Many of the MCU movies deal with a very simple story of good versus evil, but sometimes evil can be subjective. As Phase 2 of the MCU tried to establish more captivating villains, fans saw a wide range of characters from all different points of the evil spectrum.
Some of these bad guys were genuinely sympathetic and could be seen as victims themselves. Others were full-blown evil and wanted to destroy everything and everyone. Looking back on both the memorable and forgettable antagonists of Phase 2, which of them are pure evil and which ones are really not so bad?
The Winter Soldier
Bucky Barnes may be one of the most tragic characters in the MCU. He is the childhood friend of Steve Rogers who was lost during World War II, only to be captured and brainwashed by Hydra to turn him into the ultimate assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
The Winter Soldier is responsible for killing countless innocent people. However, Bucky is doing it all against his will. He was turned into a weapon without the ability to think for himself. Hydra took away his identity and made him a cold-blooded killer.
Darren Cross / Yellowjacket
Hank Pym's mentor Darren Cross attempts to continue the work Hank walked away from by perfecting the shrinking formula used to create Ant-Man. In the beginning, Cross' only crime is trying to shut out Hank and take his idea for himself.
After countless experiments with the shrinking formula, it begins to affect Cross' mind and turns him more villainous. He is willing to kill people who get in his way and sell the formula to bad people, but all of it is just because his mind has been poisoned which is actually a bit sad.
Aldrich Killian
Aldrick Killian is another tech genius whose experiments helped to turn him into a monster. While he is much less sympathetic than Darren Cross, Killian really just wants to become rich and doesn't really care about world domination or anything.
After creating a super-soldier serum that is extremely volatile, Killian creates a fake terrorist known as the Mandarin in order to take credit for all of the accidental explosions his work caused. Killian's plan grows even larger as he kidnaps the president and plans to kill him, but his actions never seem world-threatening.
Nebula
Nebula would later find redemption in the MCU, but when she was introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, she was quite villainous. As a daughter of Thanos, she was always trying to prove her worthiness to her tyrant father and would kill anyone to do so.
However, she also hates Thanos and when Ronan promises to kill the Mad Titan, Nebula is willing to go along with his genocide just so she can get what she wants. She also tries and almost succeeds to kill her sister Gamora.
Kurse
Kurse is a forgotten villain but he is also one of the most powerful henchmen in the MCU. He is a loyal follower of Malekith who is transformed into a powerful monster in order to destroy Asgard.
Though he is little more than a minion, he is a pretty destructive force who kills many Asgardians. He is even the one responsible for the death of Thor's mother, Frigga. Despite not having much motivation for himself, Kurse does a lot of evil as a henchman.
Baron Strucker
Baron Strucker is a classic Marvel villain who is quite short-lived in the MCU. He is a member of Hydra responsible for experimentations using Loki's scepter. Though he doesn't last very long, Baron Strucker proves himself to be a pretty clear villain.
Not only does he work for Hydra, which is the evilest organization in the world, but he also experiments on people, which resulted in Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver but also appeared to kill many more test subjects.
Alexander Pierce
While Alexander Pierce initially seems like one of the highest-ranking and dedicated figures in S.H.I.E.L.D, he is actually the new evil overseer of Hydra, which has been secretly growing within S.H.I.E.L.D..
Pierce actually sees what he's doing as heroic as he thinks Hydra is the best way to ensure safety and security around the world. But the fact that he is willing to kill millions of people in order to do so must make him realize how evil his plan actually is.
Malekith
Though Malekith is mostly known as the lamest villain in the MCU, that doesn't stop him from being one of the evilest. He is the leader of the Dark Elves, who come from a time when the universe was nothing but darkness.
Malekith wishes to return the universe to darkness, meaning the elimination of everything. That is the extent of his motivation which is about as boring as the character. But trying to wipe everything from existence is pretty evil.
Ultron
Tony Stark has a tendency of creating his own villains and Ultron is perhaps his worst blunder. He is a super-powerful robot who was given advanced A.I. in an attempt to create a protector for the entire world.
Predictably, Ultron immediately goes rogue and comes to the conclusion that the Avengers are the real threat to the world and they need to be terminated. His plan later evolves into wanting to replace humanity with robots. In the end, it sort of seems like he just wants to kill everyone because he is lonely.
Ronan The Accuser
Ronan the Accuser is yet another villain who is hellbent on destroying almost all life in the universe. However, his motivations for mass genocide are even eviler than the average villain.
Ronan is an intergalactic religious zealot who sees anyone outside of his race as being impure and in need of extermination. When he has the Power Stone, he has the ability to carry out his plan, beginning with Xandar which he nearly obliterates.