It’s a stretch to say that anything could ‘save’ the MCU. The franchise is too strong to be considered needing any saving and Avengers 4’s guaranteed box office destruction will confirm this idea. The MCU can seemingly do no wrong at this point, or rather ever since 2012’s The Avengers took stage. The gigantic success of that film was unprecedented; for a superhero film that wasn’t grounded into realism as The Dark Knight was to tick all the right requirements was magnanimous to say the least.
After The Avengers, every film in the MCU has tasted success, so much so that the lowest-grossing film since then has been Ant-Man at $519 million. It’s the characters of the MCU that have enabled Marvel to take a vice-like grip of the customers in the market. Loads of superhero films had been released before Iron Man in 2008, but what they all got wrong, and what Iron Man got right, was the importance of setting up characters that would resonate with the viewers; for them to care for the characters enough to want to see more of them.
And so, the MCU has been active for ten years running, with every film crossing the previous one in success; sometimes critically, sometimes commercially, and sometimes both. The TV series have seen similar achievements. But there are still definitely some characters that have ‘hurt’ the credibility of the franchise, and should Marvel continue more the likes of these in the future, it might just signal a downturn in quality.
Thankfully, we also have a set of characters that can save the MCU should the bad ones threaten the MCU’s status.
30 Hurt: All The Inhumans
The Inhumans were meant to feature in their titular film in 2019, right before Avengers 4, but the film was taken off the shelf and re-purposed into a TV series.
It’s a good thing the film never came into fruition.
Marvel never knew what to do with this set of characters and a storyline that never fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe plot. The show has been even more lousily received than Iron Fist and was cancelled after a single season.
29 Saved: Phil Coulson
Up until The Avengers, Agent Coulson had appeared in more MCU films than most of the Avengers themselves. He was such a fan favorite that the character was integrated into the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series as well.
Following his apparent demise, Coulson was given his own series in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This wasn’t as heavily focused on him as we would’ve liked, but viewers stuck around mainly for Phil Coulson. His appeal is such that he’ll be reappearing in film with 2019’s Captain Marvel.
28 Hurt: Iron Fist
Iron Fist has the dubious honor of finally snapping the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s flawless record on Rotten Tomatoes. Before its release, the lowest was a still-high score of 66%. Iron Fist’s rating was in the critically panned region.
Much of the criticism landed on the lead himself, a stark departure from reviewers’ previous affinity for praising the MCU’s leads even if the film or show wasn’t considered the best out there. As part of The Defenders, Iron Fist was still the least well-liked, and Season 2 has received negative reviews again.
27 Saved: Black Widow
Throw all that talk of Woman empowerment-that usually dominates any female superhero material nowadays-out of the window, and you can still appreciate Black Widow for what she’s brought to the MCU.
In The Avengers, we never got the sense that she didn’t belong despite not having any superpowers, or super abilities like Hawkeye possessed. Black Widow’s sharp mind is a true asset in tense situations involving supreme level beings, and against human enemies, she can easily fight them off with no problems.
26 Hurt: Quake
This character would’ve been better off in a supporting role rather than being shoved down our throats for the majority of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s run. Daisy Johnson or Skye or Quake (who even cares anymore?), dominated a lot of the initial season, seeing more screentime on many occasions than fans’ preferred character of Phil Coulson.
A lot of the film fanbase didn’t accept her and tuned off.
Her constant melodramatic attitude didn’t resonate with a sizable portion of the audience and with Season 6 supposedly being the last one, Quake might be going out the door (Finally!).
25 Saved: Loki
One could argue that Loki could even be placed in the ‘Hurt’ list as well. This would be due to the insanely high bar he’s set for future Marvel Cinematic Universe villains. Truth be told, there hasn’t been anyone of his level since his big debut in Thor.
But we saw Loki as an Anti-Hero in Thor: The Dark World, and as an actual hero in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War. Now deceased (You’re awful, Thanos!), Loki takes his rightful place in the pantheon of the best characters the MCU has ever delivered.
24 Hurt: Betty Ross
Liv Tyler played the role of the shy, soft-spoken young girl well when starting out in her career, but at 31, when The Incredible Hulk was released, this persona was running thin. Betty Ross needed to be a sensitive woman to counter the rage induced Banner/Hulk, but this version was far too Girl-Next-Door to be effective.
Most of her scenes comprised of her pouting and looking shell-shocked.
She was a minor improvement over Jennifer Connelly’s dry Betty Ross from Hulk, but that’s not saying much.
23 Saved: Peggy Carter
Now here’s a love interest worth the effort. Peggy Carter is responsible for being part of the best love story we’ve had till date in the MCU. Her and Steve Rogers’ chemistry was undeniable and hasn’t been replicated since.
The MCU hasn’t pulled off romance well, save for Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, but the tragedy of Steve and Peggy will always wrench the hearts of everyone as the two never got to share that dance, and never had a life together. On her own, Peggy’s popularity spawned Agent Carter.
22 Hurt: Whiplash
Iron Man 2 really wasn’t a bad film by any means. It was a combination of a few shoddy details and the internet nerds raging that gave the movie a sour taste. The biggest factor would be the crappy villain.
Who can imagine this guy ever beating Iron Man?
