Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.
Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World features no shortage of tributes to the source material. From the inclusion of Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) – who is known as Sabra in the comics – to the Serpent Society slithering around in the plot, there are a number of callbacks to Marvel Comics.
However, there’s one addition to the movie that has gone over most people’s heads. In the film, actor William Mark McCullough (The Walking Dead, Sweet Magnolias) plays U.S. soldier Dennis Dunphy. While Dunphy isn’t a main character by any means, he’s friendly with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) – so much so that Sam gives him President Thaddeus Ross’ (Harrison Ford) pills so that Dunphy can ask his contact to find out what’s in them. Dunphy receives the answer, but before he can call Sam with the news that Ross is taking a special kind of gamma radiation medication, he’s exterminated by Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), aka the Leader.
The name Dennis Dunphy should ring a bell with comic book fans – and no, he isn’t Phil Dunphy’s brother from Modern Family. Created in the ’80s by Mike Carlin and Ron Wilson, Dunphy is the real name of the character who goes on to become Demolition Man – an ally of Steve Rogers’ Captain America.
The character’s origin story goes as follows: Dunphy is an aspiring athlete whose path crosses with the Power Broker who puts him through a process that increases his strength, stamina, and endurance. Naturally, the Power Broker wants to use Dunphy for his own nefarious purposes. Dunphy loves superheroes, though – especially Captain America and Daredevil – so when the opportunity presents itself to work alongside Cap and to stop the Power Broker, he suits up in a colorful costume and becomes Demolition Man, or D-Man for short.
Now, D-Man isn’t exactly what anyone would term an A-list superhero in Marvel – plus, it doesn’t help that his outfit makes him look like Wolverine and Daredevil’s illegitimate love child – but he’s an important part of Captain America’s past. He has appeared in a number of story arcs since his debut, and his power set makes him a formidable superhero (or villain) in the Marvel Universe.
Ironically, besides the name, there’s one element of D-Man’s history that’s repurposed for Captain America: Brave New World. Much like President Ross required special pills to control his condition, so too did D-Man in the comics after the Power Broker tinkered with his physiology. Unfortunately, considering Dunphy’s on-screen fate at the hands of the Leader, it’s unlikely that fans will ever see him suit up as Demolition Man in the MCU.
Published: Feb 14, 2025 11:34 AM UTC