August 9, 2021 11.4k votes 2.1k voters 281.3k views
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Vote up the evil moments that show villains don't have to be violent to be cold-blooded.
The most evil MCU villains radiate an energy so sinister, they don't even have to kill to prove to an audience how twisted and cruel they are. Sure, they all do plenty of killing, but the point is that their evil nature permeates all aspects of their lives. Whether they're dealing with an underling, a business partner, or a hero - they're going to act in ways that a normal person wouldn't. For the vast majority of these villains, they simply aren't able to turn it off.
As the cliche goes, there are some fates worse than death, and these MCU villains seem hellbent on discovering every last one of them. Whether it's breaking up relationships, revealing dark secrets, or straight-up tormenting their foe, there seems to be no level an MCU villain won't stoop to in order to get what they want.
Doctor Strange first travels to Kamar-Taj because he hears rumors about how the Ancient One healed a paralyzed man named Jonathan Pangborn. Eventually, Strange discovers that Pangborn isn't really healed, but he is able to walk thanks to magic.
At the end of Doctor Strange, Mordo decides he's against the use of magic after discovering the Ancient One has been borrowing power from the forbidden Dark Dimension. In Mordo's first stop in his new crusade against magic, he goes to Jonathan Pangborn, where he does something that can only be described as cruel and unusual. Mordo uses a technique to steal Pangborn's power, which leaves him writhing on the floor.
Obadiah Stane stepped up in a big way after the demise of Howard Stark. Sure, Obadiah took over as the interim CEO for Stark Industries, but he also served as a father figure to Tony Stark. It was like this for years until Tony came of age to take over the company, and Obadiah became consumed with jealousy and resentment.
Obadiah first tries to get Tony out of the way by ordering a hit on the young billionaire. When that fails, and Tony returns to the company rejuvenated with an arc reactor and a disdain for weapons manufacturing, Obadiah only becomes angrier. So, Obadiah goes to Tony, reveals he's been plotting against him, and then paralyzes Tony and rips the arc reactor out of his chest. Obadiah then leaves Tony to die a slow and painful demise.
Even for a man hellbent on destroying half of all life in the universe, Thanos's treatment of Nebula is especially cruel. Throughout their lives, Thanos would pit Nebula against her sister, Gamora. Nebula would always lose, and each time Thanos would cybernetically enhance Nebula's body until she was more android than human.
After capturing Gamora in Infinity War, Thanos takes her to see Nebula. Nebula had previously snuck aboard Thanos's ship with the intent to eliminate him, so Thanos suspended her in the air and separated all her parts. Thanos uses the pain Nebula is in to get information out of Gamora. So, once again, she's nothing more than a tool for Thanos to get what he wants out of his favorite daughter.
At the start of WandaVision, it's more than a little confusing as to what's going on at any level. Not only is Wanda living in a sitcom, but possibly even stranger (although that's debatable), the Vision is back alive. The android's sudden resurrection isn't explained until late in the series, where a flashback of Wanda retrieving his body from S.W.O.R.D. is finally shown.
The Vision may be more robot than human to most, but to his lover, he's a being with a soul. Wanda goes to S.W.O.R.D. to get Vision's body, not to bring him back, but so she can finally have a funeral for him. While there, the director of S.W.O.R.D., Tyler Hayward, reveals to Wanda that he views Vision as a weapon first and foremost. Thus, he's dismantling the Vision's body, which he shows to Scarlet Witch. On one level, it's just a robot having its parts disassembled. But, with a bit of empathy, it's easy to see the horror of watching one's lover ripped limb from limb by cold, calculating scientists.
Baron Zemo believes that a nation toppled by its enemies can rise again, but one that crumbles from the inside is gone for good. So, after Zemo makes it his mission post-Age of Ultron to destroy the Avengers, he goes about it by pitting the team against each other.
In Zemo's final move to separate the Avengers, Zemo shows Tony Stark the video of his parents' demises. Unbeknownst to Stark, his parents were slain by the Winter Soldier (while he was brainwashed). Captain America knew about this, so the video leads to the three heroes fighting against each other.
Aldrich Killian and Maya Hansen have a breakthrough on their hands with a little project called Extremis. Extremis uses nanotechnology to modify human bodies and allow them to regenerate from all injuries. It's awesome, but it suffers from one small problem - users tend to spontaneously combust.
Killian desperately wants Tony Stark to fix that problem for him, but Tony refuses. So, Killian does what any normal person would do, and he infects Pepper Potts, the love of Tony's life, with his virus. Thus, Tony either fixes the spontaneous combustion problem, or he risks having his love perish in an incredibly brutal fashion.
