What is a Marvel movie without an incredible villain? We wouldn’t be so invested in these comic book heroes and their missions to save the universe if it weren’t for them facing off against some bad-ass antagonists, so those dastardly rogues should also be celebrated by audiences.
For fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe though, it’s hard to admit that there have been a few swing-and-miss choices.
So, here we’re taking a look at our five favourite MCU villains to-date; along with five that just didn’t work when they made their way to the big screen.
Oh, and a special shoutout to Agatha Harkness, played by Kathryn Hahn. We are focusing on the cinematic MCU world right now, but her inclusion in Disney+ original series WandaVision was outstanding.
Worked: Hela (Thor: Ragnarok)
Female villains aren’t as common as their male counterparts, so to see Cate Blanchett absolutely kill it as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok was quite the sight to witness.
As the former executioner of Asgard and the Asgardian Goddess of Death, Hela was only released from her prison following her father Odin's death. Hoping to restore her power over her home and rule with an iron fist, she massacred Odin's armies and prepared to take on her sibling, Thor.
Unfortunately for her, he’s not above the destruction of Asgard if it means taking down somebody who would destroy it slowly but surely in any case!
Didn’t work: Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash (Iron Man 2)
Vanko's background is actually an exciting one. He's the son of a disgraced scientist who passed away in poverty due to Howard Stark's actions, and so he seeks revenge following his father's passing against Howard's son, Tony Stark. On paper, it sounds like the perfect foundations for a Super Bowl-esque battle.
When that story played out in cinemas across the globe however, the majority of audiences came out feeling pretty ‘meh’ about the entire affair. Still, at least the villain went out on his own terms, initiating a self-destruct feature within his armour following an unsuccessful attempt on Stark’s life.
Worked: Erik Killmonger (Black Panther)
Black Panther marked a real shift for the MCU. Not only did the film make history with the late, incomparable Chadwick Boseman as its Black lead, but it switched up the regular formula of what made up a Marvel movie and flipped it completely on its head.
For the first time in a while, MCU writers seemed to be taking a risk. One of their most successful was the writing and character development that went into bringing Killmonger to viewers. The revenge story due to family ties has been overdone, but it was worked so well into this narrative that it felt like something completely unique.
Michael B. Jordan was a stroke of genius casting. Just talking about his performance makes us want to go and watch Black Panther all over again.
Didn’t work: Emil Blonsky aka Abomination (The Incredible Hulk)
The less said about the Incredible Hulk movie, the better. We’re still clamouring for the day the misunderstood Avenger gets a solo movie that will go down in history for all of the right reasons. For now though, we’re left with this over-complicated and confusing mishmash of goings on.
The fight scene between Abomination and our titular hero is one that sticks in our minds, but it wasn’t enough to elevate the rest of the movie to an acceptable height. Tim Roth did some stellar work with the role; it just wasn’t an interesting enough one to keep us invested.
Worked: Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: Endgame)
If you disagree with this choice, then you’re probably not really a fan of the MCU! Thanos - played expertly by Josh Brolin - is a genocidal force unlike anything we’ve ever seen not only in the MCU, but in cinema full stop. He’s so easy to hate because of his lack of morality, and that’s what truly makes for a stunning comic book villain.
Who can ever forget the scene in which he plucked the Infinity Stone from Vision’s skull, destroying Wanda’s one true love in doing so? It breaks our hearts just thinking about it.
Future writers of the MCU are going to have a lot of work to do if they’re to bring somebody as inherently evil as Thanos to audiences!
Didn’t work: Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
This may be a controversial pick, but for us, Ultron was just way too boring to be considered a successful villain. Age of Ultron is undoubtedly amongst the weakest MCU movies and so, Ultron has to come in here as one of the Big Bads that just didn’t hit a home run. Apologies to any Age of Ultron apologists!
What we can say however, is that James Spader was a brilliant casting choice. His voice work is to be admired; I just wish that those working behind-the-scenes had given him something more compelling to work with. Less monologues, more action, please!
Worked: Loki (Thor/The Avengers)
Now, we move on to the perfect example of a villain who we actually can’t help but love. Loki is a manipulative and mischievous force of nature, who actor Tom Hiddleston has worked hard to make relatable despite his character’s otherworldly powers and thirst for power and respect.
Completely deceptive and living up to his trickster moniker whenever the opportunity allows, you never know which side of Loki you’re going to get when he appears in an MCU offering.
It’s going to be very interesting to see where his journey goes when his Disney+ original series, aptly-titled Loki-, makes its debut on June 11th, 2021.
Didn’t work: Mandarin (Iron Man 3)
Bringing Sir Ben Kingsley into the MCU looked to be one of the best decisions that casting directors could have made. Giving him the role of Trevor Slattery aka Mandarin in Iron Man 3 however? Not a good direction for him to go in.
The writing for the villain was extremely transparent; he fell into a number of different stereotypes that the MCU could do well to avoid, making him two-dimensional and forgettable. Kingsley did the best with what he was given, but he was let down by the team who wrote up the character.
I’d actually love to see Mandarin make a comeback at some point down the line, with writers who are capable of fleshing out his story and breathing new life into a character that could and should be a cinematic success.
Worked: Adrian Toomes aka Vulture (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
The Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies of late have been some of the MCU’s finest work. He’s not the only one who should be given praise for his performance in those films however; the standout in his first flick Homecoming for example, isn’t actually the titular web-slinger, but his adversary.
Michael Keaton adapted to the role of Adriana Toomes aka Vulture with ease. Putting his superhero days behind, the actor spat venomous retorts out with passion, ensuring everybody who watched Homecoming knew exactly why he wanted to watch the world crumble.
One of the best aspects of Vulture’s personality is the fact he hasn’t got a complete lack of morality. He’s even cut a deal with Spidey himself to not reveal his true identity to the world, after the hero saved his life.
See, not all villains have to be completely irredeemable!
Didn’t work: Malekith (Thor: The Dark World)
Though he's visually stunning, the Dark Elves' malevolent leader Malekith will never be top of the list when you're asked about memorable MCU villains.
Spending millennia in hiding, waiting for the perfect opportunity to reclaim the ancient weapon known as the Aether, you would have thought that Malekith would be much more of an interesting villain than the one we saw in Thor: The Dark World.
Unfortunately, his narrative fell flat and when the final credits rolled and his death was confirmed, we were simply relieved that we wouldn’t have to see him up on the big screen again.
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