The 100 best Marvel characters ranked
Counting down the top superheroes, sidekicks, and villains from across Marvel's movies and TV series
Film Features Thor
Since long before it was officially a cinematic universe, Marvel has been a pillar of pop culture, not simply telling stories (some well-established, others wholly original) that entertained audiences across the globe, but inspiring them through characters, ideas, and even values. Given Marvel’s expansive pantheon, picking out favorite characters—at least since the company’s canon started getting translated into films and TV shows—requires a careful triangulation of casting, filmmaking creativity, and in some cases, sheer longevity.
For example, everyone loves Spider-Man, but which Spider-Man? The same applies to Daredevil, Hulk, and a variety of X-Men characters, each of whom has offered different dimensions of iconic comics characters that many of us have worshipped since we were in short pants.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of the MCU, The A.V. Club has assembled our ranking of the top 100 Marvel characters on screens big and small. Some are Marvel favorites who aren’t officially part of the MCU, some are cornerstones for the evolution of the MCU—highly active across multiple storylines and platforms—while others simply made an immediate and unforgettable impression, exemplifying a heroism or villainy that’s complex, believable, even sympathetic. There are also those characters we just thrill at seeing on the screen, creating a fun, unforgettable moment, TV show, or movie that stands out in Marvel’s ever-increasing canon.
You might not agree with our placement for some of these beloved heroes, sidekicks, supporting characters, and villains—and that’s OK. These fictional beings resonate with each of us in different ways. And while the placement is subjective, based on our big nerdy hearts, it also figures to change as new Marvel projects arrive.
68 Comments
Is this guy on here?If not, they can fuck right off.
He was 101.
The lack of Laura (X-23) on this list makes it extremely suspect.
Has x-23 been in a movie I’m not aware of?
“Casting director Sarah Halley Finn doesn’t get enough credit for populating the MCU….”THIS!!!!!!
It’s not a bad list but the order is atrocious.
It’s a 100 person comic character list. No matter what order, someone will find it atrocious based off of their personal favorites. My only gripe is that I’m not sure the late Boseman (RIP) deserves #1. Black Panther was a good movie, and Boseman most certainly owns that role, but would it have absolutely broken the movie had another talented actor taken the role? If I apply that question across the MCU, the only people I can come up with are RDJ and Hiddleston. And don’t get me wrong, Boseman is probably top 10. Just not sure #1. The rest of the numbering almost has no meaning. Someone will end up hating it.
Love the man, but they could have replaced him with Michael B. Jordan and done very well, paving the way for Kevin Hart to play Killmonger.
I don’t agree with the list & at times it feels random, but I don’t hate it and generally agree with who is included
I feel like the first thing they decided was ‘Black Panther is #1 now what about everyone else?’
This is just a random list, yes? Because if you were actually trying to ‘rank’ characters…
It’s rank alright.
Like my taint after a spin class.
It’s Tony Stank.
Every slideshow they do is a random list
HOW IS THIS THING NEARLY SIX MINUTES LONG
approx.. 8.333 ranks per minute I guess.
Black Panther, the movie and the character, are overrated!
Black Panther #1? He’s a cat. Ok, he’s smart and strong and rich. But what’s his super-power…clawing the back of the sofa?
I’m embarrassed that I clicked on this, and I pity everyone still working here in the way I pity call centre workers a collection agency. I can’t imagine the sadness in paying the bills this way.
Moon Knight not ranked anywhere near high enough based off the quality of that series.That was the first of the issues, it just progressively got worse and worse. Yuckers.
I’d like to ask an honorable mention for Michael Chiklis as the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing. Just a spot-on portrayal of the beloved character…Jack Kirby would have approved.Oh and another honorable mention for Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk.
Shang Chi 12th? Really??
I like his movie, but he and Captain Marvel are two of the blandest characters on this list.
Shang Chi is definitely the most underrated marvel movie. Cope. Hes definitely top 30 tho not #12
In my opinion of course
Me: This looks interesting…Article: 102-page slideshowMe:
Hard disagree on captain marvel. I would rather die than be seen anywhere near the misogynistic hate train against Brie Larson and that movie, but captain marvel was incredibly boring. Being powerful doesn’t make a character good. Falcon should have been higher.
