The 7 best and 5 worst MCU villains, ranked

Acuna: Remember when the MCU had stakes? Thanos is the only Marvel villain to successfully execute his evil plan and it wasn't some tired "I want to take over the world" scheme. He wiped out half the population of the entire world for five years.

Most impressively, Thanos did whatever he needed to accomplish his goal. He killed Loki, a bunch of Asgardians, the Collector, and even sacrificed his own daughter, Gamora, for his vision. You don't get much darker than that.

Singh: Thanos checks off all our boxes in determining the best and worst MCU villains. Josh Brolin delivered in portraying a truly formidable character. He had an ambitious goal and the means to execute it. He was playing the long game, with the seeds planted in 2012's "The Avengers," and it paid off.

His vision for this universe was rooted in a very logical, math-based explanation: the universe is finite and has finite resources. He saw the consequences of this (like starvation) first-hand on his home planet of Titan, did the math, and realized the solution was to level the population and restore balance.

This is a character so laser-focused on his plan that he didn't let emotions or bias get in the way of his plan, going so far as to yeet his daughter off a cliff so he could acquire the soul stone. Was he terrifying? Absolutely. And also, frankly, hideous.

Acuna: Look. If my brother was Eros (Harry Styles), I'd be mad, too.

Singh: Thanos had the biggest impact on the MCU thus far and completely changed the franchise's trajectory. It was a literal cultural reset. That's why, even years after he was defeated by the Avengers in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," we're still seeing the ripple effects of his snap and blip in the films and shows released since then.

Acuna: Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror gives off serious Darth Vader vibes. Feared by just about everyone in the Quantum Realm – characters were afraid to even refer to Kang by name until he was seen on-screen – Kang made it clear he's one of Marvel's most powerful characters by blasting lasers from his hands, freezing people in their tracks with Force-like powers, and creating protective shields around himself. This man didn't come to play.

There's something about his soft-spoken, calm-and-calculated demeanor that makes him all the more terrifying. You get the sense that Kang's the sort of villain who would charm your socks off while quietly stabbing you and you'd never see it coming. He's a complete wild card.

Even though we've only seen him in "Loki" and "Ant-Man" so far, Majors' performance as two different versions of Kang sold me on his status as a top-tier Marvel baddie.

From the end-credits teaser, it looks like we're going to see Majors push the bar as even wackier versions of this character and it could be a tour de force.

Singh: This is a villain so destructive that his variants (unsuccessfully) tried to sabotage his plan of multiversal ruin. He's killed so many Avengers, he can't even keep track of them! He speaks about murdering people with a nonchalance that's absolutely chilling.

What's frightening is that we've only just scratched the surface of what Majors is capable of as Kang. He's commanding, calculating, and terrifying all at once. We know that he's ruthless, extremely powerful, and not afraid to kill. With more Kang variants ready to step up, I fear that the main Earth's Avengers that we've come to adore won't make it out alive in the future.

If "Quantumania" is any indication, we're in for a thrilling journey in this next phase of the MCU.

Kirsten: Yeah, the only reason he's not No. 1 on our list is that I have no clue what the endgame is here. But it doesn't seem great!

Singh: Give him a few more movie appearances and I'm sure he'll swiftly surpass Thanos.

Singh: Who would have thought that Wanda Maximoff would be one of the best heroes and villains? The jump from the protagonist of "WandaVision" to the antagonist of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is a bit jarring, but Elizabeth Olsen's performance makes it believable.

As a villain, Wanda is straight-up scary. Remember when she wiped out Earth-838's Illuminati members by shredding Reed Richards like a stick of string cheese, dropping a statue on Captain Marvel after stealing her powers, using Captain Carter's shield to split her in half, and turning Black Bolt's hypersonic voice against him — all while barefoot for some odd reason?

And, oh, there was the spine-chilling visual of Wanda ripping Charles Xavier/Professor X's head in half. That murder spree was one of the wildest sequences I've seen in the MCU.

She's one of the most powerful characters and one of the few instances where we've seen a female antagonist really deliver in the MCU. (Hela gets an honorable mention for shattering Thor's hammer and taking out his eye in "Thor: Ragnarok.")

Acuna: I've made it pretty clear that I despised how "Multiverse of Madness" took a character who navigated grief and loss beautifully in "WandaVision" only to undercut her personal growth by making her into a full-blown baddie.

We're supposed to believe that a mother desperate to be with her children again would put another one (America Chavez) in danger?

But even then, the Scarlet Witch is, without question, downright terrifying. Olsen hoped to play out a version of this storyline for years and she delivered in spades.

A scene-stealer every time she's on-screen, Olsen not only made Wanda truly scary by killing a number of characters in horrific ways, but proved just how difficult her character is to kill.

Wanda's likely going to be needed against the MCU's next big threat and we're ready for more.

Singh: Tom Hiddleston brought the God of Mischief to life with charisma and charm that had fans (read: me) feeling simultaneously terrified and attracted to him.

