A couple of years back, not long after the release of Spider-Man No Way Home and Hawkeye, I got the insane idea to rank every villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
But while working on the list, I felt we had to add the adversaries from Marvel’s underrated Netflix run, which had the time to develop and flesh out some of the MCU’s best baddies to date.
Then the list got long. REALLY LONG. But y’all loved it, so it’s all good.
Since I updated the list last year, I figured we’d make this a yearly occurance – dropping off a year’s worth of baddies to see how they rank in the grand scheme of the MCU.
Before we get into the new faces, a reminder of the ground rules:
For the sake of my sanity, the following list will include the major antagonists from every MCU movie, Disney+ series and MCU Netflix series to date, along with a few noteworthy secondary villains.
With some exceptions:
- Some characters, like US Agent, are more like deluded protagonists instead of outright villains. They won’t be featured. (FYI: One of those protagonists in particular went full-on bad guy in the past year and has been added to the list)
- Comic-relief thugs like Hawkeye’s Tracksuit Mafia or large groups like Netflix’s The Hand won’t be featured (but individual Hand members will be)
- The scores of random villains who either felt like glorified minions or were barely developed won’t be here either – Razorfist, Batroc, Crossbones, The Bride of Nine Spiders, Sonny Burch, The Destroyer, Supreme Intelligence, Shocker, Attuma, etc. This now includes MODOK – a character with a long legacy in the comics but felt more like an Easter egg for comic fans. No pun intended on the Easter egg thing. Because his head is big, you know.
- Short version – I ranked who I felt was important to the narrative and ignored the rest. Simple enough.
Simply put, if I overlooked your fave, it’s because I’m making it personal and I hate you. That’s the Internet for you!
Oh and duh, MANY MANY SPOILERS AHEAD.
OK, let’s get to it – the best of the MCU’s worst.
83. Diamondback (Luke Cage)
Ugh. By far the biggest waste of a character in the MCU. He starts off strong, sort of the dark reflection of what Luke Cage could have become, but with his goofy suit and over-the-top theatrics, it feels like he was plucked from a bad CW show.
82. Sowande (The Defenders)
Bet you forgot about this guy! Which is exactly why he’s floating near the bottom. As one of the founding members of the Hand (a group that was woefully mishandled in Netflix land) he proves he can take out the Defenders in battle but then he died and no one cared.
81. Titania (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law)
A character so forgettable that I had run back and drop her in after publishing this post! Titania, Evil Social Media Influencer was set up to be She-Hulk’s big nemesis at the start of the series, but quickly became a minor annoyance at best and a nonfactor by the series’ finale. A waste.
80. Taserface (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
A weird guy with a goofy name. That’s about it. Per my own rules I probably shouldn’t have ranked him, but he amuses me so he’s here.
79. Laufey (Thor)
Here’s another of those “bet you forgot about this dude!” entries. The evil frost giant seemed to be set up as the main villain of Thor but it was just a wacky misdirect to lead us to Loki. Poor guy didn’t get to do much.
78. Dar-Benn (The Marvels)
The Marvels film was met with a mixed reception, though I was more positive on it than most. One thing I will agree with the critics on is Dar-Been, easily the most forgettable and ineffective major film villain to date. What’s sad is that she could have been something – the vengeful Kree survivor pissed at Captain Marvel for the accidental destruction of her home. But instead she comes off as Great Value Ronan the Accuser with little personality or development.
77. HulkKing (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law)
BOY, the Twitter Comic Bros did NOT like this guy – maybe because he hit too close to home? Todd Phelps is a bratty rich kid oozing with white privilege who initiates an online hate campaign against She-Hulk because … he’s a woman-hating weirdo, I guess? It’s not all that clear and that’s the big problem. While a lot of the criticism I saw of this character boiled down to the usual “gO wOkE, gO bRoKe” nonsense, my complaints ran a bit deeper. Obviously he’s meant to be the personification of online trolls, and I’m not mad at that commentary, but his flimsy motivations made the character feel shallow.
