With the debut of Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in the new Hawkeye miniseries on Disney+, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially added another member of the Young Avengers to their roster. The sprawling superhero franchise hasn’t moved to group these teen heroes together, but they have drawn quite a few characters from the Young Avengers team, which first debuted in Marvel Comics back in 2005.
Created by Allen Heinberg and Jim Cheung, Young Avengers featured many brand new characters as well as drawing upon previously established Marvel canon. The team went on to appear in some major events (Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Children’s Crusade) before Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s 2013 run with a new version of the squad. Since then, the’ve appeared in different team lineups, in their own solo books, some of them are even featured in the MCU.
Below, find out more about each team member – and where you can find them on screen.
Kate Bishop
Like her on-screen counterpart, the comic's Kate Bishop was born to wealthy parents, and was able to become proficient in combat and self defense by paying for lots of classes. Rather than becoming inspired by Clint Barton’s Hawkeye during the Chitauri Invasion, she was kidnapped as a child and held for ransom by an enemy of her father. She was rescued by Clint and the other Avengers, inspiring her to become a hero in her own right.
She linked up with the newly-formed Young Avengers when they helped fight off kidnappers at her sister’s wedding. She took up the "Hawkeye" mantle at a time when Clint was supposedly dead, but they shared the mantle after he was resurrected and he went on to become her mentor (their relationship is prominently featured in Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye run, a major inspiration for the Disney+ show). She was also a member of the second incarnation of the team in the Gillen/McKelvie run.
MCU Debut: Hawkeye on Disney+, played by Hailee Steinfeld.
Wiccan & Speed
In the comics, Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd are the reincarnated souls of Wanda Maximoff and Vision’s twins. They didn’t grow up together, but found each other through the Young Avengers team. Tommy is a speedster like his uncle, Quicksilver, while Billy shares Scarlet Witch’s magical prowess. (Billy’s also destined to become an all-powerful being called the Demiurge.)
Billy made history as one of Marvel Comics’ most prominent gay characters (alongside his love interest, Teddy Altman, aka Hulkling). He was a founding member of the team, discovered via Vision’s fail-safe program that tracked super-powered people. Using the same program, the team later located Tommy in a juvenile detention center for young people with powers. The twins were part of both incarnations of the Young Avengers, as well as the Avengers proper.
MCU Debut: WandaVision on Disney+, played by Julian Hilliard (Billy) and Jett Klyne (Tommy) at their oldest.
Patriot
As we saw in the MCU, comics Eli Bradley is the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, the Black Captain America. When Iron Lad sought out a super soldier for his team, Eli lied and said he had become one through a blood transfusion from his grandfather. Instead, he began taking illegal Mutant Growth Hormone pills in order to fight.
He rose to be a co-leader of the team alongside Kate, but his MGH use was eventually discovered. After being injured in battle, his grandfather did actually have to give him a blood transfusion, making him a genuine super soldier. He eventually retired from the team, although his heroics have appeared elsewhere in the comics.
MCU Debut: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, played by Elijah Richardson.
Stature
Cassie Lang is the daughter of Scott Lang, aka Ant Man. The character has a long history in Marvel comics, first appearing in the 1970s. She grew up around her dad’s hero colleagues, and after her parents’ divorce, the Avengers’ Mansion was a second home for her. While she lived there, she exposed herself to Pym Particles in the hopes of becoming a hero like her dad.
After Scott’s death, Cassie heard about the Young Avengers and sought them out on her own, intent on joining. Lucky for her, the Pym Particle scheme panned out, allowing her to grow and shrink at will. She became an original member of the team and shared romance with both Iron Lad and Vision. Cassie died in battle against Doctor Doom, but was later brought back to life and took up the mantle "Stinger."
MCU Debut: We first saw her as a child (played by Abby Ryder Fortson) in Ant-Man and Ant-Man & the Wasp. A post-Blip young adult Cassie will appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in July 2023, played by Kathryn Newton.
