The 10 greatest supervillains in movie history ranked
Marvel/Warner Bros. The Marvel and DC movie universes are crammed with barbarous baddies and even worse evildoers, but who are the best supervillains of all time?
If you’ve watched any of the recent Marvel movies or read a DC comic, you’ll know that supervillains can be every bit as interesting as the heroes they fight.
It’s the reason we care so much when a new Joker actor is announced or scour the web looking for rumors about which of the many Spider-Man villains will appear in the next Spider-Man movie. Yes, it’s safe to say that people love baddies just as much as they love heroes.
And that got us thinking: there are plenty of vile villains out there, but who are the greatest bad guys of all time? Well, here’s who we think are the best supervillains of all time.
10. Dark Flash (The Flash)
Warner Bros. PicturesPlayed by: Ezra Miller
Who is he? An alternate version of Barry driven mad by his attempts to save Batman and Supergirl, the Dark Flash is a terrifying glimpse of what the Flash could become if he doesn’t let go of his obsessions.
Why they work as a villain: While The Flash might not be the best superhero movie, the twist that the villain, Dark Flash, was actually an alternate Barry Allen was one of the better parts of the film
Dark Flash works as a supervillain because of the unique way the film tells his origin story. Unlike other villains who have a lab accident or fall in a vat of acid, the entire Flash movie is essentially one extended origin for the Dark Flash. Watching ‘Alternate Barry’ be slowly corrupted by his power and obsession is truly chilling, and the final reveal is a real gut-punch moment. Of course, the real twist is that Dark Flash isn’t the villain, the concept of time is… but you can’t punch time in the face, unfortunately.
9. Lex Luthor (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice)
Warner Bros. PicturesPlayed by: Jesse Eisenberg
Who is he? A tech billionaire, Lex Luthor believes wholeheartedly that humanity would be better off without the Man of Steel and does everything in his power to bring Superman down.
Why they work as a villain: Eisenberg managed to give fans a new take on the iconic Superman villain Lex Luthor in the less-than-stellar but still very fun Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Luthor is portrayed as a suave businessman who uses his vast fortune to try to defeat Superman, kind of like a reverse Batman. However, Eisenberg’s take on the character made him more nerdy and awkward, but also way more dangerous because you never know what he might do next.
Arguably, though, what separates this version of Lex from other versions of the character is how brutal he is; previous incarnations of Superman’s nemesis have always been bad, but they’ve never taken such ruthless glee in causing carnage or been so personal in their attacks.
8. Ego (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
MarvelPlayed by: Kurt Russell
Who is he? A Celestial of near unimaginable power, Ego sought to bring order to the galaxy by remaking it in his image… oh, and he was also a deadbeat dad.
Why they work as a villain: Ego is one of the most menacing villains ever to darken the MCU’s door. Initially, he seemed pretty chill, but in the third act, he revealed his true colors, and let’s just say it’s a good thing this omnicidal maniac never got his hands on young Peter.
His grand ambitions for galactic conquest aside, Ego’s greatest crime was giving Meredith Quill cancer to further his own goals. We know plenty of villains on this list have killed people, but this needlessly cruel act is one of the pettiest acts of villainy in the entirety of comic book fiction.
7. Roman Sionis (Birds of Prey)
Warner Bros. PicturesPlayed by: Ewan McGregor
Who is he? A Gotham crime lord with a penchant for a black skull mask, Roman is the kind of guy you’d cross the street to avoid.
Why they work as a villain: While Birds of Prey was mostly focused on Harley Quinn’s solo journey as a criminal, it also gave audiences a delightfully campy villain in the form of Roman Sionis.
Thanks to McGregor’s over-the-top performance, Sionis was fun to watch but never lost the dangerous edge that made him such a threatening presence in Gotham. We even got to see him in his Black Mask persona, which is the first time that side of the villain has been seen in live-action form.
6. The High Evolutionary (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
MarvelPlayed by: Chukwudi Iwuji
Who is he? A deranged and cruel scientist with a god complex, The High Evolutionary, built his own Counter-Earth to house his bizarre animal experiments.
Why they work as a villain: The High Evolutionary is an ambitious, brilliant man who chooses to use his great intelligence to capture and torture innocent animals, including the Guardian’s Rocket Raccoon, in the hopes of developing the perfect species. James Gunn’s decision to center Guardians Vol 3 on a villain so unapologetically evil, with links to Rocket’s mysterious past, was brilliant and bold but it’s not why we love to loathe this sinister scientist.
