After almost two decades, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced hundreds of new characters. Some of them have become staples of the Marvel universe, but others didn’t make it very far. Many of these characters had a brief appearance in the MCU, despite being intended to have a longer presence. And that’s honestly fine since their presence in the MCU makes no sense anyway.
Some of these characters were intended as a joke, while others were supposed to have a longer storyline that didn’t quite fit with the audience. All these MCU characters are likely never coming back as the Multiverse Saga ends, making way for a new era for the franchise. The good news is that fans aren’t mourning them.
Ralph Bohner Was A Huge Disappointment
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After portraying Quicksilver in the Fox X-Men films, Evan Peters returned to the superhero media in WandaVision, where everyone thought he would play a Pietro variant. They were wrong. Peters played Ralph Bohner, a neighbor controlled by Agatha Harkness to mess with Wanda’s mind. Peters returned to the role in Agatha All Along, which portrayed the aftermath of this traumatic event as he became a paranoid man.
Bohner played such a small role in the MCU that the fact that he made it to Agatha All Along is already plenty. It is likely that the character will never return. Fans are perfectly fine with that because everyone is still salty about the very on-purpose red herring in WandaVision. Hopefully, Marvel Studios will give the talented Evan Peters a better role in the future.
Dane Whitman Had No Character Development
In 2021, Eternals introduced Dane Whitman, portrayed by Kit Harington, as Sersi’s romantic interest in the movie. Knowledgeable fans immediately knew this wasn’t a casual appearance. Whitman is, after all, the alter ego of the Black Knight, one of Marvel’s most obscure superheroes. The post-credit scene confirmed it. In this scene, Whitman receives the Ebony Blade, the Black Knight’s signature weapon.
At the time of the Eternals premiere, Harington was coming down from the success of Game of Thrones and with the MCU getting ready for a new set of heroes, he may have gotten a long contract for the role in the future. Unfortunately, Eternals flopped, and everything about the movie has been pretty much discarded by Marvel Studios. Harington is working on other projects, and he’s likely not coming back for the role. This would be sadder if the character hadn’t been quite two-dimensional in the first place.
As a weapons manufacturer himself, Justin Hammer was constantly overshadowed by Stark’s smarts, so he wanted Iron Man out of the race. He was set to become his archenemy in this area, but Ivan Vanko appeared with a bigger vendetta. In the end, Hammer wasn’t so much a villain on his own, but he committed plenty of crimes by helping Whiplash and trying to kill Tony, which landed him in prison, where he likely remains.
Although portrayed by the incredibly talented Sam Rockwell, Justin Hammer did not shine in Iron Man 2. The character was pretty much reduced to a comic relief “with a bit of an edge,” as Rockwell himself described him. With Tony gone, there’s no reason why Justin Hammer could return to the MCU, but fans don’t exactly miss him. He didn’t leave a big mark on this franchise.
Korg’s Humor Won’t Make Sense Without Taika Waititi
Among the many theories about the future of the MCU, many fans believe that Thor will die in Avengers: Secret Wars as a last hurrah for the character. Even if this isn’t the case, things are bound to change for the character. Taika Waititi has confirmed he won’t be involved if there’s a next installment in the God of Thunder saga. Since Waititi gave the Thor movies such a unique aesthetic and humor, this means the vibe will change. With this, some of the most prominent things from previous films won’t be back. For example, his ally, Korg.
Considering Waititi voices Korg, and the character is pretty much the director’s vessel for his very unique meta jokes, if Waititi isn’t involved in the next Thor movie, Korg won’t be there either. Fans who want to see a darker version of Thor don’t have a problem with this disappearance. Korg may have been funny in the beginning, but he soon became a nuisance for the movie’s narrative.
Leonard Samson Had Nothing To Do With His Comic Counterpart
In 2008, The Incredible Hulk introduced Leonard Samson, portrayed by Ty Burrell. This character was a Culver psychiatrist who ends up in a love triangle, fighting for Betty Ross’ love with Bruce Banner. Leonard Samson was based on Doc Samson, aka Leonard Skivorski Jr., aka one of the most powerful gamma beings in the Marvel world. However, the film version had very little to do with the character.
