Marvel Characters Who Deserved Better in the MCU
Even after having 23 films in its bag, there are still several characters missing from the MCU. After years of publishing, it’s yet not a surprise that the MCU hasn’t reached everyone yet, but at the speed, Marvel is putting out movies, the fanbase of even the most abstruse characters won’t be waiting too long to see their favorites. However, even if they do get to watch their top hero on the silver screen, there’s some probability that it may not live up to their expectations.
The MCU is loved by its fans even after the films move away from portraying the comic book source material too closely, rather opting to take the plots to new heights. It has worked out amazingly well a lot of the time for Marvel, but it has kept some of the characters in the shades.
1. Sif from Thor
Sif is a significant figure in the story of Thor Odinson, but not as much in the MCU version. Sif appears in the initial two Thor films, however in a fairly minor role, but was totally kept out of Thor: Ragnarok. There’s no writer, director, or meddling executive to be blamed for this slight, though. Jamie Alexander just didn’t have the schedule to be in the movie.
2. Sharon Carter from the MCU
As in the MCU, Sharon Carter is only an ordinary agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. She might have a few moments of glory on the screen, like the time she fought back against Brock Rumlow during the climactic final scene in Winter Soldier, for most of the part, viewers who can’t even recognize who she really is won’t be giving her a second thought. On the other hand, Sharon Carter from the comics is too bright to be ordinary. She has been portrayed as a Secret Avenger and also as director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This seems like a big hike from the lady who was hired to mingle with the spy on Steve Rogers that you know from the films, and you’re exactly right – it is.
3. Arnim Zola from Captain America: Winter Soldier
As from the comics, Arnim Zola was a Nazi scientist hired to create the German counterpart to Captain America. He managed to exist into the present day by shifting his consciousness within a robotic body. In this body, he became the most popular version of himself and fought Captain America for years.
4. Beta Bill Ray from Thor
Beta Ray Bill is one of Thor’s most powerful allies. He is one of the select few worth using Mjolnir, and after defeating Thor in battle for the honor of wielding it, he instead made his own hammer to wield Stormbreaker (you can recognize that name on the ax in the that Thor gets into Infinity War). Whenever Thor is faced with a mega-powerful threat in the Marvel cosmos, it is usually Bill, not the Avengers, whom he is called upon to help. When Ragnarok happens in the comics, Beta Ray Bill is there to help.
5. Lockjaw from the MCU
Inhumans was a troubled TV show from start to finish. Originally planned as a cinematic addition to the ever-growing MCU, it was reclassified into a television show before filming began. As The Guardian wrote before the show’s release, the show’s survival would be thanks to one of the most popular characters in Marvel Comics history: Lockjaw.
Lockjaw, like most dogs to his families, is the heart of the Inhumans. While he’s not a bad character in the TV adaptation of him, the cost of using a massive CGI dog meant that his appearances on the show were few and far between. It shouldn’t be a controversial opinion that if you can’t afford to make Lockjaw a regular presence, you should steer clear of an Inhumans adaptation.
