People (and the box office) love superhero movies. Stark. Rogers. Odinson. Banner. Romanoff. Barton. These names and those of their comrades are true paragons to aspire to.
However, these enhanced, mutated or demi-godly individuals have only been thrust into the limelight thanks to their antitheses — evil-doers who challenge our superheroes to defend our way of life (or avenge it).
So while we exalt our upstanding superheroes, we should also doff our caps to supervillains, without which the former would be relegated to saving felines in trees, guarding doorways, and calling out motorway middle-lane hoggers.
Here are the finest and baddest MCU supervillains. We’re only counting those who have appeared in the Marvel movies for this one. Oh, and of course, beware of massive spoilers for the whole MCU franchise.
25. Cassandra Nova
An Omega-level mutie and Charles Xavier’s twin, Cassandra Nova left quite an impression, least of all on her foes, which she phased through, clutching their heads like bowling balls. She’s also a powerful telekinetic, making her formidable against Wolverine and Deadpool. Despite the film being a playground for castaway supes and villains, Nova is one of the more enigmatic characters, with a playful menace about her. An origin tale wouldn’t go amiss…
24. Aldrich Killian
Poor Aldrich. If only Tony Stark hadn’t stood him up at their meeting in Iron Man 3, he might not have become the evil mastermind of Advanced Idea Mechanics. Instead, Killian scrubs up and creates a breed of Extremis-enhanced yet explosive individuals (himself included) to partake in terror attacks across the US in a bid to destabilise and take over the country. Charming, homicidal and nearly invulnerable, his Extremis augments mean he can take a lot of punishment and keep on coming.
23. Gorr the God Butcher
Having lost his daughter and been forsaken by his god, the once-chill Gorr became the God Butcher after slaughtering leagues of deities with his cursed Necrosword. After vowing to make all gods history, Gorr sets his sights on Thor’s Stormbreaker to open the Bifrost and claim his one wish with the cosmic being Eternity. Thankfully, Thor makes him realise not all gods are bad uns and instead uses the space wishing well to revive his daughter. Super strong and super fast, this monochrome man can disappear into and reappear from shadows, which would be ace if not absolutely terrifying.
22. The Grandmaster
The Grandmaster may seem like a benign leader with a penchant for fabulous robes and pyrotechnic-packed starships, but he doesn’t suffer betrayal lightly. Seemingly millions of years old, his specialty lies in keeping slaves and forcing the strong to fight in contests to quell the local populace and gain power and influence. If you weren’t convinced of his evil status, he owns a Melt Stick, which works just as you can imagine.
21. Ultron
A sassy ChatGPT wrapped in a vibranium Terminator, Ultron was designed by Bruce Banner and Tony Stark as a self-aware safeguard against world-ending threats. Instead, the AI went rogue, believing that destroying all humans was the key to achieving world peace. Incorporating much of Tony Stark’s personality, Ultron is full of quips and a god-complex that would leave Freud speechless. Insanely strong and durable, Ultron can also transfer its consciousness into any computer system on the planet, meaning it can resurrect itself at will. It came close to destroying the Earth by raising an entire Sokovian city and dropping it on the planet, before being foiled by the Avengers.
20. Arnim Zola
This Swiss boffin may have played second fiddle to the Red Skull during WW2, but he came into his own after the conflict. Shipped to the US and recruited into SHIELD for his scientific mind, Zola had plans of his own, starting Hydra anew as a parasite within the organisation. He also devised the Project Insight algorithm to weed out potential enemies before they became threats. His interventions and deeds spread fear and chaos worldwide, readying for a regime change under the Hydra banner. Though his body succumbed to disease in the 70s, his mind lived on for decades in a giant supercomputer to continue his nefarious work.
19. Kang the Conqueror
Ruthlessly cunning and unhinged, Victor Timely’s most evil variant kicked off a multiversal conflict by declaring war on his remaining variants, the Council of Kangs, to seize control of all other universes. After being defeated by one of his own, he was banished to the Quantum Realm, which he took personally. Fuelled by rage, Kang deceives Janet van Dyne, also trapped in the realm, to rebuild his ship so he can go scorched earth on his former selves. Thankfully, he was thwarted by a colourful band of freedom fighters led by Ant-Man. With his seemingly omnipotent armour, this Kang variant has killed off the Avengers in multiple timelines, making him a lethal adversary.
18. Ulysses Klaue
As a black market weapons dealer, the brilliantly-monikered Ulysses Klaue is comparatively small fry on the MCU’s infamous gallery of rogues, but his sheer magnetism bags him a place on this list. With a penchant for vibranium and a good tune during a car chase, Klaue definitely took the expression “love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life” to heart. Sadly, his bubbly persona didn’t rub off on the rogues he partners with. Having had his arm lopped off by Ultron, he’s then eventually shot and killed by Killmonger and delivered to Wakanda for his crimes. Justice for Klaue!
