Top 10 Characters Done Dirty by the MCU

Top 10 Characters Done Dirty by the MCU

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe whose personality, development, or design were in some way failed by their role in the franchise.

#10: Whiplash“Iron Man 2” (2010)

In the comics, Ivan Vanko sets out for revenge on Tony Stark after someone in a stolen Iron Man suit kills his entire village. It’s a simple, easy to understand motivation. But in “Iron Man 2,” Vanko’s convoluted plans and his father’s previously unmentioned connection to Tony’s father are much harder to care about or understand. Plus, Whiplash’s suits are not the most well-designed. Actor Mickey Rourke does the best he can with what he’s got, but it’s a sad state of affairs when the most memorable thing about MCU Whiplash is his attachment to a bird.

#9: Sif“Thor” franchise (2011-)

A frequent love interest of Thor in the comics, and his wife in Norse mythology, Sif is one of the god of thunder’s staunchest allies and a powerful Asgardian warrior. However, Sif’s presence in the MCU has been decidedly…minimal. While this is partly due to actress Jaimie Alexander being busy with her starring TV role on “Blindspot,” Sif’s appearances before and after appearing in the show aren’t exactly major either. She isn’t Thor’s primary love interest, and she only has slightly more prominence than Thor’s other friends, and shows up in a few TV shows. Much like her relationship with Thor himself, Sif simply doesn’t get the attention she deserves.

#8: Emil Blonsky a.k.a. Abomination“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (2022)

We could’ve included just about everything from “The Incredible Hulk” on this list. Thanks to rights issues, plenty of characters from it have been ignored or failed (more on that later). But Blonsky gets it pretty bad. One of the Hulk’s most powerful and determined enemies, the soldier is obsessed with the power Gamma mutation can bring him…in his first appearance. However, once he returns in “She-Hulk,” Emil is now a reformed character after being in prison. He’s super chill and is running a group therapy retreat? What? Who wants to see a villain turned into a self-help guru? Actually, that does sound interesting in concept, but not when it means sacrificing an existing character to do it.

#7: M.O.D.O.K.“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (2023)

In all fairness, doing justice to a big-headed bad guy stuck in a hoverchair is no easy task. The character of M.O.D.O.K. is kind of ridiculous to begin with. Changing Ant-Man’s previous antagonist Darren Cross into M.O.D.O.K. was certainly…a choice. Even so, it’s extremely difficult to take M.O.D.O.K., and indeed the movie in general, seriously with how abysmal and uncomfortable the effects used to render him are, particularly on his face. Distracting, laughter-inducing, and pretty decent nightmare fuel, M.O.D.O.K. is the worst part of an already disastrous film.

#6: Gorr the God Butcher“Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022)

There are many issues with “Love and Thunder,” but getting its villain wrong arguably hurts it the most. In the comics, Gorr is among the most deadly and successful villains in Marvel. His genocide against the gods is peak antagonist stuff. Unfortunately, despite Christian Bale’s exceptional performance, we don’t see Gorr the God Butcher do much god butchering. Gorr often takes a backseat to Thor and Jane’s issues, which leaves the movie feeling overstuffed. When you factor in the wild tonal inconsistencies between the movie’s goofy humor and Gorr’s deicidal revenge quest, and you’ve got a recipe for why Gorr’s character ended up getting butchered.

#5: James “Rhodey” Rhodes a.k.a. War Machine“Secret Invasion” (2023)

Basically nobody comes out of this much-mocked miniseries looking better than before, but we’d argue Rhodey is done the dirtiest. Midway through the show, we learn that the James Rhodes we’ve been following is, in fact, a shapeshifting Skrull impersonating him. That’s not what got everyone upset though. It’s director Ali Selim’s revelation that Rhodey may have been a Skrull as far back as after “Captain America: Civil War.” So, the Rhodey who lost his best friend Tony, wasn’t even Rhodey at all! He’s already not the most prominent MCU character, and losing some of his character development had fans up in arms. We may have to wait for the long-delayed “Armor Wars” to find out the truth.

#4: The Mandarin“Iron Man 3” (2013)

If you ask Marvel comics fans who “the Mandarin” is, they’ll tell you he’s Iron Man’s archenemy, a martial artist who uses the power of 10 mystical/alien rings. But, if you ask MCU fans who the Mandarin is, you’ll get 3 different answers, and that confusion is thanks to this movie. At first, the Mandarin is the apparent moniker of a terrorist, played by Ben Kingsley. Except, this figure is later revealed to be a pathetic British actor, Trevor Slattery. The man behind Trevor is Aldrich Killian, the “real” Mandarin. Except, he’s not, he’s just yet another scientist guy with a grudge against Tony Stark. The actual real Mandarin only appears in “Shang-Chi,” and only after Iron Man is already dead! What a trainwreck!

#3: Bruce Banner a.k.a. The Hulk“Avengers: Endgame” (2019)

Thanks to the aforementioned rights issues, Hulk spends large sections of the MCU playing second fiddle to everyone else. But arguably the biggest blow to his character happens in “Avengers: Endgame.” After a time jump, we pick back up with Bruce Banner as Professor Hulk. Between the time the Avengers killed Thanos and when Ant-Man returns, Bruce has merged his intellect with the Hulk’s might, merging both sides of himself into one. The Hulk personality was in some ways a separate person or at least identity. And the MCU basically killed it - offscreen, no less! All that time spent on Sakaar becoming his own person - down the drain. Even leaving the Hulk personality aside, it’s like they skipped to the end of Bruce’s character development.

#2: Taskmaster“Black Widow” (2021) & “Thunderbolts*” (2025)

In the comics, Taskmaster, or Tony Masters, is a villain to many Marvel heroes, battling them using his unique ability to mimic any and all of their fighting styles. However, in the MCU, Taskmaster is instead Antonia Dreykov. Now, the character being genderswapped, while potentially divisive, isn’t what the franchise managed to ruin about the character. For most of “Black Widow,” Antonia is essentially a brainwashed drone. While she maintains the cool fight mimicking abilities of her comic counterpart, she’s robbed of any agency as a character. But what’s worse, is that in her very next appearance after being given her free will back, Taskmaster is unceremoniously killed off during a fight early in “Thunderbolts*.” So much potential - wasted.

#1: Pietro Maximoff a.k.a. Quicksilver“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015) & “WandaVision” (2021)

The degree to which bad timing (and writing) have tarnished Quicksilver in the MCU is staggering. Pietro Maximoff had potential in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The speedster is a powerful and longrunning member of the Avengers in the comics. Unfortunately, before he had a chance to really develop, he’s abruptly killed off in the film’s final battle. Mind you, the deck was stacked against him to begin with. The “X-Men” series had done Quicksilver in a more memorable way just a year earlier, with Evan Peters’ take on the character. Things looked hopeful when Peters was brought in as Quicksilver in “WandaVision.” But then, it was revealed that his character was merely a brainwashed guy named…sigh…Ralph Bohner. How’s that for a legacy?

Is there an MCU character let down by being left off our list? Call your favorites down in the comments.