If you’re like me, you love a good bad guy, so let’s consider this a case study in the most fun aspect of the modern super hero movie: the villain. I’ve compiled this running list of all of the villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to update once a new property hits theaters or drops on Disney+. Let’s get to it.
August 2023 Update: Well, at a time when I was SO ready to be SO in on a new and refreshing Marvel project, Secret Invasion just couldn’t stick the landing (you can find my ranking of the entire MCU here). I mean, that has to be the worst season finale of any of the MCU series, right? The show started with so much promise as a fun espionage thriller that was far my grounded in its story than simple multiverse fan service. Yet, when it came time to land the plane, they missed. Everything was tied up, nice and neat with a bow on top, in quick emotionless fashion. What a shame because this series had some fantastic actors and characters with real potential. Whether it’s the strike, push back from VFX workers, or Marvel waking up to the ‘Marvel fatigue’ fans are starting to feel, they do seem to be slowing down the release schedule, but I don’t think it’s enough to get this train back on the rails. It’s nice to not have to keep up with some Marvel project every week now, but at a certain point, y’all gotta get back to just telling good stories, amiright?!?!
And, obviously….SPOILER ALERT for all MCU movies and series to date…
ON STANDBY
I have no idea what to do with Dormammu or Surtur. Both dudes are living in the backdrop, having not been featured in-depth much at all. I’m a big Surtur guy, so I’m just itching for that Surtur origin story (that we will never get – wtf am I thinking with this fanboy bullshit?). I was incredibly pleased with how they handled both in the first installment of Doctor Strange – a tough property to pull off to begin with – and Thor: Ragnarok respectively, but neither have done enough yet to warrant serious consideration on this list.
After seeing Eternals, I think you could also put Arishem in this category because we know he’s still out there. That could change in the future, but we’ll just leave them on standby for the time being. I’m going to dump Kamran from Ms. Marvel in this category because he was kind of a ‘tweener in the show. I think he could become a villain, but to me, it’s not entirely accurate to say he was the villain in Ms. Marvel. Along those same lines, I’d add: was there even a true villain in Werewolf by Night? I guess you could go Verussa Bloodstone here, but even that feels like a reach. I’m leaving this property on hold for now. Now, let’s kick this off by talking about the absolute worst of the worst.
THE ABSOLUTE WORST
Malekith was incredibly disappointing in Thor: The Dark World. The second installment of the Thor saga was hindered by the dull presence of this boring villain, among other issues that made it one of the worst efforts of the MCU to date. James Spader brought a lot of potential to Ultron, but that character was a hot mess. By the end of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ultron was a joke. I think that’s why so many people are holding on to this idea that Ultron is still out there somewhere in the MCU, waiting to get another crack as a character. I’m a big enough man to admit emotions and shit like that, and I’ll say it – Iron Man 3’s Mandarin has grown on me in the time since it was released. I’ve come to realize that I was more disappointed in the twist itself than I was with Ben Kingsley. You did no wrong, Ben Kingsley, if you’re reading this. I used to have Mandarin as THE worst villain in all of the MCU, but I think I’m going to delegate that honor over to Malekith now.
MEH
Arnim Zola could have been so much more, but I thought they did a lot with the character in such a limited capacity. The scene in the bunker from Captain America: The Winter Soldier rules. While we’re discussing Captain America villains, Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull disappointed as well – just not enough punch behind the character. This is supposed to be an iconic villain, but the substance just wasn’t really there. I remember liking Ant Man’s Yellowjacket, but honestly, the role didn’t do enough to stand out in the grand scheme of the MCU. Kaecilius was an alright foil for Doctor Strange, but as the heading of this section would suggest, “meh.” Do we even count Shocker from Spiderman: Homecoming here?? *shrugs*
Iron Monger, or Obadiah Stane, from Iron Man was serviceable at the time, but has the disadvantage of being the first villain in this series. They’ve gotten a lot bigger, badder, and better since then. Nebula was a strong villain in the Guardians of the Galaxy saga, but was rather one-dimensional – motivated solely by anger and the promise of vengeance. Finally, man – shout out to Crossbones. He could’ve been a cool bad guy, but wasn’t really featured. He’d make the list if not for his limited role Captain America: Civil War.
