TheMarvel Cinematic Universeand other Marvel properties sometimes over-emphasize their villains, making the antagonists of certain films stand out better than the heroes. For a long time, it’s been acknowledged thatthe MCU has a villain problem, often struggling to craft memorable antagonists compared to their charismatic hero leads. But rarely, films with the red Marvel banner sometimes allow their villains to leave a far greater impression, easily eclipsing the good guys in terms of popularity and interest.
It can be debated whether a villain outshining a hero in a given film is a good or bad thing.Occasionally, it’s clear that some of thebest MCU villainsare intended to be the star of the show on purpose. But in the majority of instances, this isn’t the intent, and a given film might unintentionally create a bad guy more popular than the lead. This can be a good problem to have, but is sometimes indicative of a hero that doesn’t have a clear interesting arc.
10Avengers: Infinity War
Thanos
The one case in which the villain’s advantage in intrigue over the heroes is certainly intentional in Marvel isAvengers: Infinity War.Thanos is clearly written as the star of the show here, with the film going to great lengths to follow the alien tyrant’s perspective. It says a lot thatAvengers: Infinity Waris willing to even close on Thanos, alive and well, looking out with satisfaction at the universe after having accomplished his insidious goal.
For all intents and purposes,Avengers: Infinity Waris Thanos' movie.
That’s not even to say that the heroes aren’t undergoing interesting arcs inAvengers: Infinity War, as the fallout ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Captain America: Civil War,andThor: Ragnarokare all intriguing enough on their own. But allowing Thanos to have the spotlight was a smart move on the MCU’s part, giving audiences time to get into the giant purple head of the ominous villain that had been lurking in the shadows for three ofthe MCU’s phases. For all intents and purposes,Avengers: Infinity Waris Thanos' movie.
9Thor: Love And Thunder
Gorr the God-Butcher
Moving on to the vast majority of unintentional eclipses of popularity from villain to hero in Marvel films, Gorr the God-Butcher was a bright spot in a particularly egregious low point for the MCU. Despite the success ofThor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi couldn’t re-capture the joy of Thor in the fourth installment of the series, becoming overbearing with awkward humor and poor character development. Thor doesn’t have a clear arc in the film, falling back in love with Jane only for her to die and suddenly adopting the daughter of his bitter enemy.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, could Gorr have found a loophole?
When Gorr the God Butcher successfully journeyed to Eternity to grant his wish in Thor: Love and Thunder, he realized that killing all gods wouldn’t bring Love back. Knowing that Thor would be able to look after his daughter Love, he resurrected her, only to die of the Necrosword’s corrupting influence. However, couldn’t he have made a wish that would allow both his daughter and himself to live in peace? With the correct phrasing, he could have overcome the Necrosword’s influence. For example, he could have wished to live peacefully with his daughter, Love. This would have ensured that they were alive and happy together.
Meanwhile, Christian Bale’s Gorr the God-Butcher is easily the highlight of the film. The bitterness in his (arguably justified) hatred for the gods is deliciously palpable as he gleefully kidnaps Asgardian children, turning into a sort of tragic boogeyman thanks to the corruption of the All-Black Necrosword. If anything,Thor: Love and Thundercould stand to lean into his character harder, giving him more screentime as the most interesting character in the film by far.
8Venom: The Last Dance
Knull
A fellow amazing villain that didn’t get enough screen time but still somehow managed to steal the show, Knull is actually the creator of Gorr’s cursed sword in the original comics.However, the ancient alien god is far better-known for his other creation, the symbiotes, the race of aliens Venom hails from.Venom: The Last Dancesparingly usedKnull as the overarching big badthreatening to invade the Earth via a codex encased in Venom’s spine.
Despite featuring heavily in the film’s trailers, Knull only manages to show up on screen for a cumulative 2 and a half minutes inVenom: The Last Dance.
Somehow, he’s still one of the film’s most compelling characters, thanks in no small part to Andy Serkis' chilling performance.Looking like a demon from the furthest reaches of a nightmare, Knull’s commanding presence as he flung the monstrous Xenophages at Eddie and the symbiote managed to echo throughout the entire third installment of the franchise.
7Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
Kang the Conqueror
By now, Kang the Conqueror is best known for being the overarching villain the MCU attempted to set up as the next major big bad only to be abruptly replaced by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom.Thanks to Jonathan Majors' legal troubles and the audience’s lukewarm reception of the character inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,it’s admittedly easy to see why this decision was made. Yet Kang still manages to be the most compelling part of the third Ant-Man endeavor, far outshining the heroes.
It’s interesting to see Kang form some kind of bond with Janet van Dyne when they are both initially trapped within the Quantum Realm, even if it is an alliance born out of necessity in survival scenario.He plays the part of a ruthless dictator disturbingly well, unleashing some cold lines against Ant-Man and company. Compared to Scott’s bumbling arc with his teen daughter, Hank’s near-senile obsession with Ants, and Hope’s continued coldness, Kang is easily the most lively character in the entire film.
6Black Panther
Erik Killmonger
Compared to his own solo movie, Black Panther is far more interesting inCaptain America: Civil War, coming off as a heroic but cold world leader willing to put the mission first. This could be due to the fact that he has to compete with Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger, one of the most beloved MCU villains of all time. Dripping with confidence, danger, and an uncomfortably factual point to make, Killmonger utterly steals the show inBlack Panther.
