These Are 10 Most Hated Villains In The MCU, And Why
Besides the glamourous superheroes who fight evil in their shiny armor and wield cool unique abilities, the villains in the MCU are another aspect that fans always look forward to in an upcoming movie. One must admit, Marvel Studios have done a great job portraying most of their bad guys in the franchise, with iconic and malevolent villains that never fail to send shivers down our spine as they appear, such as Thanos, Green Goblin, or Red Skull.
However, with the overwhelming amount of antagonists in the MCU, not every one of them is well-loved by fans. The hate can be caused by various reasons: how the villains look, their motive, their ridiculous bad deeds, or just simply because they’re not as well-written as the others. Let’s take a look at some of the most hated villains in the MCU so far that got fans fuming every time they see them, and why they are so widely hated by the audience.
#1. Gravik (Secret Invasion)
Source: Marvel
Gravik only made his MCU debut quite recently in the poorly received Secret Invasion series, but has quickly cemented himself as one of the most despicable villains in the franchise so far. A fellow Skrull just like Talos, however Gravik turns on his own kind and betrays humankind to lead a Skrull faction to take over the world from the shadow, all because he resents Fury and Carol Danvers for not keeping their promise to find the Skrulls a new home.
On his path of conquest, Gravik doesn’t hesitate to kill off some of our favorite characters, including Maria Hill, and even one of his own kind, Talos. That’s enough to earn the Skrull rebel a solid spot in this list, whether he likes it or not.
#2. Ego the Living Planet (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
Source: Marvel
At first, Ego seems like a pretty chill and laid-back powerful Space Dad, but he only reveals his sinister demeanor later in the movie. In order to further expand himself and dominate the universe, Ego continuously plants seeds throughout the galaxy to terraform them, while also giving birth to countless children to find a celestial heir. He kills his own children afterward, which results in thousands of corpses on the planet.
He’s also the one that killed Peter Quill’s mom, Meredith, by planting a tumor inside her head. This explains why Star-Lord doesn’t even hesitate to kill him.
#3. Mysterio (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Source: Marvel
The hate for Quentin Beck, one of the most handsome and charismatic villains in the MCU, is mainly due to his petty motivation to become bad. Once an employee at Stark Industries who specialized in special effects and illusions, Beck was fired due to his unstable nature, and he swore revenge on Tony and his industry over this (and partly because the latter named his project BARF). Using the special effects and drones, Beck allies with other ex-Stark employees and starts using the special effects and drones to create the superhero “Mysterio” persona.
Later, he befriends Peter in an attempt to take over the E.D.I.T.H. that Tony has left for the latter. In the end, Beck still proves to be a pain in the butt even in his dying breath, as he ultimately frames Peter for the drone attack in London and reveals his Spider-Man identity to the public.
#4. The High Evolutionary (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3)
Source: Marvel
Another Guardians of the Galaxy villain to make this list. With the High Evolutionary, he doesn’t have a tragic backstory to motivate him, or a noble cause to turn him sinister. The man is just pure evil, with a single unhinged goal in mind to alter every universal being to his liking. And to make that goal comes true, he stops at nothing to chase down Rocket to acquire his intelligence.
The High Evolutionary’s twisted nature and sheer brutality make him a detestable villain, and by being detestable, he becomes one of the best bad guys in the MCU so far. Just the fact that he’s solely responsible for Lylla, Teefs, and Floor’s death in the movie is enough for fans to wish him the most painful ending possible.
#5. The Green Goblin (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Source: Marvel
Just like The High Evolutionary, the Green Goblin persona is pure evil, and he stops at nothing just to torment Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. The fact that he kills Aunt May alone is enough to make our blood boil, to the point that Spidey almost kills him in rage afterward shows how despicable he is as a villain, and that Willem Dafoe has done another brilliant job performing the bad guy. Oh, and have I mentioned that he also stabs Maguire’s Peter at the end?
#6. Malekith (Thor: The Dark World)
Source: Marvel
Unlike the others, Malekith is mostly hated due to his overall bad writing and underwhelming character arc in a subpar movie. The villain’s appearance was forgettable and was nowhere near his comic counterpart, who proves to be a much bigger threat to the God of Thunder. In the movie, he’s also responsible for Frigga’s death, one of the most beloved Asgardian characters, which further deepens the fans’ hatred for him.
#7. Alexander Pierce (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
Source: Marvel
The leader of the new HYDRA in the 21st century, Pierce’s mastermind intelligence and evil motive have caused so many troubles for Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, and others. He’s also the one that is responsible for Bucky Barnes’s brainwashing, turning him into the cold-blooded Winter Soldier. Under his genius tactics, HYDRA was one step closer to world domination, until Captain America put a stop to them.
#8. Zebediah Kilgrave (Jessica Jones)
Source: Marvel
Once an experimental project by his parents to find a cure for a rare disease, Kilgrave accidentally gains his powerful mind-control ability, and later uses it to manipulate the people around him, including our protagonist. Jessica Jones is one of his victims, and is used by the villain as his sex slave and personal assassin. Later, as Jessica is free of his control, Kilgrave makes her a new target to hunt, and doesn’t shy away from any method and dirty tricks to get what he wants.
#9. General Dreykov (Black Widow)
Source: Marvel
Dreykov is a high-ranking Soviet officer, and the one who operates the Red Room, which trains kidnapped young women all over the country to become elite assassins, aka Widows. Under Dreykov’s hand, the candidates must suffer through multiple processes and torture-like training, including mind control. That’s not all, as in the Graduation Ceremony, the Widows must undergo other intense pieces of training and tests, and are forced to have involuntary hysterectomies.
Many Widows didn’t survive the process, and those who did just aren’t the same anymore. Therefore, it was a relief to see Dreykov blows up for real this time in his aircraft, as with him gone, the Red Room also vanishes with him.
#10. Thanos (The Infinity Saga)
Source: Marvel
And for the last place, we’ll leave it to the big purple man, the Avengers’ arch-nemesis in the entire Infinity Saga. Thanos is the mastermind behind all things, from the Chitauri attack, Ronan’s conquest of Xandar, and the events in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. With the unshakable motive to reduce the universe’s population in half, believing it would be the ultimate salvation, the Mad Titan scours the whole galaxy to find the Infinity Stones, and stops at nothing, killing everyone who stands in his way.
Loki, Gamora, and Visions are only three in the countless list of victims that Thanos has killed on his conquest. He defeats the whole Avengers squad in Infinity War, snaps half of the universe into galactic dust, and it takes both Iron Man and Black Widow’s lives to oust him in Endgame. Thanos is no doubt one of the best villains in the MCU history, and is one of the most despicable ones as well.
Who do you think is the most hated villain in the MCU? Who’s your least favorite? Let us know in the comment.