Marvel Comics narrowly avoided full insolvency during their 90s bankruptcy. They were only kept fiscally viable due to selling the movie rights to many of their characters. Most notably, Sony bought Spider-Man and FOX bought X-Men and the Fantastic Four.
Well, two decades later and the MCU is the greatest cinema achievement of all time, while Disney stands on the cusp of purchasing FOX, bringing those characters back into Marvel’s fold.
Assuming teams like the Starjammers and Excalibur are saved for another post, which characters that FOX never used would be great in the MCU? Sure, Marvel might simply go for the well-known names we’ve already seen on the big screen in FOX properties, but let’s assume for a second that Marvel will bring forth little seen characters.
7 Characters that FOX Didn’t Use that Would be Great in the MCU
[bs_smart_list_pack_start][/bs_smart_list_pack_start]
Dazzler
Dazzler has been teased as cameos in a couple of the latest X-Men movies, but wouldn’t it be great to get a proper version of Allison Blaire on the big screen, especially if the character was handled by Marvel proper.
Dazzler is a mutant with the ability to convert sound vibrations into light and energy beams. Interestingly, she leverages her powers into a successful career as a pop star, putting on shows that dazzle (pun intended).
She was created during the disco era and has been known to rock some sweet roller skates, but she’s also one of the more beloved X-Men. She’d make a dazzling addition to the MCU. Now, who would you cast in her role?
Longshot
Longshot feels like a no-brainer if you bring Dazzler to the big screen, since those two characters were so intimately linked during the Chris Claremont Uncanny years.
We’ve written a full introduction to Longshot, so I’ll simply point you there if you want to learn more about the character.
MOJO
If you bring in Longshot, you may as well bring in his biggest foil, the bizarre villain MOJO.
MOJO would be an absolute treat to see come to life on the big screen and his gleeful and maniacal speech cadence would be a delight. What’s more, you could tie in Dazzler and Longshot wonderfully with the character.
Here’s more about MOJO, as well as the X-Men’s other foes.
Molecule Man
Now let’s switch to characters associated with the Fantastic Four: Molecule Man.
Owen Reece timidly clung to his mother when he was a child, then grew into a weak-willed adult, made lonely by his mother’s death and bitter toward what he saw as an unjust world. Working as a lowly tech at a nuclear plant, Reece accidentally activated an experimental particle generator, which bombarded him with radiation that had a mutagenic effect on him. Reece could now control all matter and energy, right down to the molecular level. Reece named himself the “Molecule Man” after his power to control molecules.
Uatu the Watcher recognized the threat that Molecule Man’s unlimited power posed to Earth and alerted the Fantastic Four, whom he battled many times before being pretty quiet in comics of late, outside of the Secret Wars event.
Kang
Writing time travel stories is always tricky business but Kang the Conqueror is just the character to bring time travel to the MCU.
Kang has been involved some epic Avengers stories, including the early 2000s Kang Dynasty storyline written by Kurt Busiek that would make an excellent movie storyline. The story features Kang the Conqueror–warlord from the 30th century–arriving in the early 21st century with his son Marcus intent on conquering Earth.
Tigra
Tigra is an Avenger best known from the West Coast Avengers era, a comic I can’t believe we haven’t written more about here at Nerds on Earth.
Greer Grant was fresh out of college when her newlywed husband was killed while on police duty. Forced to quickly look for work, she earned money by participating in experiments ran by her old physics teacher, who was working on the the plausibility of old legends into the super powered defender of The Cat People, a humanoid race created by sorcery during the Dark Ages.
Greer became Tigra, a humanoid tiger-like being with abilities, including superhuman strength and senses. Striped fur covered her entire body, her hands and feet grew razor-sharp claws, her teeth became long and pointed, and her eyes were now cat-eyes.
When the Avengers found themselves shorthanded, dozens of unaffiliated heroes auditioned. Greer was chosen by Captain America.
Tigra has a storied history with the Avengers and would make a great addition to the MCU. Her fight scenes would be smooth. Makeup and costume design would have a field day with this character as well.
Taskmaster
Taskmaster is able to mimic the fighting styles of others, which would make for some gnarly fight scenes.
We’ve written about Taskmaster before, so I’ll simply point you there.
[bs_smart_list_pack_end][/bs_smart_list_pack_end]
OK, there are my picks for FOX owned Marvel chapters who would be excellent in the MCU. What are yours. Let us know on Facebook.
What characters would you love to see hit the silver screen? Let us know by dropping in on our Nerds on Earth 616 Facebook Group!
Tabletop Takeaways: Tips for Dungeon Masters with a Narrative Spin