The MCU Should've Used Goliath & Wasp instead of Black Widow & Hakwkeye

[SecretWarrior]

Looking back on the MCU, I think it's more apparent that Marvel should've used Goliath and Wasp as founding Avengers rather than Black Widow or Hawkeye.



Black Widow has a great backstory and motivation in the MCU, which is wanting to "clear the red off [her] ledger." From a narrative standpoint, she works as the middle point in the Steve/Tony conflict, having appeared as a supporting character in each of their trilogies. She looks up to Steve's integrity, while understanding Tony's desire for redemption and oversight. I'd say the only problem with her place in the MCU overall is that she's just a baseline human. I thought she'd turn out to be the biological daughter of a super soldier or have gotten some enhancements in the Red Room, but that turned out not to be the case. Presumably anyone with training in the MCU can do what she does, which makes the most prominent female character both weak and generic. If I could go back in time, I'd replace her with a Wasp legacy character (Hope Pym), and give the Wasp a similar backstory motivation of wanting to clear up the red off her ledger. This Wasp would've been the daughter of Hank and Janet, who was raised as a spy after getting kidnapped or something, then later became the new Wasp. Her relationship with her parents would add another layer of complexity to her character, and she'd still be able to fill the Black Widow role, while being more powerful and unique.



Hawkeye has proven to be generic overall, even since the first film. He's got a cool visual gimmick, but that's really it. Personality-wise, he's basically a male version of Natasha who goes through the trauma of losing his family. His redundancy is probably why he's so underutilized, despite being a founding Avenger. If I could go back, I'd replace him with a younger Bill Foster, who'd be similarly positioned to Black Widow as a middle point between Steve and Tony. He'd have a background as both a soldier and a scientist, which means that he could be used to provide a similar but different PoV to our version of the Wasp, allowing for juxtaposition. Motivation and personality-wise, he'd be more like Anthony Mackie's Falcon, who had a much more standout personality in a team dynamic. Besides just wanting to be a good guy like Sam Wilson, he'd have the added layer of being someone who's studied Hank Pym's work and career, idolizing Hank, while Hank's daughter can't stand her father (at first). In the first Avengers film, Hulk would've been the mind-controlled character, since Hulk's personality dynamic within the group isn't really complex. Goliath would stand in for Banner, as the group have to deal with both Loki and Hulk. You could even have cast Anthony Mackie to bring his larger than life personality. Over the course of the first three phases, we see Steve and Tony paired up, and we see Thor and Hulk paired up. In this scenario, Wasp and Goliath would've only started to get to know each other in the Avengers, with their relationship developing over time as conflict developed within the team. Their romance would blossom as the team fell apart and would be tested by the fractured nature of the Avengers.



Yeah, it's fanfic, but I think it's a setup for something more compelling than what we got. The 5th and 6th slots on the founding roster probably would've stood out more and added more depth and diversity to the MCU. It would've also reflected the comics better. And I don't mind that the team would end up being color coordinated:

-Cap = Blue
-Iron Man = Red
-Thor = Black
-Hulk = Green
-Wasp = Yellow
-Goliath = White

You wouldn't even need to give them their own Phase 1 film to pull this off, especially since Perlmutter probably would've pushed against it anyway.

Thoughts?