10 Most Essential Characters In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Some heroes are needed more than others in the MCU.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Forget Doctor Strange. Ghost Rider? A greying poster on the wall behind some movie theater's back alley. The Macabre Man-Thing is just an unpleasant memory in the collective consciousness of Marvel movie-goers, as is the various Punisher movies or Blade€™s daywalking campaigns against the legions of bloodsucking vampires that stalk the Earth. When you consider the wealth of characters the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has at its disposal, some can be discarded with very little damage to the film continuum. Of course, it's the film continuum that is the issue here. There are great characters in Marvel comics that don't necessarily translate well to film. There are others though who not only make the transition very well, but also determine the success of the continuum. This is a new universe; one that definitely is based on the comic universe, but one that runs parallel and separate. The characters that are chosen are done so on the basis of maintaining the continuum as well as creating successful and profitable films. However, there are others, like Spider-Man, that have proven their worth in terms of impact, longevity; story potential or just simply fan appeal. These are obviously rooted in great success in their comic predecessors, and are essential to the MCU as they have been to the shared universe of hundreds of thousands of world-wide comic-fans. Their nature is not only essential but integral to the success of the cinematic properties Marvel has unleashed upon the world. Let€™s take a look at some of these other characters and briefly see why they rate.
Contributor
Contributor

John Kirk is a Teacher-Librarian and currently a History/English Teacher with the Toronto District School Board. But mostly, John teaches Geek. Comics, Sci-Fi (Notably Star Trek), Fantasy and Role-Playing and table-top games all make up part of John’s repertoire, There is a whole generation of nerds-in-embryo who rely on him to make sense of it all, to teach that with great power comes great responsibility, that the force will be with us always and that a towel IS the most useful thing to have in one’s possession. When John isn’t in the classroom, he can be found in his basement writing comic reviews for www.popmythology.com and features for Roddenberry Entertainment's www.1701news.com.