The Marvel Cinematic Universe may have the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but where would those characters be without support? Characters like Jessica Jones need people like Trish in their lives or they tend to fall apart — just watch season two of Netflix's Marvel's Jessica Jones if you need confirmation of that. Across all of the television series and films in the MCU, there are dozens of supporting characters who are actively working to support our favorite superheroes in their endeavors. So, we thought it would be fun to list the top 25 of them and rank them based on who we thought was the best.
Many of the people on this list have superpowers, skills and special abilities of their own, but don't quite take top billing in the MCU product. To rank them, we decided to go over their overall qualities and measure their impact on the films and TV shows they are in against one another. One character may be physically stronger than another, but their overall impact and support to the main character may diminish when compared to another. Despite their status as a supporting character, many of these people could easily headline their own series (one actually has). As we mentioned, there are far more amazing supporting characters in the MCU so if we missed one of your favorites, sound off in the comments and let us know. With that, here are the top 25 best MCU supporting characters, officially ranked.
25 FOGGY NELSON
Franklin "Foggy" Nelson began his professional career as an attorney alongside his associate and best friend, Matt Murdock. Unbeknownst to Foggy, Matt was the costumed vigilante, Daredevil, otherwise known as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Foggy became involved with superheroes when he learned of Matt's double life.
He has since gone on to leave their firm and take up employment under Jeri Hogarth. He still takes cases involving superheroes, having recently brokered a deal for Luke Cage. Foggy has been played by Elden Henson who appeared in the role on Netflix's Marvel's: Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders.
24 HARLEY KEENER
He may be just a little boy without any superpowers of any kind, but Harley Keener played a pivotal role in helping Tony Stark in Iron Man 3. In the film, Tony's armor is nearly destroyed, so he crash lands outside a small town before finding a garage in the home of Mr. Keener.
Harley keeps Tony's secret and ensures he has the tools and items he needs to get his armor repaired so he can take on the bad guy and save the day. He falls in this place on the list thanks to the help he gave Tony. Harley was played by Ty Simpkins who will appear in the fourth Avengers film.
23 NED LEEDS
Edward "Ned" Leeds is Peter Parker's best friend and the keeper of his secret life as Spider-Man. After learning about Peter's superhero alter-ego, Ned becomes "the man in the chair" who helps him on his missions by providing intel over the phone.
Ned first appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming and followed up that appearance in Avengers: Infinity War. He is portrayed by Jacob Batalon. In the comics, Ned Leeds is the name of the second Hobgoblin who undertook the criminal moniker after a bit of brainwashing. He worked at the Daily Bugle as a reporter who fell in love with Betty Brant.
22 ERIK SELVIG
Doctor Eric Selvig was a close personal friend and teacher of Jane Foster who discovered Thor on Earth alongside his pupil. His knowledge of Theoretical Astrophysics and Norse Mythology came in handy helping Thor acclimate to life on Earth. By the end of the first Thor film, he was taken over by Loki.
In Avengers, Dr. Selvig was being controlled by Loki to create a device capable of opening a portal to the Chiatari via the Tesseract. He was able to overcome his mind-control enough to build in a "back door" allowing the device to be destroyed, which thwarted Loki's plans. He is played by Stellan Skarsgård.
21 LUIS
Luis was Scott Lang's cellmate in prison who was released before Lang. He picked him, gave him a place to stay and enlisted him into his gang. He became instrumental in bringing Lang to Dr. Hank Pym, which resulted in the former becoming the new Ant-Man.
Later in the film, Luis (who is never given a last name) aided Pym and Lang in infiltrating Pym Tech to steal the Yellowjacket technology. He saved Lang's life during the break-in and was likewise saved. He also plays a big part in the second film, Ant-Man and the Wasp. Luis is played by Michael Peña.
20 HOPE VAN DYNE
While she takes on a superhero role in the second Ant-Man film, Hope Van Dyne is sadly relegated to supporting character status in her first MCU appearance. That isn't to say she's not integral to everything that happened in the film. Hope assists her father, Hank Pym and his new protégé, Scott Lang throughout the movie.
Initially, Hope is against the idea of recruiting Scott and prefers to don the Ant-Man suit herself to get the job done. She reluctantly comes around, but is given her own suit at the end of the film. Hope is portrayed by Evangeline Lilly.
19 KRAGLIN OBFONTERI
Kraglin is the right-hand man of Yondu Udonta, a disgraced Ravager who made his first appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy. He played a minor role in the first film, but stepped up his game in the second after a mutiny on board their ship goes awry.
After initially supporting the mutiny, he turns against the crew and returned to Yondu's side. After helping everyone escape, Kraglin finds himself allied with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Kraglin is played by Sean Gunn, the younger brother of director James Gunn. He also provided the motion capture work for Rocket Raccoon.
18 SHARON CARTER
Sharon Carter is the great niece of Peggy Carter who finds herself assigned to keep an eye on Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in Captain America: Winter Solder. Sharon is a loyal agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who stood against HYDRA when their takeover of the agency went down in the film.
She later appeared in Captain America: Civil War, where she provided assistance to Captain America and his allies in violation of the Sokovia Accords. She shares a kiss with the Captain hinting at a potential relationship forming. Sharon Carter is played by Emily VanCamp.
17 MARIA HILL
Agent Maria Hill is the second-in-command and Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who works directly under Nick Fury. Hill is a capable agent who possesses skills in everything from tactical planning to martial arts. After Nick Fury goes underground, Hill takes her place at his side and continues to fight the good fight.
After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., she began working for Stark Industries so she could continue to provide support to Agent Phil Coulson and the Avengers. She was one of the culled at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Maria Hill is played by Cobie Smulders.
