Random Weakest Characters In The MCU (15 items)

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  (#1) Justin Hammer Expo Attendee

  • Iron Man 2

  Justin Hammer is supposed to be a parallel to Tony Stark - he's a wealthy, megalomaniacal arms dealer and tech CEO who builds Iron Man-like battle armor. However, he's more like a poor man's Tony Stark instead of a mirror image. While Tony is egotistical yet brilliant, Justin is just a self-obsessed buffoon more interested in money and self-promotion than helping the world or even producing a competent product.

  There's one telling scene in Iron Man 2, when Justin has Ivan Vanko sitting in a room under armed guard, and the well-dressed businessman is doing his best to threaten the Russian lunatic. Justin tells Vanko that he's "a dead man" if Vanko doesn't do what he wants. He's putting on his toughest tough guy act and it would be physically impossible for Vanko to be less concerned or intimidated. While he has an undeniable flair for salesmanship - which he displays while selling arms to Lt. Col. James Rhodes - he's just a weaselly jerk in a grey three-piece suit.
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  (#2) The Mandarin

  While he is known to the world as the Mandarin, a global villain of unequaled magnitude, it's eventually revealed that the international baddie is just a washed-up, substance-using actor named Trevor Slattery. He was hired by the evil think tank organization Advanced Idea Mechanics and the deranged scientist Aldrich Killian, who uses the Mandarin's supposed attacks to further his goals and cover up accidents resulting from his various Extremis program mishaps.

  While the Mandarin has built a fearsome reputation through menacing propaganda videos, his true, drunken, oblivious persona is revealed by Tony Stark. Instead of the psychotic villain Tony expected to find, Trevor turns out to be a scared, idiotic actor desperate for work who has no idea that he is a very public pawn in a vast conspiracy.
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  (#3) The Tinkerer

  Also known by his awesome (but not particularly intimidating) real name Phineas Mason, the Tinkerer is a construction site salvage worker turned clever, brilliant inventor and underworld mastermind in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Working with Adrian Toomes - AKA the Vulture - Phineas is able to use salvaged alien and Ultron technology to create hyper-futuristic tech to aid in heists pulled off by Toomes and his bitter crew of former upright salvage company employees.

  While the Tinkerer has an incredible mind for reverse engineering and modifying otherworldly technology - and developing anti-gravity blasters, shocker gauntlets, and matter phase-shifters - he doesn't actually use any of the tech himself, and basically stays out of fights altogether. He's an affable behind-the-scenes kind of guy who's good at welding and stays in his own lane.
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  (#4) Arnim Zola

  Very few characters in the MCU have been as important and influential as Hydra scientist Arnim Zola, while still being so incredibly non-intimidating and weak. Working with the Germans and Hydra during WWII, then spearheading the Winter Soldier program - which leads to Bucky Barnes being reborn as the metal-armed assassin of the same name - so much of the MCU's history, and even its present, is steeped in Zola's villainous machinations.

  That being said, he's a sniveling, pint-sized jerk who sends others into battle to fight on his behalf. Despite inventing superpowered exoskeletons, he never tries to don one himself because he's just a frightened inventor with a love for hate. Eventually, he perishes of a terminal disease, but his brain and consciousness are transferred and downloaded into a massive computer in a bunker beneath Camp Lehigh.

  But even then, his intelligence isn't loaded into a giant robot body (as it is in the comics). That could at least pose a threat to Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff when they discover the computer during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Instead, he's just an antique reel-to-reel computer, and all Zola can really do is stall the pair long enough for S.H.I.E.L.D. to try and blow the base up. Even this plan fails, as Steve and Natasha manage to escape, while Zola's mainframe is finally obliterated by the explosion.
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  (#5) Darren Cross

  As the Yellowjacket, Darren Cross proves to be a formidable adversary for Scott Lang as Ant-Man. His Yellowjacket suit has all the bells and whistles you could want, including laser-blasting robotic appendages and a much more threatening helmet. Their epic (albeit miniature) climactic battle is one of the most creative and thrilling fights in the entire MCU.

