Time for part two of our January 2025 Q&A with Alex Perez! We’ve invited our followers on Bluesky to ask questions as well. This time Alex answers questions about Champions & Young Avengers, Daredevil: Born Again, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Hulk, Marvel animation and villains, comics recommendations, Moon Knight and more!
To join our Discord, scroll down for a link (or in the sidebar on desktop). Please remember that only regular members of our Discord who are in good standing with the mods and the community will have access to ask Alex questions for the next Q&A. To follow us on Bluesky, and see below!
Before moving on to Alex’s answers, I just want to let our readers know that we’re currently trying to build our following on YouTube @TheCosmicCircus and Bluesky @TheCosmicCircus.com. Small, independent websites like this one need all the support we can get to survive. Sharing, liking, commenting on posts, and following on social media is greatly appreciated and helps keep the site afloat during turbulent times.
Champions / Young Avengers
cosmicriver: Hi Alex & Lizzie, hope you’re doing great, and thank you for doing this Q&A even in busy times. In your opinion, which of these characters would be an ideal candidate to be a mentor/caretaker for the Young Avengers/Champions team in the MCU:
- Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
- Agatha Harkness
- Scott Lang
- White Vision
- Carol Danvers
Alex Perez: Damn… objectively speaking? Nick Fury and Monica Rambeau. It isn’t mentioned in The Marvels but one of S.A.B.E.R.’s current goals (and Fury’s personal goals) is to try and form the next generation of heroes that will kind of take over for the Avengers, and it all started because Monica reported to Fury about the Maximoff twins after WandaVision. So they’re trying to get a handle on the situation and recruit the young heroes ASAP before they are corrupted or fall into the wrong hands. To my understanding, S.A.B.E.R. has tabs on: Kamala, Kate, Riri, Cassie, America Chavez, Billy (who just made his presence known at the end of Agatha All Along), Tommy (whom they believe is dead), Skarr, Amadeus Cho (spoilers) and a couple of more young heroes coming soon.
Jay Pal: Hi Alex & Lizzie, hope you are doing well with everything. I have two questions in relation to Champions/Young Avengers. There’s been a lot of confusion going on lately, but I thought maybe asking these two questions may help clarify some things clearly.
You mentioned in November’s Q&A about the likely lineup for the Young Avengers. Now, that I’m hearing that Marvel is considering to rename it to Champions and as a Disney Plus series. Does this mean the lineup will now combine and include the likes of Riri Williams, Miles Morales and Sam Alexander in the already overcrowded Young Avengers team?
Alex Perez: Champions is a better fit for the name than Young Avengers because most of the heroes on that team right now are going to be in college or older than their comic counterparts when they first started. It also has to do with RiRi and Kamala joining since they weren’t a part of the OG Young Avengers lineup, but no. Miles won’t be a part of the Champions lineup, and neither will Nova (Sam Alexander). Reasons why, is Miles (according to information I currently have, so please take this with a grain of salt) is going to be set in a rebooted Sony Universe that’s set to be established after Secret Wars. Meanwhile, we’re still years away from seeing Sam, since Nova will only introduce Richard and a couple of Nova Corps team that are going to be with him.
Jay Pal: Given that we will see Kate Bishop and Kamala Khan assembling their team with Cassie Lang, America Chavez, Riri Williams and perhaps Franklin Richards in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Do you think this will be the beginning of sort of the Young Avengers since there’s a slight chance of seeing other guys in the team like Billy Kaplan, Teddy Altman, Elijah Bradley and Tom Shepherd?
Alex Perez: Look above.
@sirky87.bsky.social: Hulkling? Timeline? Ideas?
Alex Perez: Training. Doing prince-ly things. One of the things I heard about Hulkling is his role could be a very crucial one for the next saga since one of the storylines involves space and the Annihilation Wave. And there’s a certain Wiccan/Hulkling centric storyline they want to adapt moving forward set around those particular elements.
Daredevil: Born Again
Vacanus: Thank you, Alex and Lizzie for doing these as always, especially when you are busy! We appreciate it! Is Hunter Doohan still playing Muse after the creative reboot in Daredevil: Born Again?
Alex Perez: To my understanding, he is.
Vacanus: Do you know if they are planning on bringing back any of the other side characters from the original show that we loved, like Sister Maggie, Mahoney, or Turk etc. in S2?
Alex Perez: I don’t have that knowledge, unfortunately.
rapsfan: Is there any surprise cameos in Daredevil: Born Again s1, that we don’t know about?
Alex Perez: There are. A lot have already been rumored and spoken about by other scoopers, though.
FootlongSlinky: Hey Alex, Will Daredevil: Born Again season 2 set up a possible crossover with Spider-man?
Alex Perez: I’d go on a limb to say that this season already does that task but subtly. It should be more pronounced once we pass all of Secret Wars.
Fantastic Four: First Steps
JoeMarvel: What’s Shalla-Bal’s role in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and could we see her in the future?
Alex Perez: She’ll be a conflicted antagonist. As is Galactus. But I don’t think we will be seeing her again after the film.
cosmicriver: With The Fantastic Four: First Steps taking place in a separate universe, how do you think they will depict the differences from the mainline 616 MCU, outside of the 60s setting and retrofuturistic aesthetic that we have already seen from the footage shown?
Alex Perez: There’s this thing they mention in the movie called the 5th dimension. I’ll let you guys ponder on that Kirby Easter egg for a few.
Tommy: Hi Alex! Can we expect any cameos or fun variants in F4?
Alex Perez: A couple of Fantastic Four villains. Not sure if the Council of Reeds will appear in this film, but I know Reed is searching for something similar or trying to make contact with other universes in the movie.
