Welcome to a new portion of the show; Worst 2 Best. As the title implies, I will be listing the instalments of a film franchise and listing them from the weakest to the strongest, in my own opinion. This could be the films themselves or it could be the protagonists; anything goes with this new series.
And as the title implies, I will be evaluating, from worst to best, the most important aspect to the hero's journey; their villain.
As the saying goes, "the hero is only as good as their villain". The protagonists journey could only be as interesting if their antagonist is equally as interesting. If either the hero or the villain is weak, then investment in either of their stories is made null and void. Which thus, brings me to the main point of discussion today; the MCU villains.
In a lot of respects, the MCU has changed a lot for comic book movies; with the way that the characters are written, with the way that multiple heroes can exist in the same world, with the way that a literal universe full of various backstories and lore can have so much life to it. Without the hard work that the directors, actors and writers have brought to it, the MCU would probably be seen as a dying fad not worth investing so much effort or attention.
But for the longest time, one common complaint has cropped up that everyone can agree with; the villains. Most of them can be summarised with three words:
Up until Guardians of the Galaxy 2, every villain in the MCU have been underwhelming at best, downright forgettable at worst (not including the shows in my argument as I haven't seen them all). For every Vulture or Ego, we have at least 3 Ronan's. This list will simply be taking each of the villains from the films and listing them from the worst to the best.
A couple of disclaimers before we begin;
1. I'm not counting Nebula or the Winter Soldier in this list. They were glorified henchmen at first before eventually turning to the side of the heroes, and have since become core members of superhero teams such as the Guardians and the Avengers, respectively.
2. I'm also not counting any other side villains, like Dormammu, Kurse, the Mandarin (yes, he counts) or the Grandmaster. While they were instrumental to the narrative, they were not the focus antagonist for the majority of the film in which they appeared. This is simply the main villains and their opposition to the main heroes.
3. Due to Far From Home just coming out, I'm also not counting Quentin Beck/Mysterio in this list. We still need some time to pass before we can really think whether or not he's on par with the current villains; it's still to early to really make that kind of assessment. He's fun and cool, but I will need to see the film again and pay specific attention to Mysterio and his actions.
With all of that out of the way, let us begin with, hands down, the absolute worst villain in the entire MCU:
Malekith the Accursed.
When I learned that Christopher Eccleston, the 9th Doctor himself, was going to play the lead villain in Thor: The Dark World, I was so excited. While not my favourite (that would be David Tennant), Eccleston was still my first experience with the title character from Dr Who, so I was more than ready to see him as a villain. This makes it all the more depressing when he plays such a worthless, forgettable villain. It has nothing to do with the performance, but the character himself is such a pathetic, underwhelming presence who takes away any literal colour on the screen. His plan has been done before and after by better villains, his design is boring, and his motivations are never fully explored. Were it not for Eccleston being cast in the role, you would have a hard time even remembering who this guy is. But no performance, no matter how good, can save him from being such a mess.
Laufey.
I think the only reason that Laufey exists is just to create a false herring to make the viewer believe that he is the main antagonist of the film. Unfortunately, they never follow up on that and just resort to him being a worthless pawn in the REAL villains scheme. Because of this, I hesitate to have him here on the list at all because of how little he actually contributes to the narrative. I only put him above Malekith as a villain because he doesn't seem inherently stupid, just bare bones evil. I'm not sure if this is how he is presented in the comics, but his character doesn't really shine and ends up as a waste.
Ronan the Accuser.
I would probably put ALL Kree villains in this spot, but this guy is pretty much the embodiment of every problem I have with the Kree. Ronan really does encapsulates the ultimate flaw with most of these villains; he's dull, lifeless, and lacks any real personality. For most of the film, he just stands around pouting and talking in a low tone as he demands that you take him seriously. But because of how ridiculous he looks and shallow his motivations are, you never CAN take him seriously. To quote Thanos himself;
"The only matter I do not take seriously, boy, is you. Your politics bore me; your demeanour is that of a pouty child."
