The Marvel comics canon is filled with thousands of characters, and the MCU has done a darn
good job bringing many of them to the silver screen.
Still, there are a few heroes and villains who don't seem to be joining the franchise
anytime soon.
Given her massive spike in popularity over the last decade, it seems pretty odd that
Squirrel Girl has yet to make an appearance in the MCU.
For a while, it was expected that she'd make her live-action debut in a New Warriors TV
series, but that project fell apart shortly before that version of Marvel Television ceased
to exist.
So who is Squirrel Girl?
The character of Doreen Green first appeared in 1991, but only became a certifiably marquee
superhero when Ryan North and Erica Henderson's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl became a surprise
hit in 2015.
Unbeatable merges a kid-friendly, positive outlook on the world with the kind of tongue-in-cheek
self-awareness that Howard The Duck did so well in the 1970s.
Sadly, it seems like Kevin Feige and company haven't found quite the right moment to merge
the unique sensibility of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl with the MCU's far less quirky approach.
Still, Squirrel Girl does at least make regular appearances in the Marvel Rising animated
series, so the character doesn't seem to have been totally abandoned.
"Guy covered in squirrels says 'what'?"
"What?"
Maybe there's hope yet.
The 2015 co-licensing arrangement between Sony and Marvel Studios yielded Peter Parker's
MCU premiere in Captain America: Civil War, a number of standalone follow-ups, and a leading
role in the more recent Avengers movies.
But here's a question: what about Venom?
This 2018 Spidey spin-off appeared to be a strictly-Sony project at the time, and it
was understood that the studio was forging its own separate Marvel universe using Spider-Man's
rogues' gallery.
"Well, you know, I aim to please."
That seems to have changed, though.
After all, if the upcoming Morbius isn't supposed to be attached to the MCU, then what the heck
is Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes doing in the movie's trailer?
And if the MCU's Vulture is connected to Morbius, and Morbius is connected to Venom, does that
retroactively make Tom Hardy the MCU's Venom after all?
So yeah, things are a little confusing right now.
Sony has more spin-off movies coming up too, including a project helmed by Olivia Wilde,
a movie based on Madame Web, and a Kraven the Hunter flick.
For now, it seems like those characters — as well as Venom and Morbius — aren't likely
to appear in the MCU anytime soon — keyword “soon”.
But if Vulture's surprise appearance in the Sony Universe is anything to go by, well,
let's just say "never say never."
First appearing in 2000's Marvel Boy #1, Noh-Varr is already pretty well-suited to front his
own movie.
He's got a vast range of crazy powers, including mind-control saliva, explosive fingernail
clippings, superhuman strength and lightning-fast reflexes, as well as all sorts of sci-fi weapons
to hand — which he can use to laser the face off of virtually any cosmic or terrestrial
threat.
He's also a Kree from another dimension, so integrating him into the MCU wouldn't be particularly
difficult.
The Kree first showed up in Guardians of the Galaxy and were expanded upon by Captain Marvel
a few years later.
So sure, Marvel Boy may not be leading the charge into the MCU's cosmic realm just yet,
but whenever Feige decides he wants to bring in another arrogant weirdo from outer space
to kick some alien butt — well, Noh-Varr will be ready.
The rumors regarding Heather Douglas' future cinematic status tend to be a little inconsistent.
In the past, the star-hopping telepath's sexuality has often been cited as being too much for
Disney's often conservative sensibilities.
Now, though, there are at least a few rumblings that Drax the Destroyer's in-comics daughter
might become his onscreen daughter, and that it could happen as soon as the third Guardians
movie.
Still, Marvel Studios hasn't revealed any clear cut plans to bring the character into
the fold, so don't go holding your breath.
There's also something else to consider, here.
The comic book version of Mantis, who is originally portrayed as a human martial arts master,
is basically nothing like the character who showed up in the MCU.
But Moondragon in the comics is a telepath who wears green and spends most of her time
in outer space.
And that, in a nutshell, is exactly why Moondragon may never properly appear in the MCU — because,
in a sense, she's already there.
It actually feels like a bit of a disservice to lump together Alpha Flight in one big group.
In particular, Puck and Sasquatch have arguably had as much of an impact on the Marvel Comics
continuity as some of the publisher's more currently prominent characters.
It's also worth noting that there's no indigenous representation in the MCU lineup right now,
which is an issue many Alpha Flight characters could help resolve.
Debuting in 1979's Uncanny X-Men #120, Alpha Flight plays a significant part in the pre-X-Men
phase of Wolverine's superhero career, and the squad often includes mutant siblings Aurora
and Northstar.
Considering their long history with the world of mutants, it seems strange that Fox never
took the opportunity to bring them to the silver screen.
Sadly, it doesn't seem like Marvel Studios are keen to do so, either, as no Alpha Flight-related
projects have currently been announced, and there doesn't seem to be any space for them
to show up in the studio's upcoming projects — for now, at least.
If Rick Jones had never wandered around Bruce Banner's bomb testing site like the oblivious
ditz that he is, then Bruce Banner would never have been exposed to the gamma rays that turn
him into the Hulk.
Putting aside his connections to Captain America and Mar-Vell, that fact alone makes Jones
an under-used part of Marvel Comics continuity.
In a sense, he does actually exist in the MCU too, since his name briefly appears on
a computer screen in the first Avengers movie — so he's clearly off doing his thing somewhere
in Marvel's movie world.
But he still hasn't made an actual appearance.
