Ranked: All The Characters Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe

5. Loki

The temptation, when needing to create an adversary impressive enough that the entire Avengers team must for the first time assemble to defeat him, must have been to go bigger, boomier, more apocalyptic. But Loki, as played by the slight Tom Hiddleston, is not an apocalyptic presence, and that’s part of what makes hims such a great character —he is as much a petulant child/piqued, envious younger brother playing in a sandpit of things he doesn’t really understand and forces he cannot hope to control as he is a God of Mighty and Terrible Wrath. This sense that a spoiled child, albeit one with a nice line in quasi-Shakespearean dialogue delivered impeccably by an impish and deliciously malevolent Hiddleston, can nearly bring about the end of Earth is a gentle subversion of the bland bombast that blockbusters generally deal in, and makes Loki one of the most appealing and memorable villains in the cinematic blockbuster canon.

4. Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

If the Avengers are all damaged goods in one form or another, than Natasha Romanoff reveals in ‘Ultron’ how she’s way more fucked up and scarred than you initially thought. We haven’t learned much about this character over the course of three films (“Iron Man 2,” ‘Avengers’ and ‘The Winter Soldier’) other than she’s disciplined, highly trained fighting operative with smarts, stealth and devastating line in the bait-and-switch double-cross. But in ‘Ultron,’ she’s hoping to connect with Bruce Banner and decides to reveal some of her shrouded backstory, and in just two scenes Whedon brilliantly evokes the emotional cost of her training and unpacks a heavy burden of psychic baggage. More than just having a “dark past that haunts” her (what character doesn’t have one of those?), ‘Ultron’ illustrates that this is a woman still grappling with the blood on her hands (the “red in her ledger”), and the investment in this character has paid off doubly as it has coincided with Scarlett Johansson‘s irresistible rise to prominence as a strong and subtle performer.

3. Bruce Banner/The Hulk

So this is a bit of a cheat, as it’s safe to say the two previous Hulk movies failed the character in many ways, and it’s really only Whedon and Mark Ruffalo who have cracked this tough nut at all. But while the most recent iteration may not have a film all to himself, the character is still the most interesting onscreen version we’ve seen to date and singlehandedly makes The Hulk one of the best characters in the MCU. Most compellingly, Whedon has always been interested in both sides of the character, and both get to shine in ‘Ultron.’ Banner gains confidence, but ever the reluctant Avenger, he has wells of self-loathing that keep him spiritually melancholy, weary and lonely. And even during the Hulk’s rampages, Banner’s empathy, torture and confusion bleed through. Ruffalo’s interpretation says so much with so little, and if Banner is even more angsty in ‘Ultron,’ it reveals a complicated individual too worried about his inner anger to let impending happiness and even burgeoning romance in. Another ‘Hulk’ movie is maybe a bad idea, but Whedon has certainly created the most fertile and promising circumstances should Marvel ever choose to go that route.

2. Steve Rogers/Captain America

Superheroes need to be damaged and conflicted. This we know from the countless brooding ubermensch films where the hero character is all torn up inside (hell, even Superman killed someone and has daddy issues). It’s the reason everyone thought “Captain America: The First Avenger” would be crushingly dull and Captain America himself couldn’t sustain solo films outside ‘The Avengers’ —he’s too good, too uncomplicated, too old fashioned. But Captain America embraces his character’s goodness —sure, he has some demons from his past and struggles as a man out of time, but Steve Rogers is Marvel’s most well adjusted hero. In fact, he’s most comfortable as a soldier, a leader and a big part of the heroism examination of ‘Ultron’ is thanks to Captain America’s drive to push past beyond the team’s nightmares and face their fear head on. Cap isn’t remotely cool and Whedon’s movie acknowledges that in an amusing way and is beautifully played by Chris Evans, but as a traditional hero who runs counter to the conventional wisdom of moody angst, he’s become a refreshing antidote to the glum and irritable superheroes with so many personal demons it’s a wonder they haven’t become a booze-sozzled recluse.

1. Tony Stark/Iron Man

…and speaking of booze-sozzled, we come to the sine qua non of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s simply impossible to believe we would be where we are today, staring down the barrel of the end of Phase II and beginning of Phase III of the most ambitious blockbuster strategy of our time, without Iron Man (and “Iron Man“) and swaggering, rapid-fire Tony Stark anchoring the whole endeavor. Indelibly associated with Robert Downey Jr., it’s hard to tell if Marvel owes him more or less than he owes Marvel in terms of it establishing him as one of the biggest stars in the world after a long period on the rehab/bender/uninsurable roundabout. That “battle with inner demons” narrative is part of what makes RDJ such a perfect fit for the role, but we can’t underestimate the clever writing of the character and the brio of actual performance he brings. And in ‘Ultron’ as before, Stark is the team’s MVP, though here for a slightly different, more interesting and darker reason as his megalomania bubbles to the surface in a way we haven’t necessarily seen before. Of course, it’s a set up for his confrontation with Captain America down the line, but even right now it introduces notes of continuing change and evolution in a character in danger of becoming overfamiliar, and suggests that there’s life in the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist yet.

Missing from the list above but perhaps worthy of consideration (not always in a good way) are characters like Warriors Three in the ‘Thor‘ films; Jon Favreau‘s Happy Hogan in the ‘Iron Man’ films; Emily Van Camp‘s Agent 13 in ‘Winter Soldier‘; Rebecca Hall‘s Maya Hansen in “Iron Man 3“; Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips in ‘Captain America‘; Stanley Tucci‘s boffin Dr. Abraham Erskine; Garry Shandling‘s oleaginous Senator Stern; Rene Russo‘s Frigga from the ‘Thor’ films and so on and so on until the end of time.

And that’s not even considering the welter of new characters that will populate the Universe between now and the end of Phase 3 —check back with us in a few years to see where the likes of Dr. Strange, Captain Marvel, Black Panther and Ant-Man and all their associated antagonists and allies will fit in. Tell us your thoughts in the comments, and if we haven’t provided you with enough fodder to get really, really mad with us above, remember we also Ranked Every Marvel Film Ever…

–Oli Lyttelton, Jessica Kiang, Rodrigo Perez