The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an absolute juggernaut, one of the most well-constructed and lucrative franchises around and one that only seems to keep getting bigger and bigger with each new entry. When it comes to world building, Marvel is one of the best, though there is one thing that they do seem to struggle with repeatedly: crafting compelling villains.
As impressive as most of the studio’s efforts have been, we’ve yet to see a truly great bad guy emerge from Marvel. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had a few close contenders though, as over the MCU’s lifespan we’ve had several villains who’ve turned out to be formidable opponents for our favorite heroes.
Whether it’s Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger or Loki, Thor’s cunning adopted brother who’s appeared several times now, there’s certainly been a handful of memorable baddies over the years.
And so, with Doctor Strange right around the corner, and Avengers: Infinity War starting to make headlines, we thought it’d be a good time to take a look back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe and pick out our favorite antagonists from over the years. While Marvel has still failed to give us a truly compelling villain, these 8 characters in the video above have certainly come close.