A superhero is only as good as their supervillain, and in these five comic book movies, the villains outshone everyone else in a big way. Tons of villains from Marvel, DC, and beyond are just as iconic as Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, meaning that studios have to meet a high bar when adapting them for the big screen. Luckily, with these five films, they knocked it out of the park
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Now, there are tons of incredible movies that also happen to feature incredible villains, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Instead, the villains in these five films are the best part, and without them, the movie would suffer significantly. Some may be movies where the villain is the only redeeming part, while others may be movies where the movie is great because it rests on the villain’s shoulders. Either way, the villains absolutely steal the show in these five films
5) Magneto in X-Men: First Class
Magneto is easily the best part of each entry in FOX’s X-Men series that he’s in, whether it’s Ian McKellen or Michael Fassbender’s version. However, most of the time, the Magneto iteration is just one part of an incredible whole, as can be seen in X2 or X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, when it comes to X-Men: First Class, Magneto is easily the best part of the movie, with most of the film’s memorable parts coming as a result of Magneto’s story and Fassbender’s performance
Starting X-Men: First Class with Magneto’s Nazi hunting adventures was a brilliant choice, and many fans would be on board with an entire movie of just that. Magneto’s backstory gets further fleshed out, making an already tragic story even worse and turning the villain into an even more complex character. The development of Magneto’s relationship with Professor X is also a highlight of the film, as this is the biggest prequel element that fans were wondering about before the prequel series began. First Class perfectly sets up Magneto’s larger villain role in Days of Future Past, and his time on screen here is some of the best X-Men content in existence.
4) Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor: Love and Thunder is a notoriously bad MCU movie, with it often being considered one of the worst films in the franchise. It leans too far in the direction of Thor: Ragnarok, leading to bad jokes, tonal inconsistencies, and a story that completely lacks weight. However, none of this is the fault of the film’s villain, Gorr the God Butcher. Legendary actor Christian Bale was brought in to play the villain of Love and Thunder, who was one of the most beloved antagonists from Thor comics. Disillusioned by the greed of the gods, Gorr sets out on a quest to kill them all, including the gods of Asgard.
Christian Bale actually gives a fantastic dramatic performance as Gorr, the weight of which isn’t matched by any other aspect of the film. Gorr’s design is also fantastic, acting as a perfect blend of his alien design from the comics and one that allows for Bale’s performance to shine through the makeup. Gorr also has a really great arc, with him becoming disillusioned, turning genocidal, then coming to terms with what he has done. Gorr feels like he’s from a totally different movie, but unfortunately, he’s trapped in this one.
3) Kang in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Another notoriously bad MCU movie with a fantastic villain is Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania. The third film in the Ant-Man trilogy had a lot riding on it, as it was set to properly introduce the big bad of the Multiverse Saga: Kang the Conqueror. Variants of Kang had already been seen in the Loki TV show, but Kang proper was expected to debut in Quantumania, where he would have his Avengers: The Kang Dynasty story set up. Behind-the-scenes changes at Marvel led to the abandonment of the Kang storyline, but what we got here was pretty incredible.
Kang was easily the best part of Quantumana, as the overly goofy tone and oversaturation of visual effects weighed down the rest of the film. It was an odd choice to have Kang be the villain in Quantumania at all, but for what it was, Kang was a really solid villain. The performance was great, the design was fantastic, and it was made clear that Kang was a true Avengers-level threat, one that fans were excited to see return in future movies
2) Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War
Unlike some of the other entries on this list, Avengers: Infinity War is a truly great movie. It is often considered to be the best Avengers movie, and it managed to pull off the ultimate crossover film that many fans thought was impossible. Infinity War did this in an interesting way, which was to essentially make the film’s villain its protagonist. Throughout Infinity War, we are following Thanos’ journey to collect the Infinity Stones, with the actual heroes of the MCU working more as side characters. Infinity War is where Thanos cemented his status as a legendary MCU villain, causing him to become a household name.
Josh Brolin’s performance as Thanos is what defines the character, with him creating many of the qualities and iconic lines that have since become associated with the Mad Titan. On top of that, the effects on Thanos are incredible, as Infinity War manages to pull off the difficult task of heavily featuring a humanoid character composed entirely of CGI. Thanos is possibly the best MCU villain, and much of his work in gaining that title comes from here
1) Joker in The Dark Knight
While it may seem like an obvious pick, it’s because it’s the right one. Heath Ledger’s Joker is one of the most legendary performances in all of comic book film history. If stealing the spotlight was in the dictionary, a picture of this character would be beside it. Joker one-ups every The Dark Knight actor he shares a scene with, crafting a character and performance that defined the 2000s. Every Joker actor since has been compared to Ledger, and he is arguably the most well-known element of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.
Without Joker, The Dark Knight would fall apart. Every element of it, from Batman’s arc to the creation of Harvey Two-Face, is tied to Joker’s philosophy and chaotic plan. Joker is the best villain in comic book movie history by far, which is impressive since he only appears in this movie. However, it is clear that The Dark Knight is Joker’s movie, not Batman’s
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