In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, both fans and critics tend to view the project with rose-tinted lenses, but there is one element of the franchise that everyone critiques. When the MCU is compared to contemporary projects by DC Entertainment, audiences point out how lacking Marvel villains can be. Though they may be popular, baddies like Loki and Ultron have been raked over the coals for weak characterization, and fans ask why the villains aren’t made a bigger priority in the MCU.

However, it doesn’t look like the universe ever had intentions to make its films all about baddies. Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, recently assured fans that was the case.

To celebrate Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, media outlets like io9 and ComicBook.com were sent on a set visit while the film was shooting. It was there that Feige took a moment to speak about the MCU’s pitfalls, and the producer said critics are right.

“It always starts with what serves the story the most and what serves the hero the most,” Feige explained. “A big criticism of ours is that we focus on the heroes more than the villains. I think that’s probably true.

Feige went through a slew of MCU baddies, pointing out that each villain was used to serve a Marvel hero rather than their own needs.

“Ronan’s great; Lee Pace did an awesome job, absolutely serves it, but certainly was there to go up against our heroes and to give our heroes a reason for coming together. Loki, a great character, serves in a lot of ways [his brother] Thor. Zemo served that conflict between Cap and Iron Man [in Civil War]. Taserface and Ayesha are less grandiose in their ambitions than Ronan was, for instance. Ayesha just wants to kill them for slighting her, and Taserface wants to lead the Ravagers and thinks that Yondu got soft.”

Taking a moment, Feige then drew back the conversation’s scope all the way back to 2008. The president compared the MCU’s start with Iron Man to DC’s Dark Knight hit, and Feige acknowledge there is a major difference between the two projects.

“In 2008, two superhero movies that came out. One focused on the villain, one focused on the hero, and we at Marvel looked at them, like ‘Yeah, we focus on the heroes. We don’t mind that. We like that,’” he said. “Please don’t start a flame war. Nobody wants that. We don’t do that. But, again, it really always is what serves the story.”

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So, what do you think? Are you a fan of Marvel’s decision to focus on its roster of heroes? Or do you wish the studio would make its villain a bigger priority?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 22017

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