10 Most Disappointing Villains in the MCU, Ranked

Marvel Cinematic Universe has assembled expansive films and shows filled with beloved heroes and thrilling stories, but sometimes, the villains are sidelined as they put the spotlight more on the heroes. This is unfortunate, as the best hero journeys are often defined by how great the adversaries are. While some antagonists—like Thanos or Loki—have become iconic, others have fallen short of their potential. Whether due to rushed development, underwhelming narratives, or being overshadowed by their heroic counterparts, many villains fail to leave a lasting impression despite being drawn from rich comic book lore.

Marvel does not have any problems attracting talented actors; recognizable names from rising stars to Oscar winners have played their villainous roles. This results in big actors delivering unfortunately lackluster iterations as Marvel villains, even though audiences know that they have the potential to be more. This list highlights some of the most disappointing villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, focusing on why they didn’t meet expectations. While these villains may have had flashes of brilliance or intriguing concepts, their execution often lacked the depth or stakes to make them truly memorable.

10 K.E.V.I.N.

‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ (2022)

Tatiana Maslany‘s Jennifer Walters is overwhelmed by all that’s happening in her life by Episode 9 of her show, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. She’s losing her career, a misogynistic billionaire (Jon Bass) is leading a smear campaign against her, and she finds herself in the middle of a four-way fight between the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Abomination (Tim Roth), Titania (Jameela Jamil), and said billionaire who injects himself with Hulk’s powers. She-Hulk protests directly to Marvel, finds an AI named K.E.V.I.N. who’s in charge of all the storylines, and demands a reset.

K.E.V.I.N., obviously a satirical play on Marvel bossKevin Feige, is a payoff to the meta elements in the show. The conversation between the AI and Walters can even make Deadpool drool, but as the final boss to Walter’s story, it’s simply underwhelming. It undercuts her story, seemingly giving her unsatisfying stories all season long and planning her great character moments in the background without her own agency. It’s a missed opportunity that does not resolve the intriguing commentaries the show gives and does not fit the show’s light-hearted tone at all.

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9 Whiplash

‘Iron Man 2’ (2010)

Iron Man 2 sees Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) square off against Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash, who has a personal vendetta against Stark Industries because his father was deported after being accused of espionage. With his sharp intellect and engineering skills, he recreates the Arc Reactor and channels its powers to a set of electrified whips. He then teams up with Tony’s direct rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), creating an army of drones for him.

With Oscar winner Mickey Rourke as Vanko, the expectation is high for Whiplash’s character. His initial setup is strong but lacks meaningful character development as the story progresses. His motivations and personality are overshadowed by Hammer’s antics, leaving him underwhelming as a primary antagonist. Rourke himself voices his displeasure with the character as Marvel allegedly refused to make him more layered, signifying early problems for Marvel as they build their cinematic universe.

8 Taskmaster

‘Black Widow’ (2021)

Taskmaster is introduced in Black Widow as an unstoppable assassin who mimics her opponents’ and other heroes’ fighting styles. Taskmaster is able to master the iconic and deadly moves of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow herself. Taskmaster’s identity differs from the comics, as she is revealed to be Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), taking orders from her father, General Dreykov (Ray Winstone), who uses the Red Dust to manipulate her mind.

The idea of having Taskmaster facing off Black Widow is exciting as both are masters at combat. However, by reducing Taskmaster to a silent, mind-controlled enforcer, the film sacrifices the character that’s so beloved in the comics and the actress beneath the mask. Kurylenko is a capable actress, having done action movies like Quantum of Solace and Hitman, so she feels wasted as Taskmaster. This lack of personality and agency diminishes Taskmaster’s role as a fine adversary, leaving fans yearning for more.

7 Dar-Benn

‘The Marvels’ (2023)

In The Marvels, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) seeks revenge against Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) for annihilating her world and tries to revive her dying planet by exploiting other planets’ resources. With a deadly Kree war-hammer, her plans threaten the universe and Captain Marvel requires the help of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) to stop her.

Ashton commits fully to making her character a real threat to the trio of Marvel heroines, yet she appears one-note as her character lacks development. She has a solid backstory that links directly to Captain Marvel, but audiences never see her character beyond that. Despite her plans affecting worlds other than Earth, Dar-Benn feels inconsequential to the grand scheme of the MCU. The electric chemistry between The Marvels themselves further outshines Dar-Benn as the villain.

6 Yon Rogg

‘Captain Marvel’ (2019)

Played by Jude Law, Yon Rogg is introduced as a mentor to Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, training her to fight and being a reliable teammate during their missions. His true colors as a manipulative antagonist after Danvers learned about her past and her powers. As a soldier loyal to the Kree Empire, Yon Rogg is simply trying to harness the power of the Tesseract for his kind without giving a thought to the woman who wields that power.