Considering that Marvel Studios barely acknowledges The Incredible Hulk and Leonard had a small role, Ty Burrell may never play Samson again. This is perfectly fine by the fans. Although Burrell is a beloved actor, his version of Samson had little to do with the comic book character, which deserves a good live-action adaptation soon.
Sharon Carter’s Storyline Jumped The Shark
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Emily Vancamp debuted as Sharon Carter in the MCU during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but this was only the beginning. She was a great ally for Steven Rogers, but after a strange love storyline with Captain America, she returned in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Here, it was revealed that she was the criminal known as the Power Broker in Madripoor.
The MCU justified this decision as Sharon’s resentment with the government for abandoning her following the Blip, but this was a weak choice. Not to mention that it added a couple of plot holes, such as Sharon helping Bucky and Sam in the first place. To add insult to injury, Carter was reinstated by the CIA as if she didn’t spend half a decade leading a big branch of organized crime. This character may never return, but that’s ok. She overstayed her time in the MCU a long time ago.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law presented Todd Phelps, a billionaire obsessed with She-Hulk. Todd, the main villain of the series, devoted all his resources and time to taking her powers away. Since he didn’t think Jennifer deserved to be a Hulk, Todd took some of her blood and turned himself into a “better” version: HulkKing.
In the end, She-Hulk rewrote her own script and had Todd arrested instead of letting him get powers, so all his work in Intelligencia was pointless. Todd hasn’t returned to the MCU since She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and there’s no point in him doing so. His storyline ended with She-Hulk. He didn’t add that much to the Marvel Universe beyond the possibility of having more gamma beings. But even then, fans would prefer to have some adapted from the comic instead of originals.
It’s Simply Too Late For Harley Keener
A Tennessee kid who met Iron Man by chance after Tony broke into his garage, Harley Keener became one of his closest allies, even though he was only a boy. This character served as an emotional and moral compass for Iron Man, undoubtedly softening him. Since he seemed to have a very close bond with Tony, fans expected Harley to return eventually and maybe take on Iron Man’s legacy.
Ultimately, this never happened, and now that Stark is gone, there’s no space for Harley Keener in the MCU. This character will never appear in the franchise again, and that’s ok, because his storyline depended completely on his bond with Tony. Even if Marvel Studios tries to turn him into Iron Lad or something similar, it won’t have as much emotional value as if it had happened before Iron Man died.
Sersi Was A Very Boring Character
Out of all the Eternals in the MCU, Sersi (Gemma Chan) is definitely the main character of the movie. She’s the only one who truly learned how to live among humans because she loves humanity, so her choice to help them instead of her kin caused conflict with them. Unfortunately, not even this incredible empathy is enough to make her popular.
Gemma Chan has a great acting career, but Sersi was quite boring. She had no chemistry with Ikaris or Dane, her romantic interests, and her story fell flat because Eternals didn’t really develop her as a character. It’s unlikely that the Eternals will return to the MCU, but fans won’t mourn Sersi’s disappearance. Her backstory was unremarkable, especially compared with the comics version: a party girl who becomes a superhero.
Starfox Is Too Controversial
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One of the post-credit scenes in Eternals revealed a new superhero that nobody expected to see in the MCU soon: Starfox, also known as Eros. This Eternal is the brother of Thanos, so at the moment, it was quite surprising to see him. In the scene, Eros and his assistant, Pip the Troll (Patton Oswald), meet Thena, Makkari, and Druig, offering them help to find the rest of the team. The weirdest thing about this cameo is that Starfox is portrayed by Harry Styles.
This post-credit scene was obviously setting up an Eternals sequel, but the movie flopped and Marvel Studios had to abandon this plan. Likely, Eros won’t appear in the MCU anymore, which isn’t exactly a bad thing. Given his ability to control others as well as stimulate their pleasure centers, he’s a widely controversial character who was even put on trial for allegations of sexual assault. There’s no way to adapt him without raising some red flags.
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