One of the techniques I used to predict future comic book movie appearance is knowing the history of the characters.  I highlighted this technique in my post on top undervalued bronze age issue 1 comics.

Using this technique, I am trying to predict which other characters will make an appearance in Avengers 2 or 3. For those who are familiar with comic book investing, you will know that everytime a character is announced for the Avengers, their first appearance becomes crazy. Look at X men 4  and Avengers 55 as evidence. So, if I can narrow down some potential candidates for appearance in future Avengers movies, it will be worthwhile to invest in their comic book first appearances.

The thing about the Avengers movie lineup is that it does follow (loosely) the timeline according to the comic. By studying what other avengers are in the team during this time period, it might reveal hints on who can we expect to appear in Avengers 2 or 3.

Here is the lineup for the avengers team:

Founding members
Hulk (appeared)
Thor (appeared)
Iron man (appeared)
Antman (about to appear)
Wasp (no appearance)

Second lineup (in the 1960s)
Captain america (appeared)
Hawkeye (appeared)
Scarlet Witch (about to appear)
Quicksilver (about to appear)
Hercules (no appearance)
Black knight (no appearance)
Vision (no appearance)
Black Panther (no appearance)

Lineup in the 1970s
Black Widow (appeared)
Mantis (no appearance)
Beast (no appearance and not likely due to Fox network owning his movie rights)
Moondragon (no appearance)
Hellcat (no appearance)
Two gun kid (no appearance)
Falcon (appeared)
Wonder man (no appearance)

From the list above, it is likely that these characters will make an appearance based on their popularity and the way the plot is moving:

Wasp: It is just a matter of time before Wasp appears in either Avengers or the Antman movie. Being the wife of Henry Pym (Antman) and a founding member of the Avengers, Wasp is too important not to make an appearance. Unfortunately, her first appearance in Tales to Astonish 44 is already an expensive book. A 6.0 condition will likely to cost you more than $200+.

Vision: Seems to be a no brainer given his link to Ultron. Yet, the director has announced that the story in the movie will deviate from the comic so it is not 100% guarantee that Vision will appear.  Vision has always been an important character during the late 60s and early 70s. At one point, his popularity seems to match even Spider Man.

Black Panther: It seems like marvel studio does not have enough confidence in this character to produce a $100M movie. They might test water by having him make an appearance in Avengers instead. It is also obvious that the current Avengers team in the movie is 100% white. Hence, they might draft in Black Panther to have a more balance team.

Wonder Man: He is too closely tied to Scarlet Witch and the Vision not to be included. It is a long shot but has better chances than the rest of the remaining candidates.

So, which other characters do you think will make an appearance in future Avengers movie?