Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan in Spider-Man: No Way Home
(Sony Pictures Releasing)

Happy Hogan Is Easily One of the Saddest Characters in the MCU

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Despite the name, Happy Hogan is really a sad character when you stop and think about it. In the grand scheme of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve seen some incredibly sad characters. Gamora’s mother and half of her planet was murdered by Thanos and his army, Peter Parker has consistently lost everything in his life over and over again, and Wanda Maximoff lost her parents, her brother, and feels responsible for a lot of the problems that face the Avengers. My point is that a lot of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have suffered.

But recently, it seems as if everything is working against Happy Hogan and Spider-Man: No Way Home really just drove home the fact that at the end of the day, Happy is pretty much completely alone.

Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home below!

I love Happy Hogan, and now, stanning him has turned into being absolutely wrecked anytime he’s on screen. And the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we see Happy Hogan standing next to Peter Parker, a man he no longer knows. He’s staring at the grave stone of the woman he loves after having lost his best friend all to Spider-Man because he no longer knows that they died protecting Peter. So … that’s fun to think about!

Happy has no one.

Sure, in theory, he has Pepper, but she has Morgan, and unless they go the route of the comics and Pepper and Happy end up together, I think it is going to be fun Uncle Happy visiting Morgan and Pepper every once in a while, but that’s it. Starting off the MCU with Happy thinking he lost his best friend (when Tony was taken), Happy has pretty much spent the entire MCU just worrying about Tony Stark.

If Tony is up to something, Happy is usually somewhere nearby. So, when we get to Avengers: Endgame and see Happy Hogan comforting Morgan Stark and telling her he’ll get her all the cheeseburgers she wants, it’s emotional. Then, we watched as Happy inspired Peter in Far From Home by telling him that even Tony second-guessed himself and wasn’t perfect, which left many of us sobbing in the theater. So, by the time we got to No Way Home, we were used to Happy making us all cry, and then he lost even more, and his status as one of the saddest characters in the MCU was solidified.

Happy lost May, technically lost Peter, and lost his best friend and now doesn’t really have a job or a place to live and is completely alone. But still, he doesn’t seem to be holding anything against Spider-Man. He’s just there to pay his respects to May, talking to a Peter he no longer knows, but feels happy to have just known those he lost, and that’s why Happy Hogan is the best and also one of the saddest characters.

(image: Marvel Cinematic Universe)

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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.