While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been an unparalled success popularly and financially and most of the movies also received a fair bit of critical acclaim, one of the perennial critiques of the cinematic universe has been its villains. While often portrayed by well regarded actors ranging from Sam Rockwell and Jeff Bridges to Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett, oftentimes these one film villains tend to be a little shallow and in spite of often solid and sometimes praiseworthy acting, the antagonist characters they portray are often considered pretty bland and rather forgettable in general.
Still I feel like over time the villains in the films have improved plus over the past few years we've had the expansion of the MCU into longer running televisions series, first on Netflix and then on Disney Plus as well as the connections to other prior Marvel films like seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home which led me to wondering whose everyone favorite villains were. Now this is based on personal opinion of the characters portrayals IN the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While your criteria is your own, I'm basing it on just how interesting I found the villains to be. Whether their character seemed believable or sympathetic or resonated with me in some way, or that of their cause, or how effectively they relayed their villainous motives, themes, threat and ideology onscreen etc as opposed to something more readily quantifiable like their power level or influence or some such.
So without further ado!
1. Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
- Bit of Cheating but Since he Was a main villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home, I think it's only fair that he be placed here. Truth is, the Sam Raimi Spider-man Trilogy had a fair number of very good supervillains, some of the best even now and in the case of No Way Home, that quality was maintained with most of them. Willem DeFoe's portrayal of Norman Osborn and his transformation to the Green Goblin in the original Spider-Man was great and set a trend for the rest of the film series and helped make superhero movies a success, balancing the inherent ridiculous of a 'Joker' seeming character on a glider named the 'Green Goblin' and actually making him a real menace instead of a campy joke, or just some Joker derivative.
In No Way Home, Willem DeFoe's performance was even better. The Norman Osborn side of him was able to stretch out the 'victim' mentality he took on in only in small doses in the original Sony movie, and his Green Goblin persona was so menacing and well done that it eclipsed all of the other villainous appearances in the movie. And this was the same movie that had Willem Defoe acting opposite of Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, Jamie Foxx's Electro and Thomas Haden Church's Sandman. Great villain and a great threatening portrayal. So unapologetically evil and manipulative which made it all the harder because of how vulnerable and victimized he appeared (and was) beforehand. He might not have the raw threat on a galactic or even macro scale like some MCU villains, or even be as personable or relatable or sympathetic as others, but he is a near perfectly adapted Comic Book villain into a film and it's more credit to him that they were able to surpass his first appearance twenty years after the fact. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin is my favorite MCU Villain... even if half of the credit is due to his appearance in Sony's Spider-Man.
2. Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius
- Speaking of comic book villains that one would seem hard to adapt to screen, Doctor Octopus is another one. Before No Way Home, I think Doctor Octopus might've been my favorite supervillain portrayal in movies period, certainly in Marvel movies. Spider-Man 2 somehow improved on the first film in almost every way and Doctor Octopus was a big reason for it. The fact he descended to villainy over a fried computer inhibitor trip seems so shallow and bland, but it worked and I didn't give it a second thought. His villainous portrayal throughout Spider-man was well acted by Alfred Molina and I loved his plotting and deluded motivations and his interactions with his arm AI's. And the coda at the end, where he overcame the AI's and saved the city from his own reckless experience, it was a beautifully tragic and sympathetic death scene.
THEN HE CAME BACK in No Way Home! And he was still great. The only reason he's number two here is because... Willem DeFoe's Green Goblin was just so much better. And for much of the film Doctor Octopus wasn't a supervillain but when he was doing his villainy, he was certainly very well portrayed in his dismissiveness (and being impressed) by the MCU Spider-man and his attempts to cure them and in his interactions with the other characters. His perpetual suspicions and inherent sense of being right until proven wrong was perfectly performed again in No Way Home. And his redemptive arc was just a very solid final touch for his villainous arc, a redemption that was able to play out in the long form in this film unlike his iconic and memorable sacrifice in Spider-man 2.
