Marvel Studios' Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 was one for the books. The studio unveiled release dates for a number of projects showcased a variety of trailers and teased their next big massive event for what Phases 4, 5, and 6 now dubbed The Multiverse Saga are building to in the form of two Avengers films titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2025.
Along with the announcement, many major Marvel characters were confirmed to be joining the MCU in projects like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Certain characters like Kang the Conqueror, Ironheart, and Daredevil were already confirmed through various other announcements, yet their first looks certainly got audiences attention.
However, the following seven characters were not previously known to be appearing in the MCU, making their announcements a big deal. Marvel has used Comic-Con as the place to announce characters before, like in 2016 when Kurt Russell was revealed to be playing Ego the Living Planet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, or when they announced Mahershala Ali would play Blade back in 2019. While some characters announced at Comic-Con 2022 were rumored for quite some time, this marked the first official confirmation by Marvel Studios. Here is a breakdown of all the new characters confirmed to appear in the MCU by Marvel at San Diego Comic-Con.
Namor the Sub-Mariner
While it was leaked that Namor the Sub-Mariner would be in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, this was the first time the character was officially confirmed. Namor, alongside the original Human Torch, is actually the first Marvel character and was created by Bill Everett in 1939. The character is a major player in the Marvel Comics as he is the King of Atlantis, has close ties to The Fantastic Four, and is dubbed the first mutant in the Marvel universe. Often an antihero, Namor is half-human and half-Atlantian. For years the character's film rights were owned by Universal Studios, and after over a decade of teases (Atlantis was teased on a map in Iron Man 2 in 2010), the character is finally set to make his MCU debut played by Tenoch Mejía.
The film seems to position Namor as the film's primary antagonist, and it appears Wakanda and Atlantis will go to war. The film is reimagining Atlantis with a strong Mesoamerican influence embracing the actor's Latin American roots and posing as a mirror to the advanced civilization of Wakanda. The character is a staple in Marvel Comics and this is unlikely to be his last appearance.
Attuma
Joining Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is Attuma, played by Alex Livinalli. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #33 in 1964, Attuma is one of Namor's arch-rivals. Attuma hails from a tribe banished from Atlantis and has come into conflict with Namor multiple times.
Attuma's appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was leaked out in promotional material for the movie, but this official confirmation may hint at Attuma being the film's primary villain that will force Namor to unite with the Wakandians to prevent a war between Atlantis and Wakanda.
Aneka
Black Earth Rising star Michaela Coel was confirmed to be in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the character Aneka. In the comics, Aneka was created by Jonathan Maberry and Will Conrad and first appeared in Black Panther (Vol. 5) #8 in 2009. The character is a combat instructor of the Dora Milaje who in the comics has a romantic connection to fellow Dora member Ayo (Florence Kasumba). The two go on the run and don Midnight Angel Armor, a prototype Wakandan armor.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever seems to be adapting part of this storyline as in the trailer Aneka is seen facing off against her fellow Dora Milaje, wearing an outfit with the same blue color scheme as the Midnight Angel Armor. Coel is a fantastic actor, writer, and director, with her work in the great series I May Destroy You and Chewing Gum being deeply memorable.
The High Evolutionary
The High Evolutionary has been confirmed as the main villain of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and will be played by Chukwudi Iwuji, who recently worked with writer-director James Gunn on Peacemaker. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appearing in The Mighty Thor #134 in 1966, The High Evolutionary is a mad scientist on Earth who experimented on his body to give himself god-like powers while also creating his own species made from genetically experimenting on animals.
In the comics, The High Evolutionary has connections to the X-Men villain Mr. Sinister as well as the retconned origins of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to remove their mutant origin. He also operates out of Wundagore Mountain .which was recently shown in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It is likely the character's origins have been reworked to be an alien, but it could be he originated from Earth and traveled the stars making him a dark mirror to Star-Lord.
Given his habit of experimenting on animals in the comics, many fans have been assuming since the first Guardians of the Galaxy that The High Evolutionary would be tied into the origins of Rocket Raccoon, and the Comic-Con trailer seems to confirm that as the upcoming third movie will show Rocket Raccoon as a baby and be very much centered on him.
Cosmo the Spacedog
Marvel
Cosmo technically appeared in the MCU as an exhibit in the Collector's museum in Guardians of the Galaxy and was later shown to be free. The character reappeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 during the credits. The character appears to be getting a bigger role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and will be voiced by Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm).
Cosmo was created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, the same duo that created the relaunched incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy in 2008, and in the comics Cosmo was a long-established member of the team who ran Knowhere, the severed Celestial head seen in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War. Cosmo typically has a rocky relationship with Rocket Raccoon, and with the High Evolutionary now involved in the film tying into Rocket's origin, the villain may be also the explanation for why Cosmo can now speak after being silent in the past films.
The Wrecking Crew
The newest trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney At Law showed a quick clip of four men facing off against She-Hulk wielding some type of advanced weaponry. The fact that there are four of them wielding very specific weapons hints that these might be the MCU versions of The Wrecking Crew.
The Wrecking Crew first appeared as a group in 1974 in The Defenders #17 created by Len Wein and Sal Buscema. The team was formed by The Wrecker (a villain created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the Thor comics in 1968) who along with Bulldozer, Piledriver, and Thunderball are a team who are empowered by Asgardian magic that grants them superpowers and enchanted construction weapons. While they still may have the Asgardian enchantment connection as Thor: Love and Thunder established New Asgard as a bustling profitable tourist destination. However, the weapons wielded in the trailer have a similar purple glow to the weapons created by The Vulture's crew in Spider-Man: Homecoming suggesting they are criminals who got ahold of these alien enchanted weapons.
M.O.D.O.K.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Tales of Suspense #94, MODOK is one of Marvel's silliest but also most iconic villains. MODOK is an acronym that stands for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing). Some incarnations, like the Hulu stop-motion animated series MODOK, embraced that silly nature in a Robot Chicken way, while other incarnations reimagine the character as a darker and more serious threat, like in the recent video game Marvel's The Avengers.
Fans have been waiting for MODOK for years, and many attempts have been made at adapting him. The character was considered as a villain in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and was set to appear in both the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and New Warriors series, but none of these appearances came to pass. However, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to homage the character, as Anton Ivonav became a brain in a vat that took over Life-Model Decoys Designed Only for Killing making him L-MODOK. Rumors have circulated the character would appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and it is now officially confirmed by director Peyton Reed.
Few details are known about the character in the upcoming film, but the big rumor is that Corey Stoll, who played the main villain Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket in the first Ant-Man film, will play MODOK. While many assumed he died in that film, it is possible he went subatomic and found himself in the Quantum Realm and was rebuilt by Kang the Conqueror to now be one of his enforcers.