With a decade's worth of material, it's no wonder that the MCU would have a collection of forgotten characters. In Phase One alone, there were roughly 25 non-Avenger characters introduced”including everyone from Heimdall to Happy Hogan”and keeping tabs on all of them isn't easy business. Over time, some characters ultimately fell by the wayside, despite the integral roles they played within the franchise.From the get-go, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has more than proven his capabilities in taking on such a massive undertaking. Essentially breaking the mold in seamless comic book adaptations, as well as reinventing the superhero genre for a modern audience, his overall mission with the MCU has been a through-and-through success. That said, there have been some casualties along the way, namely with characters introduced in Phase One. And though the strength of these movies isn't necessarily predicated on their involvement, it's curious as to why they've been neglected.

Killing off a character is typically the go-to mode of action for writing someone out of a story, but that wasn't the case in these instances. In a universe as epic as the MCU, these characters somehow managed to disappear. So, where are they? And how can Marvel Studios reintegrate them into the franchise?

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Betty Ross

Liv Tyler as Betty Ross from The Incredible Hulk

Even though Edward Norton was ultimately recast with Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner in the MCU, the events from The Incredible Hulk are still canon. So, why then did Liv Tyler's Betty Ross”Banner's best friend, lover, and confidant”essentially disappear? While it's common knowledge that Banner ended up fleeing to parts unknown in order to tame his inner beast, that shouldn't change the fact that Betty played a major role in his life; not just emotionally, but professionally. In fact, not only does Betty play a major role in Banner's life, she's the daughter of General Thaddeus Ross, who, incidentally, does show in the MCU after the events of The Incredible Hulk. Given these facts, it's reasonable to assume that her presence in the franchise would make narrative sense; but, unfortunately, she's been MIA since 2008.

Though there hasn't been any official talk on Betty making a return, there are still ways for the MCU to bring her back into the mix. Marvel Studios could toy with their own interpretation of Betty's transfiguration into Red She-Hulk. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have explicitly stated that they aren't creating direct adaptations of the comics, so this evolution of Betty's character could be factored into the MCU. It might be jarring, but it would certainly lend to an explanation of her decade-long absence, while also adding closure to some loose ends.

Related: Did Marvel Change Hulk's Story In Avengers: Infinity War?

Emil Blonsky

Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky and Abomination

In the final act of The Incredible Hulk, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) is infused with Bruce Banner's blood. Having already undergone the process of physical enhancements similar to that of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, the result is catastrophic, transforming him into the Hulk-like monster known as Abomination. Hulk and Abomination battle in the streets of Harlem, New York, and though Hulk is more than happy to strangle his enemy to death, Blonsky's life is spared.

According to The Consultant, one of the MCU's Marvel One-Shot short films, it's revealed that Blonsky is held in captivity after the fight”which is where's been ever since. So, aside from the fact that his tame fate doesn't really complement his aggressive traits, keeping him alive makes it seem as though Marvel Studios may have wanted to keep around for future outings. So, why ignore him for so long?

As it turns out, Roth was offered a role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but turned it down. Whether it was meant to be a cameo or something bigger is impossible to say, but assuming Roth was interested in returning to the MCU, Feige and Co. could easily find a way to bring him back. The prison escape angle was already utilized at the end of Captain America: Civil War, so Marvel Studios could easily flip that on its head and give the same leg-up to imprisoned villains within the MCU.

Justin Hammer

Justin Hammer speaking at the senate hearing in Iron Man 2

Speaking of imprisoned villains within the MCU, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) is another neglected member of the MCU who could potentially make a comeback. After funding terrorism in Iron Man 2, Hammer was ultimately arrested, thanks to Natasha Romanoff and Pepper Potts, and has more than likely remained there up until Avengers: Infinity War (though his official sentence hasn't been revealed). Now, even though Rockwell has shown interest in returning to the MCU, there haven't been any updates on where Marvel Studios stands on any potential involvement for his character in the future.

As it so happens, if Marvel Studios decides to bring him back into the mix, there is one interesting way to do it while adding connective tissue between the Iron Man and Spider-Man movies. Seeing as the name of the prison in which Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes/Vulture was sent was never officially mentioned, a future film in the MCU could reveal that Toomes and Hammer are both residing in Seagate Prison (which would make sense, considering the fact that that's where all of the MCU villains have been sent thus far). Given the setup at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming hinting at the birth of the Sinister Six, Hammer's technology and skills could be utilized in order to orchestrate a breakout, thus giving Hammer more of a presence in the franchise.

Stellan Skarsgard as Erik Selvig drawing on a blackboard in Thor The Dark World

Erik Selvig

Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) may not be imbued with any superpowers, but his proficiency in astrophysics has made him a useful tool for (and involuntary weapon against) the Avengers. After appearing in Thor, Selvig was ultimately forced into servitude for Loki by way of mind control in The Avengers. He uses his skills to the stabilize the Tesseract (aka the Space Stone) to create an entry portal for the Chitauri army, and in doing so, nearly helps Loki succeed in his invasion of Earth. However, once the mind control wears off and the Avengers prevent the invasion, Selvig is recruited as an employee the New Avengers Facility.

Unfortunately, despite the major role he's played in the MCU, he all but disappeared after Age of Ultron in 2015; though bringing him back would be easy. Even though characters like Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) were written out of the MCU, Selvig can easily be written into future movies without explanation. He's already involved behind the scenes, so a comeback wouldn't just be deserving, but seamless.

Lady Sif

In Thor: Ragnarok, Volstagg, Hogun, and Fendral, Asgardian's Warriors Three, are killed unceremoniously by Hela (Cate Blanchett), but their friend and counterpart Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) isn't with them when they die. As it turns out, there were complications in getting Alexander on set during production, given that she was busy filming the TV series Blindspot, so she inadvertently managed to help her character evade death. Still, though, there was never any mention of her in Ragnarok, nor in any other capacity following Thor: The Dark World in 2013.

Judging by the way the Warriors Three were written out of the MCU, it's clear that Marvel Studios didn't put too much weight into certain Asgardian characters, so, even if Sif were to make a return to the MCU, it's difficult to predict how significant her impact would be on the plot. That is, unless the studio uses her absence in Ragnarok to their advantage, allowing them to incorporate her in a more meaningful way somewhere down the line.

Given the Asgardian massacre that takes place during Infinity War's opening scene, Sif's skills could be of serious use, not only as a protector but as a (non-royal) leader.

Agent Phil Coulson

Back in Phase One of the MCU, Agent Phil Coulson was the thread that connected all of the standalone movies. He showed up in brief cameos to not only facilitate the Avengers Initiative, but showcase the presence and general duties of SHIELD. However, halfway into The Avengers, Loki stabs him with his scepter and kills him. It's a major blow to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but ends up serving as the catalyst that finally unites them.

While Coulson was ultimately resurrected in the Marvel TV series Agents of SHIELD, the Avengers never found out. Whedon put a kink in MCU canon when he insisted that the film and television domains of the MCU are entirely separate, meaning Coulson may be alive on the show, but is still dead in the movies. That could potentially be rewritten, but it's still unnecessarily complex.

If Marvel does bring him back into the post-Avengers action (his role in Captain Marvel is a prequel), they can easily explain it away because SHIELD's been dealing with some internal drama and the Avengers found out off-screen, but it's still messy.

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Like Happy Hogan's return to the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming, any of these characters could easily be worked back in the narrative in a future movie, but until then, they're all noticeable holes in the supporting cast of the franchises that introduced them.

More: Agents of SHIELD Has Rewritten The History Of The MCU

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