The MCU's 5 best scene-stealers of 2023

Goose (The Marvels)

Out of all the 2023 MCU productions, this one does not have an apparent scene-stealer. Brie Larson continues her great run as one of the more powerful heroes in the franchise and Teyonah Parris emphatically expands on a character that started as a kid in the first film and gained powers in the Disney Plus series WandaVision. And Iman Vellani is easily one of the most bubbly and engaging stars in the entire cinematic universe. Alas, all three share the spotlight as leads in The Marvels.

So did anyone steal the show away from the stars of The Marvels at any point in the sequel? Zawe Ashton clearly received good advice from her significant other, Tom Hiddleston, on how to convey a multifaceted comic book adversary, although Dar-Benn didn’t leave as big an impression as Kang or the High Evolutionary. Samuel L. Jackson was a lot of fun to watch but took a step back from the more demanding drama of Secret Invasion. It was also enjoyable to see cameos from Valkyrie, Kate Bishop, and X-Men’s Beast, although those were all too short to make a significant mark on the movie.

That leaves us with the cat look-alike Goose, along with the rest of his Flerken friends. Yes, the alien animal, who is responsible for Fury’s partial blindness, usually overshadows everyone else it shares the screen with. One of the funniest moments in the entire movie is Ms. Marvel’s terrified response to Goose gulping up a Kree soldier. In the middle of the marvelous trio working through their body-swapping predicament, Goose proceeds to regurgitate adversaries. A later sequence involves an entire litter of Flerken running around swallowing space station personnel to fit them all into a single capsule. It is equally ridiculous and hilarious.

Which of these stimulating side characters will we see more of in the MCU's future? Next year, we can look forward to two series whose titular anti-heroes, Echo and Agatha, once stole the show in Hawkeye and WandaVision, respectively. Now they will graduate to top billing. And, soon enough, it will be Kang's turn to take center stage in the MCU.