•The Marvel Cinematic Universe is made up of many memorable characters.
•The characters within the world of Marvel are constantly evolving.
•Iron Man, Loki, and Kingpin are on top of the list of best characters in Marvel movies.
The landscape of television and film looked very different back in 2008, when Marvel took a chance on a certain Golden Avenger. Iron Man began to slowly lay the groundwork, beginning a series of intricate steps made by the fledgling Marvel Studios and launching Phase One of their brilliant plan. By the time The Avengers was released in 2012, any doubts about the MCU had been assuaged.
Marvel Studios has come a long way since then. Phase Three has almost double the amount of films as the previous two phases and Marvel has also taken Netflix by storm with their ambitious five-show plan. Not to mention Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, which is blowing through an awesome fourth season, and The Inhumans, set to premiere in IMAX September 26th, 2017.
The MCU has become its own separate entity, drawing inspiration from its source material while continually expanding its own rich mythology. A large part of what ties this universe together is the way the characters within its framework are constantly evolving. The combination of inventive writing and spot-on casting has given us some truly memorable characters. Here are the 20 Best Characters In The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked.
20. Thor
After introducing us to a billionaire with some serious tech and reacquainting us with Marvel’s own Dr. Jekyll, the next step of Marvel’s Phase One was to present us with its most mythical character yet: an Asgardian prince named Thor. Thor was an important test for Marvel Studios. The Incredible Hulk wasn’t nearly as well received as Iron Man and Iron Man 2 remains the worst film in Marvel’s catalogue. Luckily, Thor was a considerable improvement. The film not only made the magical realm of Asgard believable, but also created a world in which Thor could exist alongside the characters already introduced.
Much of the success of Thor hinged on Chris Hemsworth’s perfect portrayal of the Norse legend. He completely embodied the God of Thunder, not only because he looked the part, but because it was easy to buy that this guy was a god among mere mortals. One of the main aspects of Thor’s journey that makes him stand out is his need to learn humility in order to become the hero he was meant to be. However, while Thor managed to be larger than life onscreen, his characterization just can’t compete with some of his MCU counterparts, which is why he gets the bottom slot here.
19. Ant-Man
Due to Ant-Man’s troubled production, the film’s success was a bit surprising. It was also very welcome after Avengers: Age of Ultron failed to live up to expectations. In a post-Guardians of the Galaxy world, people no longer questioned Marvel Studios’ capability of introducing any character, no matter how offbeat. Using Scott Lang as our main hero over Hank Pym and casting none other than the most likable guy in Hollywood to play him? Now that was a stroke of genius.
Much like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Scott Lang isn’t your typical archetype for a hero. He’s kind of a loser, but Paul Rudd is so effortlessly charming that, regardless of Lang’s flaws, the audience can’t help but immediately embrace him. On top of that, Lang’s motivation is his daughter, which makes it all the more difficult to chastise his poor life choices.
While Hank Pym – played by Michael Douglas nonetheless – would’ve made a fine central character for Ant-Man, Lang is just more interesting. He not only brought much needed levity to the MCU, but also continued to explore what it really means to be a hero.
18. Mockingbird
When Bobbi Morse made her first appearance on Agents of S.HI.E.L.D., fans rejoiced. Although the ABC show has given us many lovable characters, Morse, aka Mockingbird, became the first full-fledged member of the team with comic book roots. (This was before the revelation of Skye’s own true identity.)
Morse, played to perfection by Adrianne Palicki (John Wick), proved herself a badass from the moment she was first seen brandishing her trademark batons. She could even hold her own against the Cavalry herself: Agent Melinda May. Not only did Palicki have excellent chemistry with the rest of the already established team, but with on-again-off-again love interest Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) as well. After two awesome seasons during which Mockingbird had proven herself an integral member of S.H.I.E.L.D., she and Hunter were written off in order to star in spinoff, Marvel’s Most Wanted. Unfortunately, ABC never picked up the series and with Palicki landing a part in Seth MacFarlane’s new project, it would seem that Agent Morse won’t be suiting up anytime soon.
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