Miss America
America Chavez was first introduced in Joe Casey’s 2011 Vengeance miniseries as part of the "Teen Brigade." She was born on the Utopian Parallel, a dimension outside of time, but was partially raised on Earth-616. She has a number of powers, including the ability to move freely through the multiverse; these powers supposedly originated from the Demiurge.
America linked up with the Young Avengers in their second incarnation to protect Billy, the future Demiurge. She’s since been a member of the A-Force, the Ultimates, and the West Coast Avengers. She also had her own solo book written by Gabby Rivera in 2017, making her Marvel’s first Latin American LGBTQ+ character with their own ongoing series.
MCU Debut: Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness in May 2022, played by Xochitl Gomez.
Iron Lad
Iron Lad was actually the founder of the original Young Avengers team. Born in the distant future as Nathaniel Richards, he was a younger version of Kang the Conqueror. Confronted by his older self, he decided to travel back in time to prevent himself from becoming a villain. He sought help from the Avengers, but returned to a period where the team had been disbanded.
Using the remains of the previous Vision, he tracked down other young heroes to help him. His abilities stemmed from his genius intellect and neurokinetic suit, which he fashioned after Iron Man’s. Unfortunately, due to some timey-wimey issues, he was eventually forced to return to his own era and face his destiny as Kang.
MCU Debut: An adult version of Richards, "He Who Remains," was introduced in Disney+’s Loki, the events of which seemingly released Kang the Conqueror, who will appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Based on the Loki season 1 finale, further variants of Richards may well show up in Loki Season 2.
Vision
This version of Vision was recovered by Iron Lad, whose future self Kang the Conqueror reanimated the robotic pieces. Like WandaVision’s White Vision, this new version shared the memories of Nathaniel/Iron Lad as well as his previous incarnation, but didn’t necessarily share the same feelings or maturity level. Developing his own identity, Vision named himself "Jonas" and joined the original Young Avengers team. He eventually perished in the Children’s Crusade event.
MCU Debut: No sign of a "younger" Vision set to appear in the MCU, although WandaVision introduced a similar concept with White Vision (Paul Bettany).
Hulkling
Teddy Altman is a shapeshifter and an original member of the Young Avengers team (as well as Billy Kaplan’s boyfriend). He was raised on Earth, but later discovered he was the son of the Kree warrior Mar-Vell and the daughter of the Skrull Emperor, Princess Anelle. Teddy was a member of both versions of the Young Avengers, as well as other Avengers teams. Most recently, he was a key figure in the Empyre event written by Al Ewing, in which he became the leader of the Kree/Skrull alliance and married Billy.
MCU Debut: None yet, but the Skrulls and Kree were introduced in Captain Marvel. Teddy was also involved in the Secret Invasion comic event, which will soon be adapted into a Disney+ show in 2022.
Kid Loki
After the original Loki was killed by the Void during the Siege event (written by Brian Michael Bendis), he returned as a child, though with faulty memories and powers. By the time he joins the second incarnation of the Young Avengers, he’s gotten closer to his trickster self, working with the team and manipulating them at the same time.
MCU Debut: Technically, we have seen a "Young Loki" (played by Jack Veal) on Disney+’s Loki show. This young version was a multiversal variant, rather than a reborn version of "our" Loki.
Marvel Boy
Noh-Varr, aka Marvel Boy, was created by comics legend Grant Morrison in 2000. A Kree warrior, he’s played both hero and anti-hero roles in the comics, and has been a part of the West Coast Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. He was a member of the Young Avengers in their second incarnation while having a brief fling with Kate Bishop.
MCU Debut: No Noh-Varr on the roster as yet. As previously mentioned, though, the Kree have been established in the MCU.
Prodigy
Prodigy, aka David Alleyne, is a genius and mutant with the ability to absorb the mental and physical abilities of anyone around him. He joined the Young Avengers in its second incarnation in order to save Tommy Shepherd (who had been abducted by a mysterious entity dressed as Patriot). David and Tommy later struck up a romantic relationship.
MCU Debut: Prodigy is not slated to appear in any upcoming projects (yet), nor has the MCU moved to introduce any mutants (yet).