One big complaint when it comes to Marvel is that sometimes their villains aren’t up to par with the heroes. But that’s only partially true. Maybe they don’t have the household marquee name value of, say, the Joker or Catwoman, but when you break it down, there’s definitely a few Marvel baddies out there who can give the heroes a run for their money.
Now with Black Panther hitting theaters, the early buzz is that Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger is one of the more formidable bad guys to come along in some time, so we thought this might be a fun time to take a look back and count down the 10 Best MCU Villains!
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Who’s your favorite MCU heel? Check out the video at the top of the article to see if he or she lands on the list, or scroll down to read about who nabbed which spot.
10. Thanos
Starting off the list at No. 10 is Thanos! We know, No. 10? Calm down though, let us explain! By the time Avengers: Infinity War is here, he may very well nab the top spot, but so far, we’ve only seen the Mad Titan in post credits scenes and cameos. While he’s definitely going to do some big time damage in the future, he hasn’t done much yet and lands on the list by way of reputation alone.
9. Obadiah Stane
In the ninth spot is Obadiah Stane from Iron Man. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Iron Monger so it’s easy to forget just how good of a performance Jeff Bridges turned out as Tony’s megalomaniacal business partner. Go back and rewatch the scene where he takes Tony’s arc reactor out of his chest if you don’t understand why he’s in the top ten. Out of the various warped business men type villains, Marvel knocked it out of the park the first go round with Stane.
8. Ultron
No. 8 is Ultron. While the sequel to The Avengers underwhelmed some fans, there’s no arguing that James Spader’s sardonic voice gave Ultron a fittingly dark presence. The mark of a truly good villain is also having a believable perspective that makes them the hero, and Ultron believes that what he’s doing is ultimately what’s best for mankind. Plus, he takes “There are no strings on me” and makes it super creepy.
7. Red Skull
Leave it to Hugo Weaving to craft an on screen character who appears scarier than Hitler. The Red Skull arguably set this entire “Infinity Stones” storyline in motion. While it looks like he died at the end of Captain America:The First Avenger, fans are still hoping we haven’t seen the last of Cap’s arch nemesis.
6. Hela
No. 6 is Hela. The moment Cate Blanchett showed up in ThorRagnarokas the Goddess of Death and destroyed Mjolnir with one hand, she earned a spot on this list. Many fans are speculating that she will be the same death that Thanos is obsessed over, but only time will tell.
5. Kingpin
In the fifth spot we’ve got Kingpin. Thanks to Vincent D’Onofrio in Netflix’s Daredevil, fans got a glimpse of a much deeper, more violent character in Wilson Fisk. Fingers crossed he becomes the first character to extend beyond Netflix and pops up in a Spider-Man Homecoming sequel.
4. Ego
Another excellent marker for a good villain is the fact that you truly don’t want to hate them. Imagine for a second that you find out your dad is Kurt Russell. Then, shortly afterwards, you find out he’s also an evil God-Planet who killed your mom. That’s a tough spot to find yourself in. Poor Starlord.
3. Vulture
Who ‘da thunk Vulture could have landed so high on here? But that’s what happens when you cast a menacing Michael Keaton in the role. His Vulture is not like other big scale baddies. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, he’s relatively small time, and exactly as his name suggests: scavenging and stealing tech from bigger, more formidable adversaries. Which, it turns out, doesn’t make him any less intimidating. He’s a smart villain with something to lose. The moment he realizes that Peter is Spider-Man is one of the more tense moments in the MCU.
2. Loki
In the second spot is Loki. Out of all the villains, the biggest mainstay of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far has been the God of Mischief. He’s caused quite a bit of trouble over the years, but he’s also lent a helping hand a time or two as well. The fact that he sometimes helps out keeps him from landing the top spot.
1. Kilgrave
Which means the No. 1 villain of the MCU is Kilgrave. An unlikely choice, for sure, but think about it: David Tennant’s sadistic turn on Jessica Jones as the Purple Man stole the show and gave a fans a truly terrifying villain. The twisted things he would make people do to themselves could make your skin crawl, yet David Tennant was magnetic in the role. We still haven’t yet seen a bad guy this villainous in the films.
