Over the past times decade , Marvel has been the lead party when it comes to superhero flicks . They kick - initiate the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2008 withIron Man , but since then have released dozens of motion picture with different Marvel characters .

The MCU has made these characters more popular than they already were , but some of them had contract movies prior to being a part of the MCU . With many of these lineament being create in the ‘ 60s , it was n’t long before the superheroes were given live - action movies and TV shows . Here are 10 Superheros You Forgot Had Movies Before They Joined The MCU .

Captain America

Chris Evans is most known today for his office as Steve Rogers , a.k.a . Captain America , but he was n’t the first actor to manage the shield . Captain America is one of the previous hoagie on this listing , with Joe Simon and Jack Kirby make the quality back in 1941 .

Three age later , the character was given a serial with Dick Purcell play Cap , but the character also draw TV flick in 1979 ( starring Reb Brown ) and in 1990 ( starring Matt Salinger ) . Despite the character being a pop superhero , neither of the video motion-picture show were well received .

The Punisher

While Jon Bernthal portrayed Frank Castle for two season of Netflix’sThe Punisherbeforeit was canceled , a handful of other worker played the lineament before him . The first time the Punisher graced the big screenland was back in 1989 with Dolph Lundgren in the character of the infamous vigilante , but the moving picture meet mostly minus reviews .

Thomas Jane then took on the function in the 2004 filmThe Punisher , before being replaced by Ray Stevenson forPunisher : War Zone . None of these three moving picture get very good review , but most multitude agree that Bernthal and the originative team at Netflix did the character judge .

Howard The Duck

When most people conceive of superheroes and comical Holy Scripture , usually they do n’t think of an humanlike duck named Howard . Despite being unlike most superheroes , Howard the Duck is a Marvel character that got his own film in 1986 . The cinema was directed by Willard Huyck and starred Ed Gale as Howard , with Lea Thompson and Tim Robbins .

The film was wide pan off by buff and critics , but the lineament has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Howard first appeared during the end credits conniption forGuardians of the Galaxybut also made appearances inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol . 2andAvengers : Endgame .

Daredevil

madcap was make back in 1964 by Stan Lee and Bill Everett . The grapheme was first play by Rex Smith in the 1989 TV filmThe Trial of the Incredible Hulk . That being aver , Ben Affleck is more notorious for his role of Daredevil . Upon its release in 2003,Daredevilgot negative reviews .

Despite the pic being pick apart , many people would fit in that the darker director ’s swing of the celluloid is what really should have been theatrically released . Ben Affleck was given another stab at a superhero role when he was cast as Batman inBatman v Superman : Dawn of Justiceand Daredevil was redeem when Charlie Cox take on the theatrical role for Netflix’sDaredevil .

Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider fall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he became a character on the fourth season ofAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.The role was played by Gabriel Luna , who will also be star ina soloGhost RiderTV showon Hulu in 2020 . Before that , however , Nicolas Cage was the face of Ghost Rider .

batting cage come out in twoGhost Riderfilms while Sony Pictures still owned the right to the type . The 2007 picture show received negative review , but the sequel , Ghost Rider : Spirit of Vengeance , have even pitiable reviews . Eventually , Ghost Ridercould get his own film in the MCU , but for now , the case is sticking to the little screen .

Doctor Strange

Doctor Stephen Strange was first cite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe inCaptain America : The Winter Soldierwhen Agent Jasper Sitwell mentions him in passing . A few years later , the character got his solo film with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the Sorcerer Supreme .

Strange has been an instrumental part of the struggle against Thanos , but before that , he went up against Morgan le Fay in the 1978 TV movieDr . Strange . The movie was directed and drop a line by Philip DeGuere with Peter Hooten starring as Strange . The flick was made in promise of give the character a TV series , but the film faced negatively charged reviews and low rating , meaning a video show was out of the question .

The Hulk

Mark Ruffalo has yet to get a solo movie in the MCU , but Edward Norton take the character to the MCU inThe Incredible Hulk . Before that , though , Eric Bana starred in Ang Lee’sHulk . The motion-picture show get mixed reviews , but the live - action mechanism telly series that aired from 1978 to 1982 stimulate much better reviews .

The serial spawned several TV movies , most notablyThe Trial of the Incredible Hulk , which star Bill Bixby as Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Incredible Hulk . The movie not only include Daredevil but also marked Stan Lee ’s first appearance in a Marvel movie .

Elektra

Despite Ben Affleck’sDaredevilgetting negative reappraisal , the celluloid did well enough at the box office to justify a spin - off featuring the character Elektra . Elektra Natchios , played by Jennifer Garner , had a big role inDaredevil , making her an obvious choice for a whirl - off .

The 2005 film see Elektra being resurrected by Stick before protecting a family from The Hand . Most citizenry did n’t enjoy the movie , which was made readable by its poor box position performance . Thankfully , Elektra was redeemed when Élodie Yung played the persona in Netflix’sDaredevilstarting in season 2 . The actress later reprised the role forThe Defendersin 2017 .

Spider-Man

Comic book fans were ecstatic when they found out that Spider - Man was ultimately going to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Tom Holland was cast in the office , first appearing inCaptain America : Civil Warbefore getting his own solo filmsSpider - Man : Homecomingand the latterly - releasedSpider - military personnel : Far From household .

Spider - Man had gotten several films prior to him joining the MCU , including Sam Raimi ’s threeSpider - Manfilms star Tobey Maguire and Marc Webb ’s twoAmazing wanderer - Manfilms with Andrew Garfield . Long before those , however , Nicholas Hammond spiel Peter Parker in the 90 - minuteSpider - ManTV pic . The picture acts as a pilot to CBS’The Amazing Spider - ManTV series , which ran for two seasons from 1977 to 1979 .

Nick Fury

Samuel L. Jackson ’s fibre Nick Fury has play a vast part in tying together the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since his coming into court in the post - credits scene ofIron Man . Before that , though , another renowned actor took on the part . In 1998 , David Hasselhoff played Nick Fury for the telly movieNick Fury : Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The motion picture image Fury come out of retirement to help the government defeat HYDRA , who plan on aggress Manhattan . The movie was meant to be a pilot for a new TV series feature the Marvel character , but since the film get poor brushup , the series was never beak up .

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Movies

Captain America