Line #63 UnexpectedCharacter/MCUPhase4


1	[[index]]
2	* UnexpectedCharacter/MCUDisneyPlusTVSeries
3	[[/index]]
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5	[[foldercontrol]]
6	[[folder:''Black Widow'']]
7	* Yelena Belova, the ''other'' Black Widow appears, even when she seemed to be AdaptedOut apart from a MythologyGag with Natasha looking like her as a blonde in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''.
8	* The main villain of the movie? ''ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}}''. He's always been an EnsembleDarkhorse, but never was he hinted at to appear in the MCU, and he's never been a specific villain for Black Widow.
9	* The Red Guardian, which is the Soviet equivalent to Captain America, makes a surprise appearance since he's obscure and fell OutOfFocus after the real world fall of the Soviet Union.
10	* While Melina Vostokoff a.k.a. Iron Maiden was a Black Widow-villain she only appeared in a handful of comic issues and isn't very well-known. The movie makes her a part of Natasha's surrogative family, making Melina an InNameOnly version of the character.
11	* "Dreykov's daughter" was first mentioned by Loki in dialogue with Black Widow in ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}'' when they discuss the red in Natasha's ledger. No more context was given to that mysterious character. Few would have expected back than that Black Widow would get her own movie nearly a decade after that conversation in which both Dreykov and his daughter would be the main antagonists.
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14	[[folder:''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'']]
15	* Comicbook/ShangChi is another one. He's obscure and was never even ''mentioned'' beforehand as a possibility, yet is set to headline his own standalone movie. There was also the fact that, in the comics, Shang-Chi is the son of the infamous Literature/FuManchu himself, although since his debut, this aspect of his character has largely been abandoned in the comics due to Marvel [[ExiledFromContinuity losing the rights to Fu Manchu]]. To remedy this, Creator/MarvelStudios simply decided to use the Mandarin as the BigBad and Shang-Chi's father for this movie.
16	* The Mandarin himself is a rather unexpected choice as the BigBad for ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings''. Not only does he [[RoguesGalleryTransplant not have any connections to Shang-Chi]], let alone [[RelatedInTheAdaptation that of father and son]], in the comics (due to him being Iron Man's ArchEnemy and all), but many fans thought that the Mandarin was PutOnABus after ''Film/IronMan3'' and ''Film/AllHailTheKing''[[note]]Which establishes that neither Aldrich Killian or Trevor Slattery are the MCU's "definitive" Mandarin, and that there is a real, more comic-accurate Mandarin in the setting[[/note]], especially since Iron Man died in ''Avengers: Endgame''. Lastly, there was the concern about the Mandarin's YellowPeril nature not being feasible in an increasingly diverse MCU, so Creator/MarvelStudios resolved this simply by having him fight their first Asian lead. The best part? Not only was this Mandarin the ''real'' Mandarin - not the Trevor Slattery version - but he has his trademark [[RingOfPower powered rings]].
17	* Not only that Marvel revealed Xu Wenwu as the real Mandarin to make up the controversial ''Iron Man 3''-twist that the "Mandarin" really was an actor named Trevor Slattery - that character was ''also'' brought back in that movie after being [[PutOnABus being kidnapped by the Ten Rings in the short]] ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' . With Trevor's actor being no one less than high-profile actor Creator/BenKingsley it is surprising they had hidden his involvement from marketing and it only became known when Kingsley attended on the premiere.
18	* On a meta-level, yet another case of Unexpected ''Actor''. In this film, the Mandarin is played by Creator/TonyLeungChiuWai. While Leung is known in his native China for acting in exclusively Asian cinema, this is his first Hollywood role. While Creator/MarvelStudios' intentions of [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff appealing to the Chinese market]] are understandable, casting Leung [[DarkhorseCasting of all actors]] was quite a surprise.
19	* '''Nobody''' was expecting Emil Blonsky/The Abomination to make an appearance anywhere before his already surprising return in ''She-Hulk''.
20	* Wong appearing in the film's second trailer (fighting the aforementioned Abomination) was also a big surprise, since he mostly appears as a side character in the ''Avengers'' and ''Doctor Strange'' films, and has little connection to Shang-Chi overall.
21	[[/folder]]
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23	[[folder:''Eternals'']]
24	* No one was expecting a movie about Comicbook/TheEternals, given their obscurity. It makes sense, as their status as being a race of superpowered beings in a hidden city fills the void of Comicbook/TheInhumans after their movie was cancelled and [[Series/{{Inhumans}} their TV show]] flopped.