3. Shades/Hernan Alvarez
- Will I ever select a villain from the actual MCU movies? Who knows? But for those that don't know, Shades is a villain from Netflix's Luke Cage television series that ran for two seasons. And why is Shades here. He appears to be a normal gangster to be honest but the way Theo Rossi portrays his character, it's almost perfect. The Shades he almost perpetually wears is a clear symbol of how cool, calm, collected and confident he can be. What really makes Shades stand out is that he's distinct in a television series that had a large cast of multifaceted, complex and diverse characters with their own POV's, motivations, relationships, histories and worldviews etc that made them deep and complex. Shades background is almost shallow by comparison, not hailing from an intricately well built backstory or anything beyond being a prisoner alongside Luke Cage originally from Harlem.
But over the two seasons, working in a Consigliere role before moving to become a Crimelord himself, he extolled his own aura of presence in the face of characters more powerful, more connected and more influential then himself. And while 'Shades' as a criminal was super capable and interesting, he also benefited in that he contrasted with other 'organized crime villains.' Not only was he cool and collected like Michael Corleone from the Godfather, but he garnered sympathy and likeability in spite of not being a particularly sympathetic or endearing. With many villains, there's a redemptive angle or the old adage that "Every villain is a hero in their own story" but Shades is a gangster through and through. Yes he has morals. He has limits. He's not sociopathic or bloodthirsty. But he is an unapologetic criminal looking to pursue wealth through the best way he knows possible. The fact he can pull that off and do so in a likable manner episode after episode and that you almost 'want him to succeed' contrasts him with more proactive Netflix Marvel villains like Kingpin or even his unconventional love interest (Black) Mariah Stokes who use illegal means for a 'greater good.' As Wilson Fisk said, Shades is the 'ill intent.' With that all said, when he does reach his moral limits or loses his cool it is presented excellently, crediting his character and Theo Rossi's performance even more.
4. Killgrave
- Killgrave was a truly menacing villain with his pheromone based mind control powers. In a genre filled with tropes about telepathy and mind control, Killgrave's abilities, while not traditional telepathy, were still presented in a frighteningly chilling manner while having a character that seems petty, cruel and spoiled (all of which is true) still managed to be a complex character who, as the season goes on, seems to have a lot more depth to him in his background and real motivations and other driving factors. Despite being petty, David Tennant's portrayal of him is anything but. And while he largely seemed to lack any sort of moral compass and exhibited real sociopathy which combined with his powers made him truly effective as a villain, there was an emotional depth to his character with sadness and discomfort, as well as showing delight and grit when confronted with challenges and unlike a lot of creepy romances, the obsessive desires with this character really helped flesh him out even more. It's even revealed that he might actually have a moral compass, and is capable of something more if his lifestyle hadn't warped his mind so much already. A lot of nuance for a character who really seemed like he could be a simple minded hedonistic.
5. Arnim Zola
- Yay an MCU Villain finally. And one that is a minor supporting villain in both of the films he appeared in. And in all honesty the only reason he made it to Number Five for me here is due solely to his one appearance in the excellent movie, perhaps one of the MCU's best, in Captain America: Winter Soldier. The technothriller, spy thriller superhero film that was Winter Soldier had a lot of good villains including the titular Winter Soldier himself, as well as SHIELD Leader Alexander Pierce but as the heroes uncovered that HYDRA was still alive and kicking and thoroughly infiltrated SHIELD, it was when Arnim Zola's appearance was revealed in a secret Cold War era bunker that really sealed the plot for me. More then any of the other characters, when Arnim Zola made his presence known, his consciousness apparently uploaded to dozens of tape deck based servers and he revealed HYDRA's master plan to save and dominate the world, it was one of the most iconic and memorable moments in history.
Arnim Zola was a mad Nazi scientist expy in the original Captain America: The First Avenger and in the one scene he had here, he truly showed how great the HYDRA plotline was as they hatched their plan of killing millions of people to help save billions. This is the concept of "Villains being the Heroes in their Own Story" epitomed, at least for a Comic Book Movie. The fact that the overall plot wasn't disappointing and the big reveal was worth the investment up to that point gives more credit to Arnim Zola since he was the main architect of it all. The way he unexpectedly appeared in that Bunker, wholly and utterly different and diffused amongst all of those computer banks. Perfect presentation of a movie supervillain.