76. Colonel Schoonover (The Punisher)
One of the men behind the death of Frank Castle’s family, Col. Schoonover is a shady, soulless military man played expertly by Clancy Brown. The only reason he ranks so low is because he didn’t stick around long, as is the case for most of the Punisher’s targets.
75. Harold Meachum (Iron Fist)
As one of the few defenders of the Iron Fist series around here (trust me, it’s not great, just not the flaming disaster Twitter proclaims) one thing I refuse to defend is its boring season one villains. The Meachum family drama felt like something from One Tree Hill, not a MCU show. Meachum gets more interesting in the later half of the season as he loses his grip on reality but by then it’s too little too late.
74. Malekith (Thor: The Dark World)
It’s pretty sad that the big bad of a mainline MCU film ranks THIS low, but it’s not unexpected. Malekith is by far the most forgettable baddie of the MCU movies – he’s just a guy that shows up, does evil things and gets beat in the end. No development, not personality, no nuthin’.
73. Kro (Eternals)
I was interested in how the Eternals film would handle the complicated comic backstory of the Deviants. And like most things Eternals, I was just confused and disappointed. In the comics, Kro is an intergalactic warlord. In the Eternals, he’s some weird space Pokemon that continually evolves throughout the movie. He never evolved into having a personality though.
72. Verussa Bloodstone (Werewolf by Night)
Elsa Bloodstone’s wicked stepmother is a pretty cool and menacing character but, due to Werewolf By Night’s abbreviated runtime, we barely got to spend any time with her. But she still made a mark by being totally devoted to her creepy dead husband while also being completely remorseless to Elsa.
71. William Simpson (Jessica Jones)
Will Simpson is all over the place, but that’s by design. Going from a reluctant pawn of Kilgrave to drug-addicted super-soldier meant his alliances constantly fluctuated throughout his time on Jessica Jones. He’s interesting but constantly overshadowed by greater threats.
70. The Lizard (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
I’ll come out and say it – I hated nearly everything in the Amazing Spider-Man movie franchise that wasn’t named Emma Stone. That includes the Lizard, an intriguing comic character who was just something for Spidey to punch in his movie. Sadly, he didn’t get to do much more in No Way Home. The (lizard) man has a doctorate, show him some respect!
69. Taskmaster (Black Widow)
I really hate to be all “BUT BUT, DA COMICZ” when it comes to MCU properties, it’s an unfair comparison. But man, they dropped the ball on Taskmaster, one of Marvel’s greatest assassins. Here, Taskmaster is just someone for Natasha to throw hands with occasionally. The reveal of Taskmaster’s identity, while not bad in theory, was so obvious that it took away a lot of the impact.
68. Yellowjacket (Ant-Man)
“What if we made Ant-Man, BUT EVIL????” That’s our boy Darren Cross, whose vengeful motives are interesting but the execution is kinda lazy. He gave us cool fight sequences though, props for that.
67. Alexandra Reid (The Defenders)
If you weren’t outside during the initial Marvel Netflix run, it’s hard to understand how excited we were for Defenders. It would be like the Avengers, except more violence and more cussin! But what we got was a rushed mess. Alexandra Reid, the mastermind behind the Hand and all the drama leading up to the teamup, just didn’t cut it as Netflix’s Thanos. Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of the ruthless businesswoman was solid, we just didn’t spend enough time with her, nor did she feel all that threatening.
66. Najma (Ms. Marvel)
I loved the Ms. Marvel series but I struggled with the Clandestines. Najma and her crew were exiled on Earth and wanted to use Kamala Khan’s powers to get back home. Najma swung from tragic mom just wanting to return home to VILLAINOUS MADWOMAN way too quickly for me. There was a lot of promise but everything seemed rushed – a recurring issue for the MCU TV shows.
65. The Children of Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame)
I should probably have filed these folks under “random thugs” and left them unranked but I’m a big fan of the comic version of the Black Order and they did give Ebony Maw a bit of the spotlight, so I dropped them in. Unfortunately, besides the Maw, the other members barely did anything. Corvus Glaive is the group’s leader but did he even get a line on screen? Sheesh.
