17 years into the MCU's run on the big and small screen, only four characters can share in one special distinction apart from the rest of the franchise's stars. As of July 2025, Marvel Studios has fully completed five full Phases of adventures, delivering 36 theatrical movies and a dozen live-action series on Disney+ since starting Phase 1 in 2008. Since then, stars have come and gone, but the franchise has impressively kept a few key players around for that entire time.
Four characters have now appeared in live-action in all five Phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as of the conclusion of Phase 5. Between 2008's Iron Man and 2025's Ironheart, dozens of prominent Hollywood names have taken their place in Marvel history with roles in one or more of Marvel's movies and TV shows.
Through the MCU's Phase 4, Marvel Studios had a total of 12 characters appear in every phase (only including live-action appearances). Notably, many of the original Avengers, like Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Hulk, who had all appeared through Phase 4, did not make a Phase 5 appearance.
However, when it comes to showing up consistently for multiple phases, four characters can say they have been there every step of the way:
Every Character to Appear in All 5 Phases of the MCU
Happy Hogan
Outside of Jon Favreau's place as one of the godfathers of the MCU (directing the first two Iron Man movies), his character, Harold "Happy" Hogan, has been a staple of Marvel Studios' saga since the beginning.
In Phase 1, fans were introduced to Happy in 2008's Iron Man, when he worked as Tony Stark's butler and personal valet. He brought the character back to the MCU in 2010's Iron Man 2, adding the role of "bodyguard" to his duties while working closely with Tony and chauffeuring him around the world.
His only appearance in Phase 2 came courtesy of 2013's Iron Man 3, in which he was promoted to be Stark Industries' head of security, working extra hard to protect his boss and friend.
Phase 3 gave Happy his most appearances in any Phase, with credits in three films: 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2019's Avengers: Endgame, and 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The Spider-Man films showed him helping move the Avengers from Avengers Tower to their new facility in upstate New York while guiding Peter Parker in his hero's journey, while Endgame gave him an emotional moment with Morgan Stark when she asked him for cheeseburgers.
In Phase 4, Favreau reprised his role as Happy in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, helping Peter with his identity crisis before forgetting about his existence by the end of the film.
Finally, Phase 5 brought Favreau back for a cameo in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, in which he met with Wade Wilson in Stark Tower and denied his request to join the Avengers. On top of his on-screen credits, Favreau is also an executive producer on seven MCU movies and directed the first two Iron Man films.
James Rhodes (War Machine)
First introduced via a portrayal by Terrence Howard, Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes, better known as War Machine, is another important Iron Man character whose stay in the MCU goes back nearly two decades.
Howard first played Rhodey in Phase 1's Iron Man, where he was the liaison to Stark Industries and Tony Stark's best friend, working with Stark and the United States Air Force to find Tony and later protect him. Cheadle replaced Howard in Iron Man 2, in which Rhodey officially took over the War Machine armor, having it upgraded by Justin Hammer before helping Tony take down Hammer and Ivan Vanko.
In Phase 2, Rhodey played a major role in 2013's Iron Man 3, as he was rebranded as the Iron Patriot before helping Tony in the search for the Mandarin and Aldrich Killian.
2015 included Rhodey for a minor role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, which had him cracking jokes at Tony's party at the start of the film and helping him fight the Ultron bots and save Sokovia at the end. He also joined Captain America's new Avengers line-up in the closing moments.
In Phase 3, Rhodey first joined Tony Stark's team in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, fighting with him before being shot down by Vision and subsequently paralyzed from the waist down.
He then played a major role in the fight against Thanos in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and 2019's Avengers: Endgame, working with the Avengers to find/protect the Infinity Stones and save the universe. He also appeared in the post-credits scene from 2019's Captain Marvel, which showed Carol Danvers' return to Earth after Thanos snapped away half of the universe.
Phase 4 was a much lighter load for Rhodey, as he only appeared in the opening moments of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to speak with Sam Wilson about Captain America's legacy. His lone Phase 5 appearance came in Secret Invasion, which is his most controversial appearance yet. In that series, he was revealed to have been a Skrull for nearly a decade before the real Rhodey was released from captivity in the last episode.
Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier)
Sebastian Stan is now one of the MCU's longest-tenured actors, having embodied James Buchannan "Bucky" Barnes, often known as the Winter Soldier, in each of the MCU's first five Phases.
Barnes joined Phase 1 in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger as Steve Rogers' best friend, fighting with the U.S. Army and the Howling Commandos before falling off a train and seemingly dying. In Phase 2, Bucky returned as a villain in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, brainwashed and controlled by Hydra as he was forced to fight Captain America and SHIELD. He also showed up in Ant-Man's post-credits scene, which showed him after Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson captured him.
Phase 3 was much busier for Bucky, as he showed up in four separate movies. He was the center of attention in Captain America: Civil War, as Steve Rogers hoped to find him and clear him after he was framed for the bombing of the United Nations.
