Brave New World Omission All the More Frustrating

In the second episode of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter Parker joins a cohort of young geniuses working at a think tank at OsCorp. Although all the characters have precedents in Marvel Comics, most are deep cuts unknown by the average viewer. There’s the Wakandan teen Asha, who appeared as a super-powered adult who battled Thanos in some comics from 2013. There’s Jeanne Foucault, who attempted to join the Avengers under the name Finesse.

And then there’s the standout of the bunch, a charming braggart called Amadeus Cho. Unlike the others, Cho is more than a deep-cut character known only to a few. He’s a fan favorite who even starred in his own comic, beloved for his cocky attitude and hip twist on the Hulk concept. In fact, he’s exactly the type of character who should be in the MCU and almost was in the MC — until the reshoots for Captain America: Brave New World left Cho on the cutting room floor.

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After watching Cho in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Cho’s omission from Brave New World really stands out as a mistake.

Who Is Amadeus Cho?

Like so many great comic book characters, Amadeus Cho had an unauspicious debut. He first showed up in 2006’s Amazing Fantasy #15, an anthology series created to highlight young new heroes. Cho appeared in the story “Mastermind Excello,” written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa. The story introduced Cho as a young genius who won an international quiz show, earning the title of “6th Smartest Person on Earth.” Even though the contest turned out to be a ruse designed by an evil genius who wanted to eliminate all rivals, Cho kept the title, even as he took on the code name “Mastermind Excello” and became a crime-fighter.

Pak liked Cho so much that he brought him over to Incredible Hulk, making the boy a scientist who learned from Banner and kept watch on the Hulk. Cho’s role became more pronounced when the Greek hero Hercules took over as main character in the book, forming a strong bond with the adventurer.

Eventually, Cho became a proper superhero when he developed nanites that mimic the gamma radiation that transforms Bruce Banner. As the Totally Awesome Hulk, Cho gained super strength to match his super intellect, becoming somehow even more obnoxious but cementing his place among the best young Marvel heroes. Cho joined other teen heroes such as Ms. Marvel and Mile Morales in the Challengers and, like his teammates, was primed to join the MCU. In fact, early reports indicated that Logan Kim of Ghostbusters: Afterlife had been cast as Cho, a part that would likely lead to him joining the Young Avengers.

Yet, when Captain America: Brave New World hit theaters, Cho was nowhere to be seen.

Why Wasn’t Amadeus Cho in Captain America: Brave New World?

Although it’s done well in theaters and has received mildly positive reviews, Brave New World had a winding road to the screen. What began as a straightforward thriller about new Captain America Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) battling mercenaries called the Serpent Society eventually gained more connections to the larger MCU, complete with longtime antagonist Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross becoming the President and finally acknowledging the giant Celestial corpse that’s been poking out of the ocean since Eternals.

During the shooting and test-screening process, the movie changed even more. With legendary actor Harrison Ford taking on the role of President Ross, audiences expected more screen time for the star. Marvel saw an opportunity to further set up their flagship characters, the X-Men, and tied the Celestial hand to adamantium, the fictional super-metal most often associated with Wolverine. When the first viewers found the action sequences underwhelming, Marvel cut out many characters and shot new sequences with Giancarlo Esposito as new baddie Sidewinder.

With all of these changes, Brave New World mutated into a larger and unwieldy movie, requiring some severe cuts to make the film as clear and compelling as possible. Those cuts meant that some compelling characters had to be removed, including Logan Kim as Cho. According to insider Daniel Ritchman, Cho would have appeared in an early scene in which Sam Wilson visits Stark Industries, where the lad works in a young scientists group. Later, Cho helps Sam depower the Red Hulk and turn him back into Ross.

Why Should Amadeus Cho Be in the MCU?

Even the biggest MCU fan has to admit that the franchise has suffered as of late, in part because fans haven’t responded to new characters such as Shuri as Black Panther or any of the Eternals. However, other characters have shown the potential to connect with larger audiences, especially Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop.

Marvel has made plans to capitalize on these characters’ popularity by introducing more teen heroes and even including a Young Avengers tease at the end of The Marvels, which saw Kamala recruiting Kate Bishop. These younger actors will not only have a wider appeal than older actors such as Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., but they can also commit more time to the MCU, allowing the universe to expand.

In the comics, Cho isn’t a member of the Young Avengers, as he prefers to spend time with the Challengers. But the same is true of Kamala Khan, who served alongside Cho on the Challengers and lately has been a member of the X-Men.

More importantly, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man showed that Cho can work well with any configuration of heroes, precisely because he thinks that he’s better than everyone. He makes for a lovable jerk, a guy who amazes people when he has a scientific breakthrough and a guy who deserves to get knocked down a peg or two. He made for a nice foil for the self-deprecating Peter Parker and would work just as well with Kamala, Kate, or any of the other younger heroes.

If Captain America: Brave New World isn’t the movie to bring Amadeus Cho into the MCU, then one of the other movies or shows should do it soon.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s first season is now streaming on Disney+.