When first announced, the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ shows caused a surge of both enthusiasm and trepidation from its fans. The series had the potential of bringing back favorite characters and giving them time to shine in the way the movies could not, but the format was unusual as were the circumstances of their stars.
WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki have now been released, and each series has added its own twist to the stories fans know and love. But like in the movies, all the characters in the shows are different, and some are just smarter than others.
10 Vision Defeats The Original Version Of Himself With A Philosophical Concept
The announcement of Vision's return after his tragic death in Avengers: Infinity War took many by surprise. But Vision fans weren't disappointed. In fact, the character has finally begun to shine a little more after his less-than-ideal performance in his final movie. In WandaVision, he appears in two forms--Hex Vision, created out of chaos magic, due to Wanda's grief, and White Vision, an experiment from SWORD based on the original Vision's body.
Throughout the series, Hex Vision notices the suspicious nature of the Hex and confronts his wife Wanda about it. When White Vision is sent after them to destroy them, Hex Vision presents him with the thought experiment of the Ship of Theseus. The ship is an artifact in a museum, and over time, its planks begin to rot. They are gradually replaced, which makes one wonder if the final object is even the ship of Theseus at all. White Vision is plagued by the concept, and after Hex Vision also offers him some of his memories, the SWORD-created synthezoid realizes his orders contain a logical fallacy and flees Westview.
9 Agatha Harkness Successfully Manipulates Wanda's Own Hex
Originally appearing in the show as Wanda's helpful neighbor, Agnes, Agatha Harkness is later revealed to be a witch skilled in dark magic. After being sentenced to death by her coven in penance for her practices, she kills them in retaliation. In 2023, she runs into the Westview Anomaly and investigates it, using the Darkhold to enhance her powers.
She sneaks into the dynamic of the Maximoff family, all the while having one single purpose in mind--to learn how Wanda was able to create the Hex and steal her powers. In the end, she grows a little too arrogant and is outmatched by Wanda.
8 Wanda Defeats Agatha Using Agatha's Own Powers
Despite being a very powerful magic user, Wanda is at a disadvantage in a fight against Agatha. Agatha feeds of Wanda's magic, and any attempt to retaliate plays into Wanda's schemes. However, while questioning Wanda, Agatha reveals a set of runes she created to incapacitate Wanda and make her unable to use her powers.
Not only does Wanda memorize the runes under a great deal of pressure but she uses them while pretending to fight a losing battle against Agatha. She embraces her power, becoming the Scarlet Witch she was always meant to be. At the same time, she acknowledges the harm she has done and dissolves the Hex, even if she is perfectly aware it means losing her family. When she leaves Westview, she takes the Darkhold with her. She is last shown studying the tome of dark magic.
7 Darcy Lewis Discovers The WandaVision Sitcom Broadcast
Darcy Lewis grows a lot throughout her stint in the MCU. At first, her appearances are rare and she is only Jane Foster's quirky intern. After Thor: The Dark World, she begins to study astrophysics. She appears in WandaVision as a fully qualified scientist. She is the one who discovers the WandaVision sitcom broadcast. She also uncovers Tyler Hayward's Project Cataract--his plans to weaponize the remnants of the original Vision, turning him into White Vision.
6 Variant Loki Easily Determines The Location Of His Alternate Self
Loki doesn't have the best history in coming up with good plans. His scheme in Avengers has become almost laughable after his memorable exchange with Tony Stark. Even so, his intelligence has always been obvious. In Loki, he displays his multilingualism by talking to the Romans of Pompeii in their native tongue. He easily determines his female alternate self is hiding in apocalypses, which is extra remarkable considering the fact that he finds one of the clues when he's grieving his homeland.
He's also the one who tries to reason with Sylvie and keep her from killing He Who Remains. He's notably far more reckless than he should be, as shown by his excessive drinking on Lamentis, so he's an example of an intelligent man who displays surges of irrationality due to trauma and arrogance.
5 He Who Remains Controls The Balance Between Countless Universes
The creator of the TVA, He Who Remains is a villain who seems impossible to defeat. As a simple human, he's so intelligent he invents dimensional travel, which is what leads to a war in the multiverse. As He Who Remains, he is omniscient, having seen and experienced everything in the Sacred Timeline up to a certain point. He pulls all the strings in an operation of cosmic scales. He has the potential of becoming a villain far more dangerous than Thanos.
4 Bucky Barnes Creates A Flawless Strategy To Free Baron Zemo
Bucky Barnes may have spent the last couple of decades as a killing machine, but he's so much more than that. His efficiency and intelligence are best shown when he frees Baron Zemo from his captivity. He anticipates every single move of both the prisoners and the guards and succeeds in securing a highly dangerous criminal with almost ridiculous ease. He may be refusing to use the skills he learned as the Winter Soldier, but there's still plenty of room for him to grow more in the MCU.
3 Baron Zemo Is The Mind Behind The Operation To Defeat The Flag Smashers
Bucky chooses to free Zemo because of the far greater threat, the Flag Smashers, super-soldiers who have become terrorists. Zemo agrees to help Bucky and the Falcon, and through his guidance, they follow the trail of Karli Morgenthau. He easily extracts information from a child in one of the refugee camps and escapes from the Wakandan forces while the Dora Milaje are fighting Sam and Bucky. He is also known to be a master tactician, as he is the mastermind behind the divide of the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War.
2 Sharon Carter Becomes The Power Loader And Creates A Criminal Empire
First appearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the idealistic grand-niece of Peggy Carter undergoes a great change after she's deemed a traitor to the American government. Jaded and angry, she goes to Madripoor where she turns to a life of crime. She becomes the Power Broker, controlling most of the criminal underworld of Madripoor. After the series ends, she is pardoned for helping Steve Rogers during Captain America: Civil War, which allows her to expand her criminal empire further.
1 Wilfred Nagel Recreates The Super-Soldier Serum
Throughout the history of the MCU, many scientists have attempted to recreate Abraham Erskine's Super-Soldier serum. Bruce Banner's experiment notably resulted in him turning into the Hulk. The only one to actually succeed is Dr. Wilfred Nagel.
Granted, he had an advantage. He worked to create the serum with both Hydra and the CIA, and he was finally given a blood sample from super-soldier Isaiah Bradley. It is through experiments on Isaiah's blood that Wilfred succeeds to unlock the secrets of the serum. Unfortunately, this draws the wrong attention to him, and he is killed by Baron Zemo.