Best 10 Villains in MCU Movies
Superheros are nothing without supervillains. In fact, a villain can often make or break a certain movie. It’s why The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero movies ever made while the likes of Thor: The Dark World fall flat. The Marvel comics have some legendary villains, so which are the best they brought to the MCU?
10. Namor (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Marvel had huge shoes to fill in Black Panther 2 with the loss of Chadwick Boseman and the following up of one of the all-time great superhero movies in Black Panther. Part of what made the first movie so great was a fantastic villain who we’ll see later on this list, so if they had any hope in replicating that success they needed another great one for Wakanda Forever.
While Namor isn’t on Killmonger’s level, he serves as a complicated villain with a history of being hurt and hurting others. His extended interactions with Shuri and the dynamic between them show the complexity of the decisions they have to make as leaders of powerful nations and the moral gray area they sometimes operate in. Ultimately his personality and powers contrast Shuri and Wakanda well.
9. The Vulture (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
While he’s a decent villain in his own right, The Vulture makes this list solely for the plot twist reveal of his identity of being Liz’s dad. The scene where he confronts Peter in the car after Liz gets out is chilling, and a great spin on the classic hero-meets-villain-before-trying-to-kill-each-other movie cliché. Ultimately The Vulture serves as a great spark plug for the beginning of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man stories, and the fact that he doesn’t give away Peter’s identify at the end makes him all the more complex.
8. Zemo (Captain America: Civil War)
Zemo may have some of the smallest amount of screen time of any MCU villain, but his impact is immense. In a way, Zemo single-handedly defeats all of the Avengers without throwing a single punch. He unleashes the unstoppable Winter Soldier and sows seeds of doubt and discontent behind the scenes in the political and superhero worlds. All of this results in earth's mightiest heroes beating each other to a pulp in an airport hangar while he slips away yet again.
Zemo’s biggest accomplishment though is revealing that it was Bucky who killed Tony’s parents. This leads to Tony trying to kill Bucky which somewhat makes sense, and then Steve inexplicably trying to kill Tony in defense(?) of Bucky which does not make sense. It feels like the whole last fight is really an excuse for the Avengers to break up, but either way, Zemo is at the center of it. You don’t realize how big an impact that had until Thanos comes and destroys them two years later, which may not have been the case if Tony and Steve hadn’t split the team.
7. The Winter Soldier (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
Hard to call him a true villain since he was brainwashed by Hydra for decades, but Bucky causes enough mayhem for Steve Rogers and the Avengers that he deserves to be on this list. His backstory and history with Steve already makes him one of the more intriguing villains, and the fight scene between the two on the bridge is one of the best in the MCU. The Winter Soldier also gets some of the coolest villain shots in the MCU, from sidestepping Nick Fury’s car to the iconic face reveal.
Yet overall his actual character and personality is somewhat one-dimensional. He only makes it so high on this list because of his history with Steve and the fact he wipes the floor with every Avenger in Civil War.
6. The Scarlet Witch (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
Notice how this heading doesn’t say “Wanda Maximoff” but “The Scarlet Witch”. I’m firmly in the camp that believes they did Wanda’s character so dirty after building up her complexity in WandaVision, only for it to be ruined a few months later in Multiverse of Madness. I get that the Darkhold has a larger effect on more powerful beings, and the Scarlet Witch is the most powerful, but Wanda Maximoff as a character doesn’t seem like the type to be so easily manipulated, even if the Scarlet Witch is.
That said, The Scarlet Witch makes for an objectively good villain, even if they ruined Wanda’s character in the process. The Scarlet Witch is virtually unstoppable. I’ll never forget when she tells that poor wizard to “run”, or the collective gasp in the audience when she seals Black Bolt’s mouth. The Scarlet Witch is genuinely terrifying. But her villainy wasn’t earned through any character development, and Wanda Maximoff’s story deserved better.
5. Trevor/”The Mandarin” (Iron Man 3)
The Mandarin was a genuinely scary villain at first, spreading mass panic through his videos which broadcast all over the nation. He seemed poised to be a formidable foe to Tony Stark who sees his billion dollar house demolished by The Mandarin. However, that all changes when Tony actually meets the Mandarin and it turns out he’s just an actor named Trevor who is as much a coward as he is a showman. Suddenly The Mandarin goes from terrifying villain to crazy joke. It becomes clear that Tony is actually facing Aldrich Killian, but from the moment Trevor is revealed, The Mandarin steals the show as the best and most entertaining villain not only in the movie but in most of the MCU.
4. Gorr (Thor: Love and Thunder)
Thor: Love and Thunder wasn’t the best MCU movie, but Gorr the God Butcher certainly elevated it. Christian Bale both blends into the role as well as stands out as the eerie and powerful Gorr who has a vengeful streak against gods. His character is given more backstory than most villains and rightfully so as he has been through some tragedies which make the audience understand his anger toward the gods.
Gorr also has just the right amount of power for a Thor movie to be a formidable foe without being overbearing. The black and white scene where Gorr breaks apart Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie is one of the most memorable for a villain in terms of cinematography in the MCU. It’s a shame that Love and Thunder ultimately falls somewhat flat, but Gorr is certainly the highlight of the entire movie.
3. Killmonger (Black Panther)
As we alluded to earlier, Black Panther had to get everything right for it to be one of the most successful superhero movies of all time and the villain is part of that. Killmonger is a stylish and charismatic antagonist for the more reserved T’Challa, and pushes the king and his country to the brink. Killmonger’s backstory is filled with familial and internal strife which viewers can understand. You almost could get behind what Killmonger’s motives were because of how much he had lost to Wakanda, if not for the fact he had turned into a weapon of mass destruction to achieve his means.
Some of the best villains reflect the protagonist as opposite sides of the same coin. If their roles had been flipped, T’Challa could have easily been in Killmonger's place. Their abilities mirror each other, while their history and emotions are the opposite. Where T’Challa is cautious and peaceful, Killmonger is rash and forceful. But in some ways, Wakanda needed to see both sides.
It seems Shuri saw this since Killmonger shows up in her vision of the afterlife and asks her “Are you going to be noble like your brother? Or take care of business, like me?” It’s a moment that shocks the audience as much as Shuri, and highlights the importance of Killmonger not only as a villain, but as an influence on Wakanda going forward.
2. Loki (The Avengers)
Before he had one of the best character arcs in all the MCU, Loki was the reigning best villain in the franchise for a solid 10 years before number one on this list showed up. Perhaps I’m biased since I think The Avengers is the best marvel movie to date, but Loki is without a doubt one of the most entertaining villains in the MCU.
As Megamind said, “Presentation” is such a big part of being a good superhero villain, and boy does Loki have that. From his mind control of Clint Barton at the very beginning, to the graphic stealing of someone’s eye in Germany, to his deceptive trapping of his brother in his own cell, Loki show’s he has a plan and show for everything. Tony even calls him a “full-tilt diva” which isn’t wrong, though is ironic.
Loki was the perfect villain for the first big Avengers ensemble movie. He was already known and established, and had a personal connection to one of the original six which just added more layers to his complexity. Loki truly is burdened with glorious purpose, and ultimately becomes one of the most important characters in the MCU.
1. Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War + Endgame)
It seems almost rare that the ultimate villain is the best one in an epic franchise like the MCU. Umbridge and Bellatrix were better than Voldemort. Sauron was better than Morgoth. Darth Vader was better than Emperor Palpatine. For a while it seemed like Loki was poised to continue the trend, being the best villain and also a servant of Thanos’ for a time. Then Thanos took center stage as the main character in Infinity War and proved Marvel had saved the best for last.
To set up such an anticipated villain after so much time, Marvel had to give Thanos a complete story. They did so in Infinity War, with the mad Titan getting the most screen time out of any character, including the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. It’s a genius move really, as it slowly builds up audience familiarity and hatred of Thanos as he tears through planets the likes of Asgard. He feels more and more like an unstoppable force by the time he finally meets the Avengers, and aside from that one instance where Peter Quill dooms the universe to die by letting his emotions take over, Thanos has the upper hand in almost every fight against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
The two final desperate attempts to stop the Titan, Wanda killing Vision to destroy the Mind Stone only for it to be brought back immediately by Thanos, and Thor digging his axe into the Titan’s chest rather than his head, are the ultimate one-two punch to the audience. When everything seemed bleakest, we all thought the Avengers were going to pull off one final miracle. They had to, right? The Avengers couldn’t lose. But the collective gasp we all made when Thanos said “You should’ve gone for the head” and snaps his fingers will always be an iconic moment in pop culture.
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