One of the best things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is seeing all our favourite comic book heroes recreated on the big screen. But one thing that’s better than that is seeing them all interact with each other. After all, when you have a universe filled with such a colourful cast, not having them hang out is just a waste. Why have all these characters in a shared universe if they’re not gonna team up once in a while? And Disney and Marvel clearly know this. The Avengers movies were all huge successes primarily for this very reason. But while we’ve enjoyed these awesome cross-overs, we’ve never had any proper team-up movies.

Sure, Black Widow helped out Captain America in The Winter Soldier, but that was still Steve’s movie. And while Hulk showed up in Thor: Ragnarok, it wasn’t really a Thor/Hulk movie; just a Thor movie that the Hulk happened to be in. We’ve had “team-ups,” but no movies where two characters get to enjoy equal footing, and I feel this is something Marvel should do more of. The big crossovers are great but they run the risk of some characters having less to do than others. Focusing purely on two individuals can lead to stronger interactions and a tighter narrative. There was even a whole series of comics called Marvel Team-Up that explored this very concept. Imagine a series of movies like this.

So, purely for my own enjoyment, here are five ideas for team-up movies that I’d love to see be made for the MCU.

1. Captain Marvel & Thor

Let’s be real – we all got hyped when that trailer for Endgame ended with Captain Marvel and Thor meeting. That scene of him summoning Stormbreaker to fly straight past her head, her not evening flinching and smiling wryly, ending with Thor simply saying “I like this one” – that one little exchange suddenly made them best friends in the eyes of the fandom. But then, in the actual movie, the two barely say a word and Carol ends up being absent for the majority of it.

It’s such a missed opportunity because you know these two would get along so well. You know how buddy-cop movies and the like always have the two leads hating each other at first but then they gradually become friends or at least develop a begrudging respect for each other? I think it’d be nice to have a movie where the two leads get along really well throughout the whole thing. Sure, both Carol and Thor have egos (Thor slightly less so; he’s mellowed out over the years), but I imagine that it wouldn’t take up most of the adventure and they wouldn’t bicker or make snide comments towards each other. Hell, given what we know about Thor, you know he’d be incredibly supportive and respectful towards Carol.

As for what kind of adventure they’d have, it would have to be something set in space, with them dealing with some sort of cosmic threat that threatens the whole universe. It’d be a great opportunity to have Carol learn that, despite how powerful she is, even she needs teammates to help her out. Maybe have them acting like space cops and Thor realising that he has to be the “nice” one. Something with a tone closer to Thor: Ragnarok would be great since I don’t think Carol is as well-equipped to deal with strange and quirky characters like Thor is. There’s quite a bit of room for some great comedy.

Or hell, just have a whole movie of Thor trying to find Carol a girlfriend. I just want to see these two actually share some dialogue.

2. Spider-Man & Black Panther

It’s one thing to pair up characters with similar backgrounds and personalities, but I prefer the team-ups where the two characters have almost nothing in common, since I feel it can lead to some very interesting dynamics and conversations. Case in point – Spider-Man and Black Panther.

You couldn’t ask for two completely different characters. One’s an average but intelligent teenager desperately trying to balance his school-life and relationships with his superhero role, committed to helping out the “little guy.” The other was born and raised to be royalty, has the most advanced technology in the world at his disposal and a whole country he’s devoted to protecting. They come from two completely different worlds so how would these two interact with each other?

I imagine Peter would be completely in awe of T’Challa since, you know, he’s a literal king, and he would lose his mind if he got to go to Wakanda and see it first-hand. Don’t forget, Peter IS a scientist. Plus, there’s opportunities for comedy by having this kid from Queens working his around Wakanda. Imagine him trying to talk with the Dora Milaje. As for T’Challa, I think it could go one way or the other. Maybe he’s initially hesitant to work with Peter because he only knows him as Tony’s apprentice and worries he might take after him in all the wrong ways, or even because of how Far from Home ended (though T’Challa’s smart; I’m sure he’d see through the ruse).

Or maybe it’d be the opposite and T’Challa would take to Peter quite well. Maybe he’d see his potential and want to cultivate that and become another mentor for the kid. I liked Tony but he was kind of… emotionally stinted, shall we say. T’Challa might be willing to give a little more leeway, unafraid to criticise but being a lot gentler about it. He’d be upfront but very encouraging. A team-up could also lead to Peter meeting Shuri and I know we all want that to happen. Those two would get along so well, and you know their interactions might drive T’Challa up the wall. He’s already got one annoying younger sibling and suddenly he’s saddled with two of them.

