Ranking the MCU’s AI – Who is your favorite? | RANK THIS!

After watching BLACK PANTHER WAKANDA FOREVER for a third time (yeah I love the film, long blog forthcoming next weekend), I realized that one of the things I enjoyed most about the film, but which also really caught me off-guard, was Griot – the Wakandan AI or as some people call it, “Wakandan Jarvis”. Now Griot was good in the first BLACK PANTHER but I thought it really shined in WAKANDA FOREVER. But after thinking about it, I began to reflect on all of the AI’s featured throughout the history of the MCU. And I came to the conclusion that Marvel Studios does a great job organically (ironic right?) integrating difficult AI characters into their movies, making them not just function as exposition dumps (as they are in many movies) but also making them active from both character and plot points.

Over the years we’ve had JARVIS (IRON MAN), Karen (SPIDER-MAN), FRIDAY (also IRON MAN), EDITH (SPIDER-MAN again), Armin Zola (CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER), AIDA (AGENTS OF SHIELD), Griot (BLACK PANTHER), and of course, Miss Minutes (LOKI). I’ve thrown in Ultron as well.

It is interesting because perhaps we as a species have been evolving since the year the MCU began (2008) to recognize AI as a part of our lives – be it Siri, Alexa, or Hey Google. And now writers and directors have begun to write them as real characters with real personalities, objectives, and even flaws. So I decided to rank them.

9. Armin Zola (CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER)

Zola was a nice surprise when he showed up in AI form as a 1980s computer in WINTER SOLDIER. It was cute and original but he also functioned basically as nothing more than the type of AI exposition dump that I was kind of criticizing. I still like the function and Zola basically enters and exits the film and the story in one scene – so not only does the placement feel expository but there’s not much there behind the wink. Still – it is a nice wink.

8. EDITH (SPIDER-MAN FAR FROM HOME)

EDITH (or “Even Dead I’m The Hero” – cringe factor 3000) was ultimately “fine” but no KAREN (more late). EDITH is the AI embedded in the glasses gifted to Peter Parker in FAR FROM HOME that controlled Stark Tech satellites, missiles, and drones. The glasses ultimately control  I don’t understand why they just did not use Jennifer Connolly to play KAREN again tbh and I always hold it against this character, perhaps unfairly, because of that. Just make it KAREN 2.0 – now modded and the whole character’s arc would make more sense. It is said that the writers Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna considered using Tony’s (Robert Downey Jr.) voice for EDITH originally but did not because they thought it would be too much. While I agree it would have been too much it might have made “more sense” for what the AI was trying to accomplish – basically protect the world but end up causing more trouble seeing that objective through. Instead EDITH does just that and really is a less good version of either FRIDAY or KAREN (again more below).

7. ULTRON

Ultron feels like so much more than an AI – and is technically an AI – but it feels like more. Maybe it is the James Spader vocal performance, maybe it is the way that it mocked the Avengers, and maybe it should be higher considering character development and integration to the plot. But I absolutely HATE wasting arguably the Avengers’ second biggest antagonist in the history of the comics in a darn ONE-OFF movie. There should have been a multi-movie build-up to Ultron: first the MCU starts to rely on AI too much (arguably happening now) over multiple films, then Ultron’s attacks actually defeat them at the end of the first AVENGERS film. Then Vision is created at the end of that film, and finally two sides go for round 2 in the inevitable AVENGERS sequel. The result is a less tech-dependent MCU and 616. And just go with me here but what if, before it is killed, Ultron opens up the multiverse and time travel?

Instead, ULTRON was basically used in its own film as a plot device to set up INFINITY STONES and to bring Scarlet Witch into the MCU. This would be like THANOS showing up for one AVENGERS movie to set up the Beyonder and SECRET WARS. Maybe I’m being a bit too harsh. And there are moments in this film – but they are most involving Scarlet Witch. To be fair, Joss Whedon probably just wanted to do a Scarlet Witch film but instead bent that story into this one. Joss Whedon was also clearly burnt out from the first AVENGERS (overrated as hell and I will die on this hill) and just trying to showboat stylistically and through his quippy dialogue while operating on an empty tank. Hopefully there is a better, more interesting Ultron story down the road somewhere, hopefully.