EDIT Found them: The 100 best Marvel characters ranked100. The Collector (Benicio Del Toro)99. Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand)98. Cable (Josh Brolin)97. America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez)96. Colossus (Stefan Kapicic)95. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris)94. Electro (Jamie Foxx)93. Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung)92. Old Loki (Richard E. Grant)91. Ultron (James Spader)90. Yondu (Michael Rooker)89. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei)88. The Punisher (Jon Bernthal)87. Bullseye (Colin Farell)86. Mantis (Pom Klementieff)85. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)84. Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale)83. Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)82. Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming)81. Venom (Tom Hardy)80. War Machine (Don Cheadle)79. Luis (Michael Pena)78. Nico Minoru (Lyrica Okano)77. Wolverine (X-Men: The Animated Series)76. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas)75. Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau)74. Kilgrave (David Tennant)73. Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac)72. Cyclops (James Marsden)71. Quicksilver (Evan Peters)70. Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen)69. Magneto (Michael Fassbender)68. Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani)67. Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista)66. Jane Foster/Mighty Thor (Natalie Portman)65. J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons)64. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy)63. Peter B. Parker (Into The Spider-verse)62. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence)61. Hawkeye60. Jean Grey/Phoenix (Famke Janssen)59. Lenny/The Shadow King (Aubrey Plaza)58. Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings)57. Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal)56. Storm (Halle Berry)55. Luke Cage (Mike Colter)54. Korg53. Okoye (Danai Gurira)52. Ancient One (Tilda Swinton)51. Daisy “Skye” Johnson (Chloe Bennet)50. The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum)49. Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield)48. Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe)47. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)46. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg)45. Yelena Bolova (Florence Pugh)44. Rocket Raccoon43. Vision (Paul Bettany)42. Hela (Cate Blanchett)41. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt)40. Mystique (Rebecca Romjin)39. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd)38. Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn)37. Groot36. Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)35. Nebula (Karen Gillan)34. Shuri (Letitia Wright)33. Wong (Benedict Wong)32. Michelle “MJ” Jones (Zendaya)31. Gamora (Zoe Saldana)30. Falcon (Anthony Mackie)29. Thanos (Josh Brolin)28. Blade (Wesley Snipes)27. Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson)26. Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio)25. Winter Soldier/Bucky (Sebastian Stan)24. Peggy Carter (Haley Atwell)23. Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld)22. Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire)21. Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)20. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson)19. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)18. Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds)17. Magneto (Ian McKellen)16. Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter)15. Daredevil (Charlie Cox)14. Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina)13. Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)12. Shang-Chi (Simu Liu)11. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo)10. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)9. Thor (Chris Hemsworth)8. Loki (Tom Hiddleston)7. Captain America (Chris Evans)6. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)5. Miles Morales4. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)3. Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart)2. Spider-Man (Tom Holland)1. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)
Elizabeth Olsen above Ian McKellan? Jamie Foxx above *anybody?*This is one of the most bullshit features on AVC in a while, and that’s really saying something.
This list might as well be completely random.
I get that articles on AVClub are here to kill time… but good god- going through this list would kill half my day. No Thanks.
Not one member of the Fantastic Four or even The Silver Surfer. Just a damn shame.
It feels like this list was made like: “Okay, we must place these ones high, but space them out so we can sprinkle in some of the not so interesting ones.”
And Black Panther as No.1? God no. No no no. Better than all the main, most liked, most popular and far FAR more interesting characters? No. That’s not even defensible on any level, which makes this list rather silly.
How about a list of 100 Marvel Comics characters that haven’t made it to screen? You could add more obscure characters as ones on the list get fed through the machine and get turned into bad movies.
[clicks 101 times] No Darkhawk? GTFO!
“Originally introduced as the one funny bit of the Thor movies”I love Darcy but the coffee cup was the funniest thing in the first movie. Also the van strike.
Wasp?
Evangeline Lilly is persona non grata around these parts.
So you mean Marvel Movie characters, or MCU characters. When you say Marvel characters, I assume you mean the characters as they have existed in Marvel comics for over 60 years.
I’m not going to bother fighting over who is 77th and who is 79th. My biggest beef with the list is that Black Panther, Iron Man and Cap should be the top 3 in some order.
Without Iron Man, there is no MCU and we are left with Sony and Fox throwing ever more desperate reboots of Spider-Man and the X-Men out there.