25	** Even less expected: [[ComicBook/BlackKnightMarvelComics The Black Knight]], of all characters, as a supporting character. While he ''did'' have a relationship with Sersi - one of the main Eternals - in the comics, his fantasy background would have been a little too much [[FishOutOfWater out of place]] in a movie featuring cosmic-level superhumans. This became doubly true when it was leaked just prior to D23 that Creator/KitHarington had been cast in a secret role for an undisclosed MCU film. A large number of fans and websites assumed that given his high visibility thanks to the popularity of ''Series/GameOfThrones'', he would be playing a big name Marvel character like Reed Richards, or even ''Comicbook/{{Wolverine}}'' in an X-Men reboot. Very, ''very'' few people guessed that he'd be playing Black Knight, a C-list Avenger who hadn't even been prominent in the comics for a great many years.
26	** In another case of an unexpected ''actor'', the news that Creator/GemmaChan would be playing Sersi despite having already played Minn-Erva in ''Captain Marvel'' just two years earlier also caught many off guard. While there had already been a few cases of actors from Marvel's TV shows portraying different characters in the movies and vice versa[[note]]Most notably Creator/AlfreWoodard, who played Mariah Dillard in ''Series/LukeCage2016'' and Miriam Sharpe in ''Captain America Civil War''.[[/note]], this was probably the most prominent example of an actor playing two wholly unrelated characters in the films.
27	* [[spoiler:Eros[=/=]Starfox]], who appears in the mid-credits scene, took several people by surprise, as the character is introduced [[spoiler:well after the death of his brother Thanos.]] Likewise with [[spoiler:Pip the Troll, who's more closely associated in the comics with Adam Warlock.]]
28	* Even fewer people were expecting [[spoiler:an [[EarlyBirdCameo early-bird]] VoiceOnlyCameo from Creator/MahershalaAli as ComicBook/{{Blade}}]] in the post-credits scene, as the character has nothing to do with the Eternals and not much to do with [[spoiler:the Black Knight]].
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32	[[folder:''Spider-Man: No Way Home'']]
33	* Try Unexpected '''Universes'''. Though it was a poorly-kept secret that the film would involve the multiverse, what shocked fans the most, especially when it was proven true with the first trailer, that it would go back to the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries''. We had our first inklings of this when news of Creator/JamieFoxx being casted as Electro again and again with Creator/AlfredMolina being casted as Doctor Octopus once more. The trailer proved these not only to be true, but that they were their ''original film counterparts''. Even more so, the trailer hints that Creator/WillemDafoe will reprise his role as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. And the second trailer confirmed Sandman and the Lizard, still played by Creator/ThomasHadenChurch and Creator/RhysIfans!
34	* While the trailer revealed the arrival of villains, it did ''not'' reveal the presence of [[spoiler:[[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Tobey Maguire's]] or [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries Andrew Garfield's]] Spider-Man iterations. Also making a surprise appearance was Creator/CharlieCox as [[Series/Daredevil2015 Matt Murdock]]]].
35	* Despite the deal between Marvel and Sony regarding the rights of ComicBook/SpiderMan, Sony still produces movies with Spider-Man-related characters, set in a [[Film/SonysSpiderManUniverse different universe]]. So people where surprised [[spoiler: when TheStinger of ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'' showed Creator/TomHardy's ComicBook/{{Venom}} being transported in the MCU. Likewise, MCU-fans that haven't seen that movie were probably taken by surprise when the stinger of ''No Way Home'' featured Eddie Brock and the symbiote, despite them not appearing in the actual plot of the movie.]]
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39	[[folder:''Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'']]
40	* Gargantos makes a surprise appearance during the teaser, where they are shown fighting Strange and his allies, despite the fact that they are an obscure enemy of [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]] who only had two appearances in the comics. What's more surprising is how similar they look to the popular ''Dr. Strange'' villain Shuma-Gorath, who they are presumably taking the role of here.
41	* The film marks the MCU debut of Comicbook/AmericaChavez, a character who has little, if any, connection to Strange in the comics — though the movie explicitly being about the multiverse does make her involvement logical, since her whole deal is inter-dimensional travel.
42	* [[spoiler:ComicBook/TheIlluminati making an appearance was exciting enough for comic book fans, but the fact it's set in an alternate universe allowed for a rooster that is even more surprising]]:
43	** The first trailer reveals [[spoiler:Professor X from the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', Still played by Creator/PatrickStewart. it's safe to say that no one saw anyone from that series making a reappearance.]]
44	** Come the movie, there is [[spoiler:Black Bolt as part of the Illuminati, which even if he was a founding member in the comics, was a shock as the movie side of the MCU ignored the Inhumans, and he is downright played by the same Creator/AnsonMount of [[Series/{{Inhumans}} the unsuccessful TV show]].]]
45	** [[spoiler:Reed Richards making an appearance before his team's debut was enough of a surprise for most but what makes it especially surprising is that he is portrayed by Creator/JohnKrasinski who was an extremely popular fan choice, so popular in fact that many initially dismissed it because Marvel Studios is usually known for casting actors who are either not well known or are initially seen as a curveball pick.]]