In all honesty, though, the real reason why I want a movie featuring these two is because they’re two of my favourite characters in the MCU and I just think it’d be cool.

3. She-Hulk & Daredevil

Admittedly, this one’s significantly unlikely given that the status of the characters from the Netflix shows are in some kind of weird limbo at the moment. Hopefully, the likes of Daredevil won’t be completely removed from the MCU since, well, they have fan-bases off their own. And if they do get to stick around, one crossover I feel they need to do is one between Daredevil and one of the newest characters to be joining soon – She-Hulk.

Why? Well, that answer’s obvious – they’re both lawyers. There’s already the perfect excuse to have the two cross paths. Their status as TV characters may prevent a full-fledged Hollywood movie but I’d still be down with a one-off TV movie or something. Hell, why not a full series? I’d watch the adventures of the Walters & Murdock Law Offices. Have them dealing with superhero-related court cases, interspersed with some classic action and personal drama outside of the courtroom. Maybe it could even have some neat cameos every once in a while.

There’s a lot of crazy potential for this one and it would be neat to not only see these two characters share the screen, but also to see Marvel tackle this type of story.

4. Blade & Luke Cage

When I was trying to come up with unique ideas for this list, this one was a bit of a light-bulb moment, and one that I’m shocked hasn’t been done before, even in the comics (as far as I’m aware). Granted, the two come from very different walks-of-life but, as I said, I love to see more unlikely pairings and it’s not like these two aren’t entirely dissimilar.

Aside from them obviously being among Marvel’s most prominent black characters, the two tend to operate at street level for the most part. They’re not the kind of characters who will go into space to stop an incoming alien menace or travel to some mysterious island to stop a supervillain from turning people into dinosaurs. They hang around in rough, seedy cities and the like, fighting to make them a better place. The key difference, however, is their respective threats. Luke usually has to deal with gangs, drug dealers and the like. Blade… he fights vampires.

So imagine a team-up between the two. Maybe it starts off with Luke fighting what he thinks is some typical crime racket that’s threatening the neighbourhood, only for Blade to drop in and reveal that it’s part of something bigger and connected to vampires. I can’t recall many times where Luke has had to deal with more fantastical situations so seeing him react to all the vampire stuff would be pretty hilarious.

Plus, I feel like this would be one of those teams where the two would butt heads quite a bit. I could be wrong but Blade comes across as more of a loner. I know he’s worked with others before but I get the sense that he’d rather deal with things on his own so him having to work with Luke, who would probably be distrustful of Blade due to his half-vampire nature and willingness to kill, could lead to some genuinely good drama. I’d rather have the characters bicker because of their morals as opposed to their egos.

And assuming that they would keep Mike Colter, Luke’s actor from the Netflix show, it’d be nice to see him work alongside Mahershala Ali again, but as fellow heroes rather than enemies (plus it’d be pretty funny from a meta standpoint).

5. Loki & Deadpool

Admittedly, part of my reasoning for this one is just because I want to see Deadpool properly integrated into the MCU. Honestly, they could put Deadpool with anyone and we’d be in for a good time. And while the obvious choice would be to pair him up with Spidey (which I would have included on this list if I hadn’t already put him with Black Panther), I think the next best choice would be with the God of Mischief himself.

While Loki has always been capable of being funny himself (whether it be because of his dry wit or being the butt of a joke), I can see him working as a straight man to Deadpool’s far more zany antics. He may be mischievous but even he wouldn’t tolerate with the Merc with a Mouth’s larger-than-life personality for very long, and Deadpool would always be quick to mock Loki and knock him down a few pegs whenever he starts getting egotistical. At the same time, though, I can imagine the two very occasionally having a “great minds think alike” moment and briefly enjoying each other’s company.

“But they’d have to make Deadpool PG!” I hear you cry. Well, they don’t have to. Loki could just as easily work in a R-rated setting given his status as an anti-hero at best (also, the idea of Tom Hiddleston dropping a F-bomb is hilarious and I kind of want it now). However, this could be an opportunity to dispel this myth that Deadpool can only work if he’s swearing, making sex jokes, and dismembering people. Deadpool can still be fully realised and be an entertaining character in a milder setting; they could even parody that (have Deadpool be self-aware of the new setting, his swears are censored and he knows it and it winds him up etc.). And teaming up with Loki could mean he’s dealing with magical monsters or the like, meaning they could get away with him chopping things up so long as the blood is blue or something.

Out of all of the ideas on this list, this is very much the one with the most comedic potential – an odd couple adventure of some kind that could be one of the most imaginative, creative and just interesting products to come out of the MCU.