Bring On the Villains

Bring On the Villains

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in Short Supply of Dynamic Recurring Villains. Let's Change That.

Editorial Opinion
By Colebrax - Apr 21, 2014 03:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Comics

I'm an unabashed fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I'm rooting for the future success of all the properties Kevin Feige is hoping to bring to the screen. Their movies thus far have had their ups and downs in quality but with the recent roaring success of "Captain America: the Winter Soldier" and the strong potential of the next three films headed our way ("Guardians of the Galaxy", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", and "Ant-Man"), we can safely say that the MCU is in very good hands. But as much as I am anticipating these movies, there's something crucial missing in the current Marvel landscape: the bad guys.

 

The one exception to this problem is Tom Hiddleston's fantastic recurring role as Loki. At 2013's San Diego Comic Con, Tom Hiddleston took to the stage in Hall H wearing his full Loki regalia and his impact on the crowd was akin to the arrival of the Beatles in America in 1964. People completely freaked out and their reaction is understandable. As far back as Shakespeare's use of Iago in "The Tragedy of Othello" audiences have always loved a good villain. Throughout the history of comics, most of the great superheroes are made far greater from regularly facing a compelling rogues gallery. I think it is safe to say that it is almost impossible to be a superhero of enduring popularity without an equally compelling set of recurring bad guys to lock horns with. "Captain America: the Winter Soldier" featured some incredible villains but at the close of the story *spoiler alert*, the leaders of Hydra are dead and the Winter Soldier is well on his way to recovering his memories to become the morally ambiguous anti-hero we know and love from the comics. I have high hopes for James Spader as Ultron but in my opinion the MCU desperately needs some more concentrated villainy.

 

So I'm calling on my fellow comic book freaks to not only suggest the most badass villains in the Marvel Universe for future movies but also which actors they feel might best bring that role to life. For me, I'd like to see the MCU whip out one of the big guns, Mephisto. 

 

Mephisto illustrated by John Buscema

As a kid, I always loved Mephisto. Introduced in "Silver Surfer" #3 back in 1968 by Stan Lee and John Buscema, he's basically Marvel's version of the Devil and he'd make an incredible addition to the MCU as either a major or minor character, especially now that Marvel is dabbling with the supernatural in their efforts to bring Doctor Stephen Strange to the screen. Mephisto is powerful enough to go one on one with guys like Thor and the Silver Surfer but chooses instead to be the ultimate manipulator, even going so far as to play head games with Thanos during the "Infinity Gauntlet" (1991). What motivates Mephisto is the accumulation of souls in his pocket dimension and to accomplish this he often enters into pacts with his victims that initially appear to work in his victims' favor but ultimately work against them. From Spider-Man to Doctor Doom's mother, Mephisto's list of victims is endless and very rarely does he seem to come out on the receiving end of any kind of superhero beat down (although Franklin Richards did kick his ass one time pretty convincingly).

 

The question now is, who can play this guy? Many actors have played this type of role in the past from Emil Jannings as Mephisto in F. W. Murnau's "Faust" back in 1926 to Linda Blair/Mercedes McCambridge as the Devil in "The Exorcist" (1973). Actors love sinking their teeth into this kind of role, and the insane part of me thinks it'd be cool to try casting a woman in the part, someone beautiful and mysterious like Natalie Dormer. I love unpredictable casting, but assuming sanity prevails at Marvel Studios, I'd suggest using Javier Bardem. 

 

Javier Bardem going demonic in "No Country for Old Men" (2007)

Bardem is one of my favorite actors working today. His range is incredible but when he needs to go to the heart of darkness, he does so as well as anyone in the business. Bardem's performance as Anton Chigur in "No Country for Old Men" (2007) ranks up there with any other villain I can think of in movie history and an actor of his calibre would bring some incredible clout to the MCU.

 

So let's some chatter going about our favorite Marvel villains. I'd love to hear people's ideas on the topic. No matter how obscure or insane the suggestion might be, let's hear it. 

