Phase 4 is giving a lot of failed MCU characters a second chance. For all its success since it launched with Iron Man in 2008, the MCU has encountered its fair share of bumps in the road, both on and off-screen. By now, everyone is familiar with the franchise's track record of especially BIPOC women) in the past, often failing to give them the same development as their male peers.
This in particularly evident when you look at the number of female MCU characters who unceremoniously vanished Sharon Carter similarly went off the radar after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Interestingly, though, all three of them will get another shot at success in Phase 4.
Back at San Diego Comic-Con 201, WandaVision.
For the most part, these characters didn't fail because they're badly-conceived; the MCU just couldn't figure out what to do with them. Jane was introduced as a driven scientist in the first Thor movie, but was reduced to serving as little more than a glorified vessel for the Ether in The Dark World. Her absence in Thor: Ragnarok was then explained with a throwaway line about her and Thor breaking up, and the character shared an awkward kiss with Steve Rogers in Civil War - shortly after revealing her aunt (!) was his old flame, Peggy - and disappeared, her role in the plot fulfilled. Of the three, Darcy was always meant to be the simplest (a comic relief sidekick for Jane), yet even then the Thor movies failed to give her anything substantial to do other than crack tired jokes and mispronounce "Mjolnir."
All of these characters have the potential to shine more in Phase 4. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier promises to her cancer storyline from the comic books. Even Darcy ought to feel more at home in the wacky-weird world of WandaVision, a series that is also bringing back Randall Park's Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp for more zany antics. With a little luck, all of these ing players will leave a stronger impression with their second go-round in the MCU than they did their first.
