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In putting together this post, I've come to a realization. Probably somewhere over half of the MCU villains are just really not great. They're just not what makes the film. It's all about the heroes. This is fine, but then I stopped and thought about something different I'd realized previously. In DC comics films, it's always about the villains. I could go into depth on this and try to make that point, but that's not what this post is supposed to be about.

MCU has had a number of so-so villains, and a handful of really excellent ones. They're usually really good actors, and doing the best with the scripts they've been given. But apparently, sometimes the villain is just not enough of a focus to warrant a well-written part. That said, Malekith and Yellowjacket didn't even make the cut for top 20.

20 - Ronan the Accuser Aside from a gross scene at the film's outset with a giant hammer, I don't remember this villain doing much of anything. He's a skinny guy who somehow effortlessly kicked Drax's ass without moving very much, which was weird. Yeah - in a film as good as Guardians, Ronan was a standout for being uninspiring.

19 - Aldrich Killian and all the Extremis baddies One of my biggest complaints about this movie is that all the villains can cut through anything with bare hands as if it's butter. But I'm not even taking that into account when talking about a villain I always visualize as standing there with his arms spread and a big grin while breathing fire for some reason.

18 - Obadiah Stane / Warmonger Iron Man was groundbreaking, and was the backbone that allowed the entirety of the MCU to follow. But its third act was garbage, best exemplified in Obadiah Stane's transformation to Warmonger. Jeff Bridges is fantastic, but Warmonger was poorly realized.

17 - Kaecilius While it was perhaps a stretch to believe that someone who had to be as intelligent as Kaecillius must be would be fooled by Dormammu's promises, he's not the worst villain. And he's got probably the best line in the film, with the Mister Doctor bit. Perhaps his greatest sin is being an undeveloped character.

16 - General Ross While only a true antagonist in The Incredible Hulk, he returns as a neutral character in both Captain America: Civil War and in Avengers: Infinity War. William Hurt plays the role well, and I really appreciate the consistency of bringing back a character from the first MCU film in the latest huge culmination film. General Ross isn't the best villain, but he's a great portrayal of the character.

15 - GhostWhile not the most well-developed character, Ghost's motivations are understandable. She wants to not die. And she wants to be rid of the chronic pain she's spent her life in. To risk a spoiler, the movie's conclusion has left me wondering whether she'll show up in future films as a hero.

14 - Ego, The Living Planet When I'd first put together this list, I had Ego much higher. Eighth, I think. Then, the more I thought about it, the lower the character sunk. Perhaps I just really like Kurt Russell, but I'd placed him too high for a character who just wants to take over the universe. Ego's motivations were trite, and the movie's true brilliance is in its statements about the meaning of family. The villain is really just a side note.

13 - Emil Blonsky / The Abomination If this villain were simply The Abomination, he'd be at the bottom of the list. But Tim Roth as a bad guy supersoldier was actually pretty great. The recreation of the Captain America formula had Emil Blonsky, still human, going toe-to-toe with The Hulk and not (immediately) dying, which is saying something. As villains go, I kind of liked him.

12 - Ivan Vanko / Whiplash The brilliant yet aggrieved son of a brilliant scientist inventor who was denied his due credit. That's a great villain backstory. And Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer as a supporting villain was likewise excellent. It's just too bad that the film's script didn't have the chops, because the cast was top-notch.

11 - Alexander Pierce the fact that I've got a best of list here and Robert Redford's character is only tenth is saying something. I mean, come on, it's Robert effing Redford. He was pretty good in the role, and it fit the style of spy movie I've seen him in so many times before. Poor Renata.

10 - Red Skull In the first Captain America movie, Red Skull's allegiance with the Nazis was played more as an alliance of convenience than an ideological choice. Sure, Red Skull was a Nazi, but in the film he was ready to part ways with the German army as soon as it was no longer convenient for him. His more recent reappearance was a nice touch.

9 - Batroc Batroc The Leaper is more a mini-boss than a true villain. He appeared in one movie, in one scene. He fought Captain America on the aircraft carrier, made a good show of it, and in the end he lost. But he was a really well-done character. Plus, I really enjoy the Adam Warrock song about Batroc.

