The 10 best Marvel Cinematic Universe villains, including Galactus
Dread it, run from it, the antagonists of the Marvel Cinematic Universe arrive – and these are the 10 best villains in the MCU.
That’s not to say they’ve all been good. Who could forget Maliketh, the ghoulish bad guy in Thor: The Dark World, Dar-Benn in The Marvels, and Gravik in Secret Invasion? Oh yeah, everyone.
However, for a series that has produced 37 movies and 16 TV shows (plus the recanonized Netflix mini-verse, which I will include on this list), it has an impressive hit rate with its villains, with several actors recognized for delivering the definitive, even iconic portrayal of their characters.
So, with Fantastic Four producing another massive (literally) baddie, these are the best villains the franchise has to offer.
10. Mysterio
- Where they appear: Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Played by: Jake Gyllenhaal
It would have been fair to feel a little sceptical about Mysterio in live-action; he’s a visual effects wiz who wears a giant fishbowl on his head, what if he looked really silly?
Except… he didn’t. Far From Home brings him to life like he’s straight out of the comics, and he’s brilliantly and deviously played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
He also has an understandable agenda: according to him, Tony Stark took the credit for his groundbreaking holographic technology, so he conjures world-threatening events to play the hero and get closer to Spider-Man. If nothing else, he’s at the heart of one of the MCU’s greatest set-pieces, with Peter navigating his frightening, never-ending illusions.
9. Galactus
Marvel Studios- Where they appear: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Played by: Ralph Ineson
Galactus is unlike any other villain in the MCU; as Reed Richards says, he’s an “unknowable life.” His existence is incomprehensible to even the most despicable, power-hungry characters in the franchise.
“He is a universal force as essential as the stars,” the Silver Surfer warns. You could even argue the stakes presented by his presence are even scarier than Thanos wielding an Infinity Gauntlet: half the universe lives if Thanos snaps his fingers, nobody survives if Galactus gets his way.
Ineson’s speaker-rattling portrayal was always going to be an improvement over a cloud (god, how did they let that happen in 2007?), but there’s a sense of genuine reverence for Jack Kirby’s creation in how he’s brought to life on the big screen; enormous, terrifying, and a touch devious (“Clever little bugs,” he quips when the Fantastic Four try to trick him).
8. Ego
Marvel Studios- Where they appear: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Played by: Kurt Russell
Two words: Kurt Russell. He’s one of the most iconic, charismatic actors of all time, and James Gunn tapped him to play a heavyweight Marvel villain: Ego, who’s literally a living planet.
Like many villains, he’s presented in Guardians 2 as a good guy; more specifically, Peter’s long-lost, space-faring dad who wants him to embrace his heritage. Unfortunately, that involves spreading his power across the universe and covering “all that exists until everything is… me.”
Russell delivers a terrific performance, but Ego is also a genuinely shocking villain – lest we forget the moment he tells Peter, “It broke my heart to put that tumor in her head.”
7. Adrian Toomes/Vulture
Marvel Studios- Where they appear: Spider-Man: Homecoming, Morbius
- Played by: Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton’s Vulture is a sympathetic villain. In the wake of The Avengers, he made a living from salvaging the remains from the Battle of New York… until Stark and the government took his business away.
So, he becomes a black market arms dealer. He doesn’t have any world-ruling ambition: he just wants to make money.
He’s in one of the franchise’s most intense scenes: as he drives Peter and his daughter to the school dance, the penny drops, and he realizes Peter’s true identity. “I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you dead.”
Just don’t talk about the end of Morbius, which features the worst post-credits scene in the history of Marvel (and maybe cinema altogether).
6. Killmonger
Marvel Studios- Where they appear: Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Played by: Michael B. Jordan
Killmonger is often touted as a villain who’s actually a hero. It’s easy to see why: he wants to share Wakanda’s extraordinary wealth and resources with the world so oppressed people can fight back. That’s a well-intentioned goal, and by the end of the film, T’Challa reveals the country’s true nature to the world.
Alas, while he has a point, he’s also violent and blinded by his anger, and that’s what makes him such a compelling antagonist.
