The Top 10 Best Marvel Villains from the MCU

Who’s the Best of the Marvel Villains in the MCU?

I get it. We all love the MCU, but there’s no denying that there’s a problem Marvel villains on the big screen. More often than not heroes end up just clashing with dark versions of themselves. Ant-Man fought Yellow Jacket. Captain America fought the Red Skull. Tony Stark fought… His alcoholism. There’s no arguing that Marvel hasn’t made some great films over the years, and I always look forward to them as much as the next geek, but they need to up their villain game. Hell, even Agents of SHIELD had a better villain in Grant Ward and don’t even get me started on how great the bad guys in the Netflix series have been. Still, there have been a few good villains that made it on the silver screen and it seemed like a good idea to brush up on them before Thanos hit theaters. So, I rounded up 10 of the best Marvel Villains in the MCU and pulled together this list ranking them in order. Here’s hoping we get a chance to update it again soon.

10. Ultron (James Spader)

Avengers: Age of Ultron was more than just a little problematic, especially when it came to Black Widow. James Spader was on point though as the villainous Ultron. A rogue AI that was meant to protect the world and saw humanity as the greatest threat to it. So, what’s a good sentient robot supposed to do? Nothing good, I’ll assure you of that. Ultron was very childlike in his view of the world, which makes sense given that he’s only a few days old. However, there’s nothing quite as cruel as a child who doesn’t understand the concept of empathy. As lackluster as the film was overall, James Spader’s soothing voice made Ultron absolutely terrifying. He’s one of the greatest Marvel villains the Avengers faced in the comics and certainly seemed more than worthy to challenge them on the big screen as well.

9. General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt)

Can you really consider General Ross a Marvel Villain? Well, given that he spent a great deal of his career in the army trying to hunt down and capture one of the Avengers, I would say so. If that’s not enough he has the balls to stand before the Avengers and chide them like a bunch of children about “collateral damage.” One of the enforcers of the Sokovia Accords you could say that his actions directly led to the conflict at the center of Captain America: Civil War. Sure, he didn’t exactly mount up and launch a full-scale attack on the Avengers, but his disdain for them is clear from the moment he walks in the door. Worst of all, he really thinks he’s one of the good guys, but he’s just a condescending slave to bureaucracy who can’t stand anyone being stronger than him.

8. Ego (Kurt Russell)

Turns out one of the greatest Marvel villains was somebody’s father, specifically Star Lords. Ego took the whole biological imperative thing a little too far when it came to his plans for “expansion.” His end goal was to eventually absorb everything in the universe and make it all an extension of himself. In other words, he was pretty much ready to wipe out all life so that he could be a god shaping the universe to his will. To make matters worse he hid all this behind a bushy beard and a smile. Sure the whole wanting to end all life as we know it is pretty bad, but the fact that he reunites with his kid just to further his plan makes him worse than evil, it makes him a bad dad. I guess that means Star Lord and our next villain have a bit in common.  

7. Hela (Cate Blanchett)

It seems like the MCU has been learning a lot as it goes when it comes to its villains. More recently they’ve upped their game. Thor: Ragnarok saw the introduction of Hela, Thor’s older sister who was banished by Odin for being a complete psycho. She makes a grand entrance tearing a hole in space and time and then breaking her little brother’s favorite toy as soon as she shows up. As if that wasn’t enough, she pretty much backhands the God of Thunder across the universe and then sets out to recreate Asgard in her own image. Hela is unique because she’s not a villain that thinks she’s doing the right thing. No, she’s out for revenge against a dickhead dad that tossed her aside when he didn’t need her anymore. Talk about daddy issues. She and Star-Lord should join a support group.

6. Adrian Toomes “The Vulture” (Michael Keaton)

From one of the greatest DC heroes to one of the best Marvel villains, Michael Keaton has come a long way. Personally, I think the folks at Marvel saw he was in a movie called Birdman and immediately thought of the Vulture. While a lot of the Marvel villains on this list have dreams of world domination, Adrian Toomes was just a guy trying to provide for his family. Then again, he was doing that by selling alien-powered weapons to the highest bidder, but for the most part, he kept his head down and tried to avoid the spotlight. Of course, that didn’t last long for him once Spider-man showed up, especially when he asked Toomes daughter to Homecoming. Honestly, it seems like a lot of the Marvel villains are just lousy dads.