17. Red Skull
Physicist Johann Schmidt was the leader of Hydra, the Nazi SS special weapons division. He’s equipped with super strength thanks to a Super Soldier serum prototype, which left him with a disfigured crimson face that only a Führer could love. His research focused on finding the Infinity Stones and harnessing their power to destroy his enemies. He eventually got his mitts on the Tesseract, giving his forces a huge technological advantage, but his organisation was classified rogue by Hitler. Imagine being so evil that the Nazis are calling you out.
16. Hela
The gothy yet snarky Goddess of Death was Odin’s firstborn and served as his right hand, until she was betrayed and imprisoned for thousands of years. Upon the Allfather’s death, she escapes, setting her sights on his throne and a new tyrannical empire. Impervious to all weapons and deadly with her infinite dagger cheat code, she destroys Thor’s hammer Mjölnir, kills the Warriors Three, and lays waste to nearly the entire Asgardian army. She’s more than a match for Loki and Thor but is only stopped when the brothers bring about Ragnarok by awakening the fire demon Surtur. Rightful ruler of Asgard or not, there’ll never be another goddess who can pull off that spiky headwear.
15. The Vulture
After being usurped by Stark Industries as the salvage contractor following the Battle of New York, Adrian Toomes faces ruin, but he decides to use the alien artefacts he’s recovered to steal and flog weapons and tech. Taking up the mantle of the Vulture, his armoured winged suit is a badass piece of tech. However, Toomes isn’t down with genocide or taking over the world. He’s just a family man looking to protect and provide for his own, making his plight instantly relatable, much like Spidey’s home-grown neighbourhood deeds. But when it’s revealed that Spidey’s love interest, Liz, is none other than the Vulture’s daughter, it makes the car ride to the school dance that much more awkward.
14. Mysterio
After being fired by Tony Stark, Quentin Beck became the ultimate con man, using his hologram and drone technology to generate illusions, using them to convince the world that he’s a superhero. Seemingly noble and charismatic, we eventually see Beck’s unhinged, megalomaniacal ego surface during his big villain reveal in Spider-Man: Far From Home, where his theatrics were just a ploy to dupe Spidey into giving him control of the late Tony Stark’s drone network. Despite having little fighting abilities himself, Beck is able to conjure up entirely new environments and people, forcing you to question your reality.
13. Alexander Pierce
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a spy thriller that’s grounded in reality, making the fact that HYDRA head Alexander Pierce has infiltrated SHIELD’s top echelons that much more frightening. With help from the digitised ghost of scientist Arnim Zola, the calm yet ruthlessly pragmatic Pierce leads Project Insight, an algorithm, which predicts who might be an enemy of Hydra, paired with three Helicarriers packing long-range guns. Pierce steadfastly believes in sacrificing millions to save billions, and he is seconds away from enacting the biggest coup the world has seen. There’s a shadowy conspiracy within America’s most powerful intelligence agency, but for a hot minute, we’re not sure whether Pierce is on the wrong side.
12. Ego
Starlord can silence all “my dad is harder than your dad” arguments, because his pops is literally a living planet. Known as a Celestial, Ego created a human avatar of himself to explore new worlds, though he found them all rather disappointing. And instead of writing a Tripadvisor review like everyone else, he sought to eradicate the entire universe and remake its worlds as extensions of himself — talk about main character energy. Oh, and if that wasn’t evil enough, he also offed Peter Quill’s mum.
11. Justin Hammer
Justin Hammer is a weapons maker and rival to Tony Stark. Cocky, confident and in need of a spare hangar to hold his infectious swagger, he steals the show in Iron Man 2 and elevates every scene he’s in. While he can probably make selling lino flooring exciting, it’s just a shame that his products never quite match his impressive sales pitches. However, he does give Rhodey and Stark a tonne of metal drones to wail on in the film’s climax.
10. The Winter Soldier
He’s now free from his programming shackles, but the Winter Soldier carries a menacing presence that few could match. Powered by an alternate version of the Super Soldier serum and a metal arm, this former Cold War assassin has a litany of bodies in his wake, including Tony Stark’s parents. He even nearly killed off Nick Fury and Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Cold, calculating and skilled in just about every weapon there is (check out that knife flip), he’s almost Terminator-like in tenacity. We’re just glad he’s on our side now.
9. Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff survived the US bombing of her Sokovian home city that killed her parents, forging her hatred towards Tony Stark and the Avengers. After volunteering for Baron Strucker’s Hydra experiments with the Mind Stone, her latent supernatural powers reawakened, packing her with a deadly arsenal of Chaos magic powers, including telekinesis, psionic abilities, and reality bending. Though she’s generally on the side of good, she’s had more than one brush with villainy, having taken on the Avengers and decimated the likes of Charles Xavier, Black Bolt and Captain Marvel. She’s also been on the verge of defeating Thanos singlehandedly during the Battle of Earth. This is one witch you don’t want to piss off.
