10 Marvel Characters The MCU Introduced And Then Never Properly Used

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of wasted potential, with hordes of characters being introduced only to not be properly utilized. The strength of MCU movies is carried mostly by their characters, with bombastic personalities and perfect castings being a large majority of the reason to watch a Marvel movie in the first place. Unfortunately, the franchise is quite notorious for introducing interesting new characters only to waste their potential.
In particular, Marvel has a notorious villain problem, in which interesting new antagonists are introduced and killed off within the same movie without getting proper screen time or development. In recent years, the franchise has also began slacking in introducing new post-Avengers: Endgame characters only to leave them to languish in obscurity for far longer than was done previously. Whatever the case, Marvel movies are a graveyard of wasted on-screen potential.
10 Ultron Avengers: Age of Ultron

By far the easiest character to point to when it comes to specifying villains that needed a bigger place in the MCU is the killer robot Ultron. Introduced in his eponymous movie Avengers: Age of Ultron, the homicidal A.I. quickly becomes one of the biggest threats ever to face The Avengers, bringing with him plenty of potential for gripping stories. Sadly, Ultron is killed by his successor, Vision, within the same film he"s introduced in.
Going by his importance to the comics, Ultron deserved to be an overarching multi-movie villain on the same level as Thanos. James Spader is also excellent as the character, conveying a cold indifference to humanity and delusions of grandeur with his dulcet tones. Hopefully, Ultron"s return in the upcoming Vision series can fulfill the prophesy of a terrifying villain he should"ve fulfilled from the beginning.
9 Quicksilver Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ultron himself wasn"t the only character to be introduced and killed off in the same film despite having oodles of promise within the series. Enter Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver, the Infinity-Stone-enhanced speedster that runs circles around The Avengers in his introduction. As fast as he is, Pietro ultimately isn"t able to outrun some bullets fired by an Ultron drone when saving the lives of Hawkeye and a random child, giving him a horribly anticlimactic death.
The X-Men prequel films demonstrated the potential of Quicksilver far better, giving him an entertaining action montage utilizing his super speed two movies in a row. As if to add insult to injury, this version of Quicksilver was teased to enter the MCU in WandaVision, only for the character to once again crumble under the reveal as the pretense of a lame, juvenile joke. Considering how important his sister ended up being, it"s a shame Quicksilver couldn"t stick around longer in the series.
8 Shang-Chi Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

In 2021, the Marvel Cinematic Universe added a valuable new hero in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the titular martial artist hero. In the film, Shang-Chi finds the hidden realm of Ta Lo, confronting his father, the immortal warlord Mandarin, and freeing the city from the influence of the evil Dweller-In-Darkness. In Shang-Chi"s post-credits scene, he"s informally inducted into The Avengers by Wong, Captain Marvel, and Bruce Banner, the latter of whom tells him "Welcome to the circus."
Yet, over three years since his movie debut, Shang-Chi has yet to make a second true appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Compared to similar newcomer Black Panther in 2018, who also added some valuable representation to the MCU cast while introducing a whole new aspect of the worldbuilding, Shang-Chi has been far slower in reappearing in a crossover event. This lack of presence is often cited as evidence of the MCU"s lack of planning after the Infinity Saga.
7 Doctor Samuel Sterns The Incredible Hulk

One of the oldest Marvel Cinematic Universe teases that has still yet to pay off after over 15 years, Dr. Samuel Sterns in The Incredible Hulk is one of the series" biggest unresolved plot threads. The film ends with the cellular biologist being affected by Bruce Banner"s gamma-infused blood entering a wound on his head, increasing his mental capacity dramatically at the cost of deforming his head. This obvious set-up would see Samuel Sterns become the classic Hulk villain from the comics, The Leader, who is the brains to The Hulk"s brawn.
Since his last live-action movie appearance, Sterns has only made an appearance in the obscure tie-in comics. Even there, he doesn"t do much, being captured by Black Widow and placed in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Allegedly, Sterns will finally make his grand return in Captain America: Brave New World, but between Red Hulk and Sidewinder, it"s unlikely that The Leader will have much time to assume the villainous mastermind role he deserves.
6 The Scorpion Spider-Man: Homecoming

Teasing appearances from future villains wasn"t a habit the Marvel Cinematic Universe grew out of in Phase One. In the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Michael Keaton"s Vulture is approached in prison by a scarred inmate asking for Spider-Man"s secret identity, only for Toomes to show a change of heart and protect Peter Parker"s life. The prisoner was none other than Mac Gargan, a.k.a. The Scorpion, played by Michael Mando of Far Cry 3 and Better Call Saul fame.
The fact that a unique Spider-Man villain was teased so early on only to be dodged two solo movies in a row is incredibly strange, begging the question as to why Spider-Man: Homecoming even bothered with the scene in the first place. It would"ve been interesting to see how Mac Gargan reacted to Spider-Man"s identity becoming public knowledge at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Sadly, Michael Mando"s Scorpion seems to remain yet another unresolved villain teaser.
5 Jane Foster Thor: Love and Thunder

