***SPOILERS for every MCU Phase 3 movie so far***
Despite the resounding success of Marvel Studios in recent years, there has been one lingering criticism: the villains.
Many of the villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been called replaceable, boring and forgettable. The first entry in the MCU, Iron Man, introduced a trope that many fans feel has become all too familiar. After Obadiah Stane betrays Tony Stark, he reveals the Iron Monger suit and fights Iron Man in a storm of fire and metal. The dynamic of having a hero and villain with similar abilities fight each other wasn’t nearly as played out in 2008 as it is now, so there weren’t many complaints about this fight when Iron Man was released. However, we’ve seen this trope in several MCU movies since, like in The Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange.
And it isn’t hard to understand why this has become a trend. When dealing with characters like Doctor Strange who have seemingly limitless powers, it makes sense to offset them with a villain of comparable abilities. Even still, there have now been 17 MCU movies in the last nine years, and adding fresh storytelling elements will help keep the general audience interested. Most of Marvel’s recent movies have taken some risks when dealing with their villains. Characters like Zemo in Captain America: Civil War, Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming have shown that Marvel is well aware of the criticisms they’ve received.
Captain America: Civil War is an interesting example because the villain wasn’t even the selling point of the movie. The film was pitched to audiences as a battle between heroes, with Iron Man on one side and Captain America on the other. What made this movie even more unique was the fact that the villain, Helmut Zemo, wasn’t some sinister HYDRA agent, but instead was a man driven to get revenge on the people he thought were responsible for his family’s death.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 also took a different approach to its villain than the previous movie in its series. Ego, Star-Lord’s father, isn’t a villain for the majority of the movie, but once his motives are unveiled, he becomes a pretty compelling enemy for the guardians. Ego’s relationship with Star-Lord added some much needed tension to the movie’s finale, and further complicated Star-Lord’s character. Peter Quill went from experiencing a bond with his father for the first time in his life, to realizing that Ego is responsible for the death of his mother.
Spider-Man: Homecoming also used the used the villain’s personal connections to the hero to create tension, something Spider-Man stories have been doing since the 1960s. Once Peter Parker’s homecoming date is revealed to be the Vulture’s daughter, the hero and villain share an intense scene that manages to be just as captivating as any costumed battle.
The majority the MCU's third phase has gotten it right when dealing with their villains. While Kaecilius in Doctor Strange was not as memorable as other recent Marvel antagonists, he wasn’t the biggest villain in the movie. Strange’s time-bending final encounter with Dormammu was one of the most original scenes in the MCU, and successfully played around audience expectations.
This trend of taking risks and trying new things is promising, and with Thanos just around the corner, complaints about Marvel villains could soon be a thing of the past.