7 Important Marvel Characters You Didn’t Realize Were Already Hidden in the MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe loves a slow burn when it comes to character reveals. However, when someone appears on screen for the first time, it’s easy to tell whether the franchise considers them important. In the Loki Season 1 finale, the titular Asgardian and his variant, Sylvie, finally reach the Citadel at the End of Time, where they hope to find the being responsible for the Time Variance Authority. A man appears before them, but he doesn’t reveal his true identity, only referring to himself as “He Who Remains.” To those not in the know, he could be anyone, including an original character created to throw a wrench in Loki’s plans.

It takes until Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for the powers that be to finally pull back the curtain and reveal that the new foe played by Jonathan Majors is actually Kang, a time-travelling Avengers villain from the comics. Unfortunately, not every MCU character gets the same level of treatment. Here are seven important Marvel characters you didn’t realize were already part of the MCU.

7) Doc Samson

Despite being the black sheep of the MCU, The Incredible Hulk is making a serious comeback. The Red Hulk and Betty Ross are back in the mix, as is Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader. While it might not seem like a big deal that Leonard Samson, Betty’s boyfriend from the 2008 movie, isn’t joining his friends, it’s actually a bit strange because he’s a major character in the comics, getting superpowers of his own and picking more than a few fights with Bruce Banner’s alter ego.

6) Ghost Rider

The multiverse opens the door for just about every past Marvel project to be canon. However, there’s one show that deserves to skip the line when it comes to becoming legitimate: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Once an extension of the MCU’s big-screen movies, it goes on its own path and introduces plenty of interesting characters, including Robbie Reyes, aka Ghost Rider. It feels like it’s only a matter of time before Reyes and his predecessor, Johnny Blaze, join the fray.

5) Miles Morales

Peter Parker remains the MCU’s one and only Spider-Man. The 2021 movie Spider-Man: No Way Home goes out of its way to include three versions of Peter and have them team up to defeat a group of rogue villains. There is another Spider-Person waiting in the wings, though. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Donald Glover’s Aaron Davis mentions that he has a nephew who needs protecting. Of course, Davis is talking about Miles Morales, the star of Sony’s Spider-Verse films.

4) Silk

When Peter isn’t swinging around in the MCU, he spends a lot of time at Midtown School of Science and Technology. In Homecoming, he’s part of the decathlon team alongside his crush, Liz Allan. One of their teammates, Cindy Moon, doesn’t get much screen time, which is surprising, given her history in the comics. Moon’s comic book counterpart becomes the vigilante known as Silk after being bitten by the same radioactive spider that bit Peter.

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3) Captain Britian

Avengers: Endgame throws so much at its audience that it’s hard to pick up on all the Easter eggs and references. While Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are in the past collecting Pym Particles, Captain America runs into his old flame, Peggy Carter. He’s so busy looking at her that he doesn’t realize that she’s talking about a missing agent in the field named Braddock. A few characters in Marvel Comics bear that surname, but the most notable is Brian Braddock, aka Captain Britain.

2) Union Jack

When Captain America agrees to go up against HYDRA, he enlists the help of an elite squad known as the Howling Commandos. Bucky Barnes and Dum Dum Dugan steal most of the spotlight, but their teammate, James Falsworth, is just as important as they are. The source material’s version of the character becomes the British superhero Union Jack and joins the Invaders.

1) The Living Tribunal

Like a few of the other characters on this list, the Living Tribunal has yet to make an appearance in the MCU, despite being the highest-ranking official in the multiverse. Baron Mordo wields a staff named after the being in Doctor Strange, and a statue that resembles him shows up in Thor: Love and Thunder. It appears that the Living Tribunal is always working behind the scenes, helping keep the multiverse in order.

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