title: Betamax

text: Despite the sharp decline in sales of Betamax recorders in the late 1980s and subsequent halt in production of new recorders by Sony in 2002, Betamax, SuperBetamax and ED-Beta are still being used by a small number of people. Even though Sony stopped making new cassettes in 2016, new old stocks of Betamax cassettes are still available for purchase at online shops and used recorders (as well as cassettes) are often found at flea markets, thrift stores or on Internet auction sites. Early format Betacam cassettes—which are physically based on the Betamax cassette—continue to be available for use in the professional media. It is still used by few broadcasters, as it was succeeded by Betacam SP, its digital modifications and more recently by tapeless recording.


title: Betamax

text: The VHS format's defeat of the Betamax format became a classic marketing case study. Sony's attempt to dictate an industry standard backfired when JVC made the tactical decision to forgo Sony's offer of Betamax in favor of developing its own technology. JVC felt that accepting Sony's offer would yield results similar to the U-Matic deal, with Sony dominating.


title: Betamax

text: By 1980, JVC's VHS format controlled 60% of the North American market. The large economy of scale allowed VHS units to be introduced to the European market at a far lower cost than the rarer Betamax units. In the United Kingdom, Betamax held a 25% market share in 1981, but by 1986, it was down to 7.5% and continued to decline further. By 1984, 40 companies made VHS format equipment in comparison with Beta's 12. Sony finally conceded defeat in 1988 when it, too, began producing VHS recorders (early models were made by Hitachi), though it still continued to produce Betamax recorders until 2002.


title: Betamax

text: In Japan, Betamax had more success and eventually evolved into Extended Definition Betamax, with 500+ lines of resolution.


title: Betamax

text: The heads on the drum of a Betamax VCR move across the tape at (a writing speed of) 5.832 or 6.9 meters per second with the drum rotating at 1500 rpm. theoretically giving Betamax a higher bandwidth of 3.2 MHz and thus a better video quality than VHS. The tape moves at 1.873 cm/s.


title: Betamax

text: Below is a list of modern, digital-style resolutions (and traditional analog "TV lines per picture height" measurements) for various media. The list only includes popular formats. Note that listed resolution applies to luminance only, with chroma resolution usually halved in each dimension for digital formats, and significantly lower for analog formats.


title: Betamax

text: The somewhat unintuitive analog resolution loss for 16:9 DVD compared to 4:3 DVD arises from the fact that analog resolution unit is "lines per picture height". When picture height is kept the same, the same 720 pixels are spread to a wider area in 16:9, hence lower horizontal resolution per picture height.


title: Betamax

text: Both NTSC and PAL/SECAM Betamax cassettes are physically identical (although the signals recorded on the tape are incompatible). However, as tape speeds differ between NTSC and PAL/SECAM, the playing time for any given cassette will vary accordingly between the systems. Other unusual lengths were produced from time to time, such as L-410.


title: Betamax

text: In the 1983 David Cronenberg film "Videodrome", the character of Max Renn grows an opening in his stomach that accepts Betamax videocassettes. The Betamax format was chosen because the cassettes were slightly smaller than VHS cassettes, and thus made the prosthetics easier to construct.


title: Betamax

text: In the "Cowboy Bebop" episode “Speak Like a Child,” Jet and Spike receive a Beta tape in the mail intended for Faye. Jet and Spike visit a shop in hopes of finding a Betamax player, which they do, but it is subsequently damaged beyond repair by Spike’s impatience with the old device.


title: Betamax

text: The Tagalog song "Betamax" by the Filipino band Sandwich from their fifth studio album in 2008 entitled "<nowiki></nowiki> Marks the Spot" talks about an era in the Philippines before the advent of the Internet, MP3s, and DVDs, and the only widespread video format was Betamax. Also in the Philippines, Betamax refers to the popular cubed street food made of chicken or pork's blood served in skewers that resembles Betamax cartridges.


title: Characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: A–L

text: Ajak (portrayed by Salma Hayek) is the wise and spiritual leader of the Eternals, who possesses healing abilities and functions as the "bridge" between the Eternals and the Celestial Arishem. Based on this dynamic, Ajak is aware that the Emergence will occur, and she decides to try and stop it in the present day based on her growing love for humanity. However, fellow Eternal Ikaris sees this as betrayal and leads her to be killed by the Deviants, with Sersi becoming the new bridge to Arishem.


text: Hayek was originally hesitant when she was offered the role, assuming she would only have a role as a supporting character of "grandmother." Ajak's comic-book counterpart is male, and Hayek stated that making the change to female allowed her to lean into the character's femininity as a "mother figure" to the rest of the Eternals.


text: Algrim (portrayed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), also known as Kurse, is a Dark Elf, and Malekith's lieutenant. He is one of the few Dark Elves who survived the catastrophe that almost wiped out their race. He is physically stronger and more durable than Thor, due to having his abilities enhanced with the Kurse Stone, enabling him to survive blows from Mjolnir, although Loki kills him with a black hole grenade.


text: Ammit (motion-captured by Sofia Danu, voiced by Saba Mubarak) is the imprisoned Egyptian goddess that resembles a humanoid version of her classical depiction whom Arthur Harrow plans to release. Ammit is known as "The Devourer of the Dead" and plans to cast her preemptive judgement on all of humanity. She is successfully released by Harrow and grants him as her avatar. They begin her plan, but are stopped by combined efforts of Marc, Steven, Layla, and Khonshu. Ammit is then trapped inside Harrow’s body in order to permanently kill them both. Marc refuses and is released from his servitude, but Khonshu has Jake Lockley carry out the assassination. She is based on the Egyptian goddess of the same name.


text: The Ancient One (portrayed by Tilda Swinton) is the former Sorcerer Supreme and mentor of Stephen Strange who is killed by Kaecilius. In 2023, Bruce Banner time-travels to 2012 where he meets the Ancient One at the Sanctum Sanctorum while looking for the Time Stone.


text: In the comics, the character is a Tibetan man, while the film version is an androgynous Celtic portrayed by Tilda Swinton. Swinton's casting was widely criticized as whitewashing. Director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill wanted to avoid adapting the character as portrayed in the comics, as they felt it was perpetuating Asian Fu Manchu stereotypes from the time period, while also aggravating the Tibetan sovereignty debate. Derrickson initially wanted to change the character to an Asian woman, but he felt that this would either invoke the Dragon Lady stereotype or Asian fetishism, depending on the age of the actress. He also wanted to avoid the stereotype of a "Western character coming to Asia to learn about being Asian," so he ultimately decided to cast a non-Asian actor in the role. Swinton was cast because Derrickson felt that she could play the "domineering, secretive, ethereal, enigmatic, [and] mystical" side of the character. Swinton also chose to portray the character as androgynous, though the film uses the pronouns "she" and "her." Derrickson said he was pleased with the diversity of the film's cast, in terms of both gender and ethnicity, but acknowledged that "Asians have been whitewashed and stereotyped in American cinema for over a century and people should be mad or nothing will change. What I did was the lesser of two evils, but it is still an evil." Looking back at the casting in May 2021, Feige said the studio thought they were being "so smart and so cutting-edge" when they avoided the wise old Asian man stereotype, but the criticism of the casting was a wake-up call that made them realize they could have cast an Asian actor in the role without falling into stereotypes.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Doctor Strange". An alternate version of the Ancient One appeared in the film "". An alternate version of the Ancient One appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Aneka (portrayed by Michaela Coel) is a Wakandan warrior and member of the Dora Milaje. Aneka later takes upon the mantle of the Midnight Angels, along with Okoye. Aneka is additionally romantically involved with Ayo.


text: Arishem (voiced by David Kaye) is a Celestial who created the Deviants, and later the Eternals once the Deviants rebelled against their programming. Awesome in scale, Arishem communicates with only one member of a given group of Eternals: on Earth, this is Ajak, and later Sersi after Ajak's death. After the Emergence is stopped, Arishem takes Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo away for judgement, vowing to spare Earth only if their memories show that humanity is worth sparing.


text: Ayesha (portrayed by Elizabeth Debicki) is the high priestess of the golden-skinned Sovereign race. She hires the Guardians of the Galaxy to protect Anulax Batteries from the Abilisk, but after Rocket steals several of the batteries with the intention to later sell them, she becomes enraged and sends her fleet of Omnicraft to kill them. Later, she is seen observing the gestation of a new member of the Sovereign race, and names it Adam.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". An alternate version of Ayesha appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?" She will return in the upcoming film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3".


text: Ayo (portrayed by Florence Kasumba) is the second-in-command of the Dora Milaje in Wakanda. She is promoted to being the general of the Dora Milaje after Okoye is removed. She is also shown to be in a romantic relationship with Aneka.


text: , the character has appeared in four films: "" (cameo), "Black Panther", "", ""; as well as the Disney+ TV series of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier".


text: Hunter B-15 (portrayed by Wunmi Mosaku) is an agent of the Time Variance Authority and a brainwashed "time variant" who later remembers her family.


text: Laura Barton (portrayed by Linda Cardellini) is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the wife of Clint Barton, and the mother of Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel Barton. To protect themselves, Laura and her children live in secrecy, unbeknownst to the Avengers. However, the Avengers visit the Barton farm in 2015, and Laura mentions that she is pregnant with their third child. Clint decides to retire from the Avengers to be with his family, and Laura later gives birth to Nathaniel. In 2018, she and all three Barton children become victims of the Blip, but are brought back to life in 2023.


text: Georges Batroc (portrayed by Georges St-Pierre) is an Algerian mercenary and pirate at the top of Interpol's Red Notice, as well as a former DGSE agent who scored 36 kill missions before being demobilized by the French government.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "" and the Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier". An alternate version of Batroc appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Quentin Beck (portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal), is a former Stark Industries employee and holographic illusions specialist who masquerades as a superhero named Mysterio, who claims to be from Earth-833. He is recruited by Nick Fury to help Spider-Man stop the Elementals, which he secretly creates through illusions as a way to get recognition for his life's work, and revenge due to his grievance at Stark Industries and by the late Tony Stark, his former employer. He is killed after one of the drones backfires, with William Ginter Riva downloading the drones' data and doctoring the footage to frame Spider-Man for the attack in addition to Beck revealing Parker's identity to the world.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "" and "" (archival footage), as well as the web series "The Daily Bugle" (archival footage).