8. The High Evolutionary
Guardians fans know Rocket Raccoon has a tragic backstory, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 puts the High Evolutionary front and centre of an origin tale that’s beyond our worst imagination. He masterminds the brutal experiments on Rocket and his band of loveable animal compatriots, all in the name of creating the perfect species. He even destroys an entire world full of innocent inhabitants that he created, having deemed them imperfect. Seeing that Rocket Raccoon exhibits extraordinary intelligence, his secondary pursuit is removing his brain for further study. His genius is far surpassed by his cruelty and barbarism. “There is no god! That’s why I stepped in!” is a quote that sums his High Evolutionary-ness perfectly.
7. Baron Helmut Zemo
An impossible union of style and substance, Helmut Zemo was a special forces operative who lost his family in the Battle of Sokovia. Laying the blame squarely at the feet of the Avengers, he declares war on the supergroup, most notably by killing T’Challa’s father, reactivating the Winter Soldier and setting up an all-out conflict between them. Extraordinarily cunning and resourceful, Zemo’s grand plan succeeds in tearing the Avengers apart for years, who only finally reunite in the face of the world-ending threat of Thanos.
6. Green Goblin
Norman Osborn originally hails from the Earth-96283 universe (of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man fame). Our MCU Spidey works with Doctor Strange to conjure up a memory spell that goes awry, pulling many of his fellow supervillains into Earth-616. Dr. Osborn arrives in this world, fighting desperately against unleashing the evil Green Goblin persona that resides within him. Magnifying all of Osborn’s negative personality traits, this Goblin is power-hungry and sadistic, sparing no soul in getting what it wants. Norman’s inner turmoil and resourcefulness about his alter ego are chilling and tragic, as ol’ Gobby can manifest and switch between identities seemingly at random.
5. Xu Wenwu
Marvel fans were in uproar when Iron Man 3 unmasked legendary villain The Mandarin as actor Trevor Slattery, nothing more than a puppet on Aldrich Killian’s payroll. However, House Marvel was only hiding the true Mandarin, a secretive yet power-hungry warlord turned reformed family man and father to Shang-Chi. But when tragedy strikes, Wenwu dons the powerful Ten Rings again and returns to his campaign of worldly terror and shadowy manipulation. Some years later, he hears that his wife is trapped in the ancient magical city of Ta Lo. Despite knowing only power through violence for a millennium, Wenwu had a fleeting moment of peace with his family and will upturn the world for another chance for it.
4. Eric Killmonger
Branding himself with the scars earned from hundreds of kills, the bloodthirsty and power-hungry Killmonger never shies away from what he thinks is right, even if his plans would lead to global chaos. Hating the idea that his birth nation of Wakanda hides itself from the world when it has a responsibility to protect its fellow kin, he dreams of usurping his cousin King T’Challa and deploying vibranium weapons to usher in a new world order. Though he fails to finish off his cousin in the final duel, his plight isn’t unnoticed by the Black Panther, who decides to end Wakanda’s isolationist policies and share its knowledge and resources for the greater good.
3. Namor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a_IXZEcJZA
As the ruler of the underwater city of Talokan, Namor witnessed firsthand the brutality of foreign colonisers and grew to hate surface-dwellers, so he fiercely protects his kingdom and its vibranium stockpile. When a young scientist finds a way to detect the metal, it brings Talokan to the brink of all-out war against Wakanda and the surface world.
Namor might not have the most intimidating of villainous looks, given his minimalist getup of tighty greenies and winged feet. However, he’s canonically as strong as Hulk and is nimble enough to take out several Wakandan fighter jets in midair. Souped up by a similar plant that gave the Black Panther their power, Namor will stop at nothing to protect his homeland and people.
2. Loki Odinson
Avengers Assemble was the first MCU team-up event, so Earth’s mightiest heroes needed a special villain, which the God of Mischief himself delivered and then some. Born a Frost Giant, Loki was taken in by Odin and unknowingly raised as Thor’s brother. After discovering his true lineage, he plotted to take over Asguard’s throne by exiling his blonde bro. He also led an invasion force of Chitauri warriors to take over Earth.
Superhumanly fast and strong, with illusions (and knives) for days, Loki is a supremely cunning schemer, and he’ll likely admit his favourite pastime is tormenting his adoptive brother. Talk about sibling rivalry.
1. Thanos
Villains come and go, but the best is the one you can (partially) agree with. Arguing that the universe is doomed to destroy itself due to its finite resources, Thanos seeks the six Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life. Heck, even Avengers: Infinity War paints the Mad Titan as the main protagonist, who eventually succeeds in claiming the stones before majorly downsizing the population. It takes a full blown time heist to reverse the damage and all of the Avengers working together to finally take him down in Endgame.
Even without the Infinity Gauntlet, his sheer heft and Hulk-busting strength means he can take on almost all the Avengers single-handedly. His sheer will is perhaps his scariest trait, given that he sacrificed his daughter to gain the Soul Stone. Genocidal, cruel and unflinching, Thanos is the biggest of big bads.