 


 

 


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Poolio
Poolio - 4/21/2014, 4:56 PM
Maybe if they hadn't [frick]ed up the Mandarin, they would've had a villain as good as Loki.
Colebrax
Colebrax - 4/21/2014, 7:14 PM
@DrunkenPirateNukem - Couldn't agree more. So many great female characters to choose from. Personally I'm hoping Doctor's Strange's main squeeze, Clea, makes it into his movie. I was obsessed with her as a kid and she'd open up all kinds of cool dark dimension story lines.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 4/21/2014, 7:45 PM
Well we know we are getting Ultron and Thanos. Two greats.

Possibly Dormammu with the Doctor Strange movie. Or Baron Mordo. Also greats.

Red Skulls still out there. They have the rights to Mephisto. We know the real Mandarin is out there.

So I want to know, who are the villains for Ant Man and Cap 3. Both films are confirmed, but no word on the villains yet. Maybe MODOK for Pym and Crossfire for Lang? Baron Zemo for Cap 3? Hell we had the Enchantress sister introduced. So shes not far behind right?
Colebrax
Colebrax - 4/21/2014, 7:55 PM
If we got to see a full blown, Kirby-style Modok, I would die from happiness. That would be insane.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 4/21/2014, 8:02 PM
Plus Surtur is entirely a possibility. Because of the fall of Odin, Surtur will surely strike. Loki opened a can of worms. Thats the Asgardian prophecy though, that Loki would be the start of Ragnarok. And wherever Enchantress shows up, Executioner usually follows. So we have that to look forward to if they go that direction in Thor 3.

Im on the ledge about MODOKs film appearance. The big head would either look ridiculous, or very frightening. They could just do a modern version of his appearance, like a normal proportioned cyborg. But they have to keep his personality and abilities the same. I dont mind changes, just not changes that alter every aspect of the character.

I would like to see Absorbing man, Radioactive man or Moonstone show up in a film too.
Bearjew
Bearjew - 4/21/2014, 8:53 PM
Bring back Red Skull in Cap 3 (brought back by a team of HYDRA scientists who have been studying the bifrost and how to tap into it, when they create a portal the Red Skull falls through -he should be buff now and covered in norse tattoos from his time spent in the nine realms. Actor: Til Schweiger
Baron Zemo- Introduced in Cap 3 as a German baron who has been kept alive and young by experimenting with a knock-off form of the super soldier serum. He helped keep HYDRA alive after Red Skull's supposed death. Zemo wears a dark purple hood when he is in front of his troops. He serves as a secondary bad guy who is more the sponsor to the Red Skull's schemes than the actual villain. At the end of Cap 3, Red Skull is defeated and Cap blows up the HYDRA facility, on the catwalk inside the facility Zemo throws off his hood and is trying to escape but a glass tank full of chemicals explode, he manages to dodge most of it but the transparent fluid sprays his face- scarring him and leaving his face burnt. He reappears in Avengers 4 as the leader of the Masters of Evil and wears a tighter dark purple mask to conceal his deformed face. Actor: Nikolaj Coster Waldau
Crossbones: Baron Zemo breaks Brock Rumlow out of the government, maximum security prison he is being kept in at the beginning of Cap 3 - he has a scar from the events at the end of Cap 2. He ends up fighting Winter Soldier in the climactic battle while Cap is having his rematch with Red Skull. Cap tracks down Winter Soldier whose been caught and imprisoned by Baron Zemo. Winter Soldier ends up knocking Crossbones unconscious in the final battle and leaves him inside the facility before it explodes, Winter Soldier disappears again and Crossbones is seen waking up and escaping the facility before it is brought down. He is part of the Masters of Evil in Avengers 4.
Amora the Enchantress and Skurge the Executioner -introduced as villains in Thor 3 who are exiled and wanted fugitives across the nine realms by the end of Thor 3. In Avengers 4 they discover what Baron Zemo is hatching against the Avengers and unlike the other recruits they find him.
Radioactive Man- Introduced as a villain in Incredible Hulk 3 (Hulk 2: The Leader and Red Hulk). He has the ability to absorb and manipulate radiation making him a formidable foe against the Hulk who he can turn back to human form unless he is angry enough. He is the second recruited to the Masters of Evil behind Crossbones.
Crimson Dynamo is a villain not previously seen in any of the previous MCU films (besides Ivan Vanko arguably but who is considered to be Whiplash). Dynamo premieres in Avengers 4 as a genius Russian scientist called Alex Nevski, he is a russian spy who has been hired by Zemo to steal blue prints for a nine foot tall Iron Man suit with weapon systems unmatched by any other technology on the planet. Zemo brings Nevski to the team by giving him the suit.
In Avengers 4, Zemo also has a small army of super soldiers he has created by using centipede technology.
Keep most of the villains alive and you should have a good, well-rounded universe.
BubSnikt
BubSnikt - 4/21/2014, 9:08 PM
Most of the GREAT villains are at Fox and Sony. Some of the villains besides Loki who can be a threat through multiple films are Red Skull ([frick]ed that one up tho), Mandarin ([frick]ed that up too), Ronan the Accuser, Thanos (maybe, more like a behind the scenes guy who pops up at the endgame), Baron Zemo (too late for that), possibly Kang, possibly Enchantress, Leader being the puppet master across 2 Hulk films, Kingpin, and of course Dorammu.

