The Villain in Every Avengers Movie, Ranked

The Avengers movies were a huge part of the 2010s entertainment landscape. As the crowning jewels of the MCU and arguably the peak of the superhero genre in cinema, the Avengers movies broke records and attracted critical acclaim, not to mention intense fan fervor. The films brought together some of the silver screen’s greatest characters — Earth’s mighties heroes, indeed — to deliver thrilling adventures that perfectly represented everything that a great blockbuster should be.

A major reason why the movies were such successes was the villains. After all, a villain is a crucial part of any superhero story, and the movie adaptations were no different. Luckily, all four of those cinematic adventures had a compelling and endlessly entertaining villain to challenge the equally great superheroes. However, not all of these villains are the same, and one or two clearly stand out because of their characterizations, motives, inherent appeal, and the performance of the actors behind them. This list will rank every villain in the Avengers movies; declaring a winner might seem simple at first, but there are more nuances to this discussion than you would initially believe.

4

Thanos (Josh Brolin) – ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)

Image via Marvel Studios

After the shocking ending of Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame delivered a suitably epic conclusion to the first three MCU Phases. Set five years after Infinity War, the film follows the remaining Avengers as they pull a daring time heist to bring back all those who were snapped from existence by Thanos (Josh Brolin). The movie pulls a shocking twist at the end of the first act by having a depressed Thor (Chris Hemsworth) chop Thanos’ head off. Thus, the villain in this movie is a 2014 version of the Mad Titan who travels to 2023 to battle the Avengers one last time.

To put it simply, the Thanos in Endgame is a far cry from the one in Infinity War. Reduced to a straightforward superhero villain, the Mad Titan is neither imposing nor particularly interesting in this movie. Instead, he just goes through the motions, checking every box in the “supervillain evil deed” list, to the point where he even commands a large army to fight the Avengers in the now-iconic third-act battle. Sure, Thanos delivers the thrills, but there is absolutely nothing compelling about him; his layered motivations are reduced to “I am inevitable,” and even Brolin seems uninterested in the role. Sure, we’re talking about a younger, less mature version of Thanos compared to what we saw in the previous movie, but it’s still a disappointment to see such a fascinating villain turned into a run-of-the-mill MCU baddie.

3

Ultron (James Spader) – ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)

Image via Marvel Studios

Following the overwhelming success of 2012’s The Avengers, everyone wanted to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ next adventure. Once news broke out that Ultron, the Living Automaton, would be the main villain, the excitement only increased, especially with the casting of James Spader. Avengers: Age of Ultron sees Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) creating Ultron (Spader) to help protect the Earth. However, Ultron soon goes rogue and attempts to eliminate the Avengers, aided by the Maximoff twins, Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen).

Ultron is certainly an entertaining villain, largely because of the panache Spader brings to the role. The actor is clearly having the time of his life playing the automaton as a mix between Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Spader’s own Steff McKee. His dialogue is witty, his action sequences are solid, and Spader’s voice work is spot-on, amounting to a villain that has everything needed to outshine the heroes, which he kind of does. The main issue here is his motivation — AI going rogue and trying to wipe out humanity is more played out than Casablanca on TCM. His characterization is also weak at best, lacking the complexity of Thanos and the tragic nuances of Loki. Finally, it doesn’t help that Ultron’s so-called “age” is more akin to a long weekend. Spader does his best with the material, and Ultron is an entertaining-enough villain to antagonize the Avengers for two-and-a-half hours, but beyond that, he ranks in the lower tier of MCU villains.

2

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) – ‘The Avengers’ (2012)

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki is one of the MCU’s greatest characters. In fact, the God of Mischief might actually have the franchise’s best, most compelling character arc, which began in 2011’s Thor and seemingly concluded twelve years later, in Season 2 of his own spin-off show, appropriately titled Loki. Throughout that decade, Loki went from good to evil back to good, embodying the concept of the antihero better than anyone else. He died and came back to life only to die again, only to come back from an alternate timeline before being literally spat out of the sacred timeline itself. Through it all, he learned and forgot, then learned again, always remaining an inherently watchable character who you could easily root for.

As the main antagonist of 2012’s The Avengers, Loki is in full villain mode, delivering Shakespearean levels of drama while attempting to conquer the Earth. In Stark’s words, Loki is “a full tilt diva,” carrying the universe’s largest inferiority complex and severe cases of daddy and abandonment issues worsened by a literal god complex. Yet, that’s exactly what makes him so engaging on-screen; above all, Loki yearns, becoming strangely sympathetic even at his worst. It, of course, helps that Hiddleston is delivering the performance of a lifetime, chewing scenery left and right and often fully eclipsing the more stoic Avengers, who might as well be sticks in the mud next to him. Like Thanos after him, Loki is the real star of The Avengers, proving that in superhero cinema, villains really do have more fun,

1

Thanos (Josh Brolin) – ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)

Image via Marvel Studios

As previously mentioned, the Thanos in Endgame was much, much different from the Thanos in Infinity War. In the 2018 epic, the Mad Titan is the peak of Marvel villainy, a character so incredibly compelling that he not only becomes the star of the movie but arguably of the MCU’s Phase 3 overall. Played by Josh Brolin, Thanos is a galactic warlord convinced that the universe must be in perfect balance to thrive, let alone survive. To achieve this utopian balance, Thanos seeks to gather all five Infinity Stones and wipes out half of all the universe’s life from existence. Despite the Avengers’ best efforts, Thanos actually succeeds and ends the movie smiling at the sunset, satisfied with himself.

Thanos’ motives aren’t exactly groundbreaking, nor does he reinvent the superhero wheel; the fact is, he doesn’t need to. The character remains gripping and surprisingly complex, acting not out of sheer malice but instead a genuine believe that life must be kept in check and that only he has the necessary will to carry the deed out. In a way, Thanos considers himself merciful, as he is bearing the burden alone, condemning himself to spare millions; sure, that belief is wildly misplaced, but it’s certainly narratively riveting, making him an incredible character to follow. His complicated relationships with his daughters, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), add further intricacy to his characterization, painting him as a despot who pursues power out of delusion rather than bloodthirst. Thanos remains the MCU’s greatest triumph in terms of villainy, and he’s likely to be topped by anyone.