text: Yelena Belova (portrayed by Florence Pugh) is a highly trained spy and assassin who trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow and is an adopted sister to Natasha Romanoff. In 2016, she works with Romanoff, Alexei Shostakov, and Melina Vostokoff to stop General Dreykov after he reactivates the Red Room program. Following the Blip, which she fell victim to, and Romanoff's death, Belova is approached by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to kill Clint Barton for his involvement in her sister Natasha's death. She locates Barton along with Kate Bishop and Maya Lopez and fights against them as a masked vigilante, until Barton unmasks her and she is forced to retreat. On Christmas Eve, Belova infiltrates the Bishop Christmas family party to kill Barton, but Bishop intercepts and fights her. Belova confronts Barton on the Rockefeller Center ice rink, and at first she does not believe his story about Romanoff's sacrifice. It is not until Barton reveals the details about the relationship between her and Romanoff, details that he could "only" have been told by Natasha, that she accepts her adopted-sister's death was an act of self-sacrifice, rather than a murder, as she was previously led to believe.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Black Widow" and the Disney+ series "Hawkeye", and she will return in the film "Thunderbolts" (2024). An alternate version of Belova will appear in the upcoming animated series "Marvel Zombies".


text: Eleanor Bishop (portrayed by Vera Farmiga) is the wealthy mother of Kate Bishop. After her husband Derek dies in 2012, she becomes engaged to Jack Duquesne by 2024.


text: Emil Blonsky (portrayed by Tim Roth), also known as the Abomination, is a British Royal Marine who is transformed into an atrocious humanoid creature with enhanced physiology and a deformed appearance as a result of being injected with an experimental version of the Super Soldier Serum, in conjunction with subsequent exposure to intense gamma radiation much like Bruce Banner himself years prior.


text: S.H.I.E.L.D. was initially in charge of keeping Blonsky detained, in a cryo cell in Alaska; Phil Coulson once threatened to send Grant Ward to work there. Following S.H.I.E.L.D.'s collapse, Damage Control took over detaining him and placed Blonsky in a supermax prison in California. Post-Blip, Blonsky had gained control of himself on multiple levels, mellowing out and regaining his human form; after 14 years imprisoned, he was looking for parole.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "The Incredible Hulk" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"; as well as the Disney+ series "" and the Marvel One-Shot "The Consultant" (archival footage). An alternate version of the character will appear in the animated series "Marvel Zombies".


text: Elsa Bloodstone (portrayed by Laura Donnelly) is the estranged daughter of Ulysses Bloodstone who dislikes her family's tradition of hunting monsters.


text: Verussa Bloodstone (portrayed by Harriet Sansom Harris) is a monster hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone's widow, and Elsa Bloodstone's stepmother. After her husband dies, she becomes the leader of his group of monster hunters.


text: Ralph Bohner (portrayed by Evan Peters) is a Westview resident who Agatha Harkness forces to impersonate Wanda Maximoff's twin brother Pietro. Harkness possesses him, imbuing him with Pietro's super-speed and making him to play the role in order to discover how Wanda created her alternate reality. He is initially introduced as the unseen husband of "Agnes" (Harkness' alias), who was frequently mentioned whenever Agnes needed a punchline for a laugh line. He is freed from Harkness' control when Monica Rambeau removes a magical necklace he was wearing.


text: , the character has appeared in the Disney+ series "WandaVision". The role was a nod to Peters' character in 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" film series, Peter Maximoff.


text: Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt (portrayed by Anson Mount) is the Head of the Inhuman Royal Family and King of Attilan, whose voice can cause destruction with the slightest whisper.


text: , the character has appeared in the Marvel Television series "Inhumans". His Earth-838 counterpart appeared in the film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness".


text: Mallory Book, Esq. (portrayed by Renée Elise Goldsberry) is a lawyer at GLK&H who is threatened by Jennifer Walters becoming the new head of the superhuman law division.


text: Isaiah Bradley (portrayed by Carl Lumbly) is an elderly super soldier who served in the Korean War, during which time he was sent behind enemy lines to fight the brainwashed Bucky Barnes, whose metal arm he damaged. After rescuing other black super soldiers who were being held prisoner, he was imprisoned by the U.S. government and Hydra for 30 years, experimented on, and his existence kept a secret, with not even Steve Rogers knowing of him. A nurse helped him escape by forging his death and he went into hiding. By 2024, he lives in Baltimore with his grandson Eli (portrayed by Elijah Richardson). He refuses to help Sam Wilson and Barnes when they seek him out, revealing his hatred for the government and contempt for the idea of a Black man becoming Captain America. Later, he is provided with his own memorial and statue in the Smithsonian Institution with Wilson's help.


text: , the character has appeared in the Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", and will return in the film "Captain America: New World Order".


text: Elizabeth "Betty" Brant (portrayed by Angourie Rice) is a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology. This version of the character, in terms of appearance, bears a similarity to Gwen Stacy from the comic books, having long blonde hair and often wearing a black headband. She is Liz's best friend, and host of the school's news report alongside Jason Ionello, who is implied to have an unrequited crush on her. In 2018, she is a victim of the Blip, but is restored to life in 2023. In 2024, she enters a brief relationship with Ned Leeds in Europe, maintaining a friendship after breaking up.


text: , the character has appeared in three films: "", "Spider-Man: Far From Home", and "Spider-Man: No Way Home"; as well as the second season of the web series "The Daily Bugle", as the website's newest unpaid intern.


text: Jackson Brice (portrayed by Logan Marshall-Green) is a member of Adrian Toomes' criminal enterprise who wields a modified version of Brock Rumlow's vibro-blast emitting gauntlet and calls himself the "Shocker". After a weapons deal with Aaron Davis attracts Spider-Man's attention, Toomes fires him for his recklessness, to which Brice threatens to expose their operation. In response, Toomes fires one of Phineas Mason's weapons at Brice to intimidate him, but inadvertently disintegrates him instead. Following this, Toomes gives his vibro-gauntlet and the mantle of "Shocker" to fellow associate Herman Schultz.


text: Sonny Burch (portrayed by Walton Goggins) is a "low-level criminal-type" who wants Hank Pym's quantum technology to sell on the black market. He has henchmen (consisting of Uzman, Anitolov, Knox, and FBI agent Stoltz) and is the owner of a restaurant (presumably as a front). Sonny attempts to buy Pym's Ant-Man technology, but gets turned down by Hope van Dyne. Sonny's men subsequently battle Van Dyne and Scott Lang. He later manages to get information out of Lang's friends Luis, Kurt, and Dave via his "truth serum" concoction.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Thor: The Dark World" (mid-credits cameo) and "Guardians of the Galaxy". An alternate version of Carina appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Mitchell Carson (portrayed by Martin Donovan) is the former head of defense at S.H.I.E.L.D. while secretly working for Hydra. When Hank Pym discovers S.H.I.E.L.D. has been trying to replicate his Pym particles in 1989, he confronts Carson, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark. In 2015, Carson allies himself with Pym's former protege-turned-adversary, Darren Cross, who has managed to successfully replicate the Pym particles. During a confrontation among these parties, Carson absconds with the particles.


text: Sharon Carter (portrayed by Emily VanCamp), also known as Agent 13, is Peggy Carter's niece. She initially appears as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and later of the CIA, before going into hiding in Madripoor where she secretly works as the Power Broker.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Captain America: Civil War"; as well as the Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier". An alternate version of Sharon Carter appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: America Chavez (portrayed by Xochitl Gomez) is a teenager from the Utopian Parallel who has the ability to travel between dimensions in the multiverse by punching open star-shaped doorways. After traveling across the multiverse along with Stephen Strange and helping to remove the Darkhold influence over Wanda Maximoff, she chooses to stay on Earth-616 and learn the mystic arts at Kamar-Taj under Wong's tutelage.


text: Dr. Helen Cho (portrayed by Claudia Kim) is a world-renowned Korean geneticist and the leader of the U-GIN Research Group. She is called upon to assist the Avengers with her research and technology in the war against Hydra, treating Clint Barton's injuries. Later, she is approached and brainwashed by Ultron to create a new body for him using vibranium and synthetic tissue, this body becoming Vision.


text: Clea (portrayed by Charlize Theron) is a sorceress from the Dark Dimension who comes to Earth to enlist Stephen Strange's help.


text: P. Cleary (portrayed by Arian Moayed) is an agent for the Department of Damage Control (DODC). Cleary helmed interrogations against Peter Parker and his friends and family when Mysterio ousted his secret identity as Spider-Man. Cleary also expressed interest in investigating an incident at AvengerCon in New Jersey.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and the Disney+ series "Ms. Marvel".


text: Dr. Curt Connors (voiced by Rhys Ifans), also known as the Lizard, is an Oscorp scientist from an alternate reality who transformed into a large reptilian monster while trying to regrow his missing arm.


text: Ifans reprises his role from Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012) in "Spider-Man: No Way Home"; footage of when Connors is cured is taken directly from that film.


text: Cosmo the Spacedog (physically portrayed by dog actors Fred and Slate, with voice and additional motion capture by Maria Bakalova) is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy who is a sapient dog that developed psionic abilities after being sent into space by the Soviet Union.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". She returned in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special", and will appear in the upcoming film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3".


text: Dr. Darren Cross (portrayed by Corey Stoll), also known as the Yellowjacket, is Hank Pym's former protégé. He attempts to re-create the Pym particle formula and sell it to Hydra, but is foiled by Scott Lang, Pym, and Pym's daughter Hope van Dyne.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Ant-Man"; as well as the "WHIH Newsfront" viral marketing campaign.


