10 Most Annoying Marvel Cinematic Universe Characters, Ranked

The Marvel Cinematic Universe shines with an abundance of beloved individuals. Just like "The Golden Girls" theme song, you want to thank them for being a friend. Then there are the MCU's annoying characters. 

These toads rile you up to the point that you want to sign them up to every email subscription service under the sun to inflict an iota of the irritation they do on you. That sounds dramatically over the top, but there's little denying the traumatizing effects they have on their respective projects, making you want to fast forward at best, or even refuse to rewatch them again all together.

If you know, you know. Some of them give you the ick whenever they open their mouths, others through their questionable actions or unrepentant whininess (think of a certain "hero" with a glowing fist and terrible martial arts technique). Whichever way, these peeps bring raging thunderstorms on a bright sunny day. Having said that, let's take a look at the most annoying Marvel Cinematic Universe characters, in the order of how much they infuriate us. Apologies in advance for the irritation you'll feel by the mere mention of these names in the future.

Blending nostalgia with the ultimate madcap adventure featuring the Merc with the Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) and Logan (Hugh Jackman), "Deadpool & Wolverine" hits all the right spots — except in one key area. Supporting antagonist Time Variance Authority agent Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) wants to use the Time Ripper device to finish off Earth-10005, aka the Fox movie universe, in a hastily manner. He hopes the results get him a sweet promotion and likely shoutout in the company newsletter. Sure, he's defying direct orders, but he wants to be noticed. He's a paradox, see?

In other words, Paradox is Carl from accounts who needs to be the first person to like the boss' Slack message so that everyone notices him. A likely LinkedIn lunatic, Paradox irks as a boardroom villain. Everyone knows someone like him in real life — an absolutely useless co-worker who mastered the dark arts of workplace politics.

Let's be fair here: Macfadyen nails the role of this annoying quasi-villain. The actor has had experience with similar characters before, having played the sniveling and sycophantic Tom Wambsgans in "Succession." He brings the same energy to Paradox, who is sorta the MCU's version of Tom — complete with all the shadiness and suck-up tendencies. At least Paradox got his comeuppance at the end of "Deadpool & Wolverine" — unlike Tom who reaped the rewards of his bootlicking.

Here's the sad part about Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow): As time has gone on, the character has grown progressively more irritating to stomach. It's ironic, though. The whole will they/won't they dance between her and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) was one of the best parts of early MCU, while still affording the opportunity for Pepper to be a fully fledged character in her own right. Yet, after they couple, it's meh all the way, relegating Pepper to serving as a minor element of Tony's story arc rather than having an important narrative of her own. While she suits up in the iron armor a few times, this seems more shoehorned than anything else.

Perhaps the biggest issue with Pepper is Paltrow, who has lost interest in the character and MCU as a whole. Gwyneth Paltrow's "Avengers: Endgame" confession broke the hearts of Marvel fans after she admitted to not having seen the movie, nor others before it. As a matter of fact, Paltrow didn't even remember that Pepper played a part in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Hopefully, she made sure that the check cleared.

Paltrow claims that the movies haven't been the same since the original "Iron Man," and maybe she's right. That disinterest is evident in her later performances. How can anyone care about the character when the actor clearly doesn't?

When Shane Black's "Iron Man 3" teased Sir Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin, the casting gods rejoiced. Kingsley is one of the greatest actors to grace our screens, so getting him as Iron Man's greatest nemesis seemed like blockbuster business. It was a sleight of hand trick, though, as Kingsley actually plays actor Trevor Slattery, who is used to distract everyone from the real "Mandarin," Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). The revelation turns out to be a deflatable moment in the movie, especially as Slattery degenerates into a comedic bumbling character. Really, is this the best that the MCU could find for Kingsley?

Slattery returned in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," serving as an imprisoned jester for the actual leader of the Ten Rings, Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung). His role isn't any better in this film, as he continues to be nothing more than a running punchline. At this point, he's just another Korg, and it gets tiresome rather quickly.

What annoys the most about Slattery is how different it could have been. While some have praised the bait-and-switch approach in "Iron Man 3," it's difficult to argue that Slattery is an interesting or memorable character in his own right. He's pure comic relief, and while there's a place for that, it's an absolute waste of Kingsley's talents. You could have hired Jack Black for this.

Maybe the world is so jaded by real-life billionaire tech bros and their race to see who destroys humanity first that the fictional ones aren't amusing anymore. In the case of Todd Phelps (Jon Bass), he grinds the gears from the moment he appears in "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law." 

This internet troll-turned-incel website owner feels he's entitled to She-Hulk's (Tatiana Maslany) blood, so he begins a concentrated smear campaign against her. He succeeds, transforming into a green beast ... until the lame ending of "She-Hulk: Attorney of Law" rewrites the story and renders all the events useless. All hail K.E.V.I.N., right?

Flat conclusions aside, Todd is an exasperating character that makes you want to stop watching. He is exactly like every other online grifter: misogynistic, toxic, and delusional. Perhaps he's too well-written, behaving exactly like his billionaire brethren on social media, but Phelps nevertheless elicits sighs whenever on screen. It's almost criminal that She-Hulk didn't sort this muppet out with a rag doll beatdown like her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) did to Loki (Tom Hiddleston) years earlier. 

In Marvel Comics, Danny Rand is an awesome and powerful character. Sadly, the same can't be said about the version played by the horribly miscast Finn Jones in the short-lived Netflix series. As a whole, "Iron Fist" is a bit of a mess. A rushed, cobbled-together project that did no favors to its actors, with Jones's martial arts training leaving a lot to be desired. It's like he moves in slow motion.

