Although MCU is heading towards its fourth phase, concluding the Infinity Saga, it has not failed in bringing some of the most beloved and iconic characters on the screen other than the major ones. Even though the major characters of the movies will keep on stealing the spotlight always, it is for the efforts of the supporting characters who assist them in emerging as the hero. However, most of the time we overlook the contributions of the side characters without whom even the Marvel movies would be nothing but empty vessels.
Here is a list of the top eight Marvel supporting characters who have remained underrated and have not been praised enough for their contributions.
1. Mantis
While the value of most of the characters of MCU are weighted upon the powers that are possessed by the characters, Mantis is one character who stands out owing mostly to her compassionate and empathetic nature. She has played an important role in the movie, ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy’ in which she is used as a plot device on various occasions in order to develop other characters.
Although it might not sound as impressive as Thor’s bolts of lightning or the blasters of Iron Man, but her power of empathy is something that is beyond everything even if it is just a fictional world. As far as her abilities are concerned, she can control her heart, respiratory rate along with the blood flow in her body. She masters the martial arts of the Priests which has even let her knock out some of the characters who are as powerful as Thor.
2. Howard Stark
The character of Howard Stark was not limited to being just Tony Stark’s father. He was the one who builds the shield of Captain America and even designed the main prototype of the Arc Reactor. Had it been not for him, Tony Stark wouldn’t have been able to create the miniature version, which ultimately helped in saving his life.
All of the achievements of Tony Stark as Iron Man has been because of this man, who helped him in stopping Ivan Marko and Obadiah Stane, launching a missile into space and preventing the destruction to take place in New York City. The secrets to the time travel were cracked by none other than Howard along with the snaps saving the universe from Thanos. We really need to appreciate his character as it was due to him that Iron Man survived till the end of ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
3. Heimdall
Although Heimdall’s character had bid farewell to the Marvel Universe quite early in the Infinity War, his contribution during the entire time is very vital. Basically, Heimdall is responsible for watching over all the realms along with serving the present King of Asgard. Although he does mend the rules sometimes, he still stays committed to his task most of the time. When he was observed to be absent from his post in the movie, ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ we knew something is going to be wrong. He bore the responsibility of leading and guarding all the refugees against Hela’s Asgard and even assists Thor and other Avengers in the battle for Asgard, in escaping on the stolen ships.
In the ‘Avengers: Infinity Wars,’ Heimdall utilises all of the last of his energy for sending Hulk back to Earth and raise the alarm. He always used to be alert and his actions prevented the planet to be caught without any prior notice on the arrival of Thanos.
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4. Peggy Carter
One of the most important supporting characters of the Marvel Universe, Peggy Carter is far more than just the love interest of Steve Rogers aka Captain America. She is a character who has paved the path for the development of S.H.I.E.L.D, and the Avengers as well in a way. Peggy Carter has been shown as a level-headed woman with amazing hand-to-hand combating skills, excelling in martial arts.
She has been blessed with a distinct personality and is an experienced tactician and commander. Her battle armour lets her stay safe from missile attacks. After she loses the love of her life, Peggy Carter single-handedly stays responsible for protecting the organisation, S.H.I.E.L.D, of which she is a founder, from the hands of HYDRA for several decades.
5. Hank Pym
Hank Pym deserves to be appreciated for making the Time Heist plan a success, along with Scott Lang and Tony Stark. The creator of both the Quantum Tunnel and the Pym Particles (which is the only secure way into the Quantum Tunnel for time travelling), without which their plans would have no direction. Moreover, there would have been no existence of the Quantum Tunnel if he hadn’t made the original before the incidents of the movie, ‘Ant-Man & The Wasp’.
The ultimate secret to time travel was indeed cracked by Tony Stark, however, all the required hints were left by Hank Pym so that he could complete the puzzle. Not to mention the original suits of Ant-Man and her wife Wasp which were invented by Hank Pym, along with the newer versions used by Hope and Scott.
6. Korg
We all deserve a friend like Korg, don’t we? With a super durable hard exterior and a sweet and soft personality, everyone, irrespective of the age, who watched the movies, definitely enjoyed the weird sense of humour of Korg. Although he is mostly there for providing comic relief in the movies, he is, in no way, clumsy or stupid. Korg is a Kronan warrior from Sakarr who helped the Asgardian prince Thor in escaping from Sakarr with the Hulk and to deal with the threats of Hela.
Korg along with Miek joined the people of Asgard in their journey towards the earth as an aftermath of the Ragnarok. He even kept Thor company when he descends as a drunken hermit owing to his grief during the battle on Earth. He became the major character for providing necessary emotional support to the God of Thunder when he needed him the most. Even the mightiest of gods go through tough times but with a friend like Korg, things seem to be better.
7. Valkyrie
From the first time we were introduced to Valkyrie as a depressed alcoholic in ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ she has indeed come a long way. Valkyrie has remained one of the favourite characters of MCU with her dry humour and bad-ass attitude. Starting off as a side character, the amount of character development she goes through is really under-appreciated. She was suffering from her tragic past and was trapped in a vicious cycle, during which all she did was to hunt down fighters for The Grandmaster and to drink. She herself accepted how she considered Sakarr only as a place to drink and forget all her worries and maybe die someday.
Fortunately, she overcame most of her issues as noticed in ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ and turned into the pseudo-leader of New Asgard. She even assists in leading the forces of Asgard into the battle against Thanos and saves Peter Parker carrying the gauntlet. As the movie ends, we finally see her becoming the Queen of New Asgard.
8. Vision
Isn’t it very unsatisfying how a lot of MCU fans let go of Vision as a mere robot? Maybe this is because of their memory of him in the movie, ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ in which he gets heavily injured by Corvus Glaivem. This leads to the destruction of his ability to modify his destiny and leaving him crippled. However, he still succeeds in tackling Corvus out the window, thus protecting Shuri and Captain America in the latter part of the movie, eventually impaling Corvus.
Vision is a character who had been willing to sacrifice himself at any and every moment of the movies and in the end, he does so. However, the sad part is, that his sacrifice doesn’t bring any good. A character full of strength as evident in ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ and ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron,’ Vision will be remembered as one of the strongest characters in the Marvel Universe. Moreover, he is one of the only three Avengers who have been able to lift the enchanted hammer and is a member of a very select club.
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