text: Dave (portrayed by Tip "T.I." Harris) is a friend of Scott Lang and Luis who works as Lang's getaway driver during heists. He enjoys playing poker and watching football. He later teases Hank Pym about the heist they pulled in his house before he became one of his employees.


text: Aaron Davis (portrayed by Donald Glover) is a low-level criminal with a sense of morality. He attempts to buy high-tech firearms from Herman Schultz and Jackson Brice, only to be interrupted by Spider-Man. The hero later confronts Davis, webs his hand to his car, and questions him regarding Adrian Toomes' plans. Davis gives information about a sale with his former acquaintance Mac Gargan, and admits to wanting to keep the weapons off the streets to protect his nephew. Spider-Man leaves Davis trapped.


text: Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), also known by her nickname Val, is an influential contessa who approaches John Walker after he is stripped of the mantle of Captain America following his killing a member of the Flag Smashers. She expresses sympathy for his situation and tells him that the people she works for may have use for his services. She later convinces Walker to take up the mantle of the U.S. Agent. De Fontaine is also Yelena Belova's handler, recruiting her for a mission to kill Clint Barton, being revealed that de Fontaine's client who requested this mission is Eleanor Bishop. De Fontaine becomes the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and it is revealed that she is the ex-wife of CIA officer Everett K. Ross, and that she wants the United States to procure Wakanda's supply of vibranium.


text: , the character has appeared in the Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", and the films "Black Widow" (post-credits cameo) and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". She will return in the film "Thunderbolts".


text: The Death Dealer (portrayed by Andy Le) is a Ten Rings assassin and Shang-Chi's martial arts mentor during his youth. He accompanied and the Ten Rings in acquiring Xialing's pendant where he fought Shang-Chi before Wenwu broke up the fight. During the battle of Ta Lo, Death Dealer is the first person killed by the forces of the Dweller-in-Darkness, prompting the Ten Rings into forming a truce with the Ta Lo villagers.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings". An alternate version of the character will appear in the upcoming Disney+ animated series "Marvel Zombies".


text: Rhomann Dey (portrayed by John C. Reilly) is a member of the Nova Corps and contact to Peter Quill and the Guardians of the Galaxy. He is promoted to the rank of Denarian due to his actions during the Battle of Xandar.


text: Max Dillon (portrayed by Jamie Foxx), also known as Electro, is an Oscorp electrical engineer from an alternate reality who gained electric powers after an accident involving genetically modified electric eels.


text: Foxx reprises his role from Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014) in "Spider-Man: No Way Home", where the character is redesigned, foregoing his original blue Ultimate Marvel-based design in favor of a yellow one more similar to his mainstream comic book appearance.


text: Dormammu (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch and an unidentified British actor) is a primordial inter-dimensional entity and ruler of the Dark Dimension. He wields apocalyptic levels of supernatural power. Dormammu seeks to absorb all other universes into his Dark Dimension and turn the victims into Mindless Ones. The Zealots misinterpret this eternal existence as a benevolent longevity, and Dormammu gives them some of his power. Stephen Strange uses the Time Stone to trap himself and Dormammu in an endless loop, where he offers a bargain and dies when the entity refuses. Desperate to escape this loop, Dormammu accepts the bargain to end it in exchange for taking his Zealots from the Earth and never returning to it. This version of Dormammu appears as a massive face made of rippling mystical energy, with his full form never seen.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Doctor Strange". An alternate version of Dormammu appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: General Dreykov (portrayed by Ray Winstone) is a high-ranking officer in the Soviet Armed Forces who acts as the Red Room's overseer and father and superior to Taskmaster. He is killed by Yelena Belova in 2016.


text: Antonia Dreykov (portrayed by Olga Kurylenko), also known as Taskmaster, is an agent of the Red Room, brainwashed by her father, Dreykov. She studies her opponents' fighting style in order to mimic them and learn how to use it against them, and uses techniques from other superheroes.


text: Druig (portrayed by Barry Keoghan) is an aloof Eternal who can use cosmic energy to control the minds of others. He becomes withdrawn from the other Eternals, frustrated because he disagrees with their interactions with humankind. The only exception is Makkari, with whom he develops a trusting, intimate relationship. Druig retreats to the Amazon rainforest and leads a cult, perceiving that he has removed the burden of choice from these humans. However, he reunites with his fellow Eternals when they are attacked by Deviants after coming to his residence.


text: Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan (portrayed by Neal McDonough) is a member and leader of the Howling Commandos who fought alongside Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Peggy Carter during World War II.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Captain America: The First Avenger", as well as the Marvel One-Shot "Agent Carter" and the television series of the same name. An alternate version of Dugan appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Jack Duquesne (portrayed by Tony Dalton) is the fiancé of Eleanor Bishop, the nephew of Armand III, and CEO of the shell corporation Sloan Limited. Along with his uncle, he attends a black market auction of items stolen from the Avengers compound in 2024, and steals Ronin's retractable sword. Jack later assists Clint Barton in fighting the Tracksuit Mafia during Kate Bishop's fight with Wilson Fisk.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". An alternate version of Ego appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Eitri (portrayed by Peter Dinklage) is the king of the Dwarves, an ancient race of skilled dwarfs. Atypically to his traditional diminutive form in the comic books, the MCU's version of Eitri is depicted at a giant's size (although he still refers to his race as Dwarves). Thor comes to him on Nidavellir asking for a new weapon after Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela. Eitri reveals that Thanos forced the Dwarves to produce the Infinity Gauntlet, before slaughtering the entire race except Eitri, destroying his hands to render him unable to forge anything ever again. Thor, Groot, and Rocket all help Eitri create the new weapon, Stormbreaker.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Avengers: Infinity War". An alternate version of Eitri appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Layla El-Faouly (portrayed by May Calamawy), also known as Scarlet Scarab, is Marc Spector's wife, an archeologist and adventurer who becomes the avatar of Tawaret.


text: Matthew Ellis (portrayed by William Sadler) is the former President of the United States. In 2012, he is kidnapped on board Air Force One by Eric Savin via the Iron Patriot armor. He becomes a hostage of Aldrich Killian's fake terrorist attack before being rescued by Tony Stark and James Rhodes. In 2014, he is one of the targets marked by Alexander Pierce's Helicarriers before being saved by Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Iron Man 3", as well as the television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and the "WHIH Newsfront" viral marketing campaign.


text: Dr. Abraham Erskine (portrayed by Stanley Tucci) is the creator of the Super Soldier Serum, being responsible for the origin of Steve Rogers as Captain America and Johann Schmidt as the Red Skull. Before being assassinated by Hydra agent Heinz Kruger, Erskine motivates Rogers to always remain as a good man in his heart.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Captain America: The First Avenger". An alternate version of Erskine appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Christine Everhart (portrayed by Leslie Bibb) is a news reporter for "Vanity Fair" and later a news broadcaster for "WHiH World News".


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2"; as well as the "WHIH Newsfront" viral marketing campaign. Alternate versions of Everhart appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Fandral (initially portrayed by Joshua Dallas and subsequently by Zachary Levi), also known as Fandral the Dashing, is a member of the Warriors Three, depicted as a dashing warrior from Asgard. He is killed by Hela in 2017.


text: , the character has appeared in four films: "Thor", "Thor: The Dark World", "", and "" (archival footage). An alternate version of Fandral appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?", voiced by Max Mittelman.


text: John Flynn (portrayed by Bradley Whitford) is a senior agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve. After the end of World War II, Peggy Carter is among the agents stationed under him though he never assigns her to field work. Though he wants to officially punish her after she goes against orders and successfully retrieves the mysterious Zodiac serum, she is promoted to head of S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside Howard Stark, with him now working under her.


text: , the character has appeared in the Marvel One-Shot "Agent Carter". An alternate version of Flynn appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Dr. William "Bill" Foster (portrayed by Laurence Fishburne) is a physicist and the former Giant-Man. He was Hank Pym's assistant on "Project Goliath" and is Ava Starr's surrogate father after Elihas' death. In 2018, Foster teaches quantum physics at UC Berkeley when he encounters his former employer, Scott Lang, and Hope van Dyne. When Ava restrains Pym, Lang and Hope, Foster states that he has been working to cure Ava by obtaining quantum energy from the Quantum Realm. As Pym knows that Foster's plan will affect Janet van Dyne's rescue, Hope and Pym manage their escape. When Lang goes into the Quantum Ralm, Pym talks Foster down and states that he will find a way to help stabilize Ava as Pym's ants see Foster out. After Janet is rescued from the realm and gives some of her energy to stabilize Ava, Foster takes Ava away as Pym still vows to find a way to help stabilize Ava for good.


text: Frigga (portrayed by Rene Russo) is Thor's biological mother and Loki's adopted mother, who is killed by Algrim in 2013. In 2023, Thor time travels to 2013, where Frigga comforts his depression during his mission to retrieve the Reality Stone. She also knows that her time is near, and prevents Thor from telling her how she dies by encouraging him to change his future.


text: , the character has appeared in three films: "Thor", "Thor: The Dark World" and "Thor: Love and Thunder" (cameo and archival footage); as well as the Disney+ series "Loki" (archival footage). An alternate version of Frigga appeared in "Avengers: Endgame". An alternate version of Frigga appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?", voiced by Josette Eales.


text: MacDonald "Mac" Gargan (portrayed by Michael Mando) is a professional criminal and one of Adrian Toomes' potential buyers. In the wake of an encounter with Spider-Man, Gargan is arrested by the FBI and vows revenge, seeking out new allies to help him kill Spider-Man. He approaches Toomes in prison on the basis of certain rumours, wanting to know Spider-Man's identity to settle personal scores. Toomes denies that he knows it, however.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Spider-Man: Homecoming". An alternate version of Gargan as Scorpion will appear in the upcoming Disney+ animated series "".


text: Gilgamesh (portrayed by Don Lee) is the strongest Eternal, able to project an exoskeleton of cosmic energy. He has a deep connection with Thena, and stays as her guardian over the centuries after the Eternals split ways in 1521. At Druig's residence, Gilgamesh is killed by the rapidly evolving Deviant Kro, who absorbs his powers and memories.


