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Age of MCU: Top 6 Side Characters From Captain America: The First Avenger

Let’s face it, there’s a ton of memorable characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But some don’t get as mentioned as they should do. Let’s rectify that, shall we? And if there’s one MCU movie that has plenty of side characters to spare, it’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Let’s pick out the cream of the crop and talk about some of Marvel’s unsung heroes.

DISCLAIMER! If you don’t like my choices then… you should… I dunno… stop. Damn. I’m running out of ways to tell people that these lists are my own opinion whilst simultaneously insulting them. But this is, like, my THING! 

 

6. Jacques Dernier

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You can’t say much about Jacques. He’s French, doesn’t speak English… and he kicks ass! Nicknamed Frenchie (I wonder why?), Jacques is a great fighter… if a bit reckless. He rolled into the path of an oncoming HYDRA tank, just so he could stick a bomb to its underside. What have you been doing with YOUR life lately? Huh?

Plus, he has the distinction of being the first Allied soldier to fire a HYDRA weapon. Granted it was by accident, and he didn’t even hit any HYDRA soldiers with it but… okay, look, he’s a Frenchman who never surrenders. He’s a rare gem, all right? Don’t give me that look. I’m English. We’re allowed to mock the French.

 

5. Gabe Jones

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I was kinda disappointed when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was announced, because I knew there was no way this guy could be a character in it. Still, he gave us a hell of a show in First Avenger. He’s always got a smile on his face, isn’t afraid to leap into action, and speaks fluent French, having studied it in Georgia, where he’s from. He also studied German, but switched to French because, and I quote, “The French girls were prettier”.

One other thing. Turns out, he does have a connection to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as he turns out to be the grandfather of Antoine Triplett. Hell of a legacy, eh?

 

4. Arnim Zola

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Here’s what I like about this guy. People underestimate him. He spent most of the film pretty much being Red Skull’s bitch, but only because he had no choice. It was that or disintegration. But he’s still a HYDRA guy through and through. So what does he do when he’s captured by the Allies? He waits. And waits. And waits. And then he resurrects HYDRA.

In many ways, he succeeded where the Red Skull failed. HYDRA completely infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. And he started it from within a prison cell. Seventy years later, HYDRA all but destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D. How? Because people underestimated him.

About the author

Scott Meridew