Ever since the emotional loss of both Captain America and Iron Man, MCU fans have constantly been asking, who could possibly lead the Avengers on the next team up? Currently, in Phase 5, we have a mix of original Avengers and new MCU heroes that we were only just introduced to in Phase 4. As evident with Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantummania, Kang The Conqueror is a force to be reckoned with. For the Avengers to beat Kang's infinite variants, they are going to have to come together, with one of them stepping up to the plate and leading the Avengers in beating Kang and saving the entire multiverse. With that in mind, here's who we think is the most likely, and best option to lead the new roster of Avengers.
10 Kate Bishop
Kate Bishop is already a huge fan favorite character. Her brilliant skills as an archer, her endearing personality, and ambition to help others, make way for an endlessly entertaining character. But, as much as we would love to see her lead the Avengers, and believe that Kate does have the skills to lead them, we do think Kate, still being a young and fairly inexperienced hero, does hold her back ever so slightly.
9 Captain Marvel
Without a doubt, Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful Avengers. Destroying Thanos' ship by simply flying through it, as well as nearly, single-handedly defeating Thanos, with only the Power Stone stopping her. So how could Captain Marvel not be a shoo-in to lead the Avengers? Many will argue that Captain Marvel doesn't necessarily work well with others. However, working alongside the Avengers, being Maria Rambeau's wing woman before Carol Danvers gained powers, and her upcoming team-up with Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau are all proof that she would be a great leader for the Avengers.
8 Shang-Chi
Kicking his way into the MCU's Phase 4 is the martial arts expert, Shang-Chi, who by the end of his first adventure, inherited the incredibly powerful ten rings from his ruthless father. Shang-Chi is without a doubt one of the best characters to come out of Phase 4, and his proficiency as a fighter proves deadly against his enemies. Likewise, Shang-Chi's charisma and his aptitude to put others above himself, makes Shang-Chi a great leader.
7 Thor
Who better to lead the team than an Avenger who was there from the very start? The Norse god of thunder is one of the MCU's most tragic characters. Losing everyone he has ever loved or cared about mellowed the all-powerful Avenger and through his journey in the MCU, he has been a part of many teams, and was even the leader of the Revengers, who went on to successfully defeat Hela.
6 Hulk
Another character from the three remaining original Avengers, Hulk would be a great team choice in leading the Avengers to victory. Since Thanos snapped away half the universe, Bruce Banner, possibly the smartest character in the MCU, found a way to put the brains and brawn together to form Smart Hulk, who we see in Endgame, and the Disney+ series, She-Hulk. With Banner being the incredibly smart scientist he is, and Hulk being the "strongest Avenger" (no matter what Thor says) Hulk, as he is now, would be an awesome hero to lead the Avengers against Kang.
5 Yelena Belova
2020's Black Widow certainly wasn't the greatest movie to come out of Phase 4. However, it did introduce us to the delightful and equally deadly Black Widow assassin, Yelena Belova. Yelena immediately stole our hearts in Black Widow, and we couldn't wait to see her again. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long, appearing in Hawkeye and expanding on her character. Sure, Yelena is an assassin, but she has also proved her selflessness many times. From destroying the red room and finally killing Dreykov in a heroic sacrifice. Yelena is reportedly leading the Thunderbolts in the upcoming MCU movie of the same name.
4 Black Panther
Shuri had only recently taken up the mantle of Black Panther, in Wakanda Forever, and in that time she has led an entire army in defeating a super-powerful antagonist known as Namor. Not many heroes can say that on their first outing. Along with her experience in defeating an army way more powerful and advanced than her own, Shuri has intelligence which rivals that of Bruce Banner. She can pretty much build anything, and that anything is typically made of Vibranium, the strongest material known to the MCU. We would love to see Shuri lead the next team of Avengers in victory, and she could maybe give them all some slight armor upgrades.
3 Captain America (Sam Wilson)
No Avengers team would feel complete without a Captain America, and it still wouldn't feel right that a righteous, heroic, humble and powerful hero like Captain America wouldn't lead the team. Steve Rogers gave the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson for good reason. Sam has a heart of gold and his experience in the military, fighting alongside Steve Rogers, and fighting to help save the universe on two occasions certainly proves why he should lead the Avengers. Sam Wilson made great strides in stopping the flag smashers, as well as using the shield to destroy racial stereotypes, and fighting for every cause. Sam is brave, he is true, he is incredibly skilled, and is more than capable of leading the Avengers.
2 Doctor Strange
Stephen Strange's arc throughout the MCU has led him into becoming a true hero. At first, he was a selfish, arrogant man who thought he was way better and more knowledgeable than others. But, after paralyzing his hands, snapping out of existence, saving the multiverse with a universe-hopping kid and having the guilt of the blip loom over his head, Doctor Strange is now more capable than ever to lead the Avengers. His knowledge of reality is unfathomable, and even if he can no longer see into the future, we trust in Strange to do what's right for the entire multiverse. This is all without mentioning his mastery in the mystic arts.
1 Spider-Man
Talk about a tragic character. A once-friendly neighborhood hero-turned-Avenger, has had a very rough go of it. Losing his mentor, his aunt, and having everyone who has ever loved him, forget about him, hasn't stopped Peter Parker from keeping his head high and is more selfless than ever. His experience as an Avenger, fighting alongside Iron Man against Captain America, protecting, and avenging the universe against Thanos, as well as stopping a multiversal onslaught, makes Peter Parker a great candidate.
Inheriting many traits from his former mentor Iron Man, as well as a few from Captain America, Spider-Man is our perfect choice to lead the Avengers against Kang. It also helps that Peter Parker managed to help lead a team of two other Spider-Men with great effect, having experience leading a team, as well as experience with variants of himself. Only a few heroes in the MCU can say that.