text: Lee took the role to inspire younger generations as the first mainstream Korean superhero. Lee was able to utilize his training in boxing in the character's fight choreography.


text: Corvus Glaive (voiced and portrayed via motion capture in live-action by Michael James Shaw) is one of Thanos' adopted sons. He joined his father in his quest for the six Infinity Stones, initially attacked the "Statesman" with his siblings and helped to kill the Asgardians aboard and retrieve the Space Stone. While attempting to retrieve the Mind Stone from Vision with Proxima Midnight, they are met in battle and defeated by Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson. During a second attempt, Midnight leads the Outriders in attacking the Avengers on the ground to distract from Glaive infiltrating Shuri's lab to attack her, which leads Vision to come to her defense and tackle Glaive out of the lab. Rogers intervenes in the fight, but Glaive incapacitates the former before Vision kills the latter. A past version of Glaive from 2014 travels through time with Thanos' army to fight the Avengers, only to be killed by Okoye.


text: , the character has appeared in the film: "Avengers: Infinity War". An alternate version of Glaive appeared in "Avengers: Endgame". An alternate version of Glaive appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?", voiced by Fred Tatasciore.


text: Gorr (portrayed by Christian Bale) is the scarred final prophet of his civilization's god, Rapu; following the deaths of his people and daughter Love, and dismissal by Rapu, Gorr is corrupted by the "strange and terrifying" necrosword and transformed into the newest God Butcher, a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods. After making his way to Eternity to wish the extinction of the gods, Gorr is freed from the necrosword's influence by Thor and Jane Foster, and he instead wishes for his daughter Love's resurrection, sharing one final moment with her before dying.


text: The Grandmaster (portrayed by Jeff Goldblum) is the ruler of Sakaar, where he hosts a series of games called the Contest of Champions. He is the brother of the Collector.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (end credits sequence) and "Thor: Ragnarok"; and one short film: "Team Darryl". Alternate versions of the Grandmaster appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Justin Hammer (portrayed by Sam Rockwell) is a weapons manufacturer and rival of Tony Stark. After noticing Ivan Vanko's use of an arc reactor-based weapon, he breaks Vanko out of jail and uses him for making weapons, including turning James Rhodes' armor into War Machine.


text: Maya Hansen (portrayed by Rebecca Hall) is a scientist and a developer of the Extremis virus. She then works for Aldrich Killian who uses the virus as a weapon. She is later killed by him after she turns on him and has a change of heart.


text: Agatha Harkness (portrayed by Kathryn Hahn) is a witch. In 1693, she kills members of her Salem coven (including her mother Evanora) when they attempt to execute her for practicing dark magic. She is initially portrayed as a friendly neighbor of Wanda Maximoff in Westview, but is ultimately revealed to be after Maximoff's powers.


text: , the character has appeared in the Disney+ series "WandaVision". She will return in the upcoming Disney+ series "".


text: Roger Harrington (portrayed by Martin Starr) is a science teacher at Midtown School of Science and Technology. In 2011, as a student at Culver University, he grants Bruce Banner access to the computers in exchange for some pizza. After graduating, he goes on to become a teacher and the coach of the school Academic Decathlon Team. He goes as a chaperone on a school sponsored trip to Europe in 2024. Among his students are Peter Parker, Flash Thompson, Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds, and Betty Brant.


text: , the character has appeared in four films: "The Incredible Hulk" (cameo), "Spider-Man: Homecoming", "Spider-Man: Far From Home", and "Spider-Man: No Way Home".


text: Arthur Harrow (portrayed by Ethan Hawke) is a cult leader and avatar of Ammit who encourages Marc Spector to embrace his inner darkness. While named after a minor single-issue "Moon Knight" adversary from the comic books, Harrow is an original character, depicted as the former avatar of Khonshu.


text: Hawke also portrays Doctor Harrow, a psychiatrist version that only exists in Steven Grant's and Spector's mind, who helps Grant confront the truth of his mother's death while denying Khonshu's existence.


text: Tyler Hayward (portrayed by Josh Stamberg) is the acting director of S.W.O.R.D., having taken over from Maria Rambeau following her death. Following the Blip, he is shown to have animosity against superheroes, viewing Wanda Maximoff as dangerous which leads to him kicking colleague Monica Rambeau off the Westview investigation for having defended Maximoff. He is revealed to have lied to Monica, FBI agent Jimmy Woo, and astrophysicist Darcy Lewis earlier about Maximoff and has been working on a secret project dealing with Vision. The project culminates with Vision being reactivated by exposure to Maximoff's powers from a drone. However, his plan to eliminate Maximoff with Vision when the android's memories are restored by the created version of Vision inside the Hex. When Maximoff's alternate reality is partially taken down, Darcy stops Hayward from killing Maximoff's children Billy and Tommy, and he is arrested for tampering with evidence and removed from S.W.O.R.D.


text: He Who Remains (portrayed by Jonathan Majors) is the creator of the Time Variance Authority, which he founded after a multiversal war. He resides in the Citadel at the End of Time before being ultimately killed by Sylvie.


text: , the character has appeared in the Disney+ series "Loki". A "variant" of him named Kang the Conqueror will appear in the upcoming films "" and "".


text: Heimdall (portrayed by Idris Elba) is the sole protector of the Bifröst in Asgard and Thor's best friend, inspired by the mythical Heimdall in Norse mythology. He is ultimately killed by Thanos in 2018 after sending Hulk to Earth via the Bifröst to warn the Avengers of Thanos' conquest. His soul enters Valhalla afterwards, where he greets Jane Foster after she sacrifices herself to help defeat Gorr the God Butcher in 2024.


text: , the character has appeared in six films: "Thor", "Thor: The Dark World," "Avengers: Age of Ultron", "Thor: Ragnarok", "Avengers: Infinity War", and "Thor: Love and Thunder" (post-credits cameo). An alternate version of Heimdall appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Hela (portrayed by Cate Blanchett), also known as the Goddess of Death, is the eldest daughter of Odin, Thor's father and king of Asgard. Like Thor, her powers are drawn from Asgard and are strongest while she's there. As Odin's executioner, she helped conquer realms that allowed Asgard to grow and prosper. However, being the Goddess of Death, her growing destructive ambition led Odin to cast her out of the realm, which consequently weakened her powers and allowed Asgard to enjoy times of peace within the Nine Realms. Hela's banishment is rescinded upon the death of Odin, at which time she returns to claim her rightful place as queen. Her return is significant as the beginning of Ragnarok, the prophesied destruction of Asgard.


text: Hercules (portrayed by Brett Goldstein) is the son of Zeus, based on the Greek mythological deity of the same name. He is sent by his father to hunt down Thor as revenge for stealing Zeus' thunderbolt.


text: Maria Hill (portrayed by Cobie Smulders) is a recurring S.H.I.E.L.D. member and ally to Nick Fury. In 2018, she is a victim of the Blip, being restored to life in 2023.


text: , the character has appeared in five films: "The Avengers", "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", "Avengers: Infinity War" (post-credits cameo), and "Avengers: Endgame", as well as three episodes of the television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." She is also impersonated by the Skrull Soren in "Spider-Man: Far From Home". An alternate version of Maria Hill appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?" She will return in the upcoming Disney+ series "Secret Invasion".


text: Harold "Happy" Hogan (portrayed by Jon Favreau) is Tony Stark's bodyguard and close friend, and head of security for Stark Industries. Hogan is later assigned by Stark as head of Asset Management for the Avengers. He also serves as a mentor to Peter Parker after Stark's death and is romantically attracted to Parker's aunt, May.


text: , the character has appeared in seven films: "Iron Man", "Iron Man 2", "Iron Man 3", "Spider-Man: Homecoming", "Avengers: Endgame", "Spider-Man: Far From Home", and "Spider-Man: No Way Home". Alternate versions of Happy Hogan appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Hogun (portrayed by Tadanobu Asano), also known as Hogun the Grim, is a member of the Warriors Three of Asgard, depicted as a Vanir grim warrior from Vanaheim. He is killed by Hela in 2017.


text: , the character has appeared in four films: "Thor", "Thor: The Dark World", "Thor: Ragnarok", and "Thor: Love and Thunder" (archival footage). An alternate version of Hogun appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?", voiced by David Chen.


text: Sergeant major Lemar Hoskins (portrayed by Clé Bennett), also known as Battlestar, is the partner of John Walker, the new Captain America. Hoskins and Walker served together in Operation Enduring Freedom and Hoskins laments that they could have saved a lot of lives had they been super soldiers. During a fight with the Flag Smashers, Karli Morgenthau punches him into a concrete pillar, killing him.


text: Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green) is an anthropomorphic duck who used to be one of the Collector's specimens. He is briefly shown later joining the Avengers and other heroes in the final battle against Thanos.


text: , the character has appeared in three films: "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", and "Avengers: Endgame" (cameo). An alternate version of Howard appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Ikaris (portrayed by Richard Madden) is an Eternal who can fly and project cosmic energy beams from his eyes. He also has superhuman strength and durability. Throughout history, Ikaris was Sersi's romantic partner before leaving her thousands of years ago. In 2024, after discovering that the Eternal's leader Ajak plans to stop the Emergence, Ikaris feeds her to the Deviants before reuniting with the rest of the Eternals on Earth, betraying the team in order to uphold Arishem's instructions. However, he is unable to bring himself to kill Sersi, and joins his fellow Eternals to form the Uni-Mind and stop the Emergence of Tiamut. Guilt-ridden, Ikaris commits suicide by flying into the Sun.


text: Madden described the relationship between Ikaris and Sersi as having "a deep level of romance," and they are "two opposing sides of how they connect with the world," referencing Sersi's growing love for humanity compared to Ikaris' indifference. Madden sought to portray the character in a way that would not come across as being "bored of everything." Director Chloé Zhao was influenced by Zack Snyder's interpretation of Superman in "Man of Steel" (2013) for its authenticity and realness.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Eternals". An alternate version of the character will appear in the upcoming Disney+ animated series "Marvel Zombies".


