Ranking the Best MCU Debuts of 2021
2021 was an incredibly successful year for Marvel Studios, with Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye capping off an incredible Phase Four, this is our ranking of the best MCU debuts of 2021.
Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home was the behemoth theatrical entries that brought a plethora of new faces into the Marvel Universes.
Photo: Disney+
Disney+ added five incredible series to Marvel’s 2021 Phase Four slate, elaborating on previously unexplored sects of Marvel lore, and introducing fans to characters who will undoubtedly be vital to the studio for years to come.
To celebrate those brand new faces, we present our ranking of the best MCU debuts of 2021!
Honorable Mention: He Who Remains
Source: Marvel Studios
Loki topped our ranking of Marvel’s best Disney+ series of 2021, and for good reasons: an honorable mention for one of the year’s best debuts comes in the form of the series main antagonist, He Who Remains.
There is a bit of grey area when it comes to ranking He Who Remains, but he earns a spot on this list simply for what he means the entire MCU moving forward.
Source: Marvel Studios
A variant of the impending Kang the Conqueror, Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains is a magnetic performer who stunned in his appearance in Loki’s season finale, and his debut was only the beginning for Majors who will be playing a Kang destined to inherit Thanos’ place as Marvels greatest threat.
5) Echo
Source: Marvel Studios
One of the best parts of Hawkeye was the character of Echo. Born of tragedy and betrayal, Maya Lopez made her first appearance in the MCU by immediately displaying the physical presence and danger the character represents.
A deaf, amputee, Echo uses her deafness to her benefit, with her expert-level martial arts and perception skills, she has proven difficult for even Clint Barton to truly contend with.
Source: Marvel Studios
Alaqua Cox played the character brilliantly, and with her own series lined up, her appearance in Hawkeye is just the beginning, as the character is poised to take MCU fans into the criminal underworld of the Marvel Universe.
4) Agatha Harkness
Source: Marvel Studios
It was Agatha all along…making her first appearance as the antagonist of the incredible WandaVision, Agatha Harkness became an instant fan-favorite villain after her incredibly interesting take as the wicked witch of the Marvel Universe.
Going toe to toe with Wanda Maximoff, Agatha first showed up in Westview with one of the most sinister plots of any 2021 villain, taking advantage of a character so immensely buried in her own grief.
And she killed Sparky too! Photo: Marvel
With her own series announced for Marvel’s next batch of Disney+ projects, Agatha House of Harkness should delve deeper into the world of Marvel’s mystic realm; and who knows, maybe shell finally path the way for Mephisto’s long-awaited MCU arrival.
3) Kate Bishop
Source: Marvel Studios
When it comes to ranking the MCU debuts of 2021, there is no way the world’s greatest archer wasn’t going to have a place.
The inheritor to the Hawkeye mantle, Kate Bishop has quickly endeared herself to Marvel’s fanbase through her incredible story, magnetic personality, and incredible capability with nothing but a stick and a string.
Source: Marvel Studios
A hero that is guaranteed to have a place in the MCU for years to come, Hailee Steinfeld is one of the best casting decisions in all of Marvel’s Phase Four; and if we had our way, we see her get her own series alongside the second-best MCU debut…
2) Yelena Belova
Photo: Disney+
One of the best first appearances in the decade-long history of Marvel has to be none other than Florence Pugh’s debut outing as the Black Widow Yelena Belova.
Charismatic, funny, immensely charming, and as deadly as the arachnid for which her character is named. Pugh brings an incredible ability to turn on the charm and endear audiences to her incredibly witty personality, only to elicit the emotional depth befitting a character with a life spent in that business.
Photo: Marvel
Yelena’s debut in 2021’s Black Widow, but was able to explore her character more with a key role in Hawkeye; a character that should be around for years to come, Marvel dedicated the two projects toward developing her conflict enough to sustain whatever is next for the year one standout.
1) Shang-Chi
Photo: Marvel Studios
There was never really any other option…Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi was the premiere first appearance this year, and gave fans a brilliant and charismatic turn as the martial arts superhero, alongside a look at the performer who is poised to be a major contributor to Marvel next decade.
With the departure of two of the Studio’s most beloved characters, it is no secret that Marvel was desperately seeking those willing to carry the weight of the MCU relinquished by Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.
Photo: Empire Magazine
Simu gives fans that answer.
With action sequences unlike anything the MCU has seen and a physical presence on par with anyone who has come before him, Shang-Chi is poised to have a place on everyone’s favorite Marvel character list and should be a key piece of the MCU’s future.
Source: Marvel
That’s our ranking of the best MCU debuts of 2021! What do you think? Do you agree? Let us know below!
