5 Marvel Performances That Were Officially Robbed at The Oscars, Ranked

While Marvel movies have dominated the box office, and the MCU’s Avengers: Endgame is also the highest-grossing movie of all time, it has never been the awards favorite. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight won an Oscar for Heath Ledger, proving that the Academy can take superhero movies seriously. However, the MCU has never had such a win.

Black Panther made history by earning a Best Picture nomination, but only Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda has received a Best Supporting Actress nomination so far. Several other performers have deserved at least a nomination for their incredible performances, sometimes over the years. The following list of actors is ranked based on how impactful their individual performances were, even if they have been around throughout the franchise.

5 Tom Hiddleston Showed His Dramatic Chops as Loki 

Best Supporting Actor

Tom Hiddleston has played Loki since 2011, debuting along with Chris Hemsworth in Thor. The Norse God of Mischief got quite a tragic and testing arc over the years in the MCU, with his story seemingly ending with Loki Season 2. He is now the God of Stories, holding the Sacred Timeline together. It is a long and arduous journey for the character who was initially just known for his jealousy and mischief.

Hiddleston has been both the main antagonist and a protagonist as Loki, showing incredible growth not just in performance but also in character during the franchise. Though small, his performance in Avengers: Infinity War opposite Thanos was one of the best moments of the film. Hiddleston trained at RADA and brings stage precision to every sneer and sigh.

Fifteen years of dedication and consistent performance despite time gaps and character changes need to be appreciated. A Best Supporting Actor nomination for either Thor: The Dark World or Infinity War was definitely due.

4 Josh Brolin’s Thanos Was Incredible Acting Despite MoCap

Best Supporting Actor

One of the few reasons Josh Brolin did not get his due as Thanos was because his performance was motion capture. If that was not a major hurdle, the Mad Titan should have definitely gotten more love from the awards, especially the Oscars. Brolin brings in both tragedy and a crazed sense of justice to the character that is supposed to be the villain. Few Marvel villains have matched up to his level.

Yet, fans empathized and even agreed with his actions to a certain extent. He was a genuine threat to the Avengers, and many died at the end of Infinity War. While Endgame reversed much of the character depth by reintroducing a more toned-down version, a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Infinity War was definitely due.

3 Chadwick Boseman Led Black Panther’s Ensemble with Grace

Best Actor

There is no one like Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa. After he died in 2020, even the MCU did not want to replace him in the sequel, Wakanda Forever, as his performance was just too perfect and definitive for the part. He only got to shine solo in one film, which incidentally created history for the MCU by getting a Best Picture nomination.

Boseman deserved a Best Actor nomination, too. The actor was definitive to the role, and his performance in Black Panther certainly deserved it. He became the icon for a community, and his death was a huge blow to the fans. While he received a posthumous nomination for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, his most iconic role deserved a chance too.

2 No One Is as Definitive as Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark

Best Actor

Robert Downey Jr. made Tony Stark in Iron Man a charismatic, flawed genius, and the performance launched the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. He blended rapid wit with genuine pain, especially in Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Endgame, where Stark confronts trauma and sacrifices himself to save the universe. 

Downey Jr. had been nominated for Chaplin and Tropic Thunder, so the Academy knew his range. He eventually won for Oppenheimer, but his defining Marvel work earned no recognition whatsoever. Will his Doctor Doom get a shot at the Oscars? We will have to wait and see.

1 Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger Was a Sympathetic Villain

Best Supporting Actor

Michael B. Jordan played Erik Killmonger, the vengeful antagonist of Black Panther, and created one of the most sympathetic villains in superhero history. Jordan fused menace with deep pain, giving Killmonger a coherent philosophy rooted in the abandonment of Black communities worldwide. 

His dying line, about being buried in the ocean with ancestors who jumped from ships, remains devastating. Villains have won acting Oscars before, and this performance matched that standard. Jordan deserved at least a Best Supporting Actor nomination. He eventually won for another Ryan Coogler film, Sinners, where he received the Best Actor award.

Which Marvel star do you think deserves the Oscar? Comment below.