Marvel Superheroes Create Their Own Villains, And These 10 Movies Were The Worst Cases

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Marvel heroes often end up creating their own villains, with these movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and beyond featuring particularly notable examples. The movies of the MCU have been bringing the characters and stories of Marvel Comics to life on the big screen with consistent quality for many years, relying on many of the common tropes of the genre in the process. Though the franchise has proven subversive and groundbreaking in some ways, it also falls back on tried and tested narrative devices.
One of the most common tropes in the MCU’s movie timeline is that the franchise’s heroes tend to create their own villains. On most occasions, this is the unintentional result of a poor decision or judgment call, while on others, there’s a more direct cause and effect in play. Whether it was avoidable or not, here are 10 of the worst times that Marvel movie superheroes created their own villains.
10 Tony Stark Inspired Mysterio's Villainous Scheme Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) Though Iron Man’s MCU story may have seen him serve as one of the franchise’s most important heroes, he also happened to be responsible for the creation of many villains. One notable example actually came to light after his death, with Spider-Man: Far From Home introducing Mysterio to the MCU. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Quentin Beck was introduced as a prospective hero and ally to Spider-Man, only for the movie to reveal that he was manipulating the young hero.
Beck’s plan centered around getting revenge on Tony Stark, who had dismissed some of his groundbreaking work before his death. Beck went on to use the technology to create elaborate illusions and create a public perception of himself as a hero, all with the aim of undermining Tony Stark’s legacy. Though Beck was ultimately responsible for his own actions, Tony Stark’s treatment of him and his colleagues sparked the entire villainous scheme.
9 Thor's Mistreatment Of Loki Pushed Him Toward Villainy Thor (2011) Close It’s fair to say that Loki’s story in the MCU has seen him undergo some of the most significant character development in the franchise, and he’s one of its most complex figures. He was first introduced in 2011’s Thor, where he served as the movie’s main antagonist. However, his villainous plan stemmed from the way he was treated by his brother, Thor, and his father, Odin.
As the seemingly less powerful of Odin’s two sons, Loki largely existed in the shadow of his brother. Thor’s arrogance and general lack of any respect for Loki was clear from his first scene in the MCU, and it’s not difficult to understand Loki’s own frustrations with Thor and Odin’s lack of appreciation for his talents. Loki’s plan was conceived largely to earn the favor of his father and the Asgardian people, stemming in part from Thor’s own disregard of his talents.
8 Peter Parker Refusing To Help Harry Osborn Turned Him Into The Green Goblin The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) Sitting at the middle point of Spider-Man"s movie timeline, The Amazing Spider-Man franchise is the hero’s shortest live-action continuity. Its second and final movie, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, introduced both Electro and the Green Goblin, with the latter being specifically created as a result of the hero’s actions. The movie sees Harry Osborn turned into the Green Goblin after an experimental cure for a rare illness goes wrong after Spider-Man declines to help.
The movie shows Harry asking both Peter Parker and Spider-Man for help separately, as he believes the hero’s blood could help him. Though his childhood friend sympathizes, he declines to help conceive a treatment for Osborn’s condition, forcing the desperate Harry to make a dangerous choice. It’s this that precipitates his villainous transformation, turning him against Spider-Man and Peter Parker in the process and ultimately resulting in the tragic death of Gwen Stacy.
7 Kick-Ass Killed Red Mist's Father Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Kick-Ass may not exist within a wider Marvel movie continuity, but the two-film franchise was based specifically on a Marvel Comics property. The first movie sees Dave Lizewski become the titular vigilante, and later becoming entangled in an attempt to topple crime boss Frank D’Amico. He is able to kill the criminal, but in doing so, makes an enemy of his eccentric son, Chris.
For the sequel, Chris D’Amico adopts a new villain persona, and sets about organizing a whole league of criminals to unite against Kick-Ass and his fellow vigilantes. His decision to get revenge on Kick-Ass came about as the direct result of the death of his father in the first movie. Though unavoidable from the hero’s perspective, defeating the first movie’s villain ended up creating a whole new enemy for the sequel.
6 Killmonger Held A Grudge Against Wakanda Because Of T'Chaka Black Panther (2018) Close 2018’s Black Panther introduced one of the most compelling villains in the entire MCU in the form of Erik Killmonger. Killmonger was established as a mercenary who plots to seize control of Wakanda in order to share its technology and science with the rest of the world, albeit in an incredibly violent takeover that threatens the lives of many of King T’Challa’s loved ones.
