Best Marvel Villains, Ranked (Movies and TV Shows) | Teen Ink

Best Marvel Villains, Ranked (Movies and TV Shows)

May 8, 2016
By wolvesandwilderness GOLD, Lakeland, Florida
wolvesandwilderness GOLD, Lakeland, Florida
10 articles 47 photos 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Funny how a single word can change everything in your life."
"It is not funny at all. Steel is power. Money is power. But of all the things in all the worlds, words are power.”

Darrow au Andromedus and Nero au Augustus in Red Rising.


So, I basically wrote this because, as a nerd, I have nothing better to do. These are the villains of Marvel movies and TV shows, which I have ranked according to my own opinion on how good a villain they are. There are spoilers.

 

35- The Mandarin
I don’t know what this guy was, but really? Really? After making such a big deal about the Mandarin, he turns out to be some loser sitting in a basement with beer and soccer matches? I get that some people thought it was funny, but I was disappointed with the pitiful villain this one turned out to be. Funny maybe, but villainous… not so much.


34- Baron von Strucker
Strucker shows up twice: one to comment on the twins in Winter Soldier, and once in Age of Ultron, just to die. I can’t really call him any sort of good villain.


33- Malekith
The 9th Doctor is fantastic, but Malekith isn’t. He barely speaks, and when he does, it’s basically all about the Aether. I mean, good for you, Malekith, you’re devoted and all, but when it comes to villains, you’re completely forgettable. Thinking back on it, I can’t really remember much about him at all.


32- Ivan Vanko (Whiplash)
Quit obsessing about your bird, Ivan. Half his dialogue was ‘I want my bird’ and the other half was ‘Stark, your dad stole my dad’s technology’. Plus, of all the things he could build with the technology he had, he built whips? Come on.


31- Justin Hammer
I’m only giving this guy points because he was funny. When it came to being a formidable enemy, he failed. Utterly.


30- Aldrich Killian
I’m only giving this guy points because of his super fire-breathing/Extremis powers. His motivation was sloppy- ‘I was stood up by a drunk Tony Stark at a party, and for that, let’s kill everyone’. Ah, no. That’s just not realistic. So points for being a (sort of) strong foe, but really, he’s not a good villain.


29- The Destroyer
Hunk of metal with glowing death rays=cool fight scenes. Cool villain, well, that’s a different story.


28- Thanos
Thanos has such potential! Unfortunately, all he’s done is sit in a chair and delegate tasks to obviously inferior fighters.


27- Emil Blonsky (Abomination)
He smashed a lot of stuff, and that’s the only reason he’s this high up. He was pretty forgettable, too.


26- Yellowjacket
Just me, or was this a rip-off of Obadiah Stane? A bald guy who works closely with founder disapproves of his decisions for the company and decides to arrange a technological coup d’état using the founder’s technology against them- yeah, Yellowjacket’s basically a younger Obadiah.

 

25- Whitney Frost

She had potential: devious, smart, and with superpowers that could dissolve people. But she went out so, so easily that it completely negates her villany.


24- Brock Rumlow (Crossbones)
I liked Crossbones, I really did. He was decently funny. But his ten-minute appearance in Civil War kind of blacked out his spotlight because now that he’s six feet under, his villainy can’t develop any further.


23- Andrew Garner (Lash)
Villain? Not-villain? I’m not really sure, but Lash has some pretty cool superpowers. He can melt a person’s chest with his bare fist. Unfortunately, he’s not higher up because he wasn’t very likable as a villain.


22- Arnim Zola
While the short little 40’s dude was great and all, I’m talking about computer Zola. An algorithm that can find any possible rebel is pretty awesome. Sadly, he- it, really- gets blown to bits before the algorithm is much use.


21- Obadiah Stane (Iron Monger)
I was able to pick him out as a villain near instantly, but congratulations, Obadiah: you were Iron Man’s only challenging enemy in the entire trilogy.


20- Baron Zemo
We have another revenge-motivated man here, but any villain who splits the Avengers in half can’t be as terrible as some. I wonder what will happen with him, considering that Black Panther kept him alive.

 

19- Gideon Malick
The twisted former head of HYDRA shows off his dark side when the flashbacks reveal that he sent his own brother off to die in order to save his own skin. He’s dark and he’s smart, which makes him a fairly good enemy for S.H.I.E.L.D. The only reason he’s not higher is because of his plan to bring back Hive- what did he think was going to happen?


18- Ronan the Accuser
He’s pretty much Intergalactic Hitler, trying to get revenge against the ‘guilty party’ responsible for his race’s troubles. While he isn’t really all that imposing as far as bad guys go, he does a better job at being threatening than some I could mention (Looking at you, Mandarin).


17- Jiaying
She’s a little crazy, but considering that she practically wrecked half of S.H.I.E.L.D. gives her bonus points. That, and the whole literally-sucking-the-life-out-of-someone thing is awesome.