Well said, Grimace. Well said.
Emil Blonsky/Abomination.
Although he is the second main villain in the MCU as a whole, he was an early example of what was wrong with a majority of the villains; great potential, lack of substance. Initially, I liked the idea of Emil slowly mutating himself to be on level with Banner; using his brute strength to prove his superiority. Unfortunately, that's pretty much the beginning and end to his character. Despite a great performance from Tim Roth, the character rarely does anything of substance to legitimise him as a threat. Even at the end, he's not really doing anything different from Hulk, just that he's evil and yellow instead of green. He's just a foil for the Hulk to face off against and for the live of me, I really don't understand why they're bringing him back for TV.
Justin Hammer.
You take one look at this guy and you think to yourself "wannabe Tony Stark". And really, that's all there is to the guy, which the film kind of acknowledges. He mainly profits in manufacturing weapons, like Tony did. He's an eccentric asshole, like Tony was. Hell, they even call out how he just tries recreating Stark's Iron Man suit for the sake of a profit but failing due to incompetence. I won't deny that the actor is clearly having fun with the role, more so than most MCU villains, but they don't do much else with the character beyond what we see of him. Justin Hammer is a solid reminder that "eccentric asshole" is not enough of a character for us to care.
Kaecilius.
The saddest thing about this character was that he had an interesting backstory. Losing his family and wanting to use his magic powers to make everyone immortal so no one suffers the same loss? That's a great motivation. They even give him a few comedic moments through his interactions with Strange. Unfortunately, the character comes off as lifeless and unfun. They did very little with Kaecilius despite the interesting backstory and the fact that it's Mads Mikkelsen playing the part. Really, if it weren't for the actor, this would just be another throwaway role that literally ANYONE could have done. And when anyone could play a role intended for Mads fucking Mikkelsen, then that's a sign that you have a weak villain.
Darren Cross/Yellow Jacket.
A common troupe with some of the more "memorable" villains in the MCU is that they are assholes in business suits. And once again, that's pretty much the beginning and end to Cross' character, even after he gets the Yellow Jacket suit on. Despite his position of power, he feels like a random, disposable goon for a REAL villain to sick on the heroes. The film, however, is missing a real villain to be intimidated by and we a stuck with someone who simply doesn't command any presence no matter the scene he is in. He goes to extreme lengths for his goals, but he never takes the time to grow an extreme personality. Again, I appreciate that the actor has fun with what he is doing, but I just wish there was more to the character beyond what was given.
Obadiah Stane/ Iron Monger.
The first villain in the MCU and the first example of a great actor being wasted on a bland character. His motivation is bare bones "asshole businessman" and his scheme is overly complicated. He didn't really need to join up with the Ten Rings to get what he wants; just stage an accident in the West to take down Tony and the business would probably go to him right away. But the biggest problem with Stane was how he basically created the archetype of what Nando v Movies has coined "the Big Grey Villain"; wherein a comic book villain with a colourful and unique design on the pages is just made big and grey in the film. Sadly, Stane is pretty much an embodiment of the colour grey; dull and uninteresting.
Also, you have Jeff Bridges in your film as the villain and not a SINGLE Big Lebowski joke until Endgame? Shame on you!
Aldrich Killian.
Iron Man 3, in my opinion, was the best of his trilogy, and Killian was certainly the most memorable of the villains from that trilogy. That is, I think I enjoyed the idea of the character but not really the character himself. He has a reasonably solid motivation, and he isn't just looking to be the next Tony Stark. But the main appeal of him is how he exploits the American capitalists and their fear of terrorism and losing their power. He legitimately builds the fear of the people and manipulates events to go his way. Really, if it weren't for the sudden twist reveal of him being the real Mandarin for the film, he probably would've gone down better as a character. But as is, he is a perfectly serviceable foil to Tony and that's all I really expected out of him to begin with.
Ivan Vanko/Whiplash.
