Jeremy Renner may have just teased the introduction of a major Avengers team from the comics in the MCU. The Avengers have had several factions in Marvel Comics filled with compelling superheroes, but the MCU has yet to officially debut any of them. Renner might be hinting that this could soon change. Avengers: Doomsday, the MCU's next blockbuster, is already packed with superhero teams, so it is unlikely this iconic squad appears there. Marvel will release an even bigger movie, Avengers: Secret Wars, on December 17, 2027, and that looks like the most plausible place for the team to debut.
On Wednesday, October 14, Renner took to his Instagram story to share an image featuring several classic comic book issues centered on the West Coast Avengers. This is notable since Renner's character, Clint Barton, founded and led the team back in the 1980s. Alongside the West Coast Avengers issues sat a copy of Hawkeye, making the message feel even more deliberate. The actor added no caption, leaving fans to connect the dots.
The timing is interesting given that Renner last played the character in the 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye, and his future in the MCU has been an open question ever since. He publicly turned down a second season of the show last year over a salary dispute with Disney.
The actor was left out of the Avengers: Doomsday cast and has insisted on several occasions that he is not in the movie, joking at a Comic-Con Liverpool appearance that the Avengers might lose without him. Reports have, however, suggested he could appear in Avengers: Secret Wars. If that is true, his post becomes all the more intriguing, as it might be hinting that he is leading a new team in that film.
This is not the first time Renner has used Instagram to get fans speculating. In August, he posted a caption-less photo of his Hawkeye costume set to the "Hawkeye Theme" from the Disney+ series. That post came just as Winston Duke confirmed that Avengers: Doomsday was heading into additional photography, and it sent the fandom into a frenzy. Nothing official came of it, but it showed that Renner's posts are rarely accidental.
The West Coast Avengers Appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars Makes Sense
The way the West Coast Avengers were formed in the comics gives real credence to the connection between Renner's post and Avengers: Secret Wars. The team came together during the original Secret Wars event.
When the Beyonder whisked most of the Avengers away to Battleworld, the Vision stayed behind and appointed himself chairman of the team. Seeing the need for a second active roster, he proposed a western branch of the Avengers based in Los Angeles. He handpicked Hawkeye to lead it, and Clint moved to California with his new wife, Mockingbird, to build the team from the ground up.
The original West Coast Avengers roster featured Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Wonder Man, Tigra, and Iron Man, though it was secretly James Rhodes under the armor instead of Tony Stark at the time. The team operated out of the Avengers Compound in Palos Verdes and quickly became fan favorites. The comic series later welcomed heroes like Moon Knight, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and U.S. Agent.
Since the West Coast Avengers were born out of a Secret Wars story, it is plausible that Marvel plans to introduce them through its own live-action Secret Wars storyline. The lineup would obviously differ from the comics.
Interestingly, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Simon Williams, who made his MCU debut in Wonder Man, is a popular member of the team. Wonder Man was renewed for a second season in March before Disney abruptly reversed course and canceled it in July, a decision Abdul-Mateen, who earned an Emmy nomination for the role, has publicly questioned.
When the cancellation made the rounds, sources said the show's characters could still return in future MCU projects. If Marvel does introduce the West Coast Avengers, it offers the perfect opportunity to bring Simon Williams back.
Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop, Hawkeye's protégé, could also potentially join the team, especially if Marvel shelves its long-gestating Young Avengers plans. In the comics, Kate founded her own version of the West Coast Avengers in 2018, so her inclusion would make perfect sense.
Another noteworthy point is that the upcoming VisionQuest series takes its name from a famous West Coast Avengers story arc, and the white Vision was a prominent member of the team, so the connective tissue is already in place.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