64. Dormammu (Dr. Strange)
We gotta get a do-over for this guy. One of Dr. Strange’s greatest adversaries – and one of the most powerful villains in the MCU – is essentially reduced to a looping Tik Tok vid at the end of the Dr. Strange film. There’s way more potential here.
63. Abomination (The Incredible Hulk, She Hulk: Attorney at Law)
Like a lot of the entries around this point, Abomination has promise. An aging soldier looking to get Hulk-like power? There you go! Unfortunately, we don’t get much else besides the requisite CGI BOSS BATTLE at the end of the film. We got a lot more Abomination in the She-Hulk series but he was essentially reformed by then, which didn’t aid his standings in our villain list.
62. Sandman (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
If this were a Sony moving ranking, good ol’ Flint Marko would be much higher on the list. He’s one of the sole bright spots in the maligned Spider-Man 3 film. But since I’m only taking his MCU appearance into account, he’s much lower. He still retains his morals – he’s not evil, he’s just tired of being made of mud – but is quickly overshadowed by his fellow Spider-baddies.
61. Arishem the Judge (Eternals)
I was chatting with my brother-in-law recently about future MCU villains who are more powerful than Thanos. I mentioned the Celestials, of with Arishem is a member. Of course, Arishem isn’t NEARLY as interesting as Evil Space Grimace, basically talking in riddles about Earth being a giant egg and other weird things. Par the course for the middling Eternals film.
60. Whiplash (Iron Man 2)
Whiplash is a weirdo. While some consider him the absolute worst of MCU’s baddies, he’s not without his charm. He’s filthy, has a pet bird, mumbles to himself – yes, it’s very dumb but at least it’s memorable, which is a lot better than many villains this low on the list.
59. Ghost (Ant-Man and the Wasp)
Poor Ghost just wants to stop phasing through everything and not die. Though she’s a tragic figure, she definitely does villainous things but it all works out in the end for her. Decent adversary but very forgettable.
58. The Dweller in Darkness (Shang Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings)
Though it’s easy to write off The Dweller as random, giant monster thing from Power Rangers, it DOES have a purpose, as its corruption of Wenwu is a driving plot point of the story. And it looks kinda cool, I guess.
57. Kaecilius (Dr. Strange)
Dr. Strange’s crusty-eyed adversary is FINE. Not bad, certainly not memorable, just FINE. While his battles with Strange are a lot of fun, there’s still a blandness to him that barely elevates him above the less noteworthy names here. He’s FINE.
56. Ayesha (Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2)
The Golden Hight Priestess of the Sovereign, Ayesha is um … gold privilege run amok. Her ridiculous superiority complex, coupled with the goofiness of her minions, makes her a lot of fun on-screen. She didn’t get to do a ton in Guardians 2 but I’m sure that will change with the introduction of Adam in the coming films.
55. Tyler Hayward (WandaVision)
Hayward is obnoxious middle-management made flesh. The SWORD operative who used Project Cataract to resurrect Vision as a military weapon, he’s the type to place blame on others (Wanda Maximoff, in this case) to cover up his own shady sins. He’s appropriately scummy.
54. Yon-Rogg (Captain Marvel)
Captain Marvel’s mansplaining nemesis clearly is the archetype for modern-day toxic masculinity, but besides bossing people around and acting tough, he’s pretty one-note. Which is fitting, I guess.
53. Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Black Widow, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Darkwing Duck : Negaduck :: Nick Fury : Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
If you understood that analogy quiz, congrats, you’re a 90s kid who also did well on the SATs. We haven’t seen much the Contessa yet but she seems to be spiritual successor of Nick Fury – THE EVIL VERSION. She floats in the background, pulling strings and manipulating both our heroes and their foes for her own mysterious ends. And, like Fury, she’s got an infectious charisma that dominates every scene she’s in. We don’t know what she’s up to yet but I bet we don’t have to wait long to find out. *COUGH*Thunderbirds*COUGH*
52. Aldrich Killian (Iron Man 3)
The would-be “Mandarin” of Iron Man 3 is yet another of those early-phase MCU villains that fell by the wayside. His vengeful nerdy glow-up story (um, literally) was OK, just not very memorable.