8 - Helmut Zemo A conniving, behind-the-scenes villain, and interesting in that unlike pretty much any other villain, he has no henchmen, no superpowers, and no troops to command. He's alone and powerless, but he succeeds in breaking The Avengers.

7 - Brock Rumlow / Crossbones Maybe it's just me, but I liked Rumlow. We see him first in Winter Soldier, and we see his end in Civil War, during the Sokovia incident. That was a great scene. He doesn't get much screen time, but as a villain, he's better than many.

6 - Hela It turns out that when you're immune to being stabbed and your main power is throwing blades of nearly any mass at insane velocities, you're pretty damned powerful. Cate Blanchett nailed this role as the arrogant megalomaniacal daughter of The All-Father.

5 - Ultron If there's a surprise in my list, I'll bet this is it. Nobody seemed to like Age of Ultron. But I liked it. It's not without flaws, but it's an Avengers movie. [snipped lengthy snippet about how the movie was for reals worthy]

Regardless of what he may have been in the comics, the MCU Ultron was a distributed AI housed primarily in a large number of grunt bodies, and a smaller number of “alpha” bodies. He was beautifully voiced by James Spader, and the writing was superb. I feel good about placing him in my top five MCU villains.

4 - The Vulture Perhaps another surprise, I liked the vulture remake. Octogenarian in green wings was never gonna cut it, so the Vulture's makeover as a arms dealer specializing in alien weaponry really worked. The backstory involving the Battle for New York against the Chitauri and Damage Control was also really nicely integrated.

The Vulture is interesting because to him, the most important thing is his family. Granted, it's in a bit of a mafia way, but he's quite concerned about providing for his wife and daughter. And when Spider-Man saves his daughter, he feels genuine gratitude. Perhaps a touch schlocky, but I did like it.

3 - Erik Killmonger I probably don't need to make much of an argument for Killmonger's place in this list. A quick search found two different blog articles about why he's the best villain in the MCU, and either of those would be a better argument than anything I'm about to write up in this post today.

Erik Killmonger was a poor kid from Oakland with a Wakandan heritage. He had a top-notch college education at MIT (scholarship?), then ended up in the military where he aced his SEAL training and ended up amongst the best of the best. He's the classic story of a self-made man, rising up from humble roots. When you then compare this to the massive privilege that T'Chala enjoys, it becomes far easier to root for Killmonger. Only his violent means cement him as a villain rather than a heroic rebel.

2 - Thanos You knew Thanos was going to be near the top of this list. He appeared ever so briefly at the end of the first Avengers film. We saw him briefly in Guardians of the Galaxy. Then, he appeared again for a few seconds in the after-credits sequence of Age of Ultron. This was not enough time to give us even a small taste of what the character would be like when it became all about him.

Thanos showed up in Infinity War and wrecked everyone. He used the power stone to out-muscle the Hulk. He killed some significant portion of the remaining Asgardians - we have yet to get concrete clarification on whether they're all dead or whether some survived somehow. Thanos then sent his minions to do most of the rest of the work he couldn't be bothered with, and they mostly kicked names and took ass. He fought a subset of the strongest Avengers on Titan and managed to eke out yet another victory. By the time he showed up on earth with five infinity stones, he was pretty much unstoppable. His pained dedication to a goal he believes absolutely necessary, even more important to him than his favorite daughter's life, is powerful and well-portrayed. I was very close to putting him in the number one slot.

1 - Loki Are you surprised? Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state, kneeling to Loki? I suppose it's natural that when in my mind the first Avengers movie barely edges out Infinity War as the best of them that Loki would edge out Thanos as best villain.

Tom Hiddleston had initially auditioned as Thor, but the casting gods at Marvel made the right call, for he is a perfect Loki. And while he was good in the Thor movies, his performance as the primary villain in the best Marvel movie ever made was masterful. Aside from just being a great villain, he perfectly delivered his comedy lines in a way you never really see from Thanos or Killmonger, and maybe once from Hela. I don't think I'll get much debate on Loki in the number one villain spot.