Not every MCU character gets their own movie, it just seems like it. Still,
there are tons of cool supporting characters who deserve the spotlight just as much as their more
celebrated compatriots. Here's a look at the most underrated characters in the MCU.
Originally a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, James "Jimmy" Woo was recruited by the FBI before
eventually serving as Scott Lang's parole officer in 2018's "Ant Man and the Wasp."
Woo strongly suspects Lang is breaking his parole, and indeed he is, although he always
manages to cover it up. Regardless, Woo tries to catch him, as well as Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne,
for violating the terms of the Sokovia Accords, but can't quite manage it.
Years later, as seen in "WandaVision," Woo is instrumental in unraveling the mystery
of Westview, which has been besieged by Wanda Maximoff's reality-warping powers.
Woo was such a favorite in "WandaVision" that fans have been clamoring for a spinoff "Jimmy
Woo" solo series, but so far, no word from Marvel if such a thing will ever materializet.
If you're looking for definitive proof that Andy Serkis - best known for playing
Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies and Caesar
in the "Planet of the Apes" franchise - can do more than just motion capture,
look no further than his performance as the evil Ulysses Klaue, a black market
arms dealer who appears in 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and 2018's "Black Panther."
Serkis steals every scene he's in with his portrayal of Klaue's offbeat sense of humor.
Klaue is downright giddy while battling Black Panther, and he's equally excited
about giving out copies of his mixtape. Unfortunately for Klaue, and for fans,
Killmonger betrays and kills him before his own plan fails at the hands of T'Challa.
Serkis just brings so much chilling, lunatic energy to his performance
that we have to give him his due. Can someone give this man an Oscar already?
"Well that is quite the entourage, you got a mix tape coming out?"
"Yeah, actually, there is one. I'll send you the soundcloud link if you like!"
It's weird that we meet Mantis, a naively sweet, mind-reading alien empath,
as the personal assistant to a genocidal maniac. But the more you get to know her,
the more you realize she probably didn't know any better. All her interactions are colored by
her perpetual state of innocent confusion. Like certain other members of the Guardians of the
Galaxy, she doesn't really get subtlety, nuance, or the intricacies of metaphor.
"Most people want cute pets. Why would Ego want such a hideous one?"
"I am hideous?"
"You are horrifying to look at!"
Beyond her oblivious nature, Mantis is impressively powerful,
and ends up becoming a major asset in the fight against Thanos. She even puts the big
purple bad guy himself into a trance while other Avengers hold him down.
She's certainly not the most important Avenger, or even the most important Guardian,
but actor Pom Klementieff makes Mantis so fun and memorable that we had to put her on this list.
Much praise has been given to Florence Pugh's performance as Yelena Belova,
Natasha Romanoff's "sister" in 2021's "Black Widow." There's a reason for that — she's
excellent. Comparatively less praise has been directed towards their "father" figure, however,
David Harbour's hilarious and obtuse Red Guardian.
Red Guardian was a Cold War-era Soviet spy who was injected with super-soldier serum to
compete with the U.S.'s own Captain America. He claims the two fought in their heyday,
but as another inmate points out, Cap was under the ice when Alexei says this happened.
The issue is raised again, but never properly resolved, and answers are in short supply.
But answers are also beside the point. Harbour is an absolute delight to watch in
every scene he's in, and we hope we see more of this character sooner rather than later.
While Ronan the Accuser has "bad guy" written all over him, the Guardians of the Galaxy's
second major villain, Ego, initially comes off as a pretty nice guy. After all, he is
Peter Quill's dad. The godlike, planet-owning Celestial is just thrilled to see his son and
rope him into the family business. Which is — let us check our notes here — oh, right,
killing all life and absorbing it into himself. Yikes. There seems to have been a lot of that
going around the MCU at the time. Naturally, Quill and the Guardians have to take him down.
It's no easy task, and they suffer some heartbreak along the way, but they get it done.
That being said, Kurt Russell is simply great in this villainous one-off role.
Even when he's describing what it's like to be a lonely god or his genocidal intentions,
he comes off as a good ol' fashioned dad who just wants to include his son in a project.
It's a great performance that elevates the film.
In 2016's "Doctor Strange," Benedict Wong's performance as
Wong is easily one of the best and funniest parts of the movie. Though he's a supporting character,
he is also a Master of the Mystic Arts in his own right. He's funny,
quick-witted, and very, very good at what he does, as Thanos' goons find out the
hard way in 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" and 2019's "Avengers: Endgame."
We didn't get to see nearly enough of Wong, which is why it's exciting that he's poised to make
more appearances in Phase 4 as Doctor Strange and the Multiverse take center stage. We can't wait.
Played inimitably by Kat Dennings, Darcy Lewis is a bit of a stand-in for the audience.
She's by Jane Foster and Erik Selvig's side when Thor crash-lands on Earth,
and while they take these outrageous, extraterrestrial events in stride,
she's always around to hilariously remind them that no, this is not normal. Her
quips provide some of the best parts of 2011's "Thor," but other than a minor
appearance in 2013's "Thor: The Dark World," we haven't seen her again on the big screen.
Luckily, she made a triumphant return to the MCU in "WandaVision." In this series,
she's finally gotten her doctorate in astrophysics and is instrumental in unraveling
the mysteries of Westview, a town trapped by the sitcom-centric magic of one Wanda Maximoff.
It's a story rooted in profound grief, but Kat Dennings always brings some much-needed quirky
humor to the table when she's onscreen. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of her.