A lot of people hated the Black Order, or Children of Thanos, from Avengers: Infinity War, but I actually didn’t mind them. I know they’re incredibly powerful beings in the comics, and the crew made them look like glorified henchmen in IW. But, hey – the Avengers needed some wins to make them look credible and they got those by taking out the Black Order. Also, after Ant-Man and the Wasp, keep an eye on Sonny Burch. That dude is comin’ with something. The biggest twist in Captain Marvel was that the Skrulls weren’t actually villains….no, it was Yon-Rogg and the Supreme Intelligence. I like Jude Law, but didn’t really find a whole lot interesting about the character – typical bad guy stuff, right there with the Yellowjackets, Kaeciliuses, and Iron Mongers of the MCU. Since he survived the movie, maybe we dig into him a little more in the future.
The Elementals from Spider-Man: Far From Home probably shouldn’t count on this list for obvious reasons (spoiler alert: they weren’t even freaking real), but those “battles” were just so damn fun that I have to at least mention them. The Taskmaster was completely badass in Black Widow, but was used, quite literally, as the main villain’s pawn. I have a feeling we’re going to get a bit of a redemption story with this character moving forward, and by the end of the movie, you’re feeling sympathetic towards this character much like we were with Ghost by the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp. But, there just wasn’t a whole lot there to dive into in Black Widow – so Taskmaster ranks pretty low on the list…for now. Razor Fist and Death Dealer were both totally badass in Shang-Chi, but weren’t much more than muscle. It looks like Razor Fist is going to stick around, so maybe we explore that character more in future stories. Also, yeah – I guess since it’s comic canon, I should mention the Dweller In Darkness….though…it was quite literally just a gigantic flying monster.
I loved how they presented Karli and The Flag Smashers in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Marvel has been on a roll as of late with these relatable villains with complex back stories. What was essentially a throwaway villain in the comics was used as a major plot device in TFATWS. The problem? There was some real potential for a well-fleshed-out villain here that just didn’t pan out – by the end of the series, you’re left thinking, “that’s it?” So, the Flag Smashers were used as little more than a plot device.
I just had a hard time getting into What If? and maybe my thoughts on the series as a whole kept me from getting into evil Dr. Strange and Infinity Ultron. But, Infinity Ultron actually represents my biggest fear with the future of the MCU. These villains just keep getting bigger and badder. Eventually, we’re going to get to a point where we just keep raising the stakes for our heroes to overcome and it kind of makes the whole thing uninteresting. That’s the path towards people tuning out the MCU, in my opinion. I thought the Deviants were pretty cool in Eternals, but they didn’t really serve much more of a purpose than a plot device. What the hell do we do with Echo? I liked the character, and she’ll be getting her own Disney+ series in the future, but she wasn’t really a true villain.
I know there were a lot of moving parts and you couldn’t get every single character an interesting development arc, but I felt like Lizard and Sandman were just kind of there in Spider-Man: No Way Home. I can’t believe I’m typing this, but do we count Dr. Octopus as a true villain after seeing that movie play out? Something to think about. The Clandestines could’ve been a lot cooler in Ms. Marvel, but hell, we hardly got to know them. While the show was excellent as an introduction to the Ms. Marvel character, it didn’t exactly feature an intriguing villain presence.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law felt like it had a revolving door of villains, and yet, still didn’t really have a single big bad. I guess you could count Intelligencia as the big bad, but that arc ended in lame fashion. They never really went back to the Wrecking Crew well after their first spat with She-Hulk. The only one that really stands out and gets points from me is Titania. I loved how they introduced the character to the MCU. It was a fun little rivalry that had me chucklin’ when those two were going back and forth.