The greatest strength of Iron Man 2 was definitely Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, which makes it all the more tragic with how he basically takes a backseat to Justin "Wannabe Stark" Hammer. Pretty much everything about this character works really well. His motivation; makes sense. His methods; deadly. His initial outfit; distinct. His intelligence; on par with Stark. This really does beg the question as to why he wasn't chosen to be the main villain, but instead an insubordinate lackey for the wimpy businessman who is legitimately incompetent at what he does. If more time was focused on Whiplash, Iron Man 2 would definitely be a stronger film as a whole.
Helmut Zemo.
The most interesting part about Zemo is less so his actions in the film, but rather how they mislead both the heroes and the audience. For most of his screen time, we're lead to believe that he wants to wake up the other Winter Soldiers to topple the world governments and take down the heroes. While the latter is certainly his more predominant end goal, it's more on a psychological level. He manipulates things his way as to get the heroes to destroy each other, all for the sake of taking revenge for the people that he lost in Sokovia. He may not have the most screen time and a lot of his achievements is through luck, but he still presents himself as arguably one of the most critical villains that has ever gone up against the Avengers, which certainly earns him his spot on this list.
Ava Starr/Ghost.
In a sense, Ava is more of a victim of circumstance than she is a villain. She has suffers from a condition where her molecular structure will fall apart unless treated correctly, and she was used as a weapon by the government when they saw a potential asset. This already makes her a threat, but throw in the fact that she has legitimate guile and intelligence and she makes for a more fascinating antagonist, especially with how she never intended to become the villain. I do understand why she's doing what she does; it's just that she goes to extremes that are what alienate her from the heroes. If she simply came to Hank Pym in the first place, things may have gone differently.
Johann Schmidt/Red Skull.
While I still question to this day as to why Hydra alienates itself from the Nazis (as they are Nazis, no matter what certain Marvel executives might tell you), Red Skull does make for a great foil to Captain America in his first outing. A lot of it does come down to how entertainingly silly Hugo Weaving is in the role, being served the scenery on a silver platter and devouring it within seconds of appearing on screen. When the villain is having fun with what he is doing, that thus allows you to have equal fun watching him.
Hela the Goddess of Death.
While certainly not the most complex villain, Hela definitely steals every scene that she is in. He motivation is pure evil, and she completely revels in it. She doesn't care who gets in her way or who else will try to stop her; she'll keep going and being the most evil bitch in the universe simply because she finds it fun. And honestly, I couldn't help but admire that as I was watching the film and seeing her completely dominate Asgard into submission. Again, not the most complex of villains, but still an entertaining one nonetheless.
Erik Stevens/Killmonger.
From an over the top goddess to one of the more serious villains in the MCU. Killmonger makes for an interesting villain, mainly because of his surprise reveal. For much of the film, it seems that Ulysses Klaue is meant to be the central antagonist with Killmonger serving as a glorified henchman. When he kills Klaue and gets to Wakanda, however, we see more of his depravity as we learn more of his backstory. He has struggled and fought to get to where he is and he aims to bring peace through force, which makes him the perfect foil to T'Challa and everyone in Wakanda. He still thrives for power and control, but wants to use it to help those who can't help themselves. Much like other great villains, it's the fact that he goes to extreme methods for otherwise altruistic intentions. He doesn't let revenge drive him, but it was what started his quest, which makes him far more fascinating than most of the other villains.
Ultron.
Now we're getting to the REALLY good villains. Ultron was the first real great villain in the MCU, in my opinion. He is ultimately a robotic Tony Stark, but unlike Hammer he doesn't try to be like Stark in every way. Once he has an end goal, he's determined to see through to it, viewing himself as the hero of the story while the Avengers are the villains. James Spader gives his all to this role, being both a menacing force to be reckoned with as well a charming and charismatic killer robot. And like Zemo, his actions in his starring film have massive ramifications that affect the rest of the MCU from hereon out.
Adrian Toomes/Vulture.
