Marvel quietly kills off MCU Avenger right under our noses

If you haven’t seen the latest Marvel blockbuster, Captain America: Brave New World, you may want to avert your eyes.

We’re about to venture into spoiler territory, though to be honest, it’s a very minor spoiler that explains the fate of one character who was once an Avenger in the pages of the Marvel comic books.

Captain America: Brave New World is in cinemas now

In the comics, a character called Dennis Dunphy became an Avenger, as a wrestler turned superhero.

It turns out, Dunphy is actually in the latest movie, though he doesn’t have the powers found in the source material.

Played by William Mark McCullough, Dunphy isn’t in the film for long, but does play an important role.

Rather than superhero, he’s a soldier here, who tries to tell Sam Wilson that pills the president takes are laced with gamma radiation, allowing him to keep his Red Hulk form stable.

Before he can communicate this to the new Captain America, however, he’s killed by the creator of said pills.

Dunphy would never make it to the rank of Avenger in the MCU, then, leaving him as a simple easter egg for fans who have been reading the comics for years.

In the source material, Dunphy becomes Demolition Man, or D-Man, and takes a similar concoction to the super soldier serum that gave Steve Rogers his original powers.

In the film, Dunphy dies of a heart attack induced by a shady scientist, which mirrors events in the comics.

As I said, minor spoiler, but also a lovely touch for long-time fans.

Marvel has a big year ahead of itself, with Captain America tearing up the box office, and Thunderbolts* coming later this year.

Over on Disney+ there are lots of great projects to watch while we all await the end of the multiverse with the next two Avengers films.