46	** While the involvement of Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor wasn't a big surprise as ''Film/{{Doctor Strange\|2016}}'' had a [[TheStinger stinger]] showing his character Mordo on a dark path, the unexpected part was he was playing an alternate version of the character who [[spoiler:is both Sorcerer Surpreme and a member of the Illuminati]], while the SequelHook from the first movie was solved off-screen.
47	** After ''[[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?]]'' debuted [[spoiler:Captain Carter, a variant of Series/AgentCarter as [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica super soldier]], few expected to see Creator/HayleyAtwell to portray a live-action version of the character, save one that joined the Illuminati]].
48	** [[spoiler:A variant of Film/{{Captain Marvel\|2019}} in the Illuminati is a surprise on and for itself, but while some sepculated it might be Monica Rambeau, it's actually her mother, played by Creator/LashanaLynch, who never was a superhero in the comics and died off-screen before the events of ''Series/WandaVision''.]]
49	* The mid-credit scene has the appearance of [[spoiler:Clea, who while an important character in the comics, is mostly involved in the Dark Dimension, which was already covered in the first movie.]]
50	[[/folder]]
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53	[[folder:''Thor: Love and Thunder'']]
54	* The return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster in ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder''. While Portman's surprise cameo in ''Endgame'' had indicated that she and Marvel had possibly mended fences after her previous CreatorBacklash over the way ''Thor: The Dark World'' turned out, her return to the ''Thor'' franchise still took many fans by surprise. ''Especially'' after the way Jane had been rather dismissively written out of the series via a single throwaway line in ''Ragnarok''.
55	** And then it was announced that not only would Jane make her return in that movie, it was also announced at the same time that this movie would loosly adapt Jason Aaron's acclaimed [[ComicBook/Thor2014 Thor-run with Jane as new female Thor]]. To see Portman actually train to portray Jane as "The Mighty Thor" was also rather unexpected for many fans.
56	* When Creator/RussellCrowe joined the cast, no one was expecting him to announce that he’s playing Greek God [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Zeus]]. For one thing, most fans thought that it would have been too excessive having ''two'' iconic pantheons in European mythology (Norse for Thor, and Greek for Zeus) in the MCU.[[note]]Not to mention, there is also the fact that Greco-Roman myths have traditionally been the realm of the ComicBook/WonderWoman and ComicBook/{{Shazam}} comics in the Franchise/DCUniverse, whose [[Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse live-action adaptation]] Crowe had previously been part of as Jor-El (Superman's biological father). [[/note]]
57	* The credits scenes have one character who is a lesser surprise, [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]], given Zeus made many conclude his hero son was the natural extension... and then there's [[spoiler:Heimdall, welcoming Jane into Valhalla.]]
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:''Werewolf By Night'']]
61	* The character of ComicBook/WerewolfByNight has always been minor if recurring presence in the comics so centering an entire Halloween special around it is a bit surprising to say the least.
62	* ComicBook/ManThing has had some small mentions in other MCU productions so it's not shocking that he would eventually appear, especially in a Halloween special. A Halloween special focusing on Werewolf By Night though? Now that's surprising.
63	[[/folder]]
64	[[folder:''Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'']]
65	* While a Disney+-series about Riri Williams a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Ironheart}} was announced in 2021, the fact the character would make her MCU-debut in ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' was quite surprising giving there's no connection between the two characters in the comic books.
66	* Countess Valentina makes an unexpected return before her announced one assembling the ''Comicbook/{{Thunderbolts}}'', specially as it's revealed she's both the director of the CIA ''and'' Everett Ross's ex-wife!
67	* [[spoiler:Killmonger's reapparance in the Ancestral Plane served as an unexpected, yet pleasant surprise.]]
68	* [[spoiler:TheStinger introduces Shuri and the audience to T'Challa's previously unknown son with Nakia. T'Challa has no known child in the main-continuity in the comics, so TheReveal comes as a surprise to many.]]
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71	[[folder:''The Guardians Of the Galaxy Holiday Special'']]
72	* While Peter Quill's love for Creator/KevinBacon was constantly brought up in previous movies, the latter actually starring AsHimself in this [[ChristmasEpisode holiday special]] still comes as a surprise.
73	* [[spoiler:Yondu Udonta]] makes an appearance in this special, [[spoiler:during an animated flashback explaining how he ruined christmas for Peter. Later, it is revealed he didn't and we got a heartwarming moment between young Quill and Yondu. More surprising than Creator/MichaelRooker returning for the special is that his appearance is completly animated, probably as a {{Homage}} to [[Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial another famous holiday special about a bunch of beloved space characters]].]]
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Context UnexpectedCharacter / MCUPhase4