The appeal of Vulture is not simply the fact that it's Batman in the role, but also his ability to relate to the audience. He isn't out for world domination or to kill off the remaining Avengers; he's just an average Joe down on his luck trying to support his family. He continues to do awful things, but all of it is to see his family be financially secure in a world full of superheroes and alien invaders. Furthermore, when he is being an everyday father and husband, it's almost hard to believe that he could be capable of such things as selling weapons on the black market. But when he learns that Peter is Spider-Man, he turns into one of the creepiest of the MCU villains, being able to slip between prom date chauffeur and threatening villain with such ease. Michael Keaton once again proves he's great in any film, whether he's the Caped Crusader or a regular thief.
Loki.
I expect plenty of fangirls to be creaming right about now. When you look at it from a broader perspective, Loki should be considered one of the worst villains in the series. His plans always fail, he constantly gets his ass kicked, and his motivation is simply seeking attention and being a nuisance to everyone. That said, it doesn't change that he was the most entertaining and consistently funny MCU villain. He seemed to be the only villain for the longest time who enjoyed doing what he did. He didn't care that people got hurt or that he wore that bloody ridiculous helmet; he loved being the villain and relished it every time he had the chance. It helps that Tom Hiddleston is clearly having a blast being a snarky, conniving schemer who just takes the piss out of everyone. I can definitely see why he's eventually getting his own spin-off series, so long as we get more of Loki being a snarky bastard.
Ego.
Yes, I do legitimately think there are MCU villains better than Loki; Ego being one of them. Despite the name being quite on the nose, Ego makes for one of the most likeable villains in the franchise. He's lovingly full of himself, but also sees the potential to be great in everyone else. He's energetic, he's smooth; he's basically everything that Star-Lord wants to be. Thus, when we get to the twist of him being a remorseless psychopath, it honestly does hurt to see such a likeable person turn on his son like that, especially when it acts as a cautionary tale as to who one can really trust. And given that the character in the comics normally looks like THIS:
That really shows how much care that Marvel is putting into their villains nowadays. Also, Kurt Russell is precious and I'll hear no word to the contrary.
Which, of course, leaves only one character as, hands down, the best villain in the MCU.
Thanos.
Ever since the end credit sequence in the first Avengers movie, no-one knew how the movies were going to handle Thanos. Would he be true to the source material? Would they do something fresh with the character? Will he ever live up to the hype that's building from film to film constantly teasing his arrival?
The answer to all of those questions are; yes, yes and FUCK YES!!
From the second he began speaking in Infinity War, I knew that the Mad Titan would be the ultimate threat that no single hero could face alone. And thankfully, the film really did allow him to not only establish himself as the greatest threat that the Avengers have ever faced, but also one of the most emotionally complex villains of today's generation of cinema. His plan is simple; get the Infinity Stones, snap his fingers, wipe out half of all life. But you can see with every action he takes that it's still a hard choice for him to make. From sacrificing Gamora for the Soul Stone to having to explain his reasoning to Dr Strange, even something as simple as him showing empathy to Scarlet Witch when Vision is first killed; all of this goes to show that Thanos is not simply the bad guy, but views himself as the hero of the story. Even if you disagree with him, you completely understand what he is doing and why he is doing it.
Throw in a great design, a perfect performance from Josh Brolin and the fact that he actually won, and you have the greatest villain of the MCU; Thanos is, with no hyperbole, a modern generations Darth Vader.
Thank you all for reading, and sorry that it took so long to finally post something. I've been busy these past few months wrapping up with university and getting into the working world. I don't think I would've gotten this far without the support I get from everyone who reads these silly reviews and blogs that I do.
If you liked what you read and want to see more, I'm now more active on my YouTube channel uploading videos as often as I can. I would greatly appreciate it if you gave it a peek and please subscribe. Also, please share this post on Twitter or Facebook or any other social media site, and of course, follow me on Twitter @Media_Man18. Also leave a comment saying who was your favourite/least favourite MCU villain; I would sincerely love to know.
But until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
