If yesterday’s Newcomer of the Year was about the rookies who blew our socks off with their MCU debuts, today’s Most Valuable Character of the Year is about the character that brought thoe most A-game in the MCU this year. Here are our picks:

Mantis

I would have to say that the honor goes to Mantis since she was the entire linchpin of Team Titan’s plan in subduing and removing the gauntlet from Thanos. It would have worked too if it wasn’t for Peter Quill. Not to mention that she was able to hold Thanos back in the first place, which shouldn’t come as a big surprise since she was able to put an entire sentient planet to sleep. – Pierre Chanliau, Editor

Thor

While Thor: Ragnarok started a redemption arc for the Thor character, I thought it could be just a fluke. Boy, oh boy, was I proven wrong. Avengers: Infinity War gave us our most emotional look into the character of Thor, and it’s driven by Chris Hemsworth’s amazing performance, and dropping some of the comedic elements in exchange for intensity and pathos. For most of the film, he is acting against CGI characters, which lends more credence to Hemsworth’s performance. – Curtis Johnson, Feature Writer

This was the hardest category. Two characters stood out this year: Thor and Doctor Strange. Strange became one of the universe’s masterminds and possibly developed a plan to save the universe that involved wiping out half of it first. He fought Thanos face to face and gave us some awesome moves while at it. But Thor… Thor became something else. His arc that started in Ragnarok made him much more of a god than he ever had been, and also gave him a sweet new weapon. He truly embraced the role of God of Thunder and nearly killed the purple guy with a single blow. If only he had gone for the head… – Tiago Fiszbejn, News Writer

Coulson

This year gave us what seems to be the final moments of Agent Coulson. After turning into the Ghost Rider last year, he had realised that his new life is reaching its limits. After everything he went through, he continued to keep his team together as he knew his final breath wasn’t too long away. It all culminated in an incredible finale and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most somber moments as we potentially said farewell to Coulson. Still, it is hard not to hope that a second #CoulsonLives will keep him around somehow. – Joseph Aberl, Editor

T’Challa

My MVP of the year goes to the Black Panther himself, T’Challa. Since his debut in Captain America: Civil War, he has so quickly become a fan favorite that it is absolutely staggering. I have already raved so much about the Black Panther movie as a whole (It’s my Best Film as well), but I have to give credit to the actual character here as well. Chadwick Boseman was incredible as the hero king in 2018, and he is my pick not only for his own feature film, but for his part in Infinity War as well, where he and Wakanda become the best part of the movie in the 3rd Act. I know many people might choose Thanos in this category, but I believe when all things are considered both cinematically and culturally, T’Challa was our best character this year. – Kevin Carter, Editor

Thanos

Remember when people laughed at Thanos for doing nothing but sit in his floating space chair for years while his plans kept getting thwarted? In a span of two hours, Thanos quickly rose to become one of cinema’s most talked about baddies. It’s insane how ingrained this purple creature is in pop culture’s current zeitgeist. From memes to cultural spoofs, Thanos may indeed be the Darth Vader of the new generation, whose cinematic tenure will be celebrated for decades to come. – Charles Villanueva, Editor-in-Chief