Between Jones' failure to appear in the MCU, Jason Todd's macabre DCEU legacy, and Jimmy
Olsen's unceremonious death in Batman v Superman, it feels like the movie studios really don't
like the idea of bringing any youthful, ordinary sidekicks into their cinematic universes.
Nonetheless, the storylines with which Jones is most often associated are still ongoing,
including the Kree-Skrull War and Bruce Banner's many scientific experiments — so there are
at least a few opportunities left to bring this vital yet lesser-known character into
the MCU.
In the current run of comics, Hulkling is more widely recognized as Dorrek VIII, Emperor
of the Kree-Skrull Alliance.
And if that's basically nonsense to you, think about how powerful and important the American
president is, multiply that times outer space, and throw a sun-destroying superweapon into
the mix — and you should get a rough idea what the son of Mar-Vell has on his plate.
He's also noteworthy as half of one of Marvel's most prominent LGBTQ couples, alongside his
Young Avengers teammate Wiccan.
Although the MCU's version of the Skrulls only popped up for the first time in Captain
Marvel, they're due to be expanded on with the upcoming Secret Invasion show and, most
likely, Captain Marvel 2.
And then you've the other members of Hulkling's generation of Young Avengers, many of whom
are set to gradually show up in the MCU in the next few years.
These include Kate Bishop, who will make her debut in the Disney+ Hawkeye series, America
Chavez, who is set to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and both Speed
and Wiccan, who have already technically appeared in WandaVision.
And that's on top of Cassie Lang, who has featured in a number of MCU movies.
Nonetheless, although the pieces are certainly in place for Hulkling to make his big screen
debut sometime in the near future, nothing solid has yet been announced.
Here's hoping it's not too much of a wait.
One strange aspect of the comic book industry is the fact that, over the last 60 years,
just a small handful of close-knit writers and artists were responsible for creating
the overwhelming majority of superheroes and their stories.
And this is pretty much exactly the reason that Man-Thing can be found mucking about
in the swamplands of the Marvel Universe, while Swamp Thing lurks in the boggy marshes
of the DC universe.
Man-Thing actually had a movie, in 2005, but still, despite debuting prior to DC’s muck
monster, Swamp Thing is much better known - thanks in large part to the 2019 Swamp Thing
TV series and the cult classic 1982 film of the same name.
"Everything's a dream… when you're alone."
But that hasn't quite kept the creature formerly known as Dr. Ted Sallis out of the MCU entirely.
His likeness appears in Thor: Ragnarok, alongside tributes to Beta Ray Bill, Ares, and Bi-Beast
on the Grandmaster's Palace on Sakaar.
This raises a whole new problem, though.
If Man-Thing, Beta Ray Bill, Ares, and Bi-Beast are all celebrated as past champions of Sakaar's
contest, doesn't that mean that they each would have been defeated by the champion who
came after them?
Basically: is the MCU's Man-Thing already dead… and could Hulk have been the one to
kill him?
Discussions about superhero comics in the '80s and '90s tend to focus on the moodier
aspects of dark, moody releases like Alan Moore's Watchmen.
But people tend to overlook the snarkier, more self-aware side of those very same stories.
And while characters like Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan have certainly made a bigger splash
in the pop culture consciousness than Nite-Owl, that doesn't mean he didn't have a legacy
of his own.
First introduced in 1988 by Tom DeFalco and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, Robbie
Baldwin has powers related to kinetic energy that allow him to, well.... bounce off stuff.
He can also cause the sudden appearance of masses of multicolored balls.
Because why not?
Following the unfortunate events that led to the original Civil War storyline, Baldwin
changed his alias and costume to the grim Penance, then later smartened up and went
back to being Speedball.
Like Squirrel Girl, Speedball would actually have made his debut in the New Warriors TV
series, but with that show long since axed, it doesn't look like Robbie will be bouncing
his way into the MCU anytime soon.
The Shi'ar are a universe-spanning society of technologically advanced humanoids who
usually find themselves tangled up in the X-Men's mythology, and are perhaps most famous
for their role in the Dark Phoenix saga.
For some reason, though, Fox elected to use a lesser-known alien race to fill the Shi'ar's
role in 2019's X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Did that decision have anything to do with the ambiguous nature of the Shi'ar's licensing
rights?
Well, no one really knows for sure — but it's definitely a possibility, and might explain
why Marvel has been equally hesitant to involve the Shi'ar in their cinematic universe.
It doesn't help that, once you remove the context of Dark Phoenix, the Shi'ar basically
come off as Kryptonians with a home planet that hasn't exploded.
They don't exactly win a ton of points for originality.
Still, the MCU has taken plenty of influence from the cosmic corner of Marvel comics, so
fans should have every reason to believe the Shi'ar might make their presence felt in the
years to come — especially once the X-Men get rolling again.
He's the run-down on Darkhawk: he wears a suit of armor that fires off blasts of energy,
just like Iron Man.
That suit includes a pair of retractable claws, which are very similar to Wolverine's.
It's also generated by an amulet that Christopher Powell discovered while being chased by mobsters,
much in the same way that Danny Ketch stumbles upon the enchanted motorcycle that turns him
into Ghost Rider.
Honestly, it's a wonder that Marvel never sued themselves for copyright infringement
— and even if they didn't, they're probably not itching to stick him in a movie anytime
soon.
Then again, Darkhawk's costume was one of the more memorable Marvel designs to emerge
from the zany early '90s, and there is some merit to the notion of bringing the character
to the silver screen, so hey — with a few fresh abilities and a brand new origin story,
it just might work.
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