6. FRIDAY (IRON MAN series, INFINITY WAR, ENDGAME)

FRIDAY (or “Female Replacement Intelligent Digital Assistant Youth”) was the replacement for JARVIS after JARVIS evolved into VISION. It was first used in AGE OF ULTRON but featured prominently in IRON MAN 3, INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME as well. FRIDAY always felt a bit unexpanded as a character and perhaps that was purposeful. After both JARVIS and ULTRON, I’m sure the last thing that Tony Stark wanted was an AI with too much character. Still it was VERY prolific in terms of screen time, arguably occupying a greater role and in more films than JARVIS even if JARVIS was the true OG MCU AI (not enough initials I know) – so I have to give it props for that. FRIDAY ultimately helps Tony figure out time travel so you know, hats off to that. Also points for the voice – I love the female Irish take on an AI (perhaps because that is also the voice that I chose for my own SIRI), a great take by actress Kerry Condon, who will probably win an Oscar this year for BANSHEES OF INNERSHIN. She really made a meal out of the sometimes meager offerings given to this AI character.

5. AIDA (AGENTS OF SHIELD)

I really liked AIDA (or “Artificial Intelligent Digital Assistant”) on AGENTS OF SHIELD and it is arguable that she had more of a TRUE Ultron arc than Ultron. Originally created for good as a life model decoy to protect and assist her inventor but also molded into the look of his dead wife, AIDA ultimately evolved into something too human. And by that I mean too insecure, and asking too many questions. She was too smart for her own good – like so many humans – she strived for more than just being an assistant. She wanted to be autonomous. And I liked the use of the Darkhold to superpower her and ultimately corrupt her. My only issue is that she is an AI in name only. She looks and talks like a human, albeit acting like an AI still, and she is ultimately corrupted by the Darkhold – taking her further away from the “artificial” part of “artificial intelligence”. She’s way closer to a character from WESTWORLD than what I was intending as my definition of AI when I began this blog. Still she became a unique and interesting AVENGERS level threat that had an AI program as its foundation. She confounded AOS over multiple seasons. And AIDA was wonderfully written and played by Mallory Jansen.

4. JARVIS (IRON MAN series, AVENGERS, AGE OF ULTRON)

The original. Also known as “Just A Really Very Intelligent System”. There would be really no AI template without JARVIS. Its only real progenitor was KITT from KNIGHT RIDER, created years ago and held dearly in the mind of Jon Favreau. JARVIS was something very different and original – and yet, when you look back at JARVIS, it is not quite the character that the top 3 are. And ultimately JARVIS becomes VISION so it is kind of hard to judge JARVIS when its form has evolved to the point that the character AI feels diminished, less than – even though the character WAS the blueprint. Still props to JARVIS for being the first AI to give us that true in-suit feel. And ultimately that is another problem. When JARVIS was created it felt like a way to give us more of a window into what was happening IN the IRON MAN suit without seeing Tony’s face or even hearing Tony’s thoughts. And I that level, 

Now I really think the next three are on a whole other level. Like these three are the best example of the MCU creating unique, exciting, and fully realized AI characters that play a crucial role in each of their films and even, arguably, have their own character arcs.

3. Griot (BLACK PANTHER and WAKANDA FOREVER)

I thought Griot was serviceable but overshadowed in BLACK PANTHER. But Griot really takes center stage in WAKANDA FOREVER. Part of that is because Shuri is basically the lead of the film and she relies heavily on Griot to assist her in doing things like trying to save T’Challa, fending off the FBI when they come to take Riri Williams, and later when she disappears Queen Ramonda uses Griot to try and find Shuri. I think Trevor Noah gives the second best vocal performance for AI in the MCU, second only to Jennifer Connolly’s Karen (still coming up).

Griot evolves into something more in WAKANDA FOREVER because – and maybe this is a stretch but I’m going there – Griot has to be around so many people that are grieving. Griot becomes (almost) an empathetic shoulder to cry on for both Shuri and, at times, Queen Ramonda. And some of that is really me or the audience giving the voice more that it is supposed to give. Griot is by Shuri’s side when T’Challah passes, and it is by Queen Ramonda’s side when Shuri goes missing. Griot is there at crucial moments in the film – during the FBI chase in Boston, Namor’s attack on Wakanda, and of course during the climactic battle at sea. And when you get a few of those wonderful character moments from Griot around Shuri and Ramonda, its aid later becomes so much more noticeable and something that you really cheer for. Especially once Griot gets uploaded into the Ironheart suit and really gets to become something different, and something more. Its almost like Griot’s first flight right alongside Riri Williams in her Mark II suit.

