Ms. Marvel: Here are the new Marvel superheroes we want now

Last year, a report showed 20th Century Fox and Disney’s Marvel Studios dominated the box office, claiming nearly a third of the box office revenue in the first half of the year. According to Comic Book, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Deadpool 2 accounted for 31% of all domestic box office revenue for 2018 up to May. “Worldwide, the three titles make up 57% of revenue generated worldwide by the top ten Hollywood titles.”

In other words, the Marvel superheroes are dominating in real life as in their movies. With such worldwide success, the company continues to introduce new TV shows and movies based on its most popular comic book characters in what seems like a never-ending source of superhuman dudes and dudettes.

But as fans of the Marvel comic books well know, there are still dizzying numbers of superheroes and supervillains the company could introduce to the big and small screens.

Depending on your stance on the whole superhero gig, you could either argue that Marvel’s still got an entire universe of exciting new characters to hone in on – or that there are still many ways for the mega-conglomerate to keep milking that cash cow. Either way, here are the best superheroes Marvel has not yet introduced to its cinematic universe.

Wonder Man (Simon Williams)

First appeared: “The Avengers #9”, 1964

We can’t help but wonder (sorry, we had to) why this superhero hasn’t been given his own movie or TV show yet. As a member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for almost forty years, Wonder Man is an ionic-powered superhero who moonlights as a Hollywood stuntman.

Although Simon Williams started out as a rival to Tony Stark and the Avengers, after a series of events he was reborn as a superhero and joined the team he had fought against. We know we’ve already got our very own Wonder Woman over in the DC camp, but we still reckon Marvel would be right to introduce the male wonder to its cinematic universe.

Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)

First appeared: “Marvel Spotlight #32”, February 1977

Our Spidey Senses tell us it’s about time the web-slinging woman joined the MCU. And no, it wouldn’t just be Spider-Man with different bits – according to Cinemablend, Spider-Woman shares some major differences to her male counterpart:

Jessica Drew gained her powers in utero when she was struck by a beam of radiation that contained the DNA of several types of spiders. After serving as an agent, Jessica became Spider-Woman to make up for her past sins, and since then has served as an Avenger and agent of S.W.O.R.D.

She’s also got a completely badass power (in addition to her superhuman strength and wall-climbing skills): Jessica can produce a pheromone that makes men around her feel damn good.

Moon Knight (Marc Spector)

First introduced: “Werewolf by Night #32”, 1975

This hero is unique in that Marc Spector gained his superhuman powers as a result of a visitation by the Egyptian moon god Khonsu. As such, his strength, endurance, and reflexes are dependent on the phases of the moon and when they are low, he depends on his kickass fighting skills and weaponry. He is also different as he suffers from psychological issues and a personality disorder.

As Business Insider outlined, “This is a character that’s been an Avenger, a street fighter, battled Doctor Doom, produced a fictional TV series about himself, and ventured into the supernatural.” All in all, there’s a lot of ground Marvel could cover should they decide to bring Moon Knight to its cinematic universe.

She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

First appeared: “Savage She-Hulk #1”, 1980

We’ve all seen Bruce Banner lose his shit as the big green beast, so it would make perfect sense to bring the femme Hulk to the Marvel Cinematic Universe too. Especially since she’s a total boss bitch who is fully in control of her own body with a strong intellect and sharp-as-knife wit.

Patriot (Elijah Bradley)

First appeared: “Patriot Young Avengers #1”, 2005

As a character that came closer to the MCU than any of the other superheroes mentioned on this list, director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) revealed early last year that Patriot nearly featured in his recent blockbuster hit Black Panther.

Although this didn’t happen (because Coogler decided to focus on Wakanda), the teen with superpowers became a founding member of the Young Avengers in the comic book series, meaning he’d be the perfect lead in a Young Avengers feature film or TV show. There we go – the idea’s out there. Now it’s up to Marvel to make it happen.

Shang-Chi: Master of Kung-Fu

First appeared: “Special Marvel Edition #15”, 1973

Who wouldn’t want to see the MCU producing its very own big-budget kung-fu superhero hit? Iron Fist was pretty wack, but the company has a chance to redeem itself in this department by giving Shang-Chi a.k.a. the “Master of Kung-Fu” his very own movie.

A superperb athlete with masterful martial arts skills and the ability to create duplicates of himself, Shang-Chi grew up as the brainwashed son of the evil Fu Manchu before eventually turning on his father and becoming a secret agent. With so much to explore, we’re keeping our fingers crossed Shang-Chi comes high-kicking his way to the MCU pretty darn soon.

Nova (Richard Rider)

First appeared: “Nova #1”, 1976

As a top cop of the intergalactic police force, Richard Rider is an Earthman ripped from his home planet and charged with its protection. As a homage to Stan Lee & Steve Ditko’s Spider-Man due to his humble working-class roots, the character eventually discovered his helmet connected him to the Nova force, giving him some super rad powers.

Nova has a solid fan base and in a press conference for Avengers: Infinity War, MCU’s Kevin Feige revealed he might just be Marvel’s next big thing. “If we have a big board with a bunch of characters that have more immediate potential, Nova is on that board. Because of the connection to the Guardians universe, because there are more than one examples to pull from in the comics that are interesting.”

Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)

First appearance: “Captain Marvel #14”, 2013

She might be relatively new to the Marvel canon, but Kamala Khan – a badass teenage Muslim superhero with shapeshifting powers – has become one of the franchise’s most popular characters. So much so that Feige recently revealed plans are apparently “in the works” to introduce the Pakistani American superhero after Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel makes her debut:

Ms. Marvel, which is another character in the comic books — the Muslim hero who is inspired by Captain Marvel — is definitely sort of in the works. We have plans for that once we introduce Captain Marvel to the world.

Kapow!