The 12 Marvel Comics characters we’d love to see in the MCU (Part 2)

Posted on 29 August 2018
By Andrew Siddall
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To see the first six characters, click here.

6: She-Hulk

First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk #1 (February 1980)

Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters is a lawyer and the cousin of Bruce Banner/The Hulk, and was one of the last characters created the Stan the Man.

After a serious accident, Jennifer receives an emergency blood transfusion from Bruce Banner, leading to her acquiring a version of the Hulk. In more recent stories, the change has become permanent. She retains her intelligence and emotional control, but can still become stronger whenever enraged.

She also happens to be the first Marvel character to break the fourth wall, unlike a certain Merc with the Mouth would have you believe. Whether she’s complaining about her ridiculous villains, walking through a page of advertisements, or physically ripping up her own comic book in an ongoing battle with the writer, John Byrne.

She-Hulk is a great character and would be a great addition to the MCU, having been a part of nearly all of the superhero teams in the Marvel Universe, including Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire and SHIELD, she would fit in quite nicely.

The only issue with her character is the rights, which are tied to her cousin, Hulk, under Universal Studios. Meaning that, while possible, it is unlikely we will be seeing her anytime soon, unless she appears in just team-up adventures.

5: Captain Britain

First Appearance: Captain Britain #1 (October 1976)

Thought to be the creation of John Romita, Sr., Captain Britain/Brian Braddock is a character that was initially intended to be exclusive to the British comics market.

After the deaths of his parents in a lab experiment, Brian takes over at the Darkmoor nuclear research centre. But an attack by Joshua Stragg/The Reaver forces Brian to escape on his bike, which leads to a near fatal accident. The sorcerer Merlyn and his daughter Roma appear to him and offer him a choice: the Amulet of Right or the Sword of Might. Considering himself not a warrior, he picks the Amulet, which transforms him into Captain Britain.

Captain Britain, like most characters, has super strength, speed, endurance, durability, reflexes, agility and senses. He can also create force fields and produce energy beams, as well as the power of flight.

Unlike most heroes that protect a planet or city, Captain Britain is part of the Captain Britain Corps, who protect the Marvel Comics Multiverse, which is made up of parallel Earths and alternate universes. This Captain Britain protects Earth-616, the Marvel Comics Universe.

He’s a unique character that does something no other hero can do and would make for some interesting stories for the big screen. With Doctor Strange and Ant-Man opening the doors to other dimensions and exploring the Multiverse, perhaps it’s time to bring the next Captain on board.

4: Namor the Sub-Mariner

First Appearance: Motion Picture Funnies Weekly (April 1939)

One of the earliest creations of Marvel Comics, then called Timely Comics, Namor is a character from the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, created by Bill Everett.

Namor is the mutant son of a human sea captain and a princess from Atlantis, and initially started out as an enemy of the US. He acted just like a villain, wrecking ships and skyscrapers, but there was a justice to his cause that fans enjoyed. The carnage even lead to a battle with the original Human Torch. In the 60’s he found himself facing the Fantastic Four in many encounters until becoming a rather reluctant hero.

Namor is able to adapt to the ocean and possesses superhuman speed, strength and reflexes and even has a mild invulnerability. In some versions he is able to telepathically control sea creatures and even copy their powers. He is also able to fly using the tiny wings on his ankles, a bit like Hermes.

Namor is one of the earliest characters from Marvel Comics and his live-action appearance is long overdue. But with Aquaman just around the corner, its possible they will hold off that introduction for a while longer.

3: The X-Men

First Appearance: The X-Men #1 (September 1963)

One of the most relatable set of characters from Marvel Comics, and one of the longest running superhero movie franchises was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and now, finally, they are back where they belong, thanks to the merger between Disney and 20th Century Fox.

The X-Men are a group of people who were simply born different with strange abilities, known as Mutants. Lead by their teacher Professor X, the X-Men have had hundreds of members over the years, including Cyclops, Storm, Jubilee, Rogue, Jean Grey, Angel, Nightcrawler, Ice Man, Beast, Gambit, and of course Wolverine.

The X-Men have always had a special place in comic book reader’s heart because of the connection the readers have. These characters are mostly teenagers who are outsiders and misunderstood by the rest of the world. It’s something many people can relate too. The stories have also raised, taken influence and tackled many social issues, including racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia.

The X-Men have a big backstory and a lot of continuity, so it would seem strange if they just popped up out of hiding, especially with SHIELD and HYDRA keeping an eye on things since the 1950’s. But if a certain reality altering character was available (Scarlet Witch) or an Infinity Gauntlet, then it is possible to do this in the style of the House of M story, by bringing them into existence.

2: Silver Surfer

First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966)

One of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, The Silver Surfer was created by Jack Kirby as the herald of Galactus, the devourer of worlds. The Silver Surfer has only had one live-action appearance in Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, voiced perfectly by Laurence Fishburne (Ant-Man and the Wasp) and portrayed by Doug Jones (The Shape of Water).

To keep Galactus from destroying his home world Zenn-La, the young astronomer, Norrin Radd, allowed Galactus to transform him into his herald, the Silver Surfer. Setting out amongst the cosmos, Norrin sought worlds for his master to consume, until he comes to Earth and meets the Fantastic Four, who helped to drive Galactus away and free Norrin.

Endowed with the Power Cosmic, the Surfer can manipulate matter and can also project and absorb energy. He also can fly at great speeds thanks to his cosmic board, which he controls with his mind. It’s definitely one of the strangest methods of transport, but you can’t deny, it looks pretty cool.

With the MCU set to become more cosmic in Phase Four and beyond, the Surfer seems like a good place to start, either introducing him in a future Avengers movie, Captain Marvel or even Guardians of the Galaxy. The Silver Surfer is one of the most iconic characters on the Marvel roster and would fit in perfectly with the rest of the MCU, but he didn’t quite

1: The Fantastic Four

First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961)

Was there any doubt Marvel’s first family would be the number one spot?

The Fantastic Four were co-created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and feature four people with extraordinary powers. Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing.

After four civilian astronauts are exposed to cosmic rays during a test flight in outer space, they soon discover they have developed superpowers. Operating from the Baxter Building in New York, they are the characters that really kick-started the Marvel Universe and the ‘Marvel Method’ of comic book creation.

Dr. Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic can stretch, contort and re-shape his body to inhuman proportions. Susan Storm/Invisible Woman can bend and manipulate light to generate force fields and turn herself invisible. Johnny Storm/The Human Torch can control and project fire from his body as well as fly. Ben Grimm/The Thing has great strength but was transformed into a rock-like humanoid.

Like the X-Men, the Fantastic Four have had four different movies released, starting with the unreleased 1994 movie, and 2015’s disaster Fantastic Four (Fant4stic), but with the Disney and Fox merger, this means that the characters may be able to get the big screen outing they deserve at last.

But how to bring them in remains a mystery. During the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Happy Hogan says that Stark Tower has been sold off, but never actually says who the buyer is. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to reveal this as Richards. The characters in the MCU are also working with expanding technology to travel into space, so it’s still possible to tell their origin story accurately.

There are so many characters that could appear over the next 20 films in Marvel’s pipeline, with most of them worthy to star in their own films. With films like Power Pack and The Eternals on the way, anything is possible.

Captain Marvel will be released on 8th March 2019.

Avengers Four will be released on 3rd May 2019.

Spider-Man: Far From Home will be released on 5th July 2019.