Thor's galaxy-spanning, universe-saving adventures are the stuff of legend,
and for good reason. But his good buddy Heimdall, played as epically as you'd expect by Idris Elba,
is just as much of a hero. His is a lonely job, which undoubtedly involves hours or days, if not
longer, standing in a lonely chamber, waiting for a call. But without him, Asgard would be cut off
from the outside world and the universe would be a much more dangerous place because of it.
In "Thor: Ragnarok," Heimdall gets his chance to shine, leading Asgardian refugees into the
mountains to escape Hela's murderous forces. When they're escaping on the bridge, he defends
his people again, and is instrumental in helping them escape as the place is destroyed behind them.
Sadly, he never does get the credit he's due, dying unceremoniously at the hands of Thanos — but
not before using the last of his magic to transport Hulk to Earth.
And since it's Hulk who ultimately uses the Infinity Gauntlet to restore
the universe, you can't overstate Heimdall's importance to the MCU.
It's a shame this gem of a character is buried in the "Ant Man" movies, likely the
most underappreciated entries in the MCU. He is, without a doubt, one of the funniest characters
in the franchise. Played by Michael Peña, Luis meets Scott Lang in prison. After getting out,
Scott becomes Ant-Man, and Luis is right by his side, supporting him in the background.
In 2018's "Ant Man and the Wasp," Luis and some other prison buddies, trying to make a
living with felonies on their record, start X-Con Security Consultants. Heck, even in "Avengers:
Endgame," Luis' van is instrumental to the Avengers' time-traveling exploits.
In every appearance, Peña plays Luis as a rapid-fire motormouth with a heart of gold,
and a penchant for boring people with long-winded monologues that have little to do with the subject
at hand. He also never seems to truly grasp what's going on, but always manages to pull
through for his buddy Scott. Ant-Man and all his friends survive the events of "Avengers:
Endgame," so here's hoping we'll get to see more of Peña in this role.
We didn't know what to think when we first saw Valkyrie in "Thor:
Ragnarok." She's a stumbling drunk who saves a hammerless Thor from scavengers,
only to kidnap him and sell him into slavery. As Thor eventually discovers, she used to be
a powerful Asgardian warrior who was defeated by Hela and now drinks herself into a nightly stupor.
But then she has her redemption. She joins Thor and Bruce Banner on their trip
back to Asgard to fight Hela, and after the Asgardian refugees are decimated by Thanos,
she helps them settle on Earth in "Avengers: Endgame." After
battling Thanos in the final battle, Thor appoints her ruler of the Asgardian people.
It's a great character arc. All we can say is, long live the queen!
This minor, dorky bad guy from 2010's "Iron Man 2" almost never gets talked about. We kind of get it:
He's primarily used for comic relief in one of the franchise's most overlooked movies. In the broader
scheme of things, he only plays a small role in James Rhodes acquiring the War Machine suit.
But his larger narrative insignificance doesn't matter. Sam Rockwell's performance as this nerdy,
ankle-biting corporate competitor to the vastly cooler and smarter Tony Stark
is too delightful not to mention here. Every line of dialogue he delivers is dripping with cringey,
dad-humor-ish sleaze. Whether he's at the Senate hearing, meeting Whiplash, selling guns to the
military, or doing his unforgettably goofy dance at the Expo, he's always pitch-perfect.
Sadly, we haven't really seen the character since, other than a cameo in the "All Hail the
King" short. So c'mon, Marvel! We don't care what you have to do. Just bring back Rockwell's Hammer!
From Pepper Potts to Peter Parker to James Rhodes, Tony Stark has no
shortage of allies. But his dependable, fiercely loyal old pal, former chauffeur,
and Stark Industries security chief Happy Hogan, played delightfully by MCU architect Jon Favreau,
deserves a mention here. Simply put, he's just so much fun to watch.
When Tony is being Tony, Happy's always around to reign in his excesses and keep
him focused. When Iron Man is off saving the world, Happy can be found on the ground,
working tirelessly to protect everything his boss holds dear. And after key roles
in everything from "Iron Man 2" to "Avengers: Endgame," he's gone on to become an important
part of the Spider-Man film franchise as well as mentor to Peter Parker.
Happy Hogan might be a comic relief character before he's anything else, but his support of Iron
Man and Spidey makes all the difference. We'd all be lucky to have such a true friend by our sides.
"Where's Parker?”
“He’s with a girl.”
“I need to speak with him."
"He'll call you."
A vicious cyborg warrior and Thanos' younger daughter,
Nebula takes out her rage on her battlefield foes.
In the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" film, she makes killing Gamora, her elder sister,
a priority, in the hopes that their abusive father will approve and recognize her abilities.
But she never manages to pull it off. Much to her fury, Nebula is no match for Gamora and her new
friends, and she's soon captured by the Guardians and held against her will. While in their custody,
though, she has a change of heart, and in "Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2," she ultimately
sides with them against Ego and, eventually, her own father. Nebula fights Thanos on Titan
before becoming an instrumental participant in the time-travel plot central to "Avengers;
Endgame." She even runs into her past self and is forced to kill her to save her friends.
It's an incredible story, brought to life by Karen Gillan's powerful performance
over the course of multiple movies that star other people.
Both inside and outside the MCU, Nebula never seems to get the respect she clearly deserves.
But it's time that changes. Here's to many more MCU movies featuring our favorite blue meanie.
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