Mark Millar Speaks Out Against CGI Villains In Marvel And DC Movies

CGI is relatively commonplace in superhero movies, but one popular creator believes it's time to stop using it for the villains.

That would be creator Mark Millar, who shared his thoughts on the state of villains in superhero movies. With several superhero films to pick from this year alone, including Wonder Woman, Logan, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Justice League, and more, it made the comparison easy, but Millar also used classic superhero films for reference.

"I feel we're done with CGI villains," Millar said. "Think about the ones we remember: Loki, Hela, Hackman's Luthor, Ledger and Nicholson's Joker. We instinctively switch off in a third act now because the hero is fighting a digital drawing."

He included photos of several villains with his statement, including Justice League's Steppenwolf, Batman v Superman's Doomsday, Avengers: Age of Ultron's Ultron, and Avengers: Infinity War's Thanos. Now, to be fair, no one can really judge Thanos yet, as the film isn't due out until late next year, so for our discussion, we'll leave that one out.

As for the others though, he does have a point that those villains did not work. The thing is it doesn't really come down to the fact that they are CGI. In Steppenwolf's case, it was because he wasn't properly developed as a character, giving no real stakes in his living or dying. Doomsday was fine as an unstoppable force, but again, the stakes had not been set properly thanks to shoving so many storylines into one film.

As for Ultron, the CGI looked amazing and the voice was spot on, but the characterization was off. Ultron is supposed to be a cold and efficient A.I., not someone who makes quips.

There are other reasons those villains didn't work, as opposed to it just being about their origins in CGI. It's also worth mentioning that just because someone is a human villain doesn't mean they are guaranteed to go over well either.

Still, it is an interesting discussion, and there are many who would probably agree with his assessment. Millar will have a chance to create his own universe of sorts thanks to Netflix buying his Millarworld properties, and if these comments are anything to go by don't expect a CGI villain to turn up there anytime soon.