Summary
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is home to a wide range of heroes, from cosmic beings like Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy to street-level heroes like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. In this context, street-level heroes are those who operate primarily within their local communities, often fighting crime and protecting their neighborhoods from smaller-scale threats. Here are some of the most notable street-level heroes in the MCU:
- Daredevil
- Jessica Jones
The world-ending threats of the MCU to higher-budget teams like the Avengers while protecting their own local communities. Street level heroes are typically lower in power, but not always.
It's worth noting that some characters like Black Widow and Hawkeye have essentially "street level" capabilities, with no real powers of their own, but nevertheless operate in larger efforts against international dangers or world-threatening supervillains. When determining if a given hero is street level or not, it's more their M.O., levels of influence, and funding that truly determines if they qualify. That being said, most of the strongest heroes in the MCU are far above street level.
All Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and series are available to strem on Disney+.
13 Spider-Man
Reset to square one
Spider-Man's journey through the MCU has been an interesting one. Starting off as a homegrown hero with a strange jury-rigged suit with camera lens eyes, Peter Parker was eventually recruited by Tony Stark to the Avengers, if only temporarily, in Captain America: Civil War. Spider-Man's general strength and powerset puts him at a decidedly higher than street level status, particularly when paired with the tech and influence of Stark.
That being said, following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker's factory reset life sees him once again acting as more of a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Gone are the days of traveling to space and wielding Stark tech courtesy of his Avengers influence. Now, Spider-Man is once again swinging around New York City in a homemade suit, with no backup from the higher-level heroes to speak of.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Release Date
- July 7, 2017
- Runtime
- 133 minutes
- Director
- Jon Watts
Cast
Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Adrian Toomes / Vulture
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Chris McKenna, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Christopher Ford, Erik Sommers, Jon Watts
- Studio(s)
- Marvel
- Budget
- $175 Million
10 Spider-Man Movie Scenes Taken Straight From The Comics
Many Spider-Man movies adapted events from Spider-Man comic book s, honoring the hero’s legacy in a series of thrilling Marvel homages.
12 Kate Bishop
Trained under Hawkeye to become the next great heroic archer
Hawkeye makes another interesting fringe case when it comes to the categorization of Marvel heroes. Being by far the weakest original Avenger, the experienced marskman has nevertheless held his own against world-ending threats like Loki's Chitauri army, Ultron's drones, and more. That being said, during the Blip, he definitively operated at a street level as Ronin, mercilessly cutting down criminals on his own in Japan.
Now, Kate Bishop serves as the next street-level iteration of Hawkeye. Contending with Russian gangsters and even the great Kingpin, Kate Bishop may have an affluent mother, but isn't quite on the same level as the original Hawkeye when it comes to heroics. Operating out of her modest apartment, Kate Bishop takes on street level crime with her bow and arrows, though her recruitment to the Young Avengers by Ms.Marvel could see her take on bigger foes.
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Hawkeye
- Release Date
- 2021 - 2020
- Writers
- Don Heck, Jonathan Igla
Cast
Fra Fee
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 1
11 Ms. Marvel
Is back on the ground after a brief space adventure
Like Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel is a decidedly street level hero who has had some close encounters with world-ending extraterrestrials, only to be plopped back on Earth. Only teaming up with Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau due to their shared quantum entanglement, Ms. Marvel spent the majority of her own eponymous series taking on vigilante groups and agents from the Department of Damage Control. After returning to Earth, it can be assumed that she resumes her activities as a local guardian.
Following the ending of The Marvels, it seems as though Kamala is inspired by her experiences teaming up with other heroes to form a new, younger version of the Avengers. It remains to be seen if this new group will be able to take on threats beyond the scope of street level, however. For now, Ms. Marvel falls firmly in the street level category in of her own powers and resources.
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Ms. Marvel
- Release Date
- 2022 - 2021
- Network
- Disney Channel
- Showrunner
- Bisha K. Ali
Cast
Laith Naki
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Adil El Arbi
- Writers
- Bisha K. Ali, Adrian Alphona
- Seasons
- 1
10 Moon Knight
The lethal defender of the MCU's streets
The multifaceted vigilante Moon Knight is not only one of the most complex Marvel heroes, but also one of the most isolated. Existing in a very self-contained story that has yet to see any major overlap with another MCU project, Moon Knight is the avatar of the Egyptian deity Khonshu. While it could be assumed this goldy status would put him on the same level of deities like Thor, Moon Knight ends up being a very street level character.
That being said, Moon Knight is a brutal figure whose unforgiving methods of punishment don't exactly gel with most other street level characters, who are typically sworn to avoid killing at all costs. Khonshu's lingering influence may see Marc Spector and Steven Grant continue to be pulled into all sorts of metaphysical representations of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. Until then, Moon Knight remains a street level protector, his impressive powers balanced out by his lack of influence.
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Moon Knight
- Release Date
- 2022 - 2022-00-00
- Network
- Disney Channel
- Showrunner
- Jeremy Slater
Cast
F. Murray Abraham
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Steven Grant
- Writers
- Danielle Iman, Jeremy Slater
- Seasons
- 1
9 Daredevil
The protector of Hell's Kitchen
Perhaps the premiere street level hero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Daredevil is the perfect textbook example of what it means to be a local crimefighter. First appearing in his own self-titled Netflix series, Charlie Cox's Daredevil was added to the MCU retroactively, alongside a number of other street-level characters, when the Netflix Defenders continuities were made canon. Since then, Daredevil has appeared multiple times in other heroes' journeys as a representative of Marvel's street level universe.
