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Best MCU Supporting Characters

October 23, 2018 - -

I've re-watched a few of the older Marvel movies recently. And while the immaturity of some of the earlier films' scripts is pretty apparent, there were nonetheless some great moments and fantastic characters I'd nearly forgotten about. Listing them here seems like a fun exercise, so why not? I'll be excluding villains since I already listed them, and I'll also exclude Avengers. While my list will have some characters that are certainly heroes, I'm leaving the big names off. Hey - the boundaries of my selection are subjective and I get to decide what they are. For example, Yondu is awesome. But I had to draw the line somewhere.

Wong (Benedict Wong) The character of Wong was portrayed as unflinchingly stoic in the original Doctor Strange film until his uncharacteristic bout of laughing at the film's conclusion. It was, of course, played for laughs. But that persona let up a bit in Wong's brief appearance in Infinity War, as he chatted with Dr. Strange about sandwiches. Still, I like the character. How odd that the character's name is the actor's actual last name.

Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) In the Marvel Universe, Hank Pym is one of the resident big brains - the super-smart people, alongside Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Hank McCoy, and Bruce Banner. I really like Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and although part of me wishes he was more integrated into the films, (I'm hoping he's in the Infinity War sequel!) his animosity for the Stark family serves as a suitable reason why that hasn't happened.

Corpsman Rhonann DeyCorpsman Rhonann Dey (John C Reilly) I like John C Reilly, mostly from the films he's done with Will Ferrell. Step Brothers and Talladega Nights were both great. His character Corpsman Dey was certainly more of a straight man, setting up the jokes rather than delivering them. Fun character nonetheless.

Senator Stern (Gary Shandling) It's Gary's best role since Zoolander. The senator who's not only a jerk, not only corrupt, but the guy's actually a Hydra member. It's a minor part, aside from his interrogation of Tony Stark, but he did well in the role.

Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) She's been in Avengers, Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron, Infinity War, and will be in the upcoming Spiderman: Far From Home film. With Coulson gone, she's got to be second only to Nick Fury in SHIELD. She's a seriously understated character, and I'm betting that most viewers don't even know her name. But she's a good character.

Powers BoothShady World Councilmember (Powers Booth) You many not know his name, but I'll bet you recognize the face. He was part of the MCU's World Security Council in the nice little back-and-forth with Nick Fury at the end of the first Avengers film. I had to double check, because I really thought he was there in Winter Soldier at the end, but I was wrong.

Col Chester PhillipsColonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) It's so easy to forget that Tommy Lee Jones was in Captain America: The First Avenger. I'll grant you, the general he plays is really just more Tommy Lee Jones, but some actors don't always need to have a character. He's the same guy he was in The Fugitive and Men in Black, and it works.

Skurge (Karl Urban) An Asgardian who showed up in Thor: Ragnarok, Skurge was a lackey to Hela. You may remember him for his twin assault rifles which he named Des and Troy. I just really like Karl Urban.

Dr. Zola (Tobey Jones) In case you don't remember, Zola was the weasely Nazi scientist who worked for Red Skull, then was captured by Allied forces in the MCU's version of World War 2. He showed up again in Winter Soldier. I just think he was a great character.

Darcy (Kat Dennings) Apparently, the actress has a following. I dunno - I've not seen her in anything other than the two Thor films. But she does have one of the best moments in each of those movies. In the first one, Thor mentions Mjollnir, and Darcy comes up with “Myuh myuh? What's myuh myuh?” (video link) I've seen it styled as “Meow meow” in some places, but it doesn't sound like she's really saying meow. And there's a great callback in the second Thor film. (video link)

Jimmy WooJimmy Woo (Randall Park) It wasn't until I re-watched Ant-Man and the Wasp recently that I remembered how much I really like this character. He's seriously funny as the likable antagonist trying to catch Scott Lang violating his parole, and the script gives him a lot of really good comedy moments.

ShuriShuri (Letitia Wright)Earlier in this article, I qualified Hank Pym as amongst Marvel's most intelligent characters, alongside Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Hank McCoy, and Bruce Banner. But the Russo brothers recently confirmed unambiguously that Shuri, sister of T'Challa and princess of Wakanda, is the smartest person in the MCU. But that's not why she's on this list.

Shuri is a great character. Letitia Wright portrays Shuri as funny, cute, and obviously formidable in far more than just a physical way. I hope that she has a significant role in the upcoming fourth Avengers movie.

Luis (Michael Peña) I'm a Michael Peña fan in general, but too-fast-speaking ex-con Luis is to me his breakout role. The scenes he gets in each movie where he tells a story and the film portrays the characters with Luis's voice-over, Drunk History style, are some of my favorite parts. The truth serum scene in Ant-Man and the Wasp is hilarious.

Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) I wasn't a fan of the third Iron Man movie in general. The Extremis powers made for dumb villains, Tony's armor was always cut like butter by one of their glowing hands, and making Pepper into a hero in the way they did just didn't work for me. I'd much rather have seen Rescue. But Ben Kingsley's portrayal of the goofy, drug-addicted actor playing the part of a terrorist mastermind was possibly one of the best parts of the film.

Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) I wasn't a fan of the second Iron Man movie so much either. The whole Rhodie vs drunk Tony at a party bit was dumb. But the movie did have some upsides. Mickey Rourke was great, and Black Widow was introduced. Best of all, we got Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer. He's apparently the #2 name in weapons tech, but he's played as a tries-too-hard, never-accomplishes-quite-enough kind of guy. I'd like to see him make an appearance in another MCU movie.

Dr. ErskineDr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) A short-lived, understated character, Dr. Erskine invented the supersoldier formula that allowed Captain America to become what he is. I'm a Stanley Tucci fan, and Dr. Erskine is one of my absolute favorite minor characters in the MCU.

Korg (Taika Waititi) Everybody loves Korg and Meep.

KraglinKraglin (Sean Gunn) Maybe I love Kraglin because the character is so earnest despite his goofiness. I love that he got Yondu's arrow at the conclusion of Guardians 2, although whether he'll ever master its use is another matter entirely. Also, apparently Sean Gunn is James Gunn's brother. I won't go into the whole James Gunn firing debacle here, but... yeah. It's a thing.

Harry Dean StantonSecurity guard (Harry Dean Stanton) Lastly, do you remember the brief scene in the first Avengers film after hulk has fallen from the helicarrier, and he wakes up naked as Bruce Banner? A random security guard finds him, and the scene is one of my favorites. (video link)