Yon Rogg exudes some charisma into the character, thanks to Law’s screen presence. But his overall personality lacks the complexity to make him a compelling villain. His final showdown with Danvers, where he challenges her to prove herself without using her powers, feels underwhelming that it’s only right that Danvers refused to do so. Yon Rogg’s fate is still open, so audiences may see him going for a second chance.

5 Aldrich Killian

‘Iron Man 3’ (2013)

Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) is determined to get payback against Tony Stark after he rudely rejects his research at the beginning of Iron Man 3. He then establishes his own company, Advanced Idea Mechanics, and becomes the mastermind of the Extremis project. He enlists the service of a washed up actor to create a terrorist persona called The Mandarin, taking the US President hostage in his final act.

Once again, the expectation is high as Ben Kingsley becomes the third Oscar winner to square off against the narcissistic tech genius billionaire. However, writer-director Shane Black subverts audiences’ expectations as Kingsley’s Mandarin is merely a British actor, revealing Killian as the real Mandarin. While the twist is brave and commendable, Killian’s character doesn’t rise to fill the void left by the fake Mandarin. Killian is a product of Stark’s own arrogance, and as much as he brought Stark to his knees, it just feels like Stark is battling his own past. Despite Pearce deliciously basking in villainy antics, Killian turns out to be our bad-guy-of-the-week who occasionally breathes fire.

4 Darren Cross/Yellowjacket

‘Ant-Man’ (2015)

Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) starts out as Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) protégé in Ant-Man. But he soon turns into a rival as he seeks to exploit the Pym particle for profit by making a suit similar to Ant-Man’s called Yellowjacket. To avoid the particle being used by the wrong hands, Pym gives Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) a chance to be the new Ant-Man and defeat Cross.

Cross is disappointing because he embodies many of the MCU’s issues with generic villains. His motivations feel formulaic, and his interactions with Ant-Man are largely superficial. While he serves as a functional antagonist for Ant-Man’s journey, Cross’ lack of complexity leaves him overshadowed by much more interesting characters in the film, like Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) or even Lang’s talkative friend Luis. Cross gets a rare second chance in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania when he’s reincarnated as M.O.D.O.K. However, his role there is more like a comedy relief and frankly embarrassing for his character, doubling audiences’ disappointment.

3 Dormammu

‘Doctor Strange’ (2016)

Dormammu is introduced in Doctor Strange as a cosmic-level entity capable of consuming entire dimensions, making him one of the most powerful villains in Marvel lore. As the ruler of the Dark Dimension, he wants to expand his territory by merging it with Earth. He mobilizes the Zealots led by Kaecillus (Mads Mikkelsen) to clear any obstacle in his path, which includes Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch).

Dormammu is the MCU’s chance to introduce cosmic elements to their universe. However, his portrayal is hollow and abstract, following in the footsteps of previous superhero movies’ missteps in depicting such characters. Dormammu joins the group populated by Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’s Galactus and Green Lantern‘s Parallax as larger than life villains rendered as essentially cloud monsters. While the time-loop trap is an ingenious moment for Doctor Strange, the standoff doesn’t allow Dormammu to showcase his vast potential as a multidimensional conqueror.

2 Gorr the God Butcher

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (2022)

Gorr the God Butcher earns his name by killing various gods in the universe. Once a devout being, Gorr loses his faith and is driven to vengeance after the gods he worships let his daughter die. In a surprising yet welcome casting choice, Thor: Love and Thunder casts Christian Bale, most recognizable from Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight Trilogy, as Gorr. Audience expectations were high right from the get-go with Bale in the role.

Despite being named “the God Butcher”, Gorr is only shown killing one god at the beginning of the movie. His arc is overshadowed by the movie’s comedic tone, which is unfortunate because the character is rich in moral complexity. However, as expected, Bale brings depth and intensity that elevates Gorr, making audiences sympathetic to his journey. With an actor as accomplished as Bale, the movie unfortunately fails to give him plenty of screen time, diminishing his threat to Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). To top things off, Gorr’s potential as a big villain is cut short as he’s only utilized for one movie.

1 Kang the Conqueror

‘Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’ (2023)

Kang the Conqueror arrives in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania as a formidable, intimidating figure with dark ambitions to conquer worlds in different timelines throughout the multiverse. Trapped in the Quantum Realm, Kang tries to rebuild his Time Sphere to escape and bring his ambitions to life. His path opens when Scott Lang, Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) are accidentally transported into the Quantum Realm.

As Kang’s first major introduction to the audience, Jonathan Majors delivers an intense performance, giving Kang a menacing presence. Kang was touted to be the big bad in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga and the audience was excited to see the next great threat to the new Avengers. However, despite his carefully crafted buildup, his defeat at the hands of the Ant-Man family feels far too easy for someone meant to be a multiverse-level threat. While he’s slightly redeemed in Loki, this clumsy first appearance does not bode well for the MCU, and with Majors’ legal case, Kang’s big plans are put to a premature stop, replaced by Robert Downey Jr. who returns in a new role as Doctor Doom.

NEXT:10 Marvel Villains With the Saddest Backstories