There are so many good villains with Fox and Sony. Doom, Norman Osborn, Mags, Mr. Sinister, Apocalypse, Annihilus, Super Skrull, Big G, Venom, Doc Oc, Omega Red, Stryfe, even Arcade.
BubSnikt
BubSnikt - 4/21/2014, 9:10 PM
@Praetorian

I like your Masters of Evil strategy. Maybe Radioactive Man could even be introduced in Ant-Man first. Dynamo is a great villain too
GageHarts
GageHarts - 4/21/2014, 9:45 PM
This would've been on the front page if it covered maybe two more villians. I really liked this.
MightyZeus
MightyZeus - 4/22/2014, 12:41 AM
The MCU films really need strongly written villains. Move the focus off of Loki and have Marvel Studios work with villains in order to expand there backstory and role in order to have them re occur in other Marvel Studio films.

It's disappointing that FOX and Sony have all the great villains. I would have loved to have seen The Avengers take on Sinister Six or for the Fantastic Four and The Avengers team up together against Dr Doom.
sikwon
sikwon - 4/22/2014, 3:15 AM
Thanos will be good I think. It does duck that all the best villains are elseware. I would love to see Bardem in the MCU. He's fantastic.
Vortigar
Vortigar - 4/22/2014, 3:42 AM
Baron Mordo could actually be an excellent substitute for Dr Doom in the MCU if Marvel would stop using him as a joke. He's ahead on studies on Strange by at least a decade and not afraid to delve into dangerous bargains, which makes him a double threat as he can pull others into conflicts. (Mephisto definately being one of them.)

@BatzFTWfan:
Whoah, back up, putting Mandarin and Stark in a Strange film? As side-kick? what are you smoking? (Also, he's called Dormammu) Strange has an excellent array of characters from his own title to pluck characters out of. Wong, Clea, Sara, Rintrah, (use Kyllian for all I care, the basic idea of the fallen disciple is sound even if the original character was basically the template for Anakin from Attack of the Clones...).

Between Kaluu, Mordo, Dormammu, Umar, Clea and Shuma Gorath you have a path for at least four movies laid out. Let's sketch this out:
1. Strange + ancient One vs Mordo + Kaluu (with Dormammu and Clea shadow hanging over)
2. Dormammu (Clea becomes a real player in the plot here) Umar side plot?
3. Dormammu gets ressurected by Umar or Umar attacks Earth with Dorm's power. Enter: Eternity and/or Living Tribunal. Of course Mordo wants in on this one.
This caps the first trilogy.

4. Nightmare starts mucking with stuff. Morgana Blessing publishes her book on Strange. The Ancient One starts to unravel, leading into:
5. Shuma Gorath with Mordo side plot.
6. Kaluu guides Strange back from a catastrophe after he had to pull all the stops for Shuma Gorath. Silver Dagger side plot?
And that is our second trilogy.