It may seem off-base to call Loki a villain given his character arc and current place in the MCU, but let's take a trip down memory lane. The year was 2012 and Loki formed an alliance with Thanos before the Mad Titan had fully come into his own as a big bad. This is the guy who stabbed Agent Phil Coulson in the back with his scepter and mind-controlled Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Dr. Erik Selvig for a significant part of the movie.

The plan for the Chitauri Invasion was ultimately unsuccessful, but to be fair, Loki was up against the original six Avengers, so who can blame him for falling short?

Loki's villainous turn in "The Avengers" was one small step in getting Thanos closer to his goal of collecting the Infinity Stones and carrying out his world-altering plan.

Acuna: I almost feel weird calling Loki a villain since he's more of an antihero at this point.

Hiddleston convinced us all to root for the trickster despite his seemingly cold, calculating, and mischievous persona. He's just the kid who never fit in, lived in the shadow of his handsome bro, and wanted to be accepted. What's more relatable?

Even Marvel knew they needed to bring Loki back from the dead for his own Disney+ show because of how much fans love him. Loki isn't just one of the MCU's best baddies. He's one of the MCU's best characters, period.

Singh: Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger is one of the MCU's most complex and layered villains, a character whose goal of sharing Wakanda's resources was understandable, but whose methods for execution were extreme.

It's Killmonger, the cousin of T'Challa, who questioned why the futuristic and technologically advanced nation of Wakanda stayed silent instead of liberating the "2 billion people all over the world who look like us whose lives are much harder."

He didn't just infiltrate Wakanda in 2018's "Black Panther." He dethroned T'Challa to become king and burned the heart-shaped herbs to prevent others from gaining the powers of the Black Panther. Killmonger covered his bases and his plan would have worked, if T'Challa wasn't rescued by the Jabari and Nakia hadn't stolen one of the herbs before it was destroyed.

Jordan portrayed the complicated character with a swagger and gravitas, and Killmonger's death scene is profound.

Acuna: Killmonger is probably the MCU's most three-dimensional villain. Another scene-stealer, Jordan brought him to life with an effortless charismatic charm. Killmonger's so suave he can smooth talk you one minute and kill you the next, even if you're his lover.

Even though I knew Killmonger was flawed, I couldn't help but empathize and want to side with him. Those are the markings of a great villain.

Singh: Tony Stark girlbossed too close to the sun in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and society's fear that robots may become so advanced that they'll take over the world came to fruition in this movie.

Sure, the concept of a peacekeeping program designed by Tony and Bruce Banner seemed like a solid idea until Ultron decided humans were actually the biggest threat to peace in our time and became determined to wipe out mankind.

It was Ultron who spawned the Battle of Sokovia and created a device that literally lifted an entire city into the air.

Ultron and his army were responsible for $474 billion in collateral damages and over 150 fatalities, including the deaths of Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver. His impact extended beyond "Age of Ultron," leading to the formation of the Sokovia Accords, Helmut Zemo's quest for vengeance, and the division of the Avengers at the heart of "Captain America: Civil War."

Acuna: We were originally going to make this list five and five, but Olivia reminded me of the ripple effects of Ultron's appearance and I'm a sucker for James Spader's sultry voice, even if it's in AI form. I can think of few things scarier than an AI uprising.

Thinking further, Ultron's actions led to the start of Wanda's mental break and the creation of her love, Vision. The destruction of Sokovia, her brother's death, and the eventual "death" of Vision (Do sentient beings really die?) all served as catalysts for her PTSD.

Acuna: We know "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is also a Sony Pictures movie, but you can't discuss a best MCU villain list without mentioning Willem Dafoe's mesmerizing return to the Spidey franchise almost 20 years later.

The laugh. The maniacal stares. You never know what trick Norman Osborn's Green Goblin has up his sleeve and it makes for one of the most compelling supervillain watches of all time.

So few of the Marvel Cinematic Universe villains actually succeed in killing a main character. Green Goblin gave us one of the franchise's most traumatic deaths by allowing Aunt May to die in her nephew's arms.

Chaotic and captivating, Dafoe's Goblin is a masterpiece.

Singh: Dafoe's portrayal of Norman Osborn is arguably one of the most enthralling takes on a comic-book villain.

Watching Dafoe play this character is thrilling because you never know what he'll do next. Maybe he'll burst into his maniacal laugh. Maybe he'll toss a pumpkin bomb. Maybe he'll kill off a superhero's guardian right in front of them.

He was menacing in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man," but took his performance to another level two decades later in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Dafoe is so good in this role that you almost believe he's genuinely just a poor unfortunate soul who was displaced from his world and in desperate need of help.

And then he seamlessly flips a switch just past the one-hour mark of "NWH" when Peter Parker's "tingle" tips him off and Norman reverts to the villain we all know and love. Dafoe's delivery of the line, "Norman's on sabbatical, honey" lives in my brain rent-free.

