The Most Popular Superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Quick-whitted, highly intelligent and charming... You'd think Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) has it all! After his father's passing, he decides to take over the family weapon business thinking that things would run just as smooth as usual. Little did he know that he´d be captured by a terrorist organisation and forced to create weapons. During his capture, he is severely injured, so the young billionaire begins an operation on himself creating an almost unlimited source of energy which also keeps the leftover shrapnel inside his chest away from his heart. He does eventually escape the death camp, with the help of an iron suit he built powered by his core.

"Thor" (played by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth), the god of thunder, is a son of "Odin" and future king of the mystical, heaven-like city of "Asgard". After reigniting a war the "Frost Giants", one of the "Asgardians" bitter enemies, "Thor" is banished to the planet Earth to prove himself to his father to be able to one day rule "Asgard". It is there where he is introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now here's a classic! Even though there have been several different iterations of the nimble superhero, the story remains the same throughout all of them! "Peter Parker" (now played by the young Tom Holland) is just your average, geeky student coping with everyday high school life. With bullies relentlessly making his life a living hell, "Peter" is trapped with almost no one to help him, except his "Aunt May" and "Uncle Ben". During a school field trip to a science lab, he is mysteriously bitten by a radioactive spider which ensues a genetic transformation beyond belief! Almost overnight the young "Peter Parker" becomes the amazing "Spider-Man".

Fun fact: "Peter Parker" has been played by three actors already - Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and now Tom Holland.

"Robert Bruce Banner" is a world famous nuclear physicist with one of his specialties being Gamma Radiation. After attempting to replicate the "Super Serum" used to create Captain America with the help of radiation, he was accidentally exposed to high levels of it´s contents. What ensued was a staggering transformation into a Green, extremely muscular giant when angered.

Fun fact: "Bruce Banner" has been played by two actors: Edward Norton AND Mark Ruffalo!

"Steven Grant Rogers" is just your average, somewhat sickly boy from Brooklyn, New York. Upon the beginning of World War II, "Steve" decides to enlist himself in the army, but is rejected on numerous occasions. Determined to serve his country, he is recruited for a "Super Soldier" program where he becomes a super-enhanced soldier and mascot for the allied forces. During a mission to the Artic, he is becomes frozen in ice and suspended in animation until found by "S.H.I.E.L.D." in the early 21st century.

"T'Challa", played by Chadwick Boseman, is the sole African monarch of the nation of "Wakanda". He is entitled to the "Black Panther" mantle, which he decides to use to hunt down "The Winter Soldier" who he believes to have murdered his father. He is introduced to the rest of the "Avengers" during "Civil War". 

"Scott Edward Harris Lang" is a former criminal who is convinced to take up the "Ant-Man" mantle by the CEO of "PYM Technologies". He fight against "Darren Cross", the CEO´s protege, who attempts to sell the "Ant-Man" technology to the infamous terrorist organization "HYDRA". During the "Civil War" era, he fights alongside Captain America. "Scott" is played by the actor Paul Rudd.

"Natalia Alianovna 'Natasha' Romanoff", a.k.a. "Black Widow" is played by Scarlett Johansson. She is a former KGB agent and one of the most talented assassins on the planet.  She is a member of "S.H.I.E.L.D." and one of the founders of the "Avengers". "Black Widow" is also one of the first female Marvel "MCU" characters and that makes here one of the most memorable! 

"Clinton Francis 'Clint' Barton", a.k.a. "Hawkeye", played by Jeremy Renner, is one of the most skilled "S.H.I.E.L.D." agents and a very skilled marksman. With his primary weapon being a bow and arrow, he is mostly responsible for recruiting "Black Widow", with whom he now has a very strong friendship.

"Peter Jason Quill", a.k.a. "Star-Lord" is portrayed by Chris Pratt. "Quill" was abducted by the "Yondu Ravager Clan" in 1988 after the death of his mother due to cancer. He begins to travel the universe working as a mercenary before, somewhat comicly, saving the galaxy from utter destruction! He eventually ends up joining a rag-tag team who are given the name "Guardians of the Galaxy".