27 Marvel Cinematic Universe Villains, Ranked By Villainy
27 Marvel Cinematic Universe Villains, Ranked By Villainy
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with a variety of villains who make life terrible for the Avengers and the extended family of Marvel superheroes. Who is actually the most evil, though? Follow along as we rank the MCU's villains -- not by who's the biggest or most powerful, but based on their level of villainy.
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27. Winter Soldier
First appearance: Captain America: Winter Soldier
Poor Bucky just wants to spend life hanging out with his best friend Steve Rogers. Instead, he gets brainwashed by HYDRA, turns into an evil super soldier, and breaks up the Avengers in Civil War.
None of the blame lands on him, though. Bucky's heart is pure.
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26. Nebula
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy
The adopted daughter of Thanos has been through the absolute worst a person can be exposed to, from torture to having body parts replaced with robotics. So it's hard to blame her for becoming so evil. But as the second Guardians movie shows, underneath her villainy is a need to be loved and accepted by her sister. So is she that bad?
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25. Vulture
First appearance: Spider-Man: Homecoming
Vulture was a villain by circumstance more than anything else. When his livelihood is threatened by Tony Stark and the government, he does what he has to do to protect his family. Somewhere along the way, he becomes accustomed to a lavish lifestyle and makes bad choices, but he's able to save himself in the end.
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24. Yondu
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy
While Yondu does eventually find redemption, there's no way around saying it: He is a villain who's done some heinous things in his life. Still, underneath it all is a guy who loves Peter Quill like a son.
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23. The Destroyer
First appearance: Thor
The Destroyer is capable of inflicting massive amounts of damage, so clearly he's a villain to be feared. However, this mindless drone is essentially acting at the behest of its master. Without the ability to reason and make decisions, it's hard to hold the Destroyer entirely responsible for its actions.
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22. Helmut Zemo
First appearance: Captain America: Civil War
Helmut is one of the most tragic villains in the MCU, as everything he does is driven by the death of his family. He doesn't intend to kill the King of Wakanda, he simply wants to drive a wedge between the Avengers. In doing so, though, many die and much damage is done.
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21. Whiplash
First appearance: Iron Man 2
Whiplash's vendetta against Tony Stark goes back to their fathers. His dad helped Howard Stark in designing the arc reactor, but was later accused of espionage and never received credit for the discovery. He eventually died poor. That leads his son to seek revenge against the Stark family, stumbling through several terrible choices along the way.
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20. Ayesha
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Ayesha is annoying and very, very golden. However, it's hard to see her as too evil. After all, her acts against the Guardians of the Galaxy are in response to Rocket stealing valuable assets from them. Of course, she takes the matter to the extreme by sending an entire alien race after the misfits to kill them.
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19. Abomination
First appearance: Hulk
Abomination is a creation that never should have happened. Emil Blonsky is brought in to help neutralize Bruce Banner, as his Hulk persona was out of control. After being injected with super soldier serum and Banner's blood, though, all bets are off -- it sent him out of control.
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18. The Grandmaster
First appearance: Thor: Ragnarok
It's easy to want to love the Grandmaster. He's charismatic, he's funny, and most importantly, he's Jeff Goldblum. However, he also runs a brutal fighting ring, lords over the people of Sakaar, and has a henchwoman that will kill on command.
Still, he's just so likable.
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17. Ultron
First appearance: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ultron is terrible, destructive, and one of the worst things humanity has ever created. That said, it's a piece of artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark. How villainous can it be when it's just a computer with reasoning that almost adds up?
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16. The Chitauri
First appearance: Marvel's Avengers
This alien race doesn't know much about Earth or the people that inhabit it. Instead, they exist to serve Thanos and are brought to the planet by Loki. While they essentially destroy New York City, this group of aliens doesn't seem to have much control over their villainy.
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15. Justin Hammer
First appearance: Iron Man 2
In the beginning, Justin simply wants to be more successful than Tony Stark--and who doesn't want that? Unable to discredit Stark or perfectly recreate the arc reactor technology, Hammer goes off the deep end and enlists a convicted terrorist with a vendetta against the Starks to destroy Iron Man. His level of villainy is a case of not getting his way and taking that rage too far.
