MCU Phase 4: 8 Reasons Why It Must Look To The Past

6. Heroes From A Different Time

The Invaders Captain America
Marvel Comics/Steve Epting

Although convincing Chris Evans to reprise his role as Captain America for another film - let alone a World War II spin-off - seems fairly unlikely to happen, it's clear that Marvel aren't quite done with the license yet.

Sebastian Stan's Bucky is very obviously being set-up to takeover as Cap come Avengers 4, and while we're not talking about the future just yet, it's important that Marvel are still invested in the Cap brand. Not in the sense that it proves more films are on the way, but because there'll be an awareness of the character's history; the WWII book doesn't end with The First Avenger.

On top of Cap's ties to the Howling Commandos, in the comics, Steve Rogers actually led a group called 'The Invaders'. Together with Namor and the first Human Torch (whose android body we actually saw in the first Cap film), Cap went to war and the first modern superhero team was created. One thing that's important to remember, however, is that Steve Rogers isn't integral to the Invaders' makeup - you could easily replace him with, say, a relative of Nick Fury, or any of the Howling Commandos for that matter.

Marvel have had issues with bringing Namor to the big-screen for a while now, but if they were to go all-in with another World War feature, it'd be the perfect way to introduce the character. If there's potential to make him a full-time Avenger, then even better.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.