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The Best Villains In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Updated February 8, 2021 29.7k votes 1.5k voters 11.0k views48 items

List RulesVote up the most memorable villains from the MCU films.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe may have its share of awesome heroes, but for every great hero, there’s an equally awesome villain. Iron Man has the Iron Monger, the Hulk has Abomination, and Ant-Man has Ghost... and Yellow Jacket... and Sonny Burch.

This list of MCU villains includes all the greats, as well as a few lesser-known foes. Villains like Whiplash and Erik Killmonger may have been memorable in part due to their charisma, but what about other evil characters like Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw? We also can't forget Ego and Thanos, who are two of the most powerful characters in Marvel history. Which MCU villain is your favorite?

Vote up the best and most ruthless villains in the MCU so we can all see which evildoers top the list.

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Loki
Tom Hiddleston
Appears in:

Thor (2011)
The Avengers (2012)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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Thanos
Josh Brolin, Damion Poitier
Appears in:

The Avengers (2012)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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Hela
Cate Blanchett
Appears in:

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

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Erik Stevens (Killmonger)
Michael B. Jordan
Appears in:

Black Panther (2018)

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Quentin Beck (Mysterio)
Jake Gyllenhaal
Appears in:

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

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Adrian Toomes (Vulture)
Michael Keaton
Appears in:

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

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Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier)
Sebastian Stan
Appears in:

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Ant-Man (2015)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Black Panther (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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Ultron
James Spader
Appears in:

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

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Johann Schmidt (Red Skull)
Hugo Weaving, Ross Marquand
Appears in:

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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Nebula
Karen Gillan
Appears in:

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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425
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Grandmaster
Jeff Goldblum
Appears in:

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

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Ebony Maw
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Appears in:

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
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451
386
Ego the Living Planet
Kurt Russell
Appears in:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

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Ulysses Klaue (Klaw)
Andy Serkis
Appears in:

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Black Panther (2018)

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Helmut Zemo
Daniel Brühl
Appears in:

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

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Obadiah Stane (Iron Monger)
Jeff Bridges
Appears in:

Iron Man (2008)

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Surtur
Clancy Brown
Appears in:

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

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Dormammu
Benedict Cumberbatch
Appears in:

Doctor Strange (2016)

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Ronan the Accuser
Lee Pace
Appears in:

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Captain Marvel (2019)

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Brock Rumlow (Crossbones)
Frank Grillo
Appears in:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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Alexander Goodwin Pierce
Robert Redford
Appears in:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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Arnim Zola
Toby Jones
Appears in:

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

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Ava Starr (Ghost)
Hannah John-Kamen
Appears in:

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

More Ghost
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Ivan Vanko (Whiplash)
Mickey Rourke
Appears in:

Iron Man 2 (2010)
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Darren Cross (Yellowjacket)
Corey Stoll
Appears in:

Ant-Man (2015)

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