Plus, he’s played by Michael B. Jordan, who turns in one of his best performances; righteous, aggressive, and in his final moments, heartbreaking.
5. High Evolutionary
Marvel- Where they appear: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Played by: Chukwudi Iwuji
The High Evolutionary is devoted to creating the “perfect society”, transforming seemingly lesser life forms (rodents, pigs, and other animals) into more intelligent creatures with brutal, inhumane genetic experiments.
Unlike other villains on this list, he is completely irredeemable. Iwuji plays him as a hissable, nasty b*stard – what a breath of fresh air to have a villain that isn’t bogged down by a trite, tedious backstory. Do you know why he’s horrible? Because he just is.
The star plays him with frightening rage and majesty – at one point, he brilliantly yells, “There is no god, that’s where I stepped in.” He’s a true villain – more of this, please.
4. Wilson Fisk/Kingpin
Disney+- Where they appear: Daredevil, Hawkeye, Echo, Daredevil: Born Again
- Played by: Vincent D’Onofrio
From his first appearance in Netflix’s Daredevil, it was clear that Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin was a different caliber of MCU villain: cold, quiet, calculating, yet incredibly emotional and always intimidating.
D’Onofrio is a towering singularity; every time he enters a room, no matter what project he’s in, it shifts the gravity of everything around him. He’s always simmering, until he boils over and unleashes his rage in unfathomably violent ways; Gallo’s fate in Born Again is particularly grim.
There’s no comfortable way to sum him up. He wants to be loved, but he cherishes the leverage of hatred. He’s capable of good intentions, but he’s too fond of misdeeds and criminal power. He is the ultimate street-level villain.
3. Loki
Disney+- Where they appear: Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Loki
- Played by: Tom Hiddleston
After 17 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s a solid argument to be made for Loki being the greatest character in the entire franchise – but not necessarily the best villain.
His development as a character is second to none; an orphan god and the brother of an Avenger, who wreaked havoc on any and all civilizations while trying to figure out his “glorious purpose” in the universe.
At his worst, he led an alien race to Earth and tried to rule over the planet. At his best, he helped to save the TVA (and all of time itself) and sacrificed himself to be the anchor of the multiverse. He may have started as a villain, but he fell into the temptation of good; if only his brother knew how far he’s come.
2. Thanos
Marvel- Where they appear: The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame
- Played by: Josh Brolin
Once upon a (better) time, the MCU led to Thanos; the Great Titan, the wielder of the Infinity Gauntlet, the villain who reduced half of all living things to dust.
He may be the biggest of the big bads (“Thanos-level threat” is now a common descriptor for antagonists), and it helps that he’s played by Josh Brolin, who gives him such an enchantingly threatening aura in every scene; collected, clear-sighted, even when he’s completely out of his mind.
And yet, that’s made him endure: Thanos’ argument that the universe is overpopulated and destined to starve isn’t insane, and even when he snaps Spider-Man away (a sin on par with murdering a dog on screen), you can help but think… was he right?
1. Kilgrave
Netflix- Where they appear: Jessica Jones
- Played by: Daniel Radcliffe
Kilgrave is the best villain in the MCU, and there’s a simple reason: he’s a black-hearted monster who’s truly evil.
Inspired by Purple Man in the comics, he has the ability to control people’s minds and command them at will. This came after his parents’ merciless experimentation from a young age to treat a neurodegenerative disease, somehow resulting in him gaining powers.
After a childhood of forcing his mum and dad to carry out “every childish demand,” he grew into an evil, cynical adult, controlling every aspect of his life – even those he loves, including Jessica Jones.
He does so without remorse or mercy, sometimes for his amusement, other times because he’s a bit irritated; he tells a man to throw scorching hot coffee in his face, and he laughs when he recalls telling someone to “go f**k themselves.”
It’s Tennant’s best performance, and it’s the darkest the MCU has ever been willing to go. Kilgrave’s depravity knows no depths, and that’s something you couldn’t say of Thanos.
Before it hits cinemas on July 25, find out why Fantastic Four takes place on Earth-828, where to get the Fantastic popcorn buckets, and check out our breakdown of every upcoming MCU project.
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