Even when he's broke and sent to another multiverse, Norman finds a way to manipulate those around him and get everything he wants to execute his plan. That's a person to fear.

What ensues are two truly great fight scenes between Green Goblin and Spider-Man, one at Happy Hogan's apartment and another at the Statue of Liberty. To see Dafoe in his 60s throwing down with Tom Holland, who's in his 20s is incredibly impressive.

Acuna: Marvel took a big swing by bringing its most absurd character to life and it missed the mark completely. I know M.O.D.O.K. looks wacky in the comics and cartoons, but Corey Stoll's face looks like it was stretched in editing and poorly attached to a CGI body here. This is hands-down the worst-looking character I've ever seen in a superhero movie.

It's like VFX artists ran out of time, threw up their hands, and said, "That's going to have to be good enough!" The character's robotic suit and frame looked great. Other than that, M.O.D.O.K. (which stands for Machine Organism Designed Only for Killing) served as a laughing stock for the entirety of "Quantumania." I never felt like this "killing machine" was an actual threat. If anything, he was Kang's sidekick jester.

The only positive thing I can say here is that M.O.D.O.K.'s inclusion was a clever way to complete Darren's arc from the first "Ant-Man" film.

Singh: M.O.D.O.K. looks so cheesy in "Quantumania," and not in a good way. Stoll's face was so distorted that if it wasn't for his voice, I wouldn't have even clocked that it was Darren in a new form. I felt like he was just there for comedic relief and, in my opinion, wasn't even that funny.

Singh: It really doesn't get more basic than a dark elf trying to spread darkness over the Nine Realms so he can reign supreme. That's the premise of the lackluster, disappointing second installment of the "Thor" franchise, "Thor: The Dark World" – a movie that even Chris Hemsworth isn't fond of.

Despite his efforts to take over Earth, Malekith was crushed by his own ship, which indicates that he really wasn't all that powerful anyway.

Acuna: There's a reason "Thor: The Dark World" is one of the worst-reviewed Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

Back in 2013, my biggest problem with Malekith was that you never really understood the motivation behind his obsession with making the world dark. How was that going to help him rule the world? It's tough to believe this was the best gameplay.

Acuna: A devout Kree warrior and manipulative prick, Yon-Rogg sought to hunt down and exterminate every Skrull even if they were women and children. Apart from attempted genocide, Carol Danvers' mentor is dry toast.

He lost a lot of our respect when he forced Carol to hide the full strength of her superpowers (major Elsa from "Frozen" energy).

But Yon-Rogg's biggest failing as a villain was that it was super easy to tell he wasn't a good guy from the start.

Singh: It just felt so obvious that Jude Law's character was going to turn on Carol and be the movie's bad guy. Predictableness aside, his goal was also bland and typical.

I hope Yon-Rogg is suffering on Hala for subjecting us viewers to such a dull villain plan.

Acuna: A mystery character who can mimic the fighting style of any person they come across sounds like they should be a real threat. Olga Kurylenko's antagonist seemed way cooler until an identity reveal — which was meant to be a shocking and emotional revelation — fell flat.

There was so much potential for Taskmaster to be this badass fighter, but we only received under three minutes of Kurylenko's character fighting in the entire film. During most of those scenes, instead of fighting, we received a lot of slow, intimidating walking sequences paired with a menacing theme.

Taskmaster's cool factor deflated more when the movie's real villain wound up being a self-important, old white man, obsessed with controlling women, General Dreykov. Gross.

Given her underutilization, we're hoping Taskmaster will be redeemed and given more agency in Marvel's upcoming "Thunderbolts" movie.

Singh: I didn't even realize that we got less than three minutes of Taskmaster in action.

Acuna: I've seen someone point out that the cat from "Captain Marvel" (Goose) received more screen time in the MCU.

Singh: I feel like that speaks for itself, the fact that the main villain didn't even get to show their fighting style for a significant amount of time.

I think I was more hyped by the idea of Taskmaster in the MCU than the actual execution of the character. But maybe "Thunderbolts" will course correct and give us a character worth rooting for.

Singh: I kept trying to recall who was the real villain of "Eternals." Ikaris? The Celestials? Then I realized there was one clear answer: "Eternals" was its own worst enemy. They did Bill Skarsgard so dirty! A fantastic actor was quite frankly criminally underutilized and completely unrecognizable as Kro, the leader of the Deviants.

I don't even think I would have realized this was Skarsgard if I hadn't seen his name in the credits.

Acuna: We're not even putting Kro on this list because he was a terrible character. He simply deserved better!

Since Kro and the Deviants play such an important role in the comics it was frustrating to see them painfully underutilized. I expected to see the Deviants and Eternals team up in the third act to fight against their common Celestial enemies.

Instead, the Deviants (and Kro) were depicted to general audiences as little more than monstrous CGI creatures.