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14. Aldrich Killian
First appearance: Iron Man 3
Aldrich Killian likely wouldn't be a villain at all, had Tony Stark had given him the time of day at the beginning of Iron Man 3. Unfortunately, he does not. That leaves Killian feeling underappreciated, leading him to stage terrorist attacks, develop his own army of super soldiers, and create the Mandarin persona.
Maybe Tony should have talked to him in the first place.
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13. Yellowjacket
First appearance: Ant-Man
While Darren Cross simply wants to become better than his mentor Hank Pym, that need grows to the point of villainy. He rebrands Pym's company as his own, sells weapons to terrorists, and puts on a super suit to carry out evil. Selfishness drives him to do some very bad things.
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12. Kaecilius
First appearance: Doctor Strange
After feeling disillusioned by the Ancient One, Kaecilius essentially sells his soul to Dormammu and is willing to end the world to help bring the powerful being to Earth. While his rage was driven by the loss of his wife and child, the evil buried within Kaecilius is so potent it's unmistakable.
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11. Obadiah Stane
First appearance: Iron Man
What makes Obadiah so evil is that he's driven by simple greed. He's willing to sell weapons to terrorists, he's willing to kill the son of his best friend, and he's willing to do serious damage to American security--simply to make a few more dollars.
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10. Loki
First appearance: Thor
The brother of Thor and manipulative trickster may not be the most dangerous villain in the MCU, but he is one of the most villainous. Whether it's repeatedly stabbing his brother in the back, starting a massive alien invasion on Earth, or even banishing his father and taking his place, there's no doubt about it: Loki is the worst--most of the time.
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9. Hela
First appearance: Thor: Ragnarok
Hela is literally the goddess of death. There's no denying her villainy. She was raised that way by her father Odin, ruling over people and killing mercilessly. How much of it is nature versus nurture, though?
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8. Malekith
First appearance: Thor: The Dark World
The leader of the Dark Elves is so obsessed with an old grudge that he is willing to destroy the Nine Realms if it would allow him a victory over Asgard. While many villains want nothing more than to cause utter destruction, few do it with as little care or worry as Malekith, a truly cold and ruthless monster.
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7. Alexander Pierce
First appearance: Captain America: Winter Soldier
While he was one of the top ranking officials within SHIELD, it was all a cover. The betrayal of Pierce, which includes activating the Winter Soldier and destroying SHIELD from the inside, shows him to be one of the absolute worst villains of all time.
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6. Arnim Zola
First appearance: Captain America: The First Avenger
There's not a lot to love about Arnim. He's a Nazi-turned-HYDRA scientist who specializes in weapons creation. Upon death, he has his brain uploaded into a computer to further expand HYDRA's power.
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5. Ronan the Accuser
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy
This member of the Kree is so obsessed with power that he betrays Thanos in his quest to both rule and destroy a major piece of the galaxy. The potential of his own Infinity Stone is just too much to deny. In the end, though, it is his undoing.
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4. Baron von Strucker
First appearance: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
This former HYDRA leader not only follows in Red Skull's Nazi-like steps, but he carries out experiments on numerous people from Sokovia that end in mostly death. Two subjects, though, survive and are kept prisoner by von Strucker, who then wields them as weapons against the Avengers: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
As if being a Nazi isn't bad enough, he really goes the extra mile.
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3. Ego
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
A villain that's an entire planet is a scary thing to face. What makes Ego so scary, though, is how little regard he has for anyone or anything that isn't him. Between killing Peter Quill's mother and going from planet to planet simply trying to make an acceptable child, nothing matters to him but becoming bigger and more all-encompassing. Such a selfish planet.
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2. Thanos
First appearance: Marvel's Avengers
Thanos has been the horrible shadow hanging over the MCU since almost the very beginning. His thirst for destruction and power knows no bounds and his quest for the Infinity Stones is the thread that holds the MCU together. With a being this powerful, it remains to be seen whether he can be stopped.
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1. Red Skull
First appearance: Captain America: The First Avenger
Red Skull doesn't get much of a chance to flourish in the MCU, but it's hard to deny his villainy: He's a super Nazi. Leading HYDRA in World War II, he opposes Captain America and stands against everything the first Avenger believes in. His evil nature is second-to-none.
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