There was a time when Brendan Fraser was living comfortably on the A-list as the star of hits like Disney’s George of the Jungle in 1997, the action-packed Mummy movies, and a 3D adaptation of Journey to the Center of the Earth from 2008 — and that is just to name a few of his blockbusters. Given how he just made one of the greatest celebrity comebacks of the decade by winning an Academy Award for The Whale, it looks like the actor is about to reclaim that reputation. What better option would there be for the next stage of his “Brennaissance” than starring in some upcoming Marvel movies?
Of course, if he were to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would certainly not be his first foray into comic book adaptations, having starred on HBO Max’s Doom Patrol for four seasons. However, it would be the first time we would see him in any superhero movies, since nothing came from his Superman audition in the early 2000s and his role in the Batgirl movie will probably never see the light of day. For that reason, I believe that his hypothetical MCU induction deserves to be a special one, so I came up with a few Marvel characters ripped straight from the comic book pages that would be perfectly suited for an actor of his talent and his specific experiences — starting with a couple of hot characters.
Solarr
The day when the Leslie Grace-led Batgirl solo movie was cancelled (not long after it had already wrapped principal photography) was a sad day for DC fans and for a multitude of reasons — one being the stolen chance to see Brendan Fraser as the main villain. The actor was cast as Firefly — a Silver Age member of Batman’s rogues gallery whose crimes would tend to involve pyrotechnics and arson. Because we may never see his interpretation of this incendiary DC character, why not cast him as an incendiary Marvel character to make up for it?
Solarr might actually be an even more fun role for Fraser to play because — unlike Firefly — he actually has supernatural abilities that involve fire. First appearing in an issue of Captain America in the early 1970s, this criminal — born Silas King — is a mutant who discovers that he can absorb and redistribute large amounts of solar energy in the form of devastating heat blasts or in flashes that can leave enemies blind. If not in a future Anthony Mackie-led Captain America sequel, this might be a fun character to bring into the mix whenever the X-Men movies are officially rebooted in the MCU, especially if Fraser is cast.
Firelord
I actually had a couple different characters whom Fraser could “heat things up” as in the MCU. The other is yet another supernatural character with a very close association to fire. However, that just barely scratches the surface of what he can do.
Pyreus Kril is better known as Firelord — a title that does not just refer to his body consisting almost entirely of flame (in his modern iteration, that is), but also his ability to manipulate cosmic energy in the form of fire. First appearing in a Thor comic in the early ‘70s, this Xandarian space explorer — in addition to generating attacks on par with a supernova — has just about all of the most typical superhuman abilities you can think of, and has been imbued with the great galactic knowledge that comes in a package deal with the Power Cosmic. Now, that’s what I call a hot role.
Korvac
While Brendan Fraser’s role as Firefly in Batgirl will likely be remembered only as the comic book role of his we did not get to see, fans may look back favorably on the DC role we did get to see: Cliff Steele — otherwise known as Robotman — on Doom Patrol. His performance on the HBO Max original series (which is mostly done in voice overs) gave me inspiration for another “robotman” who exists in the Marvel Universe.
Similarly to Cliff, Michael Korvac was an average human who made a living as a computer technician until (ironically) an alien race transformed him into a cybernetic organism by attaching his upper half to that of a computer. While that sounds like a nightmare, it would also give him access to a digital database of every superpower known to mankind, thus making him nearly unstoppable. After the Multiverse Saga concludes, I think Korvac might be a great choice as the MCU’s next big bad after Jonathan Majors’ Kang.
Old Man Cole
The buzz surrounding Fraser’s comeback performance in The Whale occurred in tandem with the buzz surrounding fellow future Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan’s comeback performance in Everything Everywhere Al At Once. During awards season, the actors would bond over the time they first met, on the set of Encino Man — starring Fraser as a caveman known as Link, who was unearthed in modern day California — which brought newfound attention to the 1992 comedy. However, since a sequel is probably out of the question, there is a way the actor could pay homage to one of his earliest roles in the MCU.
In Marvel Comics, there exists a literal neanderthal known as Old Man Cole who, after being abducted by aliens and used in an experiment in increasing the human lifespan, gained immortality. In the modern world, he became a restauranteur who crossed paths with Cable and became his ally. If Josh Brolin were to reprise his Deadpool 2 role alongside Fraser as Old Man Cole, that is a movie that I would pay to see.
Clay Quartermain
While Link has grown into a bit of an icon more recently, I think that most would agree that Brendan Fraser’s most iconic character yet (even counting the one that earned him an Oscar recently) is Rick O’Connell in 1999 reimagining of The Mummy and its sequels. Fraser has said he would do more of those supernatural adventure stories, and I think most would agree that it would be fun to see more of that franchise. However, in case that does not happen, there is also a great opportunity to relive that same sort of role in the MCU.
There is a special unit of S.H.I.E.L.D. that specializes in paranormal activity and consists of strange paranormal creatures like Werewolf by Night, Frankenstein’s Monsters and, indeed, the Mummy, known as the Howling Commandos. Their leader is a former U.S. Air Force pilot named Clay Quartermain and I think that already has Fraser’s name on it. Why? Because seeing the star of The Mummy movie play a colleague of a mummy in the MCU would be too awesome to pass up.
All of this being said, there is still a part of me that wishes we could have seen Fraser appear in some upcoming DC movies as Firefly or even a different role if given the chance. Whatever happens next — whether or not that includes more comic book character roles — I am very excited to see the next chapter of his career.
