10 Most Underrated Marvel Movie Performances That Don"t Get Enough Credit

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Throughout the MCU and the wider world of Marvel movies, there have been many underrated performances that deserve more credit. Though the movies of the MCU may have brought Marvel characters to a higher level of prominence than ever before, the history of Marvel movies runs much deeper than just one franchise. Over multiple franchises and continuities spanning several decades, Marvel movies have brought a wealth of comic book heroes to life on the big screen.
The MCU’s movie timeline alone has featured countless great performances, but there are many examples of great acting in Marvel movies that are all too often overlooked. The reasons for this are often complex and not a reflection on audiences’ appreciation of the character, but rather evidence that it’s easy for even the best performances to go somewhat unnoticed in a genre that’s often packed with larger-than-life action. Here are 10 underrated Marvel movie performances that don"t get enough credit.
10 Alan Cumming As Nightcrawler First Appearance: X2 (2003) Close Despite their less than stellar reputation, Fox’s X-Men movies helped to forge a path for modern superhero cinema, and one particular performance in the earlier days of the franchise stands out as especially underrated. X2, the 2003 sequel to 2000’s X-Men, introduced a handful of new mutants to the big screen, including the blue-skinned teleporter Nightcrawler. Over two decades later, Alan Cumming’s performance as Nightcrawler still stands out as the most underrated in Fox’s original trilogy of X-Men movies.
Cumming’s performance brought Nightcrawler to life in live-action in a way that very few people would have considered possible. It’s not just that the effects hold up remarkably well, but also that the depth Cumming was able to imbue his performance with made Nightcrawler feel incredibly substantial despite limited screentime. Even alongside some of the world’s most celebrated actors, Cumming’s performance stands out, and it certainly doesn’t get enough credit.
9 Andrew Garfield As Spider-Man First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Close Though several actors have played Spider-man in live-action, one in particular stands out as the most underrated. Andrew Garfield first appeared in the role in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man, and played it for just two short years before the role was recast for the MCU. Despite having undergone a more favorable reappraisal in the years since, Garfield’s performances in The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel are still incredibly underrated in several ways.
Comparing Garfield to the other two modern Spider-Man actors, it’s clear that he possesses the balance of the two. He perfectly delivers comedic quips while also communicating an air of deep-seated tragic drama, encapsulating the spirit of the character with a distinctly powerful performance. Considering the huge success of the MCU and the beloved status of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, it’s fair to say that Garfield’s own performance seems distinctly overlooked in comparison.
8 Josh Brolin As Cable First Appearance: Deadpool 2 (2018) Close When it comes to the members of the X-Men to appear in live-action, Cable has never been at the forefront of Fox’s franchise. The character made his first live-action appearance in 2018’s Deadpool 2, played by Josh Brolin. Though the film’s adaptation of the hero might not have been note perfect by some standards, Brolin’s performance was one that made Deadpool 2’s Cable the film’s true star.
Brolin’s growling dialogue and grouchy demeanor throughout his performance gave the film some much-needed consistency. The actor’s approach to the role evoked the Cable of the ‘90s: the edgy, deadly mutant time-traveler with a tragic past and deeply conflicted sensibilities. This is something that Brolin brought to life so incredibly well, and considering he was forced to take a backseat to Ryan Reynolds’ fast-talking Deadpool, Brolin’s Cable deserves much greater recognition.
7 Emma Stone As Gwen Stacy First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Close Emma Stone has delivered many incredible performances in her career, and although Gwen Stacy isn’t often listed among them, it deserves to be. Starring in both The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 alongside Andrew Garfield, Stone’s performance as the hero’s main love interest was one of the franchise’s greatest strengths. The chemistry between the two actors was excellent, and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy stands out as the best live-action version of the character to date.
In her performance, Emma Stone captures both the strength and the vulnerability of Gwen. She’s both Peter’s greatest supporter and most honest critic, and she manages to become the voice of reason without ever seeming inorganic to the franchise"s world. Stone’s impressive acting talent is generally well-known, but her role as Gwen Stacy is all too often overlooked when it comes to incredible performances in Marvel movies.
6 Sebastian Stan As Bucky Barnes First Appearance: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Close It’s no secret that Bucky Barnes’ MCU story has been one of the franchise’s most tragic. His transition from Steve Rogers’ carefree best friend to brainwashed supervillain and then eventually to a reformed hero has been filled with twists and turns, even though Bucky has never truly been more than a supporting character in the franchise. Even so, Sebastian Stan deserves far more credit than he gets for his performance as Bucky.
