Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Captain America: Brave New WorldAn unexpected Marvel superhero may have made his MCU debut in Captain America: Brave New World, but he died before he got the chance to get his own superpowers and costume. Captain America: Brave New World‘s cast of characters features several key Marvel figures, from Harrison Ford’s President Ross a.k.a. Red Hulk and Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns a.k.a. the Leader to Carl Lumbly’s Isiah Bradley and Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross. Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes also makes a cameo in Captain America: Brave New World, and President Ross plants the seeds for Captain America’s new Avengers team in the near future.

Thaddeus Ross manipulated Samuel Sterns for years, and Sterns developed a plan to manipulate Ross at the height of his political career in revenge. Sterns’ plan to humiliate Ross in front of the whole world works, but in the end, his plan to create an international war fails thanks to Captain America. While Joaquin Phoenix a.k.a. Falcon almost dies in the process, all heroes and villains survive the conflict sparked by the Leader in Captain America: Brave New World‘s ending — except for one supporting character who could have become a well-known Marvel superhero.

Dennis Dunphy Is The Marvel Superhero Demolition Man In Marvel Comics

Dennis Dunphy Gains Super Strength And Becomes A Superhero In The Source Material

William Mark McCullough plays Navy SEALs Commander Dennis Dunphy in Captain America: Brave New World, where he helps Captain America stop the Serpent Society, capture Giancarlo Esposito’s Seth Voelker a.k.a. Sidewinder, and locate the Leader when President Ross cuts ties with Sam Wilson. In the comics, Dennis Dunphy is a wrestler who signs up for a power-up with the Power Broker to gain superhuman strength. As Demolition Man (or D-Man), Dennis Dunphy teams up with his idol, Captain America, and briefly joins the Avengers. While Demolition Man’s most iconic look resembles Wolverine’s brown-and-tan costume, his modern look resembles William Mark McCullough’s Navy Seal appearance much more closely.

Unfortunately for William Mark McCullough’s Dennis Dunphy, the Leader arrives at his base and uses a high-frequency sound to paralyze him. Before departing for the White House, the Leader amplifies the intensity of the waves and allegedly stops Dunphy’s heart. Since Captain America is busy in Washington and no one is around to see the attack, Dunphy seems to die on the spot. In Captain America: Brave New World‘s post-credits scene, Captain America confronts the Leader, saying, “you killed a lot of brave men”, suggesting his close friend Dunphy didn’t make it.

Just four months before McCullough’s Dennis Dunphy meets his end at the hands of the Leader in Captain America: Brave New World, Demolition Man starred in the 3D-animated movie LEGO Avengers: Demolition Mission, which presents a fourth-wall-breaking, Marvel fanboy version of Dennis Dunphy, who accidentally frees Terrax from captivity and causes many of Marvel’s most famous heroes to ᴀssemble in order to stop the villain. Dennis Dunphy’s first-ever protagonist role in LEGO Avengers: Demolition Mission only makes his live-action counterpart’s death more puzzling, as the MCU’s version of the character had potential to become a superhero in a future movie or show.

Demolition Man’s MCU Death Would Be A Missed Opportunity For A Forgotten Villain

Demolition Man Could Bring Back Sharon Carter A.K.A. The Power Broker After The Falcon And The Winter Soldier

William Mark McCullough’s Dennis Dunphy is introduced in the MCU’s first direct follow-up to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which revealed that Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter had become the Power Broker after the events of Avengers: Endgame. This detail adds to the odd timing of Dunphy’s apparent death, as a future MCU project could have adapted Dunphy’s Demolition Man persona accurately through the Power Broker and given Sharon Carter a clear opportunity to pay off The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s post-credits scene more than four years after her last on-screen appearance. So far, Sharon Carter’s Power Broker twist hasn’t been addressed yet.

The MCU Could Still Flip Demolition Man’s Death In A Future Project

Power Broker Might Be Dennis Dunphy’s Only Savior After Captain America: Brave New World

What’s more, Norman Osborn’s Thunderbolts team, which includes anti-heroes such as Thunderbolts*‘ Ghost, Black Widow, and Songbird, also recruits a villain nicknamed Scourge. Later on, Hydra mind-controls Dennis Dunphy into becoming a new Scourge, and Sharon Carter kills him when he attacks Steve Rogers. After 2015’s Secret Wars storyline, a new version of Dennis Dunphy ᴀssists Sam Wilson/Captain America, akin to his MCU counterpart. The MCU could have followed a similar sequence of events, but it fast-tracked Dunphy’s death, and it seems permanent.

Despite his apparent death, the MCU’s Dennis Dunphy could be saved by Sharon Carter off-screen right after the Leader’s attack in Captain America: Brave New World. As the Power Broker, Carter might be trying to create her own brand of super soldiers to help her continue her shady business in secret after being pardoned by the government. While Sharon Carter’s sudden appearance at Dunphy’s base might be a stretch, it could be the only way to save Dunphy and give him a chance to become a live-action Demolition Man in the MCU.

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