10 Worst Marvel Cinematic Universe Villains Ranked

From world-changing snaps to jaw-dropping debuts, the Marvel Cinematic Universe delivers magical moments. The storylines apart, none of it could matter with out the characters — the heroes and rogues — however woof, the worst MCU villains do not do the franchise any favors. In actual fact, they solely add credence to accusations from the likes of Martin Scorsese that superhero films aren’t actual cinema. Like a skunk in a fragrance retailer, these antagonists stink up the joint and convey down the worth of all the pieces else round them.

Certain, not each swing ends in a house run, however these villains are the worst of the worst. Consider Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns from “Captain America: Courageous New World” — he would not come throughout because the scary Chief from “The Unbelievable Hulk” comics, however extra like Ivan Ooze’s long-lasting cousin from “Mighty Morphin Energy Rangers: The Film.” Equally, what a waste of Christian Bale’s expertise it was to make use of him as Gorr the God Butcher in “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Extra Scooby-Doo than Scooby-Boo, Gorr by no means comes throughout as one of many God of Thunder’s fiercest and scariest foes within the film, as each considered him evokes the opening verse of Weapons N’ Roses’ “Candy Youngster O’ Mine.”

With that stated, let’s check out the worst Marvel Cinematic Universe villains and why they’re so unhealthy at being evil. This rating takes into consideration how a lot they disenchanted of their respective movies or reveals and why they need to be snapped away from existence.

After the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin), the MCU required a brand new huge unhealthy to grow to be the overarching menace of a number of films and reveals. Step forth, Kang the Conqueror, as performed by Jonathan Majors. This time- and space-traveling being possesses the power to tinker with and destroy the multiverse whereas additionally inserting his personal variants within the completely different Earths. It is easy to see how he might use this energy to drive the Avengers to face evil variations of themselves from throughout the multiverse.

Now, the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors’ private life noticed the Marvel Cinematic Universe transfer ahead with out him — and seemingly Kang too. The franchise veered in a unique course, chopping brief plans that might have seen Kang as entrance and heart of the “Avengers” movies. So, followers by no means received to expertise the total scope of what the villain is able to and if he really was as huge of a menace as Thanos.

That being stated, what precisely did Kang the Conqueror conquer within the MCU in his brief time on display screen? Nothing, actually, as his most notable scene is a beatdown from arguably the worst Avenger after Hawkeye, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” If Scott Lang is able to defeating this man in a fistfight, then there is not any have to ship within the main weapons to take care of him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He has quite a lot of variants to face. Massive whoop. Likelihood is that in the event that they struggle like the primary Kang, even Comfortable Hogan might take down three of them.

In Marvel Comics, Tony Masters makes use of the alias of Taskmaster, oscillating between hero and villain relying on the character of the storyline. Very like the character’s depiction within the MCU, Taskmaster possesses the power to imitate an opponent’s preventing model to present any fighter a tough time. The character has additionally developed right into a laugh-a-minute persona, typically having the ability to go toe-to-toe with Deadpool within the humor division.

Satirically, like Deadpool, Taskmaster’s first outing into the live-action world proves to be simply as misguided. Bear in mind how the Merc with a Mouth had his mouth stitched up in “X-Males Origins: Wolverine”? Effectively, that is basically what occurs to Taskmaster in “Black Widow.” Within the movie, Olga Kurylenko performs Antonia Dreykov, a silent brainwashed murderer for the Purple Room who makes use of the key identification of Taskmaster.

Now, the gender swapping of the character, and even the tweaked backstory, is not the primary downside right here. It is the truth that this Taskmaster stays devoid of any charisma that makes the character such successful within the comics. As an alternative of getting an all-personality rogue who frustrates heroes with their taunting and motormouth, Taskmaster turns into one of many worst Marvel Cinematic Universe villains and a stereotypical brainwashed baddie. Additionally, hasn’t the MCU already completed this angle with Bucky Barnes and the entire Winter Soldier arc? It is nearly as if its mind belief was working out of steam by way of how you can make the antagonists extra compelling and picked a recycled concept out of a hat.

Within the opening scene of “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Christian Bale’s Gorr pleads with the gods to assist him and his daughter, Love. Tragically, Love dies. To make issues worse, the god Rapu mocks Gorr, so the heartbroken and enraged father picks up the god-slaying Necrosword, strikes down Rapu, and embarks on a quest to destroy all of the gods. On paper, Gorr the God Butcher has all of it — a tragic backstory, private objective, and scary aesthetic (although he ought to have worn a thong like he does within the comics).

Sadly, Gorr finds himself within the flawed film on the flawed time. If this had been Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor,” Gorr might have cemented his place as an all-time nice MCU villain; as a substitute, that is Taika Waititi’s chuckle-fest, and the jokes dilute his influence. Whereas Gorr’s darkish nature is supposed to juxtapose the fluffy tone of “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the comedy-first movie chooses leg slaps over neck snaps, turning Gorr right into a Disney baddie the place he is all bluster, no thunder (pardon the pun).

