The MCU is filled with heroes and villains if you take into account over 30 films and several shows from Disney+. There are, however, countless characters who are waiting in the wings, with brilliant comic book stories just begging to be explored. If rumours are to be believed, the X-Men will be a big feature of the next MCU saga, and we know the Fantastic Four are on the way. These will tick off several ‘most wanted’ characters.
Even with these newcomers, there are still plenty of stand out heroes and villains who deserve a run in the MCU sooner or later. We’ve gone through some classic characters and put together a list of folk who could do something special in the MCU, whether they appear in film or TV.
Squirrel Girl
The character of Squirrel Girl has become a bit of a meta-joke over recent years. The idea she can beat anyone in the Marvel Universe with her army of furry friends, including the likes of Thanos, starting as a whimsical aside but developed into some interesting and humorous stories. Giving Squirrel Girl full reign over the MCU would be a lot of fun, and could potentially be a gateway appearance to bring in new viewers who want something more lighthearted.
The Sentry
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The Sentry is a complicated character who could easily fit into the MCU timeline whether as a throwback story or in the modern day - there is a rumour he will be making an appearance in The Thunderbolts soon. He starts out as just a regular middle-aged dude who ‘suddenly’ remembers his superhero past. To his shock, nobody remembers him, despite being a hero with immense power. Introducing him as a side character for him to remember his strength after an event of some sort would solidify his character and give us another hero with monumental skills to tackle some of the biggest enemies.
Nova
With Marvel constantly dipping their toes into more cosmic stories, the entry of Nova is only a matter of time. Nova is a key part of the Nova Corps who has been assigned to Earth in the comics, protecting the planet from cosmic enemies. He’s dabbled with team-ups and his powers range across flight, strength, but also energy absorption which can then be used as a weapon. His inclusion would give us a wealth of new villains to play around with, but also build up the more science fiction side of the MCU.
Beta Ray Bill
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With time passing and Chris Hemsworth more and more likely to hang up the cape and hammer, we’re going to need a replacement. Enter Beta Ray Bill, an alien warrior who has proven himself worthy of wielding Mjolnir, even being given his own version by Odin. Beta Ray Bill has a dark sense of humour, can battle with the best of them, plus has one foot in cosmic stories opening him up to being part of the Guardians team, much like Thor has been. It would also be great to see another alien take a lead role in an MCU project, with the right CGI budget.
Mephisto
At one point, we all thought Mephisto would show up in WandaVision as the antagonist before we found out it was Agatha all along. As a demon, Mephisto is one of Marvel’s most dangerous villains and has had a hand in some monumental stories. As a sinister and underhanded character who will stop at nothing to cause misery for both heroes and the world at large, he would prove to be a challenge for many heroes to overcome. Plus, he’d look awesome in a live-action performance with a touch of camp thrown into the mix.
Mr. Sinister
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With the X-Men on their way to the MCU, their inclusion opens up the door to some of the best villains opposing them. Mr Sinister is one such villain who can easily flit between being a dominant bad guy who threatens the world, and bring a scenery-chewing pantomime performance. As an expert in cloning there are so many great stories to be told and after his inclusion in X-Men ‘97 it’s well past time we saw a live-action version of him, perhaps in Avengers: Secret Wars, as he was a big part of the comic book event.
Spider-Woman
While the awful Madame Web tried to establish the idea of other Spider heroes, not only was it a bad attempt, but it was also over in the Sony universe. It would be great to see Marvel fully lean into Spider-Woman as an anti-hero with an eye on vengeance after being part of an experiment to give her powers, only to move over to fully-fledged hero. It gives Marvel more scope for team-ups with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, plus another hero who could easily step into an Avengers team in the future.
Emma Frost
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As one of Marvel’s most powerful women, Emma Frost could very well be introduced in the upcoming X-Men films. And she should be. As a character who happily jumps from villain to hero on a whim, she would prove to be an interesting character to add some twists into stories. Then there’s her mutation - turning her skin into organic diamond, making her hard to kill, and telepathic powers that will keep heroes on their toes. Perhaps Marvel will wait until the mutants are established, but bringing in Emma Frost from the outset as a hero then turning her villain would be a masterstroke.
Topics: Marvel, TV And Film, Comics, MCU