Rank and File: Comic Book Movie Villains!

Martinex1: There is an old saying that the "villain makes the hero."   The bigger the threat, the more heroic all of the counter actions seem.   The more dramatic, relatable (yet dastardly) the antagonist, the more grand the hero becomes.

I believe that to be true in film as well.  The better action and suspense movies have the most understandable but violent threats.  The more evil the bad guy, the more fun the movie.

When it comes to movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I tend to be so enamored by what they have put on screen that I am not always as critical when I first view the film.  After a second or third look, however, I start to pick apart the plots and devices and particularly the villainy of each piece.

So let's rank and file the Marvel villains in movies to date.  I am  interested in the Marvel films for sure, but feel free to throw in DC's nemesis, etc.  No need to rank them all either; give us your top three and bottom three if you like.  And some explanation stirs the conversation so share as you see fit.

Let's start with my bottom 3, as I think it will help outline my mindset.

Villain minus 1) Baron Zemo:  If you follow Captain America or Avengers on a regular basis, you would know that Zemo is a mastermind to be reckoned with.  He is a schemer and a madman with little respect for life.  And to top it all off, his plans usually make sense and have a great chance of success. In fact he led the Masters of Evil through the greatest siege of Avengers mansion ever, nearly decimating the heroes in their own home.   On screen, Zemo's plan is very convoluted and relies on a lot of coincidences for all of the factors to come into play; it really falls apart on multiple viewings.  He also does not have the gravitas or employ the motivational speeches that make him so formidable in the comics.  Last but not least, if your mask is not stuck to your face with Adhesive X - you are just not a Zemo.  I wanted to love the character, but he ended up seeming like a mid-range James Bond villain not a Marvel megalomaniac.

Villain minus 2) Ronan the Accuser.  Unlike my knowledge of Zemo,  I did not know or remember a lot of backstory for Ronan before I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy.  So the character was a relatively blank slate.  What I realized, despite loving the movie, is that Ronan added very little and to this day I don't have a clear idea of what he was trying to achieve other than to get the gem and take out all of his enemies.   Was it too simple and specific a motivation?  Was it just unrelatable?  I found my mind wandering every time he was on screen yacking about power or vengeance or something.   Supposedly he is going to get a second chance in the Captain Marvel movie (which jumps back in time to the Kree-Skrull War!)  They really need to flesh out Ronan; perhaps we will see something more interesting.

Villain  minus 3) Yellowjacket.  I enjoyed the Ant-Man movie and rank it in my top 5 Marvel films.   And Cross definitely had a plot and  motivation behind his schemes.   But I have to ask, "Why Yellowjacket?"   Why take a hero with a long history that could build dramatically on the Pym character, and turn him into a one-off villain?  Classic character change, classic costume, and classic series of storylines all go down the drain (at least until a reboot).  If I didn't know so much about the comic book character, I probably would have liked this guy more.

And now my top 3:

3) Whiplash:  Okay, okay... I expect the comments to be loaded with both derision and well-wishes for my deteriorating mind, but I found Whiplash very entertaining.  Mickey Rourke portrayed the guy as an over-the-top madman. Yes, I wanted the classic Whiplash costume, but once I got past that, this guy was 100% Silver Age Cold War craziness wrapped up in a layer of scenery-chewing bravado.  Some villains have to be over the top.  The confidence in this character made him an adequate threat to Iron Man.  He also played nicely off of his Justin Hammer counterpart who was a mealy mouthed cowardly conniver with a mean streak.  I think Iron Man II is worth a second look.

2)  (Tie) The Asguardians Loki and Hela: The Thor movies have really given us some outstanding villains in the run.  Loki is portrayed as the trickster he always was in the comics; although a sarcastic schemer, there was always something redemptive about him.  And Hela blew it away in Ragnarok;  if anything her costume finally brought a bit of the Kirby madness to the silver screen.

1) Robert Redford: I have no recollection of what his name was in the second Captain America flick, but his character was by far the most sinister and evil of the bunch.   That movie leads my picks for Marvel recommendations, and aside from the tremendous action his villainy made it the most intriguing.

Some honorable and dishonorable mentions:  I liked Ego but it would have been nice to see him as "the living planet" more; I kept waiting for Kurt Russell to really be the planet - that was a missed opportunity.  Ultron lost out in my eyes because much of his story had to be rushed; I think Ultron is something that could have evolved over a longer period of time. And ultimately his world domination play is boring and overused.   I liked the Mandarin, and I still think there is another twist coming with that character; I don't think we are supposed to believe all that was revealed.  Crossbones was great; I thought he died too soon as they did a nice job of developing his "badness" and he seemed able and willing to go toe-to-toe with Cap.  Killmonger and Iron Monger were okay; to me they served as viable opposites to the heroes' points of view.

So what do you think?  How do you rank any or all of the cinematic villains?  This does not have to be Marvel specific (I am just more familiar with those characters).  Voice your opinion and let's get the debate rolling.  Cheers!