Most Forgettable MCU Villains

Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been delivering content for over 15 years, the franchise now features quite a vast catalog of TV shows and movies for fans to enjoy. In more recent years, the universe has even received criticism over the amount of content that has been produced for it. Still, there is no denying that its plethora of movies and TV shows have given fans some great adaptions led by iconic Marvel characters.

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This is even more true for villains, with some of them being more loved than a lot of superheroes. However, not every villain reaches the status of MCU legend, with a lot of them just sinking back into the comics. Besides creating powerful and strong antagonists, the MCU has also produced a range of forgettable ones. Either forgotten by Marvel or by the fans, the depictions of these villains just made them forgettable in the grand schemes of things in the MCU.

10 Alexander Pierce (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

An Incredible Villain Overshadowed By His Movie's Greatness

• Release: April 4, 2014
• Runtime: 136 minutes
• Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

There is a reason why Captain America: The Winter Soldier is highly regarded among MCU titles, including epic fighting scenes, iconic moments, and a memorable narrative. Despite offering a great human villain in one of the best rated MCU movies, the antagonist, Alexander Pierce, gets drowned by the movie's excellence.

It's not that Alexander Pierce was not a memorable villain; it's more like The Winter Soldier simply had too many other great elements that set the antagonist as an afterthought. As a result, despite making a good impression, the antagonist just became another good element in a movie filled with great aspects.

9 Dar-Benn (The Marvels)

A Cookie-Cutter Villain In An Unpopular Movie

• Release: November 10, 2023
• Runtime: 105 minutes
• Director: Nia DaCosta

There are a lot of polarizing aspects in The Marvels that make it a lower rated MCU movie, triggering the question of the MCU's future. As the lowest-grossing MCU film, The Marvels has its share of criticized aspects, with the movie's forgettable villain being one of the most notable.

Dar-Benn has her reason for wanting revenge on Captain Marvel and for most of her villainous acts, yet as an antagonist, she does not stand out enough to become memorable, especially with the movie's overall failure. Despite being in one of the most recent Marvel features, Dar-Benn does not possess any impressive qualities or an original backstory, making her fade into the background of other villains in the MCU.

8 Ghost (Ant-Man And The Wasp)

An Interesting Villain Who Failed To Make An Impact Between Infinity War And Endgame

Ant-Man And The Wasp has a good mix of positive and negative elements, and while it suffered from its release date, its villain was not bad at all. With a moral complexity that is lacking in a lot of other MCU titles, Ava, also known as Ghost, is powerful and offers nuance.

However, with so much happening in the movie, which was released in between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (and also in the MCU as a whole), the antagonist went largely unnoticed. With the potential to be more, Ghost unfortunately became more of an obstacle in the movie rather than a memorable villain.

7 Malekith (Thor: The Dark World)

A Feared Comic Book Villain Lost To The Dark World's Narrative

• Release: November 8, 2013
• Runtime: 112 minutes
• Director: Alan Taylor

There are many forgettable aspects in Thor: The Dark World, a movie that is widely regarded as an average superhero flick that does very little to be memorable. So is the case for its villain, despite having Christopher Eccleston filling the role.

With a very distinct appearence and a great comic book background, the villain had everything to thrive in the MCU. Sadly, the movie did very little to compliment his portrayal. He has a grudge against Odin that is not really explained, making his villainous intentions feel not that serious. Still, Malekith was merely a victim to his own movie, and he is easily one of the most underused villains in the MCU.

6 Aldrich Killian (Iron Man 3)

A Forgettable Villain With Bland Motivations

• Release: May 3, 2013
• Runtime: 130 minutes
• Director: Shane Black

Even though Iron Man was at the heart of the MCU, not all of the hero's movies were as successful as his characters, which is the case with Iron Man 3. With various plotlines developing at the same time, its multiple villains also get drowned as a result of the amount of things going on in the story.