Sadly, Chadwick Boseman’s sole solo film as Black Panther didn’t give him the strongest of character arcs, only loosely learning a lesson about Wakanda’s secrecy and place in the world.This is an arc that’s only catalyzed thanks to Killmonger’s presence, which totally envelops the film’s quality. Due to Michael B. Jordan’s astounding performance here, it’s clear that he might be the only real choice if the MCU truly decides onrecasting T’Challaafter all.
5Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
Wenwu, a.k.a. The Mandarin
Introducing yet another brand-new kung fu-wielding element to the MCU mythos,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsserves a similar role toBlack Pantherin the franchise. Just like its predecessor,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsis an important step in Marvel representation that just so happens to have a villain more compelling than it’s hero. Again, this isn’t so much a dismissal of SImu Liu’s Shang-Chi, who is certainly charismatic enough, but his father Wenwu is simply a more complex and interesting character.
It’s easy to assume this would make him quite unrelatable, but the softening of his heart at the hands of Shang-Chi’s mother, and eventually, Shang-Chi himself, puts Wenwu on the more complicated side.
Wenwu, also known as the true Mandarin thatIron Man 3’s foppish actor pretended to be, is an immortal warlord who has held on to power with an iron fist for centuries.It’s easy to assume this would make him quite unrelatable, but the softening of his heart at the hands of Shang-Chi’s mother, and eventually, Shang-Chi himself, puts Wenwu on the more complicated side. It’s a shame the MCU kills him off before his rich history is able to be explored better following his redemption arc.
4Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Ultron
Avengers: Age of Ultronis certainly a flawed film, easily the worst of the Avengers quadrilogy for a multitude of reasons.For all of its flaws, James Spader’s eponymous performance as Ultron is actually quite strong, serving as the one consistent anchor of quality the film is able to enjoy. The mere premise of a robotic villain who decides humanity must perish after spending five minutes on the internet is compelling enough, and Spader’s dulcet tones bring the killer A.I. to life with a disturbing fascimile of charm.
Meanwhile, the heroes all have quite weak arcs inAvengers: Age of Ultron.Iron Man is still reeling from the same PTSD explored inIron Man 3, Hulk and Black Widow are undergoing their painfully awkward love triangle, Thor’s most interesting scenes got cut, and Hawkeye is revealing his secret family for the first time. Captain America is struggling with swearing, and the Maximoff twins are only just being introduced, leaving Ultron himself to pick up the majority of the slack, totally carrying the film. It’ll be a relief to seeUltron return in the untitled Vision series.
3Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Winter Soldier
For the most part, villains are able to outshine heroes in the MCU when the franchie hasn’t done a good job at giving their titular protagonists anything interesting enough to do.Captain America: The Winter Soldieris a sharp departure from that in that Bucky’s arc is simply so captivating. Steve Rogers certainly has plenty of interesting development to undergo in his second solo film, questioning his own blind service to his country after discovering just how far the roots of corruption have spread.
But it’s in the revelation that his old best friend is still alive and trying to kill him that things really get interesting. The Winter Soldier is a intriguing enough character to still be headlining MCU films all these years later,the brooding tortured soul that balances out the quippy roster of overconfident jokesters the Avengers can easily devolve into.His eternal struggle between his own willpower and his secret agent programming is especially potent in his first appearance as The Winter Soldier, still captivating all these years later.
2Morbius
Lucien
It can admittedly be hard to look pastMorbius' reputation as one of themost infamously bad superhero moviesof all time, with memes potent enough to convince Sony to re-release the film into theatres just so it could lose more money.If there’s one genuine bright spot to be had in the film amid the grey and drab recital of Morbius' origin story, it’s Matt Smith’s Milo Morbius, a.k.a. Lucien, the protagonist’s surrogate brother and eventual enemy. Matt Smith puts in a bold villainous performance that totally eclipses anything elseMorbiushas to offer.
Even if the rest ofMorbiusis a low bar to clear, Matt Smith should still be praised for his work in it.Lucien is an entertainingly evil villain who goes mad with power absurdly fast, allowing Smith to be the only member of the cast clearly enjoying themselves. The scene in which he simply dances around, basking in the glory of his new vampiric physique, is easily the best scene in the entire film.
1Eternals
Ikaris
One of the few times the MCU has attempted a twist villain, Ikaris is a fascinating type of character that the franchise hasn’t really tried to replicate before.A reluctant antagonist, Ikaris' only crime is continuing to follow through with the mission he was entrusted with for centuries, unlike his traitorous brethren. This is made all the more complicated by the fact that he is madly in love with the film’s central protagonist, Sersi, who rebels against their creators.
Ikaris' choosing of duty over love isn’t just a compelling choice, but it also results in the only MCU villain to be romantically involved with a hero. It’s not as if the choice is easy on him either, as Ikaris eventually chooses to take his own life due to the sheer stress choosing between his creators and his loved ones inflicts on him. A bitterly tragic kind of character that theMCUmight never see again, Ikaris is a powerful and deep villain out of circumstance alone.