By many accounts, Thor: Love and Thunder is a very flawed film, with comedy that doesn"t land, a wasted casting in Christian Bale as Gorr the God-Butcher, and some painfully poor CGI effects. If there"s one aspect of the film that really works, however, it"s the reintroduction of Jane Foster as The Mighty Thor, being chosen by the shattered Mjölnir to be the next hero worthy of wielding Thor"s power.
Considering Thor has permanently moved away from Earth in the MCU, living off-planet to raise Love by himself, Jane Foster would be perfect as his functional replacement as a hero on Earth. This would even mirror The Mighty Thor"s comic debut, carrying on Thor"s legacy as a new Avenger. Sadly, Foster succumbs to her cancer diagnosis in Thor: Love and Thunder, the film introducing a cool new hero with history in the franchise only to cruelly rip her away.
4 Ulysses Klaue Black Panther

One of the most underrated villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Andy Serkis" Ulysses Klaue. Being a riff, if not an exact adaptation, of the classic Black Panther villain from the comics, Klaw, Ulysses Klaue is a dastardly Vibranium thief who is cursed with a bionic arm for his troubles, getting into multiple clashes with Black Panther and The Avengers. Andy Serkis plays the unabashedly evil villain with such whimsy and glee that it"s impossible not to enjoy his on-screen presence.
Sadly, Klaue is unceremoniously killed by Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. While he also dies in the comics, Klaw is resurrected to become a genuinely powered villain with a body made of pure sound, whose unique condition causes him to become a weirdly important part of the Secret Wars crossover comic. Considering Avengers: Secret Wars is on the horizon, it"s a shame the MCU never took the chance to immortalize him in the same way.
3 The Warriors Three Thor

Thor"s move away from the Shakespearean fantasy drama of Asgard and into the cosmic realm of Marvel"s wider galaxy in Thor: Ragnarok sadly left a few fascinating characters in the original out to dry in the narrative. Namely, Lady Sif and The Warriors Three, Thor"s best friends and brothers-in-arms in the defense of Asgard. Some of the most decorated and deadly Asgardian warriors, the trio is made up of Hogun the Grim, Fandral the Dashing, and Volstagg the Svelte.
The Warriors Three are distinct personalities that each specialize in a unique form of medieval weaponry, making them fun characters for Thor to play off of. Sadly, their relationship isn"t explored much in any individual Thor movie before they"re unceremoniously killed off by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. It would"ve been great to see a buddy-cop style adventure movie with Thor spending more time developing his bond with the three of them, not to mention Lady Sif.
2 Goliath Ant-Man and the Wasp

The Ant-Man movies have slowly introduced more and more characters capable of wielding Hank Pym"s specialty technology, from his daughter Hope, the next Wasp, to Cassie Lang, Scott"s daughter aged 5 years in the blip. One interesting figure that doesn"t get more time is Laurence Fishburne"s Bill Foster, a former lab partner of Hank"s. Foster was the first to test the giant-sized applications of Pym Particles on people, though Scott quickly smashes his old record in Captain America: Civil War.
In the comics, Bill Foster is a superhero all of his own, Goliath, who specializes in becoming a titan-sized fighter. The MCU only briefly explored this possibility briefly in the What If...? episode, What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth"s Mightiest Heroes?, in which a younger Bill Foster actually takes on the mantle of Goliath. Even if Laurence Fishburne"s age is a limiting factor in making him an active superhero, if Hank Pym can participate in the action in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, so too should Bill Foster.
1 The Eternals Eternals

Sometimes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will not only miss out on the opportunity presented by a new character, but an entire new cast. Enter the Eternals, a race of superheroes sent to Earth to protect humanity for eons as sentient life developed, guarding them from the predatory Deviants. Though their absence in earlier films had to be explained away, the Eternals actually ended up being some of the most important characters to the lore of MCU"s Earth, being key to humanity"s survival in the gaze of Arishem the Judge.
Much like Shang-Chi, the Eternals have been strangely absent following their debut for a few years now, with most of them being shipped off into space by the end of their feature film. Even if Eternals wasn"t the smash hit Marvel Studios intended it to be, the immortal protectors of humanity should"ve come back into play at least once by now. Hopefully the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has some kind of place for these divine super-powered beings.
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