Marvel Studios has released almost as many projects in Phase 4 as the entire Infinity Saga, and boy, it sure has been a mixed bag. The MCU has become a content machine that appears to prioritise quantity over quality, likely because Kevin Feige and the rest of the studio's creatives are now stretched thin.
There's been a lot to love about the past couple of years of storytelling, in fairness, but also some characters who have been totally wasted.
In fact, Marvel Studios has completely failed to do those featured here justice, whether it's through simple misuse, a lack of screentime, or creative decisions that feel more DCEU than MCU (sorry!). There's still hope for them in future, but this lot deserved better.
Read through the characters we think have been wasted in Phase 4 by tapping that NEXT button below!
7. The Lizard
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a near-flawless film, but it dropped the ball with at least two of its villains. We are, of course, referring to The Lizard and Sandman. The latter served a purpose, but Curt Connors definitely deserved better after his arc in The Amazing Spider-Man (which ended with him behind bars after trying to turn New York's citizens into lizards).
He made the leap to the MCU looking as crappy as he did in 2012 and as little more than a dumb monster with no real motivations. Marvel Studios had the chance to show the smarter and increasingly violent sides of The Lizard, even without Rhys Ifans on set, and we may never forgive them for not including the lab coat and purple pants.
6. Dane Whitman
Eternals wasn't Dane Whitman's film, but he deserved better than being left behind in London while Sersi went off with her family to figure out what was behind the return of the Deviants. Taking him along for the ride wouldn't necessarily mean he'd have become Black Knight, but that sort of subplot would still leave him better prepared for a superhero future.
Instead, this unassuming teacher watched his girlfriend get abducted and decided the best response would be to go find his cursed family sword before being told not to by Blade (who never showed his face). It's a lame-duck ending for the character, and one we're not even sure will be addressed in the Daywalker's film given the change in creative team.
5. Jake Lockley
Jake Lockley, Moon Knight's third personality, was teased early on in the series and as we neared the finale, it felt like a given he'd finally appear. Well, he did, but not before a post-credits scene that teased a future story (we desperately need to know more about his secret alliance with Khonshu) we still don't know when will actually happen.
Those final few episodes felt like a mess at the best of times, and while we're sure Jake would play a bigger role in a potential season 2, making him an afterthought was a poor creative decision. Moon Knight was a series that didn't fully live up to its potential, anyway, though we have nothing bad to say about Oscar Isaac's work.
4. Skaar
What was the f***ing point of this? With She-Hulk: Attorney at Law teasing The Hulk's return to Sakaar early on, we hoped the Jade Giant's son might show up before all was said and done. Well, he was part of that baffling, bonkers finale, and rocked up without saying a word and with one of the worst character designs we've ever seen in the MCU.
Marvel Studios almost certainly has plans to pick up where they left off here, but as character introductions go, this was abysmal. Skaar is going to need a major overhaul by the next time we see him, and as unfair as many of the criticisms aimed at this Disney+ series were, this one was fully justified.
3. "Quicksilver"
This one makes us more sad than angry, to be totally honest. When Evan Peters showed up as Wanda's brother in WandaVision, it looked like the Multiverse was at play or that he had been "recast" in this sitcom world, giving Marvel Studios the chance to resurrect Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver with the actor who played the speedster in Fox's X-Men Universe.
Instead, he was just a wannabe actor, Ralph Bohner, brainwashed into doing Agatha Harkness' bidding. One of the most underwhelming reveals in MCU history, this was one of the first major Phase 4 errors and an absolute waste of a character who could and should have had a bright future in this shared world. This needs retconning ASAP.
2. The Illuminati
We're cheating a little bit here, but have no other choice than to include this entire team. Look no further than the way they were killed one after the other for proof of how they were wasted; after all, was that really the best they could do with powerful characters like Black Bolt and Mister Fantastic? Their respective deaths were creative, but little else about them was.
Making this Captain Carter Variant somewhat villainous in nature was another blunder after her standout role in What If...?, and Professor X felt like little more than a gimmick (Captain Marvel, too, for that matter). For us, perhaps the biggest mistake was not giving Chiwetel Ejiofor a decent role to sink his teeth into in this Doctor Strange sequel.
1. Tiamut
There's a giant marble Celestial sticking out of the Indian Ocean, but not a single character has mentioned it since. The lack of connectivity throughout Phase 4 has been blamed on a jam-packed slate, but Marvel Studios sat on Eternals throughout the entire pandemic when all those productions were on hold.
We thought Black Panther: Wakanda Forever might at least reference Tiamut considering the fact that Namor protects the world's oceans, but the alien wasn't even talked about in passing. Eternals might have been the MCU's first Rotten film, but a plot point like this should not be overlooked no matter what does or doesn't come next for the franchise.