Landing one superhero role is impressive. In the modern age of comic book media, studios like Marvel Studios and DC Studios cast wide nets to find the perfect people to portray their characters. Even notable names like John Krasinski and Emily Blunt can lose out on roles. That’s why it’s shocking when an actor gets the chance to portray two superheroes. There are more minor examples, such as Zachary Levi playing Fandral in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Shazam in the DC Extended Universe, as well as major ones like Chris Evans playing Captain America and Human Torch. However, it’s hard to showcase a performer’s range when all they do is play heroes.
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Robert Downey Jr. is going to show off his villainous chops when he returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man. But he’s far from the first actor to cross the aisle and put their evil face on. Comic book movie history has its fair share of people who have played both a hero and a villain.
1) Nicholas Hoult
The most recent example of an actor putting their super suit away in favor of something more sinister is Nicholas Hoult. Making his DCU debut as Lex Luthor in Superman, Hoult delivers an outstanding performance that shows other villains that they’re not hating enough. Luthor pushes Superman to the edge by trying to ruin his life, which would disappoint Hoult’s other comic book character.
Fox’s X-Men movies gave Hoult the chance to play Hank McCoy, the smartest mutant on the planet, who was covered in blue fur. He teamed up with Charles Xavier in most of the movies, but he got to embrace his dark side in X-Men: Dark Phoenix after Mystique’s death.
2) Michael Keaton
The debate around who the best live-action Batman is still rages to this day. However, it’s hard to argue with anyone who pushes the Michael Keaton agenda. Keaton’s Dark Knight took the character to new heights on the big screen, and the actor’s performance was so good that he was asked to come back for 2023’s The Flash.
Years after putting away the cape and cowl, Keaton grabbed a role in the MCU as Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture. He had a bone to pick with Iron Man, so Tony Stark’s young friend Peter Parker stepped in. Vulture seemed to come around by the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, but he changed his tune about the Wall-Crawler during his strange appearance in Morbius.
3) Michael B. Jordan
The Fantastic Four are about to return to the big screen after a decade-long hiatus caused by Fan4stic. The Josh Trank movie was poorly put together and didn’t give its actors much to work with. However, Michael B. Jordan’s Human Torch still stood out and didn’t ruin his chances of landing another comic book role.
A few years after Fan4stic, Jordan made his MCU debut in Black Panther as Killmonger. T’Challa’s cousin, who had a real vendetta against Wakanda, took the throne from Black Panther and attempted to give weapons to people all over the world. Killmonger died at the end of Black Panther, but he returned in its sequel and gave Shuri some helpful advice.
4) Christian Bale
After Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies took the franchise in a campy direction, Christopher Nolan tried to ground it in reality with Batman Begins. The celebrated filmmaker recruited Christian Bale to be his Dark Knight, and the two collaborated on three successful movies.
The MCU came knocking on Bale’s door ahead of Thor: Love and Thunder and asked him to play Gorr the God Butcher. The villain gave the God of Thunder fits during his fourth solo movie, but the aggressive humor was too much for even Gorr’s Necrosword to cut through.
5) Michelle Pfeiffer
Jack Nicholson brought the Clown Prince of Crime to life in Tim Burton’s first Batman movie. To follow that up, the director brought in Michelle Pfeiffer to play Catwoman in Batman Returns. Pfeiffer stole the show but only made one appearance as the villain.
Pfeiffer stayed away from comic book roles for a while until she was offered a part in Ant-Man and the Wasp. The movie saw Hank Pym search for his missing wife, Jane van Dyne, played by Pfeiffer. Janet returned in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and revealed her connection to Kang.
Which actor on this list do you think transitioned from hero to villain the best? Who else has had the honor of playing a good guy and a bad guy in superhero movies? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image courtesy of Netflix
