A Necessary Look Back at the Hottest Marvel Villains

Kaity
Kaity - Co-Director
6 Min Read
Marvel Studios

We all know Marvel’s casting is nothing less than impeccable. You’d be hard pressed to find an actor that doesn’t fit their role perfectly, and somehow they also find some of the best looking people to bring their characters to life. And yeah, that includes the villains. While some of these villains may have done unspeakable acts, it doesn’t stop us from speaking up about how good they looked doing it.

These are in order of appearance, for fairness, and we did judge solely on character appearance (a formal apology issued to Lee Pace at this time).

Loki

Marvel Studios

Of course, the birthplace of villains we just can’t hate in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has been making us all question our morals and taste for a decade, and thankfully the torture isn’t stopping anytime soon. His solo series, Loki, premieres on June 11 on Disney+.

The Winter Soldier

Marvel Studios

While he wasn’t a villain for very long and has since reformed, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier was still as bad and hot as one villain could be. We’ve been reminded of what we’re missing with the reformed Bucky currently on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series in the form of flashbacks and some undercover work. And whew …

The Maximoff Twins

Marvel Studios

The Maximoff twins were villains, sort of, for like half a movie so we welcome them to this list, but cherish them as two of the hottest heroes. Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Wanda and Pietro Maximoff was chef’s kiss. Our only gripe is getting Pietro for only one movie. Honestly, what the heck?

Ghost

Marvel Studios

Probably the most underrated on the list, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr a.k.a. Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp may not be a favorite MCU villain, but she is still very worthy of this list. The torment, the white suit, the blue eyes — yes, definitely worthy of this list.

Baron Zemo

Marvel Studios

Baron Zemo, played by Daniel Brühl, has always been hot, but at least he was easy to hate. He tore apart the Avengers, killed T’Challa’s father and then framed Bucky for it. I mean, what redemption? Clearly, however, Marvel likes to play with us because Zemo returned in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 3 and the reception was, well, unexpected. I guess we all have a thing for sugar daddy Baron’s with dad dance moves … and somehow Marvel knew before we did.

Hela

Marvel Studios

This needs little to no explanation. It’s Cate Blanchett as the Goddess of Death, there was no other possibility besides this being a 10 out of 10. Evil as can be with not an ounce of remorse in her very bad self, we’d bow down willingly.

Killmonger/N’Jadaka

Marvel Studios

Michael B. Jordan was People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2020, and yeah … obviously. Thanks for finally noticing, we’ve known for awhile. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger/N’Jadaka was just a dream come true really. The bubbling rage, the take charge attitude, the powerful backstory, the fight for the throne — we were sold immediately.

Mysterio

Sony/Marvel Studios

Having Jake Gyllenhaal in the MCU seemed too good to be true as is, but then he played this charismatic SOB, Quentin Beck, and suddenly we understood why Peter Parker handed the E.D.I.T.H. glasses over to him. He did ask nicely … Sometimes we’re still sad that the Mysterio/Spider-Man team up was all just a ruse.

Agatha Harkness

Marvel/Disney+

“Who’s been messing up everything?” Agatha maybe, but not Kathryn Hahn as Agatha. She stole all our hearts as the friendly neighbor turned villain in WandaVision, complete with a catchy villain theme song. With an impeccable wardrobe throughout the decades and then a killer villain outfit, she was impossible not to swoon over.

Karli Morgantheau

Marvel/Disney+

We don’t actually know how Erin Kellyman’s Karli Morgantheau is going to end up after the finale of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (probably not as bad as they’re making her out to be, let’s be real …) but we’re living in the now, and right now she’s a villain. So in response to that, she’s obviously on this list. We agree with the medicine stealing for the sick, let’s see what she has planned for that Super Soldier serum she poached …

Bonus: Magneto in the X-Men Fox Universe

FOX

Not an MCU villain, but Michael Fassbender’s Magneto deserves attention as a very hot villain. We’re still holding out hope he transfers over to the MCU when they introduce their newly acquired rights to the mutants.

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By Kaity Co-Director
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Kaity started with Harry Potter in second grade and it’s been a losing battle ever since, or maybe a winning one ... She lives in New England with a small herd of cats, two dogs, three chinchillas, and one daughter. You can definitely find her either watching anime, reading manga, or playing the same five video games over and over again. Contact: kaity@nerdsandbeyond.com
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