Comments
While the MCU might be the biggest name in the superhero game, it definitely isn’t above criticism. Some of it is overblown (no, Captain Marvel is not the worst thing to happen to the MCU), while some of it is very much earned (yes, bringing RDJ back as Dr. Doom in Doomsday is a weird choice that really just boils down to nostalgia farming). But one thing is for certain: there really are some characters that the studio just has no idea what to do with. And this is especially true for the villains, leading them to effectively waste some of the best baddies at their disposal.
With god-tier villains like Red Skull, Malekith, and Gorr the God Butcher mishandled so badly, it’s hard to imagine that other villains got even worse treatment. But it’s definitely true, with some being stripped entirely of their well-earned story arc and others simply disappearing into the narrative despite being wildly big deals in the comics. So here are four more god-tier villains that the MCU absolutely fumbled (and that could have equaled one hell of a payday had they been handled properly).
4. Super Skrull
We can count on very few things in life: death, taxes, and the fact that people will hate Secret Invasion until the day that they die. And with good reason. Beyond being the show that made Nick Fury feel useless and unnecessarily killed off Maria Hill in a way that felt wildly cruel, it was also the show that dropped the ball on the Super Skrull.
And while it would be easy to gloss over any potential cool moments from Secret Invasion, we do have to give the show the smallest bit of credit; it did give us a pretty decent character design for the Super Skrull. But that’s not enough to save it from fans tearing it apart for just how poorly they handled this insane villain, especially when it became clear that the Super Skrull was just being used as a way to disguise lazy writing and an anemic plot, taking what should have been a dark mystery and turning it into a slapstick-laden whodunnit.
3. Mephisto
Mephisto. The Monarch of Evil. The Ruler of Hell. Lord of the Splinter Realms. One of Marvel’s ultimate villains and a character you would expect to have a huge impact on the MCU, to be one of the ultimate tests of the Avengers’ power and teamwork, as he pulls the strings from the shadows, having a list of heroes he wants dead that’s a mile long.
Considering that Mephisto created the first Ghost Rider and also attempted to bargain with Fan Fei, the Iron Fist, as well as trying to tempt Tony Stark into a bargain, you’d think that he’d actually matter in the MCU. But what did we get? A fandom that collectively had to ask, “Where the hell is Mephisto?” Because he’s only shown up once—in a single episode of Ironheart. And it seems like time is running out to bring him in a way that would do any sort of justice to the character. Which ultimately leads to another big question: “What’s the point?”
2. The Celestials
This is not an open invitation for Eternals hate. The fact is, the movie really wasn’t that bad. But what was actually bad was the way that the Celestials were defanged, made to seem like less of a threat than they’re truly meant to be. It’s just a fact that Marvel’s Phase 4 feels weird and lacks any sort of real connectedness—and the treatment of the Celestials and the placement of Eternals in the timeline make that so much worse.
For a group of villains that’s meant to be so large in scale that their faces can block out the entire sky, no one really seems to care, or even notice, that they were here to begin with. The Celestial event was meant to be on par with the Blip, and yet, we get one mention in a throwaway moment in She-Hulk. It’s one of those things that really makes you wonder what exactly the MCU was attempting in even bringing them into the universe to begin with.
1. Taskmaster
People have major issues with how Taskmaster was portrayed when she finally made it onto the big screen, and for very good reason. A character that got her start as an absolute badass—a combat ace with a photographic memory that allowed her to perfectly copy any fighting style used against her—was rendered almost entirely mute in her Black Widow debut, only to be used as a weapon for her father.
Disappointed doesn’t even begin to cover how fans felt when the character was nothing like her comic counterpart—a woman who was fierce, brash, and wildly talented at violence. The outcry was loud, and fans demanded better. And the MCU had the chance to heed those calls, putting Taskmaster front and center in the marketing for Thunderbolts*. But, once again, they dropped the ball, unceremoniously killing Taskmaster in the first act of the movie in a way that made absolutely no sense for the character.
What are your thoughts on the villains on this list? Did the MCU ruin them, or were there others that were done even dirtier? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the forum to see how your opinions stack up against other Marvel fans.
Sabrina Carpenter Rumored for MCU Villain Role But Fans Want Her to Play An X-Men Hero Instead