He then fought alongside Cap before the reveal that he killed Tony Stark's parents, eventually being put in cryo sleep until the Hydra programming was erased from his mind. After making a cameo in 2018Black Panther's post-credits scene, he fought in the final battles of both Infinity War and Endgame, and he watched Steve pass the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson.
Phase 4 heavily featured Bucky in 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, in which he teamed up with Sam Wilson to take down the Flag Smashers while working to find his old self again.
In Phase 5, along with a cameo in 2025's Captain America: Brave New World, he played a leading role in 2025's Thunderbolts*. There, after a short term in Congress, he helped bring the titular team together to stop Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Sentry, and he eventually joined the New Avengers.
Bucky will also be one of at least two actors confirmed to appear in the MCU's first six phases, as he is set to reprise his role in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday.
Loki
Tom Hiddleston made himself a household name through his performance as Loki in the MCU, which he has done through all five Phases thus far.
Debuting in 2011's Thor next to Chris Hemsworth during Phase 1, Loki learned of his Frost Giant heritage before attempting to take over the throne of Asgard, eventually "dying" as he fell off the rainbow bridge. He then returned in 2012's The Avengers with new powers and a powerful scepter (holding the Mind Stone), commanding an army and hoping to conquer Earth before the Avengers took him down.
2013's Thor: The Dark World marked Hiddleston's only Phase 2 appearance, in which he reluctantly teamed up with Thor to stop the Dark Elves; he then faked his death again and seized command of Asgard's throne.
In Phase 3, he returned for 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, going with Thor to Sakaar and running into the Hulk before teaming up to stop Hela from ruling over Asgard. In Infinity War, Loki met his tragic end when Thanos snapped his neck, but his 2012 variant escaped an alternate timeline in Avengers: Endgame with the Tesseract.
In Phase 4, Loki was the focal point of his own Disney+ solo series, in which his 2012 variant was captured and then recruited by the TVA to stop anomalies that were coming in the Sacred Timeline.
He later learned the truth about the TVA and went with Sophia di Martino's Sylvie to find He Who Remains, with Sylvie killing him and sending the timeline into chaos.
Phase 5 brought Loki back for Season 2 of his own solo series in 2023, which included a previously used post-credits scene from 2023's Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Having to team up with the TVA again to keep the Sacred Timeline from disintegrating and falling apart, Loki eventually evolves into the God of Stories, holding all timelines together himself and finding his own glorious purpose.
Alongside Sebastian Stan, Hiddleston is the second MCU actor confirmed to be in all six MCU Phases, as he was announced to play Loki again in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday.
BONUS: Thor
While Thor's status in all five MCU Phases is somewhat of a technicality, he still has an impact on every step of the MCU's journey thus far.
Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder started in his own 2011 solo Thor movie, losing his power before working to prove himself worthy of wielding Mjolnir; he then returned home to Asgard to stop Loki's takeover before Loki fell from the rainbow bridge. He returned later in Phase 1 for The Avengers, joining forces with Earth's Mightiest Heroes to give them insight into Loki and helping stop the Chitauri invasion before bringing his brother back to Asgard.
Phase 2 also gave the son of Odin two appearances, the first being in 2013's Thor: The Dark World. Learning of the Dark Elves and the Convergence, he then returns to Earth to find Jane Foster after she is infected by the Aether, and they later work together to stop Malekith from attempting to plunge the Nine Realms into darkness. Thor then played a leading role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, fighting with the team against the titular AI villain and even helping bring Vision to life before leaving Earth in search of answers to his Infinity Stone-inspired vision.
In Phase 3, Thor: Ragnarok put Chris Hemsworth's hero on a wild journey to stop the fall of Asgard. He was stranded on Sakaar and reunited with the Hulk, and after losing an eye, he teamed up with the Hulk, Loki, and Valkyrie to kill his half-sister Hela while she destroyed his home. Thor then had one of the biggest roles in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, as he fought Thanos with the Avengers, failed and succeeded in killing him, and went through a major period of depression before finally bringing half of all life back and defeating the Mad Titan for good.
Hemsworth's Thor only had one appearance in Phase 4, serving as the leading hero in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder. This movie featured him reuniting with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster as they fought to save New Asgard's children from Gorr the God Butcher. He went on a wild intergalactic journey before settling down on Earth, raising Gorr's revived daughter, Love.
Phase 5 is where things get tricky for the fan-favorite Asgardian hero. Thor technically appeared in this Phase via an unexpected cameo in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, but it was through repurposed footage from Thor: The Dark World. This footage showed the moment when Loki died in his arms on Svartalfheim, but Loki was replaced with Deadpool, as half of his mask was ripped off while he looked lovingly at the God of Thunder.
If you want to know all the characters who appeared in the MCU's Phases 1-4, take a look at our list of the 12 Marvel characters who accomplished this.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
