Marvel and DC have both made occasional missteps when introducing villains, missing the mark and creating almost a parody of what they could have been. While the superhero genre has enjoyed a long stretch of releasing incredibly popular films, it hasn’t been a flawless run.

And one of the major errors that can be pointed out when looking back over the last couple of decades of stories is the villains. Whether they felt too underdeveloped, weak, or just plain boring. And unfortunately for these movies, if the villain falls flat, the movie can follow suit.

10

Gorr In Thor: Love & Thunder

Taika Waiтιтi had a spectacular introduction to the MCU when he directed Thor: Ragnarok, hitting all the right notes, and exploring a variety of characters in compelling detail. However, Thor: Love & Thunder proved to be less of a hit.

Despite casting Christian Bale, one of the most outstanding actors in Hollywood, and giving him the part of Gorr the God Butcher, a terrifying villain from Marvel Comics, the character ended up being a huge disappointment.

For one, he wasn’t all that bad, he was just grieving, but beyond that, the God Butcher killed very few gods. It just felt like the potential was far greater than what ended up on the screen.

9

Parallax In Green Lantern

Moving from one God Butcher to an enтιтy that is the literal embodiment of fear itself, Parallax was the big bad of Green Lantern in 2011, and again, the character fell short.

The movie turned this powerful life force into a bizarre creature who was less the embodiment of fear, and more a weird ogre monster. On top of that, the movie could have taken so many other incredible villains from the Green Lantern catalog to take into this first story.

8

Laurel Hedare In Catwoman

Ok, so, if you don’t know who Larel Hedare is, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Laurel is an obscure comic book villain, and a baffling choice to serve as the primary antagonist in the 2004 Catwoman movie.

Catwoman exists alongside a lot of other big-name DC superheroes, and while she isn’t the most prominent or powerful superhero on her own, she has had the opportunity to go head-to-head with dozens of incredible and iconic DC villains from across the comics.

It would have helped the movie a lot to use someone, anyone, who had a little more pull than this character that ultimately fell flat. Especially considering Sharon Stone was cast to play the villain.

7

Dar-Benn In The Marvels

Now, there is a lot of commentary about the various shortcomings of The Marvels, but I think one of the most disappointing has to be the villain, Dar-Benn. The idea is there: Carol Danvers messed up life for the Kree, and Dar-Benn is their champion.

But, in practice, positioning this character against three extremely powerful superheros who can manipulate light and energy seems like a recipe for a boring story. Carol proved to be able to take down Thanos’ army in Avengers: Endgame, so surely, with backup from two other heroes, it would have been worthwhile to tag in a villain who actually presents a threat.

6

Lex Luthor In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Lex Luthor is the ultimate rival to Superman. A mortal man whose genius makes him a worthy opponent for the Man of Steel. However, the DCEU had a tendency to rush their stories, and try to incorporate too many elements at once.

And the same can be said of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice just by looking at the тιтle. This movie could have been Ben Affleck’s Batman debut solo story, or it could have been a Man of Steel sequel, or it could have been the first chapter of the Justice League story. But it tried and failed to be all three.

And then throwing Jesse Eisenberg in as the worst ever version of Lex Luthor simply added fuel to the trash fire. It was disappointing all around.

5

M.O.D.O.K. In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

It’s not just DC that gets the villain’s characters wrong though. In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the film introduced a handful of new characters, with one being M.O.D.O.K. This character is popular in the comics, and he is known for being a terrifying killing machine.

However, in this movie, he was introduced as a kind of comic relief, and a way to resurrect Darren Cross. Unfortunately, Cross had no business being M.O.D.O.K., and the way the character’s story plays out feels inauthentic to the comic book character.

4

Taskmaster In Black Widow

I am not against changing up a character and giving them a new twist, as long as they have enough in common with the source material or inspiration as to be recognizable. For instance, Ryan Reynolds playing ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine sucked, but despite being significantly less powerful in the solo ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool movies, I like this version more.

Now, in Black Widow, they hyped up the arrival of one of the coolest villains in Marvel Comics, Taskmaster, who is usually a wise-cracking, overconfident, elite fighter who can replicate any move.

Unfortunately, the version that appeared felt less powerful, had no voice, and they became this weird silent ᴀssᴀssin that would have played out better if they were just never given the тιтle of Taskmaster.

3

Baron Mordo In Doctor Strange

I appreciate Baron Mordo was not the primary antagonist of Doctor Strange, but he was set up to have a big future in the MCU. I enjoyed the portrayal, and the characterization was good, but with the lack of follow-through on the promise of this character being a villain, I’m disappointed.

Mordo did return in the sequel, but this version is from another dimension, and the original story remains unresolved. It would have been better to hold off on showing the character at all, instead of making a promise that they wouldn’t deliver on anytime soon.

2

Malekith In Thor: The Dark World

Malekith was portrayed by the absolutely outstanding Christopher Eccleston in Thor: The Dark World, but there is no denying that this character and actor were wasted on that movie.

While the story sets up another Infinity Stone, the villain is so forgettable, they end up feeling like a less compelling version of Ronan the Accuser, flying through space and seeking a power bump.

It was a tragic disappointment, and delivered what proved to be the least successful MCU movie for an incredibly long time before the Multiverse Saga took another dip.

1

Nuclear Man In Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Now, by the time Christopher Reeve was making his fourth Superman movie, it felt as though everyone had fallen out of love with the project. But while cobbling together a story and trying to make something worth putting on the big screen, they opted for Nuclear Man.

Nuclear Man is a creation by Lex Luthor, formed by combining Supes’ DNA and solar radiation. However, while this has the potential to be a fun and intriguing exploration for the film, the way the movie is cut for the theatrical release, and the sheer number of moving pieces in the movie make this primary antagonist feel like an afterthought.

If there was more thought and consideration put in, or a better cut of the story that put more focus on Nuclear Man, it could have been better, but what came out was another example of a disappointing use of a villain in a DC story, but at least Marvel has slipped up too and DC is not alone in its failings.