With the biggest, vastest fictional world on the silver screen, characters who were late to the party like Black Panther and Captain Marvel, as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Dora Milaje, the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the Asgardians, the Ravagers, the Defenders – point is, there are a lot of names and faces in this franchise.
Some characters are universally adored and deserve all the praise that’s coming to them (e.g. Tony Stark), but there are plenty of characters that are either don’t get enough love or get too much love. So, here are the five most overrated – and five most underrated – characters in the MCU.
Overrated: Baby Groot
Yes, Baby Groot is adorable, but the adult version of Groot from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie was a much stronger character. Baby Groot was clearly designed to sell merchandise, and his existence sort of undoes the impact of Groot’s death in the first movie.
In the detonator button gag or the Yondu fin gag, and he didn’t have any moments as memorable or emotionally charged as Vol. 1’s “We are Groot” sacrifice.
Underrated: Luis
Played hysterically by Michael Peña, Luis is the best friend and former partner-in-crime of Scott Lang. His fast-talking conversational style has provided Peña with ample opportunities for laugh-out-loud monologues in which he tells anecdotes and explains various jobs to Scott.
Luis’ van ended up playing a key part in the Battle of Earth at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Ever since going clean with the X-Con business, Luis has become an even more lovable character.
Overrated: Korg
Korg isn’t a bad character. Taika Waititi plays the character hilariously and there are at least a couple of laugh-out-loud moments in every scene he’s in. But among the Marvel fan base, Korg is lauded as one of the greatest icons to ever grace the big screen, and it’s something of an overstatement.
He can be counted on for a few laughs, courtesy of Waititi’s bubbly comic energy and brilliant improvisational skills, but he couldn’t a solo movie or a Disney+ series, as much as Marvel fans would like that.
Underrated: Heimdall
Thor’s best friend Heimdall, Asgard’s all-seeing gatekeeper, has quietly been one of the MCU’s greatest heroes for years. When the Dark Elves attacked Asgard, Heimdall took down one of their ships singlehandedly without thinking twice. While Thor was enslaved on Sakaar and his kingdom was invaded by Hela, Heimdall led the surviving Asgardians to safety.
When Thanos knocked out the Hulk, Heimdall sent him to Earth to warn the Avengers. Heimdall was killed by the Mad Titan before Marvel fans gave him his due.
Overrated: Loki
Loki is a great character, and his redemption throughout Avengers: Infinity War felt really earned, but he doesn’t deserve the overwhelming praise he receives.
He was a snarling, unthreatening loser in led to him being shoehorned into the script. If it weren’t for the irresistible charms of Tom Hiddleston’s performance, Loki would be recognized as the second-rate mustache-twirler he is.
Underrated: Maria Hill
The role of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill has allowed Cobie Smulders to shed her image as Canadian pop sensation-turned-New York TV journalist Robin Scherbatsky and move into more action-oriented roles.
Smulders has always played Hill as an agent with integrity, sharp wits, and perfect aim. She’s been Nick Fury’s closest and most trusted confidant since Natasha Romanoff became a full-time Avenger, and she’s never let him down.
Overrated: Vision
Created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner to take on Ultron, Vision is one of the MCU’s most powerful characters. Unfortunately, his omnipotence makes him pretty boring. It also makes his oversights, like shooting War Machine out of the sky, seems pretty glaring.
He’s essentially the MCU’s Superman; an all-seeing, all-powerful god-man who focuses only on doing the right thing. But whereas Superman’s relationship with humankind is interesting, Vision never really gives us a reason to care about him. Paul Bettany did a better job of playing J.A.R.V.I.S. as a faceless A.I. than he does of playing Vision’s physical form.
Underrated: The Punisher
All of the characters in Marvel’s Netflix shows got shafted when Disney launched its own streaming service, but the most egregious case is Frank Castle. No previous on-screen portrayal of the Punisher has managed to nail the balance between being unabashedly brutal and, at the same time, being sympathetic, quite like Jon Bernthal did, first in Daredevil and later in his own spin-off series.
Hopefully, despite the cancellations of the aforementioned series, we haven’t seen the last of Bernthal’s Punisher, and he could one day make the leap to the big screen.
Overrated: Bucky Barnes
On paper, Bucky Barnes should be an incredible character. When he succumbs to his Hydra brainwashing, he’s a human Terminator; an unstoppable killing machine. And when he has control of his own mind, he’s riddled with guilt over what he did while he was under Hydra’s influence.
However, in execution, he doesn’t have much characterization beyond barbing Sam Wilson and being Steve Rogers’ silent, brooding friend. The only possible explanation for why Bucky has so many fans are that Sebastian Stan is a great actor, and some fans think he has sexual tension with Steve.
Underrated: Nebula
Nowhere near enough Marvel fans talk about what an amazing character Nebula is. When we were first introduced to Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy, she was a villain out to kill her sister Gamora to prove to their adoptive father Thanos once and for all that she was the strongest of the two. Karen Gillan has played the character’s nuances beautifully from the beginning.
By the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, they’d overcome their father’s history of abuse and come to love each other. Nebula ed Earth’s mightiest heroes in Avengers: Endgame and played a pivotal role in tracking down the Mad Titan and all the Infinity Stones.