As for Cap, I legit thought that role was unplayable and that character can be the worst in the comics. Evans made that role incredible. The MCU “rut” that critics like to talk about really boils down to RDJ and Evans not being around.
The Top Ten is near perfect. After that this list is just plain off the mark.
COLOSSUS Okay, so the Deadpool films’ takes on the X-Men’s steel-skinned strongman may not endure as the definitive one,Well, it should cuz it is.
Conspicuously absent (with good reason): Danny Rand
I would have included Colleen Wing and FitzSimmons
Personally, I agree with putting Rebecca Romijn as Mystique above Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Lawrence never seems to embrace the character’s anti-heroine aspects, and also doesn’t seem to have fun with the shapeshifting. Romijn has a disconcerting evil grin in a couple of those scenes when you find out she’s taken on someone’s persona.Not to diss Lawrence – frankly I don’t think Mystique was written very well in those later X movies.
Thanos not being in the top ten is a…choice. Brolin as Thanos, and the character’s impact on all characters and the universe itself is undeniable: especially in Infinity War – my personal favorite MCU film. And let’s be honest: most of what we’ve seen post-Thanos has been diminishing returns.
I didn’t notice that but that’s idiotic. Thanos is far from my favorite character but he should probably be #1 on this list. He’s the center of the Marvel universe. He’s certainly more consequential than Black Panther — a character that technically doesn’t even appear in his own sequel.
America Chavez looks so ridiculous when she runs, its funny that she was shown running in all the trailers and even in this still photo. she’s always gonna be one to watch out for, for the comic relief alone!
100 characters? That’s it!? What about the guy who called Ant Man “Spider-Man?” And none of Stan Lee gimmick cameos. It’s like this site doesn’t even care about its nutrient-sparse clickbait articles any more. Wake me when you’ve got at listicle that reaches 500. And you didn’t even give them the ranks that the title promised. Aside from the Captains America and Marvel, I have no idea what the chain of command is!At this rate, this site’s going to devolve back into its crappy former self, when there was lame shit like actual contributing writers doing stupid, interesting think pieces, and the commentariat pathetically enjoyed the site. And don’t even get me started on that Sean O’Neal character upsetting me with an actual voice and sense of humor. What the fresh hell is even going on here?
I remember how that crappy old site would sometimes even write about snoozefest antique movies from the 1970’s and 80’s! As if anyone watches that slow shit today! Like, who cares, Grandpa?!
Just discovered the other day that the waitress who thanks The Avengers at the end of their titular team debut is Ashley Johnson.
WRONG THOR
all of the haters, AI will replace the writers of articles like this in 6 months. So click through all of it to fill in his final salary check.
Chad Boseman at #1? Right-on woke nonsense. If you’re going to choose a character from the BP original movie then it has to be Okoye FFS. I love Boseman in that film, but he’s at the top of this list by virtue of the fact he’s a person of colour in a Caucasian world. And by virtue of the fact he’s dead.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of the MCU
You’re gonna recycle content?
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Just because Boseman passed away (yes, tragically) doesn’t mean that Black Panther is the best character we’ve seen in the Marvel movies. Was BP important to American culture? Absolutely. Was BP important to Marvel movies? Eh. Not really. Reread what you said about Charles or Tony Stark.
“What if Aunt May was young and hot?”
She was hot as hell, but she was not young. She was 50 or 51 when she filmed Civil War.The classic version of Aunt May never made any sense anyway. She was always drawn at about age 80-90, while Peter (to my knowledge) has been 18-25 in most of the comic runs. The way she was traditionally drawn made her seem like Grand-Aunt May, or Great-Grand-Aunt May.
Meanwhile, in a nearby AV CLUB headline…An introduction to Guardians Of The Galaxy’s Adam Warlock, Marvel’s best comic book character
LOL 100 slide slide-show, y’all got jokesLooking at the “list slides” tab though, I don’t find it too objectionable, and Panther/Chadwick at number 1 works for me
Darts, meet dartboard.
I’m sorry, but any list that doesn’t have RDJ’s Iron Man as #1 is illegitimate. The MCU wouldn’t exist without that performance.
Black Panther at #1? He’s not even the best character in his own movie.Ffs.
So this is what the AVClub has devolved to