However, Killmonger’s villainous plan was the result of the actions of T’Challa’s predecessor, his father, King T’Chaka. During T’Chaka’s time as the Black Panther, he uncovered that his brother N’Jobu planned to betray Wakanda, choosing to kill him for his crimes and leaving his young son behind in America. This sees the boy grow to become the dangerous Killmonger, inspiring his plan to share Wakanda’s capabilities with the rest of the world.
5 Ghost Was Created By Hank Pym's Treatment Of Her Father Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Close Ant-Man and the Wasp is often considered one of the most forgettable Marvel movies, but its villain, Ghost, was indirectly created by the actions of Ant-Man himself. As a child, Ava Starr was involved in an accident during one of her father’s experiments with quantum energy, making her molecules unstable and allowing her to phase through solid objects. Though she primarily faces Scott Lang’s Ant-Man and Hope Van Dyne’s Wasp, it was their predecessors that were to blame for her condition.
It is revealed that Hank Pym removed her father, Elihas Starr, from his quantum research project, which is why he chose to continue his work in unsafe conditions. Had Pym approached the issue with Elihas differently, Ava Starr would have never been involved in the accident that turned her into the villain. Though unintentional, Ghost is another villain who was created by a Marvel movie hero.
4 Eddie Brock Became Venom Out Of Hatred For Peter Parker Spider-Man 3 (2007) Spider-Man 3 might be considered the worst of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, but it also introduced three villains to the live-action continuity. The most significant of these was Venom, who was actually created by Spider-Man himself. After coming into contact with the alien symbiote, Peter Parker’s behavior changes, and he antagonizes his co-worker, Eddie Brock. When he later removes the symbiote, it is after Brock has been driven to despair by Parker’s actions.
Eddie Brock’s hatred for Peter Parker is at its peak when he first makes contact with the symbiote. This sees him use his new alien abilities to target the hero, with both personas influenced directly by Parker’s actions. As Eddie Brock, he blamed Parker for ruining his life, and the Venom symbiote was discarded by Parker before latching onto Brock, meaning that the hero created the villain on two different levels.
3 Aldrich Killian's Motivation Was Being Dismissed By Tony Stark Iron Man 3 (2013) Close Tony Stark made many mistakes during his time in the MCU, though many of them stemmed from his good intentions. One that didn’t, however, actually led to the creation of a villain that didn’t surface until after he had embraced his heroic side. When originally approached by Aldrich Killian, Tony Stark dismisses his Extremis program and insults him. It’s not until years later that this comes back to haunt Stark.
The events of Iron Man 3 see Killian exact his revenge on Stark, using his Extremis abilities to prove his worth to the man who rejected him so many years before. Killian’s entire scheme stems from that rejection, with his Extremis project the fruit of his years of resentment towards Stark. Though the insult was a minor moment in Tony Stark’s history, it saw him inadvertently create the villain that came back to threaten him years later.
2 Baron Zemo Set Out To Avenge His Family's Death Captain America: Civil War (2016) Close The events of Captain America: Civil War saw the Avengers split into two distinct camps as the result of the Sokovia Accords, with conflict further fueled by more personal tensions. This is later explained to be the work of Baron Zemo, who has been secretly pitting the heroes against one another. However, it’s then revealed that the villain was actually created by the Avengers themselves.
Zemo’s complex and devious plan was created with the specific goal of forcing the Avengers to tear themselves apart from the inside. Zemo reveals that his motivation was the death of his family, which was a direct result of the Battle of Sokovia during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Though unintentional, the Avengers accidentally made a dangerous enemy even while trying to act as heroes, as they simply weren’t able to save everyone while battling Ultron.
1 Tony Stark And Bruce Banner Created Ultron Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Close The most notable occasion of heroes creating their own villain in the history of Marvel movies came during Avengers: Age of Ultron, when Tony Stark and Bruce Banner accidentally created the eponymous villain. After being manipulated by Wanda Maximoff, Stark sets out to create Ultron, a program capable of defending humanity from extra-terrestrial threats. However, the AI goes rogue, and sets out to destroy the human race.
Considering Stark specifically enlists Banner to help him with the Ultron project, and sets out to create a powerful AI with control over the Earth’s defences, it’s fair to say that the heroes created the villain deliberately. Though they couldn’t have seen his villain turn coming, Stark was warned about – and summarily dismissed – the dangers, making him doubly responsible. It’s the most obvious example of a hero creating their own villain in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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