text: Jon Jon (portrayed by Ronny Chieng) is Xialing's right-hand man and announcer at her underground fighting club. He later joins the Ten Rings after Xialing assumes leadership and restructures it.


text: Kaecilius (portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen) is a Master of the Mystic Arts who broke away from the teachings of the Ancient One to become a follower of Dormammu. Leading a band of fellow zealots, Kaecilius seeks to destroy the Sanctums to allow Dormammu to bring Earth into the Dark Dimension. When Doctor Strange manages to defeat Dormammu with a time loop, the Dark Dimension retreats, bringing Kaecilius and his followers with him to experience a hellish eternal life.


text: Kaecilius was developed as a combination of several comic book characters, ultimately to drive the introduction of bigger villains for the future of the MCU, including the concept of "certain individuals who live in other dimensions." Director Scott Derrickson compared the dynamic to that of Saruman and Sauron in "The Lord of the Rings", citing the "human relatability" of Kaecilius and Saruman while a "huge and fantastical" villain like Dormammu or Sauron orchestrates events in the background. Recognizing the criticism of past MCU villains, Derrickson said he hoped to show "Kaecilius's point of view and what makes him tick" in the time that he could, and that the character was a "man of ideas" with "watertight logic," comparing him to John Doe from "Seven" or the Joker from "The Dark Knight". Mikkelsen's makeup showing the corruption of the Dark Dimension took between 2–3 hours to apply.


text: Kamran (portrayed by Rish Shah) is a new student at Kamala Khan's high school on whom she develops a crush. Kamala discovers that Kamran is the son of Najma, an inter-dimensional being known as a Clandestine, or djinn, who knew Kamala's great-grandmother Aisha. The Clandestines want to use Kamala's new powers to return home to the Noor dimension, but they grow violent when she hesitates due to the potential danger. Kamran and the Clandestines are captured and imprisoned by Damage Control, but they quickly escape, and Kamran is abandoned by his mother after sustaining an injury during the escape. Najma later sees the error in her ways, sacrificing herself to close the Noor. Her power is transferred to Kamran, who can create hard blue light structures, though the Noor continues to escape through him. He is saved by Kamala, and joins the Red Daggers.


text: Shah stated that Kamran is able to relate so easily to Kamala because of his "lack of belonging and community," and he feels he is able to express himself culturally around her.


text: Kareem (portrayed by Aramis Knight) is a member of the Red Daggers who was chosen to hold their titular warrior mantle of Red Dagger.


text: Katy (portrayed by Awkwafina) also known as Ruiwen, is a hotel valet and Shang-Chi's best friend who was unaware of his past.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings". An alternate version of the character will appear in the upcoming Disney+ animated series "Marvel Zombies".


text: Kazimierz "Kazi" Kazimierczak (portrayed by Fra Fee) is a prominent member of the Tracksuit Mafia. He is the second in command and personal sign interpreter to Maya Lopez, who has been his friend since childhood.


text: Harley Keener (portrayed by Ty Simpkins) is a child from Tennessee who, in 2012, assists Tony Stark following the destruction of his mansion and the ongoing attacks by the "Mandarin" (Aldrich Killian). In 2023, Keener attends Stark's funeral.


text: Kamala Khan's family play an important role in her life. Her parents are Muneeba and Yusuf Khan (portrayed by Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur respectively), and her older brother is Aamir (portrayed by Saagar Shaikh). , these characters have appeared in the Disney+ series "Ms. Marvel", and they will return in the upcoming film "The Marvels".


text: Aamir's fiancée and later wife is Tyesha Hillman (portrayed by Travina Springer). Muneeba's mother is Sana (portrayed by Samina Ahmad), who still lives in Karachi. Sana's mother was Aisha (portrayed by Mehwish Hayat), a Clandestine who fell in love with Sana's father Hasan (portrayed by Fawad Khan) and decided to stay on Earth and passed the mystical bangle down through the generations, before Aisha was killed by fellow Clandestine Najma. , these characters have appeared in the Disney+ series "Ms. Marvel".


text: Khonshu (motion-captured by Karim El Hakim, voiced by F. Murray Abraham) is the Egyptian moon god, an outcast amongst the gods for waging a "one-god war on perceived injustices", thus necessitating him to find and use his avatar, Marc Spector. He is based on the Egyptian God with the same name.


text: Aldrich Killian (portrayed by Guy Pearce) is the co-developer of the Extremis virus. He is also depicted as the founder of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.). Starting out as a sickly individual snubbed by Tony Stark in the past, he swore revenge. Years later, Killian participates in Maya Hansen's development of Extremis to cure himself, founds a terrorist movement with a group of Extremis-enhanced soldiers under his command, and poses as the Mandarin to ruin Stark, only to be killed by the Extremis-enhanced Pepper Potts.


text: Kingo (portrayed by Kumail Nanjiani) is an Eternal who can project cosmic energy projectiles from his hands. Enamored with fame, Kingo becomes a popular Bollywood film actor and director to blend in on Earth. He also has a production company in Mumbai.


text: Ulysses Klaue (portrayed by Andy Serkis) is a South African black-market arms dealer, smuggler, and gangster who is notorious for having stolen a quarter-ton of vibranium from the Wakandans in 1992. After losing his left arm to Ultron, Klaue replaces it with a prosthetic that doubles as a sonic weapon and works with Killmonger until the latter betrays and kills him to gain entrance into Wakanda.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Black Panther". An alternate version of Klaue appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Cameron Klein (portrayed by Aaron Himelstein) is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and technician who stayed loyal to Steve Rogers during the Hydra uprising. He was later recruited by Fury and became one of his allies during the Battle of Sokovia and Infinity War.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron".


text: Korath (portrayed by Djimon Hounsou) was a member of the Starforce during the Kree-Skrull War before becoming Ronan the Accuser's enforcer, during which he turns against Thanos and fights the Guardians of the Galaxy, only to be killed by Drax.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Captain Marvel". An alternate version of Korath appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Korg (voiced and motion-captured by Taika Waititi) is a Kronan warrior, who was forced to participate in the Contest of Champions on Sakaar, along with his best friend, Miek. He later leads a rebellion against the Grandmaster and escapes the planet with the help of Thor with the fight to protect the survivors of Asgard against Hela, went with the survivors that escaped from Thanos' attack on their ship to protect them, and travels to Earth. By 2023, he resides in Tønsberg, Norway, now named New Asgard, boarding with Thor and Miek, and playing online games.


text: , the character has appeared in three films: "Thor: Ragnarok", "Avengers: Endgame" and "Thor: Love and Thunder", with Waititi also directing the two "Thor" films. An alternate version of Korg appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?


text: Heinz Kruger (portrayed by Richard Armitage) is the Red Skull's top assassin who kills Abraham Erskine.


text: , the character has appeared in the film "Captain America: The First Avenger". An alternate version of Kruger appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Kurt (portrayed by David Dastmalchian) is a friend and roommate of Scott Lang and Luis who works as the team's hacker during heists. He, Luis, and Dave are together known as the "Three Wombats". In 2021, Dastmalchian revealed Kurt's last name is Goreshter.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Ant-Man" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp". An alternate version of Kurt appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?"


text: Cassandra "Cassie" Lang (portrayed by Abby Ryder Fortson in the first two films, Emma Fuhrmann in "Avengers: Endgame", Kathryn Newton in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania") is the daughter of Maggie and Scott Lang. Her parents eventually divorce based on Scott's criminal activity, but she still loves her dad. Her mom Maggie forms a relationship with police officer Jim Paxton (portrayed by Bobby Cannavale).


text: , the character has appeared in three films: "Ant-Man", "Ant-Man and the Wasp", and "Avengers: Endgame". She will return in the upcoming film "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania".


text: Laufey (portrayed by Colm Feore) is the king of the Frost Giants based on Laufey in Norse mythology. He is the biological father to Loki who abandoned him as a child, due to his small size. Laufey has a strong hatred for Odin for his defeat in battle when he tried to conquer Earth. Loki convinces Laufey to take over Asgard himself, but betrays and kills Laufey to prove himself worthy of Odin.


text: Ned Leeds (portrayed by Jacob Batalon) is Peter Parker's best friend and the first person other than Tony Stark and Happy Hogan to discover Parker's identity as Spider-Man. He falls victim to the Blip in 2018 but is revived in 2023. In 2024, following the exposure and incrimination of Parker's secret identity to the world, Ned, MJ, and Parker's university applications are all subsequently rejected due to the controversy, in spite of the lifting of his criminal charges. When villains from alternate realities are brought into their universe, Ned and MJ help Parker collect the displaced villains into the Sanctum Sanctorum. Following a staged coup by the alternate Norman Osborn that results in the villains breaking out of captivity and Peter's Aunt May losing her life in the process when she is killed by Osborn, Ned accidentally summons two alternate Spider-Men, referred to as "Peter-Two" and "Peter-Three," who aid the main universe's Parker in curing the villains. Ned and MJ share a final goodbye with Parker before Stephen Strange casts a spell which wipes the world's memories of Parker and sends the displaced individuals back to their realities, relinquishing Ned's friendship with Parker completely. He is a Filipino-American.


text: , the character has appeared in five films: "Spider-Man: Homecoming", "Avengers: Infinity War" (cameo), "Avengers: Endgame" (cameo), "Spider-Man: Far From Home", and "Spider-Man: No Way Home", as well in the web series "The Daily Bugle".


text: Dr. Darcy Lewis (portrayed by Kat Dennings) is an original character in the MCU, often serving as comic relief. In 2011 and 2013, she is a political science major at Culver University and volunteer research assistant to astrophysicist Jane Foster for college credit. By 2023, she has a doctorate in astrophysics and is called in by S.W.O.R.D. to help investigate Westview.