51. Ronan the Accuser (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel)
Ronan isn’t horrible but should be much more than he is. An intergalactic religious zealot who is brave enough to betray Thanos – that should be some interesting material to work with. But in every appearance he’s not much more than a guy who stands around scowling.
50. Alisa Jones (Jessica Jones)
I was pretty skeptical when Jessica’s dead mom returned out of nowhere in season two. It felt like the series was grasping at straws to find a suitable antagonist to replace the incredible Kilgrave. But give credit to Janet McTeer, who did an admirable job giving Jessica’s screwed-up, superpowered mom a bit more depth than you’d expect.
49. William Rawlins (The Punisher)
They don’t come any more menacing than Rawlins. The man who ordered the hit on Frank Castle, leading to the death of his family, Rawlins is the catalyst for the Punisher’s rage against the machine. Though he’s quicky overshadowed by Billy Russo, there would be no Punisher without Rawlins.
48. Elektra (Daredevil, The Defenders)
Daredevil season two is a tale of two shows. Everything involving the Punisher is GREAT. Everything involving Elektra and the Hand, well, can be kinda tiresome. Essentially the Catwoman to Daredevil’s Batman, Elektra blurs the lines of morality all while scheming toward her own goals, but she’s more annoying than intriguing most times. In The Defenders, she’s basically a zombie lady. Again, annoying.
47. Shades (Luke Cage)
On the surface, Shades may merely seem like Mariah Stokes’ henchman, and that’s basically all he is in season one. But by season two he branches out a bit, with both he and Mariah manipulating each other for their own ends. Mariah’s merciless schemes force him to finally crack his cool demeanor, showing that there’s a bit of heart somewhere in there.
46. Trevor/The Mandarin (Iron Man 3)
I know some of y’all REALLY hate Iron Man 3 and I’ll admit the Mandarin misdirection was a bit annoying at the time, mainly because Ben Kingsley did such a phenomenal job as the lead villain, only to throw it away for jokes. Trevor would get surprise redemption in Shang-Chi but as a puppet bad guy, he was pretty awesome.
45. Electro (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
If Steve Urkel joined the Blue Man Group, you’d get Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Electro. HORRENDOUS. He’s almost totally reconned in No Way Home, making him more or less Statik Shock’s grumpy older brother. I’ll take it.
44. Davos (Iron Fist)
Y’all know the story – hero’s best friend becomes jealous, becomes his greatest rival. That’s basically the story of Davos, Danny Rand’s buddy turned baddie. Though he’s a little wooden in season one, his villainy makes him much more interesting in season two. The second season did a lot to clean up the mess of its predecessor and Davos is one of the bright spots.
43. Karli Morgenthau (Falcon and the Winter Soldier)
Poor Karli wanted to do the right thing. A woman who planned to shake the table and right the wrongs levied against her community, she eventually gets blinded by her own ego and desire to “win,” hurting instead of helping in the process. Sounds like some of y’all’s favorite Twitter activists to me.
42. General Ross (The Incredible Hulk, etc.)
The Hulk movie is the stepchild of the MCU, which means many of you probably haven’t seen Thunderbolt in action, outside of his figurehead roles in later films. While the final act of the movie is all about Hulk vs Abomination, Ross is the film’s primary antagonist, a portrait of a man blinded by rage and revenge – which, coincidentally, mirrors the Hulk. With the recent passing of William Hurt, expect a new face in the role for upcoming films.
41. Grandmaster (Thor: Ragnarok)
Hedonistic scumbag Grandmaster is a joy to watch whenever he’s on screen. Jeff Goldblum chews up the scenery like Fruit Stripe gum but I wish we got more time with him.
40. Arthur Harrow (Moon Knight)
The former avatar of the naggy god Khonshu, Harrow becomes the MCU’s version of David Koresh and links up with his new god-bae Ammit to wreak havoc. Ethan Hawke’s performance was pretty compelling but kinda gets lost in Moon Knight’s uneven narrative. He’s a pretty good character that should have been a great character.
