Appearing in a Marvel movie is an honor for a character these days. The Marvel Cinematic Universe can do wonders for anyone’s stock, making them popular enough not only to lead their own show or movie but also to headline comic books and video games. The Guardians of the Galaxy know all about getting the red carpet laid out for them. James Gunn’s movies flesh out their characters to the point that the audience cares more about how they’re feeling than what they’re doing or who they’re fighting. Unfortunately, not every Marvel character has a creative team that wants what’s best for them.
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There are plenty of Marvel movies that have nothing to do with the MCU, and a good chunk of them are bad. They don’t care about the source material; they use it only as a costume to cover up a bad story and even worse characters. Here are six awful Marvel movie characters who deserve another chance in the MCU.
6) Ghost Rider
Nicolas Cage’s performance as Johnny Blaze is far from awful. He brings his signature zaniness to a role that needs it. However, the Ghost Rider movies barely scratch the surface of their titular character’s potential. Instead of being dragged to Hell, he stays on Earth and battles generic villains in a grounded story. The MCU won’t let its version of Ghost Rider feel generic, and based on recent rumors, he may get another chance to ride in the near future.
5) Blob
The X-Men are about to get the MCU reboot treatment, which means plenty of new villains are on the way. While Magneto and Mystique are sure to walk the red carpet first, the powers that be shouldn’t forget about Blob, who gets done dirty in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The hulking character is the butt of all the jokes in Wolverine’s first solo movie and never gets a moment to shine despite being incredibly powerful.
4) Apocalypse
Blob is far from the only villain that the X-Men movies screw up. After the time travel adventure in X-Men: Days of Future Past, the team faces their biggest challenge yet in X-Men: Apocalypse when the original mutant shows up in Egypt and starts wreaking havoc. Apocalypse gets very close to bringing the world to its knees, but he pulls that off without being all that menacing. The MCU can ensure the X-Men learn just how menacing Apocalypse and his horsemen really are.
3) Hobgoblin
Hobgoblin doesn’t actually appear in a Marvel movie. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy opts to turn Harry Osborn, who has held the title in the comics, into the lackluster New Goblin, but the name is close enough for it to count. It feels like Marvel can’t quit Green Goblin, with even the MCU bringing him into the fold in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, Hobgoblin is just as interesting as his green colleague, and it’s high time that he gets a proper appearance on the big screen.
2) Cyclops
The leader of the X-Men has more Marvel appearances than most. The only problem is that the original trilogy doesn’t do him any favors, turning him into a background player who only gets into the action when Wolverine is coming after his girl. Things don’t get much better after the reboot, as Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops never has his big moment. After James Marsden returns in Avengers: Doomsday, Scott Summers is in need of a fresh start, one that puts his leadership skills on display.
1) Ronan the Accuser
Yes, Ronan the Accuser already has a role in the MCU. In fact, he appears in two movies: Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel. But neither film cares to make Ronan anything more than a coward who runs when things don’t go his way. It might be a while before the MCU can give him another chance because it would take a full-blown reboot, but the multiverse works in mysterious ways. There could be a variant of Ronan out there who wants to honor his comic book counterpart by coming to the Sacred Timeline and causing enough harm to get on the Mad Titan’s level.
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