We’ve ranked the films, we’ve reviewed their latest, and now we’re ranking the top ten characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From their television series to their films, Marvel has had more than one memorable character, and it’s those who have helped guided the universe in such a direction that 13 films deep and we still are actively invested in what happens to these characters. Polled to the staff and ranked with 1 being the highest and 10 being the lowest, here are the ten characters who made the cut. (And it was a long list of characters on the poll.)
Let us know in the comments below who your favorite character is and if you agree with our number one.
Honorable Mention: Peggy Carter
Because there wasn’t a chance in hell that the MCU’s biggest badass was being left off my list. She came close to the 10th spot so here we are, making exceptions. Fact is, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter is one the most layered and nuanced characters in the MCU and Atwell’s performance one of the very best. The MCU is richer for having her on board.
10. Rocket:
“Who would have guessed it?” seems to be an apt phrase about any success, big or small, the Guardians of the Galaxy film had. Perhaps the most surprising wasn’t just how popular Rocket became but just how much he deserved that praise. What could have been a cartoonish character instead was equal parts offensive, deeply tragic and hilarious. Rocket (along with his right hand plant Groot) became the heart of the film.
9. Jessica Jones
Foul mouthed and hard drinking, Jessica Jones was unlike any hero we’d met in the MCU largely due to how averse she was to the hero moniker. A survivor of unthinkable abuse, Jessica was tough as nails but fallible, vulnerable without ever being weak, and her story of self-redemption and reclamation of her agency was just as thrilling as watching the Hulk smash Loki around like a rag doll.
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8. The Hulk
I think I speak for the TYF members who voted that when we chose the Hulk we in large part were thinking of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. His coiled tight performance makes us genuinely believing in his ticking time bomb persona. The Hulk/Bruce Banner is a tragic figure with his foe being himself. It’s this understanding that made him the stand out in The Avengers.
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7. Loki
A bit of a phenomenon, I don’t think anyone saw just how explosive Loki’s popularity was going to become. Superior, emotionally wounded and persistently competing to position himself in a place of power, Loki is the best villain Marvel has had to date (possibly the only strong one in the films). Tom Hiddleston’s immense talent and effortless charisma certainly doesn’t hurt matters.
6. Punisher
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Despite some truly dubious morals and a penchant for malevolent violence, he enthralled viewers with his suffering, his losses, his disposal of the real baddies of the world and his off kilter, dad joke charm, highlighted in any scenes with “Red” or Karen Page. Jon Bernthal brought a world of weariness to the story as well as a soldier’s physicality, making him all the more domineering when facing off with a foe.
5. Star Lord
About as unusual as Marvel heroes come, Star Lord stands out due to how actively he’s try not to be a superhero. He’s selfish and has his own needs – he justifies saving the universe by saying it’s only because he happens to live in it. This just means that his journey to becoming a hero and earning the “Star Lord” mantel is all the more satisfying. As a Parks and Recreation fan, it was delightful to see Chris Pratt transform into action hero, but what makes the transformation so successful is what he didn’t lose – his natural, goof-ball charm and quick wit. Guardians 2 will hopefully only explore his subtleties further.
4. Iron Man
What a journey this character has been on. Let’s pretend that the retcon mess of Age of Ultron didn’t happen and undo all of the work done in Iron Man 3 and The Avengers for a moment to process where he started to where is in Civil War. Sure, he’s still egotistical to a wild, destructive fault, still a billionaire genius mechanic, but now it’s weighed down by a guilty conscience and a heavy heart. Robert Downey Jr. has done such tremendous work with the character that Marvel might as well just retire the character once he’s done as he’s imbued the character with an electrifying vulnerability as well as a disarming bravado.
3. Daredevil
Despite a second season that focused more on the visiting Punisher than the titular hero himself, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil clearly made an impression the first time around. A street level hero, we seem him bloody and bruised as often, if not more, than we see him victorious. He’s a scrapper and uses everything in his arsenal to take down his assailants. He was a refreshing character because his arch and characterization are given greater stakes when we seem him struggling just to stand. Sure, he has super senses, but he’s human and the show never forgets it.
2. Black Widow
Despite having a less than ideal, shoehorned introduction and being the ONE Avenger without a solo film (because who cares about Hawkeye), Black Widow has still become one of the most compelling figures in the MCU. Lethal, clever and a wonderfully sardonic foil to those around her as she drags around the baggage that is her past, a large part of her intrigue is in how little we still know about her. Civil War will be her fifth outing as the character, and she remains the enigma of the group as we’re never quite sure just what she’s going to do next.
1. Captain America
Who would have guessed at the start of Marvel’s Cinematic domination that it would be kind-hearted Steve Rogers who would out the other side as the most engaging character to date. Helped greatly by Chris Evans understated performance as Cap, he’s become both a melancholic figure in the universe as well as a beacon of hope. His do-good attitude never translates as dull, and his “man out of time” predicament is one of the more emotionally poignant beats in the overall Avengers narrative. Captain America is so popular because of Steve Rogers, the little guy who takes a punch against a bully and quips “I could do this all day” because it’s the right thing to do. We may enjoy our “Deadpools” and “Punishers,” but we look at Captain America and see the hero we wish we had as he stands tall behind his shield as war rains down around him. We look to Steve Rogers, bloody and staggering, sticking up for those unable to stick up for themselves, in his civilian clothes, and we see the hero we wish we could be. He’s the hero who doesn’t quit until every possible life has been saved.
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