Marvel’s Avengers is shaping up to deliver some big news on its War for Wakanda expansion at E3 2021. The DLC has been confirmed to feature at the Square Enix conference, and with a release date of 2021 scheduled, gamers are expecting to learn a lot about the Black Panther content. However, what comes after is up in the air. Black Panther marks the end of Marvel’s Avengers’ current roadmap, and while Spider-Man will be swinging into the game after T’Challa, it is unclear what will be coming afterwards.

Marvel’s Avengers fans have been left in the dark regarding Year Two content for the game, though two perfect possibilities are already on the table. One of the biggest areas that the game needs to improve upon is its villain lineup, and a few great antagonists have already been teased. As such, Marvel’s Avengers should turn its focus to making good on the teasers, delivering on the promise of more villains to fight. Currently, these teases have gone nowhere, and that is something that should be changed going forward.

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Marvel’s Avengers’ Loki And Yelena Belova Teases

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The first villain teased is none other than Loki, the brother of playable hero Thor. A fan favorite Marvel character that has only grown more popular due to his appearances in the MCU, Loki’s position as the God of Mischief ensures that he is always entertaining. Clever, charismatic, and cruel, Loki only gets a brief amount of screen time in Marvel’s Avengers. However, even a brief appearance from Thor’s complex family member is a cause for excitement.

Loki appears in Thor’s side quest chain The Mighty Thor, giving Marvel’s Avengers fans a brief chance to interact with the character. In the game, he disguises himself as his brother, inspiring a cult made up of radicalized members of AIM. While Loki promises to create a portal to Asgard that will bring them home alongside him, he is really attempting to destroy the Earth. Unsurprisingly, his plan is foiled, and Thor finds a pair of glowing green footsteps fleeing the scene of the crime — confirming that his brother was behind the plot.

The other major villain teaser came recently, as Yelena Belova made her debut as part of the Red Room Takeover event. In the event, she hacks the HARM room, turning the location red and adding special hazards for players to deal with. In the description of each mission, players can find a message that she has sent directly to Natasha. These range from backstory-focused topics like Yelena saying she was always braver than Black Widow to a reveal that the HARM room hack was designed to test Natasha’s skills. The final message sees Yelena proposing a one-on-one meeting with her adoptive sister.

How Introducing Loki And Yelena Belova Could Improve Marvel’s Avengers

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While these teasers imply that players will interact with Loki and Yelena at some point, Crystal Dynamics has yet to make good on these teasers. While Yelena is more forgivable seeing as she was just introduced to Marvel's Avengers' ongoing story, it would have been nice to see her or even just hear her voice. Loki is a bit less understandable, as the character’s role was discovered nine months ago when the game made its debut. Not only was his voice disguised and his proper design not revealed, but there has been no mention of Loki since his footsteps were discovered.

Considering that Marvel’s Avengers desperately needs more villains, this teaser going nowhere is severely disappointing. In its current state, boss fights are limited to Maestro, Taskmaster, Abomination, and AIM Bots. While the Cosmic Cube Villain Sector will add a Monica Rappaccini boss fight to the mix, it simply is not enough to get fans excited in the game again. However, the debut of Loki could be exactly what the game needs, as the God of Mischief is an Avengers-level threat with a huge fan base of his own design.

Both have the potential to introduce brand-new enemies to the game too. With Marvel’s Avengers fans tired of battling the same AIM bots since launch, adding in some new cannon fodder would be a big deal. Loki’s Woken of Asgard could expand to include new foes like Frost Giants, while Yelena Belova could introduce some of her fellow Black Widows for the Avengers to fight. Possibly training up a new generation of spies, these regular enemies could have a similar moveset to her and Natasha. Not only would adding Loki and Yelena make good on the teasers, but it would also give the game more enemy and boss variety.

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How Marvel’s Avengers’ Loki And Yelena Belova Content Should Be Handled

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Given Marvel’s Avengers’ uncertain future, it is unclear if these teasers will ever lead to anything. Both Yelena and Loki would have been great villains for standalone Avengers games focused on Black Widow and Thor, but with that ship likely having sailed, fans may never see these characters again. Still, on the off chance the duo reappears in Marvel’s Avengers, their missions both need to do some separate things. In the case of Yelena, an entertaining and replayable Villain Sector should be added. For Odin’s villainous son, a massive DLC pack would be a worthwhile endeavor.

For Yelena Belova, building from the game’s already great version of Black Widow is a must. Learning about the pair’s past while also finding out why Yelena is testing Natasha would be great. Yelena should also make use of the studying she did in the Red Room Takeover event, equipping her fellow Black Widows with tools to take down Natasha and The Avengers. Some kind of anti-invisibility tool would be an option, with something that blocks Widow’s Bite mines being another possibility. In this mission, Black Widow players should feel like they are at a disadvantage, staying on the edge of their seats until Yelena is finally defeated.

As for Loki, his appearance should set up a new chapter for Marvel’s Avengers. Given the popularity of the villain, having him be the focus of Year Two is not a bad idea. Players could have several encounters with the God of Mischief, with different boss fights seeing him use new abilities like cloning and Asgardian weapons. Making Loki the star of a War for Wakanda-style expansion could be truly exciting, and it opens up a possibility for gamers to enter Asgard. With Marvel’s Avengers also needing more exciting regions like Future Imperfect’s Wasteland and Wakanda, using Loki as a gateway to Asgard makes sense. While Yelena Belova is perfect for a new Villain Sector, Loki’s appearance should lead to a standout expansion. With these teasers currently being brushed to the side, building solid content out of them could get new players interested. Right now, a larger player base is exactly what the game needs.

Marvel’s Avengers is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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