Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe first launched in the summer of 2008 and turned blockbuster cinema on its head forever, one of the most recurring problems to have extended to every corner of the constantly-evolving and rapidly-expanding superhero saga was its lack of consistently top-tier villains.
While it’s an issue that’s been rectified several times over deep into Phase Four and with the Multiverse Saga in full swing, there are still to many underwhelming antagonists who pop up for one movie or TV show, end up being handily defeated by whichever costumed crimefighter has their name in the title, before disappearing into the ether to never be seen or heard from again.
The roster of baddies has gotten significantly stronger over the years, though, but one key problem that would work wonders in the long-term has been called out by the Marvel-supporting masses of Reddit, and it’s a really hard point to argue with.
Vincent D’Onofrio ranks as one of the best live-action Marvel adversaries we’ve ever seen precisely for the reason he spent three seasons as the big bad of Netflix’s Daredevil – cultivating that hate/hate relationship with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock over a number of years, and thus allowing audiences to become increasingly invested in the eventual resolution.
Loki has switched sides, died so often, and become so popular that he’ll arguably never fit the “recurring villain” bill again, while Thanos was driven by his quest for the Infinity Stones as opposed to any tangible dislike he had for the Avengers. Based on the responses, fans are hoping Kang the Conqueror, Namor, or even Doctor Doom and Magneto end up fitting the bill eventually – because as necessary as one-and-done enemies are, there’s something about a constantly lurking presence that hits harder.