text: , the character has appeared in three films: "Thor", "Thor: The Dark World", and "Thor: Love and Thunder" (cameo); as well as the Disney+ series "WandaVision". An alternate version of Darcy Lewis appeared in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?" The character will make her comic book debut in the upcoming "Scarlet Witch" (2023) ongoing series.


text: Liz (portrayed by Laura Harrier) is a senior at Midtown School of Science and Technology who leads the decathlon team. She is the daughter of Adrian Toomes and initial love interest of Peter Parker.


text: Dr. List (portrayed by Henry Goodman) is a Hydra scientist who conducted the experimentation on Loki's scepter and the twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.


text: , the character has appeared in two films: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (mid-credits cameo) and "Avengers: Age of Ultron"; as well as the television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D".


text: Maya Lopez (portrayed by Alaqua Cox) is the Native American deaf leader of the Tracksuit Mafia who can perfectly imitate others' movements. She is the daughter of William Lopez (portrayed by Zahn McClarnon) and adopted niece of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio). A leader of the Tracksuit Mafia, William Lopez is killed by Clint Barton/Ronin during the Blip. By 2024, Maya commands the Tracksuits against Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, though she eventually turns on her "uncle" Kingpin when she finds out that he orchestrated her father's death.


text: , the character has appeared in the Disney+ series "Hawkeye". She will return in the upcoming Disney+ series "Echo".


text: Luis (portrayed by Michael Peña) is Scott Lang's best friend, serving as his ally and former criminal liaison.


title: Belief

text: A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take it to be true; for instance, to believe that snow is white is comparable to accepting the truth of the proposition "snow is white". However, holding a belief does not require active introspection. For example, few carefully consider whether or not the sun will rise tomorrow, simply assuming that it will. Moreover, beliefs need not be "occurrent" (e.g. a person actively thinking "snow is white"), but can instead be "dispositional" (e.g. a person who if asked about the color of snow would assert "snow is white").


title: Belief

text: There are various different ways that contemporary philosophers have tried to describe beliefs, including as representations of ways that the world could be (Jerry Fodor), as dispositions to act as if certain things are true (Roderick Chisholm), as interpretive schemes for making sense of someone's actions (Daniel Dennett and Donald Davidson), or as mental states that fill a particular function (Hilary Putnam). Some have also attempted to offer significant revisions to our notion of belief, including eliminativists about belief who argue that there is no phenomenon in the natural world which corresponds to our folk psychological concept of belief (Paul Churchland) and formal epistemologists who aim to replace our bivalent notion of belief ("either we have a belief or we don't have a belief") with the more permissive, probabilistic notion of credence ("there is an entire spectrum of degrees of belief, not a simple dichotomy between belief and non-belief").


title: Belief

text: Beliefs are the subject of various important philosophical debates. Notable examples include: "What is the rational way to revise one's beliefs when presented with various sorts of evidence?," "Is the content of our beliefs entirely determined by our mental states, or do the relevant facts have any bearing on our beliefs (e.g. if I believe that I'm holding a glass of water, is the non-mental fact that water is HO part of the content of that belief)?," "How fine-grained or coarse-grained are our beliefs?," and "Must it be possible for a belief to be expressible in language, or are there non-linguistic beliefs?".


title: Belief

text: Various conceptions of the essential features of beliefs have been proposed, but there is no consensus as to which is the right one. "Representationalism" is the traditionally dominant position. In its most common form, it holds that beliefs are mental attitudes towards representations, which are usually identified with propositions. These attitudes are part of the internal constitution of the mind holding the attitude. This view contrasts with "functionalism", which defines beliefs not in terms of the internal constitution of the mind but in terms of the function or the causal role played by beliefs. According to "dispositionalism", beliefs are identified with dispositions to behave in certain ways. This view can be seen as a form of functionalism, defining beliefs in terms of the behavior they tend to cause. "Interpretationism" constitutes another conception, which has gained popularity in contemporary philosophy. It holds that the beliefs of an entity are in some sense dependent on or relative to someone's interpretation of this entity. "Representationalism" tends to be associated with a mind-body-dualism. "Naturalist" considerations against this dualism are among the motivations for choosing one of the alternative conceptions.


title: Belief

text: Representationalism characterizes beliefs in terms of mental representations. Representations are usually defined as objects with semantic propertieslike having a content, referring to something, or being true or false. Beliefs form a special class of mental representations since they do not involve sensory qualities in order to represent something, unlike perceptions or episodic memories. Because of this, it seems natural to construe beliefs as attitudes towards propositions, which also constitute non-sensory representations, i.e. as propositional attitudes. As mental attitudes, beliefs are characterized by both their content and their mode. The content of an attitude is what this attitude is directed at: its object. Propositional attitudes are directed at propositions. Beliefs are usually distinguished from other propositional attitudes, like desires, by their mode or the way in which they are directed at propositions. The mode of beliefs has a mind-to-world direction of fit: beliefs try to represent the world as it is; they do not, unlike desires, involve an intention to change it. For example, if Rahul believes that it will be sunny today, then he has a mental attitude towards the proposition "It will be sunny today" which affirms that this proposition is true. This is different from Sofía's desire that it will be sunny today, despite the fact that both Rahul and Sofía have attitudes toward the same proposition. The mind-to-world direction of fit of beliefs is sometimes expressed by saying that beliefs aim at truth. This aim is also reflected in the tendency to revise one's belief upon receiving new evidence that an existing belief is false. So, upon hearing a forecast of bad weather, Rahul is likely to change his mental attitude but Sofía is not.


title: Belief

text: There are different ways of conceiving how mental representations are realized in the mind. One form is the "language of thought hypothesis", which claims that mental representations have a language-like structure, sometimes referred to as "mentalese".


title: Belief

text: Just like regular language, this involves simple elements that are combined in various ways according to syntactic rules to form more complex elements that act as bearers of meaning. On this conception, holding a belief would involve storing such a complex element in one's mind. Different beliefs are separated from each other in that they correspond to different elements stored in the mind. A more holistic alternative to the "language of thought hypothesis" is the "map-conception", which uses an analogy to maps to elucidate the nature of beliefs. According to this view, the belief-system of a mind should be conceived of not as a set of many individual sentences but as a map encoding the information contained in these sentences. For example, the fact that Brussels is halfway between Paris and Amsterdam can be expressed both linguistically as a sentence and in a map through its internal geometrical relations.


title: Belief

text: Functionalism contrasts with representationalism in that it defines beliefs not in terms of the internal constitution of the mind but in terms of the function or the causal role played by them. This view is often combined with the idea that the same belief can be realized in various ways and that it does not matter how it is realized as long as it plays the causal role characteristic to it. As an analogy, a hard drive is defined in a functionalist manner: it performs the function of storing and retrieving digital data. This function can be realized in many different ways: being made of plastic or steel, or using magnetism or laser. Functionalists hold that something similar is true for beliefs (or mental states in general). Among the roles relevant for beliefs is their relation to perceptions and to actions: perceptions usually cause beliefs and beliefs cause actions. For example, seeing that a traffic light has switched to red is usually associated with a belief that the light is red, which in turn causes the driver to bring the car to a halt. Functionalists use such characteristics to define beliefs: whatever is caused by perceptions in a certain way and also causes behavior in a certain way is called a belief. This is not just true for humans but may include animals, hypothetical aliens or even computers. From this perspective, it would make sense to ascribe the belief that a traffic light is red to a self-driving car behaving just like a human driver.


title: Belief

text: Dispositionalism is sometimes seen as a specific form of functionalism. It defines beliefs only concerning their role as causes of behavior or as dispositions to behave in a certain way. For example, a belief that there is a pie in the pantry is associated with the disposition to affirm this when asked and to go to the pantry when hungry. While it is uncontroversial that beliefs shape our behavior, the thesis that beliefs can be defined exclusively through their role in producing behavior has been contested. The problem arises because the mechanisms shaping our behavior seem to be too complex to single out the general contribution of one particular belief for any possible situation. For example, one may decide not to affirm that there is a pie in the pantry when asked, because one wants to keep it secret. Or one might not eat the pie despite being hungry, because one also believes that it is poisoned. Due to this complexity, we are unable to define even a belief as simple as this one in terms of the behavioral dispositions for which it could be responsible.


title: Belief

text: According to interpretationism, the beliefs of an entity are in some sense dependent on or relative to someone's interpretation of this entity. Daniel Dennett is an important defender of such a position. He holds that we ascribe beliefs to entities in order to predict how they will behave. Entities with simple behavioral patterns can be described using physical laws or in terms of their function. Dennett refers to these forms of explanation as the "physical stance" and the "design stance". These stances are contrasted with the intentional stance, which is applied to entities with a more complex behavior by ascribing beliefs and desires to these entities. For example, we can predict that a chess player will move her queen to f7 if we ascribe to her the desire to win the game and the belief that this move will achieve that. The same procedure can also be applied to predicting how a chess computer will behave. The entity has the belief in question if this belief can be used to predict its behavior. Having a belief is relative to an interpretation since there may be different equally good ways of ascribing beliefs to predict behavior. So there may be another interpretation that predicts the move of the queen to f7 that does not involve the belief that this move will win the game. Another version of interpretationism is due to Donald Davidson, who uses the thought experiment of radical interpretation, in which the goal is to make sense of the behavior and language of another person from scratch without any knowledge of this person's language. This process involves ascribing beliefs and desires to the speaker. The speaker really has these beliefs if this project can be successful in principle.


title: Belief

text: Interpretationism can be combined with eliminativism and instrumentalism about beliefs. Eliminativists hold that, strictly speaking, there are no beliefs. Instrumentalists agree with eliminativists but add that belief-ascriptions are useful nonetheless. This usefulness can be explained in terms of interpretationism: belief-ascriptions help us in predicting how entities will behave. It has been argued that interpretationism can also be understood in a more realistic sense: that entities really have the beliefs ascribed to them and that these beliefs participate in the causal network. But, for this to be possible, it may be necessary to define interpretationism as a methodology and not as an ontological outlook on beliefs.


