5 Marvel Heroes You NEED to Know Before Their Disney+ Shows Come Out

When it comes to thrilling superhero stories and weaving an interconnected universe of incredible characters, nobody does it better than Marvel.

We realize that with everything going on in the world today, a grievance about all of our Marvel favorites getting delayed is small potatoes. Even so, we were really excited for Black Widow and The Eternals this year, only to see both movies delayed into next year (at least).

But our patience will be rewarded eventually. We'll be getting WandaVision by the end of the year, and see the return of beloved characters in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well as Loki next year. Plus, there will be a bunch of more experimental series, featuring characters you might not know so well. Below are the five Marvel characters you need to know before their big new shows come out.

Uatu, AKA the Watcher

What If…? is an upcoming Disney+ series that's going to make our fanfiction-loving hearts feel very full. The show will explore alternate histories, revealing how things could have been different in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if the films had played out differently.

All of this will be narrated by Uatu, also known as the Watcher, who will be voiced by Jeffrey Wright of Westworld and James Bond franchise fame. Uatu is a cosmic being who was tasked with watching over Earth's solar system. Though he's supposed to only observe, on occasion he's been known to break his oath, using his vast supernatural talents to help the people of Earth and ensure their safety. We're curious to see precisely how he shapes the world of What If…? when it premieres in 2021—especially given that it's already been renewed for a second season.

 

Kate Bishop, AKA Hawkeye

In the world of superheroes, hero names don't always stick with a single person. In the movies, we all saw Clint Barton's Hawkeye drop his heroic title from his time with the Avengers and become the vigilante Ronin. The new Hawkeye series, coming out in 2022, takes place after Avengers: Endgame and is rumored to revolve around Barton (played by Jeremy Renner) passing the name on to a young woman named Kate Bishop, whom he takes under his wing.

In the comics, Kate Bishop is just one of a number of characters who've been called Hawkeye. After facing a frightening attack, Kate decides to never let it happen to her again and undergoes intense training to become a skilled fighter. Her abilities—including incredible talents in archery—eventually lead her to the Young Avengers, where she becomes a hero wearing the equipment of heroes Mockingbird and Hawkeye. This captures the attention of the Barton, the original Hawkeye (thought to be dead) who eventually becomes a mentor of sorts to her.

While we don't know too much about what this new show will entail, and what the relationships will be like between its characters, we're excited to see the return of this Avenger. There's also been speculation that Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld, who also starred in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Bumblebee and The Edge of Seventeen, is set to star as Kate Bishop, which is something we'd love to see.

 

Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel

Until recently, Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel was a relatively unknown Marvel superhero. However, Kamala's appearance as the main character in the video game Marvel's Avengers has made her a quick favorite even among fans who've never picked up a Marvel comic book.

Kamala Khan was actually Marvel's first Muslim character to get her own comic book. She's a teenage girl from New Jersey who idolizes Carol Danvers, better known as Captain Marvel—formerly Ms. Marvel. When Kamala discovers she has inhuman genes, granting her incredible shapeshifting abilities, she decides to emulate her hero, taking on the name Ms. Marvel.  With her powers of stretching to great sizes and an idealistic attitude that never fails, she's one of our favorite young heroes in the canon.

Just last month, Canadian actress Iman Vellani was announced as the star playing Kamala in the Disney+ series. The series is set to be her onscreen debut when it comes out in 2022.

 

Marc Spector, AKA Moon Knight

Moon Knight just might be the most unknown and unusual character that Disney+ and Marvel will soon be bringing to the small screen, but we think that's precisely why his story needs to be told. Marc Spector grows up in a Jewish-American family in Chicago, where he often faces discrimination and ridicule. After facing off against a close family friend who's secretly a Nazi serial killer, the evildoer escapes, and the resulting trauma leaves a teenage Marc with a dissociative identity disorder.

As an adult, he becomes a U.S. Marine, and then a C.I.A. agent before he's forced to leave both and become a mercenary. On a mission in Egypt, he's defeated in the desert, only to be brought to a temple celebrating Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god. Eventually, Khonshu offers to save him in exchange for becoming his avatar on Earth. When Marc agrees, he's revived with moon-based superhuman abilities that change with the phase of the moon. When he returns to the U.S., he begins to assume different personalities, including a millionaire and his taxi driver—each with their own unique personalities and ways of thinking.

So how exactly is Marvel going to translate this to TV? We're not exactly sure yet, and it doesn't appear that the hero has even been cast. What we do know is that the show is currently set to premiere in 2022.

 

Jennifer Walters, AKA She-Hulk

Of everything Disney+ is releasing in the upcoming years with Marvel, She-Hulk might be our most highly anticipated. It revolves around the cousin of Bruce Banner (The Hulk), a timid lawyer named Jennifer Walters. After being shot, she receives a blood transfusion from her cousin, granting her incredible superpowers resembling his—including green skin, super size and incredibly strong muscles.

Although at first, Jennifer has difficulty controlling her hulked-out from, she soon learns to live with it, maintaining her personality and intelligence even as the She-Hulk. In fact, while Bruce often resents his transformations, Jennifer comes to feel more comfortable, confident and empowered as She-Hulk than she is as a human, and since she can change between the two at will, spends more time in green than out of it.

We hope that the show will focus on how Jennifer embraces her power, just like she does in the comics. It helps that she'll be played by the incredible Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black fame. If that's an indication of anything, it's that we are all in for a huge treat.

 

Don't think you can wait that long? Click HERE to find out everything you need to know about Disney+'s WandaVision.