The following contains mild SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp!
Marvel is a brand synonymous with superhero action, but, of course, the movies are based on things called comic books, and Marvel has never been afraid to be funny. On the eve of the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp, the sequel to one of Marvel's funniest entries, it is time to give credit to the unsung side characters who will never get their own standalone movie, but make the ones that they are in that much better by being there.
Nobody who has their name in the title is under consideration here. Nobody who is an Avenger or a Guardian of the Galaxy gets to be on this list. They had their own list. This is for the sidekicks, the best friends,and the rest of supporting players who have left their mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe by making us laugh.
7. Ned - Spider-Man: Homecoming/Avengers: Infinity War
Nobody is quite as excited about the fact that Peter Parker is Spider-Man than his best friend Ned is. Even Peter doesn't think being a superhero is as cool as Ned does. Ned is perfectly happy being a sidekick. In fact, he desperately wants to be Peter's "guy in the chair." Ned's passion is what makes him so funny. From his desperate attempts to be considered cool in Spider-Man: Homecoming to his complete terrified freakout in Avengers: Infinity War, Ned is a hilarious addition to the franchise and we can't wait to see him again in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
6. Darcy Lewis - Thor/Thor: The Dark World
Thor: Ragnarok may have been an objectively funnier movie overall than the previous two entries, but it was missing one of the best parts of those films. Apparently not everybody loves the performance of Kat Dennings as Jane Foster's friend, Darcy Lewis, but something is clearly wrong with those people. Darcy didn't take herself seriously in a series of films that only found itself after it took her advice. Clearly she was on to something and deserves credit for being the funniest thing in the early Thor films. Darcy would probably really like the new Thor. Hopefully they'll meet one day.
5. The Grandmaster - Thor: Ragnarok
Jeff Goldblum is, quite simply, one of the best. We all knew what we were getting when we learned he would play the role of The Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok, but that doesn't mean it wasn't still fantastic. His performance as the slightly off-kilter character made the world Thor found himself on feel all the more strange. You can tell Goldblum is having a blast in the role and you can't help but be drawn in by him. Grandmaster calls Thor "Sparkles" at one point; what else do you need? He's so much fun that you almost feel bad when he's defeated, but he is still alive, so hopefully we'll see him again down the road.
4. Klaue - Avengers: Age of Ultron/Black Panther
If there's one character that I'm truly sad we probably won't see again in the MCU, it's Andy Serkis' maniacal Ulysses Klaue. He makes this list mostly because he was never a proper villain in either of the MCU movies he appeared in, making him never more than a supporting character. However, Serkis used his time on screen to his advantage with one of the most scenery-chewing performances the MCU has seen. Seeing him go up against the overly serious Black Panther in a real one-on-one battle could have been something special.
3. Jimmy Woo - Ant-Man and the Wasp
The original Ant-Man was one of the funniest movies in the MCU and the upcoming sequel is even funnier. When you're checking it out this weekend, pay special attention to Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo. He's tasked with making sure that Scott Lang abides by his sentence of house arrest, and while that might imply he's a hard-ass, nothing could be further from the truth. He has some of the best lines in a movie full of hilarious moments. I need to see more of Jimmy Woo in the future of the MCU. Somebody find this guy a job at S.H.I.E.L.D. so we have an excuse to see him again.
2. Korg - Thor: Ragnarok
It figures the director of Thor: Ragnarok would keep one of the best roles in the movie for himself. Korg is the hero we need. He's a massive rock creature that you know could do some serious damage, but his personality is so meek and unassuming you figure he'd never do such a thing. He's not a character who is full of jokes, at least not intentionally, but he's so sweet and earnest that he becomes funny just by being part of everything that goes on around him. I'm really hoping that he survived the events of Avengers: Infinity War, because I don't want to think about a world without Korg in it.
1. Luis - Ant-Man/Ant-Man and the Wasp
Luis was the runaway scene stealer in Ant-Man, and while he doesn't have quite the commanding presence in the sequel, Michael Pena still reminds us why we loved him. From the moment he told us "Baskin-Robbins always finds out," we knew we had something special. Luis gets to tell another of his trademark stories in the sequel, a sequence which is just as good there as it was the in the first movie and part of the best running joke Marvel has going, period. He's clearly the funniest sidekick in the Marvel universe. I hope he continues to make us all laugh for many more movies to come. If Thanos killed him, we're going to have a problem.