39. Gravik (Secret Invasion)
By far the best thing in Secret Invasion, Gravik was a sympathetic villain done right. Pissed at Nick Fury and his fellow Skrulls for reneging on their promises to find his people a home world, Gravik takes matters into his shapeshifting hands. Kingsley Ben-Adir’s descent into extremism in the role is great and he would have ranked even higher if the show’s rushed finale didn’t massively fumble the ball on his story.
38. Dreykov (Black Widow)
The true villain of Black Widow, Dreykov doesn’t have the charisma or power of the main villains on this list, but he’s sinister to the core. Human trafficking, mutilating young women and brainwashing them – yeah, he’s all bad. Also he turned his daughter into the wack MCU version of Taskmaster, so he’s got beef with me forever.
37. Trish Walker (Jessica Jones)
I struggled with adding Trish to this list as she’s certainly not a villain in a traditional sense. She accidentally received superpowers, tries to be a hero, fails miserably and costs lives at every turn, before having a showdown with her best friend Jessica. Her descent is heartbreaking and a reminder that, even with its faults, Jessica Jones’ series is some of the best work Marvel has done to date.
36. Alexander Pierce (Captain America: The Winter Solider)
Pierce is a reflection of the modern day debates about homeland security vs freedom, which makes him a pretty layered character. At least on the surface – cuz he’s revealed to be a Hydra plant and of course they’re just evil for the heck of it. Still, of all of MCU’s bureaucratic baddies, he’s one of the best.
35. James Wesley (Daredevil)
The Mr. Smithers to Kingpin’s C. Montgomery Burns, Wesley was Kingpin’s dignified, soft-spoken right-hand man who represented the classier side of Wilson Fisk’s enterprise. Despite his demeanor, he was just as twisted as his boss. His death was a major turning point for Fisk, who decided to get more brazen in his villainy.
34. Red Skull (Captain America: The First Avenger)
It’s no secret that the early MCU films struggled to give their villains depth. By no means is Red Skull a bad villain but he doesn’t come close to the heights of his comic reputation. He’s fine, just a little generic. It was nice to see him pop up in Infinity War and Endgame, though.
33. Justin Hammer (Iron Man 2)
Iron Man 2 wasn’t great by ANY means, but anti-Tony Stark Justin Hammer was one of the bright spots. Coming off like Tony’s obnoxious doppleganger, he’s obsessed with outdoing Stark, even though he fails time and again. Underrated.
32. Gregory Sallinger (Jessica Jones)
Jessica Jones understandably had a hard time finding a villain that could measure up to season one’s Kilgrave, but Sallinger did a much better job than he gets credit for. Feeling more like a bad guy from NCIS than Marvel, Sallinger was a ruthless serial killer who was always a step ahead of Jessica and the gang, but his self-loathing meant he never felt satisfied with his victories. The character known as Foolkiller in the comics received a major upgrade here.
31. Ben Poindexter (Daredevil)
Though he’s never called Bullseye in the show, it’s pretty clear that he’s Daredevil’s arch-foe, but with a twist. Instead of being an assassin for hire, Poindexter is a mentally-ill FBI agent whom Kingpin manipulates into becoming Fake Daredevil. Outside of Fisk himself, Poindexter becomes Daredevil’s most dangerous enemy in the series. We gotta get him into the MCU proper.
30. John Pilgrim (The Punisher)
Pound for pound, probably the most underrated villain on this list. The cold and calculating assassin’s character arc is one of the highlights of his season, going from member of the Aryan Brotherhood to vicious pastor willing to spill blood in the name of his kids. I’d love to see him on screen again.
29. Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
Listen, Ultron wasn’t a BAD villain, but much like his titular film, should have been so much more. While he was definitely a threat, his jokey persona (thanks to Tony Stark’s influence) is a bit off-putting at times. But I’ll give props for his final showdown with Vision. The What If series did a better job showcasing the character but MCU Ultron certainly made his mark.
