10 Most Disappointing Villain Introductions In The MCU

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Summary

Many MCU villains have been found lacking when it comes to their introductions.
Lackluster MCU villain introductions often reflect a character's altered power set or backstory.
Promising Marvel villains getting a less impactful MCU introduction can hamper the overall effectiveness of their storyline in the on-screen franchise.

Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the franchise has introduced some of its villains in an especially disappointing way. Across the many movies of the MCU, the franchise has introduced a wealth of characters adapted from the pages of Marvel Comics. The shared universe is known for its many superheroes, but it has also featured multiple iconic antagonists over the course of its multiple movies and TV shows.
Though there have been many excellent villains introduced in the MCU’s movie timeline, there have also been those who are decidedly disappointing. On several occasions the franchise has seen the debuts of many interesting or promising antagonists significantly bungled, lessening or completely ruining the impact a villain might have in the MCU. With that in mind, here are the 10 most disappointing villain introductions in the history of the MCU.

Related Every Upcoming Marvel Movie: Full MCU Phase 5 & 6 List (& Beyond) Between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, here is every upcoming Marvel movie release date and what we know about the projects so far.
10 Gorr The God Butcher Wasn't As Ruthless As He Deserved Introduced in: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Close First appearing in Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr the God Butcher was a villain with the potential to cause a huge shift in the dynamic of power within the MCU. Considering his story is centered around his attempts at exacting a bloody crusade against Marvel’s pantheon of gods, his role within the MCU teased that he would be Thor’s most dangerous adversary to date. However, his introduction failed to communicate any such level of power.
For the MCU, Gorr was given a sympathetic backstory before embarking upon his journey to Eternity. On the way, he only kills a few minor gods, and plays only a relatively small role in the grand scheme of the franchise’s story. Thor: Love and Thunder’s ending sees Gorr die after using his only wish to revive his daughter, making him seem much less of a villain than he ultimately deserved.
9 MODOK Was Little More Than A Joke Introduced in: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Close In the comics, MODOK is an incredibly powerful antagonist who has tangled with many Marvel heroes. This made his inclusion in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s cast especially exciting, as it teased an opportunity for the MCU to comedically capitalize on the villain’s quirky design while also introducing a powerful foe. Sadly, MODOK’s introduction was incredibly disappointing, not least because his entire backstory had been completely changed to tie in with Ant-Man’s past.
Rewriting MODOK’s entire identity to make him Darren Cross was an odd choice, and it undermined everything that the villain could have been in the franchise. By making him a throwback to Ant-Man, MODOK comes off as little more than a visual gag. As he dies in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s ending, his introduction to the franchise proved all the more disappointing, as his MCU story was not just ill-advised but incredibly short-lived, too.
8 The Flag Smashers Were Incredibly Dull Introduced in: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) Close The MCU’s interpretation of the Captain America villain known as the Flag Smasher took some creative liberties with the original character, turning the single villain into an anti-nationalist organization. The idea behind this is commendable, as it captures the way that ideologies and sentiments can radicalize oppressed groups, and makes the nature of the villain decidedly more abstract. However, the MCU’s Flag Smashers, and their leader Karli Morgenthau, were ultimately introduced in a pretty disappointing manner.
The super soldier serum-infused villains were introduced as a faceless organization of mask-wearing grunts, and their leader, Karli, is the only one given any significant characterization. Considering the villain had been written to encompass an entire group of people, the fact that the majority of them were not given distinct characteristics made the Flag Smashers seem especially dull. As a result, the MCU’s introduction of the Flag Smashers proved disappointing due to its missed potential.
7 Savage Hulk Was An Unfulfilled Promise Introduced in: Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) Close Though the Hulk is primarily a Marvel hero, he has undergone a number of changes throughout his comic book history. At one time, his alter ego Savage Hulk was especially prominent, and has long been considered one of his most dangerous forms. Fueled entirely by rage and incapable of using reason or logic, Savage Hulk is prone to attack everything and everyone in his way, making him a villainous aspect of Marvel's big green hero.
Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced Savage Hulk after Wanda Maximoff used her magic to inspire fear in Bruce Banner. Though Savage Hulk’s rampage was as expected, it came to an abrupt end thanks to Iron Man’s Hulkbuster armor. Since then, Savage Hulk has not reappeared in the MCU, making the villain’s introduction seem especially disappointing due to its unfulfilled potential.
6 Malekith Lacked Any Defining Qualities Introduced in: Thor: The Dark World (2013) Close In the comics, Malekith the Accursed is one of Thor’s most versatile enemies. He possesses a host of abilities and has proven on many occasions to be an incredibly powerful adversary, and so his inclusion in the MCU seemed at the time to be cause for excitement. This excitement was dead on arrival, however, as his introduction into the franchise was incredibly underwhelming.
