TheMarvel Cinematic Universe(MCU for short) is a film franchise behemoth the likes of which Hollywood has never seen before, and perhaps never will again. The entire series is based on Marvel Comics, which means the producers have a goldmine of ready-made IP of interesting characters and circumstances to draw from in the movies.
Sometimes this leads to fascinating heroes and villains who pop up time and again across the MCU. Other times, even some fan-favorite characters, are given the boot after only one movie, despite fans wanting to see more of them. Let us take a look at a few such MCU villains that were gone too soon from the big screen, leaving audiences wondering what could have been if they had managed to stick around.
Fans were agog with excitement to learn that Gorr the God Butcher from the comics would be making his way to the MCU. Even more exciting was the news that Gorr would be played by comic book movie royalty Christian Bale. Sure enough, Bale’s take on Gorr inThor: Love and Thunderis terrifying and charismatic, as the character weaves a path of destruction across the universe murderning deities.
RELATED:MCU: Why Gorr the God Butcher Was Wasted in Thor: Love and Thunder
Unfortunately, the epicGorrsaga from Marvel Comics that fans had been looking forward to unfolding on the big screen was cut short by Gorr’s death at the end of the movie. To make matters worse, we never actually get to see Gorr in action against various Gods, only the aftermath of his rampage. For many fans, Gorr was the most menacing villain in the MCU after Thanos, and deserved more movies to explore his exploits.
You can never go wrong with casting Cate Blanchett in your movie. Filmmaker Taika Waititi knew he had to dramatically shake up the status quo withThor: Ragnarok, and he decided to do so by bringing in Blanchett to play Hela aka The Goddess of Death. The formidable villainess was Odin’s estranged daughter, who was released from captivity upon Odin’s death and sought to establish her royal claim over Asgard.
Hela was so powerful that even the combined might of Thor, Loki, and Hulk could not keep her down. It took a surprise attack from Surtur and blowing up Asgard in its entirety to finally take down Hela. Fans mourned the loss of the Goddess of Death, with her killer swagger and ability to switch from playful to menacing at a moment’s notice. Hela could have been a recurring villain for the MCU, andmaybe even Thanos' formidable girlfriend, if she had not been dismissed after a single film.
8Killmonger
There were a lot of expectations riding on the firstBlack Panthermovie. Fortunately, the movie delivers on its potential, and more. In an era of substandard MCU villains,Black Panthergave the world Erik Killmonger, a complex, charismatic villain whom you want to hate but cannot help but feel a reluctant respect for because of his unwavering tenacity and skills.
Erik dies at the end of the movie, but Michael B. Jordan made such a powerful impression on audiences as the character that he was brought back asa ghost for theBlack Panthersequel, and became a major part of the MCUWhat If?…animated series.
Following the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman that led to the demise of T’Challa in the MCU, many fans were of the opinion that a reformed Killmonger would have been a good choice to take up the mantle of Black Panther as a form of atonement for his past misdeeds, if only the character had not been killed off.
7Ronan the Accuser
When Ronan the Accuser was first introduced inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, he seemed like a generic shouty MCU villain who would not be missed when he was killed off at the end of the movie. But in the years hence, fans havelooked back on Ronan with newfound appreciationfor his striking appearance, cool weaponry, and barely-masked malevolence. Many feel the character could have been a promising recurring villain if he had not been bumped off the MCU map in his first movie.
The creatives in charge of the MCU appear to agree with that sentiment, as Ronan’s fellow members of the Kree race have popped up here and there across the franchise in minor appearances. Most notably,The Marvelsfeatures a villain who has been described by some as a less-interesting version of Ronan. Perhaps the movie would have been served better to bring Ronan back as a villain, this time more power-hungry and unstable than ever, and determined not to lose again in a dance battle against Earthlings.
6Kaecilius
Ever since playing the main villain inCasino Royale, Mads Mikkelsen has shot to the top ofevery blockbuster filmmaker’s wish listwhen it comes to portraying a smart, sophisticated, and highly intimidating bad guy. Mikkelsen himself seems more than happy to cash in on his appeal, and he has popped up in a number of franchises over the years.