title: Belief

text: In the context of Ancient Greek thought, three related concepts were identified regarding the concept of belief: "pistis," "doxa," and "dogma." Simplified, "pistis" refers to "trust" and "confidence," "doxa" refers to "opinion" and "acceptance," and "dogma" refers to the positions of a philosopher or of a philosophical school such as Stoicism.


title: Belief

text: Beliefs can be categorized into various types depending on their ontological status, their degree, their object or their semantic properties.


title: Belief

text: Having an occurrent belief that the Grand Canyon is in Arizona involves entertaining the representation associated with this belieffor example, by actively thinking about it. But the great majority of our beliefs are not active most of the time: they are merely dispositional. They usually become activated or occurrent when needed or relevant in some way and then fall back into their dispositional state afterward. For example, the belief that 57 is greater than 14 was probably dispositional to the reader before reading this sentence, has become occurrent while reading it and may soon become dispositional again as the mind focuses elsewhere. The distinction between occurrent and dispositional beliefs is sometimes identified with the distinction between conscious and unconscious beliefs. But it has been argued that, despite overlapping, the two distinctions do not match. The reason for this is that beliefs can shape one's behavior and be involved in one's reasoning even if the subject is not conscious of them. Such beliefs are cases of unconscious occurrent mental states. On this view, being occurrent corresponds to being active, either consciously or unconsciously.


title: Belief

text: A dispositional belief is not the same as a disposition to believe. We have various dispositions to believe given the right perceptions; for example, to believe that it is raining given a perception of rain. Without this perception, there is still a disposition to believe but no actual dispositional belief. On a dispositionalist conception of belief, there are no occurrent beliefs, since all beliefs are defined in terms of dispositions.


title: Belief

text: An important dispute in formal epistemology concerns the question of whether beliefs should be conceptualized as "full" beliefs or as "partial" beliefs. Full beliefs are all-or-nothing attitudes: either one has a belief in a proposition or one does not. This conception is sufficient to understand many belief ascriptions found in everyday language: for example, Pedro's belief that the Earth is bigger than the Moon. But some cases involving comparisons between beliefs are not easily captured through full beliefs alone: for example, that Pedro's belief that the Earth is bigger than the Moon is more certain than his belief that the Earth is bigger than Venus. Such cases are most naturally analyzed in terms of partial beliefs involving degrees of belief, so-called "credences". The higher the degree of a belief, the more certain the believer is that the believed proposition is true. This is usually formalized by numbers between 0 and 1: a degree of 1 represents an absolutely certain belief, a belief of 0 corresponds to an absolutely certain disbelief and all the numbers in between correspond to intermediate degrees of certainty. In the Bayesian approach, these degrees are interpreted as subjective probabilities: e.g. a belief of degree 0.9 that it will rain tomorrow means that the agent thinks that the probability of rain tomorrow is 90%. Bayesianism uses this relation between beliefs and probability to define the norms of rationality in terms of the laws of probability. This includes both synchronic laws about what one should believe at any moment and diachronic laws about how one should revise one's beliefs upon receiving new evidence.


title: Belief

text: The central question in the dispute between full and partial beliefs is whether these two types are really distinct types or whether one type can be explained in terms of the other. One answer to this question is called the "Lockean thesis". It states that partial beliefs are basic and that full beliefs are to be conceived as partial beliefs above a certain threshold: for example, that every belief above 0.9 is a full belief. Defenders of a primitive notion of full belief, on the other hand, have tried to explain partial beliefs as full beliefs about probabilities. On this view, having a partial belief of degree 0.9 that it will rain tomorrow is the same as having a full belief that the probability of rain tomorrow is 90%. Another approach circumvents the notion of probability altogether and replaces degrees of belief with degrees of disposition to revise one's full belief. From this perspective, both a belief of degree 0.6 and a belief of degree 0.9 may be seen as full beliefs. The difference between them is that the former belief can readily be changed upon receiving new evidence while the latter is more stable.


title: Belief

text: Traditionally, philosophers have mainly focused in their inquiries concerning belief on the notion of "belief-that". Belief-that can be characterized as a propositional attitude to a claim which is either true or false. "Belief-in", on the other hand, is more closely related to notions like trust or faith in that it refers usually to an attitude to persons. "Belief-in" plays a central role in many religious traditions in which "belief in God" is one of the central virtues of their followers. The difference between belief-in and belief-that is sometimes blurry since various expressions using the term "belief in" seem to be translatable into corresponding expressions using the term "belief that" instead. For example, a "belief in" fairies may be said to be a "belief that" fairies exist. In this sense, belief-in is often used when the entity is not real, or its existence is in doubt. Typical examples would include: "he believes in witches and ghosts" or "many children believe in Santa Claus" or "I believe in a deity". Not all usages of belief-in concern the existence of something: some are "commendatory" in that they express a positive attitude towards their object. It has been suggested that these cases can also be accounted for in terms of belief-that. For example, a "belief in" marriage could be translated as a "belief that" marriage is good. Belief-in is used in a similar sense when expressing self-confidence or faith in one's self or one's abilities.


title: Belief

text: Defenders of a reductive account of belief-in have used this line of thought to argue that "belief in God" can be analyzed in a similar way: e.g. that it amounts to a belief that God exists with his characteristic attributes, like omniscience and omnipotence. Opponents of this account often concede that belief-in may entail various forms of belief-that, but that there are additional aspects to belief-in that are not reducible to belief-that. For example, a "belief in" an ideal may involve the "belief that" this ideal is something good, but it additionally involves a positive evaluative attitude toward this ideal that goes beyond a mere propositional attitude. Applied to the "belief in" God, opponents of the reductive approach may hold that a "belief that" God exists may be a necessary pre-condition for "belief in" God, but that it is not sufficient.


title: Belief

text: The difference between "de dicto and de re" beliefs or the corresponding ascriptions concerns the contributions singular terms like names and other referential devices make to the semantic properties of the belief or its ascription. In regular contexts, the truth-value of a sentence does not change upon substitution of co-referring terms. For example, since the names "Superman" and "Clark Kent" refer to the same person, we can replace one with the other in the sentence "Superman is strong" without changing its truth-value. But this issue is more complicated in case of belief ascriptions. For example, Lois believes that Superman is strong but she does not believe that Clark Kent is strong. This difficulty arises due to the fact that she does not know that the two names refer to the same entity. Beliefs or belief ascriptions for which this substitution does not generally work are "de dicto", otherwise, they are "de re". So, in a de re sense, Lois does believe that Clark Kent is strong, while in a de dicto sense she does not. The contexts corresponding to de dicto ascriptions are known as referentially opaque contexts while de re ascriptions are "referentially transparent".


title: Belief

text: A collective belief is referred to when people speak of what "we" believe when this is not simply elliptical for what "we all" believe. Sociologist Émile Durkheim wrote of collective beliefs and proposed that they, like all "social facts", "inhered in" social groups as opposed to individual persons. Jonathan Dancy states that "Durkheim's discussion of collective belief, though suggestive, is relatively obscure". Margaret Gilbert has offered a related account in terms of the joint commitment of a number of persons as a body to accept a certain belief. According to this account, individuals who together collectively believe something need not personally believe it individually. Gilbert's work on the topic has stimulated a developing literature among philosophers. One question that has arisen is whether and how philosophical accounts of belief in general need to be sensitive to the possibility of collective belief.


title: Belief

text: As mental representations, beliefs have "contents". The content of a belief is what this belief is about or what it represents. Within philosophy, there are various disputes about how the contents of beliefs are to be understood. Holists and molecularists hold that the content of one particular belief depends on or is determined by other beliefs belonging to the same subject, which is denied by atomists. The question of dependence or determination also plays a central role in the internalism-externalism-debate. Internalism states that the contents of someone's beliefs depend only on what is internal to that person: they are determined entirely by things going on inside this person's head. Externalism, on the other hand, holds that the relations to one's environment also have a role to play in this.


title: Belief

text: The disagreement between "atomism, molecularism and holism" concerns the question of how the content of one belief depends on the contents of other beliefs held by the same subject. Atomists deny such dependence relations, molecularists restrict them to only a few closely related beliefs while holists hold that they may obtain between any two beliefs, however unrelated they seem. For example, assume that Mei and Benjamin both affirm that Jupiter is a planet. The most straightforward explanation, given by the atomists, would be that they have the same belief, i.e. that they hold the same content to be true. But now assume that Mei also believes that Pluto is a planet, which is denied by Benjamin. This indicates that they have different concepts of planet, which would mean that they were affirming different contents when they both agreed that Jupiter is a planet. This reasoning leads to molecularism or holism because the content of the Jupiter-belief depends on the Pluto-belief in this example.


title: Belief

text: An important motivation for this position comes from W. V. Quine's confirmational holism, which holds that, because of this interconnectedness, we cannot confirm or disconfirm individual hypotheses, that confirmation happens on the level of the theory as a whole. Another motivation is due to considerations of the nature of learning: it is often not possible to understand one concept, like force in Newtonian physics, without understanding other concepts, like mass or kinetic energy. One problem for holism is that genuine disagreements seem to be impossible or very rare: disputants would usually talk past each other since they never share exactly the same web of beliefs needed to determine the content of the source of the disagreement.


title: Belief

text: "Internalism and externalism" disagree about whether the contents of our beliefs are determined only by what's happening in our head or also by other factors. Internalists deny such a dependence on external factors. They hold that a person and a molecule-by-molecule copy would have exactly the same beliefs. Hilary Putnam objects to this position by way of his twin Earth thought experiment. He imagines a twin Earth in another part of the universe that is exactly like ours, except that their water has a different chemical composition despite behaving just like ours. According to Putnam, the reader's thought that water is wet is about "our water" while the reader's twin's thought on twin Earth that water is wet is about "their water". This is the case despite the fact that the two readers have the same molecular composition. So it seems necessary to include external factors in order to explain the difference. One problem with this position is that this difference in content does not bring any causal difference with it: the two readers act in exactly the same way. This casts doubt on the thesis that there is any genuine difference in need of explanation between the contents of the two beliefs.


