Thanks to the multiverse, there have been some amazing cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but some rank higher than others for a few factors.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC, and other superhero franchises have been using the multiverse to bring in some exciting cameos, and the MCU’s Multiverse Saga has seen several surprises across its movie slate. While it is true that Marvel has been facing criticism lately, a couple of the best MCU movies have come out in recent years. Even when a film might not be as good as expected, there have been exciting multiverse cameos to keep audiences engaged.

The MCU has used cameos during the Multiverse Saga in a few different ways. Characters have played bigger roles in films, appeared in post-credits scenes, and more. Helping Marvel’s cameos vary from each other, the multiverse has been an interesting tool that allows the studio to either bring back fan-favorite actors in new/old roles or add requested newcomers to the franchise. With several more films to release in the Multiverse Saga, Marvel Studios’ movie slate could include even more exciting cameos.

10. Pizza Poppa

Appeared In Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the biggest exploration of the multiverse in the MCU’s movie side so far. While Spider-Man: No Way Home had perhaps the most exciting use of the multiverse, the Doctor Strange sequel was the one to delve deeper into multiverse concepts that will be important for future projects, like incursions, and play more with the concept of variants. In doing so, the movie brought to life multiple multiverse cameos.

Frequent Sam Raimi collaborator Bruce Campbell was there alongside the director on his return to superhero movies. Campbell played different cameo characters in Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy. In the MCU, Campbell gave life to Pizza Poppa, who sold pizza balls in Earth-838. Campbell was once again hilarious in a Marvel film, with his short role providing comedic relief and the character’s return in a post-credits scene effectively ending the film with him saying, “It’s over!“

9. Marvel (Maria Rambeau)

Appeared In Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness

Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful characters in the MCU. Brie Larson’s debut as Carol Danvers even broke the $1 billion mark at the height of the franchise. As such, it has been exciting to see what the MCU decides to do with the character, including putting Carol in a team in The Marvels and a variant of Captain Marvel appearing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Instead of Carol Danvers, the Captain Marvel in the Doctor Strange sequel was none other than Maria Rambeau, Carol’s best friend. Lashana Lynch did great in 2019’s Captain Marvel, and after it was revealed in WandaVision that Maria had died, it was cool to see her back with powers in the movie. Maria got decent screen time fighting the Scarlet Witch, but she was not the most exciting multiverse cameo in the film.

8. Clea

Appeared In Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness

While most of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ cameos happened throughout the movie, there was an important MCU debut that came in the film’s first post-credits scene. Out of nowhere, Charlize Theron joined the franchise as Clea. The actress looked great in the role, with a vibrant costume and a confident/mysterious persona. Clea revealed to Doctor Strange that he caused an incursion, opening a rift to the Dark Dimension, so the two could deal with it.

Clea’s cameo was exciting for multiple reasons. Theron has many roles that show how much of a perfect fit she is for the powerful character, and the movie closes the chapter on Strange and Christine’s romance to allow him and Clea — a Marvel Comics couple — to be together. Adding to that, the cameo was another step in the journey to Avengers: Secret Wars.

7. Binary

Appeared In The Marvels

Another Maria Rambeau variant makes the list of the best Multiverse Saga cameos so far. After her appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Lynch returned as a new variant of Maria in The Marvels. This time around, the actress was not from Earth-838, as that version of Maria died, but rather from a new Earth to appear in the MCU. Her world instantly became one of the biggest questions of the Multiverse Saga due to some elements.

Binary came from a universe where the X-Men exist. She interacts with Beast in The Marvels, with the mutant mentioning Charles Xavier. Besides the possible X-Men connotations, Maria’s cameo as Binary was also exciting due to her meeting with Monica Rambeau. Teyonah Parris’ character came face-to-face with a variant of her mom after the main Maria died, which was emotional.

6. Venom

Appeared In Spider-Man: No Way Home

Fans have asked to see Tom Hardy’s Venom interact with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man for quite some time. Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s post-credits scene seemed to finally point to that happening, with Eddie Brock getting transported from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe to the MCU. After Venom watched Holland’s Spider-Man be revealed to be Peter Parker on TV, the character would get to appear in his first MCU movie for a cameo.

