10 Wasted Marvel Characters The MCU Reboot Can Redeem

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Summary

Marvel Studios has the opportunity to redeem past MCU characters through a potential reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars.
A soft-reboot of the franchise could allow new characters to take the forefront and bring fresh spins to many MCU characters.
Characters like Quicksilver, Malekith, Crossbones, and the Warriors Three could finally receive the development they deserve in a rebooted MCU.

Speculation has been rising that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be rebooted after Avengers: Secret Wars, perhaps giving Marvel Studios the opportunity to redeem several past MCU characters. Since 2008's Iron Man, Marvel Studios has introduced dozens of characters from Marvel Comics into the live-action MCU, building the most expansive superhero movie franchise in history. Despite being inhabited by a universe-full of interesting, complex, and impressive characters, the MCU hasn't always done its residents justice, as many characters have been adapted from Marvel Comics poorly, been utilized in the wrong projects, or had their superpowers diminished over the course of the MCU's movie and TV timeline.
Recent speculation has suggested that the MCU could be heading for some major changes, as many have theorized that 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars could end in a reboot of the MCU. While this has been a controversial rumor, there are many reasons why a soft-reboot of the franchise may be a good choice, particularly after several recent MCU projects have been met with scrutiny. A reboot of the MCU would allow new characters to take the forefront, a different variety of storylines from Marvel Comics to be adapted, and fresh spins to be given to many MCU characters, which could benefit characters that were wasted in the MCU's current continuity.
Your browser does not support the video tag. 10 Pietro Maximoff, A.K.A. Quicksilver

Aaron Taylor-Johnson debuted alongside Elizabeth Olsen as Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, respectively, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier's post-credits scene, making their first full appearance in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. While Wanda would go on to have a layered and lengthy career in the MCU, Pietro surprisingly lost his life in Age of Ultron, receiving practically no development whatsoever, despite being a major mutant character in Marvel Comics. A reboot of the MCU would give Marvel Studios the chance to revive Quicksilver, enabling him to have a much more pivotal part to play in the MCU's future.
9 Malekith The Dark Elf

Thor: The Dark World is often regarded as one of the MCU's weakest projects, and this disappointment echoed in the film's villain, Christopher Eccleston's Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves. Although his intent to use an Infinity Stone to bring darkness to the cosmos could have been terrifying, Malekith was sidelined completely, having very little impact. In Marvel Comics, Malekith is one of Thor's most persistent villains, so this menace could return following an MCU reboot, potentially taking part in some major storyline adaptations such as 2019's seminal War of the Realms crossover event, finally redeeming him from his poor depiction in The Dark World.
8 Brock Rumlow, A.K.A. Crossbones

Despite being teased to be an ever-present thorn in Steve Rogers' side in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2016's Captain America: Civil War disposed of Frank Grillo's Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones, in its opening moments. In fact, Grillo himself was furious about Marvel Studios wasting his villain, and he partly attributed this to his decision to join James Gunn's new DC Universe's Creature Commandos. Crossbones is Captain America's most enduring adversary in Marvel Comics, and even plays a part in the star-spangled man's assassination after Civil War, so a reboot of the MCU could finally do justice to this villain's wholly wasted potential.
7 Lady Sif & The Warriors Three

Jaimie Alexander, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, and Joshua Dallas (later Zachary Levi) appeared in the MCU's Thor franchise as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three (Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral), long-time friends of Thor and some of Asgard's most celebrated heroes. Even so, this foursome never got the development they deserved, and the Warriors Three were abruptly killed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Alexander achieved the most MCU success, having most recently appeared in Loki season 1 and Thor: Love and Thunder, but an MCU reboot would give Marvel Studios the chance to put more focus on these brave Asgardian warriors.
6 Maria Hill

Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill had a tumultuous journey in the MCU, starting as Nick Fury's deputy in The Avengers, before making a series of smaller appearances prior to her shocking death in Secret Invasion's premiere. Smulders was originally billed to appear in several episodes of Secret Invasion, but the Phase 5 series killed her off seemingly meaninglessly. Maria Hill has a much more prevalent role in Marvel Comics, eventually even becoming the Director of SHIELD, which would have been great to see in the MCU. A reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars could make this possible, and may show more of Maria Hill's darker sides that haven't yet been explored.
5 Johann Schmidt, A.K.A. Red Skull

The Red Skull was Captain America's first adversary in Marvel Comics' 1941 Captain America Comics #1 and has persisted as his archenemy since then. While Hugo Weaving's Red Skull was depicted as Steve Rogers' first MCU villain in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, he vanished at the end of the film, not to be seen again until he appeared as a ghostly being in Infinity War and Endgame. The Red Skull is one of Marvel Comics' most evil and tactical villains, yet the MCU barely scratched the surface of this before eliminating him. Rebooting the MCU means that an even more terrifying version of the Red Skull could return.
4 The Mandarin

Where the Red Skull is Captain America's archenemy, the Mandarin is that of Iron Man, but the pair didn't battle once in the MCU. Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark was abducted by the Mandarin's organization, the Ten Rings, in 2008's Iron Man, and faced a fraudulent Mandarin in 2013's Iron Man 3, but Tony Leung's real deal wasn't introduced until after Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame. 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings debuted, and subsequently killed off, Leung's Xu Wenwu, so a reboot of the MCU brings the opportunity for the Mandarin to return, potentially even facing a recasted version of the MCU's Iron Man.
3 Bruce Banner, A.K.A. The Hulk

Bruce Banner's Hulk has been a consistent fixture in the MCU since 2008's The Incredible Hulk, originally portrayed by Edward Norton, but was soon replaced by Mark Ruffalo. Although the Hulk has been key to many MCU stories, so arguably hasn't been wasted, the character has been met with his fair share of criticism, particularly since his powers were significantly weakened. The Hulk has become a victim of the MCU's "nerfing" - the act of weakening a character to make them more equal to others. Many want the Hulk to return to his original, angry form, and rebooting the MCU could be the best chance to make this happen naturally.
2 Gorr the God Butcher

Introduced in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr the God Butcher's depiction was attributed as one of the reasons the Phase 4 film performed so poorly. Christian Bale gave his all to the Necrosword-corrupted Gorr, one of Thor's most notable and powerful foes in Marvel Comics, but the comedic tone of Love and Thunder and rushed development of the villain made him quickly forgettable. Gorr the God Butcher is one of Marvel Comics' most formidable recent villains, so deserves a chance to be his true dark, sinister, and twisted self in a grittier project following a potential reboot of the MCU.
1 The Eternals

Perhaps some of the most controversial changes made for the MCU were the changes to the Eternals' backstory. Phase 4's Eternals revealed that the cosmic heroes were robots created by the Celestials, but in Marvel Comics, they had genealogical ties to the Deviants and Earth's mutants. This connection could have helped to set the stage for the MCU's mutant introduction in Phase 4, but this didn't occur. Eternals' attempt to introduce ten new heroes to the MCU meant that none got sufficient development. This means that the Eternals' return after a reboot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe could literally rewrite history, and make the team's debut much more impactful.
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