What’s even worse is how the MCU misuses an actor of Bale’s caliber. This is the person who starred as Batman in arguably the best superhero trilogy of all time, and Marvel Studios managed to persuade him to hitch one other franchise. That is an enormous coup! Relatively than benefit from the chance, the MCU turns him into an Uncle Fester-looking baby snatcher who solely wanted the facility of a hug to free his hate-filled coronary heart.

Sabretooth is the Joker to Wolverine’s Batman. They’ve been locked, loaded, and slashing one another’s throats eternally. Funnily sufficient, within the movies, their largest showdown occurred within the much-maligned “X-Males Origins: Wolverine,” the place they’re portrayed as brothers. It wasn’t the primary time they clashed on display screen, although, as Tyler Mane’s Victor Creed crossed paths — albeit briefly — with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in 2000’s “X-Males.”

Effectively, “Deadpool & Wolverine” promised the ultimate battle — the rumble within the multiversal jungle — between Jackman’s Wolvie and Mane’s Sabretooth. Heck, even the Merc with the Mouth hypes up the encounter to be the occasion of the yr. Then, it is over in lower than a minute, because the adversaries race towards one another, and Wolverine’s claws slice off Sabretooth’s head.

In professional wrestling phrases, Sabretooth can be known as the MCU’s jobber — somebody who will get squashed briefly order to raise the hero. It is a soiled, rotten disgrace, particularly when you think about the deep and storied historical past between the characters in Marvel Comics. As an alternative, Sabretooth is used as a punchline for an unfunny joke right here. The MCU might have taken numerous ineffective villains from the Fox-verse, comparable to Jessica Chastain’s Vuk from “Darkish Phoenix” or the fart cloud model of Galactus from “Unbelievable 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” and thrown them in for this bit, however no, the powers that be wanted to kick Sabretooth another time whereas he was already at all-time low.

Look, let’s get this out of the best way proper now: “Thor: The Darkish World” is well considered one of the worst MCU movies of all time. It should not have been, although — in any case, the destiny of the very world was at stake! But, the story by no means clicks into something greater than a sloppy pedestrian gear, and even Christopher Eccleston struggles to place any oomph into the villainous Darkish Elf Malekith. Perhaps it is as a result of his motivation is a paint-by-the-numbers method of each different superhero movie from the period the place the antagonist searches for a world-destroying MacGuffin, which is *checks notes* inside Jane Foster right here. The one factor lacking to make this character much more predictable was a mustache for Malekith to twirl.

It is disappointing when you think about Eccleston’s pedigree as a performer, particularly after his excellent flip because the ninth Physician in “Physician Who.” The actor would not look again on his time within the MCU with any kind of fondness or appreciation, both. In an interview with The Guardian in 2018, Eccleston mentioned how a lot he despised engaged on franchises like “G.I. Joe” and the MCU. When speaking in regards to the expertise of filming “Thor: The Darkish World” particularly, he equated it to “a gun in your mouth.”

Within the comics, Malekith the Accursed establishes himself as a serious impediment to the God of Thunder. Within the movies, nevertheless, he goes down as one of many worst Marvel Cinematic Universe villains in a film that is equally a stinker.

In “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Cassandra Nova serves as the first villain, although Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Paradox performs a pivotal half because the secondary antagonist. Paradox is the Time Variance Authority agent who has his eyes set on accelerating the tip of the Fox-verse and waving adios to Deadpool’s former Earth.

Now, whereas Paradox portrays a humorous riff on a boot-licking company underling making an attempt to maneuver up the ranks and impress his superiors, he fails to totally decide to the backstabbing nature of typical bureaucrats. It is nearly too simple to cease his plan and get him to again down. There was by no means a Plan B if this one did not work out for him, which is considerably out of character for company stooges who’re masters of the darkish artwork of deception and surviving political warfare.

Contemplating how Macfadyen beforehand performed the weaselly suck-up Tom Wambsgans on “Succession,” it is shocking how “Deadpool & Wolverine” did not pull extra from that character for its depiction of Paradox. Tom had little to no energy on the HBO collection, however he maneuvered his manner across the political minefield like a professional to get what he needed ultimately. As compared, Paradox has a singular plan — and if that does not work, he is again to licking stamps and liking his boss’ LinkedIn standing replace tomorrow.

The primary “Iron Man” movie sees Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) scrambling for management of Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) know-how to weaponize and promote to the very best bidder. “Iron Man 2” develops in an analogous method, as Stark’s rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), competes to get his fingers on the identical know-how to show into weapons. But, whereas Stane fits up in his personal exo-armor to struggle Iron Man, Hammer makes use of Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) as his muscle and “tech assist” as a substitute. In the end, Whiplash takes full management of the operations and makes use of Hammer’s sources to aim to enact his revenge on Stark.