28. Billy Russo (The Punisher)
Frank Castle’s pretty-boy buddy turned arch-enemy had quite the arc during the Punisher series. He betrayed his friend, got his face shredded like mozzarella and then seduced his therapist to help create a new gang and launch a crime wave. I found this version of Jigsaw much more interesting than his comic counterpart.
27. He Who Remains/Kang the Conqueror (Loki, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania)
This – or these? – characters are by far the hardest to rank. FOR NOW, I’m including both the quirky and malevolent variants under one entry. That might change later on – that is, if the whole Jonathan Majors legal saga doesn’t blow up the whole thing anyway. See why these guys are so tough to rank? He Who Remains’ reveal as the mastermind behind the TVA in season one of Loki, and his machinations in season two, proves to be compelling stuff. Kang’s appearance in Ant-Man, though, is much less so. Though he showed lots of menace, he didn’t rise above Evil Comic Book Emperor tropes as effectively as his apple-eating doppelgänger. Of course, the story with these guys (and several more variants…) continues on. We’ll see where they ultimately end up.
26. Mary Walker (Iron Fist)
The two best things to come out of the Iron Fist series are the Daughters of the Dragon (Give us our Colleen and Misty series, you cowards!) and Mary Walker. Though not as over the top as her comic version, this interpretation of Typhoid Mary is just as unpredictable and sadistic, but you can’t help but feel for her fractured mental state. I wish the rest of Iron Fist had that depth.
25. Obadiah Stane (Iron Man)
The OG Marvel villain is still one of its most underrated. One of many evil father figures to come, Stane is the dark reflection of Tony Stark and while he doesn’t have nearly the panache as most of the other characters here, he’s vital – without his solid portrayal, I probably wouldn’t be writing 60+ MCU villain captions. Actually my carpal tunnel would be thankful.
24. Bushmaster (Luke Cage)
“STOKES. HER NAME IS MARIAH STOKES.” I’ve been repeating that ever since Luke Cage season two dropped. He’s a physical match for Luke, very charismatic and charming, and honestly, quite justified in his vendetta against the Stokes family.
23. Dr. Octopus (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Is Spider-Man 2 better than No Way Home? While the comic and film nerds debate until the end of time, old Doc Ock continues his reign as one of Spidey’s best foes. Even though his entry here is based solely on his MCU run, not the Sony film, his arrogance and megalomania make him easily one of the series’ best.
22. Ego (Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2)
Papa ain’t a rolling stone, he’s a whole evil planet. While some have taken issue with Guardians 2’s path of making Star Lord half-Celestial, you’ve gotta give props to Kurt Russell for his portrayal of the Living Planet, the worst deadbeat dad in the cosmos.
21. Ulysses Klaue (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Panther)
MY BAD Y’ALL. It was only while updating this list that I realized that I excluded my favorite mixtape-loving baddie from the original post. On the surface Klaue might seem like comic relief but he actually has a bigger role than you realize, like supplying vibranium to Ultron and opening the door for Killmonger’s conquest of Wakanda. Plus, he’s absolutely hilarious. He’s too much fun to hate.
20. Cottonmouth (Luke Cage)
One of the most memorable villains from Marvel’s Netflix run, the cold but complex Cottonmouth was a great foil for Luke Cage during the first season of his series. But … then he got killed. His relatively early departure is still shocking and, had he stuck around, he’d easily be a top 10 villain.
19. Gorr the God Butcher (Thor: Love and Thunder)
In a better movie, Gorr would be a top 10 villain easily but, sigh, Christian Bale was stuck in the nonsense that was Thor: Love and Thunder and suffered for it. Still, Gorr was one of the best things about that film. His cold, nihilistic attitude was chilling and the tragic backstory that drove him to villainy rivals the nuance of some of the bigger names on this list. But a villain is only as strong as his adversaries and poor Gorr deserved more.
