With the release of the next MCU movie, Thor: Love And Thunder less than two months away, fans are already building hype for the announced villain: Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale. The much-hyped antagonist could end up being one of the best in the history of the franchise.
The MCU has an amazing lineup of comic baddies within the 28 movies already released and in their TV shows as well. Every dedicated fan has their personal top 10 cinema rogues, but those who have taken to the website Ranker have given their own personal take.
Vulture
Appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Adrian Toomes has a vendetta against Tony Stark for putting his salvaging company out of business. Now armed with Chitauri technology, the Vulture must keep his arms-dealing business strong, despite Spider-Man's best efforts to interfere.
Michael Keaton is no stranger to giving chilling performances, be it in Batman 1989 or Beetlejuice, and he definitely delivered once again as the main villain in the first movie of the Spider-Man MCU trilogy. Vulture may be an antagonist, but he is also somewhat relatable to fans due to the love he has for his family that motivates him. Vulture is also one of the MCU's best street-level villains, thanks to his shady arms dealings.
Mysterio
Spider-Man truly has his hands full with his rogues' gallery, especially with Quentin Beck, yet another MCU villain with hatred for Tony Stark. The bitter Beck bands with his fellow former employees to create Mysterio, an illusion of a superhero that wants Stark Industries, and its tech, for himself.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a fantastic Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and it's easy for fans to hate one of Spider-Man's best villains for how whiny and manipulative he is. The disgruntled former employee of Stark is so selfish and vain that in his last moments he drags down Peter Parker's name with him, making him look like a murderer and revealing his name to the public. Talk about a sore loser.
Helmut Zemo
First appearing in Captain America: Civil War, Zemo was a member of the Sokovian Armed Forces that blamed the Avengers for the loss of his family after the Battle of Sokovia. He intended to destroy the Avengers from the inside by framing the Winter Soldier for killing T'Challa's father, starting the Avenger's Civil War.
Zemo, portrayed by Daniel Brühl, was a truly slimy villain, constantly stirring up trouble wherever he went and then casually slipping away during the conflict he created. Many villains thrive on chaos, and Zemo certainly is one of them though he also came across as sympathetic at times. Fans loved his witty, dry humor in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, showing that he can have fun even in the tensest scenarios.
Red Skull
Getting his start in Captain America: The First Avenger, Johann Schmidt was once the head of HYDRA, the villainous organization that frequently antagonizes Captain America and the other Avengers. In Avengers: Infinity War, he appears as the keeper of the Soul Stone on Vormir.
Red Skull was a dastardly villain enough in his first appearance in The First Avenger, wiping out everyone around him just to get the Tesseract, and for kick-starting the brainwashing of individuals to create the HYDRA super soldiers. It is easy for fans to loathe him, especially with the cause he supports, and how self-absorbed he is in his lust for power.
Ultron
Created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner to be a peacekeeping program, Ultron eventually becomes sentient and rogue, deeming human life to be a danger to itself, and therefore believing it should be eradicated. His first and only appearance as the main villain in live-action is in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
James Spader truly portrays a terrifying, heartless, and calculating Ultron. What makes the villain such a dangerous threat is that he nearly defeats the Avengers, but thankfully for the sake of mankind his first victory is temporary. Fans hope to see more of the robotic foe, especially the version of him in the Disney+ series What If...? where a glimpse of a world if Ultron won is revealed.
Hela
During the events of Thor: Ragnarok, Hela is unleashed from her imprisonment after the death of her father Odin. Noticing that Asgard needs a new ruler, Hela hopes to take the throne by force and form a brand new empire, but her younger brothers, Thor and Loki, constantly get in her way.
While Hela may be yet another villain vying for a throne, the Goddess of Death is a fresh take on the trope and her cruel methods are stunning, yet effective. It was also a surprising moment when she managed to destroy Mjölnir, showing just how powerful she was. Audiences couldn't help but fall in love with Cate Blanchett's performance, creating yet another villain from Asgard who fans seem to love more than hate.
Erik Killmonger
After watching his father die at the hands of King T'Chaka, Erik Killmonger devoted his life to destroying his cousin, T'Challa. Killmonger wishes to rule Wakanda and use the technology the nation has to rid the world of the oppression of Black people and nearly carries his plan out to fruition.
Michael B. Jordan was arguably the star of Black Panther, providing the MCU with yet another brutal and calculating villain in Killmonger. Killmonger is also known for dropping dastardly quotes, ranking him among the MCU's villains as one of the best. While he most likely is not going to find his way in any future projects, the MCU fan base would love to find a way to see him back someday.
Bucky Barnes
In a tragic turn of events, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes goes from a World War II soldier to a brainwashed HYDRA super-soldier, forced to be their arm of punishment, eliminating any foe to HYDRA in his path. Thankfully, Steve Rogers helps him remember his past life, and Bucky eventually reforms.
The Winter Soldier was always beloved by fans throughout his arc, one of the MCU's best, and his redemption being completed in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier was one of the fan's favorite parts of the series. While there is debate over whether Bucky is a true villain, considering he was forced against his will to commit the crimes he did, it is undeniable that his villainous actions changed and challenged certain characters like Steve and Tony.
Loki
The God of Mischief and brother to Thor, Loki has been involved in many major schemes throughout the MCU's history, tackling the Avengers head on, or just taking on his brother one on one. In his own Disney+ series, Loki encounters variants of himself and a mysterious organization.
Ever since his first appearance in the original Thor movie, Tom Hiddleston's performance has fans charmed. Loki is not only one of the most popular villains, but he's also one of the best character alignment changes in the comics. Similar to Bucky, Loki has had a long character arc throughout the MCU that many fans appreciate, and have come to love the villain more for it.
Thanos
Dubbed the Mad Titan, Thanos had two large battles with the Avengers, and practically every hero in the galaxy. Armed with the Infinity Gauntlet and every Infinity Stone, Thanos is successful in the first battle, in Infinity War, and barely loses the second battle in Endgame.
Thanos is often considered the final boss of the MCU and his portrayal is executed masterfully by Josh Brolin. No other villain in the MCU has drawn a reaction so devastated and stunned from the fans as Thanos after managing to defeat so many foes with nothing but the Infinity Stones and an army. All other villains should just give up: Thanos being the top bad guy in the MCU is inevitable.