MCU: Ranking Every Villain From Phase Four (So Far)

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

An early criticism of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was that it had a “villain problem.” While the heroes were praised for their multi-movie arcs, critics decried the franchise’s use of one-and-done villains without enough room to be fleshed out as sympathetic or even interesting characters.

Now that Phase Four is well underway, that villain problem seems to be a thing of the past. The latest wave of Marvel movies and TV shows has brought a bunch of unforgettable villains, including both newcomers like Agatha Harkness and familiar faces like Doc Ock.

18 The Lizard

Rhys Ifans reprised his role as the Lizard from the first Amazing Spider-Man movie in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Unfortunately, he was the same one-note character from the original movie.

Naturally, with so many returning villains, No Way Home was going to sideline some of them, and the Lizard ended up getting that treatment. He’s barely utilized throughout the movie. He’s mainly used for gags involving other characters realizing he can talk.

17 Dreykov

In Black Widow, Ray Winstone’s Dreykov is introduced as the villainous head of the Red Room program. He’s a classic example of an underdeveloped MCU villain.

There are a few trailer-friendly soundbites to indicate that he’s evil, but what he represents makes him a better villain than his actual characterization.

16 The Sandman

Thomas Haden Church’s returning Sandman is another familiar No Way Home villain who gets sidelined so that the others can shine.

This reprisal keeps the thing that originally made the Sandman sympathetic – his love for his daughter – but it reduces that characteristic to a few generic one-liners.

15 Taskmaster

Dreykov is the main villain of Black Widow, but he doesn’t present much of a physical threat. That courtesy goes to the side villain, Taskmaster, operating on his orders. Her ability to mimic the fighting styles of the top Avengers is a neat idea, but she’s a pretty one-dimensional character overall.

Despite having some awesome action sequences, the MCU’s Taskmaster is barely developed. Her personal vendetta against Nat is an interesting turn, but it’s hardly fleshed out. Instead, her identity is brushed past as a gimmicky twist. Overall, Taskmaster is a generic villain with a generic motivation.

14 Ikaris

Richard Madden’s Eternals character Ikaris is introduced as not only a hero, but the leader of the heroes. Then, around the turn of the third act, he’s shockingly revealed to be the villain.

The “evil Superman” trope is starting to get tired after Brightburn, The Boys, and Invincible, but Madden’s charms and the ensuing rug-pull make this a fun twist on the concept.

13 Razor Fist

Florian Munteanu appears in a supporting role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Razor Fist, one of the titular crime syndicate’s most ruthless assassins.

Razor Fist first shows up during the movie’s iconic bus fight and every subsequent appearance is unforgettable. With a machete for an arm, Razor Fist is like a classic Bond movie henchman.

12 Electro

The Electro seen in No Way Home is a vast improvement over his initial portrayal in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. His baffling blue-skinned design has been scrapped in favor of more comics-accurate yellow bolts of electricity.

And more importantly, he’s characterized as a hammier, more confident villain, which made much better use of Jamie Foxx’s charisma, screen presence, and comedic talents.

11 Infinity Ultron

For the most part, What If…? is a straightforward anthology series with unconnected episodes, but the season finale pulled them all together with the assembly of the Guardians of the Multiverse. The Watcher assembles this team in order to stop “Infinity Ultron” from destroying the spacetime continuum.

Infinity Ultron is sort of a hybrid villain: Ultron powered by the Infinity Stones. He combines the strengths and abilities of arguably the MCU’s two most powerful villains. Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to fully flesh him out in What If…?’s half-hour episodes.

10 Karli Morgenthau

On the whole, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a lackluster, inconsistent series. But its villain, Karli Morgenthau, the leader of the Flag Smashers, was surprisingly complex.

Erin Kellyman played her as a sympathetic figure with valid anti-nationalist ideas. It’s easy to see why Karli is the protagonist of her own story.

9 He Who Remains

A variant of Kang the Conqueror – likely to be the MCU’s next big bad – stole the show from Loki in the finale episode of his solo series. The character revealed to be the mastermind behind the TVA was burdened with lots and lots of exposition.

Jonathan Majors’ compelling performance at least made that exposition interesting, especially with his delightfully eccentric line deliveries and quirky body language.

8 The Kingpin

Vincent D’Onofrio reprised his role as Wilson Fisk – better known as Marvel crime lord “The Kingpin” – from Netflix’s Daredevil series in the Hawkeye finale.

His fight with Kate in the toy store made for the perfect boss battle. She’s ridiculously outmatched in a physical sense, so she has to use her cunning (and trick arrows) to defeat the New York crime boss.

7 Death Dealer

Andy Le gives an unforgettably sinister supporting turn as Death Dealer, one of Wenwu’s assassins who trained a young Shang-Chi. He’s the Darth Maul of the MCU: a man of few words who expresses himself with unparalleled martial arts combat and merciless killing.

When the Soul Eaters effortlessly eviscerate the Death Dealer, the gravity of the threat sets in and the two warring factions reluctantly agree to unite against them.

6 Doctor Octopus

Alfred Molina seamlessly reprises the role of Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2 opposite Tom Holland’s Spidey in No Way Home. Audiences were instantly reminded why he’s still considered to be the greatest comic book movie villain of all time.

Just like in the Sam Raimi-helmed original, Molina plays Otto Octavius with a spectacular blend of hammed-up villainy and authentic pathos.

5 Maya Lopez

Alaqua Cox’s Hawkeye villain Maya Lopez is so compelling that she’s getting her own spin-off series. What makes this villain so great is her relatable motivation: avenging her father.

After the prologue detailing her relationship with her dad, the audience understands exactly why she wants his killer dead – his killer just happens to be Clint Barton.

4 Agatha Harkness

It’s rare that an MCU villain comes with a catchy theme song, but WandaVision’s Agatha Harkness reveals herself to the audience with the fourth-wall-breaking number “Agatha All Along.”

The hilarious Kathryn Hahn got to have fun playing various sitcom archetypes before being revealed as the big bad of WandaVision. After the twist reveal, Hahn has just as much fun playing the classical villainy of a flying ancient witch.

3 John Walker

The other villain of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, John Walker, is one of the MCU’s best baddies to date. Introduced as the new Captain America, Walker presented the facade of a nice, friendly, affable guy for the first few episodes. Wyatt Russell did a fantastic job of showing the underlying dark side before it emerged.

The surprisingly bloody shield beatdown is one of the darkest, most shocking MCU moments yet. The character got a cop-out unearned redemption in the finale episode, but with any luck, future MCU projects will explore the anti-Steve Rogers in more depth.

2 The Green Goblin

Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn has always been much creepier without the polarizing Power Rangers-style mask. In No Way Home, the mask is mercifully shattered within minutes.

Uncovering Dafoe’s face gave his performance more room to flourish. He’s genuinely unsettling in the movie, maintaining a big grin while being repeatedly punched in the face.

1 Wenwu

Shang-Chi’s father Wenwu, played by the legendary Tony Leung, has the sympathetic motivation to resurrect his wife. Wenwu continues the trend of bad dads as MCU villains (Ego and Thanos being prime examples), but subverts the typical resolution of the conflict.

Usually, the hero kills their father and magically fixes everything, but Shang-Chi doesn’t want to kill his father. Their climactic showdown in the finale is about love, not hate.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3459 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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