I’m leaving Gravik from Secret Invasion out of the honorable mentions list, barely, because Marvel seems to be getting back into a cycle of bad guys who are just bad for the sake of being bad. It was cool as hell to see the Super Skrull out there wrecking stuff with limitless powers, and it was fun to see all of the different heroes’ powers showing up in different ways. Kingsley Ben-Adir is a fantastic actor, and for those two reasons, Gravik lands among the ‘meh’ category instead of the ‘bad’ category. I found Gravik to be a little boring in his motives and far too easy to defeat. Like High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, he felt like little more than a plot point. Marvel had gotten pretty good at writing complex villains – what happened?
HONORABLE MENTIONS
31. Kingpin – What a twist, right?!?! But, was it too little, too late? Maybe. I think I’d have Kingpin higher on this list if we had a little more time to do something with him. Instead, they banked on you watching Daredevil and knowing enough about the character to keep up. He brought some kickass action to Hawkeye, but that was about it in hindsight.
30. Dreykov – You know what? I’ll say it – I kind of like Marvel putting the whole “relatable, complex bad guy” thing on hold for a movie just to give us this bastard who really was just an evil sumbitch bent on taking over the world in Black Widow…the “real” main villain of the movie. I don’t feel like we’ve had that in quite some time. It was a main criticism of the MCU early on, and they’ve done a good job correcting course, but damn, it felt good just to straight up hate a character for the first time in awhile. Am I crazy for this one?
29. Abomination – Of all of the “monster” types, Abomination from The Incredible Hulk is the gold standard. He’s intimidating, destructive, and terrifying – the perfect opponent for Hulk. My credibility is probably going to take a hit for this one, but I actually enjoyed The Incredible Hulk.
28. Ikaris – I liked the character, but he was a little too ‘of singular focus’ for me. He had great villain potential, and I like how they used his love of Sersi to complicate the character, but going back to “I’m going to do this because it is our purpose to do so,” is just a little too one-dimensional for me, bruh.
27. Ivan Vanko – Some blend of Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo from the comics, Mickey Rourke’s portrayal of Vanko in Iron Man 2 was a lot of fun. He came across as a legitimate threat to Tony Stark and looked cool doing it, even if he was a little too one-dimensional and probably belongs in that ‘meh’ category. Maybe I just have a thing for Mickey Rourke. “He killed my bird.”
26. Electro – Absolutely stoked that they did Jaime Foxx right by giving Electro some real comeuppance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He was awesome in the traditional sense of what makes a villain cool, and if the rumors are true and he does get a solo project through Sony, I’m all in on it.
25. M.O.D.O.K. – As far as secondary villains go, give me Corey Stoll‘s M.O.D.O.K. over just about any of ’em. Some nice comedic relief. He looked cool. He was a formidable opponent, and while some of the dialogue was a little cringe, I found that he had a pretty fun little character arc. He was written in a way that made him the quintessential “second guy.” I loved it.
24. High Evolutionary – Chukwudi Iwuji delivered a knockout performance of the vile, detestable, and unhinged High Evolutionary, but there was still something missing from the character in my book. He felt like more of a plot device, used to tell the origin story of Rocket, than anything else. I’m not saying that’s necessarily bad – Iwuji was a ton of fun to watch in this role, but it’s something that has felt a little formulaic in Marvel’s past before. The character gets points for being a massive piece of shit and Iwuji’s portrayal of such, but it feels, to me, like we’ve seen this same character several times before.
23. Justin Hammer – I can’t put this any simpler….how can anyone deny the pure charisma of Sam Rockwell? That’s what makes this role work – the actor. He’s such a shitbag, and rumor has it that we haven’t seen the last of him. Hammer’s rumored to pop back up in Disney+’s Armor Wars series.
22. Yondu – Is Yondu bad? Is he good? I think the time he spent as an antagonist in Guardians of the Galaxy warrants his spot on the list. He’d definitely be higher if he was more of a pure villain. But, like a lot of the characters in GOTG, Yondu operates somewhere in the gray area between good and evil. Still, a damn fun bad guy when he’s playing one.
21. Ulysses Klaue – People don’t realize it, but Andy Serkis’ Klaw was kicking around in the MCU for years – from Avengers: Age of Ultron to Black Panther. That’s some real longevity for a baddy in this universe. Klaw has been an electric, behind-the-scenes agent of chaos. Especially for the Black Panther.