No, the reason The High Evolutionary earned a spot on this list is because he’s reminiscent of a high school bully. He picks on those who can’t protect themselves, and when he’s confronted by someone of equal power to him, he goes to pieces quicker than an unsteady Jenga tower.
5. Wanda Maximoff (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
MarvelPlayed by: Elizabeth Olsen
Who is she? Arguably the most powerful member of the Avengers, Wanda was driven mad by the death of Vision and the subsequent loss of her imagined children. In order to bring back her family, Wanda dabbled in dark magic, which further warped her already fractured psyche.
Why they work as a villain: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness managed to subvert some audience’s expectations by making their main villain the character fans were rooting for months before in WandaVision.
Wanda Maximoff (or the Scarlet Witch) was such a fascinating villain because we were able to see how she arrived at her breaking point from childhood through to adulthood. We watched her highs and lows, so it wasn’t her turn to villainy that was so surprising, but how far she was willing to go to get what she wanted. Plus, she delivers some of the most horrifying visuals the MCU has ever seen.
4. General Zod (Man of Steel)
Warner Bros. PicturesPlayed by: Michael Shannon
Who is he? A Kryptonian general who was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone before the destruction of Krypton, Zod has a bone to pick with the House of El.
Why they work as a villain: Many DCEU movies have fallen flat over the years, but Man of Steel continues to be a favorite amongst fans thanks in part to Shannon’s portrayal of General Zod.
Audiences watched as the General enacted his plan to recreate Krypton by any means possible, but things truly turned up to horrifying levels when Zod realized he, too, had superpowers thanks to Earth’s sun. Watching someone with the powers of Superman completely blow through Metropolis made fans consider what the movie would’ve been like had Kal-El also succumbed to his darker urges.
3. Erik Killmonger (Black Panther)
MarvelPlayed by: Michael B. Jordan
Who is he? Wakanda’s forgotten prince, Erik Killmonger, grew up resenting his people for murdering his father, and longed for revenge on the royal family. Eventually, Erik made his move seizing the throne and becoming the new Black Panther.
Why they work as a villain: It’s always fun when a supervillain has the charisma and evidence to make you agree with their evil plan, and that’s exactly what fans got with Black Panther’s Erik Killmonger.
Sure, he was wrong for invading Wakanda, seemingly killing T’Challa, and burning the ancestral Heart-Shaped Herbs, but he made some very good points regarding Wakanda hiding their advanced resources from the outside Black community. At the end of the day, Killmonger was wrong for his actions, but his presence did lead to Wakanda revealing itself to the world, so at least he got a win in the end.
2. Loki (Thor, The Avengers)
MarvelPlayed by: Tom Hiddleston
Who is he? The adopted brother of Thor and the God of Mischief, Loki is a trickster who’s attempts to steal the throne of Asgard ultimately led to the Avengers assembling. Oops?
Why they work as a villain: It’s so interesting to look back on Loki’s origin in the MCU seeing as he’s one of the good guys now, but there was a time when the God of Mischief was one of the biggest threats to the universe.
Loki was a good villain in Thor but he was at his evil best during The Avengers. It was almost comical how he was running circles around Earth’s mightiest heroes, and audiences got to see how cunning and intelligent he was while he tried to take over Earth. Though we’ll always be grateful that one of the MCU’s best characters got a heroic send off, Loki as a villain will always hold a special place in our hearts.
1. Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame)
MarvelPlayed by: Josh Brolin
Who are they? The Mad Titan, Thanos, was basically a superpowered environmentalist who sought to get the Infinity Stones to fix what he saw as a looming overpopulation crisis. It’s just a shame his plan was so… genocidal.
Why they work as a villain: There wasn’t even a question as to who is the number one supervillain within the MCU and DCEU because Thanos is the only right option.
Though he was a background presence during the majority of the MCU films from Phase 1 to 2, Thanos’s full appearance in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame cemented him as the greatest supervillain of all time.
Much like Killmonger, you understand his reasons for wanting to wipe out half of the universe’s population, but of course, you don’t agree with him going through with it as your favorite characters die in the process.
But what makes Thanos such a fantastic supervillain is that he actually won, if only for one movie. Avengers: Infinity War truly reshaped comic book movies as a whole because we got to see our heroes lose on a grand scale. It’s almost breathtaking to watch how he defeats the heroes over and over and over again. Thanos is the best supervillain because he actually completed his evil scheme, and honestly, no one will ever be able to top that achievement.
This list is part of HeroFest, our week-long celebration of all things superheroic! If you want to read more, check out our HeroFest schedule here.
