The Marvel Cinematic Universe has accurately portrayed some of the best superheroes in comics, and even improved on some, with Wonder Man as a good example. However, there are also superheroes that Marvel completely wasted during its time making movies, and some of the more iconic comic book heroes left fans who had waited years to see them on the screen wanting more. The MCU has done a spectacular job at taking dozens of B- and C-grade heroes and turning them into household names, but it has also taken some beloved characters and then dropped the ball with them, leaving fans wondering what could have been.
From superheroes who came and went without ever showing why fans love them so much to one hero who has been in several movies, but has never once shown what makes him great, here are seven Marvel heroes that the MCU has wasted.
7) Quicksilver
Image Courtesy of Marvel
What makes Quicksilver such a disappointment in the MCU is that the X-Men movies at Fox showed how to make him great. What is even more impressive about the Fox movies is that the character was nothing like Quicksilver in Marvel Comics, and he still ended up as a beloved breakout character during his two major appearances. The MCU Quicksilver was also nothing like his comic book counterpart, but he still remains one of the most disappointing.
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch showed up as the twins, with their origins changed to show them held by Hydra and experimented on. Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilver first appeared in the mid-credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and made his official debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Quicksilver had several deleted scenes from that movie, and by the time he died at the end, he left nothing for fans to remember.
6) The Warriors Three
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The Warriors Three were great in the first Thor movie, delivering some good fighting moments and some great humor alongside Chris Hemsworth’s introduction as Thor. However, despite their high ceiling, the Warriors Three ended up ignored in the second movie and were all killed in Thor: Ragnarok. It was that last movie that remains an embarrassing moment for Marvel.
Within the first 20 minutes of Thor: Ragnarok, Hela showed up and killed Fandral and Volstagg without them even getting a chance to fight back. At least Hogun had a chance to fight back, but in the end, they all died without having a chance. This was done to show how dangerous Hela is, but it was humiliating to see three of Asgard’s most powerful warriors die in a manner that made them look like afterthoughts. When their deaths and existence were barely mentioned by Thor, it was the final nail in the coffin, showing they meant nothing to the MCU.
5) The Black Knight
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The Black Knight never appeared in the MCU, although Dane Whitman, the man who would one day become the hero, debuted in Eternals. While he might be back one day, it has been so long that most fans likely won’t even remember him. Instead of making him an important character, Dane (played by Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington) was a love interest for Sersi. This came straight out of the pages of the 1990s Avengers comics, but it wasn’t important at all in the film.
The post-credits scene showed Dane finding the Ebony Blade that would turn him into the Black Knight before a voice (Mahershala Ali’s Blade) spoke to him from offscreen, asking if he was ready. The Blade movie was canceled, and while a Midnight Sons movie might be coming soon, Black Knight isn’t a hero that anyone is interested in seeing anymore, thanks to the lackluster way he was treated in Eternals.
4) The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
Image Courtesy of Marvel
The Wasp had a lot to do in the MCU, but this was Hank Pym’s daughter, Hope. However, the Wasp that comic book fans loved so much wasn’t part of the MCU because, like Hank himself, she was an older woman by the time that storyline began. Fans of the MCU have never gotten a chance to see Janet Van Dyne in the way they did when falling in love with her in Marvel Comics.
Jan was a fashionista who loved designing clothes as much as she loved being a superhero. She started out in comics as a flighty socialite, but became one of the Avengers’ best leaders before long. However, the MCU had her lost years ago to the Quantum Realm, and while Michelle Pfeiffer was great in her performance as an older battle-tested Janet Van Dyne, this wasn’t the Wasp that fans had waited years to see in a movie.
3) Maria Hill
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Maria Hill should have been more important in the MCU than she was. She debuted in New Avengers #4 (2005) as Acting Director of SHIELD after Nick Fury went underground. In the MCU, Cobie Smulders debuted as Maria Hill in The Avengers (2012) and then appeared in five movies as well as Agents of SHIELD and Secret Invasion. However, her agency as a leader in SHIELD never happened, and even her scene where she threw Nick Fury under the bus was deleted.
What really made this sting was that Maria Hill died before she got a chance to take her place at the top of SHIELD. Hill’s death came in Secret Invasion in the first episode when the Skrull leader Gravik, posing as Nick Fury, shot and killed her. Maria’s death was nothing more than a moment to shock the viewers, and much like the Warriors Three, it was to make a villain look strong, all at the expense of someone who should have been one of Marvel’s strongest female characters.
2) The Hulk
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The Hulk wasn’t necessarily wasted by the MCU since he appeared in more movies and TV shows than just about any other hero. However, the depiction of the Hulk is how the MCU wasted him. Hulk debuted in The Incredible Hulk (2008), with Edward Norton starring as Bruce Banner and Hulk being mostly a CGI creation. When he returned in The Avengers, Mark Ruffalo replaced Norton as Banner and also motion-captured Hulk’s performance.
Since that time, Hulk has been nerfed more than almost any other MCU hero in the movies. He had one moment of greatness when he turned into Savage Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but then he had his Planet Hulk storyline stuffed into a Thor movie. When he returned in Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos beat Hulk so badly that Hulk was scared to come out. In Avengers: Endgame, he was Smart Hulk, and nowhere near the power level of his comic counterpart. The MCU has never once allowed Hulk to show his full power, and that makes him one of the most wasted superheroes in the franchise.
1) Adam Warlock
Image Courtesy of Marvel
Adam Warlock is one of the most powerful heroes in the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #66-67 (1967) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. When his cocoon first appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it got fans excited since he would easily be one of the most powerful heroes in the upcoming Guardians movie. What happened next was puzzling.
James Gunn cast Will Poulter as Adam Warlock for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and had him as a half-developed pawn of the High Evolutionary. He was more of a young hero trying to find his way rather than the ultra-powerful cosmic hero he has always been. A cosmic messiah in the comics, he was a petulant child in the MCU and was the biggest missed opportunity for Marvel.
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