16- Madame Gao
Quiet, old, and menacing, this lady takes garbage from no one. Add that to the fact that the seventy-something year-old woman is the last person you’d expect to run an international crime ring, and Madame Gao is a totally awesome criminal.


15- Johann Fennhoff
Didn’t even see him coming. But the hypnosis thing was fun to watch- Fennhoff hypnotized two people into committing suicide. That’s some villainy skill right there.


14- Calvin Zabo
So maybe this guy isn’t evil any more, but when he was a villain, he was great. Completely mortal, yet has semi-Hulk-like rages that result in a pile of dead bodies in the vicinity. Good times.


13- Alexander Pierce
He had charm. He also had amazing foresight, because in order to plan an insurrection long in the making? That takes some serious planning.


12- Nobu
He’s a ninja! Probably 80% of his screen time is him trying to murder Daredevil, and it brings some amazing fight scenes between the two as equally smart hero and villain are pitted against each other.


11- Ultron
While Ultron could definitely have had a better plan, his little robotic humor was hilarious. Robots and computers are supposed to be emotionless, but Ultron is darkly funny and brings a repertoire of quips and one-liners only rivaled by his creator. Despite his failed plan, though, he makes for a decent villain, considering he wrecked an entire country.


10- Whitehall
This guy was creepy. He’s a seventy year-old Nazi scientist in the regenerated body of a forty year-old, and takes all of his newfound power to heart as he dissects people in the name of discovery. He also does a nice job of controlling his HYDRA forces, and was a very real threat to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.


09- John Garrett (The Clairvoyant)
I didn’t see him coming either. But I do love his sense of humor and the way he handles his section of HYDRA. This man was the one who turned Ward- who’s one of the best villains I’ve ever seen- and he did it using only words to persuade him. Garrett was a great double agent and very entertaining.


08- Winter Soldier
Yeah, yeah, I know. He’s good now. But when he was a villain, he shot Nick Fury, destroyed multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. buildings, killed several of their agents, and almost defeated Captain America- he would have if Cap hadn’t pulled the ‘don’t you remember me’ thing.


07- Red Skull
He was intelligent, and the super strength doesn’t hurt his villain ranking, either. The one question I have with him is, is he dead? Or was he just teleported off to wherever in the universe? If he’s alive, will he show up again?


06- Hive
This thing is tougher to destroy than a Nokia. He’s been attacked by super-powered people, shot repeatedly, been hit by an RPG, been attacked by aliens, and is older than dirt and he’s still not dead. You could drop a nuke on him, and he’d probably still live. That, and he has some crazy dark charisma going. Hive is a fun and tough villain, and although his end was... meh, he was good while he lasted.


05- Dottie Underwood
The sweet girl next door kicks some serious butt, and not a single person saw her coming, not even Agent Carter. Bonus points for continuing to act sweet and innocent even after she’s been exposed as a Russian sleeper agent.

 

04- Wilson Fisk
The mindset of Wilson Fisk: Someone has interrupted my date. I do not like that. Therefore, I will behead him by smashing his head repeatedly with a car door. Enough said- Fisk is an awesome villain.


03- Loki
People were expecting first place for Loki, but I’m a contrary girl. He’s easily the best Marvel villain when it comes to movies, though, with his sarcasm and layered evil plans.


02- Kilgrave
He’s creepier than Whitehall. He can make you do anything. Now, some people would take control of countries with this power, but Kilgrave’s not interested. Instead of becoming president, he uses his powers to make people fall in love with him, force obnoxious people to stand outside in the cold for hours, and compel both of his parents to kill themselves. Evilness rating: ten out of ten.


01- Ward
He’s funny yet mysteriously evil, and is almost as bad as Snape when it comes to the question of which side he’s on. However, unlike Snape, he’s not good at the end, which is how he makes this list. His is one of the best story arcs I’ve ever seen for any villain, and it’s quite easy to end up sympathizing with Ward.

 

Some of these villains made it to my other villain reviews. If you want more in-depth reasoning as to why they’re so awesome, check out the other articles. Also, if you disagree with me and want to argue rankings, I'm open for debate.



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This article has 2 comments.


on Oct. 6 2016 at 12:22 pm
wolvesandwilderness GOLD, Lakeland, Florida
10 articles 47 photos 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Funny how a single word can change everything in your life."
"It is not funny at all. Steel is power. Money is power. But of all the things in all the worlds, words are power.”

Darrow au Andromedus and Nero au Augustus in Red Rising.

A lot of people haven't watched the show, so maybe seeing two TV show characters at the top of the list is a bit of a surprise. But Luke Cage is out now, so we'll see where that villain ranks.

on Sep. 29 2016 at 7:07 pm
the-mormon-introvert GOLD, Alpine, Utah
11 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
Even when the dark comes crashing through, When you need a friend to carry you, And when you're broken on the ground, You will be found
--Evan Hansen, Dear Evan Hansen

I completely agree with this list! Ward has an amazing character development and is definitely number one on the villain list.