Rockwell admitted to Gizmodo that the unique plan was for Hammer to be the only real villain of “Iron Man 2,” but it surely was determined that Whiplash must be added into the combo as nicely. Inevitably, this hurts Rockwell’s character as he performs second fiddle to the extra highly effective — and smarter — character. It additionally has the unintended consequence of turning Hammer right into a poor man’s model of Stane. There’s by no means a way that he is ever going to get one over Stark, and he is extra of a nuisance than a reputable antagonist at any level.

It additionally stings due to the truth that Rockwell was within the working to play Stark within the first “Iron Man.” Now, whereas Downey has greater than confirmed he was the suitable option to play the character, could not the MCU have discovered one other huge character for the ever-excellent Rockwell to painting as a substitute of the insignificant Justin Hammer?

Tim Blake Nelson’s Dr. Samuel Sterns made his debut in 2008’s “The Unbelievable Hulk.” Whereas followers did not get to see him become the subsequent evolution of Brainy Smurf on display screen, the wheels had been set in movement for the character’s subsequent look within the MCU. Return he did in “Captain America: Courageous New World” with a convoluted plan, the place his head is now mutated, and he poisons Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) with gamma radiation tablets to show him into the Purple Hulk.

Sterns, aka the Chief, has all the time been on the cartoonish facet of Marvel Comics, particularly along with his mega-sized head and creepy facial hair that ensures he is not allowed inside 50 toes of a faculty. That stated, he is nearly all the time portrayed as one of many Hulk’s predominant foes, so what’s he doing stirring up nonsense with Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie) Captain America? Extra importantly, his story arc in “Courageous New World” is not precisely intelligent, both. If he is smarter than the typical bear, might he not have escaped Ross’ imprisonment years earlier? It will have made extra sense, however he chooses to poison Ross and switch him right into a hulking brute who might or might not squash him if he is offended sufficient. Good plan, Einstein.

Then, there’s the look of Sterns’ character in “Courageous New World.” Whereas it is comprehensible that the filmmakers needed to keep away from the aesthetic from the comics, they find yourself turning him into what can solely be described as a “Energy Rangers” villain. It is morphin’ time, I assume.

Jon Bass’ Todd Phelps, aka HulkKing, seems to be the massive unhealthy of “She-Hulk: Lawyer at Regulation.” The billionaire techo bro runs an internet site referred to as Intelligencia that he makes use of to unfold misinformation about Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) in a harebrained scheme to accumulate She-Hulk’s blood. Basically, he behaves like every bizarre troll on X. His plan works, although, as he injects Jen’s blood and turns into his personal model of the Hulk.

All of it means nothing ultimately, because the “She-Hulk” ending breaks the fourth wall and sees Jen converse to the MCU’s Okay.E.V.I.N. to render the occasions of your entire collection irrelevant — together with Phelps’ scheme. In fact, there’s nothing that Phelps might do about this questionable storytelling alternative, however let’s not take away from the truth that he is nothing greater than the Marvel model of Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. He is awkward, unbearable, and only a painful gnat who acts like they found the final Coca-Cola within the desert. He is a meaningless baddie who takes up beneficial day out of a viewer’s life, such that they might have washed their hair or watched paint dry. In a case of actuality being weirder than fiction, there are a selection of real-life tech bros who transform much more evil than the pathetic Phelps, so no less than he is not the worst in that regard.

Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross, aka Yellowjacket, wasn’t one of many worst Marvel Cinematic Universe villains. In no way. In actual fact, he proves to be a worthy adversary to Scott Lang in “Ant-Man.” Sadly, Marvel Studios could not go away nicely sufficient alone and tweaked Cross’ character after he landed within the Quantum Realm.

In “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” Cross is reintroduced as M.O.D.O.Okay. — a cybernetic-enhanced particular person with a head that is greater than the remainder of the physique. Neglect about the truth that this adjustments the entire origin story of the character from the comics — since Marvel Comics’ M.O.D.O.Okay. is George Tarleton — and take a look at the abomination on display screen. To name the CGI unhealthy is being far too sort, as M.O.D.O.Okay. comes throughout wanting like a merger of a California Raisin and a personality from Genesis’ “Land of Confusion” music video. This, my mates, is the second wherein the MCU jumped the shark — not solely in design but in addition in goofiness that ruins fairly than enhances a film.

What’s much more infuriating is how M.O.D.O.Okay was completely portrayed by Patton Oswalt on an eponymous collection for Hulu a couple of years earlier. The tone of the present, the animation, and the voice performing suited the character like a glove. As an alternative, Marvel Studios determined to present everybody nightmare gasoline in “Quantumania” and make M.O.D.O.Okay. as ridiculous as attainable.