I actually had a Top Ten list but Apparently I'm very good at babbling walls of text for no reason except to see me type.
Curious as to others picks and thoughts on MCU (super)villainy.
Still I feel like over time the villains in the films have improved plus over the past few years we've had the expansion of the MCU into longer running televisions series, first on Netflix and then on Disney Plus as well as the connections to other prior Marvel films like seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home which led me to wondering whose everyone favorite villains were. Now this is based on personal opinion of the characters portrayals IN the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While your criteria is your own, I'm basing it on just how interesting I found the villains to be. Whether their character seemed believable or sympathetic or resonated with me in some way, or that of their cause, or how effectively they relayed their villainous motives, themes, threat and ideology onscreen etc as opposed to something more readily quantifiable like their power level or influence or some such.
So without further ado!
1. Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
- Bit of Cheating but Since he Was a main villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home, I think it's only fair that he be placed here. Truth is, the Sam Raimi Spider-man Trilogy had a fair number of very good supervillains, some of the best even now and in the case of No Way Home, that quality was maintained with most of them. Willem DeFoe's portrayal of Norman Osborn and his transformation to the Green Goblin in the original Spider-Man was great and set a trend for the rest of the film series and helped make superhero movies a success, balancing the inherent ridiculous of a 'Joker' seeming character on a glider named the 'Green Goblin' and actually making him a real menace instead of a campy joke, or just some Joker derivative.
In No Way Home, Willem DeFoe's performance was even better. The Norman Osborn side of him was able to stretch out the 'victim' mentality he took on in only in small doses in the original Sony movie, and his Green Goblin persona was so menacing and well done that it eclipsed all of the other villainous appearances in the movie. And this was the same movie that had Willem Defoe acting opposite of Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, Jamie Foxx's Electro and Thomas Haden Church's Sandman. Great villain and a great threatening portrayal. So unapologetically evil and manipulative which made it all the harder because of how vulnerable and victimized he appeared (and was) beforehand. He might not have the raw threat on a galactic or even macro scale like some MCU villains, or even be as personable or relatable or sympathetic as others, but he is a near perfectly adapted Comic Book villain into a film and it's more credit to him that they were able to surpass his first appearance twenty years after the fact. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin is my favorite MCU Villain... even if half of the credit is due to his appearance in Sony's Spider-Man.
2. Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius
- Speaking of comic book villains that one would seem hard to adapt to screen, Doctor Octopus is another one. Before No Way Home, I think Doctor Octopus might've been my favorite supervillain portrayal in movies period, certainly in Marvel movies. Spider-Man 2 somehow improved on the first film in almost every way and Doctor Octopus was a big reason for it. The fact he descended to villainy over a fried computer inhibitor trip seems so shallow and bland, but it worked and I didn't give it a second thought. His villainous portrayal throughout Spider-man was well acted by Alfred Molina and I loved his plotting and deluded motivations and his interactions with his arm AI's. And the coda at the end, where he overcame the AI's and saved the city from his own reckless experience, it was a beautifully tragic and sympathetic death scene.
THEN HE CAME BACK in No Way Home! And he was still great. The only reason he's number two here is because... Willem DeFoe's Green Goblin was just so much better. And for much of the film Doctor Octopus wasn't a supervillain but when he was doing his villainy, he was certainly very well portrayed in his dismissiveness (and being impressed) by the MCU Spider-man and his attempts to cure them and in his interactions with the other characters. His perpetual suspicions and inherent sense of being right until proven wrong was perfectly performed again in No Way Home. And his redemptive arc was just a very solid final touch for his villainous arc, a redemption that was able to play out in the long form in this film unlike his iconic and memorable sacrifice in Spider-man 2.
3. Shades/Hernan Alvarez
- Will I ever select a villain from the actual MCU movies? Who knows? But for those that don't know, Shades is a villain from Netflix's Luke Cage television series that ran for two seasons. And why is Shades here. He appears to be a normal gangster to be honest but the way Theo Rossi portrays his character, it's almost perfect. The Shades he almost perpetually wears is a clear symbol of how cool, calm, collected and confident he can be. What really makes Shades stand out is that he's distinct in a television series that had a large cast of multifaceted, complex and diverse characters with their own POV's, motivations, relationships, histories and worldviews etc that made them deep and complex. Shades background is almost shallow by comparison, not hailing from an intricately well built backstory or anything beyond being a prisoner alongside Luke Cage originally from Harlem.