The film would’ve been better off putting Justin Hammer as the main baddie, but Whiplash’s lame plan ultimately took center stage-literally-in the humdrum finale of the movie. Seriously, though, who attacks in the middle of a car race?
21 Saved: Iron Monger
Conversely, there’s Iron Monger to satisfy qualms for a strong villain in the Iron Man films. Iron Monger’s importance is such that had Jeff Bridges not nailed this role, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future may have been in doubt.
The first villain of the series needed to be a home run.
Thankfully for all parties involved, we got this in more ways than one. Jeff Bridges’ performance was so good that it’s a shame he won’t be back in the MCU considering Obadiah’s demise in the first film.
20 Hurt: The Mandarin
The Iron Man films saw a gradual decline as the series progressed; it’s no wonder they stopped making them. Rivaling Whiplash as the worst antagonist, the Mandarin was a copout no one was willing to stomach.
The film made it unclear whether there was an actual person known as the Mandarin or if Guy Ritchie’s character was the real one, but such is the confusion that several fans swear Ben Kingsley’s character was the true Mandarin the whole time. What we do know is that nobody cares anymore.
19 Saved: Drax
Without a doubt, Drax is in the topmost category of the funniest characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He just might be worthy of the crown but there are still some conflicting opinions on it.
Drax certainly made a great case for himself with the line ‘Why is Gamora?’
It’s unfortunate that the character might not return for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but we do have enough memories to fondly remember him by. There’s still Avengers 4 to look forward to.
18 Hurt: Malekith
The Thor series was already seen as the weakest of all the MCU solo superhero movies, and a lousy villain like Malekith did Thor no favors. You’d think being played by the charming and funny Ninth Doctor from Doctor Who would’ve injected some personality in this dude, but all he did was look somber while trying to appear elite.
Being upstaged in combat by Thor’s mother only hurt his credibility as a serious villain and no one really remembers him at all.
17 Saved: Korg
How do you validate yourself as a bang-on-awesome director? You cast yourself as the funniest supporting character, obviously. Takia Waititi livened up the Thor series with perhaps the best film in the MCU and gave us the sweetest pile of (perishable) rock you could ever find.
People would’ve been sadder over his demise than most frontline heroes in Avengers: Infinity War.
It’s a shame Korg didn’t show up, we would’ve loved to have seen a game of Rock, Paper and Scissors against Thanos.
16 Hurt: Sharon Carter
The ‘Ick’ factor is always high where Sharon Carter is involved. Presented initially as Agent 13, she was revealed to be the niece of Peggy Carter in Captain America: Civil War, as if that would validate her in the eyes of fans as the love interest of Steve Rogers, who could’ve been her uncle had he married Peggy (Yowza!).
Not only that, Sharon’s appearance served no purpose as she wasn’t back for Infinity War and probably won’t have a role in Avengers 4 either, beyond which Steve Rogers won’t be present.
15 Saved: Nick Fury
In 2008, the announcement that Samuel L. Jackson had signed a nine-picture deal with Marvel was hard to believe. Now, with Robert Downey Jr gearing up for his eleventh appearance as Iron Man in Avengers 4, that nine picture deal doesn’t seem too big.
Besides, who can claim to say more Nick Fury is a bad thing? Fury’s presence in introducing S.H.I.E.L.D. was vital to get the idea of the Avengers firmly planted in our heads; it has paid dividends in the long run.
14 Hurt: Ultron
After Loki’s occasionally loopy character (especially during his encounter with the Hulk) during The Avengers made people think he wasn’t an antagonist who could be a reasonable threat to the Avengers, Marvel really made us believe that Ultron would be a menacing villain who would suffer no fools.
Too bad he came across as the most foolish of them all.
All those wisecracking jokes, Disney references, and teenage angst only made him look like an angry kid that needed a good walloping. It’s a good thing Thanos came along and dusted this memory away.
13 Saved: Hela
Cate Blachett hardly does anything wrong and this was the most correct performance ever. Hela was the perfect antagonist Thor: Ragnarok could’ve gotten. Unlike Malekith, who favored one boring monologue after another, Hela got straight down to business.
Her status as Odin’s heir apparent gave us some real motive on her part and it was appropriate how ultra strong she turned out to be considering she was Thor’s elder sister. There was hope she’d turn out to be Thanos’ love interest, but we’ll take her Ragnarok role for all it’s worth.
12 Hurt: Ayesha
Ayesha wasn’t a bad character by any means, but it was the final word she uttered that’s hurt the MCU. Up until a couple months ago, all was going according to plan before James Gunn was fired as writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
This means that the tease of Adam Warlock probably won’t happen.
Ayesha’s proclamation of her creation wreaking carnage on the Guardians will feel out of place if the story doesn’t go forward, hurting the as of yet flawless style of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
11 Saved: Killmonger
While people blew his greatness way out of proportion on the internet (what else can you expect from them?), Erik Killmonger was most definitely an awesome character who saved the antagonist reputation of the MCU.
Although Hela was a superb antagonist as well, Killmonger helped Marvel gain a villain who could resemble something close to realism. His issues could apply to the real world too and the performance was a return to form for Michael B. Jordan whose previous Marvel role was Fantastic 4.