18. Hela (Thor: Ragnarok)
When Hela made her debut, I assumed the goddess of death would be the MCU stand-in for the personification of Death, aka Thanos’ girlfriend that inspires his intergalactic genocide. We didn’t get that but I’m more than happy with the MCU’s direction. The second Cate Blanchett strolled on screen and crushed Thor’s hammer, you KNEW she was not to be trifled with. In fact, her arrival began an upward trend for Marvel villains, finally giving them flash and personality after being mostly afterthoughts.
17. The High Evolutionary (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
Sometimes comic fans get REALLY annoyed when the characters they’ve read in books for decades are reimagined for the big screen. See the High Evolutionary: In most incarnations I’ve read, he’s a morally gray scientist with a measured demeanor and very questionable ethics. But on film, Chukwudi Iwuji portrays the Evolutionary as an absolute lunatic, a raving madman with a god complex. And it WORKS. His torture of defenseless creatures and his disregard for life makes him very easy to hate. High Evolutionary may be the most sadistic villain we’ve seen yet, and I’m so glad he wasn’t killed off – we need to see this nutcase again.
16. Mysterio (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
The comic Mysterio is known as a charlatan, so it’s cool that the MCU version tinkered with that character trait a bit. From embittered ex-employee to wannabe-hero to murderous madman, Jake Gyllenhaal has a ball channeling all of Quentin Beck’s psychoses, making him a surprisingly captivating villain.
15. The Winter Solider (Captain America: The Winter Solider)
I excluded Winter Solider from the original ranking because Bucky’s more known as a protagonist these days but I can’t deny that he was an absolute force in his first evil outing. His tragic backstory made him compelling but his T-1000-like ferocity made him terrifying. Of course, these days he’s buddy-buddy with Sam Wilson while flirting with his sister on the low. Don’t trust that man, Sam!
14. Madame Gao (Daredevil, Iron Fist, The Defenders)
Madame Gao is the ONLY good thing to come out of MCU Netflix’s Hand storyline. She may come off like a kindly old grandmother, but she’s a master manipulator and puppet-master, tying together all of the major plot points in the Netflix universe before the big Defenders crossover. Her unassuming nature makes her all the more deadly and is arguably the most dangerous woman in the MCU Netflix universe.
13. Vulture (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
The Vulture is pretty low on my list of favorite Spider-Man villains, but Michael Keaton’s portrayal of the scariest dad ever makes him incredibly memorable. He’s just a regular blue-collar dude trying to get a piece out of this superpowered world. While this list is filled with self-serving businessmen, Adrian Toomes just wants better for his family – he’ll just go to any length to get it.
12. Helmut Zemo (Captain America: Civil War, Falcon & The Winter Soldier)
Zemo can lay claim to being one of the most successful villains of the MCU. His Machiavellian plan to cause a rift in the Avengers actually worked for awhile, though ill will would be set aside to face a greater threat. Falcon & Winter Solider allowed us to see the more personable side of Zemo (along with his trademark purple mask), setting him up to be a greater threat down the line.
11. Agatha Harkness (WandaVision)
Not only did Auntie Agatha have THE dopest theme song of all time, her big reveal as the WandaVision puppet master was one of the biggest social media happenings of the year. Credit that to Kathryn Hahn’s spellbinding portrayal of the conflicted Harkness, whose personality was so infectious that you kinda forgot that she was trying to do very evil things.
10. Wenwu (Shang Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings)
Sorry, Killian, THIS is the one true Mandarin. The Shangi-Chi film was one of the greatest surprises of 2021, and a lot of that credit goes to Wenwu. Like many of the top villains on this list, he’s not necessarily evil, but his moral ambiguity leads him down some dark roads, including being corrupted into almost destroying the world. At the end of the day, he’s just a lonely husband who is willing TO KILL EVERYONE ON THE PLANET to reunite with his wife. This is why R&B songs don’t hit the same in 2021 – we need this type of devotion back in our music.
9. Green Goblin (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin was an already iconic foe in the Sony Spider-Man franchise but MAN he hit another level on No Way Home. Going deeper into the story of a man twisted by madness, Norman does the unthinkable, altering Spider-Man’s life forever and finally giving the MCU the tragic coming of age tale that has defined the character. Also I thought it was really cool how his tattered hoodie emulated his comic costume. Marvel knows how to please us nerds.