But over the two seasons, working in a Consigliere role before moving to become a Crimelord himself, he extolled his own aura of presence in the face of characters more powerful, more connected and more influential then himself. And while 'Shades' as a criminal was super capable and interesting, he also benefited in that he contrasted with other 'organized crime villains.' Not only was he cool and collected like Michael Corleone from the Godfather, but he garnered sympathy and likeability in spite of not being a particularly sympathetic or endearing. With many villains, there's a redemptive angle or the old adage that "Every villain is a hero in their own story" but Shades is a gangster through and through. Yes he has morals. He has limits. He's not sociopathic or bloodthirsty. But he is an unapologetic criminal looking to pursue wealth through the best way he knows possible. The fact he can pull that off and do so in a likable manner episode after episode and that you almost 'want him to succeed' contrasts him with more proactive Netflix Marvel villains like Kingpin or even his unconventional love interest (Black) Mariah Stokes who use illegal means for a 'greater good.' As Wilson Fisk said, Shades is the 'ill intent.' With that all said, when he does reach his moral limits or loses his cool it is presented excellently, crediting his character and Theo Rossi's performance even more.
4. Killgrave
- Killgrave was a truly menacing villain with his pheromone based mind control powers. In a genre filled with tropes about telepathy and mind control, Killgrave's abilities, while not traditional telepathy, were still presented in a frighteningly chilling manner while having a character that seems petty, cruel and spoiled (all of which is true) still managed to be a complex character who, as the season goes on, seems to have a lot more depth to him in his background and real motivations and other driving factors. Despite being petty, David Tennant's portrayal of him is anything but. And while he largely seemed to lack any sort of moral compass and exhibited real sociopathy which combined with his powers made him truly effective as a villain, there was an emotional depth to his character with sadness and discomfort, as well as showing delight and grit when confronted with challenges and unlike a lot of creepy romances, the obsessive desires with this character really helped flesh him out even more. It's even revealed that he might actually have a moral compass, and is capable of something more if his lifestyle hadn't warped his mind so much already. A lot of nuance for a character who really seemed like he could be a simple minded hedonistic.
5. Arnim Zola
- Yay an MCU Villain finally. And one that is a minor supporting villain in both of the films he appeared in. And in all honesty the only reason he made it to Number Five for me here is due solely to his one appearance in the excellent movie, perhaps one of the MCU's best, in Captain America: Winter Soldier. The technothriller, spy thriller superhero film that was Winter Soldier had a lot of good villains including the titular Winter Soldier himself, as well as SHIELD Leader Alexander Pierce but as the heroes uncovered that HYDRA was still alive and kicking and thoroughly infiltrated SHIELD, it was when Arnim Zola's appearance was revealed in a secret Cold War era bunker that really sealed the plot for me. More then any of the other characters, when Arnim Zola made his presence known, his consciousness apparently uploaded to dozens of tape deck based servers and he revealed HYDRA's master plan to save and dominate the world, it was one of the most iconic and memorable moments in history.
Arnim Zola was a mad Nazi scientist expy in the original Captain America: The First Avenger and in the one scene he had here, he truly showed how great the HYDRA plotline was as they hatched their plan of killing millions of people to help save billions. This is the concept of "Villains being the Heroes in their Own Story" epitomed, at least for a Comic Book Movie. The fact that the overall plot wasn't disappointing and the big reveal was worth the investment up to that point gives more credit to Arnim Zola since he was the main architect of it all. The way he unexpectedly appeared in that Bunker, wholly and utterly different and diffused amongst all of those computer banks. Perfect presentation of a movie supervillain.
I actually had a Top Ten list but Apparently I'm very good at babbling walls of text for no reason except to see me type.
Curious as to others picks and thoughts on MCU (super)villainy.