Every Marvel Studios Villain, Ranked From Bad to Badass

Sentient murderbots. Alien hordes. A shapeshifter burdened with glorious purpose. Marvel Studios has amassed a major rogue's gallery -- more miss than hit, if you listen to the critics. But there are some greats, and we've ranked them all. 

18. Darren Cross/Yellowjacket in 'Ant-Man' (2015)

You guys forgot about this guy too? It's okay. He didn't really do anything exceptional, outside of putting on this suit after he shrunk a dude in the men's room and stepped on him. 

17. Whiplash in 'Iron Man 2' (2012)

This noble misfire gave us a villain with a grudge against Tony Stark. But, sadly, a lack of a solid script -- and Mickey Rourke's weird obsession with his pet bird -- kept Whiplash from joining the ranks of baddies worth giving a sh** about. But cool whips!

16. The Abomination in 'The Incredible Hulk' (2008)

Hulk fans have waited to see the big guy battle it out with this popular baddie -- and their climatic battle through Harlem mostly delivered the goods there. But outside of that fight, this 'roided-out punch monster is kinda forgettable. 

15. Ronan the Accuser in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2014)

He literally bathes in the blood of his enemies, and talks a big game, but, ultimately, Ronan is just a lot of talk in a weird shroud/murder robe combo. The best thing he did, other than crushing the life out of Thanos' helper, The Other, was looking all "whaaa?" when Star-Lord challenged him to a dance-off. 

14. Zemo in 'Captain America: Civil War' (2016)

Motivated by revenge, Zemo's convoluted plot to pit the Avengers against each other in fan-gasmic glory kinda sorta resonated but not enough to warrant "Best Villain Ever" status. But we have to give the guy credit for bringing our heroes past the brink and into all-out war. 

13. Kaecilius in 'Doctor Strange' (2016)

Motivated by a tragic backstory, the crater-eye'd baddie's plan to break barriers between life and death is one you can almost sympathize with. Thematically, it is a plan underlined with rich, dramatic stakes that the movie gives some attention to, but not in a profoundly resonate way -- therefore making K-Money (mostly) just another MCU baddie there to execute entertaining set pieces and fight scenes. 

12. Dormammu in 'Doctor Strange' (2016)

"Dormammu, I've come to bargain!" Like a psychedelic, black velvet painting from Spencer's Gifts come to life, this otherworldly big bad pulled Kaecilius' strings to make a play for Earth. But the entity didn't count on Doctor Strange Groundhog Day-ing him into defeat in a brilliant move that takes a page from the days where Captain Kirk would talk a villain into reason on "Star Trek: The Original Series." 

11. The Mandarin in 'Iron Man 3' (2013)

The real Mandarin wasn't nearly as cool or fun as the fake one, played by Trevor Slattery. We'd take this drunken, has-been actor over this fire-breathing, Extremis addict any day. Also, he breathes fire. Seriously?! Tony Stark needs better villains. 

10. General 'Thunderbolt' Ross in 'Incredible Hulk' (2008) and 'Civil War' (2016)

Thunderbolt Ross and his perfect military mustache have been a thorn in Hulk's side for years. He has a personal stake and grudge with the gamma-radiated Avenger, and found himself on the frontline of Cap and Tony's civil war. He is not a traditional, black-and-white villain -- but he adds a lot of adversarial grey to Marvel's world, making it hard for our heroes to, well, be heroes. 

9. Slavin in 'Iron Man 3' (2013)

Killian's No. 1 henchman, Slavin's D-bags his way through the entire movie with a "no effs to give" attitude because EXTREMIS. He doesn't say or do much in terms of plot, but he still gets under your skin -- earning him a very fist-pumping worthy death from Tony's chest-mounted repulsor at point-blank range. 

8. Thanos

Outside of having a really cool space chair, we haven't seen much of what Thanos is capable of -- mostly because Marvel is saving his end game for "Infinity War." For now, Thanos is just someone people talk about -- someone fans know is a bad guy because comics. Here's hoping that when he finally delivers on the promise he made at the end of "Age of Ultron," he does more than just sit in a cool space chair. 

7. Obadiah Stane in 'Iron Man' (2008)

Fact: "Obadiah" is the Latin word for "bald, bearded backstabber." Seriously, Bing it. Too bad Stane was wasted on a plan to take over Stark Industries by strapping on an Iron Monger suit. But thanks to his father-figure ties to Tony, his scheme did manage to get past Tony's suit of armor and cut our hero deep. 

6. Red Skull in 'Captain America: The First Avenger' (2011)

Red Skull, cut from Nazi cloth, is a menacing figure even without the titular moniker. His search for, and ultimate weaponizing of, the Tesseract allowed HYRDA to wrap their tentacles around everything Captain America fights for. Red Skull is also responsible for the events that put Cap on ice, leading to one of the greatest wars against good and evil ever. Not bad for a guy without eyebrows, amirites?!

5. Alexander Pierce in 'The Winter Soldier' (2014)

Pierce infiltrated SHIELD's highest levels of power, allowing his HYRDA buddies to infect every aspect of the peace-keeping force. And he did it all without throwing a punch. But the emotional blows he landed were so powerful, their impact continues to ripple through the MCU. 

4. The Chitauri in 'The Avengers' (2012)

Loki's army of aliens, that ride on space jet-skis and wield giant Leviathans, gave the Avengers their first real test. The end result almost destroyed NYC, but gave us Earth's Mightiest Heroes -- a win-win once you get past all the property damage and Tony's PTSD. They are a formidable threat to the MCU, one whose victory over can only be celebrated with shawarma. 

3. Ultron in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' (2015)

As sarcastic, sympathetic murder bots go, you can't get much better than Ultron. Though we need convinced that his plot to destroy the planet with a flying city is as "high stakes" as Loki opening up a sky portal and unleashing space eels on NYC. 

2. Bucky Barnes in 'The Winter Soldier' (2014)

Cap's past returns to haunt (and punch) him in the form of the Winter Soldier, a brainwashed HYDRA assassin. The stakes are personal for Cap when he uncovers the man trying to kill him is his former best friend, one of the many casualties of a war Cap never finished fighting. Saving Bucky's soul almost cost Cap his life -- a sacrifice that seemed worth it given that "Winter Soldier" invested more emotional stakes in this villain than audiences are used to seeing from MCU blockbusters. 

1. Loki

We first met the horned liar in "Thor," but we fell hard for him and the Hiddles in "The Avengers." This "puny god" forced the Avengers to assemble, forever changing the course of the MCU. Every Marvel movie he's not in puts us on the verge of an ugly cry. His strained relationship with his heroic brother, coupled with his violent need to fulfill the burden of his glorious purpose, makes Loki Marvel's most dynamic baddie yet.