Warning: This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
In the absence of franchise star Chadwick Boseman, the MCU’s latest big-screen effort – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – has given larger roles to all the fan-favorite supporting players from the first Black Panther movie, from Shuri to Okoye to Queen Ramonda. Marvel Studios’ “Multiverse Saga” has introduced exciting new heroes to the ensemble, like America Chavez, Ms. Marvel, and Shang-Chi – but it also hasn’t lost sight of the familiar faces from the “Infinity Saga.”
Some characters from the first three phases of the MCU, like Loki, Wanda Maximoff, and the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, have been given much more important roles in the Multiverse Saga than they had in the Infinity Saga.
10 Wanda Maximoff
Throughout the Infinity Saga, Wanda Maximoff was relegated to supporting roles. But in the Multiverse Saga, she’s been given two kinds of lead roles. She was the tragic antihero of WandaVision and, after being corrupted by the Darkhold, became the villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Phase Four has shown a much more complex side of Wanda, dealing with the grief from Vision’s death and tapping into her unmatched superpowers to relentlessly pursue the family that she was denied in her own reality.
9 May Parker
Aunt May has always been a significant figure in Peter Parker’s life. After his parents died, Peter’s aunt and uncle were the closest things he had to a mother and father. And when his uncle died, his aunt was all he had left. Marisa Tomei has given a heartfelt, hilarious performance as Aunt May since the beginning of Phase Three.
But in Phase Four, she took on her most important role to date as her dying words – “With great power, there must also come great responsibility” – inspired Spidey to make his greatest sacrifice yet.
8 Valkyrie
Valkyrie was introduced pretty late in the Infinity Saga, joining the God of Thunder’s makeshift “Revengers” team to liberate Asgard from Hela’s wrath in Thor: Ragnarok. But her character arc is just getting started, as she was named the King of New Asgard at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Valkyrie is shown to be bored with the bureaucracy of her new royal position. She’s the Asgardian ambassador on Earth, but she misses the cosmic adventures she used to enjoy.
7 Peggy Carter
For most of the Infinity Saga, Peggy Carter existed purely as a reminder of the life that Steve Rogers left behind when he went into the ice. Steve’s “happily ever after” ending was going back in time to live out the life he wished he had with Peggy.
The Multiverse Saga has introduced an alternate version of Peggy from a different universe in which she took the Super Soldier Serum, foiled Hydra, and emerged from a wormhole in the 21st century to lead the Avengers.
6 Ned Leeds
In the Infinity Saga, Ned Leeds was Peter Parker’s best friend who assumed the role of his “guy in the chair” when he discovered his secret identity as Spider-Man. But in the Multiverse Saga, Ned has acquired superpowers of his own.
After getting a hold of Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring, Ned accidentally opened up two portals to reveal Spidey’s alternate selves. In the future, Ned might train as a Master of the Mystic Arts.
5 Wong
Phase Four is sometimes jokingly called “Phase Wong,” because the character previously depicted as Doctor Strange’s lovable sidekick has been showing up everywhere. Wong has appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Wong has yet to lead his own Marvel project, but that could be on the horizon as he’s been promoted to Sorcerer Supreme and has dedicated himself to rehabilitating supervillains like the Abomination.
4 Sam Wilson
Throughout the Infinity Saga, Sam Wilson was relegated to the role of Steve Rogers’ sidekick. But at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve bequeathed his shield – and, with it, the title of Captain America – to Sam. Sam didn’t become the new Cap right away, but he did earn the title over the course of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Now, heading into the second phase of the Multiverse Saga, the stage is set for Sam to lead a reformed Avengers squad into battle, with his own solo movie on the way.
3 Jane Foster
In her first couple of appearances in the Infinity Saga, Jane Foster was just a one-dimensional love interest designed to keep Thor coming back to Earth. In the Multiverse Saga’s Thor: Love and Thunder, Jane was finally given the spotlight in a much larger role.
Based on Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor run, Love and Thunder sees Jane battling cancer, acquiring the powers of Thor, and making the ultimate sacrifice to save some kidnapped Asgardian children.
2 Loki
In the Infinity Saga, Loki was an on-and-off villain. He double-crossed his brother Thor so many times that it became painfully predictable. His Infinity Saga arc came to a heartbreaking conclusion when he tried to betray Thanos and got strangled to death in front of a devastated Thor. The trickster god’s MCU tenure seemed to come to a close, but then his 2012 self stole the Space Stone and vanished, setting the stage for his own time-bending streaming series.
Since becoming a lead in the Multiverse Saga, Loki has met the overlord at the end of time, scrambled the Sacred Timeline, and created the multiverse itself.
1 Shuri
The biggest question surrounding Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the months leading up to its release was who would take on the titular superhero mantle. In the wake of King T’Challa’s untimely passing, his sister Shuri steps up to the plate, ingests a synthetic Heart-Shaped Herb, and takes on the title of Black Panther.
Almost every major supporting player from the original Black Panther film gets a bigger role in Wakanda Forever, from Okoye to M’Baku to Queen Ramonda, but Shuri becomes the eponymous superhero and, with it, the lead of the franchise.
