Marvel: 17 MCU villains ranked from worst to best

8. The Vulture (Adrian Toomes) (Spider-Man: Homecoming)

Meet the unexpectedly relatable bad guy who shook up the MCU’s usual villain playbook – Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes, AKA The Vulture, from Spider-Man: Homecoming. Sure, Toomes might seem like just another disgruntled blue-collar worker, spinning his own rogue narrative after being snubbed by Tony Stark, but oh, the web we weave when we first practice deceiving!

Marvel pulls a spectacular plot twist in the third act that’s as subtle as a Spider-Sense tingle, revealing that Toomes is none other than the father of Liz, Peter Parker’s high school crush. This twist doesn’t just up the movie’s stakes higher than the Stark Tower, but it also cleverly ties into the teen-angst theme of high school life. It’s scary enough meeting a date’s parents, but discovering your potential father-in-law is your nemesis?

Toomes confronts Parker in a heart-stopping car scene that puts all awkward ‘birds and bees’ chats to shame. This is the magic of casting a powerhouse like Michael Keaton as your villain – a villain who doesn’t just fly circles around the good guys, but around the audience’s expectations as well.

It remains to be seen whether we might ever see Keaton back in the Spider-Man franchise, but we’d absolutely welcome a return for his Vulture.