  That being said, before he dons the suit, Darren is just an incredibly smarmy, pompous scientist who throws tantrums over not being appreciated enough by his mentor, Hank Pym. After Hank, his daughter Hope Van Dyne, and Scott break into Cross's lab to take the Yellowjacket suit before Darren can sell it to Hydra, Hank surprises Darren with a solid punch to the face. If that isn't sad enough, Darren later flees from the exchange after being bitten by a few ants. That's just poor villian-ing.
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  (#6) Kraglin Obfonteri

  As the righthand man and first mate of the formerly disgraced Ravager Yondu Udonta, Kraglin is a devoted and loyal friend and shipmate. He's also brave (in many cases), standing up to the forces of Ronan the Accuser during the attack on Xandar and (ultimately) defying his fellow Ravagers after inadvertently sparking a mutiny against his captain.

  However, Kraglin is the consummate "watch the ship" guy. He's the one who is always saddled with the duty of holding down the fort while the real heroes put their lives on the line to battle the baddies. This is exactly his role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, when Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Yondu join the fight against Ego the Living Planet. He's on board the ship when the fleet of the Sovereign's omnicrafts appear, and he tries to warn his comrades. Why does he stay behind? Because everyone except him has something legitimately useful to lend to the battle.
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  (#7) Obadiah Stane

  Tony Stark's business partner proves himself to be a maniacal slayer, and in the Iron Monger armor, he proves to be one of the first villains to really give Tony a run for his money as Iron Man. Even without the armor, Stane almost ends Tony when he gets the drop on him by paralyzing Tony and ripping the arc reactor out of his chest, which nearly ends the hotshot inventor's life.

  However, like Tony himself, so much of Stane's power comes when he's piloting the Iron Monger battle armor. Unlike Stark, he's not smart enough to design the tech himself, and he's at least two or three decades older. While he might look like a real badass with his bald head and formidable beard, if he and Stark had duked it out in the street with their bare hands, Tony would have flattened him - not to mention what literally any other hero in the MCU would have done to him.
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  (#8) Fandral

  • Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Tales of Asgard, Thor

  As a member of the Warriors Three and an Asgardian, Fandral is obviously more powerful than, say, an average human. But the Warriors Three sure feel like cannon fodder in the MCU on a really regular basis. They try to fight the Destroyer in the first Thor movie and almost immediately get beaten. During that fight, Fandral doesn't even do anything but look worried about Volstagg and Lady Sif the whole time.

  Then, in Thor: Ragnarok, the warriors are just standing around when Hela shows up and takes out all three of them in the blink of an eye with her magic throwing daggers. They literally put up less of a fight than almost any random soldier in the Asgardian army. And, among the Warrior's Three, Fandral is the one best known for his charm - not his fighting prowess or his valiant efforts, just his winning personality.
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  (#9) Helmut Zemo

  This Sokovian soldier turned underworld mastermind proves he is not to be trifled with when it comes to his plans for revenge. He orchestrates the discord that tears the Avengers apart in Captain America: Civil War, he activates the Winter Soldier after framing him for an attack, and he drives a nearly fatal wedge between Iron Man and Captain America that leads to them almost slaying each other and ruining their friendship.

  The express reason, however, for all of the mind games and subterfuge and lying is because Zemo knows, for a 100% fact, that he'd never be able to take on the Avengers himself, and is too weak to end them individually. So he relies on his brain instead of his brawn to decimate his enemies. If Helmut had tried to take on any of them one-on-one, they would have ripped him apart. He can't even end his own life because Black Panther overpowers him and forces him to face justice.
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  (#10) Howard Stark

  • The Invincible Iron Man, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel Universe

  Like his son Tony, Howard Stark is a groundbreaking scientific genius who would have undoubtedly been amazed by all that his son eventually creates and builds. He works on the super soldier serum that gives the world Captain America, he spends his life fighting Hydra, and he even lays the groundwork for his son to one day invent a brand new element. But Howard Stark is every bit the brazen playboy that his son is before Tony's post-kidnapping self-reinvention. 

