It’s no secret to Marvel Cinematic Universe fans that Brie Larson, Tessa Thompson, and more of the female MCU cast membersapproached Kevin Feige about potentially having an all female team-up movie. There’s been a clamoring for more female superheroes (and villains) on screen for years. Fans got a hint of what that could be inAvengers: Endgameas the prominent female characters banded together in the fight against Thanos to keep the Infinity Gauntlet away from him. While that scene wasn’t well-received by some, since most of those characters had never interacted before, it does call to mind a similar idea in the comics.
When a group of female heroes found themselves united around a common goal, they became A-Force instead of a female Avengers lineup. While no projects like A-Force have been announced for the MCU so far, fans can’t help but wonder if a similar team could eventually make their way to the screen, and if they do, what they would look like.
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How A-Force Forms In The Comics
A-Force forms under unique circumstances in the comics,forged as part of theSecret Warsstorylinethat culminates in a group of heroes on Battleworld. During theSecret Warsevent, universes collided and whole timelines were essentially eliminated, not unlike what fans have seen happen inDoctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. One world, however, saw pockets of different universes combine to create a patchwork world of sorts where numerous variants of the same people lived in different territories on the planet. That planet was Battleworld.
On Battleworld, each territory could be ruled, or at the very least, have order upheld, by one hero. However, the world as a whole was run by one of the variants of Doctor Doom. He painted himself as the savior for the inhabitants of his planet, but took actions made against him very seriously. Arcadia was run by She-Hulk and a team of female heroes. After battling a massive megalodon one day, the heroes were reprimanded by Doom’s moon for breaching one of the borders,and America Chavez was taken into custody. The first true A-Force team was formed to save her from being exiled by Doom for something that wasn’t her fault. Of course, the team later uncovered that Doom wasn’t exactly the savior he pretended to be.
A Version Of Battleworld Could Be Coming
While the producers of the MCU haven’t shared all of their plans for the future of the franchise,Phase Six is set to cap off withAvengers: The Kang DynastyandAvengers: Secret Wars. That would seem to indicate that the MCU is headed for a true collision of universes, as alternate timelines and the multiverse are already in play.
Multiverse of Madnessdrives the point home of just how dangerous it is to cross the boundaries between universes. Once those lines are crossed, incursions can occur, in which the two universes collide and potentially neither survives. The only one shown to be able to traverse the multiverse without setting off incursions (so far) is America Chavez, the young woman at the center of A-Force’s formation in the comics.
IfAvengers: Secret Warsshakes up the MCU, there could certainly be a version of Battleworld on the way. A patchwork universe in which new versions of familiar characters appear on the screen would likely be a welcome addition to the MCU, considering how much the audience has enjoyed the Disney Plus seriesWhat If…and the depiction of the Illuminati inMultiverse of Madness. Whether A-Force could be born out of that event, or form organically in another project, however, is anyone’s guess.
She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, & Thor Are In The MCU
The original team was led by She-Hulk and included the likes of Captain Marvel and a female version of Thor. Those characters, for the most part, do already exist in the MCU. Captain Marvel got the first female fronted MCU movie,and She-Hulk has her own Disney Plus series. The female version of Thor, however, wasn’t the Jane Foster version that audiencesrecently saw inThor: Love And Thunder.
The female version of Thor in the comics was actually the former X-Man, Dazzler, real name Alison Blaire, which is definitely an interesting twist for comic book readers. That character could easily be someone like Valkyrie, Lady Sif, or another version of Jane since those characters already have a presence in the MCU. Fans have theorized as well that it will likely be Captain Marvel leading the group instead of She-Hulk, simply because she’s got the most experience in the MCU, working with other planets, and she’s already helped out the Avengers in the fight against Thanos. There are, however, prominent members missing from the MCU right now.
The Missing Members
Also on the comic book team is Medusa, who is Queen of the Inhumans. It’s possible that before the A-Force lineup makes its way into the MCU, there may be a version of Medusa introduced. After all, her husband,Black Bolt, has made an appearance in one universe, so the audience knows there are universes where the Inhumans exist.
Also missing from the MCU is the aforementioned Dazzler, as well as Runaways’ Nico Minoru. The mysterious Singularity, who made her first appearance inA-Forcecomics, has yet to appear in the films as well.
Unless A-Force doesn’t form until after the X-Men are reintroduced to audiences, Dazzler seems like an unlikely fit.Runawaysdoes have a live-action television adaptation, but it doesn’t appear to fit into the MCU, so whether or not magic-user Nico Minoru would appear or not is a mystery. Singularity, who is the living embodiment of a pocket universe, is an incredibly powerful being, and she would likely put most other MCU characters to shame with her abilities. She might be too powerful for the MCU right now.
Potential Replacements
Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t characters in the MCU who couldn’t appear on the team instead. Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp has been vocal about wanting to help other heroes and thinking she could do a better job than Ant-Man. She would be an easy fit onto a team with Captain Marvel and She-Hulk.
The only female magic-users in the MCU right now, however, are Wanda Maximoff and Agatha Harkness. It seems unlikely that the latter would end up in a team of heroes.If the Scarlet Witch were to be a team member, it would likely be a version of her from an alternate universe. It would be more likely that there wouldn’t be a magical member of the team.
Popular characters like Yelena Belova and Kate Bishop, who steal their scenes in their respective Marvel projects, are more likely to be in the roster, as are beloved additions to the MCU like Okoye. The only issue is that these three are street-level fighters. They don’t have the superpowers that the team has in the comics.Yelena Belova is also a better fit for the upcomingThunderboltsmovie. Powered individuals like Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan being added to the lineup right away would feel like a retread ofThe Marvels, so the formation of the team might have to look to some unexpected places, likeGuardians of the Galaxy’sNebula.
Nebula’s status as a hero is, well, nebulous, and that would make her a fun addition to a group of women who are always striving to do exactly the right thing. She would likely admire the take-no-prisoners attitude of characters like Carol Danvers and Valkyrie, but she wouldn’t always see eye to eye with them.
An A-Force with Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Valkyrie, Wasp, Okoye, and Nebula would be a great lineup to start with that could be grown in later phases of the MCU as needed.
