Marvel Studios secretly introduced and immediately killed off a minor member of the Avengers in Captain America: Brave New World.
Ever since Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has introduced more and more characters from the comics—maybe too many. While some have been instantly identifiable, others have been completely unrecognizable, even to some comic readers.
One character introduced in Brave New World sadly fell into the latter category before the film unceremoniously killed him off. Not even his status as an informal Avenger in the comics could save him.
Unrecognizable Avenger's Role in Brave New World
Introduced in the opening of Captain America: Brave New World as a close ally of Sam Wilson, William Mark McCullough plays Dennis Dunphy.
Instead of being a former wrestler turned superhero with enhanced strength, Dunphy is an unempowered Commander in the Navy Seals, appearing a handful of times throughout Brave New World to help Captain America uncover a conspiracy against Harrison Ford's President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
In the latter half of the Captain America sequel, Wilson had asked Dunphy to check for anything unusual in the pills Samuel Sterns made for Ross' heart condition. Unfortunately, before he could relay to Captain America that they were "loaded with gamma radiation," he was killed by Sterns, who induced a heart attack.
Funnily enough, Dunphy also had a heart condition in the comics due to the extensive enhancements that gave him his powers. He even had a heart attack from overexertion while fighting Rogers.
Although he barely resembles his character in the comics, Dunphy's death in Brave New World is at least a likely and deliberate reference to this factoid.
A Guy Named 'Dennis' Was An Avenger?
Being an Avenger in the comics doesn't (and shouldn't) really merit the accolades one would expect, considering the no-name array of heroes who have been team members over the decades, such as Deathcry, Silverclaw, Rage, and more—basically a lot of duds in the 90s.
It's like they just gave out Avengers cards to anyone who asked.
However, one of them remained an underdog, albeit also a running joke, for decades longer. Steve Rogers himself even made this character an informal member of the Avengers: D-Man, aka Demolition Man, aka Dennis Dunphy.
Created by writer Mike Carlin and artist Ron Wilson, Dunphy debuted in issue #25 of Thing, where he was tricked alongside other amateur wrestlers to undergo experimental enhancements similar to the Super Soldier Serum at the hands of The Power Broker.
In Captain America #328, he donned the D-Man identity and eventually became Rogers' newest partner. He looked like a knock-off of Wolverine and Daredevil, something Brave New World didn't even try to match visually. Sterns suffered the same fate, his enlarged brain looking nothing like the comics.
As for any future for the character in the MCU, Sterns said he "[took] no pleasure in [Dunphy's] death," so unless Dunphy is resurrected somehow, the character is definitely dead. However, Dunphy briefly mentioned a brother he never had in the comics, who was in the Air Force and inspired by Sam Wilson.
Perhaps D-Man could live on through him in honor of his brother, not as Demolition Man, but as Dennis Man. Okay, no, probably as Demolition Man.
Captain America: Brave New World is now playing in theaters.