2. Miss Minutes (LOKI)

Miss Minutes is just so damn good. A lot of that is the way Minutes is designed. Much like Mr. DNA of Jurassic Park fame, Minutes is both the mascot of 1950s style edutainment shorts that are used to outline the rules of the Time Variance Authority and an AI that is used by TVA officers to help them map out variances and variants. In fact, the VFX supervisors for LOKI, in an article for VARIETY, mentioned that Minutes was actually referenced from animated shorts far ealier than the 1950s, using specifically the motion of Felix The Cat as well as the charm and bubbliness of Betty Boop. The combination is fantastic.

Last year I wrote a blog post that was all about why Miss Minutes is more powerful than THANOS (here). But a lot of that was because of what Miss Minutes monitors – TIME and its associated variances and branches. Because she monitors it, she in a sense controls it. So she is also powerful just as a bi-product of what she controls.

Lastly, Miss Minutes has the best personality of AI. She is precocious, spicy, fun, heartwarming, and also a stone cold killer. She is a next level AI – which makes sense MCU has not advanced as far tech-wise as the TVA has. So she has some advantages. And she has room to evolve over the course of the series. She goes from light and bubby in the initial animated short, to becoming more precocious when she is actually working with Mobius and Loki, to finally becoming almost evil in the final few episodes when the audience realizes that she has an agenda of her own and possibly knows more than anyone at TVA. In fact, the only reason she is not #1 is because of screen time – and even now as I type this I am reconsidering that decision. Yes, she popped in and out of LOKI, but she was always memorable and helped define the overall style and tone of the series in a way that no other AI character does.

1. Karen (SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING)

Karen aka “Suit Lady” from HOMECOMING is my favorite MCU AI. Yes, I admit that HOMECOMING is my favorite MCU film. Yes I have watched it 19 times. But that says more about Karen than the film – or me. Because one of the reasons I love the film so much is because I love Karen aka Suit Lady. Suit Lady is arguably the WORST named AI in the MCU history and Karen is not much better. Karen does not stand for anything. Karen is just a name Peter gives the AI so he can stop saying “suit lady”. And that in and of itself is more interesting than a lot of movie characters – even some in Homecoming.

But Karen becomes more than an assistant, more than even an empathetic figure, Karen becomes a partner to Peter Parker in the second act. When Peter “unlocks” her true power after Ned hacks the suit, the film becomes a two-hander in Act 2, and almost a buddy film, with both Peter and Karen figuring each other out. They spend time together trying to solve crimes and apprehend The Vulture. And both also seem somewhat new to their job. Karen is not an all-knowing AI. In fact, she relies on Peter’s advice sometimes which also gets both of them into trouble. Now Karen disappears in Act 3 but part of that is hilarious because I found myself almost missing Karen and determining that Peter having to do this last mission “by himself” was a real task, infinitely tougher without the help of Karen.

Part of this is Jennifer Connolly’s breezy performance. Yes this in an “in joke” because she is Paul Bettany (the actor who played JARVIS and later Vision) real life wife. So when Jon Watt says that Karen is like JARVIS’ wife, the double meaning is certain apparent. But Connolly’s performance is warm, helpful, but also a bit of a dunce sometimes, which is a change for an AI and something that makes me like her MORE. Because the fact of the matter is that our own AI is never perfect. It is never JARVIS or FRIDAY or even EDITH. Our AI is Karen. It can be flawed but we rely upon it, kind of like how Peter relies upon Karen – for better and worse.

It was only way later that I realized that KAREN in Homecoming was now the KAREN that became popular in 2019 and 2020. Was it a lucky coincidence or are Erik Sommers, Chris McKenna, and John Watts that much cooler that they knew what a “Karen” was back in 2016 during filming?

Did you hate these rankings? Which AI is your MCU favorite? Take the poll and comment below….