Marvel on the Small ScreenLists about TV series based on the Marvel Comics superheroes and teams, from Jessica Jones to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Hawkeye.
Updated February 9, 2021 5.0K votes 930 voters 41.3K views
Over 900 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Marvel TV Characters That Would Fit Perfectly Into The MCU's Future Plans
Voting Rules
Vote up the characters perfectly poised to step into the MCU's future.
2020 marks the end of Marvel Television, with the advent of Disney+ meaning that all future series taking place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe will now be produced under the Marvel Studios banner. That’s good news for those fans who want more direct tie-ins between Marvel movies and TV shows - but bad news for those who wanted to see the adventures of their favorite Marvel Television characters continue.
Fortunately, there’s no real reason why Marvel Studios can’t just transplant some existing heroes and villains from the ranks of Marvel Television into Phases 4, 5, and beyond of the MCU. There are plenty of great, pre-established characters out there in limbo for them to choose from - and so many perfect spots waiting for them in Marvel’s many upcoming projects.
Where He's From: Daredevil (2015-2018), The Defenders (2017)
Who He Is: The Man Without Fear, Matthew Murdock, is one of the most popular characters in Marvel Comics history - and perhaps the most important to not yet appear in the MCU. Despite being blinded as a child in the same accident that gave him his powers, Murdock manages to live a double-life as a lawyer by day and a radar-sense-possessing martial arts vigilante by night.
Where He'd Fit Into The MCU: There are already plenty of superheroes in the MCU, but thus far, none of them have much courtroom experience, and that’s exactly the sort of team-up that Spider-Man needs in the near future. Framed for a violent act and unmasked to the world in Far From Home, Peter Parker will be looking for help clearing his name in the next Spidey sequel - and who better than Daredevil to provide it?
Who He Is: Wilson Fisk is by far the most dangerous non-powered villain in the annals of Marvel Comics. The Kingpin of Crime isn’t just a threat because of his vast underworld empire and seemingly perpetual control over the city of New York. He’s also so improbably strong that he’s capable of going toe-to-toe with vigilantes a lot tougher than Daredevil.
Where He'd Fit Into The MCU: Wilson Fisk and Matthew Murdock are clearly each other’s worst enemies, but the comic book version of the Kingpin has always carried a unique brand of hatred for Spider-Man. The two have already tangled in video games, animated series, and Into the Spider-Verse, so it’s long past time they did so in a live-action setting via the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel.
Where He's From: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-present)
Who He Is: Robbie Reyes is only the most recent Marvel character to carry the mantle of Ghost Rider, but he’s the first to play a starring role in any sort of Marvel Studios project. Not only did he feature in a season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but he was also set to get his own Hulu show - though that was canceled before it hit the air. That leaves Reyes in the same situation he was at the end of his time with S.H.I.E.L.D., which is trapped in some sort of alternate dimension that is ostensibly “hell.”
Where He'd Fit Into The MCU: Alternate dimensions, you say? That doesn’t just sound like a job for Doctor Strange - it sounds like the premise of his next movie, In the Multiverse of Madness. With Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff already headed to different worlds, a pitstop in hell to rescue Ghost Rider doesn’t sound like much of a stretch - and he fits in perfectly with the apparent horror-fantasy aesthetic of the film.
Where He's From: Daredevil (2015-2018), The Punisher (2017-2019)
Who He Is: Frank Castle has no superpowers - not unless you count an inhuman amount of aggressive impulses as a superpower - yet he remains one of Marvel’s most recognizable characters. Whether he’s appearing in the pages of Marvel Comics or on Netflix, the Punisher’s story is always the same: Frank’s family is slain, he paints a skull on his chest, and then he starts taking out criminals and never stops.
Where He'd Fit Into The MCU: There’s only one other man in the MCU who has displayed a penchant for bloody rampages that rival the Punisher’s: the Winter Soldier. Now that Bucky Barnes is completely reformed, however, it makes for an interesting dichotomy between the two. Just having Castle around to debate the merits of lethal justice with Barnes and Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would be entertaining enough, but everyone would leave disappointed if Bucky and Frank didn’t engage in at least one battle.
Where He's From: Jessica Jones (2015-2019), Luke Cage (2016-2018) The Defenders (2017), Iron Fist (2017-2018)
Who He Is: Luke Cage is the hero for hire from Harlem with bulletproof skin and a bull-proof demeanor. He’s truly a man of the people, preferring to stick around his own neighborhood in a constant attempt to make it a safer place to live - a mission that eventually led to him taking over the local criminal organizations in a mostly benevolent fashion.
Where He'd Fit Into The MCU: Many MCU characters have already been described as “street-level,” but Moon Knight is going to be the first hero to truly deserve that title. Marc Spector does his best work while literally running around back alleys and rooftops by night, and he usually does it in neighborhoods much like Harlem. Having Moon Knight interact with the pre-cancellation crime boss version of Luke Cage would be especially fascinating, given that it would almost inevitably end with a begrudging fistic team-up.
Who He Is: The version of Bullseye that appears on Netflix’s Daredevil is vastly different from the one existing in the pages of Marvel Comics - the two characters don’t even share the same real name. What they do share, however, is a proficiency for uncanny accuracy with quite literally any object, including all manner of weapons, and a psychopathic disregard for anyone other than themselves.
Where He'd Fit Into The MCU: The Bullseye-versus-Hawkeye rivalry is an obvious one, and it has some serious Marvel Comics precedence - Bullseye once even went by the name of “Hawkeye” for a while as a member of the Dark Avengers. They’re both good at hitting things with other things, and they’ve both got “eye” in their names. It would be an outright shame if the two of them never got the chance to take shots at one another in live action - and the upcoming Hawkeye series could be the last opportunity for a good long while.
