2) The Villains Are Better In Every Way
There’s a school of thought that suggests a hero is only as good or impressive as their villain allows them to be. If that’s true of the MCU, then it’s safe to say the heroes are woefully lacking. That’s not to say all of the villains have been poor or even poorly played, of course. The issue sadly is that their use has been underwhelming or badly timed for the most part.
Think about the way the likes of Ultron, one of Marvel’s greatest and most fearsome big bads, was hyped up before being so easily cut down. Or how Crossbones (whom we hope may return, if rumours are to be believed) was brushed aside within minutes in Captain America: Civil War. And let’s not even get started on the Mandarin fiasco from Iron Man 3!
The Marvel universe is full of some absolutely superb villains, but so far, the MCU just isn’t using them properly up on the big screen. Compare this to David Tennant’s outstanding role as Jessica Jones antagonist Kilgrave, or the worryingly likeable yet equally dangerous Wilson Fisk in Daredevil and there’s truly no contest. The longer format of the series no doubt helps to establish these villains more thoroughly but, given how many key big bads have had their stories crammed into just one MCU movie before being forgotten about, it seems to be taking an awfully long time for the cinematic teams to learn what makes a truly great villain!