Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought back plot threads and major characters from The Incredible Hulk into 2025 tentpoles like Captain America: Brave New World, it’s easy to imagine that any MCU character can now reappear in this franchise. Heck, even the characters from Netflix’s Daredevil show are now returning for Daredevil: Born Again, which promises to integrate these figures deeper into official MCU lore. There’s no limit, it seems, as to what characters this decades-long franchise will retrieve for modern nostalgia pops. However, that doesn’t mean every figure from the history of Marvel Studios is guaranteed to reappear in Thunderbolts* or Avengers: Doomsday.
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On the contrary, there are at least five MCU characters in particular that are pretty much assured to never show up again in this saga anytime soon, or ever. Anything’s possible, sure, but for now, these five characters are doomed to gather dust on a shelf instead of tremendously impacting modern MCU lore.
Claire Wise and Bennie Pollack from Item 47
Item 47 was the only one of the Marvel One-Shot short films to really introduce and center on brand-new characters rather than expand on previously explored MCU figures like Trevor Slattery or Peggy Carter. The short film focuses on couple Claire Wise (Lizzy Caplan) and Bennie Pollack (Jesse Bradford) using a Chitauri weapon to become a modern-day equivalent to Bonnie & Clyde. While a SHIELD agent from this short, Felix Blake (Titus Welliver), ended up showing up again in Agents of SHIELD, it’s been over a decade and Item 47’s protagonists have been M.I.A. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon, especially since SHIELD doesn’t really exist anymore.
Doc Samson From The Incredible Hulk
Captain America: Brave New World reaffirmed once more that The Incredible Hulk very much happened in the MCU, particularly with it paying off that film’s ending tease of Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) becoming The Leader. One figure from that feature, though, has remained hidden in the shadows for 17 years. Doc Samson (Ty Burrell), the ex-boyfriend of Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), hasn’t been seen since his debut appearance in Hulk. If he hasn’t shown up by now (considering every other principal Hulk character has come back), Doc Samson seems permanently sidelined.
Beth From The Avengers
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Beth’s (Ashley Johnson) presence in The Avengers was crucial in solidifying how this superhero team could positively impact everyday citizens. She was especially critical in suggesting that Captain America, decades removed from his original time period, can still be essential to boosting morale and saving lives. However, since her first appearance, Steve Rogers/Captain America has passed away. Given that Beth has no connections to any other Avengers team members (not to mention just being a normal citizen rather than a superhero or agile spy), there doesn’t appear to be any reasons to bring her back on the horizon. Beth played an instrumental role in The Avengers, but she doesn’t appear to have any significant parts to play in upcoming MCU productions.
Gary the Cameraman From Iron Man 3
Speaking of one-off characters reflecting the impact of superheroes on normal souls, there’s Gary (Adam Pally), an expert cameraman, from Iron Man 3. A die-hard Tony Stark fan, complete with a messy tattoo of his idol, Gary’s tech helped Stark discover key information about Iron Man 3’s baddies. That and reiterating how much Stark was beloved by the general public were his primary purposes in Iron Man 3. There doesn’t appear to be any further reason to bring him back (despite him scoring so many laughs in his debut appearance). Plus, making Gary a fixture of MCU adventures would undermine the concept that Gary is a quintessential everyman who just happened to encounter Stark one special night.
Ian Boothby From Thor: The Dark World
Thor: The Dark World opted to double on the humans Thor encounters on Earth and that included giving wacky intern Darcy (Kat Dennings) her own intern in the form of Ian (Jonathan Howard). Ian’s destiny to have a brief MCU existence was pretty much solidified once Thor: Ragnarok jettisoned all of Thor’s Earthbound friends, including former lover Jane Foster. Even as these characters began to creep back into the MCU through WandaVision and Thor: Love and Thunder, there was no sign or even mention of Ian. Looks like he and Darcy’s passionate romance was truly a brief fling, much like his entire MCU career.
Which MCU characters do you think it’s time to bring back? Let us know in the comments below!
