15 Best Supporting Characters In MCU Movies So Far

The Marvel Cinematic Universe was created, designed, built and marketed around the superheroes that headlined each solo movie, but the key to maintaining a successful shared mythology is surrounding them with memorable supporting characters that audiences can believe and invest in.

It would be almost impossible to imagine Batman without Alfred, Harry Potter without Ron or Hermione, or Woody and Buzz without the rest of the Toy Story gang. The name on the poster might be what sells a movie to audiences, but it's the network of background players around them that keeps people coming back.

The Avengers don't exist in their own little bubble and save the world without any assistance, despite how self-absorbed many of them seem to be at times, and the MCU's extensive back catalogue is full of side characters that have made their own indelible mark on the series at various points.

Just because they don't get to be the one suiting up to fight the bad guys, it doesn't mean they don't have an impact on events, both present and future.

Black Panther turned out to be loaded with memorable supporting characters, but few ascended to fan-favorite status quite as quickly as Winston Duke's gentle giant M'Baku.

The leader of Wakanda's mountain-dwelling Jabari tribe, M'Baku initially and unsuccessfully challenged Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa for the right to be declared king, before ultimately offering help to his greatest rival when he needed it most as repayment for having his life spared.

In the wrong hands, M'Baku could have turned out as a one-dimensional brute, but as well as his imposing physical stature Duke also gave the character a presence, warmth and sense of humor that saw him become one of Black Panther's undeniable breakout stars.