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As Captain America, Chris Evans has been the moral center of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a decade, but as a kid, he picked up his superheroic life lessons from a rival company.
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter who his favorite hero was while growing up, Evans responded with:
I'll say Batman. I really liked that, I mean I probably shouldn't say that, DC, it's... I don't want to get in any trouble. But those Michael Keaton movies, those were pretty big, so yeah. I'll say Batman.
There’s likely no hope of Batman ever joining Evans’ Steve Rogers in the MCU, but Marvel Studios was at least able to poach Keaton himself for a role in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
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As Doctor Stephen Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch fills the role of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Sorcerer Supreme. But when he was a child, Cumberbatch was inspired by the magic of an entirely different franchise.
Specifically, Cumberbatch lists Tim Burton’s Batman as a cultural touchstone of his childhood, even going as far as to describe a bit of an obsession with the film to Shortlist:
But I was into superhero comics when I was younger - I liked Tim Burton’s Batman. I had the posters on my wall. In the playground we’d listen to the Prince soundtrack and do imitations of Jack Nicholson.
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As Thanos The Mad Titan, few actors have made as large an impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe than Josh Brolin. However, Brolin wasn’t always a villain: He grew up cheering for a trio of comic book heroes, two of whom he would go on to battle on the big screen.
In a Reddit AMA, Brolin answered the question of his favorite comic characters with:
Richie Rich, which I am ashamed to admit. Richie Rich, Hulk, and Thor (I had a thing for blonds?)
And then got into the graphic novels of Frank Miller and all that, which isn't just to promote this film, it's the truth.
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Tom Hiddleston’s Loki was the first central villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - and he’s stayed involved in the franchise ever since. Though initially a straight-up heel, Hiddleston’s Loki eventually reveals a genuine heroic streak, which makes sense, given who Hiddleston idolized as a child.
Like many youngsters, Hiddleston grew up with an affinity for Superman - in particular the Christopher Reeve version - and even went as far as to mimic the Man of Steel on the playground:
As a kid, I loved Superman. For me, Christopher Reeve as Superman was the first superhero. I sat smack-bang in the middle of the audience for that movie. I was the right age at the right time, and I spent a lot of my childhood playing Superman games in the playground.
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As the misguided sorcerer Kaecilius, Mads Mikkelsen took a short but memorable turn as a major MCU villain - but he wasn’t always a fan of the bad guys. Though he traditionally plays evil characters, Mikkelsen found he related to one of the most righteous characters in all of comics while growing up: Spider-Man.
In an interview with Made In Hollywood, Mikkelsen recounts how he didn’t know much about Doctor Strange when he was younger but had definitely heard of the wall crawler:
As a kid I think we relate a little more to Peter Parker, a skinny guy with a big mouth.
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- Marvel Studios
In the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark serves as the mentor to Peter Parker, aiding the young spiderling as he makes his transition into full-time superheroing.
It’s a perfect bit of serendipity, then, that Robert Downey Jr.’s Stark also served as Tom Holland’s introduction to superhero films back in 2008 with Iron Man, released when Holland was just 12 years old.
Holland recounts to IMDB that:
Iron Man is one of the greatest superhero movies. Iron Man is one of my favorites because obviously it was one of the first times I was ever introduced to the MCU. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect person to play that role. No one ever in the history of movies should ever try to play Tony Stark ever again.
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- Mill Creek Ent
Jake Gyllenhaal is a fairly new arrival to the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his turn as Mysterio, the master of illusion. Gyllenhaal was under no illusions, however, that he had to list a Marvel property as his favorite superhero, stating to IMDB that:
Is the Care Bears a superhero action movie? That’s one of my favorites. Of all time.
In case that doesn’t quite count, Gyllenhaal also noted Deadpool as his modern superheroic preference.
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Few individuals in this world actually get to do the job they dreamed of growing up, but Mark Ruffalo is one of them. As the Bruce Banner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s Hulked out on numerous occasions - which is exactly what he wanted to do when he was younger, as he recounted in a Reddit AMA:
Well, growing up, when I was little it was the Hulk and Bill Bixby's The Incredible Hulk TV show.