16 PEGGY CARTER
Before Peggy Carter had her own series, she was a supporting character in Captain America: The First Avenger. Carter was a British operative working alongside Professor Abraham Erskine on Project Rebirth, which empowered Steve Rogers to become Captain America.
Carter continued working with the Strategic Scientific Reserve throughout WWII. After the war, she became one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her exploits and efforts helped hold off HYDRA from world domination a number of times before she passed at the age of 95. She has been portrayed by Hayley Atwell and Gabriella Graves, who played her as a child.
15 NICK FURY
Colonel Nicholas "Nick" Joseph Fury was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time the organization fell under HYDRA in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Fury was the man behind the Avengers Initiative introduced in Iron Man and eventually went on to form the Avengers.
Since S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, he has been working behind the scenes with most of the world believing him dead. This has resulted in him making cameo appearances in many of the MCU movies released over the years. He is played by Samuel L. Jackson who portrayed the character in 10 films and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
14 CLAIRE TEMPLE
Claire Temple was a nurse who came into contact with Matt Murdock after he was injured. She provided medical assistance and eventually counseling of sorts to get Matt back into fighting shape. Claire went on to become one of the instrumental figures across all the Netflix series.
Claire began a romantic relationship with Luke Cage in the first season of his series and worked in the background helping Jessica Jones, Danny Rand, Matt Murdock, and Cage as they formed the Defenders. She has been portrayed by Rosario Dawson on all five of Marvel's Netflix series.
13 J.A.R.V.I.S.
Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, or simply, J.A.R.V.I.S., was the artificial intelligence installed first in Tony Stark's home and then in his Mark II Iron Man armor. J.A.R.V.I.S. became an integral core system in all of Stark's Iron Man suits until it was taken over by the Ultron Intelligence.
J.A.R.V.I.S.' surviving code was integrated alongside the Ultron Intelligence into the Vision android to become an entirely new character and member of the Avengers. J.A.R.V.I.S. was primarily voiced by Paul Bettany who also played Vision in the second and third Avengers films.
12 M'BAKU
M'Baku is the leader of the Jabari Tribe in Wakanda and a one-time enemy of T'Challa/The Black Panther. During the coronation ceremony crowning T'Challa the King of Wakanda, M'Baku was the only one to challenge him. Their fight nearly ended in M'Baku's death, but he tapped out at the last moment upon T'Challa's insistence that his people needed him.
Later in Black Panther, M'Baku provided aid to T'Challa saving his life. He later joined forces with him and his allies to defeat Killmonger and return T'Challa to the throne. He has been portrayed by Winston Duke in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. In the comics, he is known as White Gorilla.
11 PHIL COULSON
Agent Phil Coulson was a major player and one of Nick Fury's most trusted agents who helped establish the Avengers Initiative. After he was killed in Avengers and resurrected for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson became one of the lead actors in taking down HYDRA.
As the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. while it was underground, Coulson created a team he commanded across the globe. He helped to defeat HYDRA and ensure the safety and survival of the Inhumans. Agent Phil Coulson is played by Clark Gregg.
10 YONDU UDONTA
Yondu Udonta was hired by the Celestial known as Ego to find his son, Peter Quill on Earth. After locating Quill, he decided to keep him on as a ward of sorts and made him a Ravager. It was later revealed that the reason Yondu didn't turn Quill over to his father was due to Ego's penchant for killing his offspring.
Yondu effectively raised Peter Quill to be the man he is today and while Quill resented him for much of his life, he came to realize Yondu's role when he said, "He may have been your father, boy. But he wasn't your daddy." Yondu was portrayed by Michael Rooker in both Guardians films.
9 OKOYE
Okoye is the commanding General of the Dora Milaje, which also places her as the head of the Armed Forces of Wakanda and its chief intelligence officer. Okoye is, by far, one of the most skilled warriors in Wakanda... and perhaps the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She stands by T'Challa after deciding the throne of Wakanda rightfully belongs to him.
Okoye was directly responsible for helping to return T'Challa to the throne and stands by him at the end of Black Panther. She later returned to support her King during the invasion of Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War. She is portrayed by Danai Gurira.
8 NAKIA
Nakia is one of Wakanda's many War Dogs (spies) who is first introduced in Black Panther when her mission is ended quickly by the titular hero. She is returned to Wakanda due to the death of T'Challa's father and take up a position alongside her former lover. She went on a mission to South Korea to track down Ulysses Klaue alongside Okoye and T'Challa.
Later, she helped save T'Challa's family after Killmonger's takeover. By the end of the film, she had (possibly) rekindled her romance with the King and was named as head of Wakanda's new humanitarian policy. Nakia is portrayed by Lupita Nyong'o.
7 SHURI
Shuri is T'Challa's sister and the Princess of Wakanda, but that is hardly her greatest role. She is, technologically speaking, the Tony Stark of Wakanda. Thanks to her knowledge and understanding of Vibranium, she has proven to be a skilled engineer and physician having healed Agent Everett Ross after he is wounded in South Korea.
Shuri is the woman behind everything from the Black Panther suit to the ships that fly stealthily across the planet. Her skills and talent make her one of the most important characters in the country. Shuri is played by Letitia Wright.
6 WONG
When he was first presented, Wong was the librarian of the Kamar-Taj, but has since proven to be a skilled sorcerer. He is a Master of the Mystic Arts who has served under the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange, since the events of Doctor Strange. He stands with Strange as a protector of the New York Sanctum.
Wong appeared again in Avengers: Infinity War and provided assistance to Tony Stark and his master on the streets of New York. He helped save Dr. Bruce Banner from the attack as he was unable to transform into the Hulk. Wong is portrayed by Benedict Wong.