Looking at posts with varying severity as to the affect the missing Pyms would have on the upcoming Avengers film, I found there to be little consideration as to the group of the collar shirt wearing, teenage do-gooders that caused the team to form: the TEEN-BRIGADE. Having faith in the Hulk's innocence, these “youthful radio HAM enthusiast” (Lee, 1963) made a call that would go down as one of the most important in comic history, because it was from this call that the Avengers would be formed. If anyone should not be left out of the film representation of Marvel's top super team, it is the Teen-Brigade.
Beyond the fact that they got the Avengers to meet for the first time, the Teen-Brigade has helped the Avengers on many of their first missions. Who saved the Avengers from their first entrapment by Kang the Conqueror? Who ensured that Zemo's first plans to trap the city in Adhesive-X would be felled? Was it Ant-Man or Wasp? I say thee nay. It was the Teen-Brigade. The Teen-Brigade was the reader. With all of the super-heroics going on in a crazy world, this group made sure that justice was served. At times, the Teen-Brigade was more a cohesive team than the Avengers that they idolized. In many of the first issues of the Avengers the team was fighting themselves almost as much as the bad guys.
Last but not least is the featured leader of the Teen-Brigade: Rick Jones. Although not featured in any live-action iteration of the Hulk, this teenage everyman was the reason for the Hulk's very existence. He was Bruce Banner's first true act of heroism. He was the only person to know Bruce Banner's true nature and made Lee's writing shine with the emotion Captain America conveyed when Jones donned the patriotic costume of Bucky Barnes. Rick has been trained to fight by Captain America, was linked to Marvel, played an important role in the Kree-Skrull War, has adventured with many of Marvel's superheroes, and was one of the Marvel-U's most famous rock stars.
My point here is that the Teen-Brigade are essential to the 616 comic canon of the Avengers, with Rick Jones being the most important. It doesn't seem that these characters will be appearing in the 2012 release of the film. As stated before, Rick Jones has yet to see any screen time even with three live- action portrayals of the Hulk in the can. Without this group, Ant-Man would be stuck in the lab and Wasp would be picking out a new costume. The absence of them is a travesty.
ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.