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.
7. Ronan the Accuser
Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters and took the world by storm. The goofy characters were well received and they had a bunch of memorable moments. The Guardians of the Galaxy characters were so good that you might not have realized how great of a villain Ronan was. From the first screen, Ronan is shown to be a merciless character. Ronan openly admits what he is being called and embraces being referred to as a terrorist and a zealot. He feels like the Kree are supposed to cleanse the universe and he is their judge. Then, after the speech, he kills one of the members of the Nova Core by crushing their head with his hammer.
It’s rare that you get a villain this angry and physical in a Disney Marvel Comics movie. Ronan was not scared of anyone and that included Thanos. He may have tread carefully, but he didn’t back down. Ronan made good on his word and tried to destroy Xandar once he gained the strength of power stone (usually red in the comic books). If not for his arrogance Ronan would have destroyed Xandar and made his way to fight Thanos.
Ronan may not have been funny or clever, but he was a great villain. He was direct and hands on. When he sent his minions to fight, he was right there behind him. When he landed in Knowhere, he took out Drax without breaking a sweat. Ronan knows that sometimes you have to get your hands dirty.
6. Vulture
Spider-Man: Homecoming didn’t get a lot of praise. Sure, it was number one opening weekend, but it had a 70 percent drop week two. That had nothing to do with the Adrian Toomes a.k.a. The Vulture. Toomes was a villain that made the audience sympathetic for his cause. He wasn’t a megalomaniac obsessed with taking someone down. Toomes’ only reason for doing any of this was to provide for his family. When a man is desperate, sometimes you have to do things that may not be in your character.
Adrian Toomes was given the contract to clean up New York after the events of Marvel’s Avengers. Toomes put up his own money for trucks and a crew. This was supposed to be his moment. He was proud of the work him and his crew were doing and he had snatched it right from under him by Damage Control. A father and a husband who could have lost it all chose to steal rather than have his family become penniless. Say what you will about him, but it was a noble cause.
Now, Toomes was no angel. He was going to sell the equipment he stole to the highest bidder. He planned a heist to steal tech right from Tony Stark’s team. If not for Spider-Man intervening, Toomes would have gotten away and who knows who would have gotten that technology.
5. Hela
Some villains try to infiltrate groups and destroy them from the inside. Others with will attempt to find a weakness and crush them. Hela came onto the scene and immediately made herself noticed. You had two options, kneel before her or die. Almost everyone chose to fight and Hela was happy to obliterate them all. She killed hundreds of people without breaking a sweat. She even destroyed Thor’s hammer with little effort. Tossing the blades while she flipped made her action sequences look amazing. And when she needs to go hand to hand, she could do that as well.
Hela had spent years imprisoned by her father Odin and she wanted to destroy everything that he builds for keeper her locked away. And she accomplished it. Despite the fact that Thor unleashed Surtur to help get the job done doesn’t take away from the fact that Hela won. Hundreds if not thousands of Asgardians were killed, Asgard had been destroyed, and Thor was without his hammer and his eye. In the comic books, Hela embraced Thanos with a kiss. Maybe this will come into play in Avengers: Infinity War.
4. Kilgrave
Kilgrave’s power to control people has caused him to do some horrendous things. On a lesser level, he takes whatever he wants. If for some reason someone is rude to him he makes them hurt themselves. Kilgrave one made a guy throw scorching hot coffee in his own face for questioning him. Now, on a much grander level, he’s abused people, made families live in closets while he lived in their houses, and he’s made people kill. Kilgrave’s powers used to only work in close proximity. Once his powers got stronger, he could control more people at once, from further away, and for longer periods of time.
Kilgrave once enslaved Jessica Jones for months and made her do his bidding. Once Jessica thought she was free of Kilgrave for good, he made Jessica send him pictures of her smiling every day by a certain time. If he didn’t, he’d kill someone. Even though he wasn’t using his powers to control her, Kilgrave still had his clutches in her. In season two of Jessica Jones Killgrave was still in her head and making her do things she didn’t want to. Kilgrave is one the most depraved villains in the MCU and it wouldn’t be shocking if he faked his death.
3. Loki
It was difficult not putting Loki higher on this list. He has been a thorn in the side of every Asgardian for centuries. In the first Thor movie, Loki set up Thor, The Warriors Three (Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun), and Lady Sif to be killed by Frost Giants. Luckily, Odin stepped in and saved them. No matter what is going on, Loki is up to something. He was also directly responsible for the Chitauri invading New York. After being brought back to Asgard in Thor: Dark World he was imprisoned and still managed to cause so much chaos that Asgard almost destroyed.
Loki only looks out for Loki and this is the only thing that keeps him from being number one. Unlike everyone else on this list, Loki doesn’t really believe in anything other than chaos and mischief. There is no greater meaning towards anything he does. But, and here is the important part, Loki may be one of the most influential characters in the MCU. Loki is funny, Tom Hiddleston is a great actor, and the role of Loki changed nerd culture. People of both sexes would cos-play as Loki. His influence in the movies also changed how he portrayed in Marvel Comics as well.
2. Erik Killmonger
The only difference between Erik Killmonger and Loki is what happened after their fathers were killed. Loki was taken and raised as a god, but was never really treated fairly. Erik was abandoned by his people after they killed his father. Left alone as a child with a chip on his shoulder, Killmonger became one of the most dangerous men on the planet and this is without powers. Killmonger graduated from M.I.T., joined the military, and learned how to fight and take down governments. He used all of these skills to take the throne away from T’Challa in ritual combat.
Erik Killmonger may be new to the MCU, but he has stamped himself as one of the best villains we’ve seen in a Marvel Comics movie long time. He represented what a lot of people think. #KillmongerWasRight is still trending on Twitter.
What Killmonger did was come from absolutely nothing and became a king (albeit a short time). Killmonger’s methods may have been extreme to some, but what he was trying to do was admirable. Trying to make the world an even playing field is a noble cause. When he said,
"“Nah, just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from the ships. Because they knew death was better than bondage.”"
It was a moment on the level of Joker’s, “Why so serious.” A line that resonated with people who may know what it’s like to have to choose between standing up for yourself and staying quiet.
1. Wilson Fisk
Nobody represents what it means to be a new age villain the way Wilson Fisk does. Being abused as a kid made him tougher as an adult. Seeing his father abuse his mother made him respect women. But seeing all of this injustice in the city he love made him want to make Hell’s Kitchen and New York better. Fisk’s passion is that of a superhero. And if we’re being honest, would we be calling him a villain if the ends justified the means?
What if all of Fisk’s extreme actions made New York a better place? We’d all ignore that he slammed a guy’s head into a door until it was paste. Sure, maybe we don’t forgive him for killing Ben Urich (an amazing scene), but his heart is in the right place.
Wilson Fisk isn’t a nice person and he knows it. In fact, he doesn’t try and hide it either. He means what he says and follows through with everything he says he would do.
Next: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Ranking the 20 greatest superheroes
Vincent D’Onofrio’s character also isn’t scared to get his hands dirty. A lot of villains will delegate. Fisk wants to remind his workers that if expects them to kill, they better believe he will do the same. There isn’t a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe like Wilson Fisk and we are just seeing the beginning of what is going to be a classic antagonist.