Ratchet1490: Will we be seeing Galactus’s origin in The Fantastic Four or any future MCU film? Do you know if it will include the Black Winter from Donny Cates’ Thor run?
Alex Perez: I don’t actually know about that one. It’s a good question. But all I know is he’s there, and he wants Franklin to rebuild his old universe.
Fantastic Four Reading Guide: 1998-2024
Hawkeye/Kate Bishop
Alex S: We know that Hailee Steinfeld is expected to return as Kate Bishop in both of the next two Avengers movies, a potential Hawkeye season 2 and the Champions project. Can you give us any insight on her future character arc?
Alex Perez: Her transition from Hawkeye Superfan to becoming her own character and leader for the Young Avengers.
Hulk & World War Hulk
Bravefire: This past January 22nd, you teased us with possible news about Hulk, especially something related to “Shadowstone”. What did you hear about Hulk? (I hope it’s good news)
Alex Perez: Same rumor that’s been spinning around by almost every other scooper out there. World War Hulk movie is in development.
Bravefire: Could we have a multiversal Hulk movie taking place in the Battleworld with Maestro?
Alex Perez: There is an article I wrote a long time ago, where I talked about how Marvel Studios could adapt World War Hulk and I talked about the possibility of it being set in Battleworld. And a lot of times, when I write a theory, it’s based on other information I already know. So I suggest you read up on that.
Matapple: Should we expect an announcement of World War Hulk alongside who will write it and direct it via the trades BEFORE July when Marvel Studios does their panel at SDCC?
Alex Perez: I expect the rumors to start up before that.
Setyourownlimit: You mentioned Joe Fixit in your last article, can you elaborate?
Alex Perez: It’s an idea for a variant Marvel wanted to use, not sure if it was for a What If…? episode or live-action. No idea if we’ll ever see him come up soon with the Multiverse Saga.
@bearshoqapik.bsky.social: Rumors say that Kevin Feige is looking for a director for World War Hulk and the goal would be to shoot it this year, what do you think?
Alex Perez: Too early in my opinion.
Marvel animated series
Jace: Marvel Animation seems to be two for two with X-Men ‘97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, are there any animated shows or movies being developed for the future brand?
Alex Perez: There are a couple of ideas. I believe Strange Academy could be one of those shows. Power Pack could also be another one.
Ecko: What’s your favourite episode of What If…??
Alex Perez: Every episode that had Strange Supreme. His story is absolutely beautiful, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.
Marvel comics recommendations
Alex S: For Marvel Studios’ upcoming film adaptation of Secret Wars, do you expect them to take more aspects from the 1984 or 2015 Comic?
Alex Perez: 2015 definitely, but maybe a bit of both.
Drew Reed: Alright, Mr. Perez. Let’s hear your comic recommendations for people who want to get up to speed on all things Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers Doomsday, and Avengers: Secret Wars?
Alex Perez: Oooooooof. Alright, Fantastic Four: Life Story, the Forever Arc from The Fantastic Four and essentially pretty much anything Jonathan Hickman from around the Time Runs Out, Secret Wars storylines.
Secret Wars Comics Reading Guide
Marvel Villains
rapsfan: Are villains like Kang and the Skrulls “done” in the MCU? Or is it possible we see them again?
Alex Perez: Skrulls I don’t think will be villains again. Kang’s future is null and void.
Xekshek: Do you see Marvel doing villain centric solo projects like Doom, Magneto, etc. to help establish them in the world and really get into the psyche of them?
Alex Perez: Yeah.
Manglor: Hey Alex! Hope you had a good break. Would you say Doctor Doom’s first appearance (which I assume will be in Fantastic Four) will be a good and proper introduction to him as a new version of the character that’ll ease new fans into him as a character while generating a lot of hype for old fans? (By this I mean something like showing him in his castle in Latveria beginning his plot perhaps).
Alex Perez: I can’t comment.
Manglor: Do you believe there may still be a project with the title “The Kang Dynasty” at any point in the MCU’s future?
Alex Perez: When they reset the MCU in 20+ years and everyone has forgotten about that.
Kang the Conqueror Reading Guide
@littleguy616.bsky.social: Hi, Alex! Will The Hood return after Ironheart?
Alex Perez: Yes he will.
@littleguy616.bsky.social: You once said that Mephisto will be revealed to be the owner of the Avengers Tower, will that still be happening after Thunderbolts*?
Alex Perez: The idea is to get Hotel Inferno into the MCU. You can kind of get the idea of what they want to do to the MCU for the next Supernatural Saga if you compare it to what’s going on now in Marvel Rivals with Midtown.
Moon Knight
Xekshek: Curious if there are also any new breadcrumbs for Moon Knight season 2 at all, or is it in a weird limbo with the multiverse stuff and waiting for the Midnight Sons project?
Alex Perez: Look up Memento, American Horror Story: Hotel and “Ei8ht” from Treehouse of Horror XXXIV. You have the main ideas for Moon Knight season 2.
CamCam: What’s up, Alex? Does Marvel have any plans to introduce Raoul Bushman into the MCU anytime soon? He was mentioned in Moon Knight season 1, so we know he’s out there.
Alex Perez: Yes, there are.
Be on the lookout for the next part of the Q&A with Alex Perez later this week!
What Marvel Studios films or shows are you looking forward to most? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus on X, Threads, Facebook & Instagram, or TheCosmicCircus.com on Bluesky!
Alex Perez Q&A: Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars, Black Panther & Captain America (Jan 2025 #1)
