Underrated Marvel Characters
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has close to 40 superheroes and even more villains. And while Marvel fans likely know them all, not all of them make it to mainstream media.
Here’s a list of 21 underrated Marvel superheroes who, if given a good writer and a chance, could join the top tier more often on screen.
Sleepwalker
Sleepwalker is a superhero that descended from a powerful race of aliens who protect a region known as the Mindscape. Sleepwalker was tricked into entering the mind of a college student and became trapped.
He has superhuman abilities—like strength, durability, reflexes, stamina, warp gaze, flight, regenerative human factor, and more.
Sleepwalker had a series back in the '90s but then it changed writers and sadly, he became a filler.
Blue Bison Productions, Sleepwalker (TV Movie 2020)
Free Spirit
College student Cathy Webster took part in an unsanctioned psychology experiment that ended up subliminally programming her to hate all men. Not only that, her body was enhanced to peak human conditioning, similar to the Super Soldier Serum that enhanced Captain America (who she actually teams up with later), eventually leading her to become known as Free Spirit.
Free Spirit has peak human abilities—like strength, durability, agility, healing, stamina, and aging—and also has reached a high level of martial arts.
Free Spirit made her appearance in the '90s, but eventually got reduced to running the Captain America hotline.
Polaris
Dr Lorna Dane is the daughter of the infamous Magneto, and she inherited his mutant abilities of magnetism. As Polaris, she was manipulated by the villain Mesmero, and then rescued by the X-Men—ultimately joining their ranks as a result.
Polaris is an Alpha-mutant with both a primary and secondary mutation. She has the ability to manipulate magnetism and has a magnetic force field she uses to protect herself from physical harm. She also has magnetic flight, electromagnetic sight, and energy absorption.
Doctor Druid
Doctor Anthony Druid, also known as Doctor Droom and Druid, is a supernatural monster-hunter. Over the years, he has worked with the Avengers and Dr Strange.
Doctor Droom was equipped with druid magic, oriental mysticism, magic detection, hypnotism, body control, telepathy, telekinesis, and nature control. He also has extensive medical knowledge, and is multilingual.
The original version of Doctor Druid appeared as Dr Droom in the inaugural issue of Amazing Adventures in 1961. He appeared in each issue until the comic was rebranded as Amazing Adult Fantasy.
Razor Fist
Razor Fist is the name of three different Marvel supervillains. The original Razor Fist was killed off in the comic books many years ago. The next two characters to take the title were brothers. The current Razor Fist is the only surviving brother.
The original Razor Fist was employed by Carlton Velcro, who surgically replaced this man’s hands with steel blades. The two brothers lost their hands in a car accident and had them replaced with knives—also by Velcro.
Other than their blades, they have no known superhuman powers. However, their physical abilities are honed to the peak of human conditioning, and they are highly trained in martial arts.
Marvel, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Shroud
Max Coleridge lost his parents to a horrific tragedy when he was young. This inspired him to pursue a life of fighting crime—which then led him to joining a cult, who then equipped him with new, and dark, abilities.
He posses the mystical ability to create an aperture into the Darkforce Dimension and to project the thick, inky gas-like substance of the Darkforce Dimension into Earth's dimension for his own use.
He has traits inspired by both Batman and The Shadow.
Cardiac
When Elias Wirtham's older brother Joshua succumbed to an incurable disease, Elias devoted himself to medicine—ultimately subjecting himself to experiments that replaced his heart with a beta particle reactor, and fused a Vibranium mesh into his skin.
Assuming the costumed guise of Cardiac, he set out to avenge the deaths of innocents at the hands of individuals who were untouchable by the law.
Cardiac has various superhuman abilities, such as strength, speed, stamina, and durability. He is also able to project Beta Particles through his staff, and has super-genius intelligence.
Batroc
Georges Batroc is one of the most skilled fighters in the Marvel Universe, and has even fought Captain America with his feet. He became a mercenary and specialized in a form of French kickboxing.
He has various peak human abilities, such as leap, strength, agility, and incredible reflexes. He is also a master martial artist, a master thief, and weapons proficient.
Marvel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Nova
As a member of the Nova Corps, Richard Rider has access to the Nova Force and superhuman abilities, which include enhanced strength, fighting skills, and resistance to injury.
He got the gig as a high school student, after Rhomann Dey selected him to be his replacement.
Rider has teamed up with Spider-Man and Thor , and has fought villains such as Condor, Powerhouse, Diamondhead, and the Corruptor.
Boom Boom
Tabitha Smith made her debut in comics, and she has used many different monikers, like Time Bomb, Meltdown, and Boomer—most currently, she goes by Boom Boom. She is commonly associated with the X-Men.
Smith discovered she had mutant powers at age 13 and ran away from home, eventually making her way to Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters—X-Men’s HQ.
She has the ability to create orbs that forcefully explode, doing serious damage. She can create this at various sizes, doing minimal damage or intensive damage.
Cypher
Douglas Ramsey has a very cool and useful mutant ability—he can easily understand any language he encounters, both written and spoken, using a semi-telepathic semi-clairvoyant omnilingualism.
While he doesn’t actually have any offensive powers, his abilities make him an asset in detective work.