Enjoying enhanced perceptions, giving him some level of superpowers, physically, Matt Murdock is just a normal human being, though he is an exceptional martial artist. This means that there is a hard limit to the types of enemies he can face, going up against groups like The Hand or Kingpin's criminal empire in New York City. Still using a secret identity and operative with no real backup from governments or larger organizations, Daredevil is an iconic street level character.
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Daredevil
- Release Date
- 2015 - 2018-00-00
- Showrunner
- Steven S. DeKnight
- Directors
- Phil Abraham, Stephen Surjik, Peter Hoar
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Drew Goddard
- Seasons
- 3
8
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7 Jessica Jones
A superpowered private eye with personal issues
Alongside Daredevil, it can be assumed that a litany of other characters appearing in the Defenders universe can now call the MCU home. Among them, one of the most blatantly superpowered is Jessica Jones. Blessed with super strength, speed, and a limited form of flight she calls "guided falling", Jones has some impressive powers, but is not quite on par with the level of the Avengers.
Formerly operating as a superhero, Jones returned to work as a private eye following her traumatic capture by Kilgrave. In this capacity, she's not only a street level character, but technically not even a vigilante, running a civilian private investigation practice that does seem to get her into trouble more often than not. Jessica Jones is one of the best vehicles for the MCU to tell firmly street level stories, though she's been woefully underused, along with the other non-Daredevil Netflix characters.
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Marvel's Jessica Jones
- Release Date
- 2015 - 2019-00-00
- Network
- Netflix
- Showrunner
- Melissa Rosenberg
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Stephen Surjik
- Writers
- Melissa Rosenberg
- Seasons
- 3
6 Iron Fist
One of the MCU's best martial artists
While Iron Fist moves among the more magical side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he remains a firmly street level character. Yet another of the many vigilantes protecting the MCU's New York City, Danny Rand is a wealthy heir to Rand Enterprises who becomes the immortal Iron Fist during his time in the mystical city of K'un-Lun. One of the most adept martial artists in the entire MCU, Iron Fist's expertise is supplemented by his magical powers, including a devastating punch.
Most of Iron Fist's actions are against the same villainous ninja group that Daredevil fights, The Hand. However, he has on occasion expanded his scope of threats to protect innocent people from, including Bushmaster of Luke Cage fame. Despite his corporate influence, Danny Rand is mostly a solo act scouring the streets of New York for a very specific type of criminal influence related to his own roots in K'un-Lun.
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Iron Fist
- Release Date
- March 17, 2017
- Network
- Disney Channel
- Showrunner
- Scott Buck
Cast
-
Ludovic Coutaud
-
Donté Grey
WHERE TO WATCH
Part of the original Netflix line-up of Marvel shows, Iron Fist follows billionaire heir Danny Rand on his journey to become the legendary Iron Fist. Returning to America after going missing for fifteen years, Danny returns to reclaim his family fortune and use it to help others in need. However, a call to action pulls Danny away from his family duties as a new threat emerges, calling upon the powers of the Iron Fist to protect his friends and family - and New York City.
- Directors
- Scott Buck
- Writers
- Jessica Henwick
- Seasons
- 2
5 Luke Cage
The man with indestructible skin
The hero of Harlem, Luke Cage is an incredibly valuable member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's cast of New York City heroes. After surviving some harrowing experiments, Luke Cage was blessed with super strength, durability, and particularly resilient skin, allowing him to wade through gunfire like nothing. Once lashing out against organized crime in the area, Cage has since began to occupy something of an interesting spot in the lineup of street level Marvel characters.
At the end of season 2 of Luke Cage, Cage actually becomes Harlem's crime boss, aiming to use this status to protect its people from the worst of street level crime by controlling it himself. This does somewhat put his hero status into question, however noble his intentions might be. In any case, Luke Cage isn't leaving his territory any time soon, and despite his newfound resources, he's still a very local MCU character in the grand scheme of things.
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Luke Cage
- Release Date
- 2016 - 2018-00-00
- Showrunner
- Cheo Hodari Coker
- Writers
- Cheo Hodari Coker
Cast
Theo Rossi
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 2
4 Punisher
The vengeance-fueled gunman of the MCU
Jon Bernthal's Punisher performance is by far one of the best things to come out of the Daredevil Netflix series, and now can boast an official spot in the MCU. Once a normal soldier, the deaths of Frank Castle's family caused him to take up the infamous skull symbol in order to wage a one-man-war on organized crime, mercilessly killing anyone he deemed necessary to remove from the streets. While Punisher has no powers of his own, his experitse in ubran warfare and staggering arsenal of guns makes him more than a threat.
The Punisher's harsh methods typically put him at odds with other street level heroes, opening up many interesting avenues for interaction the MCU has yet to explore. Though he's gotten his personal revenge, Frank Castle has clearly decided to dedicate the rest of his life to his grisly work. His very personal stake in vigilante activities and limited capabilities as a normal gunman, albeit a well-armed and well-trained one, keep him firmly in the street tier of MCU characters.
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The Punisher
- Release Date
- 2017 - 2019-00-00
- Network
- Disney Channel
- Showrunner
- John Romita Sr.
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Mark Goldblatt, Lexi Alexander
- Writers
- Gerry Conway
- Seasons
- 2
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