Modern Made Marvels

Predictions are kind of a theme around here at The Panel Biter, pitches for films are even more prevalent as the mind of your host is always producing new and interesting ways the stories of comic books could be displayed on film. Usually I apply these ideas to DC Comics, but that's because they clearly need the help. But what kind of new films could come from Marvel Studios, I wonder. I have some requests! Keep in mind, these are suggestions for Phase 4 Marvel movies starring not-yet-featured characters. Sequels to stuff like Black Panther and Doctor Strange will not be included. So, here is The Panel Biter's Top 5 Picks for MCU Phase Four.

5. Ka-Zar of The Savage Land

"Avengers: Age of Europe" used a "Pinocchio" song, "Ant-Man" used "It's A Small World After All", so naturally a film about a jungle warrior needs a song from "Tarzan". Kevin Plunder was the son of an English nobleman who was lost in the jungles of The Savage Land after his father was killed by its natives. Kevin was found and raised by a super-intelligent tiger named Zabu, he grew up to be Ka-Zar (Son of The Tiger) and protector of The Savage Land. The Savage Land is an island unaffected by the passage of time and is infested with prehistoric animals, dinosaurs, and ape-men. Essentially, you have Tarzan, Jurassic Park, and The Jungle Book wrapped into one film. Along with Ka-Zar and Zabu you could also use characters like the ape-kid Moon-Boy, the savage Devil Dinosaur, and Shanna The She-Devil, a woman who grew up among the deadly landscape of Africa and the harsh city of New York before meeting and falling in love with Ka-Zar. The inclusion of Ka-Zar and The Savage Land could add another layer to the Marvel Universe that has gone unseen by movie viewers. Problem is, the characters and setting first appears in an X-Men comic, but so did Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver so maybe the film rights are in a grey area.

4. The Sentry

This is The Sentry. He used to be one of Marvel Comic's greatest heroes, but after he discovered his immeasurable feats of good had to be answered by acts of evil by his darker personality, The Sentry asked his friends in the superhero community to help wash away any memory of himself from the world. The Sentry is like Superman with multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia. Every time "The Sentry" saves the world, "The Void"-the dark entity inside his head-has to attack the world. A film about The Sentry could be a superhero-inspired psychological thriller, with Robert Reynolds trying to discover his covered-up past and master his god-level powers, all while avoiding the darker mind inside himself. I really like this character and I think his dilemma would be one people attach to and admire, plus having a character as/more powerful than The Hulk and Thor would make for interesting interactions.

3. The Black Knight

Imagine "Game of Thrones" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and you get The Black Knight. The very first version of the character was Sir Percy of Scandia, a 6th-Century knight who sits among The Knights of The Round Table under the reign of King Arthur. Recruited by Merlin The Wizard, Percy is given a sword crafted from a meteorite called "The Ebony Blade" and adopts a duel identity. While as Sir Percy he is an incompetent foot-soldier, he becomes the greatest and most feared swordsman in the lands as The Black Knight. For his kingdom he slays monsters like dragons and serpents, and battles villains like Mordred The Evil and Morgan Le Fey. The film could be a history of the character's mantle, as the Ebony Blade could be passed on to Sir Raston, Sir Eobar, Sir William, Sir Henry, and finally to the modern day descendent of Percy, Dave Whitman. In the comics, The Ebony Blade was cursed by one of Percy's enemies, so for the film the curse could be killing Dave the more he uses it, leading to some epic finale where he stabs the sword into the heart of a monster to kill the beast and free himself from the curse. Mysticism and the Dark Age are elements of the MCU that have yet to be tapped on, and this guy is the one to do the tapping.

#2. Herc & Cho

Everybody needs a good laugh, and what could be funnier than the dimwitted, swashbuckling horn-dog demigod from Greek myth traveling around with the smartest teenager on Earth!? Marvel's Hercules is not too different than how you'd imagine him, he's jovial and flirtatious and one of the strongest guys there is, for a film you could even make it ambiguous as to whether he really is a Greek God, making him look like a delusional muscle-head. Amadeus Cho is a Korean-American teenager who won a contest proving he was the smartest teen on Earth only to have his family killed by the guy running the contest. For the film, Amadeus' mother (who appeared in "Avengers: Beige of Ultron") could be assassinated by a group of villains trying to exterminate super-intelligent families and the young man could eventually meet Hercules. Here's the catch: Herc is super strong, but doesn't know the modern world too well, and Cho can only be a super-genius when he's eaten a lot of sugar, but is still a poor orphan. So the two agree to help each other, Cho will guide Herc on a new set of Labors (that will hopefully gain him access back into Olympus) and Herc will provide Cho with food and shelter. After committing labors and defeating Hades and Ares, Herc is forced to choose between going to Olympus or staying on Earth, and he decides to stay with Cho. This would be a funny and heartwarming take on Greek myth, it'd be like Thor but less dramatic. Herc and Cho are definitely two Marvel characters worth the effort.

1. The Young Avengers

This would be difficult, but it's the one I'd want the most. Spider-Man seems to be the next stepping-stone for the MCU and expanding on teenage heroes could give the MCU more diversity. Enough time has passed and with Spidey being a teenager a new version of The Young Avengers could be a neat idea. The premise: The Avengers see more young heroes around the globe popping up and want to help these heroes grow. Choosing The Vision as their teacher and Spider-Man as the recruiter, they gather teen heroes from around the country to form the "Young Avengers". Eli Bradley is the son of a U.S. soldier who volunteered for an experimental "Super Soldier Serum" while Steve Rogers was MIA. Though the new serum didn't effect the soldier, his son Eli was born with all the abilities of Captain America. He hid for years in fear of the government finding him, but Spidey brings him in as The Patriot. Kate Bishop was a victim of human trafficking until she was saved by Hawkeye. Kate spent years training to be an archer like him and after Clint Barton retired to be with his family he gave the mantle to Kate so she can be the new Hawkeye on Spidey's team. Sam Alexander was a kid who's Dad was never part of his life, but Sam finds an old helmet in his Dad's stuff and finds out his Dad was a Nova (an officer of an intergalactic police department). Donning the helmet, Sam becomes Nova and tries to live up to his father's memory despite not knowing the true origins behind his father or the Nova Corps. Kamala Khan was one of the many civilians to come in contact with Terrigen Mist through fish oil (Agents of Shield stuff) and discovers she is an Inhuman with shapeshifting powers. Good for her, as Kamala is a huge fan of superheroes and idolizes Captain Marvel, so much so that she becomes Ms Marvel. Finally, there is Billy and Tommy Kaplan, twin brothers who were taken from an orphanage by Hydra and experimented on until they developed powers similar to Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. These two were Hydra's backup for if the original twins died during testing or went rogue. And so, Billy/Wiccan and Tommy/Speed are freed from Hydra by Spidey and the team. Together, the seven heroes battle an armor-clad geneticist named The High Evolutionary. Although different from the source material, characters like Iron Lad, Hulkling, and Stature could appear in potential sequels. Marvel has never accurately hit the teen hero demographic like DC Comics has, and the newest Avengers team has both older and teenaged heroes on the team, so I think the concept of a team-kind of like the Young Justice cartoon-of teenaged heroes acting under adult heroes' tutorship and being led by the icon of teen heroes could answer that demographic perfectly. Plus, getting Ms Marvel onto a film screen as soon as possible is probably a priority.
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