Ash's Villain Picks (Top 10)
HONORABLE MENTION
Dormamu
Gorr the God Butcher
Dormamu: when you talk about Galactus level villains you have to absolutely add Dormamu to that list. Dormammu and Arishem (Eternals) are the closest things we are going to get to Galactus for now, even though they toned down his abilities. Dormamu was not only visually intimidating by his presence on screen but had Doctor Strange not out-smarted him (and if he were dealing with any other level being) he would have killed any super-hero in that moment instantly with 0 effort.
Gorr: Me personally I would have loved to seen Beta Ray Bill, Thor and Valkyrie take on Gorr the god butcher. Christian Bale did a fantastic job portraying this villain it's just a shame that the film did not equal to the villain's performance.
10. Agatha Harkness
Agatha Harkness in the comic books is a very powerful witch, who with the proper strategy could have absolutely defeated the Scarlet Witch (be very clear about that). I believe that Marvel had to tone down Agatha's abilities to properly create and set up Scarlet witches story arc. Agatha is realistically working with Mephisto behind the scenes and the combination of the two is extremely dangerous to the cosmos (likely has been for centuries). When we see Agatha's show we are going to see an incredibly powerful villain rise even higher than she's already capable of but from what we saw in Wanda-Vision Agatha is only getting started
9. Namor
Not only did I love Namors background and how they portrayed him in Wakanda Forever but I also believe that when we talk about destruction Submariner definitely put a dent in one of the most powerful Nations in the MCU. Wakanda for so long has been portrayed as the most powerful nation in the MCU so for a villain to be able to sit back for decades and allow this nation to parade themselves that way while knowing that his Nation could easily infiltrate them is incredibly powerful and Incredibly scary if you ask me. Not only does he have the same type of material as Wakanda but the African nation is not as large as his oceans. Namor controls the entire ocean, which gives you a small idea of how powerful this King is and also shows you that when brought together Wakanda and Talokan can certainly be a force to fear on planet Earth.
8. Ultron
Ultron has so much longevity in the MCU and we've seen that not only in Age of Ultron but in Multiverse of Madness. Ultron is an AI very similar to Jarvis just more hellbent on destroying the Avengers and making the world more in His image (which unfortunately is evil). Ultron in the comic books has such a lasting effect and has continuously been a long-standing villain for The Avengers to face and the way they brought him to life on screen was insanely accurate to how he was in the comic books. Ultron will always be one of the most feared AI in the MCU however Jarvis and Miss Minutes has also proven that even though they may not be as powerful as Ultron they can be as intelligent. Overall Ultron is the big bad to be feared in the AI world of the MCU and has proven that 10x over.
The original Mandarin in Iron Man 3 started out to be one of my favorite human-like villains in the entire MCU. Ben Kingsley gave an overqualified performance of The Mandarin and was absolutely on Iron Man 1 level of overall quality. What they did to him by the end of the film absolutely mortified me and made me hate the entire film. Now if you move to the Shang-Chi version of The Mandarin this villain was phenomenal and to me one of the top human villains in all of the MCU. Not only was he incredibly powerful and intelligent but his performance in general was just top-notch not just for Marvel film but could have been top-notch for any type of film. The Mandarin in Shang- Chi was one of many reasons why Shang-Chi was one of the best films in the most recent multiversal Saga and also his daughter was just as insanely awesome as he was. Side-note and oddly enough I ended up loving The "Other" version (or Ben's version) of the villain in Shang-Chi and going forward, I just felt like they should have left that version out of Iron Man 3 completely.
7. The Mandarin
6. The Winter Soldier
The Winter Soldier, alongside The Mandarin, is the best human villain in the MCU hands-down. For decades he has been responsible for some of Hydra's most dirty deeds and he is one of the reasons why Captain America 2 was in the top 5 best MCU films. His portrayal of a leading assassin in the MCU was one of the best stints of acting and along with Pierce in that movie was just top notch cinema not just for the MCU but stand-alone film as well. The Winter Soldier is one of those characters that no matter what film he is in, he will always be a fan favorite and has a rare credit of not only being an excellent villain but an excellent hero as well (which Loki and Wanda can also take a bow for in this category).
