Right at the beginning, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
has occasionally been criticized for its villains, but more than 15 years later, the franchise treats villains better than any other. The MCU broke new ground for comic book movies when it began in 2008. At that time, superhero movies and shows had already established themselves as a reasonably successful genre, but they rarely stood out in the broader cinema landscape, appealing to a restricted audience. audience that rarely became mainstream.
However, when Iron Man was released, it changed the game for superhero movies. This effect was only worsened with the release of films such as Thor and Captain Americaweaving subtle connections while building a larger world for these heroes. And while they managed to create engaging heroes based on many incredible characters from genius creator Stan Lee, It took a moment for the MCU to really get the villains right. However, more than 15 years after the MCU's debut, it's safe to say that the MCU's villains are layered, full of depth, and engaging.
MCU Villains Are Rarely All Bad
MCU villains have a lot of nuance and complexity
In fact, many of the MCU Villains Make Valid Points which tend to make the audience feel a pang of empathy for them. Early on, this could be seen in characters like Aldritch Killian and Ivan Vanko in the Iron Man films, two people who were personally impacted by the negative actions of Stark and his family. So with Thanos, the series' first overarching villain, his personal mission was an effort to make resources more abundant and end scarcity in the universe. However, destroying half of all life in the galaxy hardly achieved that goal.
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The track record isn't perfect, there are MCU villains who appear to be completely horrible, like Cassandra Nova and Obadiah Stane, but still, these characters have been neglected and pushed aside, and harbor anger and resentment because of it. Others, like Dar-Benn de The wonders legitimately had their world seriously affected by Captain Marvel's thoughtless 'heroism'. Loki had a remarkable arc from villain to heroand Kang's variants proved that he wasn't inherently a bad guy with the introduction of Victor Timely.
Stan Lee Established the Rule MCU Villains Will Still Follow Decades Later
Stan Lee continues to influence the MCU long after his death
And all of these villains with some degree of nuance actually go back to a rule established by the father of modern Marvel Comics, Stan Lee. One of the Stan's greatest contributions to the worldIn addition to his amazing characters, it was the regular Soapbox columns he would include in the comics, where he would philosophize and share his personal ideas and values with the world. And in a March 1969 Soapbox column, Stan shared this sentiment about the essence of heroes and villains:
“One of the things we try to demonstrate in our stories is that no one is completely good or completely bad. Even a shoddy supervillain can have a redeeming feature, just as any howling hero can have his crazy problems. One of the greatest barriers to true peace and justice in this troubled world is the feeling that everyone on the other side of the ideological fence is “evil.” We don't know if you are an extreme radical or Mr. . The establishment itself - whether you're a black militant or a white liberal - whether you're a breathless protester or a jolly John Bircher - but whatever it is, don't let yourself get bogged down by kindergarten labels. It's time we learned how fruitless it is to think about it! terms of us and them - of black and white Maybe, just maybe, the other side isn't all bad. Perhaps your own point of view is not the only one that is divinely inspired. we heard the other guy; and until we realize that we can never cross the Rainbow Bridge into true Nirvana - unless we do it side by side!"
The reality is that when a villain is completely evil, they become one-dimensional and boring. In the same vein, heroes who have complex backgrounds and motives can be the focus of more interesting stories. This can be seen by the popularity of antihero stories and shows like The boys or Watchers. A villain who has some sort of identifiable motive, even if his conclusion is wrong, becomes much more interesting and someone worth saving and interacting with. This creates better stories and more interesting arcs, and the MCU continues to try to incorporate this aspect into its villains today.
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February 14, 2025
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July 25, 2025
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July 24, 2026
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