title: Belief

text: Epistemology is concerned with delineating the boundary between justified belief and opinion, and involved generally with a theoretical philosophical study of knowledge. The primary problem in epistemology is to understand what is needed to have knowledge. In a notion derived from Plato's dialogue "Theaetetus", where the epistemology of Socrates most clearly departs from that of the sophists, who appear to have defined knowledge as "justified true belief". The tendency to base knowledge ("episteme") on common opinion ("doxa") Socrates dismisses, results from failing to distinguish a dispositive belief ("doxa") from knowledge ("episteme") when the opinion is regarded correct (n.b., "orthé" not "alethia"), in terms of right, and juristically so (according to the premises of the dialogue), which was the task of the rhetors to prove. Plato dismisses this possibility of an affirmative relation between opinion and knowledge even when the one who opines grounds his belief on the rule, and is able to add justification ("logos": reasonable and necessarily plausible assertions/evidence/guidance) to it. A belief can be based fully or partially on intuition.


title: Belief

text: Plato has been credited for the "justified true belief" theory of knowledge, even though Plato in the "Theaetetus" elegantly dismisses it, and even posits this argument of Socrates as a cause for his death penalty. The epistemologists, Gettier and Goldman, have questioned the "justified true belief" definition.


title: Belief

text: Justified true belief is a definition of knowledge that gained approval during the Enlightenment, "justified" standing in contrast to "revealed". There have been attempts to trace it back to Plato and his dialogues, more specifically in the "Theaetetus," and the "Meno". The concept of justified true belief states that in order to know that a given proposition is true, one must not only believe the relevant true proposition, but also have justification for doing so. In more formal terms, an agent formula_1 knows that a proposition formula_2 is true if and only if:


title: Belief

text: This theory of knowledge suffered a significant setback with the discovery of Gettier problems, situations in which the above conditions were seemingly met but where many philosophers deny that anything is known. Robert Nozick suggested a clarification of "justification" which he believed eliminates the problem: the justification has to be such that were the justification false, the knowledge would be false. Bernecker and Dretske (2000) argue that "no epistemologist since Gettier has seriously and successfully defended the traditional view." On the other hand, Paul Boghossian argues that the justified true belief account is the "standard, widely accepted" definition of knowledge.


title: Belief

text: A belief system comprises a set of mutually supportive beliefs. The beliefs of any such system can be religious, philosophical, political, ideological, or a combination of these.


title: Belief

text: Philosopher Jonathan Glover, following Meadows (2008), says that beliefs are always part of a belief system, and that tenanted belief systems are difficult for the tenants to completely revise or reject. He suggests that beliefs have to be considered holistically, and that no belief exists in isolation in the mind of the believer. Each belief always implicates and relates to other beliefs. Glover provides the example of a patient with an illness who returns to a doctor, but the doctor says that the prescribed medicine is not working. At that point, the patient has a great deal of flexibility in choosing what beliefs to keep or reject: the patient could believe that the doctor is incompetent, that the doctor's assistants made a mistake, that the patient's own body is unique in some unexpected way, that Western medicine is ineffective, or even that Western science is entirely unable to discover truths about ailments.


title: Belief

text: This insight has relevance for inquisitors, missionaries, agitprop groups and thought-police. The British philosopher Stephen Law has described some belief systems (including belief in homeopathy, psychic powers, and alien abduction) as "claptrap" and says that such belief-systems can "draw people in and hold them captive so they become willing slaves of claptrap ... if you get sucked in, it can be extremely difficult to think your way clear again".


title: Belief

text: Religious belief refers to attitudes towards mythological, supernatural, or spiritual aspects of a religion. Religious belief is distinct from religious practice and from religious behaviours – with some believers not practicing religion and some practitioners not believing religion. Religious beliefs, deriving from ideas that are exclusive to religion, often relate to the existence, characteristics and worship of a deity or deities, to the idea of divine intervention in the universe and in human life, or to the deontological explanations for the values and practices centered on the teachings of a spiritual leader or community. In contrast to other belief systems, religious beliefs are usually codified.


title: Belief

text: A popular view holds that different religions each have identifiable and exclusive sets of beliefs or creeds, but surveys of religious belief have often found that the official doctrine and descriptions of the beliefs offered by religious authorities do not always agree with the privately held beliefs of those who identify as members of a particular religion. For a broad classification of the kinds of religious belief, see below.


title: Belief

text: First self-applied as a term to the conservative doctrine outlined by anti-modernist Protestants in the United States, "fundamentalism" in religious terms denotes strict adherence to an interpretation of scriptures that are generally associated with theologically conservative positions or traditional understandings of the text and are distrustful of innovative readings, new revelation, or alternative interpretations. Religious fundamentalism has been identified in the media as being associated with fanatical or zealous political movements around the world that have used a strict adherence to a particular religious doctrine as a means to establish political identity and to enforce societal norms.


title: Belief

text: First used in the context of Early Christianity, the term "orthodoxy" relates to religious belief that closely follows the edicts, apologies, and hermeneutics of a prevailing religious authority. In the case of Early Christianity, this authority was the communion of bishops, and is often referred to by the term "Magisterium". The term "orthodox" was applied almost as an epithet to a group of Jewish believers who held to pre-Enlightenment understanding of Judaism – now known as Orthodox Judaism. The Eastern Orthodox Church of Christianity and the Catholic Church each consider themselves to be the true heir to Early Christian belief and practice. The antonym of "orthodox" is "heterodox", and those adhering to orthodoxy often accuse the heterodox of apostasy, schism, or heresy.


title: Belief

text: The Renaissance and later the Enlightenment in Europe exhibited varying degrees of religious tolerance and intolerance towards new and old religious ideas. The "philosophes" took particular exception to many of the more fantastical claims of religions and directly challenged religious authority and the prevailing beliefs associated with the established churches. In response to the liberalizing political and social movements, some religious groups attempted to integrate Enlightenment ideals of rationality, equality, and individual liberty into their belief systems, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Reform Judaism and Liberal Christianity offer two examples of such religious associations.


title: Belief

text: Adherents of particular religions deal with the differing doctrines and practices espoused by other religions or by other religious denominations in a variety of ways.


title: Belief

text: People with exclusivist beliefs typically explain other beliefs either as in error, or as corruptions or counterfeits of the true faith. This approach is a fairly consistent feature among smaller new religious movements that often rely on doctrine that claims a unique revelation by the founders or leaders, and considers it a matter of faith that the "correct" religion has a monopoly on truth. All three major Abrahamic monotheistic religions have passages in their holy scriptures that attest to the primacy of the scriptural testimony, and indeed monotheism itself is often vouched as an innovation characterized specifically by its explicit rejection of earlier polytheistic faiths.


title: Belief

text: Some exclusivist faiths incorporate a specific element of proselytization. This is a strongly-held belief in the Christian tradition which follows the doctrine of the Great Commission, and is less emphasized by the Islamic faith where the Quranic edict "There shall be no compulsion in religion" (2:256) is often quoted as a justification for toleration of alternative beliefs. The Jewish tradition does not actively seek out converts.


title: Belief

text: Exclusivism correlates with conservative, fundamentalist, and orthodox approaches of many religions, while pluralistic and syncretist approaches either explicitly downplay or reject the exclusivist tendencies within a religion.


title: Belief

text: People with inclusivist beliefs recognize some truth in all faith systems, highlighting agreements and minimizing differences. This attitude is sometimes associated with Interfaith dialogue or with the Christian Ecumenical movement, though in principle such attempts at pluralism are not necessarily inclusivist and many actors in such interactions (for example, the Roman Catholic Church) still hold to exclusivist dogma while participating in inter-religious organizations. Explicitly inclusivist religions include many that are associated with the New Age movement, as well as modern reinterpretations of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Baháʼí Faith considers it doctrine that there is truth in all faith-systems.


title: Belief

text: Pluralism and syncretism are two closely related concepts. People with pluralist beliefs make no distinction between faith systems, viewing each one as valid within a particular culture. People with syncretic views blend the views of a variety of different religions or traditional beliefs into a unique fusion which suits their particular experiences and contexts ("see" eclecticism). Unitarian Universalism exemplifies a syncretic faith.


title: Belief

text: Psychologist James Alcock also summarizes a number of apparent benefits which reinforce religious belief. These include prayer appearing to account for successful resolution of problems, "a bulwark against existential anxiety and fear of annihilation," an increased sense of control, companionship with one's deity, a source of self-significance, and group identity.


title: Belief

text: Mainstream psychology and related disciplines have traditionally treated belief as if it were the simplest form of mental representation and therefore one of the building blocks of conscious thought. Philosophers have tended to be more abstract in their analysis, and much of the work examining the viability of the belief concept stems from philosophical analysis.


title: Belief

text: The concept of belief presumes a subject (the believer) and an object of belief (the proposition). So, like other propositional attitudes, belief implies the existence of mental states and intentionality, both of which are hotly debated topics in the philosophy of mind, whose foundations and relation to brain states are still controversial.


title: Belief

text: Beliefs are sometimes divided into core beliefs (that are actively thought about) and dispositional beliefs (that may be ascribed to someone who has not thought about the issue). For example, if asked "do you believe tigers wear pink pajamas?" a person might answer that they do not, despite the fact they may never have thought about this situation before.


title: Belief

text: Philosopher Lynne Rudder Baker has outlined four main contemporary approaches to belief in her book "Saving Belief":


title: Belief

text: An extensive amount of scientific research and philosophical discussion exists around the modification of beliefs, which is commonly referred to as belief revision. Generally speaking, the process of belief revision entails the believer weighing the set of truths and/or evidence, and the dominance of a set of truths or evidence on an alternative to a held belief can lead to revision. One process of belief revision is Bayesian updating and is often referenced for its mathematical basis and conceptual simplicity. However, such a process may not be representative for individuals whose beliefs are not easily characterized as probabilistic.