As he aged, however, Ruffalo also developed an affection for another notoriously grump Marvel superhero:
But as I got older it was Wolverine, and I have a signed first edition of the Wolverine by Frank Miller. That's pretty cool.
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Jeremy Renner has a diverse resume, with ongoing careers in acting, music, and house-flipping. Occasionally, his interview answers are just as all over the place as his working life, as evidenced by his response in a Reddit AMA to the question of his favorite superhero:
I don't have a favorite. My first crush was Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter, she was my first crush as a young boy, but that doesn't mean she's my favorite superhero. As a young kid, I was a big Spider-Man fan, I always wanted to be Peter Parker.
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Evangeline Lilly is the second-generation Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but growing up she dreamed of being a different superhero - and very nearly got her chance. According to an interview with MTV News, Lilly was in talks to join Joss Whedon’s doomed Wonder Woman project:
I actually went in and met on Wonder Woman at one point. Before the thing fell apart. That was early, that was first season of Lost before I went, wait a minute, I don't know if I want to do this!
Despite the cold feet, Lilly is still a major fangirl for Diana of Themyscira:
Wonder Woman was my favorite superhero as a little girl. I still have a huge girl crush on Wonder Woman, I think she's amazing.
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Dave Bautista is one of the actors who appears most proud of his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it’s no surprise that he’s a lifelong fan of comic books. Before landing his job as Drax the Destroyer, however, Bautista was actually a fan of an entirely different galaxy of superheroes - DC Comics - before Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man won him back over to the Marvel side.
I’ve said all along, I want to work with RDJ, man. I want to work with Robert Downey Jr. He’s Iron Man. He’s Tony Stark, man. He’s the guy! If I had to narrow down my favorite Marvel film: Iron Man. My favorite, I love it. That movie made me a fan of Iron Man, because up until then I really wasn’t. Batman and Aquaman were my guys growing up, oddly enough. It just made me a fan and I started watching from then on and all the Marvel movies, it’s just got the golden touch. They’ve really got their finger on the pulse.
There are two winged characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one of them is a big fan of the other. As Anthony Mackie - better known as the Falcon - tells W Magazine, he grew up rooting for the actor behind Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Vulture:
I grew up in a generation of the best Batman there will ever be - Michael Keaton. So, I…was a huge Batman fan.
Beyond the Dark Knight, however, Mackie was more of a Marvel guy - to the point that he thought of the Hulk as an “alter ego” of sorts and as a definitively better character than Superman:
I’ve always been an Incredible Hulk fan, that was kind of like my alter ego. I never was into Superman because I didn’t get it. Like, he’s the same dude - just without glasses and with glasses. That’s weird.
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Plenty of actors read comic books growing up, but only a select handful consider themselves dedicated fans - and Michael B. Jordan is definitely one of them. Not only is his favorite superhero a fairly obscure choice - Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans - he’s able to excitedly recount the character’s best moment in the comics.
In an interview with Philly Voice, Jordan recalled a story arc in which a villain came to Wakanda looking for Black Panther and instead found Black Bolt waiting for him:
He comes to Wakanda and instead of Black Panther being on the throne, it was Black Bolt who destroyed the villain simply by saying, "Boo!" I thought that run was pretty memorable, and it just stuck with me.
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Ben Mendelsohn earned plenty of fans for his portrayal of Talos in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home, but he was already a big supporter of a certain Marvel villain before he ever joined the MCU.
Mendelsohn doesn’t just have a favorite character. He also has a very strong opinion on why that character deserves the crown as the best comic character ever, as he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast:
Doctor Doom is the greatest comic character of all time. That’s a great role. The thing that’s appealing about Victor is the damage and trauma, the loss of the family, the wrong done to him, and then the takeover, the revenge, and then the protectiveness of Latveria wrapped in that Cold War vibe. There’s something about the combination of that. What actually makes him great is his caring bit.
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