Aldrich Killian's storyline felt especially bland, considering the villain's motives were never that strong; he simply thirsts for revenge after being ignored by an arrogant Tony Stark. It could be that this villain would have been more memorable if the movie had fewer things happening, but alas, Killian was just another forgettable element in the story.

5 Taskmaster (Black Widow)

A Dangerous And Unique Villain Used Mostly As A Tool

Black Widow was not the best received movie in the MCU. Whether that is because of the movie itself, timing, or the pandemic, it is hard to tell. On top of that, the movie also depicts a beloved and dangerous Marvel villain in an unflattering way, making Taskmaster nothing more than a tool.

Possessing one of the coolest powers, Taskmaster can perfectly copy the actions of another. Hence, just by watching, this villain can fight like the best of heroes and the worst of villains. In Black Widow, this antagonist was used as a tool for a bigger villain, showcasing very little personality as a result. It could be that, in the future, fans will see more of what makes Taskmaster truly unique, but for now, the villain has failed to make a lasting impression.

4 Laufey (Thor)

Forced To Compete For The Villain Spotlight With One Of The MCU's Best

• Release: May 2, 2011
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• Director: Kenneth Branagh

It is common knowledge that the Thor movies have gone through quite a few changes, each to differing degrees of success. Although the first movie is not considered the best or the worst of the franchise, it does feature a villain that blends in with the movie.

Based on Norse mythology, Laufey is the king of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, threatening the peace of the realms and of Asgard. However, he never felt like much of a threat, especially since the story was focused on Thor's origin story, making the antagonist not a priority. To be fair to Laufey, he did serve as an antagonist alongside Loki, who is easily one of the best MCU villains and definitely one of the least forgettable ones, so it was always going to be an uphill battle for him.

3 Karli (The Falcon And The Winter Soldier)

A TV Show Villain Who Made Very Little Impact

• Release: March 19, 2021
• Number of episodes: 6
• Created by: Malcolm Spellman

The TV shows have their fair share of villains that don't really affect the rest of the MCU, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's antagonist did not manage to make a lasting impression. As a villain with somewhat "good intentions," Karli could have made more of an impact on the MCU, especially since it takes quite a while for the audience to properly meet her.

Representing the antagonists in MCU TV shows that don't have any consequential effects on the overarching narrative, she is just another villain of the week, though she does come with a bit more complexity. It could very well be said that the U.S. Agent who served as a secondary villain in The Falcon and The Winter Solder was more memorable than Karli herself since he is at least making a return in Thunderbolts as Karli falls deeper into the forgettable category.

2 The Leader (The Incredible Hulk)

A Famous Comic Book Villain Introduced In A Forgettable Movie

• Release: June 13, 2008
• Runtime: 112 minutes
• Director: Louis Leterrier

There are a lot of reasons that fans forget about The Incredible Hulk, including the re-cast of Bruce Banner, yet the movie is part of the MCU even though it sets forward a lot of forgettable characters. Even though there are other main antagonists that also feel very distant from the MCU, this movie introduced an antagonist who was forgotten by Marvel and everyone else.

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Released in the same year as the first MCU movie, The Incredible Hulk teased the villain known as The Leader at the very end, having Samuel Sterns infected by Bruce's blood. If even Marvel themselves seem to have forgotten about this villain, it makes sense why fans did too, especially since he appears in what is arguably one of the MCU's more forgettable entries.

1 Kro (Eternals)

An Semi-Interesting Villain Who Gets Very Little Screen Time

Although Eternals sometimes does not feel like an MCU movie, it does bring a different superhero narrative forward, and it features high stakes. As the heroes fight Deviants, the movies builds up Kro as the big bad variant that has evolved into something much more dangerous.

However, the movie's focus seemed to shift to other elements, like the many characters, reasoning, and plot twists, leaving Kro in the background. Although not necessarily a bad villain, the Deviant is barely in the movie, serving as a monster that only complicates an already complicated situation. Overall, there is not a lot to remember about Kro, especially since the monster is featured in a movie that feels quite distant from the rest of the MCU.

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