Best Minor Characters/Side Characters In The MCU
The MCU has grown to become a vast world of characters since Tony Stark first said the immortal words “I am Iron Man”. Since 2008, we have been introduced to a motley crew of costumed heroes and their villainous counterparts. I don’t know about you, but as much as I love Robert Downey Jr’s take on Tony Stark/Iron Man, or Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth as Steve Rodgers/Captain America and Thor respectively, in some of the MCU movies, some minor characters constantly steal scenes.
These characters are often there as comic relief, or for the hero to bounce off. In the wrong hands, these minor or side characters would be instantly forgettable. Credit where credit is due, thanks to some clever casting decisions, many of these characters are memorable and have lines that are just as quotable as the main characters. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of the best minor or side characters in the MCU and what makes them so special.
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Agent Phil Coulson
Really, Phil Coulson should not have been quite as interesting as he was. That may have been the case, perhaps, if a different actor had been given the role. With Clark Gregg, however, Phil Coulson was given a depth that is so often missing from smaller characters in movies and TV shows where there are many big names. Something that the casting team has almost always got right for MCU films.
Even before Phil Coulson became the catalyst for the newly formed Avengers getting their act together and working as a team, he was going head-to-head with Thor, Loki, and Tony without as much as flinching. It’s no wonder that Marvel had the good sense to develop Agents of Shield and put him front and center as the team leader.
Wong
BD Wong brings Wong to life in the MCU, Dr. Steven Strange’s trainer, mentor, and eventual sidekick of sorts. There is something hilarious about the understated and subtlety with which Wong tries to keep Strange on the straight and narrow. It’s also both charming and ridiculous that he is such a smart, well-read, and world-weary chap that he doesn’t know the simple joy to be had from bopping to some Bey!
Luis
What’s not to love about the ever-positive Luis from the Ant-Man films. One of Scott Lang’s best friends, he is definitely talented, but the reason I picked him is because of his hilarious over-explaining when recounting stories. We all know someone that gives unnecessary amounts of information when you just want the bare bones, but no one seems to do it as funny as Luis. Michael Pena is hilarious in the role and one of the great things about the MCU and casting has been finding the right roles for the right actors.
Korg
I love Korg because it’s hard to not love Korg. In a world where everything is mad, crazy, and dangerous, it is quite satisfying and a relief that the big, towering rock monster is actually a pretty chill guy. All of the dialogue is just wonderful between Korg and, well, any character he interacts with.
His description of the freaky circle, the fact that he keeps asking people in a very polite and calm way if they want to get on the ship (my personal favorite being Heimdall, who just looks a bit bemused) while Hela and Surtur are wrecking Asgard, was just a gem to watch.
As if that wasn’t enough, the story of how Taiki Waititi, the voice actor behind Korg and director of Thor: Ragnarök, came up with the voice, is funny too.
Katy
Awkwafina is not everyone’s cup of tea. But I loved her in Shang-Chi as Shawn’s best friend. It was refreshing that despite Katy’s mother and grandmother trying to ship them, they stayed plutonic throughout the film. As there is more fantasy in this film than others, strange hidden lands, and beasts, she helped to highlight how crazy things were through her reactions.
I felt her story arc was a little rushed because she became the perfect archer in only a short space of time (sorry Cliff, I guess it’s not that hard being an expert archer after all). However, she brightens up even the darkest scene and gives the story some grounding in the real world.
Trevor Slattery
When Trevor Slattery first appeared in Iron Man 3, he was touted as the main antagonist, a criminal warlord called the Mandarin. However, it was later revealed that he was nothing more than an English actor and drug addict that had been hired by Aldrich Killian and AIM or Advanced Idea Mechanics to take on the role, named after a legendary crime boss with a persona influenced by various modern age terrorists.
I think I love the idea of Trevor Slattery, such a stupid caricature of a recovered drug addict with illusions of grandeur, as much as I love the fact that such a thespian heavyweight as Sir Ben Kingsley playing him. He’s a bit skittish but quite charming with it and his friendship with the headless Morris the Dijiang is sweet. His helping Shang-Chi and Katy get to Ta Lo, also served as a nice redemption arch for Slattery.
Taserface
I just really like Taserface. I love the idea that he woke up every day and was like “right Taserface, time to serve the cause of the Ravagers” and was totally fine with it because it sounded cool and tough. I also loved the interactions between him and Rocket.
An interesting side note is that Taserface in the comics has strong ties to Tony Stark. He is a warrior member of the race known as The Stark, who worship Tony Stark and evolved because a cache of Stark armor and tech landed on their planet.
Ned Leeds
It would be wrong to not feature Ned Leeds, Peter Parker’s best friend from school and the first person who knows he is Spider-Man. Played by Jacob Batalon, he has a joyous excitement and cheerful outlook which is relatable to how we as the fans feel watching the web crawler’s adventures.
It will be interesting to see where the character goes following No Way Home and given the rumors of a potential dark turn story arc.
Heimdall
Everyone has a role in the MCU, even if you are the extremely cool, big, and imposing Idris Elba. Heimdall, except Korg and Valkyrie, is by far the best Thor side character. He has proven to be the most loyal ally to the Asgardian God of Thunder, was the guardian of the Bifrost (that alone deserves a round of applause), and is always there to try and guide Thor down the right path. He also sacrificed his life to help Thor by using his remaining powers to send the Hulk back to Earth to warn the Avengers of Thanos coming, who then killed Heimdall. Enough said.
FBI Agent Jimmy Woo
Another great comedic actor that has found a place in the MCU is Randall Park. He first appeared in Ant-Man and The Wasp, as former Agent of Shield and current FBI agent, Jimmy Woo, who was assigned to keep a watchful eye over Scott Lang during his house arrest after the events of Captain America: Civil War. The fact he became a fan favorite and the comedy relief he provided is undoubtedly why they brought him back to investigate the goings-on at Westview in WandaVision.
How he tries to explain “confusing grown-up stuff” to Cassie, Scott’s daughter, by breaking things down into an easily digestible example before launching into a government jargon-filled explanation with plenty of references to agreements and sanctions, is nothing short of hilarious. That’s all thanks to the clever writing and Park’s deadpan delivery.
The other thing is that for such a straight-laced agent, he has quite a friendly attitude to Lang and seems to just want to be his friend, which is quite sweet.
Yondu
Star-Lord’s adoptive father and leader of the Ravagers, Yondu, played with grit and plenty of wit by “always excellent” Michael Rooker, is not the best role model. Or that’s at least how he seems at first. A clever thing Marvel and Disney have managed to do with so many of the side characters is to develop them into multi-faceted people, not just one-liners with funny gimmicks. Again, it’s the writing and acting talent that really sells Yondu.
Michael Rooker often plays, let me put this in the politest way possible, dodgy and untrustworthy characters. And that’s exactly how Yondu comes across at first. He’s brash, threatened to eat Peter Quill when he was a young lad to keep him loyal, and appears to be the roughest, toughest space pirate of them all. That in itself makes the character a gem when he’s on-screen. However, the reason I picked him out was because of his story arch. Guardians of the Galaxy 2, with all its cosmic madness, handled some quite hard-hitting subjects. From Thanos’ toxic parenting skills, to Ego’s cold manner in which he tells Quill that he killed his mother, not to mention Yondu’s sacrifice, which will always remain one of the most emotional moments in the MCU. It is not an easy task to portray such a wild character as Yondu with so many layers, but Michael Rooker made it look effortless.
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