Talk:Characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Last Name Basis

I know this might have been brought up before, but why are we using last name basis with these characters? I get that somehow people agreed on this but at this point there are way too many exceptions and stuff. Like for instance I understand some characters are referred to in the movies by both their first and last name (EX: Tony Stark, Bruce Banner), and others are referred to by just their last name (Trevor Slattery, Helmut Zemo), but then some characters are referred to mainly by first name (EX: Peter Parker). It's also kinda weird how we have a policy for referring to Liz, MJ and Ned by first name but not like the other characters who are mainly called by first name in the movies. Just a little thought. HiGuys69420 (talk) 20:43, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

Please refer to WP:MCU#Miscellaneous and raise concerns for general discussion at WT:MCU, rather than at individual articles. The common name of characters has been held as precedent in some cases, but not all. Trailblazer101 (talk) 20:54, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

ok thanks for clarifying =) HiGuys69420 (talk) 23:14, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

Split again

Characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: A–L is now 218k, and Characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: M–Z is 260k, with only more expansion to be expected. I would suggest preempting the inevitable, and further splitting each of these pages in half again now. BD2412 T 19:40, 4 May 2025 (UTC)

Before we take that step, I think it would be more useful to reduce the size of the articles by getting rid of unsourced plot details and other information that is just duplicated from film and TV articles. This really isn't the place to be doing either of those things. - adamstom97 (talk) 09:08, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

Any editor can do that, but it's just rearranging deck chairs. The studio continues to debut new properties, each introducing its own slew of characters. BD2412 T 16:09, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

I think minor characters should be removed from these lists. This should be reserved for notable characters, not just everyone who has appeared. Again, this is not a fan wiki. Do we also really need a whole barren section for characters like Cameron Klein or Krugarr or Liz? Or a section with lots of plot for someone WP:RECENT like Tombstone? I don't think so. Trailblazer101 (talk) 16:43, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

My feeling is that these pages should primarily be pointing readers to the most appropriate location for information on a given character, so each entry just needs the character name, actor(s), maybe a brief description for context, and then links to an individual character page (if there is one), a comics page (if there is one), and which project pages (film, TV, etc.) have details on that character. That way we avoid having unsourced plot details and repeated information that has just been copied from other places. If a character only appears in one project then there is definitely no need to have an expanded section on them when all the details are already in one place. And if a character isn't noteworthy enough for their own article it should be fine to just link to the projects they have appeared in. This ties into my thoughts in the "Addition of the defenders saga characters" section above, where we talked about adding the Marvel Netflix characters to this list. My feeling is that this would be useful, particularly for those characters who appear in multiple shows as that would create a single place which links to all the relevant articles without duplicating the content for their role in each series. - adamstom97 (talk) 17:19, 7 May 2025 (UTC)

Elevating encyclopedic quality

I see there was a brief discussion last summer about the quality of the two massive MCU character lists. I was one of the editors involved in the debate that resulted in the current format. I do not recall exactly what my position was. However, I think this list and the vast majority of character-based lists like it on Wikipedia are, put bluntly, terrible. The number may actually be 100%, because I do not have a character list that I could point to that does a perfect job. I think we have enough invested brainpower to come up with a better solution than the endless paragraphs inconsistently sorted by last name. What encyclopedic value are we wanting to provide with character lists such as these? TNstingray (talk) 23:36, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

I agree that some big changes are needed for these pages, though they aren't really high on my personal priority list. The main thing for me is transitioning from a format which relies on large amounts of in-universe details to a format where we focus on real-world information. I honestly feel that this should really just be a series of tables or something similar that give a high-level overview of each character (name, actor, etc.) and include links to where more information can be found (films and shows they have appeared in, comics page if there is one, standalone character article if there is one). - adamstom97 (talk) 08:32, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

Disagree. Sending readers to read fragmented pieces of information across many articles is the worst experience possible. Additionally, in-universe information, i.e. plot, is not a bad thing we should hide our readers from. That is mostly what they actually care for, and not what writer A wanted to do with that character. Both pieces of information serve a purpose and should exist. The problem is, with most plot information, is the level of details and the length of it. The length is also not something we can handle with a blunt general rule, as a character (that doesn't have a stand-alone article) that appeared in five projects will have more information that should be written about than a character that has appeared in only one or two projects. Gonnym (talk) 10:26, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

I'm a big fan of describing plot-related details, to the point where I know that I overdo it. However, I feel like the current format is also providing a very terrible experience. It is, quite frankly, an ugly mess. There are many other places that are dedicated to the in-universe trajectories of characters that have multiple appearances. If they are notable enough to get their own article, great. If they have only one appearance, it might be best to stay at the article for that project. The best way to differentiate is to condense everything down to tables. Name, actor, appearances, general description, comic-book link where relevant... the only thing to decide is how to organize the tables. Keep it as alphabetical? Organize by team or faction? TNstingray (talk) 12:36, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

We only include plot details in media articles to provide context for new readers, Wikipedia is not the place to look for detailed plot descriptions of characters. If that is what readers are actually interested in then they should be going to fan wikis or other places like that. On Wikipedia, the focus must be on the real-world information. That has not been happening here, these lists are just a mess of overlong plot summaries with little-to-no real-world information to support them. - adamstom97 (talk) 13:38, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

Ultron

With Ultron getting a 2nd main character role in VisionQuest I feel he should have his own article ~2026-56430-04 (talk) 22:40, 21 October 2026 (UTC)

Draft:Ultron (Marvel Cinematic Universe) already exists but still needs some work done to meet independent notability of this interpretation of the character. It would be best to find expand the draft with more material after VisionQuest concludes, especially with more accolades and critical commentary. — Trailblazer¹⁰¹🔥 ^{(discuss · contribs)} 23:26, 21 October 2026 (UTC)