5 MCU Characters Who Deserve A Second Chance (Including 3 Iconic Villains They Ruined)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought in a lot of characters over the years, and some of them deserve a second chance. One thing that the MCU struggled with early on was generic bad guys who never matched up with the brilliant heroes they fought. However, over the years, it wasn’t just villains, as the MCU dropped the ball on some heroes, too, and it seems that there is a chance they could still course correct. She-Hulk proved that the MCU could masterfully rehabilitate a villain already with Abomination, and Shang-Chi did the same thing with Trevor Slattery, the fake Mandarin.

From three villains the MCU ruined to some heroes who deserved better, here are five characters from past movies and TV shows who deserve a second chance.

5) Taskmaster

The biggest problem with Taskmaster is that the character Black Widow introduced into the movies was not the Taskmaster from the comics. That is because this movie needed the female character, the daughter of the Red Room leader, and her character arc made sense. However, she never should have been Taskmaster. That is because Tony Masters is a beloved Marvel Comics villain and someone who could be a perfect addition to the MCU. In much the same way that the MCU added a real Mandarin after the fake-out in Iron Man 3, the company should add the real Taskmaster now that the first MCU version has died.

4) Justin Hammer

Justin Hammer was a fantastic MCU villain in what was the worst Iron Man ever made. Iron Man 2 tried to go big, and it failed for a couple of reasons. For one thing, Whiplash never felt like a legitimate Iron Man villain in the movie. For another, the big scene at the end with Iron Man and War Machine fighting faceless AI-controlled armored robots was a CGI-fest that never felt like a personal battle at all. However, one thing that did work was Justin Hammer, who was a smarmy industrialist and an Elon Musk-style villain who really needs to come back and make someone’s life hell in the future. He was rumored for Armor Wars, but with that on an indefinite hold, someone needs to find a use for Justin Hammer in the future.

3) The Inhumans

The Inhumans aired on ABC, which made it hard for it to really return to the MCU. While Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD connected to the MCU in the first two seasons, it moved around the multiverse and disconnected, which improved the show drastically. However, The Inhumans was a flop from the start. Reviews were terrible, but many fans were also mad at Marvel at the time for trying to erase the X-Men and replace them with the Inhumans in the comics. That said, the ideas the show presented were intriguing, but it had its legs cut out before having time to find its footing, as Agents of SHIELD did. Maybe the MCU could bring them back, either as a foil to the X-Men or as allies of the Fantastic Four, since both have backing from the comics.

2) Quicksilver

Quicksilver’s return has already been hinted at, although it was nothing more than a Trevor Slattery-style tease. There were two Quicksilvers introduced around the same time. Fox had its Quicksilver in the X-Men movies, played by Evan Peters. Marvel had its Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Marvel’s Quicksilver was a terrible adaptation, and he died in that movie. Evan Peters was also nothing like the comics, but he was a huge fan favorite and showed up in WandaVision, as a fake-out. With the X-Men coming to the MCU, it might be a good chance to make things right and have Evan Peters back as Quicksilver, now in the MCU.

1) Kang The Conqueror

One of the biggest disappointments for Marvel Comics fans is the loss of Kang the Conqueror from the MCU. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was not the best showcase for Kang, although he was much better in the Loki television series. Sadly, he is gone now, and this happened before he ever had time to show how great a villain he could be. While Doctor Doom is a better choice for Secret Wars, it is disappointing to lose a villain as fantastic as Kang. Maybe, sometime down the line, there can be a way to resurrect Kang with a new actor. He deserves a second chance in the MCU.

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