Don't worry, I'm well aware this isn't some 'hot take' that I'm the first to uncover and bless you all with like some nerdy Prometheus.
I'm vaguely aware that it's kind of an open secret that Jonathan Hickman's Avengers run is a thinly veiled Legion of Super-Heroes run, and that his dream job is writing the Legion. This has made its way into discussions here and there, but I don't recall ever seeing a thread devoted to it, so I figured why not do one?
I'll go down the list and also explain my reasoning.
Cap = Cosmic Boy: Most would assume Superboy right off the bat due to Cap and Superman usually being compared, and Cap, like Superboy, joins the team from the past. But Cap, like Cos classically is, is the heart and soul of the team. Cos is the dude that beat a cosmic, evil wizard with only his words and strength of character. I'd say I'm pretty spot on here.
Hulk = Colossal Boy: It sounds dumb, but Hulk does change in size and is the biggest team member. I'm convined Hickman didn't pick Ant Man because it would be too easy plus he pretty much had to have a base of the movie Avengers at the time.
Falcon = Dawnstar: Another really easy one. It's actually easier than the Hulk or Cap because Sam actually has the power to see through the eyes of birds and conceivably track like Dawnstar does.
Smasher = Ultra Boy: While Thor may be a bit closer in terms of personality, Smasher's ability to "download" super powers as she needs them was literally created as a parody of Ultra Boy in the X-Men books.
Cannonball = Bouncing Boy: Pretty straight forward, I'd say. They're powers are the fact that their bodies are nearly indestructible, and they use themselves as projectiles. Also, if I'm not mistaken, they're both the first on their teams to really solidify their relationships to their significant others, right? Cannonball has a baby with Smasher during Hickman's run, and BB gets married.
Wolverine = Timber Wolf: This one's really tough.....
Thor = Lightning Lad: I really went back and forth on this one, but ultimately it fits because of the general good nature, brashness, and, well, lightning powers. As a bonus, Thor also gets his arm cut off and replaced with a metal one like Lightning Lad did. Didn't happen in Hickman's book, but I doubt he was complaining.
Hyperion = Mon-El: Hickman made this too easy. He's literally pulled out of what is basically the Phantom Zone, and he has Superman's powers.
Shang Chi = Karate Kid: Can't quite put my finger on it....
Sunspot = Sun Boy: Very clear. Aside from their powers, over in Hickman's Time Runs Out story he has Sunspot as a hotshot businessman with a lot of influence similar to how Sun Boy became a politician in 5 Years Later.
Manifold = Gates: They make portals. That's all I got.
Captain Universe = Star Boy: Pretty clear parallel with the take on Star Boy where he suffers from schizophrenia.
Hawkeye = Shrinking Violet (?): I don't f#&kin know, dude. They both wear purple and have super understated abilities? Pulled that one right out my ass. Ta-da!
Spider-Man = Ferro Lad: You're gonna laugh at this, but you totally know it works: they refuse to show their face to anyone on the team. *hold's up hand for hi-five*
Pod = Blok: Indestructible and powerful, but ultimately very innocent. Also both born from planets as their protectors. And if I recall, like Blok's sister, was girl, but didn't conventionally look it. Yes! I'm back in the game.
Black Widow = Phantom Girl: This is where it got tricky for a bit, but I'm going with Phantom Girl because of the stealth aspect.
Captain Marvel = Supergirl: Pretty easy given it's a blond woman wearing red and blue who mostly has all of Superman's powers.
Spider-Woman = Saturn Girl: There aren't any psychs on Hickman's team because, once again, that'd be too easy, but I'm picking Spider-Woman because of her pheromone ability. Similar to Saturn Girl she can influence people's behavior.
Iron Man = Wildfire: This was maybe the hardest to pick because believe it or not I almost said Saturn Girl, and, yeah, a case could be made for Brainy. But ultimately the fact that Tony needed his armor (and once needed it to, drumroll please, stay alive. *raises hand for hi-five*) and he's the sarcastic one who usually has some friction with the authority figure are what have me convinced.
Ex Nihilo = Element Lad: This literally just came to me, but it makes ALL the sense. Ex Nihilo has the power to create or transform with a touch, and obviously Element Lad does something very similar.
Abyss = Shadow Lass: Pretty clearly a far more serious mirror of Shadow Lass. The absence of of light in Shadow Lass' case, and the absence of life in Abyss'.
Hyperion's miracle children = Triplicate Girl: More specifically Waid's super ambitious take on Triplicate Girl.
Nightmask = Brainiac 5: You'd assume this would be Shadow Lass, but you'd be wrong. Regardless of the name, Nightmask actually has very little in the way of "night" or "darkness" related powers. His main deal, even more so than Tony, is being super freakin smart. His main role in conflicts was often dealing out information to and for the team and specifically our final Avenger on this list.
Starbrand = Superboy: Yup. He's not Star Boy, Sun Boy, or whoever else. He's as close to a fledgling Superboy as Hickman could get. For one, he's inducted into the already formed team similar to Superboy. He comes from a mild mannered background, but he holds a secret and important destiny that he can't even fathom, and it's a member of our team that tells him about it. Like Superboy, Star Brand's destiny is to protect and lead the world as it enters into its next stage of evolution. And like Superboy, he's the fish out of water character. And as we see demonstrated early on, he's insanely power even compared to the rest of his team. And last but not least, like Superboy and Brainiac 5, Star Brand and Nightmask are related by a shared destiny of sorts. As a bonus Star Brand's real name is an inverse of Superboy's real name. His name is Kevin Connor. KC as opposed to CK.
Thoughts?