Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Top Five Villains: Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase Three-Present

*Spoilers.*

I did a Top Five villains post for the MCU back in 2017, which is about a million years ago in Marvel time. Back then, the TV side of the franchise had a stronger villain game, and those I did include from the films were “it’s complicated” villains like Loki and the Winter Soldier. All of which is to say, it’s high time I do a second installment of this list.

And yes, I’m aware that there’s only one movie (and presumably one show?) left in Phase Four, so I could just wait to see what I think of Namor or any Big Bad who might emerge in She-Hulk, but I feel like doing it now, so that’s what we’ll do.

Side note: I love our first glimpse at Kang as He Who Remains, but we just haven’t seen enough of him yet for him to get a spot here. Talk to me again after Phases Five and Six.

 

Erik Killmonger

Killmonger remains a fantastic character. A man who’s dedicated his life to taking back what he feels is his by the Wakandans who abandoned him, executing a multi-step plan to gain entry into their country. He’s out to claim legitimacy for himself by tearing it out of their hands, and then he wants to use their superior technology to punish oppressors all over the world. His salt-the-earth tactics can’t be justified, but he comes by his anger and pain honestly. I’m sorry that we lost him as a character, but his death scene hits so hard.

 

Quentin Beck

This is such a fun reimagining of Mysterio, a disgruntled former Stark employee who’s amassed a small army of similarly bitter tech whizzes to fake an Avengers-worthy enemy and gain attention as a hero. His fights with holographic baddies and trumped-up backstory about being from another universe scores him access to S.H.I.E.L.D., which gives him the room he needs to manipulate Peter into handing over the keys to Tony’s legacy. He’s wild and larger than life and so entertaining, and at the same time, his holographic attacks can be truly frightening when he traps Peter in one. Also, dude had a final petty “screw you” to deploy in the event of his death. Even when he’s gone, he’s not through messing with Peter’s life.

 

Agatha Harkness

It can be argued that Wanda’s actions make her a bigger villain than Agatha in WandaVision, and certainly she causes a lot more torment to the citizens of Westview. But even if Agatha doesn’t do as much direct damage, her lust for Wanda’s power causes her to enter the Hex and manipulate Wanda, which keeps the whole thing going even longer. She uses an immensely powerful, grieving woman for her own purposes, prolonging Westview’s suffering in the hopes of taking Wanda’s magic for herself. And come on, she’s got her own villain theme song! That right there is Top Five-worthy on its own.

 

 

Xu Wenwu

Okay, if you know anything about me, you knew this one was going to be on here! Immortal warlord, grieving widow, and abusive/neglectful father, Wenwu is a richly complicated character who’s allowed to be deeply sympathetic and objectively horrible in the space of a single scene. He’s let his quest to avenge his wife’s death rip apart what remains of his family, estranging him from both his children. He still loves them, in his way, but he’s so laser-focused on the only thing that he thinks will bring them back together—recovering his lost wife—that he’d destroy anyone who gets in his way, including them. And Wenwu definitely tops this list for the most badass villain. That Ten Rings action is cool as hell, and I love watching my man be brutal and deadly with them.

 

Gorr the God Butcher

One nice thing about a lot of the villains in Phase Three and beyond is that we understand why they’re doing what they do. We obviously don’t have to support it—no #ThanosWasRight from me—but I like seeing motivations beyond just “being evil.” In Gorr’s case, he was wrecked when his daughter died and his god mocked him for his faith. As a result, he’s turned his back on all gods and dedicated what’s left of his life to killing as many of them as he can. The more he uses the Necrosword, the more it twists him, polluting his remaining lifeforce, but in his view, he has nothing left, so it doesn’t matter what happens to him as long as he can continue to take his vengeance.

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