And this is off the top of my head. You can probably reorder things and construct a third but that would require digging. I really should put an editorial together on this sometime...
RichClaybs
RichClaybs - 4/22/2014, 7:12 AM
I'd love Mephisto but I wonder if religious groups would complain? It is really too bad that in all 3 Iron Man movies all the villains were basically rival industrialists, wasted opportunity to introduce some super villains. I'd like to see KANG, ATTUMA, THE LEADER, ZODIAC, THE GRANDMASTER, The KREE, THE SKRULLS, Baron ZEMO, and all the Doctor Strange villains just to name a few.

What the MARVEL movies need to work on most is better scores! I want a memorable Cap theme, Avengers, etc. Music High School bands could play and everybody would know them!
Trickwil
Trickwil - 4/22/2014, 7:30 AM
I think in Dr. Strange they will introduce Dormammu. And from there for the street level heroes they can introduce the Hood, and I know they will have Kingpin in the TV shows of Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil. For the big time heroes I fully expect to see Hydra itself as the over arching villain with re-occurrences of Von Strucker but hopefully Zemo and Madam Hydra.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 4/22/2014, 7:33 AM
I'm gonna point something out here. I just saw the Launch Trailer for the Arkham Origins DLC, so the game is kind of fresh on my mind.

So lemme break it down real quick. You've got seven assassins going after you on Christmas Eve. Killer Croc, Electrocutioner, Deathstroke, Copperhead, Bane, Deadshot, Shiva, and Firefly. Of those seven, only four are actual assassins, but that's beside the point.

All but TWO of those seven have dozens of henchmen at their disposal, so you're really fighting their nameless goons, wave after wave, and then you've got a pretty underwhelming boss battle for most of em.

Point is, these are really just people in special costumes giving orders.
---

Now many people seem to be opposed to the idea, even now after The Winter Soldier, of having these HANDS-ON villains working together, simply because oh no, the movie might be too crammed full of bad guys. Well, they share a common goal, they want the same things, and they've got to work together to do it. So instead of seeing all these nameless henchmen doing the dirty work, how about MORE of what The Winter Soldier had to offer.

That's all I've got to say.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 4/22/2014, 7:53 AM
Even though most of the most popular and best villains are with Fox and Sony under X-Men, Spider-Man and the F4, Marvel still has plenty of cool villains to use. This could also be used as a way to give some of these lesser known villains some spotlight.

Dormammu in Doctor Strange.

Mephisto in a Doctor Strange Film. (I'm also very excited to see him brought to the screen, if they do it.)

Red Skull will be brought back at some point.

Baron Zemo (My #1 villain I want see in a film) Hopefully we can get him in Cap 3. Do a flashback showing his father in WWII, and now his son in present times. Also, bring back Red Skull in this one.

Crossbones will obviously be back at some point.

Taskmaster can be a hired assassin in just about any film as he's fought everyone and isn't really considered any one character's villain.

Surter in the next Thor.

Enchantress and Executioner in a Thor film.

Ultron is AI and can never really be defeated permanently as he always just transfers his memory into other electronic devices, so he can always be brought back in the future.

Thanos

Ghost in a future Iron Man film.

The Leader in a Hulk film.

I mean, there are plenty of villains to use for quite some time.

Doughdzm
Doughdzm - 4/22/2014, 9:41 AM
Man Marvel really does have a short list when it comes to villains
BoomTubeB
BoomTubeB - 4/23/2014, 11:01 AM
BEYONDER!!!
BoomTubeB
BoomTubeB - 4/23/2014, 11:08 AM
Luke Evans as BEYONDER
BoomTubeB
BoomTubeB - 4/23/2014, 11:14 AM
Javier Bardem WOULD MAKE THE PERFECT Mephisto!!!
BreadPool
BreadPool - 4/24/2014, 3:14 PM
Great article. I agree that Marvel needs to step up the villians. I have Mephisto in one of my Fancasts in progress actually. Anyway thumbs up.
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