Someone had to say it: Ant-Man shouldn’t be Marvel’s next franchise. Sure, throw him into the Avengers where he can be a perpetual supporting character like Hawkeye but he doesn’t deserve his own solo series. At least not ahead of some of the more worthy characters in Marvel cannon. Just because the X-men and Fantastic 4 belong to Fox and Sony still technically owns Spider-Man doesn’t mean that Marvel didn’t hold on to a few choice costumed crusaders and several of them should have gotten movies before Ant-Man. Characters such as …
Moon Knight
Moon Knight is one of Marvel’s few street level heroes. Picture Batman but with multiple personality disorder and in service to an ancient Egyptian god. But where Bruce Wayne inherited his fortune, Marc Spector earned his through years of mercenary work which means he’s not quite as stringent on the whole “not killing” thing unlike most of his caped peers. One genre that Marvel hasn’t really tapped into yet is the gritty street smart vigilante and Moon Knight would fit the part perfectly. Moon Knight is also the closest thing to Deadpool that Marvel still has the rights to. Given the Merc with a mouth’s ever increasing popularity, Marvel would be crazy not give the fist of Khonshu his own movie. The only character on this list to get their start fighting a werewolf, Moon Knight is just a loony, lunar ball of butt kicking crazy who definitely deserves his own flick.
Cloak and Dagger
Technically two characters but you can’t have one without the other. Cloak and Dagger are teen Superheroes who met on the streets and gained their powers from being force fed a synthetic form heroin. Since then they have pretty much been homeless vigilantes intent on wiping out the illegal drug trade. If Marvel ever wants to take a more serious route than their current films and tackle some social issues Cloak and Dagger with their tragic origin are perfect for that. Plus with Cloak being one of Marvel’s few African American heroes and Dagger being a woman , a Cloak and Dagger movie could be just what Marvel needs to bring a little more diversity to their universe. Dagger’s ridiculously low cut outfit may have to go though.
Namor the Sub-Mariner
One of Marvel’s oldest characters, the half human-half atlantean Namor actually predates the use of the name Marvel by twenty-two years (when Namor was created the company was named Timely). Namor also predates his DC counterpart Aquaman which makes it all the more unfair that Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman will reach the screen before the Sub-Mariner. A Namor movie could have an environmental angle like Namor threatening to punish the surface world for polluting his oceans but along the way he falls in love with a human woman and finds himself protecting the land dwellers rather than attacking them. It practically writes itself. If you’re reading this Kevin Feige, you can pay me with a story credit and free passes to all future Disney movies for life.
Squirrel Girl
A young woman who dresses up like and can control squirrels. Sounds stupid right? Except Squirrel Girl is awesome. There is a running gag that the seemingly under-powered Squirrel Girl has defeated the likes of Wolverine, Thanos, and even Doctor Doom, usually off panel and with unknown methods. Squirrel Girl could become Marvel’s first flat out comedic property. Like you wouldn’t pay to see someone dressed as a squirrel fighting major super villains with nothing more than her wits and an army of small mammals.
Sentinel (Justin Seyfert)
Everyone loves the Iron Giant. If you don’t You should probably call an ambulance because you may not have a heart. Justin Seyfert is Marvel’s version of Hogarth Hughes. He finds a decommissioned Sentinel – yes the purple mutant hunting robots that plague the X-Men – and bonds with it as the Sentinel quickly becomes his closest friend. The Sentinels of course are owned by Fox along with all the other X-Characters but that doesn’t mean that Marvel couldn’t use a different robot for the movie. The point isn’t really that it’s a Sentinel but that it’s a child bonding with a giant robot. Though the Iron Giant came out over fifteen years ago Disney’s Big Hero Six has recently shown us that the world still yearns for tales full of boy and ‘bot bonding and with Justin Seyfert Marvel can give it to them.
Quasar
Essentially Marvel’s version of Green Lantern , Quasar would be a great addition to the cosmic branch of the MCU. Now that Guardians Of The Galaxy has proven that audiences will go to see a non-Star Wars space opera, it would behoove Marvel to continue to bring it’s various space related properties to the big screen and Quasar would be a great choice.
Spider-Woman
The only hero on this list created just so that nobody else could use the name first, Spider-Woman may seem like a throw away idea for a character : female Spider-Man. Nothing could be farther from the truth though as the only thing that Jessica Drew has in common with Peter Parker is the first part of her superhero name. Though first appearing in the late ’70s Spider-Woman really became a Marvel mainstay when Brian Michael Bendis started using her in his thirty-two different Avengers titles. She’s has been an agent of Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. , and is currently an Avenger so Marvel could go one of several ways with a Spider-Woman movie. They could do the redeemed villain tries to make it as a hero route, a spy thriller in the James Bond vein , or just a straight up superhero flick.
Runaways
The Runaways are a group of teenagers that go on the lam after discovering that their parents are all super villains. Together the team of super powered teens and one dinosaur have various adventures and hilarity ensues. Of all the entries on this list, the Runaways have actually come the closest to getting their own movie which was in fact due to come out before Ant-Man. Why the project was shelved is anyone’s guess but hopefully Marvel will eventually come to it’s senses and release a Runaways movie.
Human Torch
No, not the Human Torch from Fantastic Four but the first Human Torch, an android police officer with the power to surround itself with flames and fly around hurling fireballs at criminals. The Human Torch like Namor is another character from deep in Marvel’s vaults that actually predates the Marvel we know and love. There’s really only two reasons for Marvel to make a Human Torch movie: 1) There was a Human Torch cameo in Captain America : The First Avenger so fans would probably freak out if they found out that it wasn’t just a throw away Easter egg. 2) As petty as it may seem, it would be funny for Marvel to stick it to Fox for not giving back the Fantastic Four. “Oh, you’ve got a Human Torch? So do we!”.
Black Widow
Scarlett Johanson has portrayed the Black Widow in four films now and there is still no plans to give her her own starring vehicle. Why not? True, her roles in Iron Man 2 and Avengers were mainly supporting but she more than held her own in Captain America: The Winter Soldier . Of the three Avengers without solo franchises Black Widow is the most deserving of one. The Hulk has already had his chance, twice and has proven himself better suited for supporting roles. Hawkeye – at least as portrayed by Jeremy Renner in the MCU is just boring. But from her first scene in Avengers where the Widow takes out a bunch of terrorists that thought they were interrogating her, all barefoot thanks to Joss Whedon’s well documented foot fetish, it was apparent that the Black Widow could not only carry her own movie, she deserved her own movie. But hey, Marvel saw the increasing demand for a modern retelling of Honey I Shrunk The Kids went with that instead.