20. Ronan the Accuser – The primary antagonist in Guardians of the Galaxy was the prototypical maniacal villain. There was something about Ronan that felt classic and original. Plus, the dude held a damn Infinity Stone without immediately exploding. I know he seems a little generic, but I’m into it.
19. Green Goblin – I do think Spider-Man: No Way Home relied too heavily upon cameos and nostalgia to really resonate with audiences, but Willem Dafoe was magnetizing all the same. He was at his best as the unhinged loose cannon Norman Osborn, and was given plenty of opportunities to steal the scene.
18. Aldrich Killian – Guy Pearce was phenomenal as Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3. Pure sex, I dare say. At one point, Killian was a disabled scientist, but that damn Extremis virus sure is something else, huh? It turned him into a super-charged evil doer capable of bringing down Iron Man.
17. Arthur Harrow – I know Harrow’s character was a little singular of focus, and that was a criticism of other villains on the list. But, what Ethan Hawke brought to the table as far as the duality of this performance was really interesting. The man we see committed to raising Ammit is a totally different man than we see conducting therapy in Marc’s head…or wherever that was. Hawke was great, and his chemistry with Oscar Isaac was off the charts.
16. Ghost – It feels weird to even put Ghost on this list. Ant-Man and the Wasp was such a rich standalone story with so many ancillary plot lines, that it wasn’t as simple as ‘hero vs. villain.’ I think it’s fair to argue that Sonny Burch is the only true villain in this movie. Ghost actually comes away looking sympathetic in the end, but since she’s still technically an antagonist for most of the film, she has to count, right? Plus, she’s an outright badass. Can we put Ghost in the Thunderbolts? I mean….the Thunderbolts are happening, right? We can all agree on that, no? Why not bring Ghost back? Just a suggestion.
15. Kang – Look, it’s still early. We just met this character in 2021’s Loki, but Quantumania gave us more of an in-depth look at the character. When we met He Who Remains, it felt a little unsettling because we just didn’t know what was coming. In Quantumania, we catch a glimpse of just how menacing and powerful this character can be. They established some ground rules, and gave us a peek of the threat that is to come. But, none of it works without the knockout performance by Jonathan Majors, who apparently has been tasked with playing about a million different versions of the same character. Let this man cook – I can’t wait to see how this character continues to evolve, and I’m sure it’ll be near the top of this list by the time it’s all said and done.
14. Agatha Harkness – WandaVision may have been the most creative effort Marvel has put forth yet. It was an enthralling and captivating story, keeping me hooked each week, and spending way more time on Reddit than I care to admit. But, one of the more surprising aspects of it was just how fabulous Kathryn Hahn was as Agatha Harkness.
13. Hela – Cate Blanchett is something else, y’all. Hela was a badass warrior Goddess of Death, and looked immensely more powerful than Thor and Loki combined. Pour one out for Mjolnir.
12. Gorr the God Butcher – Gorr has seen and lived through some shit – that’s for sure. For a character in as much pain as he was, I can certainly see why you’d go and get a name like Christian Bale. His performance as Gorr was one of the few highlights of Thor: Love and Thunder. He played Gorr with a menacing sense of cunning, and displayed just how the Necrosword eroded away its carrier’s sanity over time.
11. Mysterio – Marvel is really hitting its stride with these Spider-Man villains. Maybe it’s the majesty of Jake Gyllenhaal, but I love the trend of disgruntled dudes who want to take down Spider-Man – sure seems like an intricate web is being woven to set up a potential Sinister Six showdown. Regardless of that, Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was phenomenal. The character has a bit of a far-fetched background in the comics, but they (at least somewhat) grounded Mysterio in reality in a way that made sense in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
THE TOP 10
10. Ego – Kurt Russell’s performance as Ego was instantly one of the best among villains in the MCU. The only Celestial we’ve actually encountered, Ego is incredibly powerful. But, it’s his smooth charm, wit, and poetic explanation of Looking Glass’ hit “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” that is most mesmerizing. We don’t ever really seem to talk about it, but Ego 100% could’ve been a Thanos-level threat if not for the Guardians of the Galaxy. Yuge win.