While Venom’s Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo was not what fans expected, it was exciting all the same. Hardy’s Eddie Brock talked to a bartender and learned about some characters and events from the MCU in a funny scene before getting sent back to the SSU. While Venom and Spider-Man not meeting was disappointing, the fact that a part of the Venom symbiote stayed behind in the MCU was enough of a future tease to keep fans’ hopes up.

5. Captain Carter

Appeared In Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness

Hayley Atwell is one of the longest-running MCU stars. The actress debuted in the franchise as Peggy Carter in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. While Peggy got a couple of appearances over the years, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first live-action movie to allow the actress to show a new side of the character. Continuing her work in the animated What If…? series, Atwell played a variant of Captain Carter in the movie.

It was exciting to see Atwell play a superhero in live-action. Peggy is easily one of the best love interests in the MCU, but it was clear from her time in the first Captain America film that there was so much more Marvel could do with the character. While the Illuminati were short-lived, Atwell’s Captain Carter got some cool action scenes before her gory demise.

4. Black Bolt

Appeared In Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness

One of the two most surprising multiverse cameos in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was undoubtedly the MCU debut of Black Bolt. Anson Mout had previously played the hero in the Inhumans TV show, which is highly regarded as one of the worst live-action Marvel productions. While Mount’s performance as Black Bolt was the best aspect of the series, Marvel abandoning the Inhumans seemed to have sealed the actor’s fate in the MCU.

However, there he was in the Doctor Strange sequel. One of the biggest complaints regarding Inhumans was over the show’s low budget and poor effects. The MCU movie, however, was able to do Black Bolt justice, with Mount looking amazing in a comic book-accurate Black Bolt costume. The character’s brutal death was the movie’s most shocking moment, making Black Bolt’s cameo stand out amid the Multiverse Saga.

3. Beast

Appeared In The Marvels

The latest MCU movie, The Marvels, underperformed. The sequel did not come anywhere close to Captain Marvel‘s over $1 billion box office success; however, the film was still a fun adventure with a solid trio of heroines. After a pretty emotional story, The Marvels‘ post-credits scene introduced another Fox X-Men actor to the MCU. Returning as Beast for the first time since a cameo in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past was Kelsey Grammer.

Marvel Studios has the rights to the X-Men again after Disney bought Fox. However, instead of introducing new actors as the fan-favorite mutants, Marvel is using the Multiverse Saga to bring back stars from Fox’s X-Men films. If Avengers: Secret Wars‘ scale is to be felt, then the movie will need the audience to care about different universes. Using Fox’s X-Men in multiple worlds, with Grammer continuing to be impeccable as Beast, is the best way to do it.

2. Professor X

Appeared In Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier are the faces of the X-Men in live-action. The two actors have delivered a slew of iconic performances in the role, making them the fan-favorite characters out of the large cast from Fox’s X-Men universe. As such, any new appearance from the duo is surely going to generate excitement, as the record-breaking nature of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s trailers has shown to be the case.

Months before Jackman’s Wolverine return was even announced, Marvel had already brought back Stewart as Charles Xavier. The actor played a variant of Professor X, who served as the leader of the Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It was hard to see Xavier get his neck viciously snapped by the Scarlet Witch, but Stewart was back without missing a beat as the hero, showing why his Charles Xavier is so beloved.

1. Mr. Fantastic

Appeared In Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness included several cameos. While fans never got to see the long-rumored debut of Tom Cruise as Superior Iron Man, the audience was treated to a major fan casting becoming real. John Krasinski had been the fan-favorite to play Reed Richards in the MCU for years, and the actor finally got to give life to Mr. Fantastic in the movie.

Krasinski’s casting was due to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige seeing the fan support for the actor to play Reed. Krasinski was great as Reed Richards for the limited time he had. The actor had cool interactions with Doctor Strange and Elisabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, though it would have been nice to see Reed put on more of a fight against Wanda Maximoff. While Pedro Pascal is the MCU‘s main Reed Richards, Krasinski’s cameo stands as a fan dream come true, making it special.