The Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with great, memorable, recurring characters, but these smaller characters are also important for the future. For the last 11 years, the MCU has primarily revolved around the core six Avengers. Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor each received solo trilogies and appeared in all four Avengers films. Meanwhile, Black Widow and Hulk also showed up for each Avengers installment and a few co-starring roles in other franchise films. Last but certainly not least, Hawkeye appeared in four movies after his debut Thor cameo.
Amid the attention that these characters received, important characters like Black Panther, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man were also introduced and given their own franchises. We've also seen the Guardians of the Galaxy open up the cosmic side of this universe, while other supporting characters like Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Wasp could have larger roles in the future.
With these characters holding so much power and the actors behind them being among the biggest in the world, it can be easy for other great individuals to get lost in the MCU crowd. Screen Rant's latest video (featured at the top of this post) highlights 25 minor characters who are more important than you may have realized. Whether they got the heroes out of a bind or are set up for the future, there's a lot of characters who deserve more recognition. Check out the video for the full list, as we'll highlight three of the best below.
Cassie Lang
Cassie Lang is the daughter of Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). She first appeared in Ant-Man in 2015 and was played by Abby Ryder Fortson in the solo film and the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp. Cassie's dream is to be a hero just like her father, and thanks to the time jump in Avengers: Endgame, she could be closer than ever to being just that. Played now by Emma Fuhrmann, the teenage Cassie could potentially become the hero known as Stature in her next appearance and help form the Young Avengers one day.
Aaron Davis
Donald Glover only had a small role as Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but he could be vital to the future. Aaron does go on to become the villain known as Prowler in the comics, and while that arc could come in the MCU, the most tantalizing future comes with his nephew, Miles Morales. The Afro-Latino superhero is another version of Spider-Man and recently starred in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He's confirmed to exist in the MCU so future appearances by Aaron could further help set up Miles' live-action debut.
Monica Rambeau
Monica Rambeau is another character who had a minor role in the MCU but is now positioned to be a more prominent character. Akiva Akbar played the young version of her in the 1995 set Captain Marvel. She didn't get any superpowers in this brief appearance, but she does later on in the comics. Thanks to the MCU now being set in 2023, Monica would be in her late-30s or early-40s and could soon be re-introduced in a future MCU movie as an older and powered version of herself known as Spectrum, her mother's callsign as a pilot.