Unfortunately, the MCU wasted its chance with the actor by giving him a one-note villain named Kaecilius to play in the firstDoctor Strangemovie. As was the trend back then, Kaecilius is a dark mirror of Stephen Strage, a bad wizard who wants to sacrifice humanity to the interdimensional demon Dormammu. Even in that single appearance in the MCU, Mikkelsen imbued Kaecilius with a lot of natural gravitas that left fans wanting to see more of the character.
The Mandarin is one of Marvel Comics' most notorious villains. The character was long seen as a racist Chinese caricature, which means the MCU had to think long and hard about how to adapt him for the big screen. The first attempt was not very well-liked, with the Mandarin who shows up inIron Man 3turning out to be an out-of-work actor pretending to be a warlord.
RELATED:Kevin Feige Has No Regrets About the Mandarin Twist in Iron Man 3
The next attempt was much more successful, as the real Mandarin aka Xu Wenwu is revealed inShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Acting legend Tony Leung plays Wenwu as a tortured but highly dangerous leader of a criminal empire, turning the one-dimensional caricature from the comics into one of the MCU’s best villains. Unfortunately, Wenwu dies at the end of the movie, negating any chances of him facing off against his main rival from the comics, Iron Man, in a future movie.
4The High Evolutionary
Filmmaker James Gunn has a special knack for taking improbable characters from the comics and turning them into flesh-and-blood relatable beings on the big screen. Such is the case with The High Evolutionary, a geneticist madman who shows up inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The High Evolutionary is revealed to be Rocket Raccoon’s vengeful creator who dreams of creating the perfect biological life form.
Chukwudi Iwuji shines in his role as The High Evolutionary, going from calm and collected intellectual to a screaming madman at a moment’s notice. Even though the villain dies at the end of the movie, fans were so deeply enamored by Iwuji’s take on the character that they started demanding thathe take over the role of Kang the Conqueroras the MCU’s new main bad guy.
Most of the villains on this list are ones where the actors managed to make their characters shine despite only appearing in a single movie. But it is the opposite case with MODOK, who shows up inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The character who becomes MODOK in the movie is a far cry from the comics, being a comedy punchline rather than a serious threat to the heroes.
The creators of the movie have defended their choice ofturning MODOK from a terrifying villain into a comedic anti-herowho eventually turns into one of the good guys. But fans are far from convinced. Many want to see MODOK make a return to the MCU, this time hewing closer to his comic books counterpart as a genuine villain with formidable presence, like the do-over that the franchise got to do with its two versions of The Mandarin.
2Kang the Conqueror
It’s been known for some time now that the MCU has been setting up the next big threat after Thanos, Kang the Conqueror. Despite being only a non-powered human, Kang isa terrifying presence in the comicsdue to possessing 30th century weapons and an infinite number of dopplegangers from other universes. Unfortunately, the very first version of Kang in the MCU, dubbed He Who Remains, gets killed a few minutes after his introduction inLoki(and yet again at the end of the second season).
The next time we meet Kang is inAntman and the Wasp: Quantumania, and once again he does not manage to survive till the end, being defeated and seemingly killed by an army of oversized, intelligent ants. Sure, we know more versions of Kangs are coming from across the multiverse, but it is hard to take the threat of their arrival seriously when the first two versions of the villain died so quickly and unceremoniously at the hands of secondary characters.
Many fans feel Kang should have survived the end ofQuantumaniaand become the leader of the multiversal Kang army. Of course, in this case, the point may be moot, with Marvel almost certainlybeing forced to pivot away from Jonathan Majors' Kang entirelyfollowing his recent legal troubles.
1Ego the Living Planet
Marvel Comics can be a bizarre place at times, and one of the best examples of this is Ego, the Living Planet. As the name suggests, Ego is a sentient planet that can talk, think, and possesses power that can even rival the mighty Galactus. Naturally, fans were excited to learn that Ego would be joining the MCU inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2as the main villain with a special connection to Star-Lord.
Unfortunately, that connection ended up becoming detrimental, as Ego’s entire existence was reduced to being Star-Lord’s estranged father who takes the human form of Kurt Russell for most of the film’s runtime for some reason. Many fans want to see Ego return to the MCU as the menacing planet depicted in the comics, to show just how terrifying the cosmic side of the MCU can be without the trademark humor of theGuardiansmovies getting in the way of communicating their menace.
