Man revealed the fate of Janet Van Dyne and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) will take on the identity in Ant-Man and The Wasp.
Hank Pym returns to comics (with Ultron!) in Uncanny Avengers this May.
Director James Gunn revealed Mantis will be in Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume Two. The martial arts master was the centerpiece of the Celestial Madonna epic.
Black Knight, Hercules and Hellcat are starring in solo comic books. Stingray is now starring in Deadpool’s Mercs for Money.
Here are four more way back in the day Avengers who were part of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a short time but could be ready for almost prime time:
Moondragon. Heather Douglas proved bald is beautiful and badass. She is a powerful telepath, martial arts master, skilled scientists and is even a low level telekinetic. What’s more impressive – Heather gained her abilities through her extreme degrees of focus and a regimen of intense training by monks on the alien moon, the homeworld of Thanos. In the comics, Moondragon was briefly an Avenger, Guardians of the Galaxy, the Infinity Watch. Given Heather’s comic book connections, she’s a perfect addition the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Swordsman. Jacques Duquesne was a 1960’s era recruit after debuting as a villain of Hawkeye. The Swordsman was intimately involved in the Celestial Madonna storyline with Mantis. The dead ex-Avenger was later resurrected as a villain in Legion of the Unliving, Lethal Legion and Emissaries of Evil. A new Swordsman could carry on Duquesne’s legacy as a bad guy or maybe it’s time to raise the sword as a hero again.
Starfox. The brother of Thanos is a lover…not a fighter. The former Avenger and She-Hulk’s lover made a brief comeback in Avengers: Rage of Ultron last year. Starfox is an Eternal whose real name is Eros. Along with super strength and flight, Eros can stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain.
Two-Gun Kid. A cowboy in the Avengers? Matt Clark time traveler from the Old West became a reserve then probationary member in 1970’s in same era that gave us Mantis, Moondragon and Swordsman. Old school charm and heroics earned him fans among the modern Avengers. Two-Gun Kid was tasked with leading the Desert Stars, a western states based squad in the Avengers Fifty State Initiative.
You never know what could happen in the Marvel Universe. Who would have thought we’d see Howard the Duck on screen again?
By Editor