Popverse's top stories of the day

• FEATURE: Wait, so is [SPOILER] dead? Or am I watching Captain America: Brave New World wrong?
• WATCH:  Watch Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima's full NYCC 2024 spotlight panel now!
• MEMBERS ONLY:  Popverse Jump: In defense of the DIC dub of Sailor Moon and its place in anime history

Captain America and the Avengers go hand in hand. It was the Sentinel of Liberty that led the charge on the very first cover of The Avengers #1 all he way back in September of 1963, and its his unifying cry of "Avengers Assemble" that has been the team's motto (and perhaps the biggest MCU dialogue line) ever since. So, naturally, a new cinematic Captain America outing has got fans wondering about the next team of Marvel heroes, and since we've already seen the flick, we're here to tell you exactly how Captain America: Brave New World sets up Avengers: Doomsday, the next film focused on the updated team of titans.

Obviously, we're going to be spoiling pretty much the entirety of Captain America: Brave New World here, so if you haven't seen the film yet and don't want to have the plot explained to you, this is your last chance to back out. Still here? OK great, let's get to talking about building the new team of Avengers, which is the pet project of...

Thunderbolt Ross?

What happens in Captain America: Brave New World that sets up Avengers: Doomsday?

You got that right, True Believers. The first and most enthusiastic person to voice a need for a new Avengers team is Red Hulk himself, Thaddeus Ross, AKA Red Hulk, AKA Harrison Ford. In the first fifteen minutes of the movie, Ross brings new Captain America Sam Wilson into the White House and asks that they work together to build the team. The only catch? Ross wants the new team of the Avengers to answer to the US government.

And if you'll recall the events of Captain America: Civil War, that didn't go so well.

As you can imagine, Sam Wilson isn't too keen on the idea, not only because of the US government angle but also because he has been having some doubts over whether or not he's really ready to fill Steve Rogers's red, white, & shoes. But there's hardly any time to self-reflect about Ross's request, as just moments after the meeting a mind-controlled Isaiah Bradley attempts to assassinate the President, kicking off the dangerous events of the film.

Is there a new Avengers group by the end of Captain America: Brave New World?

You can read all the details of what happens in the latest MCU flick in Popverse's Captain America: Brave New World ending explained, but here's a basic summary: As it turns out, that assassination attempt came from Dr. Samuel Sterns, last seen in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. Ever since then, the gamma-mutated supergenius has been plotting revenge against his jailkeeper, Thaddeus Ross, culminating in Sterns turning Ross into the kind of monster he once dedicated his life to bringing down. That monster is, of course, a Hulk -the red version in this instance.

After overcoming his self-doubt with some help from his old pal Bucky Barnes (who makes a quick, delightful cameo), Sam Wilson intercepts Sterns's plan just as Ross transforms, pitting the new Cap against a monster with power on cosmic levels. With his vibranium gear, sheer willpower, and the sacrifice of his robot buddy Redwing (I wrote a whole thing on this), Cap is able to both defeat Red Hulk and keep the man inside alive.

After this incredible victory and a renewed sense of confidence, we find Sam some weeks later visiting Ross in The Raft, Marvel's supervillain prison. There, Sam and the president have a heart-to-heart over what Captain America is really about: being the best version of yourself and inspiring others to do the same. With that spirit in mind, Sam tells Ross he was right about one thing - the world does need The Avengers. And Captain America, he tells him, is going to be the one that assembles them.

All that said, it's still going to be a moment before Sam recruits anyone. So if you were expecting a line-up of the new team in this movie, you're going to be disappointed. Captain America: Brave New World does not feature a new team of Avengers, only promises one is on its way.

Does Captain: America Brave New World have a post-credit scene that sets up Avengers: Doomsday?

Ah, you ask, but what about what happens after the movie is technically over, after the credits roll and the classic Marvel post-credits scene gets to play? Well, the sole end-credits scene of Captain America's fourth movie doesn't have much to say about the titular heroes, but it does set up Avengers: Doomsday by making a cryptic reference to the threat that they'll face.

As Sam Wilson leaves his convo with Ross, he makes a stop at another Raft cell: that is, Samuel Stern's. Stern, the mutated mentalist whose predictive powers are near clairvoyant, tells Cap that he isn't the only trouble coming his way. In fact, the looming danger Captain America's new Avengers will have to face isn't even coming from "this world," says Stern, clearly referencing the multiverse.

"We'll see what happens when you have to protect this place," Sterns tells him, referring to their home realty, "From The Others."

So who are those Others Sterns is talking about? Just like the new Avengers line-up, we're going to have to wait and find out.

Who are the new Avengers in the MCU? 

But just because we didn't find out exactly who Sam is going to be leading into battle against The Others doesn't mean we can't speculate. And fortunately for us speculators, there are an absolute plethora of options Sam could recruit. Here, in no particular order (well, alphabetical), are the still-active MCU characters that cold be in the next Avengers line-up, along with any other teams they may be a part of:

• Adam Warlock [Guardians of the Galaxy]
• America Chavez  
• Ant-Man  
• Black Panther  
• Bucky Barnes [Thunderbolts]
• Captain America
• Captain Marvel  
• Daredevil  
• Doctor Strange  
• Eli Bradley  
• Falcon (Joaquin Torres)  
• Ghost [Thunderbolts]
• Groot [Guardians of the Galaxy]
• Hawkeye (Clint)
• Hawkeye (Kate)
• Howard The Duck [Guardians of the Galaxy]
• Hulk  
• Human Torch [Fantastic Four]
• Invisible Woman [Fantastic Four]
• Ironheart  
• Mantis [Guardians of the Galaxy]
• Monica Rambeau
• Moon Knight
• Mr. Fantastic [Fantastic Four] 
• Ms. Marvel  
• Nebula [Guardians of the Galaxy]
• Punisher  
• Red Guardian [Thunderbolts]
• Rocket Raccoon [Guardians of the Galaxy]
• Shang-Chi  
• She-Hulk  
• Spider-Man  
• Star-Lord [Guardians of the Galaxy]
• Taskmaster [Thunderbolts]
• Thing [Fantastic Four]
• Thor  
• US Agent [Thunderbolts]
• Valkyrie  
• Vision  
• War Machine  
• Wasp  
• White Tiger  
• Wong  
• Yelena Belova [Thunderbolts]

Again, none of these characters (save Cap, I suppose) have been confirmed to be part of the team headlining Avengers: Doomsday. But if Sam Wilson gave them a call asking if they'd like to join up, odds are that they'd say yes.

Captain America: Brave New World is in theaters now.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters