Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 8 best villains
By Mark Lynch
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR..Thanos (Josh Brolin)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Before Thanos arrives in Avengers: Infinity War, let’s look at the greatest villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Heroes may bring people to the movies and interested in a show, but it’s the antagonists that keep the hero interesting and the fans watching. The Dark Knight wouldn’t be the classic it is without Heath Ledger’s legendary performance. This goes for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well.
The MCU has raked in billions of dollars over the last ten years and the money train doesn’t seem to be stopping. Unfortunately, Marvel hasn’t had a great track record with villains. They’re lucky their heroes are great enough to keep the franchise going. Iron Monger and Whiplash in Iron Man movies, Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and Malekith in Thor: Dark World were very forgettable villains. While there have been some duds, the MCU has produced some amazing antagonists. Some of them have been so good that it makes the audience question whether or not they’re even wrong.
8. Cottonmouth
Luke Cage on Netflix suffered from having a very boring mid-season slump. It’s easy to spot exactly why this happened. The slump started right after Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes died. Cottonmouth was the perfect antagonist for Luke Cage and he died way too soon. Luke Cage had a villain he couldn’t beat with his physical strength. Sure, Cottonmouth had his goons Luke could pound on. But tactics like this don’t work on an intelligent villain without superpowers. If Luke was to hit him, Cottonmouth would have easily spun this and made Luke Cage the bad guy. Cottonmouth forced Luke Cage to react with more than just his power.
No hero is great without a villain that make them take their abilities to another level. Cottonmouth was that for Luke Cage. When Cottonmouth was making Luke look bad at Pop’s funeral, Luke had to play him at his own game. He had to talk and gain the support of the people in attendance. If Cottonmouth lasted the entire series he would have been ranked higher on this list. Marvel could use more villains like him.