5. The Scarlet Witch
Oh Wanda you little minx! I think I have given The Scarlet Witch so much shine over the past few years/movies because she has just really blown me away movie by movie. She's another hero/villain who has flawlessly been able to be a fan favorite whether she's helping the Avengers or up against them and that is a hard thing to do. Currently Wanda is THE most powerful being on earth and ONE of the most powerful beings in the cosmos and she just proves why every single time. Fans CANNOT WAIT for her to meet her REAL daddy Magneto (another top notch/heavy hitter villain) and are eager to see how this is going to play out on screen. Stronger than Doctor Strange and able to take out the illuminati makes her very worthy of being in the top 5 big bads list.
4. Hela/Surtur
As we get into the top 5, the types of villains we are dealing with in these categories are beyond supernatural. They are beings not only in the MCU but in the actual comics of extreme power and their level of destruction and chaos spreads beyond earth. Hela and Surtur were both so powerful that they destroyed an entire planet on their own. What makes that even worse is that Asgard is one of the most powerful planets in the cosmos so that is a very insane statement to make in that regard. The longer Hela stayed on her home planet the more powerful she becomes (drawing power from the planet itself) which is incredibly dangerous for their people. Take it up a level from that and I absolutely ADORED the way Surtur looked on film (extremely comic accurate) and I loved that they didn't scale down his powers AT ALL (the only being that could take out Hela). Some villains were robbed of their powers on screen because it just doesn't adapt well to the film (or on screen) if a villain is TO powerful but Surtur among the others in the top 5 got to flex their full muscles. Surtur growing as large as a planet and just destroying Asgard was a gift to any hard-core comic fan.
In technicality and in the long run Kang COULD surpass Thanos however right now it's too early to make that statement. Thanos is only one being but Kang and his council are all through-out the cosmos/multiverse and each version of him is worse than the other. The Council of Kang scene at the end of Ant-man alone was enough for fans to be overly excited about what's to come. Granted I know Majors is in some trouble in his personal life but he is the perfect person to play Kang and I certainly hope he stays. Kang/Doctor Doom/Mephisto are characters that could take the MCU to another level after End-Game and if done properly could just repeat the glory and dominance that Marvel has so triumphantly shown over the years.
3. Kang the Conqueror
2. Loki
Loki, since his debut as a villain in The Avengers, has not only become one of the best in the MCU but if you were to create an "All Time Film Villains List" Loki would also be in that category as well. Tom Hiddleston can put his name in the history books for one of the best villains played on screen and just when you think his performance in the films couldn't be any better he becomes one of the best tv shows Marvel has to offer. Other than Scarlet Witch (again) being an incredible Villain, incredible hero, being the best in movie and tv form get's you recognition and brag rights that just can't be beat (outside of #1). Loki season 2 dabbled in him becoming an incredible hero and truly fulfilling the glorious purpose he so prominently carries.
Thanos to date, has been the ONLY villain to set out on a mission of destruction and cause more harm/damage then even he thought he was capable of. The one villain outside of Gorr the God Butcher to actually succeed in his mission of death and despair. Thanos killed half of EVERY LIVING CREATURE in the universe then went to a farm to eat breakfast. The only other person in comic-book to movie history to accomplish just a fraction of this was the smartest man alive in Watchmen (and he only took out a fraction of planet earth). Thanos is the most powerful being in the cosmos (for now) and can throw full blown planets, travel to any point in time and space, alter/re-write reality, easily beat Earth's strongest defender (The Hulk), collect souls among many other terrifying capabilities. It's important to note that you must be a certain level of being/powerful to even wield Infinity Stones all at once and live to accomplish these abilities so yeah....there's also that. Josh Brolin playing this part was the perfect potion to making the best villain in MCU history.
1. Thanos
