2022 is looking to be a big year for theMarvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4. Following the highly-successful Infinity Saga, these new films and Disney+ series promise big stakes for audiences' favorite Marvel heroes. The fourth phase has also provided some of the franchise’s most intimate and emotional moments thus far.
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Along the way, even more new characters have been introduced to the roster ofMCUfan favorites. FromWandaVision, toEternals, to the newly-releasedDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there are too many amazing characters to count. These characters shine the brightest of the Phase 4 projects that have been released.
10Norman Osborn
Spider-Man: No Way Homeis a tribute to the history ofSpider-Manmovies. As such, it features many returning characters from pre-Tom Holland films. This even includes Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire making highly-anticipated returns as their versions of Peter Parkeragainst a gauntlet of their greatest enemies.
However, no returning character is done more justice in this movie than Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn. Seeing Dafoe get to inhabit such an uncontrollable villain whose main goal is to exploit Parker’s weaknesses is a treat. Plus, his actions have consequences that will affect Peter’s story for many MCU films to come.
9Yelena Belova
Little was known about Natasha Romanoff’s backstory prior toBlack Widow. In the film, Natasha reunites with her adopted family,but most importantly her sister, Yelena. After being freed from mind-control, Natasha and Yelena team up with their parents, Alexei and Melina, to free all the brainwashed Black Widow assassins.
Thankfully,Black Widowis not the only time fans get to see Yelena in Phase 4. Following the events ofAvengers: Endgame, Yelena is out for blood after Natasha’s death. In theHawkeyeseries, Yelena confronts Clint Barton, who assures her that Natasha’s death was a sacrifice before the two commiserate over their lost sister.
8Kate Bishop
Yelena isn’t the only stand-out character to appear inHawkeye. The show also introduces audiences to Kate Bishop, an archer who is Clint Barton’s #1 fan. She’s played by Hailee Steinfeld, who has a lot of chemistry with Jeremy Renner, though she also perfectly embodies Kate’s tragic, lone-wolf qualities.
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InHawkeye, fans discover that Kate’s love of Hawkeye stems from witnessing the archer fight during the Battle of New York in 2012’sThe Avengers. It was during this battle that Kate lost her father, leaving her and her mother all alone. Unfortunately for Kate, her mother isn’t one to be trusted either.
7Mobius M. Mobius
TheLokiseries was certainly an unexpected adventure for Thor’s trickster brother. In the series, Loki finds himself a prisoner of the TVA, or the Time Variance Authority. This interdimensional organization is responsible for preventing the existence of branched timelines by eradicating rogue Variants across the multiverse.
Owen Wilson joins the MCU as Mobius M. Mobius, an agent of the TVA tasked with investigating time criminals. The iconic comedy actor’s performance here imbues Mobius with a lot of charisma for a time-traveling detective. He goes from a loyal servant of bureaucracy to a rebellious force of justice, all in pursuit of a jet ski.
6Thena
Chloe Zhao’sEternalswas an ambitious project for Marvel. The film introduces over ten brand-new characters to the MCU, including the central race of near-immortals created to protect planets from Deviants. One of them isThena, played by Angelina Jolie, one of Earth’s most powerful Eternals, despite her aloofness.
Prior to the start of the film, Thena becomes subject to a disease called Mahd Wy’ry, causing her to have psychotic episodes. As a result, she is exiled from the Eternals along with Gilgamesh, and the two grow to have a beautiful friendship in the film. However, Gilgamesh’s tragic death fuels her revenge against the Deviants.
5Sam Wilson
Sam Wilson has always been a trustworthy ally of Steve Rogers, a.k.aCaptain America. At the end ofEndgame, Steve passes on his shield to Sam, naming him the new Captain America. The Disney+ seriesThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierforces Sam to come to terms with what it means to take up the symbolic mantle.
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Through his camaraderie with Bucky Barnes, Sam learns the responsibility that comes with the shield. Furthermore, his encounter with Isaiah Bradley, a black Super Soldier imprisoned by the U.S. government, informs him of what needs to change. Sam may not have superpowers, but he has something more important: courage.
4Xu Wenwu
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsintroduces the MCU to the titular hero and his tragic upbringing. Shang-Chi’s father, Wenwu, is a centuries-old warlord possessing a set of mystical weapons known as the Ten Rings. However, after falling in love and starting a family, Wenwu abandoned his violent ways.
That is, until Shang-Chi’s mother, Ying Li, was murdered. The vengeful Wenwu trains his children to fight and spends the majority of the film in search of his lost wife. Most of all,what makes Wenwu such a compelling character and villainis the performance by Tony Leung, who perfectly balances Wenwu’s authority with his fear.
3Loki
Loki is one of the earliest characters in the MCU, as the antagonist for bothThorandThe Avengersin Phase 1. He meets a tragic demise at the hands of Thanos inInfinity War, but a variant of Loki escapes with the Tesseract inEndgame. This Loki is the one audiences follow in the Disney+ seriesLoki.
This Loki variant later witnesses all his actions throughout the MCU in the first episode ofLoki. In a way, a character who was once unredeemable has no choice but to change when he’s imprisoned by time cops.By the end ofLoki’s first season, the former trickster is a desperate hero trying to save the multiverse.
2Marc Spector
This entry is technically cheating, since Marc Spector is, as of the finale ofMoon Knight, three different characters. The series finds Oscar Isaac entering the MCU as Marine-turned-mercenary Marc Spector. After a near-death experience, Spector is allowed to survive and serve the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.
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However, Spector’s childhood trauma complicates this simple arrangement. When the show begins, audiences are introduced to the charming museum worker Steven Grant. Grant discovers his dissociative personality disorder, realizing he is a creation of Marc’s subconscious. Still, the two halves eventually prove to be a good team.
1Wanda Maximoff
Wanda Maximoff and Vision had merely supporting roles beforeInfinity War. That Phase 3 film gave the two their most emotional moment yet as Wanda kills Vision to spare him from Thanos. No Marvel fan expected that afterAvengers: Endgame, Wanda would soon become the MCU’s newest star withWandaVision.
The Disney+ series delves into Wanda’s character and backstory, painting a tragic image of a woman refusing to deal with grief. With Elizabeth Olsen’s heart-wrenching performance, Wanda has easily become of the MCU’s best characters.Her appearance inMultiverse of Madnesscements her as one of its strongest, too.
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