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15 Best Marvel Movie Villains
Every great superhero needs a supervillain . It ’ s comic book 101 , the true test of greatness behind every caped crusader in ( and outside of ) the universe . Pixar ’ s The Incredibles ( 2004 ) even understood this step , identifying a dichotomy that ’ s crucial to the whole idea of being “ super ” in the first place . Without The Joker and Kingpin keeping them busy , heroes like Batman and Daredevil would simply be guys who like to dress up and beat people down at night — a lot less cool to watch , all things considered . Recipes for a distinct villain are tough to uncover , as most tend to fall towards the same mixture of vengeance and power-hungry potential . World domination is typically high on the list , as is an appreciation for supernatural ability and unhinged inhibition . Hell , some of them aren ’ t even gifted , save for skilled diplomacy and connections with the right people . Both Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox have dealt with the pressures of turning cliché into fully formed depth , and sometimes , fans have been quite quick in pointing out botched attempts ( Iron Man 2 ’ s Ivan Vanko ). Fortunately , there are far more success stories than bodacious belly-flops , and this praise extends not only to Fox and Marvel , but Sony Pictures ’ Spider-Man series as well . Here are Screen Rant ’ s 15 Best Marvel Movie Villains . 15 . ELECTRO The Amazing Spider-Man 2 really took a beating in 2014 . The piled on subplots , unnecessary introductions , and utterly wasted villains ( Green Goblin , Rhino ) all took away from could ’ ve ( or should ’ ve ) been a straightforward battle between Spider-Man ( Andrew Garfield ) and lite up loser Electro ( Jamie Foxx ). Instead , Sony apparently felt the shocking super villain was too weak to carry an entire narrative , and elected to break the camel ’ s cinematic back instead . Despite this , Foxx does a pretty decent job playing a guy who can ’ t even get a fair shake in his own fi lm . Introduced as a nobody with awkward manners and a comb over that ’ s a super power in it of itself , Max Dillon ( Foxx ) is a pathetic case . Idolizing Spidey for saving his life , the lonely scientist develops an obsession that curtails when he ’ s accidentally transformed into an electricity-wielding weirdo . Suddenly at odds with his former hero , Electro easily takes the cake as the most sympathetic of Marvel movie baddies . Poor dude winds up dead without a second ’ s reflection , leaving his only merit in being a distinct ( if mishandled ) take on the supervillain persona . 14 . BOLIVAR TRASK As the instigator behind X-Men : Days of Future Past ( 2014 ), Bolivar Trask is far and away the least imposing villain to crack the list . Played with calculated contempt by Peter Dinklage , it is a role that spawns evil from the
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misguided attempts of boardroom problem solving . Trask sees mutants as nothing more than a threat to mankind , and as such , develops a killer robot initiative to keep the peace . Flash forward a few decades , and the inventor ’ s Sentinel program has not only done it ’ s job , but incurred the wrath of a Terminator-like dystopia . Foregoing the original portrayal of Trask in 2006 ’ s The Last Stand ( confusing timelines strike again ), Dinklage delivers a man caught in his own warped sense of righteousness . Few things are more frightening or honest than outright bigotry , and this is something director Bryan Singer fully exploits in his iteration of the character . As such , Trask presented the X- Men with a foe they couldn ’ t simply defeat through super strength . 13 . MYSTIQUE Mystique has gone through quite the journey in her six X- Men outings . Initially portrayed by mantrap Rebecca Romijn-Stamos , the transformative mutant is a skilled femme fatale of acrobatic proportions , able to slip through any security system in the world and wreak havoc at a moment ’ s notice . Far from the most powerful enemy of the uncanny crew , Mystique is instead the ultimate deceptor , infi ltrating the X-Men on several occasions while instigating a political struggle in the process ( poor Senator Kelly ). Granted , she didn ’ t speak much in the fi rst three fi lms , but that soon changed when Jennifer Lawrence was brought in for X- Men : First Class ( 2011 ). As a younger , idealized take on the character , Lawrence enhanced the tragedy behind Mystique , from her early days with Xavier to her ultimate realization of mankind ’ s bigoted ways . In this regard , Mystique is a villain who knows better , but is still compelled to make the wrong decisions . By the time we get to X2 ( 2003 ) and The Last Stand ( 2006 ), her callous heart proves colder than her blue complexion . Professor X has got to be supremely disappointed . 12 . IRON MONGER Jealousy manifests with Obadiah Stane ( Jeff Bridges ), former acting CEO of Stark Industries and father fi gure to Tony Stark ( Robert Downey , Jr .). As the MCU ’ s inaugural villain in 2008 ’ s Iron Man , Stane is a guy who exploited the legacy of the late great Howard while pedaling weapons of mass destruction to the highest bidder . This power trip became a bit tougher to maintain when Tony came of age and took over the company , forging a two-faced resentment that culminated in a planned assassination attempt . As we all know , that plan went south in a big way , and Tony would create the Iron Man suit as a result , forcing Stane to regroup with a far more sinister plan at hand . When the monstrosity that is Iron Monger eventually shows up , it