Marvel movies, both in and out of the MCU, often introduce brilliant villains from Marvel Comics, only for them to be easily defeated too soon.
It’s all too often that iconic villains in Marvel movies find themselves easily defeated by their heroic adversaries. With over eight decades of Marvel Comics source material to draw from, Marvel movie adaptations have no shortage of villains to incorporate into their stories. Some of the most terrifying villains have been introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony Spider-Man Universe, and Fox’s X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises over the years, including Thanos, Galactus, Apocalypse, and Doctor Doom. However, some of these villains have been defeated pretty easily, which has been a point of criticism.
While some villains such as Magneto, Thanos, and Loki have stuck around for several projects in their respective franchises, Marvel movie adaptations often come under scrutiny for featuring a one-and-done villain who should perhaps be shown to be more powerful. Superhero films obviously need to put the heroes themselves in the spotlight, showing off their gifts and skills, but they need formidable adversaries to go up against. Several legendary villains from Marvel Comics have been adapted into live-action over the years, but there are many who were defeated far too easily.
10Galactus (Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer)
2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer introduced one of Marvel Comics’ biggest villains but completely wasted the character’s potential. Galactus debuted in Marvel Comics in 1966’s Fantastic Four #48 as a cosmic entity from before the dawn of the universe who needs to consume entire worlds to sustain his life force. Galactus has been a major threat in comic storylines for decades. Even so, Rise of the Silver Surfer saw a poorly-adapted version of Galactus quickly defeated by the combined might of the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer.
9Sebastian Shaw (X-Men: First Class)
As the leader of the Hellfire Club, X-Men: First Class’ Sebastian Shaw, portrayed by Kevin Bacon, is one of the most menacing supervillains in Marvel Comics. A mutant with the ability to absorb energy, Bacon brought Shaw to life in 2011’s otherwise-praised X-Men prequel, but since the villain has been a thorn in the side of the X-Men since 1980 in Marvel Comics, killing him off in one movie was a mistake. Storylines such as Shaw’s funding of the Sentinel program were completely omitted from the film, and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto was able to easily dispatch the villain.
8Loki (The Avengers)
After Tom Hiddleston’s debut as Loki in 2011’s Thor, the God of Mischief has been easily defeated by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on a number of occasions, but perhaps most notably in 2012’s The Avengers, Marvel Studios’ first crossover event. While Loki’s Chitauri army posed a problem for the Avengers in their first battle as a team, Loki himself didn’t have much of a role in the Battle of New York and was incapacitated quickly by the Hulk smashing him into the floor. Loki eventually simply surrendered to the Avengers rather than putting up any more of a fight, though this would lead to his redemption arc in the MCU.
7Yellowjacket (Ant-Man)
During his MCU debut, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, would face a similarly-powered villain in the form of Yellowjacket, the moniker assumed by Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross. Various incarnations of Yellowjacket have been seen in Marvel Comics since the villain’s debut in 1968’s The Avengers #59, and the character has faced off against the likes of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite this, his appearance in Ant-Man saw him take on Scott Lang, with the latter easily defeating his foe by shrinking into his suit and destroying it from the inside – deforming Cross into MODOK for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
6Crossbones (Captain America: Civil War)
Perhaps one of the most wasted villains in the MCU’s history, Frank Grillo debuted as Brock Rumlow in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a HYDRA agent working within SHIELD who is later crushed beneath the falling Triskelion. He would reprise the role for Captain America: Civil War, where the villain committed suicide in the hopes that he would also take Captain America out, though this was stopped by Wanda Maximoff. In 2023, Grillo made comments suggesting that Marvel Studios had completely fumbled his character, causing him to assume a role in James Gunn’s new DCU slate as Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos.
5Apocalypse (X-Men: Apocalypse)
In Marvel Comics, one of the greatest threats that the X-Men face is that of Apocalypse, an ancient mutant and one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. Oscar Isaac assumed the role of En Sabah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse, in X-Men: Apocalypse, and posed a significant threat to the X-Men for a moment before being taken down by the combined might of Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops, Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe, a.k.a. Storm, and Erik Lehnsherr, a.k.a. Magneto. X-Men: Apocalypse did nothing to delve into Apocalypse’s rich backstory and ruined the chance of this being explored in the future as he was quickly killed by the X-Men.
4Surtur (Thor: Ragnarok)
While Surtur would return in the final moments of Thor: Ragnarok to complete the film’s prophecy and destroy Asgard, his initial battle with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor ends incredibly quickly, with the villain’s crown being removed, stripping him of his power. Surtur debuted in Marvel Comics’ 1963 run of Journey Into Mystery #99 and became one of Thor’s most iconic villains, so his brief appearance in Thor: Ragnarok as a minor villain was a shame. Even so, Surtur does get his wish in the end, but he was no match for Thor in the Phase 3 film’s opening moments.
3Yon-Rogg (Captain Marvel)
Jude Law debuted as Yon-Rogg in 2019’s Captain Marvel, introduced as a mentor to Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers throughout the film while also leading her Starforce team in the long-running war against the Skrulls. Yon-Rogg is a powerful Kree General in Marvel Comics, and while this was glimpsed in Captain Marvel, the villain didn’t really pose much of a threat to the super-powerful Captain Marvel at all. In fact, he is easily incapacitated by Danvers’ energy blasts at the end of the film, despite wanting to battle her hand-to-hand.
2Kro (Eternals)
Upon its release in 2021, Eternals came under a lot of scrutiny for a variety of reasons, one of which was the film’s portrayal of the Deviants. Bill Skarsgård voiced the Deviants’ leader, Kro, who expressed the ability to absorb the powers of the Eternals. In Marvel Comics, Kro is a much more menacing threat, still being seen as the Deviants’ leader but also shown to be a shape-shifter and an immortal member of the Deviant race, who even has a relationship with the Eternal Thena. Any potential of his rich storylines being adapted for the MCU were dashed when Angelina Jolie’s Thena sliced Kro up during their interaction.
1Kang The Conqueror (Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania)
Kang the Conqueror is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe and has been set up to be the major villain for the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Jonathan Majors debuted as a Kang variant, He Who Remains, in Loki season 1, before appearing as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. With a mastery over time and advanced technology that grants him incredible abilities, Kang should have been able to dispatch of Ant-Man and his size-changing crew easily, but he was defeated by Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne in Quantumania’s final moments.