Thor: The Dark World is often considered one of the blandest entries into the MCU, thanks in no small part to the movie’s poor villain. Malekith is written as a dull, uninspired comic book villain with no real defining characteristics and very little in the way of personality. Instead of the powerhouse he often is in the comics, the MCU’s Malekith immediately proved bland and incredibly forgettable, making his introduction as disappointing as can be.
5 Baron Strucker Is A Footnote In MCU History Introduced in: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Close When it comes to underwhelming villain introductions in the MCU, few stand out as clearly as Baron Strucker’s. In the comics, Strucker carries a unique pathogen that makes him a particularly deadly antagonist, and after his brief cameo in one of the MCU’s post-credits scenes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Baron Strucker seemed set to be a major villain in the franchise. His subsequent introduction in Avengers: Age of Ultron proved that this was not to be, however.
Strucker appears in Age of Ultron’s opening scene, when his HYDRA base is attacked by the Avengers. Realizing he’s beaten, he surrenders and is captured, but not before setting the Maximoff twins free. Strucker is later killed off-screen by Ultron, marking the sudden end to his MCU story almost as soon as it had begun. To describe his introduction as underwhelming doesn’t do it justice, as Strucker is another case of wasted MCU villain potential.
4 The Super Skrull Provided The Ending To The MCU's Most Underwhelming Release Introduced in: Secret Invasion (2023) Close The Super Skrull is one of the most versatile characters in Marvel history, as he possesses a vast array of abilities. Introduced into the MCU as part of Secret Invasion’s cast, the Super Skrull’s backstory was already tipped to be incredibly different than his comic book counterpart. In the comics, the Super Skrull’s story is heavily linked to the Fantastic Four, who were not a part of the franchise prior to Secret Invasion.
The MCU’s Super Skrull is introduced as Gravik, the revolutionary leader of the SKrull rebellion. His anti-human sentiments saw him develop the means to give himself the superpowers of all the Avengers combined, making him especially dangerous. However, the franchise’s introduction of the villain’s powerful nature was incredibly disappointing, not least because it was brought to life using questionable visual effects. Coming as it did at the end of one of the objectively worst MCU projects, the Super Skrull’s MCU introduction fell decidedly flat.
3 Ulysses Klaue Possessed A Fraction Of His True Power Introduced in: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Close Though Ulysses Klaue – also known as Klaw – is far from one of Marvel Comics’ most well-known villains, he is in fact an incredibly powerful antagonist in his own right. In the comics, Klaw is a physicist transformed into a being made of solid sound, allowing him to manipulate sonic energy to his advantage. In the MCU, however, he was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron as a smuggler and arms dealer with a cache of Vibranium stolen from Wakanda.
The MCU’s version of the character was an interesting revision of the villain, but his introduction was not impressive. He was brought in as a tertiary supporting villain, and was immediately bullied into submission by Ultron. What’s more, Klaue had none of his abilities from the comics, dashing any hopes fans may have had that Klaw’s dangerous sonic powers would exist in the same way in the franchise.
2 Kro Was One Of The Most Forgettable MCU Villains Introduced in: Eternals (2021) Close In the comics, Kro is often depicted as the leader of the Deviants, the enemies of the Eternals. Kro is an antagonist with a long and storied history, and has possessed a wealth of abilities across his tenure in the Marvel Universe. As such, the announcement that he was to make his MCU debut voiced by Bill Skarsgård in Eternals was met with a good deal of anticipation.
Unfortunately, Kro’s introduction was sorely disappointing for fans of the character. Kro proved to be only a small part of Eternals’ winding narrative, and was featured sparingly. What’s more, he was barely named in the movie, making him an incredibly forgettable part of his own MCU debut. The Kro introduced into the MCU lacked many of the qualities that have made him an interesting villain in the comics, making his live-action introduction singularly underwhelming.
1 Dormammu's Introduction Wasted His Powerful Nature Introduced in: Doctor Strange (2016) Close There are very few Marvel villains who can be considered as powerful as Dormammu, the inter-dimensional demonic entity from the Dark Dimension. As well as being immortal, Dormammu makes use of a staggering list of abilities, making him a particularly dangerous antagonist. His introduction into the MCU came in Doctor Strange, in which the titular fledgling sorcerer finds himself face-to-face with the powerful villain.
Strange’s tactic of irritating Dormammu into submission ultimately works, and it makes the villain’s debut seem incredibly disappointing. Instead of the singularly powerful antagonist he should have been, Dormammu is only featured for a short time, and he’s beaten by Strange through perseverance alone. It’s an introduction that simply doesn’t do justice to an incredibly powerful villain, and it’s yet another example of a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe underwhelmed with the debut of an exciting antagonist.

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Eternals Where to Watch *Availability in US
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Thor: The Dark World

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Thor: Love and Thunder
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