The series follows Makoto, Adi, and Chloé, three superpowered teenagers who have been raised by HYDRA to believe that they are being trained to become superheroes and that the Avengers are villains. The three have been genetically modified by HYDRA, resulting in each gaining unique superhuman abilities.
However, the trio eventually come to realize HYDRA's intentions and decide to flee. During their escape attempt, they encounter the Avengers and help them stop HYDRA's plans. Realizing the kids have potential, the Avengers agree to take them in and train them to become superheroes, dubbing them the "Future Avengers".
The series is a kind of Spiritual Successor to Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, though the two anime are otherwise unrelated. The series began airing on the Japanese satellite channel DLife on July 2017 and ran for 26 episodes. A second season aired in 2018.
The show made its American debut on Disney+, with season 1 releasing on February 28, 2020 and Season 2 premiering on May 22, 2020.
Marvel Future Avengers provides examples of the following tropes:
- 10-Minute Retirement: The Hulk pulls one when the Green Goblin makes him go berserk. Makoto follows suit with Wasp watching over both of them in a strange game of chicken to force the Hulk out of it.
- Action Girl: Wasp, Chloé, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, and Ms. Marvel.
- Adaptational Heroism: Unlike the last adaptation, this version of Loki is much more civil. Possibly having something to do with Makoto.
- Adaptational Wimp: The Mad Inventor was a serious threat in Ms. Marvel's comic as he convinced teenagers their lives were worthless to serve as living batteries. Here, he's a villain who is not very good at being a Mad Scientist or a criminal mastermind.
- And the Adventure Continues:
- After the crisis with Kang is dealt with. Makoto, Chloé, Adi and Bruno prepare to continue their training as Future Avengers.
- After Maximus is defeated, the Avengers and Future Avengers receive word that a prison break has occurred in the Raft, and they head off on their mission.
- Ascended Fanboy: Makoto has always wanted to be a superhero. Of course, he ends up joining the Avengers shortly after meeting them.
- Awful Truth: In the first episode Makoto learns that Hydra has been Evil All Along, conning him and his friends their whole lives.
- Back for the Finale:
- Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Fist, Black Panther and Doctor Strange all return to help out the Avengers during the first season finale.
- All previously mentioned characters also return for the finale to the second season in addition to both the Winter Soldier and Loki.
- Bad Future: By the 30th Century, Kang the Conqueror rules over a decimated Earth. Though he is eventually beaten back by the future Inhumans, freeing the 30th century Earth from his tyranny.
- Batman Gambit: Tony pulls one off masterfully in Episode 13 with a heaping dose of Spanner in the Works. Chloe called in Captain Marvel to help save Makoto when his powers go out of control. She's able to absorb the excess energy and comments she feels like she's ready to explode. Tony tells her to use it to make it seem like Makoto did go up and kill them, Faking the Dead so they can find out what The Leader is up to.
- Big Bad:
- Kang the Conqueror in the first season.
- Maximus in the second season.
- Big Brother Mentor: Spider-Man tries to act as this, mostly to Chloé and Adi.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Arnim Zola attempts to use mind controlling technology to keep Bucky under Hydra's control. He's stopped by Captain America.
- Bus Full of Innocents: After hijacking the Hulk Buster armor, the Green Goblin shows his callous disregard for innocent bystanders by using the armor to try and kill the people inside a bus.
- Calling Your Attacks: Used in a similar fashion as Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers.
- Canon Foreigner: The Avengers three teenaged apprentices, and Bruno. None of them show up in any Marvel television shows, other than this one.
- Canon Immigrant: Secondary stories featuring the team appeared in Marvel Future Fight Firsts, showing that a version of them that mostly sticks to the series' Origin Story lives in the 616 version of Japan. Adi later made an appearance in War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #3.
- Card-Carrying Villain: With a group calling themselves the Masters of Evil, this can naturally be assumed.
- Empathic Weapon: The Ebony Blade, which only allows the worthy to wield it, including King Arthur and Merlin. All the Avengers tried to pull it from its enchanted pedestal and couldn't budge it. However, Makoto could lift it easily.
