After a slew of major announcements at D23, Marvel's Hercules is now the most important Avenger still missing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios has already been running low on Avengers who haven't been utilized yet, and the addition of two more iconic of Earth's Mightiest Heroes - Black Knight and She-Hulk - means that only a few key are left.
The MCU is currently loaded with Avengers characters, both in the movies and on TV. The big three - Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man - were the center of the MCU during the Infinity Saga, with Marvel's TV shows allowing fans to also witness the live-action debuts of Mockingbird, Crystal, and soon, Monica Rambeau and Dane Whitman aka Black Knight. Their inclusion means that the list of Avengers yet to appear in the MCU just got much shorter, considering that most of the classic Avengers have already been introduced.
Among those that haven't been represented are Wonder Man, Starfox, Beast, Swordsman, and, most importantly, Hercules, who is now the most important Avenger that the MCU hasn't used yet. In the comics, Hercules is one of Marvel's strongest heroes and a rival of Thor. He ed the Avengers in the late 1960s and was with the group during their battles with Magneto, Namor, and Red Guardian. Hercules' longest stay with the Avengers came two decades later, when he was an off-and-on member from 1984 to 1996.
Hercules played key roles in several of the Avengers' biggest stories, including "Under Siege", an event which saw him nearly beaten to death by Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil - a supervillain team that originally appeared in the early issues of The Avengers' comics. Hercules, aka the Prince of Power, is considered the strongest being among the Olympians, who can take on anything and anyone. But he also has a long-held reputation for laziness, womanizing, heavy drinking, and boasting about his heroic accomplishments, all of which allows him to stand out in the superhero world.
These qualities separate the Greek demigod from his Norse counterpart in Marvel Comics, Thor, who shares his immense strength and immortality. However, the line between them is blurred by the changes made to Thor in Thor: Ragnarok, which, in a way, could make an Thor: Love and Thunder, or for any film that follows it. If a live-action debut for the Lion of Olympus is around the corner, Marvel Studios can add one more name to an already impressive list of classic Avengers in the MCU.