8. Black Mariah (Luke Cage)
From shady politician tied to a criminal family to murderous crime lord, the ascent of Mariah Dillard-Stokes to queenpen of crime in Luke Cage is still one of the best stories the MCU has told. I only wish she stuck around long enough for the Disney+ era, she’d make a fantastic street-level adversary.
7. Namor (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
For almost a half a decade I’ve heard Killmonger stans claim that he wasn’t REALLY a villain, he was a hero and justified in everything he did! I agree that his backstory made him a sympathetic antagonist, but don’t get it twisted, he was absolutely an egomaniacal villain out for his own ends. I think you make a much stronger case for Namor as an anti-hero. After all, he didn’t initiate conflict with the surface world and everything he did was in defense of his country. But … he DID plan to kidnap and kill a teenager, murdered the beloved queen of Wakanda and still plans to conquer the surface world, so he’s not exactly Ned Flanders. Like the best villains on this list, Namor isn’t a one-dimensional criminal, he’s a tortured soul willing to stoop to any depths (pun intended) to achieve his goals. That’s what makes him so compelling – and a huge step up from his annoying comic counterpart.
6. Wanda Maximoff (WandaVision, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, just to name a few)
No one has gone through more drama than poor Wanda Maximoff. She is the personification of “When A Woman’s Fed Up.” I left Wanda off the original list per the “deluded protagonist” rule mentioned earlier, but by the time we got to the Multiverse of Madness, she was a villain through and through. And can you blame her? Her life has been nothing but loss – her parents, her brother, her robo-bae, her imaginary kids and fake town, sheesh. By the time we caught up with her in the latest Dr. Strange film, she was willing to take down the entire multiverse just to have the normalcy of family. You can’t help but pity her – while also being utterly terrified of her.
5. Loki (Thor, Loki, The Avengers, a bunch of stuff)
What’s that saying about dying a hero or living long enough to be a villain? The opposite seems to be the case for Loki, the Avengers’ primary antagonist turned timeline-correcting hero. Of course, that journey played out over years of films, with Loki’s treacherous nature being the highlight of the early MCU phases. And even though he’s seen primarily as a good dude these days, he’s always just one self-serving action away from walking on the dark side again.
4. Erik Killmonger (Black Panther)
It’s the 2pac of the MCU! Yeah, some of Black Twitter’s love of this guy is a bit overblown but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Killmonger is an incredible antagonist, a morally corrupt man who feels 100% justified in everything he does. His selfishness winds up being his undoing, but watching his tragic story unfold is what makes him such a compelling and beloved villain.
3. Kilgrave (Jessica Jones)
Kilgrave is so terrifying because his powers feel so real. He’s not a intergalactic monarch or a psychopath throwing pumpkin grenades in a Halloween costume. He’s just a sleazy guy who can persuade you to do whatever he wants. The trauma he makes Jessica Jones endure is unspeakable, which is why her ultimate revenge is so satisfying.
2. The Kingpin (Daredevil, Hawkeye)
Vincent D’Onofrio’s cold, calculating portrayal of Wilson Fisk won’t ever be matched. EVER. He’s the perfect antagonist for the guilt-riddled Daredevil, an adversary who knows which buttons to push while keeping his public image pristine. I’m so glad his story is (presumably…) continuing in the MCU. Just don’t say anything bad about Vanessa if you value your life.
1. Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame)
No shock at who takes the top spot. Thanos’ debut was built for YEARS, before finally debuting in Infinity War by BEATING THE BREAKS OFF HULK. Despite nearly every hero in the galaxy going against him, the guy actually WINS – the first time, anyway. And when you think about it, Thanos’ concerns about overpopulation make a lot of sense, I just wish we could decide who gets blipped and who stays. I’ve got a list. Anyway, Thanos at No. 1 is … inevitable.
WHEW. That’s it. Argue about where you faves should be placed below.