He also joined Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, making him mostly associated with the X-Men.
Creative Stock55, Shutterstock
Singularity
During Secret Wars’ A-Force, Nico Minoru came across a meteorite crater in Arcadia that happened to have a space girl inside: Singularity. Basically, she is a pocket universe that gained self-consciousness. After becoming central to the team, she eventually sacrificed herself for them.
She then made the jump to Earth-616 and reunited with Nico, Captain Marvel, and She-Hulk.
Singularity can teleport groups of people across vast distances, can cross between worlds and dimensions, and use osmosis to absorb objects or people into her form.
Marvel, Runaways (TV Series 2017–2019)
Hazmat
Jennifer Takeda’s body actually leaks radiation. She produces deadly chemicals, so any prolonged exposure to her can be fatal for a regular human. Because of this, she wears a containment suit at all times to protect those around her.
She starts as an outcast in society and ends up recruited by the Avengers Academy. There, she learns she can focus her radiation into energy bolts.
Jack Of Hearts
Jack Hart is the product of a scientist father and an extraterrestrial mother. He was unaware of his heritage during his childhood, until an accident involving the slaying of his father also activated his energy powers. He created a suit of armor, took on the name Jack of Hearts, and set off to avenge his father’s slayer.
After some time bouncing between space and Earth, with encounters with Iron Man and White Tiger, he joined the Avengers.
Balder
Balder Odinson is the less-popular brother of Thor and Loki. Also known as Balder the Brave, this Asgardian is the God of Light—meaning he can create light from thin air, often doing so with such force that he can create heat out of light.
Not only can he create light, he is also faster than the speed of light. He is said to be the fastest and most agile of all the Asgardian warriors, his speed rivaled only by Hermod.
He also has superhuman strength, endurance, and longevity, is immune to Earthly diseases, and has some resistance to magic.
Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
She-Hulk
Jennifer Susan Walters is a lawyer who received a blood transfusion after an assassination attack. She received blood from her cousin, Bruce Banner, and acquired a milder version of his Hulk condition.
Walters becomes a large, powerful, green machine—but unlike Hulk in his form, she keeps most of her normal personality, including her intelligence and emotional control.
She-Hulk has been a member of the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Defenders, Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, and Fantastic Force at various points in her history.
Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (TV Mini Series 2022)
Man-Thing
Dr Theodore “Ted” Sallis was a young biochemist who worked for a group that was trying to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum that created Captain America.
After injecting himself with a test serum, and then subsequently crashing his car into a swamp filled with magical forces, he transforms into a slow-moving plant-matter creature with large, solid red eyes.
As Man-Thing, Sallis no longer communicates with human society, and accidentally becomes a hero after stumbling upon various crime scenarios.
He has a variety of superhuman powers and is extremely sensitive to human emotions, and can sense them from afar.
Marvel, Werewolf By Night (2022)
Moon Knight
Marc Spector is a psychologically complex superhero. In the Othervoid—a realm outside of normal time and space—an entity takes interest in Spector due to his weak mind, and creates a psychic connection. He then develops dissociative identity disorder.
He then becomes a mercenary and is drawn to deadly mysteries, fighting evil and defending those who travel at night.
Marvel, Moon Knight (TV Mini Series 2022)
Domino
Neena Thurman is known as a member of the mutant team, X-Force. Domino is actually the result of a top-secret government breeding program intended to develop the perfect weapon. She was the only test subject to survive, but her “lucky” power was deemed a failure. Her mother broke her out of the project and left her at a church.
She then became a mercenary and began her life of heroism, working with various groups and other superheroes, like Deadpool and Wolverine.
Domino has the ability to subconsciously generate a "psionic aura" that alters the probabilities of events and actions within her line of sight. The aura causes improbable outcomes that are personally beneficial—basically swaying the situation to be “good luck” for her and “bad luck” for her opponents.
Dazzler
Alison Blaire is a mutant superheroine with the ability to convert sound vibrations into light and energy beams. She discovers her powers as a teen and sets out to use them to her advantage on stage.
She meets the X-Men during a performance that gets interrupted by the forces of the Hellfire Club. Angry, she lashes out, making one of them catatonic. After aiding the X-Men, she finds a new direction for her life—making use of her powers.
Blaire often works alongside the X-Men, Spider-Man, Blue Shield, and more.
Also, Dazzler's sexuality has given the character notoriety among the LGBTQ+ community.
Marvel, X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
Miracleman
Miracleman was originally known as Marvelman. His civilian name is Mike Moran, and he got his abilities after stumbling into Guntah Barghelt—an astro-scientist who happened to be looking for a test subject.
Moran was then given the power to turn into the superpowered Marvelman whenever he spoke the keyword “Kimota”.
All of Moran’s powers stem from his mind, and they steadily get stronger over time. He has superhuman strength, stamina, speed, and fighting skills. He also has a forcefield for protection, superhuman senses, advanced longevity, telepathy, telekinesis, self-sustenance, superhuman intelligence, and regeneration.
Because he can basically do anything, and is said to be extremely powerful.
However, Miracleman does have one major weakness. Doctor Gargunza installed a failsafe in him—if the word "abraxas" is spoken out loud in his presence, he will revert back to his human form and won't be able to transform for an hour.