The range that Stan has had to display in a relatively small amount of screen time is noteworthy alone, but the depth of Bucky as a character goes beyond that. Sebastian Stan has had to toe an incredibly fine line to perfectly establish Bucky’s tentative place in the MCU, and he has delivered consistently with each appearance. Compared to the praise heaped on some of his co-stars, it’s only fair to consider Sebastian Stan one of the MCU’s most underrated actors.
5 Chris Pratt As Star-Lord First Appearance: Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) Close It’s all too easy to dismiss Star-Lord as one of the MCU’s silliest heroes, thanks in no small part to the overall comedic thrust of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. However, closer examination reveals Peter Quill to be one of the franchise’s most complex figures, particularly where it pertains to his place as a hero. With Terran roots and half-Celestial physiology, Star-Lord"s characterization is far from simple, and that’s very subtly communicated by Chris Pratt’s performance.
Pratt’s comedic abilities are generally brought to the fore of his MCU appearances, but each and every performance he has given in the franchise is layered with so much more. There’s a deep-rooted pathos to the character that Pratt puts across well, and he’s just at home delivering dramatic or emotional scenes as he is comedic or action-based ones. As such, Chris Pratt is another Marvel movie actor whose performance deserves far more credit.
4 Karen Gillan As Nebula First Appearance: Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) Close Despite boasting one of the most interesting character arcs in the entire MCU, Nebula is regularly overlooked among the franchise’s heroes. Her journey from being a villain to becoming a prickly hero was excellently handled across various movies, and it has helped give Nebula a deeply interesting backstory as well as a decidedly sympathetic aspect. What’s more, Karen Gillan’s performance in the role has been absolutely stellar from her first appearance.
As Gillan plays the role buried and under make-up and prosthesis, it’s remarkable that she’s able to put so much personality into a decidedly non-human character. The physicality that Gillan brings has become a key part of Nebula’s characterization in the MCU, as have the robotic mannerisms and deadpan delivery of darkly comedic lines. Again, Gillan is rarely praised for her MCU role as much as some of her co-stars, making her seem incredibly underrated.
3 Evan Peters As Quicksilver First Appearance: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014) Close The timeline of Evan Peters’ Quicksilver is an interesting one, especially as he’s one of the few characters from Fox’s X-Men franchise to have reappeared in the MCU. Peters’ stint in Fox’s X-Men prequels, starting with 2014’s Days of Future Past, delivered one of the best interpretations of the character to date. Despite the creative license taken with the character, Evan Peters’ performance remains one of the most underrated aspects of Fox’s prequel movies.
Peters is able to imbue his performance with an irritable yet lovable energy. The frenetic nature of the character is dulled a little, and Quicksilver is instead effortlessly cool, making use of Peters’ ability to use his own charm and charisma while also delivering a nuanced emotional performance. Evan Peters’ Quicksilver is one of just a handful of examples of things that the X-Men franchise did better than the MCU, and the actor deserves much more credit for that.
2 Michael Fassbender As Magneto First Appearance: X-Men: First Class (2011) Close Michael Fassbender as Magneto is one of those incredibly rare examples of a time when an actor is entirely perfect for a role. The actor’s German roots and unique acting talents work perfectly for the character of Magneto, and it’s hard to disagree with Fox’s choice of casting. Regardless, the brilliance of Fassbender’s performance as Magneto is all too often overlooked, and the actor deserves so much more credit than he receives.
Fassbender’s Magneto is constantly torn between loyalty to his friends and fellow mutants, and his burning desire for revenge that all too often tempts him into outright villainy. Magneto is one of the most complex X-Men characters there is, and Fassbender’s tortured performance as the emotional yet calculating mutant is absolutely note-perfect. It’s hard to fathom exactly why Fassbender’s excellent turn as Magneto is so regularly underrated, as he stands out as such a compelling figure.
1 Elizabeth Olsen As Wanda Maximoff First Appearance: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Close Standing out in the MCU is becoming increasingly hard for actors, as the pool of characters continues to swell with each new release. It’s hardly surprising, then, that one or two excellent performances might fly under the radar, though exactly how Elizabeth Olsen can be so often overlooked is truly baffling. Olsen first appeared as Wanda Maximoff in Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s post-credits scene, making her full debut in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Elizabeth Olsen’s performance across Wanda’s MCU arc saw many highs, contributing to an overall depth that most other heroes in the franchise simply don’t have. The unique blend of unimaginable power and inherent vulnerability required to play Wanda is something that Olsen makes look almost effortless, and it’s a huge part of what makes her such an incredible character in the franchise. For this reason, Elizabeth Olsen’s stands out as one of the MCU’s most underrated performances.
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