- Enemy Mine: Loki helps the Avengers against the Masters of Evil though that's quickly revealed to be an act.
- Evil Genius: The Leader often refers to himself this way.
- Evil Gloating: When it looks like her team of Avengers are about to be executed, Captain Marvel asks Leader what the "Emerald Rain Project" is. In his hubris, Leader is more than happy to tell her.
- Evil Versus Evil: Loki vs Kang the Conqueror during the final episodes of the first season.
- Excalibur in the Stone: When the Avengers tried to lift the Ebony Blade from it's pedestal, they all failed. Only for Makoto to lift it easily.
- Face Death with Dignity: Kang has a moment when Tony tries save him from dying when his ship explodes. Kang stoically refuses Tony's assistance, declaring he'll rise again from his defeat to take on the Avengers until he wins.
- Fighting Your Friend: How Makoto sees fighting Bruno.
- Friend to All Children: Spider-Man goes out of his way to protect Chloé and Adi when they work together.
- Five-Episode Pilot: The first Story Arc of the show lasts more than one episode.
- Green Rocks: The Terrigen crystals. Both Red Skull and the Leader mostly used them to enhance human beings and turn them into Super Soldiers.
- Hot Witch: The Enchantress and Morgan are both witches and have head-turning looks.
- Jerkass Hasa Point: A little less jerky then most examples but the Winter Guard. Captain America should have asked permission to operate in their territory and they are justified in try to captured the Winter Soldier, who has a perfectly valid warrant for his arrest.
- Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: Tony's "Hulk Buster" armor more closely resembles a giant robot than his others suits.
- Kid-Appeal Character: The "Future Avengers" themselves, as they're closer to the target age group than the older Avengers.
- Legion of Doom: The Masters of Evil in the first season, comprised of the Leader, Amora the Enchantress, Ares, the Winter Soldier, and (tangentially) Arnim Zola with Kang the Conqueror as the Man Behind the Man.
- Lighter and Softer: Than many of Marvel's previous anime series.
- Ms. Fanservice: Black Widow and Captain Marvel's hero outfits are very form-fitting.
- Mythology Gag:
- Norman Osborn is very adamant about creating a Superhero Registration Act.
- When Chloé points out his look isn't exactly inconspicuous, Spider-Man mentions that he might consider changing to an all black costume instead.
- The Winter Soldier is introduced in Episode 3 attempting to assassinate the Red Skull. The Winter Soldier was introduced in the original comic story successfully carrying out an assassination attempt on the Skull.
- Stan Lee cameos as a hot dog vendor once again.
- At the end of episode 18, when Deadpool grabs the crystal containing Makoto's powers, he turns into Zenpool from AXIS.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The main villains named themselves the Masters of Evil.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: Thor's hammer Mjölnir, as well as the Ebony Blade.
- Post-Climax Confrontation:
- After the final battle with Kang, Leader makes one last attempt on Makoto and Bruno, but he is stopped by Winter Soldier.
- After the final battle with Maximus, Maximus, having survived the destruction of his fighter, later resurfaces under the guise of a waiter and makes a last ditch effort to kill the Avengers and Future Avengers at a party while Makoto is giving a speech, but he is promptly thwarted by Loki.
- The Smurfette Principle: Chloé is the only female Future Avenger. Also seen among the villains, where the Enchantress is the only female member of the Masters of Evil.
- Super Registration Act: One banning all superheroes is endorsed by Norman Osborn and it gets passed. Spider-Man, Chloe and Adi are able to expose Osborn as the Green Goblin and get the law nulled.
- Technopath: Adi has this ability, calling it his "Technical Act".
- What Happened to the Mouse?: While most of the superheroes the Avengers meet come Back for the Finale of the first season, neither Ms. Marvel nor the Winter Guard are seen or mentioned. Bucky returns briefly, but only after the main crisis is over.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Makoto calls Tony out for creating the Hulk Buster armor without Hulk's knowledge.
- Villain Teleportation: The Masters of Evil can appear and disappear via a combination of science and magic.
