The Marvel Cinematic Universe is often criticized for its “villain problem.” Since Marvel’s movies tend to follow an episodic structure that culminates in the villain’s death, the villains don’t have nearly as much screen time as the heroes. There are exceptions to this formula – like Loki and Thanos, who stuck around to haunt the Avengers in a few movies – but, for the most part, one-and-done villains like Malekith and Aldrich Killian aren’t fleshed out as much as heroes like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.
In some cases, an MCU movie’s side villain is more interesting than the main villain. From Guardians of the Galaxy’s Nebula to Shang-Chi’s Death Dealer, Marvel’s blockbusters have featured some compelling secondary antagonists.
Crossbones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
Steve Rogers’ world comes crashing down in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when he learns that S.H.I.E.L.D. has really been controlled by its own mortal enemies at Hydra since the days of World War II.
Frank Grillo gives a wonderfully sinister turn as Brock Rumlow, an unscrupulous agent who quickly switches from affable friendliness to violent rage after the veil of Hydra falls.
Ebony Maw (Avengers: Infinity War)
The secondary villains in Avengers: Infinity War are a team of four collectively known as the “Black Order,” or the “Children of Thanos.” They’re all loyal servants of the Mad Titan, but Thanos’ right-hand man and most trusted confidant is Ebony Maw.
Maw captures Doctor Strange and takes him into the depths of the cosmos, where he gets an awesome Alien-inspired death scene courtesy of Iron Man and Spider-Man teaming up to banish him into the vacuum of space.
Sonny Burch (Ant-Man And The Wasp)
After the first Ant-Man movie played as a sort of superpowered heist comedy, the second one played more like an Elmore Leonard crime caper. The secondary baddie, Sonny Burch, a low-level criminal played by Walton Goggins, doesn’t present as much of a threat as the story’s main antagonist, the quantum-phasing “Ghost.”
But he’s exactly the kind of charming Southern gangster found in a classic Leonard novel, with flowery dialogue and legions of hired goons at his disposal.
The Elementals (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Although Peter Parker wants to take a break from fighting crime at the beginning of Spider-Man: Far From Home, his European vacation is disrupted when he’s attacked by “Elementals” that supposedly crept into the Avengers’ universe after their battle with Thanos.
The Elementals create some spectacular early action scenes before they’re revealed to be a part of Mysterio’s ruse. They’re just illusions projected by drones, but the danger seemed real enough to Peter.
Mind-Controlled Hawkeye (The Avengers)
There’s an interesting power dynamic with the villains in the first Avengers movie, as Loki recruits the Chitauri to invade Earth on behalf of Thanos. A big chunk of the trickster god’s plan relies on enlisting Hawkeye’s help by brainwashing him with the Mind Stone.
A mind-controlled Clint Barton makes for a fascinating side villain – especially during the Helicarrier sequence when he’s forced to fight his best friend, Natasha Romanoff.
Death Dealer (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings)
Tony Leung’s Wenwu is a truly captivating Marvel villain with a sympathetic motivation in Shang-Chi. The Death Dealer essentially fills the same role as Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. A fearsome assassin who trained Shang-Chi as a child, the Death Dealer is a man of few words and a master martial artist. He’s a formidable physical threat to back up the main villain’s existential threat.
Razor Fist is also an unforgettable Ten Rings henchman, but Death Dealer is so legendary that his soul-sucking demise is what inspires the two sides of the final battle to unite against their common enemy.
Ulysses Klaue (Black Panther)
Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger isn’t just praised as one of the greatest villains in the MCU; he’s praised as one of the greatest comic book movie villains of all time. Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther initially sets up a different character – Ulysses Klaue – as the biggest threat to Wakanda. At first, Killmonger just seems to be a henchman of Klaue’s.
Andy Serkis gives a hysterically goofy performance as Klaue before he’s promptly dispatched and Killmonger is revealed to be the true villain of the story.
The Grandmaster (Thor: Ragnarok)
Cate Blanchett gives a hilariously hammed-up turn as the main villain of Taika Waititi’s zany masterpiece Thor: Ragnarok. Hela is the God of Thunder’s long-lost sister who draws her apocalyptic powers from Asgard. Without the burden of functioning as the primary antagonist, Jeff Goldblum gets to have a lot of fun as the Grandmaster, the Sakaaran dictator who imprisons Thor and forces him to fight for his amusement, keeping him from returning to his homeworld to stop Hela.
The Grandmaster has been read as an ironic satire of colonizers who whitewash their own history. He openly uses slave labor but won’t let his minions use the word “slave” and insists on referring to his slaves as “prisoners with jobs.”
Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
There’s a grand total of six sinister Spider-Man villains from previous franchises featured in No Way Home, but some of them (like the Lizard and the Sandman) are sidelined so that the others (like Electro and the Green Goblin) can shine.
While Willem Dafoe’s unnerving Goblin is undoubtedly the big bad of the movie, Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock plays an integral role. He’s the first of the villains to be “cured” and even arrives at the final battle to help the Spider-Men, achieving true redemption.
Nebula (Guardians Of The Galaxy)
The secondary villain in Guardians of the Galaxy is much more compelling than the main villain, Ronan the Accuser. Ronan is just a generic cosmic overlord motivated by power, but Nebula is Gamora’s neglected sister with the twisted desire to kill her and prove to their father that she’s the best killer of the two.
By the end of the sequel, Karen Gillan’s delightfully complex Nebula would be redeemed as an antihero. Over the next couple of Marvel crossover events, she became a Guardian of the Galaxy and eventually a crucial Avenger.