  He is a businessman and an exec, and while he admittedly knows how to get his hands dirty if he needs to, he is just a dude in a well-tailored suit. It's his passing at the hands of the Winter Soldier that exemplifies his limitations as an ordinary man when it comes to fighting and the strength needed to take on increasingly powerful baddies. After a brainwashed Bucky Barnes causes his car to crash, Howard perishes after a few strong punches from the Winter Soldier's powerful metal arm. Sure, it's understandable why this ends him, but it's that same human vulnerability that makes him so outmatched from the start.
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  (#11) Tony Stark (Without His Iron Man Armor)

  As a founding member of the Avengers, Tony has gone from a self-serving playboy arms dealer to a self-sacrificing savior of all mankind over the course of little more than a decade and a half. In his Iron Man battle armor, he's taken out hordes of Chitauri aliens, fought fire-breathing super soldiers, and blasted an army of vicious robots, all before snapping his fingers to obliterate a massive invading army threatening the entire planet.

  However, without his Iron Man armor, he's just a spoiled billionaire with a smart mouth. And unlike another billionaire with a powerful suit (we're looking at you, Bruce Wayne), he doesn't have years of ninja training to back up his caustic wit. He's an undeniable genius, which is how he created his many different suits in the first place, but in a scrape, he couldn't do much without some tech and gear. 

  For a clear visual reference to his relative strength, look no further than when he and Steve Rogers are chopping wood at Clint Barton's farm in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Tony has an ax and barely gets through a few logs while Steve doesn't even need a blade to rip the logs apart. Without his suit, Stark is just a thrill-seeking businessman.
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  (#12) Hank Pym

  The man discovered and refined the Pym particle, allowing the Ant-Man suit to function in the first place, so you can't say he isn't a brilliant scientist. He's also a national hero, having served as the Ant-Man decades ago. He and his wife Janet - who was a shrinking superhero in her own right named the Wasp - saved the world from atomic conflict by disarming a soviet ICBM in 1987.

  In the modern day, however, Hank is just an old man with an amazing head of hair. Sure, he can still throw a decent punch, but he's also able to believably fake a heart attack as a means of causing a distraction, because he looks like someone who is in the reasonable heart attack age range. In fact, considering the toll that going giant in the Ant-Man suit takes on Scott Lang - who's at least two or three decades younger - if Hank were required to grow 50 feet tall, it would almost certainly end him. Ultimately, he's a smart, devoted scientist superhero who happens to be well past his prime.
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  (#13) Agent Phil Coulson

  • Ultimate Spider-Man, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Thor, Iron Man, Nick Fury, The Avengers, Iron Man 2

  He's the man who brought the Avengers together by giving them something to avenge. He's a dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with a head for strategy and the perfect, measured demeanor that makes for a great leader and a stoic mentor. All that being said, he's a mild-mannered normie playing in a sandbox filled with literal gods, robotic battle suits, and rage-fueled super-beings.

  Despite never really having any chance at making it through unscathed, you've got to give the guy credit for not backing down in the face of constant peril. However, you just have to look at one specific scene in The Avengers to see exactly why he's one of the weakest players in the game. As he holds Loki at gunpoint with the giant laser blaster, it looks like he's struggling to even keep it aloft. Then, he gets pierced in the back and just perishes. He simply wasn't durable enough to run with the titans of that world. At least he got one last good blast in with that big laser cannon.
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  (#14) Rocket Raccoon

  • Marvel Universe

  Rocket is a genetically modified talking raccoon with a brilliant mind for crafting technology, weapons, and traps. He's been instrumental in saving the world more than once as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers. He's got a smart mouth, a terrible temper, and access to a powerful arsenal.

  All that being said, when you strip away the fancy tech, he's still just a raccoon - with the average strength of an admittedly large raccoon. Sure, he probably knows how to get into those wildlife-proof trash cans you see at state parks, but in an unarmed street fight, his best bet is still going to be clawing at your eyes or biting your fingers.

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