Tony Stark admitted that even though he was the guy who designed, built, paid for everything and gave the team a place to live, he wasn’t the leader of The Avengers. It must have taken a lot for the famously egocentric and narcissistic genius billionaire playboy philanthropist to play second fiddle to anyone, but Chris Evans’ Captain America was undoubtedly the beating heart of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Now that neither of them is part of the franchise, there’s a serious gap at the head of the Avengers hierarchy. Plenty of incoming candidates are capable of filling a spot on the roster that will either debut or receive a bump in screen time during Phase Four, but not many of them jump out as leadership material.
However, there are two that certainly tick the majority of the boxes, and that is of course Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson and Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers. We’re now hearing from our sources – the same ones who told us Captain America 4 was in development long before it was confirmed – that the freshly-minted, star-spangled patriot is angling to be established as top dog the next time a team is assembled.
Rumors have pegged Captain Marvel as the next point person for the all-star superhero squad, but it would continue Sam’s arc for following in Steve Rogers’ footsteps if he oversaw things instead. They both have plenty of in-canon experience when it comes to marshaling the troops and saving the universe, which could even be used to generate a little conflict the next time The Avengers are required.