Fans are lining up to watch Gorr the God Butcher take on the God of Thunder in Thor: Love and Thunder. Having proven himself to be a horrifying villain with an incredible entrance, many other Marvel Cinematic Universe antagonists pale in comparison.
Yet there are a few who have proven themselves to be terrifying enough. Just the villain reveals alone make them memorable, horrifying, and even iconic, and that impression only grows throughout their appearances. Fans on the site Ranker have actually taken to ranking which villains had the best reveals, and the results are somewhat surprising.
Note: Ranker lists are fan-voted, live, and continue to accrue votes, so some rankings may have changed after this publishing.
Arnim Zola
A man in a machine, Arnim Zola shocked Captain America by revealing that his death was not as final as it might initially have seemed. Instead, his consciousness was uploaded into a computer, and Zola revealed that he was no mere recording; he was artificial intelligence.
To make matters worse, Zola revealed that he was stalling as rockets came to destroy Steve, Black Widow and the facility. The reveal was paricularly dramatic considering that few other dead villains have ever returned to make a subsequent appearance. It was a sign that Steve's past was coming back to haunt him, just like Bucky was.
Obadiah Stane
The first major villain in the history of the MCU, Obadiah Stane was Tony's business partner, mentor and close friend. Though he seemed like a loyal ally, desperately trying to save his friend from both the terrorists and the news media, he revealed after taking Tony's arc reactor that he'd been working against Tony all along.
The betrayal proved that Tony couldn't really trust anyone but himself — something that would lead directly to the creation of Ultron. Stane was one of the most unexpected villains in the MCU, but his drastic betrayal left its mark on Tony and the entirety of the franchise.
Thanos
The villain who would come to kill half the universe with a snap of his fingers, Thanos was the best villain in the MCU, but he certainly didn't need to build himself up to reach that honor. From his first appearance in The Avengers, Thanos was an intimidating presence.
Told that challenging the Avengers was to court death, Thanos just smiled, revealing that courting death had been his goal all along. That horrifying smile remained one of the few references to Thanos for years, before Gamora revealed just how dangerous he was by sharing her backstory. A villain unafraid of death can be scary, but a villain actively seeking it out is unbeatable, and that's the threat Thanos posed from the start.
Alexander Pierce
At the time of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nick Fury didn't seem like a man with a lot of allies, so when Alexander Pierce first appeared and had Fury's firm backing, it looked like he'd finally managed to make a trusted friend. So, when Pierce was revealed to be working with the Winter Soldier and Hydra, it was a devastating moment.
Considering that it initially looked like Bucky had come to shoot Pierce, the moment he sat down with him, offered milk, and even shot his housekeeper was a major surprise. After all, who could have predicted that the World Security Council had been infiltrated? With high-ups like Pierce compromised, fans were left to grapple with the knowledge that any government official could be Hydra — just like Rogers did.
Hela
After the death of Odin, Hela approached Loki and Thor to reveal herself and appraise her siblings. The immediate order for the brothers to kneel, followed by the capture and shattering of Mjolnir proved that she was a villain that was practically unbeatable, and her confidence only furthered that impression.
It sparked one of the biggest family fights in the MCU and proved that Asgard really would have to be destroyed to stop her. After all, a villain who can break Mjolnir isn't one Thor or Loki could handle even if they did work together. The scene establishes her attitude and power well, while also serving to emphasize that the movie really would capture something world-changing.
The Winter Soldier
In one of the most haunting moments of Steve Rogers' life, Bucky Barnes met a grisly end at the bottom of a frozen cliff after falling off of a train. Yet, after having to face off against the Winter Soldier in the 21st century, Rogers was horrified to rip off the man's mask and discover a friend underneath.
Without having read the comics, there was no way of knowing that Bucky had gone from friend to villain — nor that he could have survived all those years. So to see him with his mind wiped, missing an arm, and ready to kill Captain America at a moment's notice was both tragic and incredibly dramatic.
Mysterio
A friendly soul who managed to earn the respect of both Spider-Man and Nick Fury, it really looked like Mysterio was a great ally who just wanted the best for Spider-Man and Peter Parker. Yet, after Peter handed over Stark tech, Mysterio turned around, stripped away his illusions, and revealed his villainous scheme by thanking his teammates and underlings.
It was the first time that fans got a look at the man behind the mask, and it was incredible. A braggart with a grudge against Tony Stark, Mysterio revealed that he'd been manipulating Peter all along. His monologue and joyful remarks to his team proved he was a different kind of villain, and one who might have been a real hero if things had gone just a little differently. All in all, it was as engaging a reveal as it was showy.
The Vulture
While fans knew who the Vulture was from the start of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the real revelation for the character came when Peter Parker came to pick up his prom date. When the door opened and the Vulture was smiling back at Peter, fans were as shocked and horrified as Peter was.
Few scenes in the MCU prove to be as impressive as Michael Keaton's villainous performance when sitting in a car with Peter. His slow revelation about Peter's identity and subtle threats really drove the danger home. It also helped to make him better connected to Peter, which is always a mark of a great Spider-Man villain.
Agatha Harkness
There's a reason fans loved the Agatha Harkness reveal, and it's all because Marvel composed an entire musical number to showcase that she'd be evil all along. It was one of the biggest MCU betrayals as she grew from a nosy neighbor to a full-fledged villain playing with Wanda's psyche just to rip her to pieces.
But, instead of being just another bland betrayal, Agatha was over-the-top with music, an accompanying witch laugh, and even a reveal that she killed the family dog just because she could. Played entirely for laughs, the scene was enough to make Agatha a staple villain who is set to host a show of her own called Agatha: House of Harkness.
Ego The Living Planet
In a movie all about the importance of family, it made sense that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's villain would be Peter Quill's own father. Yet, though it may have been predictable, the discovery that Ego the Living Planet was a villain was horrifying. By far the greatest reveal in the MCU, Ego off-handedly mentioned that he'd killed Quill's mother, and he hardly even seemed to have realized it.
His self-pity and waxing poetic about having killed his own loved one were terrible enough, but his willingness to torment Quill after only the slightest provocation proved the depth of his villainy. It came out of nowhere, despite being built up and foreshadowed perfectly, and it left fans as stunned as Quill, which is likely why they ranked his reveal so highly.