9. Namor – Boy, Marvel continues to get these Black Panther villains right. Tenoch Huerta played the role with a smoldering sense of quiet anger and revenge. But, like Killmonger before him, you could completely understand his motives for doing so. He looked cool, and he was a badass. Man, they really leaned in to his powers and dialed things up to 11. Namor is pretty much as powerful as Thor and the Hulk in the MCU. Can’t wait to see where they take him next.
8. Winter Soldier – I know. I get it – he’s a hero now, but man – when he made his debut in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he was a lethal weapon. A highly skilled combatant and elite assassin, what made him fascinating was his complete detachment from self. There was a clear divide between Bucky Barnes and The Winter Soldier, but it was completely out of his hands. Over time, Bucky has become one of if not the most complex characters in the MCU.
7. Baron Zemo – Unlike a lot of the MCU villains, Zemo didn’t possess extraordinary super powers. Instead, he used his keen intellect to worm his way into resurrecting the Winter Soldier in Captain America: Civil War. This man just about single-handedly tore the Avengers apart in a way that even Thanos couldn’t. But, it was his role in TFATWS that had me move him up my board. More Zemo in the future, please.
6. The “Scarlet Witch” – Yeah, technically Wanda Maximoff was the villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but really, they established that it was really the “Scarlet Witch” in control, and man, was she in control. Like the most well-written villains in the MCU, her pain and her motivation was relatable. She was downright scary. She was a massive threat to all of existence. And, Elizabeth Olsen delivered one of the best performances in MCU history. A+ stuff.
5. Vulture – Michael Keaton’s Vulture is one of the most relatable villains in MCU history. Plain and simple, Spiderman: Homecoming told the story of a guy who had been burned, and was taking back what was rightfully his. Thing is, you could totally see reason in his motives. Plus, Michael Keaton instantly adds a cool factor to any character he plays. Have you guys even seen The Other Guys? My goodness.
4. Xu Wenwu – I guess he’s technically the MCU’s version of The Mandarin…err…the actual Mandarin. But, given his explanation of Kingsley’s Mandarin, I think we’re meant to assume he doesn’t very much like that moniker. Still, you can’t deny the great, immortal power the character possesses. Sure, he was ruthless, and carried with him an immense amount of power, but it was in his vulnerabilities that we saw just how broken and mad he had become. Tony Leung put on one of the most moving and convincing performances we’ve seen in the MCU. You felt his pain. You could see his calloused rage in his eyes. You could see the hopelessness within him and the depths to which he would go to reunite with the love his life. It was both heartbreaking and disturbing. Plus, I felt like the character was a nice reference to the concept that people just don’t change. Sure, he put down the Ten Rings for his love, but once she was gone, that brutal conqueror came right back out, proving that he was never really gone…just sleeping. *chef’s kiss*
3. Erik Killmonger – I loved Killmonger. I just wish we got a little more time with him. That’s why I’m not willing to call him the greatest MCU villain yet like other people are. But, Michael B. Jordan was great in the role, and the character had real potential staying power. Had – oops..sorry, spoiler alert. Killmonger resonated with audiences in a way that no other Marvel villain has, and his character was about a whole hell of a lot more than just evil-doing. We didn’t technically see him die, and you know what that means in a comic book tale, so there’s still hope that he makes a return to the MCU. I, for one, hope that’s the case.
2. Loki – Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of the Asgardian God of Mischief (official title, I believe) is spot on. He’s calm, cool, and cunning, and has become just as much of a staple of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Avengers themselves. It took a long time for Thanos to finally bump Loki out of the top spot.
1. Thanos – Josh Brolin is simply fantastic as Thanos. Between all the pop-up surprise appearances that he’s made over the last decade-plus and the dire threat that he proved to be to The Avengers, there’s just no other villain in the MCU who is as big and bad as the Mad Titan.
Disagree with my list? Hit me up in the comment section, nerds.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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