Also, this dude's whiny. Oh, my Celestial — he just never stops. He's either moping around with a look like someone ate his last box of Cheerios, or is constantly delivering lines like he should be promising vengeance on evildoers while sitting on a gargoyle. It never ends with this guy — to the point where you actually root for the baddies to kick his butt, because he's insufferable.

It doesn't help that Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) is far more compelling than Danny ever becomes, and is arguably more fitting of the Iron Fist title. Ultimately, no one can argue that Netflix was right to cancel "Iron Fist," because this is a version of a character desperately in need of a reboot — fans deserve better than a hero who needs a block of cheese to go with all his whine.

In Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man," Joe Manganiello's Flash Thompson establishes himself as a proper high school bully. Yet, Flash of the MCU, played by Tony Revolori, feels like he belongs in "Gossip Girl." He's the kind of dude who'll use Sora to turn his classmates into goats in an unfunny video for his own amusement.

In an interview with CBR, Revolori labeled his version of Flash as "a social media bully," and that's his biggest problem. This isn't the actor's fault, of course, as he's only playing the character the way he's written. Yet, this Flash is never a threat to Tom Holland's Peter, or anyone else. As is in the comics, Flash should cause some form of angst for Peter — making his school life that much more difficult (though Revolori's Flash does follow canon by being a major Spider-Man fanboy).

When all is said and done, the MCU's Flash is nothing more than a gnat. He buzzes around and makes a lot of noise, but everybody can't wait until he goes off to bother someone else. Maybe the spell that Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast for everyone to forget Peter is Spider-Man can also make us forget of Flash's existence.

Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer positions himself as a major rival to Tony Stark, but is nothing more than a pretentious wannabe. A Temu Tony, so to speak. While Tony can control a room without twitching a muscle, Hammer comes across as a try-hard.

Let's discuss his harebrained scheme in "Iron Man 2" for a moment. After Tony insults him, Hammer breaks Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) out of prison to work for him. Expectedly, Vanko betrays him. Think about Hammer's reasoning here. When Vanko attacks at the Monaco Grand Prix, the man also known as Whiplash tries to straight-up murder Tony. Considering the pile-up of damage in his wake, it's more than likely that Vanko killed a few innocents. These are the actions of a man who answers to no one and will do whatever it takes to get revenge. What did Hammer think was going to happen? Did he think that Vanko was here to play second fiddle?

Yeah, Hammer isn't a smart nor threatening villain. He's a side quest minor league enemy whom you don't even need to defeat to meet the real big bad. Unsurprisingly, "Iron Man 2" almost crashed the MCU, in no small part because of vexing characters like Hammer. 

"WandaVision" teases the multiverse at every turn. When the name Pietro Maximoff is first mentioned, viewers perked up. Could Aaron Taylor-Johnson reprise his role after serving as a human shield for Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in "Avengers: Age of Ultron?" Nope. Instead, it's Evan Peters who arrives on Wanda Maximoff's (Elizabeth Olsen) doorstep. It's the crossover between the MCU and Fox's "X-Men" movies everyone's dreamed of ... or maybe not.

In another case of Marvel baiting and switching fans, Peters isn't playing Pietro. Instead, he's an actor named Ralph Bohner. Read his surname again, because the writers must be proud of that one. Ralph is someone who Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) uses to get to Wanda. In other words, he's a nobody inserted for little more than a wink-wink moment. 

What's disappointing is that Peters' Quicksilver is arguably the better film version of the character. His comedic slow-mo scenes were standout moments in every "X-Men" movie he appears in, and he would have slotted into the MCU well. Rather than do that, though, Peters plays a doofus called Ralph Bohner. 

Honestly, saying it again and again doesn't make it any more hilarious. 

Trace back the MCU's most devastating moments and you'll find a common denominator. One key figure is responsible for setting off disastrous events from Abomination (Tim Roth) totaling Harlem to the Avengers engaging in a civil war – Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt/Harrison Ford).

In typical fashion, he isn't punished for the dissension he causes. No, the truth about Thunderbolt Ross is that he fails upwards, becoming the President of the United States by the time "Captain America: Brave New World" rolls around. He doesn't learn his lesson here either, once again causing trouble by wreaking havoc as the Red Hulk. Thankfully, this time he's locked away in the Raft where he should have been many movies prior.

If there's one character who constantly makes wrong choices in the MCU, it's good ol' Thunderbolt Ross. He never learns, letting his ego run to his brain and making poor choices on limited information. Ross is a frustrating character, because he believes himself to be doing the right thing, when the opposite is in fact true. No wonder his daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler), didn't want anything to do with him for so long.

When fans first met Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), aka Star-Lord, he wasn't too annoying. He's a little goofy, but there was an endearing quality to him. By the time that "Avengers: Infinity War" arrives, though – Get that mosquito swatter out, because there's a pest that everyone's going to want a swing at.

Let's not sugarcoat this: Avengers died and Earth's people lost five years of their lives because of Peter. While battling the unstoppable juggernaut Thanos (Josh Brolin), Peter becomes emotional upon learning what the supervillain did to Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). Tony begs Peter to keep it in check, as they nearly have the gauntlet off of Thanos's arm. All Peter needs to do is chill for a moment, then once it's off, he can have his revenge. But no, this fool sacrifices everything.

Also, remember how reluctant Peter was to have Thor (Chris Hemsworth) be a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy? He couldn't start the ship fast enough after Thor departed from the group at the beginning of "Thor: Love and Thunder." If you're the leader of an intergalactic superhero team and have the literal God of Thunder at your disposal, wouldn't you want to keep that type of talent? Hands down, Star-Lord wins the dishonorable award for being the most annoying character in the MCU. 

In retrospect, we should've seen it coming from the get-go, because you shouldn't trust anyone who chooses tape over vinyl.