One unlikely team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes could be the key to bridging the gap between humans and mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
For nearly sixty years, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have stood as a bastion of truth and justice for the entire Marvel Universe. In that time, the Avengers’ roster has expanded far beyond the handful of heroes it began with, so much so that they have even had to expand into different branches. While the core team will always be the most iconic both in the comics and on film, there are plenty of others who are just as deserving of a chance to shine on the silver screen, most of all the Avengers Unity Division.
Following the events of 2012’s Avengers vs. X-Men, tensions between the two teams had largely subsided, while those between humans and mutantkind were at an all-time high. Realizing that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had done basically nothing to help mutants as a whole at any point in the prior decades, Captain America took it upon himself to found a new team with precisely that goal in mind. When the Avengers Unity Division was introduced in the pages of 2012’s Uncanny Avengers #1 (by Rick Remender and John Cassaday), they were everything that Steve Rogers had hoped for and more.
Avengers Unity Division Serves as Marvel’s Peacekeeping Organization
With Alex Summers, aka Havok as their leader, the Avengers Unity Division faced off against threats ranging from D-list villains to the Red Skull himself. They also managed to make some serious strides in terms of winning over the public when it came to human-mutant relations. Seeing a mutant leading the likes of Thor and Captain America instilled a sense of profound trust in the new team, and before long they were rewriting their mission statement to help Inhumans find a place in the world as well.
Although the team would eventually be disbanded entirely after multiple iterations, their impact continues to be felt to this day. This isn’t to say that they single-handedly solved any systemic societal issues, but rather that they provided a much-needed buffer between an angry world and the transition from one Earthshaking event to the next. By putting the world’s most hated front and center, the Avengers Unity Division proved time and time again that the only thing that makes someone a hero or villain is the choices they make, and that’s a lesson that the MCU will soon learn.
Avengers Unity Division Could Bring More Mutants into the MCU
Fans have spent years clamoring for their favorite comic book mutants to officially be introduced on screen. So far, there have been significant nods to mutantkind in the MCU, but there hasn’t been much in the way of direct exposure. Of course, that time is coming sooner than later, and when it does the entire MCU will be shaken to its very core. It will also be in need of a team of heroes who can remind everyone else that mutants aren’t the enemy, and the X-Men might not be the best pick for that particular job.
The Avengers have already established their place in the MCU, so much so that many of their founding members have gone on to retire or explore what else the cosmos has to offer. As such, they are already the perfect fit when it comes to helping new faces transition into the world of superheroics. They also know all too well what it is like to have the entire world turn its back on them.
