Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger introduced The Howling Commandos in the MCU, and I would’ve loved to see Marvel explore some of those other characters more! The Howling Commandos were an elite combat unit that had been led by Captain America during World War II. After the war ended and Captain America was believed to have died, their unit continued to go on missions and was led by Dum Dum Dugan.
Dum Dum Dugan was perfectly played by Neal McDonough and he made some additional appearances in Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, and the What If…? animated series. I still think there could’ve been a spinoff film that told another story with these characters. They were all so colorful and it’s a shame that Marvel never really did anything with them.
During a recent interview with CB, McDonough talked about how there have been “rumblings” of how they could bring Dum Dum Dugan back, saying:
“There’s always been rumblings of how we could do it. You know, in the comic books, when Nick Fury got shot some of that Super Serum blood landed on Dum Dum, so he lived for a long time – aged quicker than Nick Fury did, but he’s still out there, and he still could be.”
The actor went on to say that he’s ready and willing to return and reprise the role if Marvel Studios ever reached out to him:
“I loved Dum Dum. I loved everything about him. I loved that I had to gain 40 pounds of weight of muscle and fat just to get big like him. That mustache that I grew, [his wife] Ruvé absolutely hated it. So would I love to play Dum Dum again? Yes. Out of all the characters I could reprise, Dum Dum is right on top of my list. Because he is very close to who I am in real life and I loved it. It was great.”
With the way the MCU has been built up thanks to the Multiverse, anything is possible. But even if it’s not a multiverse thing, there are just great stories to tell with this character! Stories in the past while Captain America is still in Ice, and stories long after. Marvel Comics found ways to bring Dum Dum Dugan back for more action, Marvel Studios could as well. Other characters that made up the Howling Commandos include Gabe Jones, Happy Sam Swayer, and Pinky Pinkerton. At least those are the ones who survided.
I would love to see a Dum Dum Dugan and The Howling Commandos movie! That’s one of those things that would get me excited about Marvel movies again! They’ll never do it, though.
