All MCU Characters Who’ve Been Robbed of Screen Time, But Deserve More of It
All the leading Phase 1 and Phase 2 characters like the Original Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man and the Wasp have got long drawn narratives in the MCU. We’ve seen them play important roles in their own movies and the crossover events. But there are some characters who have been sidelined through and through. Obviously, Marvel’s hands were tied as they could only do so much with the following characters in their crossover event films. But we would have loved it if them playing bigger roles than they did. So, here’s a list of all the characters who deserve much more screen time and importance in the MCU:
- War Machine
You have to agree with the fact that Rhodey is the most underused sidekick. The only time he was given a fair bit to do was in Iron Man 2 and Captain America: Civil War. Iron Man 3 didn’t use him well. Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War gave him appearances that were equivalent to cameos. And even when he brought a massive Cosmic Iron Patriot armor in Endgame, we didn’t get to see him fight at all. Now when every side character is about to get his or her own series, Rhodey is still missing out. Hopefully, we will see a solo War Machine show in the coming future.
- Wanda
Wanda actually got her share of spotlight in the last 3 Avengers films. But, with the potential that she has as a character, she deserves more. And WandaVision will give her exactly that! It will turn her into the true Scarlet Witch, and from there on, she will also play a substantial role in Doctor Strange 2.
- Vision
It is criminal that Vision’s true potential hasn’t been used since Age of Ultron. Civil War mostly kept him out of the fight because he was too powerful for almost every hero present on the Airport. Infinity War depowered him right from the start, and then killed him (twice. ‘Coz once wasn’t enough). If WandaVision, a show that has “Vision” in its title doesn’t give him importance, we are going to riot!!
- Falcon (and Winter Soldier)
Okay to be fair, Bucky has got the most screen time on this entire list. He was an important part of all three Captain America movies. That’s why, he hasn’t got a separate point. As for Sam, he was also given a bit to do in Captain America 2 and 3. But Infinity War and Endgame couldn’t use both of them properly. That will change now as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will truly explore them individually. We’re going to see that they are more than just shadows of Steve Rogers.
- Quicksilver
It’s really bad that the only speedster in MCU came and went away so swiftly. He was killed off in his first movie itself, and what’s worse is that we totally saw it coming! But hopefully, Marvel might bring him back in WandaVision. It actually won’t make sense if Wanda brings Vision back from the dead but not but doesn’t do the same for her own twin brother. So, Pietro has to be back for sure.
- Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck has only had 3 cameos in the MCU. He may not have the kind of potential that Rocket does as a character, but it’d be amazing if he joined the Guardians for a while in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. His conversations with Rocket, Drax and Groot will be legendary.
- The Original Guardians
Sylvester Stallone’s Starhawk and his original team of Ravagers only showed up for a few seconds. We need to see what they’ve got. They should get their own TV series on Disney+. While the jury is still out on that, we’ve got certain rumors suggesting that they might appear in Captain Marvel 2. So, we will get to see them in action soon enough.
- The Black Order
The Black Order members have achieved a lot in the comics. They are the kind of villains that the heroes actually feared. But they were only brought into the MCU so the Avengers would get powerful beings to take down easily, and have a stronghold in the battle against Thanos. It’s sad that we cannot even blame the creatives for the way these bad guys were used, because they also didn’t have a choice since people obviously would have wanted to see more of Thanos and the heroes.
- Odin
Odin’s past has been teased in the Thor movies. But we’ve not seen enough of him. Perhaps the Eternals franchise could have some sort of a tie in with Asgard, and bring in a younger Odin somewhere down the line. That could further lead to a Disney+ series with a young new actor playing the Allfather. Obviously, Anthony Hopkins could return and Marvel could use Disney’s infamous de-aging technology. But casting younger actors will obviously cost much less. And the real reason we’d like such a Disney+ endeavor is because we’d get to see the wrath of the Odin-force.
- Other Asgardians
Lady Sif has been pretty important in the comics. There have been instances where she’s the love interest of Thor. But the MCU only teased at that angle in the early Phases, and she was completely absent from Phase 3. Maybe Thor: Love and Thunder could finally give her importance and the much-deserved screen time. As for the Warriors 3, they were killed off like nobodies! The first two Thor movies didn’t work as well because these side characters were so underdeveloped. That’s why, Taika Waititi just had to push them out to get the Thor franchise back on track.
Heimdall again is a character who hasn’t been used to his full potential. Maybe Marvel did use him well enough, but they totally wasted a character like him on a talented actor like Idris Elba, who has been on a hot streak in the recent times. So maybe, they should have cast Elba in some other role.
Who according to you deserves more screen time & exploration? Do tell us in the comments down below.
