Marvel's Avengers is just seven months away from launch, but there are still a lot of secrets surrounding the game. The developers have been a bit mysterious when it comes to how many playable characters will be in the game at launch, but New York Comic-Con definitely confirmed there will be more than the core team of starting Avengers. With Ms. Marvel officially confirmed as the sixth playable character, many fans are starting to wonder who else might show up in the game.
Although the Marvel's Avengers developers haven't confirmed any additional playable characters beyond those six, we know enough about the game's setting, plot, and villains to speculate a bit about who seems the most likely to show up throughout the adventure. The Marvel's Avengers story mode is definitely long enough to leave room for more playable heroes and the game's co-op multiplayer challenges would certainly benefit from offering a variety of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to choose from.
When speculating about other playable heroes, it is helpful to keep in mind that the core focus of this game's narrative is about The Avengers and their impact on the world (see the comics that inspired the game to understand why). That means that any additional playable heroes are likely going to be other Marvel heroes that historically have a close tie to The Avengers team. That makes it easy to add a few fan favorites to the list and to rule out a few.
Hawkeye
First off, let's talk about Hawkeye. Clint's exclusion from the core team came as a big surprise to a lot of MCU fans when the first gameplay was revealed. Hawkeye does have a strong connection to The Avengers in both the 616 Marvel comics universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it seems like he would be a good fit for an additional hero. The developers were grilled about the lack of Hawkeye early-on at E3 2019 and the team seemed to suggest that Hawkeye might still be a part of the game, but they didn't confirm anything. We would not be surprised if Hawkeye (either Clint, Kate, or both) eventually show up in Marvel's Avengers.
Hank Pym
Another character who has already been discussed and teased is Hank Pym. A cinematic clip released in early June confirms that Hank Pym (Ant-Man and longtime Avengers) is going to appear in the game and at least help out Tony as a science bro. It seems highly likely that he will be a playable character as well, though his unique power set does seem like it could be very difficult to incorporate into any multiplayer gameplay. A single level design built around being either Ant-Man or Giant-Man seems possible for sure, but it's hard to imagine how those powers would translate to the four-player co-op online experiences. That fact along makes us a little unsure of Hank's future, even though he's one of the few additional heroes we've actually seen in cinematics.
Spider-Man and Wolverine
Two other super iconic Marvel characters and staples of the Avengers comic roster in the last decade or so seem a lot less likely to appear: Wolverine and Spider-Man. With Sony's Spider-Man game cementing the video game version of Peter Parker, it seems like it might be smart for Marvel's Avengers to leave that character on the sideline for the time being. The amazing PS4 Spider-Man experience is still fresh in everyone's minds at this point, and adding Spidey as a supporting character may not do the character justice.
For Wolverine, the situation is a bit different. It does seem very possible that mutants make their way into this game in future expansions, but at this point, there has been no mention of them. The inclusion of Inhumans and suggestion that they will be a key part of the plot make it seem like fitting mutants in as well might be pretty challenging for a 10-12 hour campaign. We would bet that mutants like Wolverine make an appearance in future DLC packs and story expansions, but that they won't play a key role in this core launch experience.
Black Bolt and Medusa
So, if no mutants, what about other Inhumans? Inhumans may have been cancelled from Phase 4 of the MCU, but they are alive and well in this game universe. Kamala's introduction cinematic seems to suggest that the A-Day events from the game's prologue somehow "did this to her" and that the Inhumans are primary target for one of the game's main villains, AIM. If more Inhumans are going to show up, Black Bolt or Medusa seem like the most logical choices. The co-leaders of the Inhuman society are both Avengers level powerful and have power sets that would make for pretty incredible gameplay experiences. That said, again, it might be too much work to introduce them in a 10 hour campaign, so it's possible Kamala will represent the playable Inhuman community at launch and other Terrigen heroes will arrive in future expansions.
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel is more popular than ever thanks to her long-awaited addition to the MCU and Kamala's fangirl status confirms that Carol Danvers does exist in the game universe. So the big question is whether or not she'll visit Earth and team up with the Avengers. Considering there are currently four playable male heroes and two playable female heroes, it would make sense to bring another woman hero into the mix. Captain Marvel's powers would make for great gameplay (though some might argue she's too powerful), but getting the chance to see her and Kamala interact in the game would be a ton of fun. She definitely has a lot of history with The Avengers, despite often being off-world protecting other parts of the universe.
Although a ten to twelve hour campaign isn't a lot to work with, it sounds like Square Enix wants to continue building on this world and keep the game alive for a longtime after launch. If that's the case, the sky is really the limit. Future expansions and DLC packs feature X-Men, Fantastic Four, Marvel Knights, or even a story focused on villains like The Thunderbolts could be in the cards. We're still keeping our fingers crossed for at least one or two more playable launch characters, so be sure to check back as we learn more about the game in the coming months.
Be sure to check back in the coming months for more news and updates as we learn additional details about Marvel's Avengers. And don't forget to sign up for the Avengers beta!
Marvel's Avengers releases May 15, 2020 on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.