The MCU Villain Problem - Full Series

[@Romashka_Sov]

When Loki became popular as a villain, they didn't look at why to replicate success, they just shifted him to "good" side so they could capitalize on this success. That's all you need to know about MCU's take on villains

[@IsaiahSenku]

Real asf, sad really

[@KonWasHackedVerySad]

that’s unfortunately accurate. i still like the MCU take on Loki but i can’t help but wonder what an amazing and imposing villain Loki could’ve been

[@chewyuanqiang]

If they really wanted Loki to switch sides and become a good guy, there should have been more complex buildup, depth and payoff. Make his change make sense. Instead of the easily resolved short conflicts we got in the movies.

[@KonWasHackedVerySad]

@@chewyuanqiang yeah they 100% could’ve and should’ve done it better. i still like Tom Hiddlestons performance in Loki (the show). His character development through the movies is rushed but idk i like his change of character in the show after he watches his whole life play out and witnesses his own death after trying to save Thor by stabbing Thanos. To me that makes sense, if i was a little sh*t then i saw my own entire future, i’d have a pretty large change of heart too. you’re right on the rushed character development for the movies tho and i know i’m in the minority for liking the “characever development” in his own show

[@TheTillmanSneakerReview]

@@KonWasHackedVerySad as crazy as it sounds, Supernatural (TV show) got Loki's character reasonably accurate. He was charismatic yet too powerful and evil to like. His manipulation of time and space was done masterfully.

[@elucidation3064]

I will never forgive the MCU for what they did to Taskmaster, that situation is the ultimate example of the phrase "Look how they massacred my boy". 😭😭😭

[@ArcTrooper269]

They wanted diversity, yet "her" fighting scenes were made by a man

[@saltinefromindiana]

How has a 12 year old game been the best depiction of Taskmaster, M.O.D.O.K, Super Skrull and Shuma Gorath in media. They're leagues better than their MCU counterparts

[@communism-is-tits]

Hollywood has a narrative that they push

[@PlaystationFreak719]

​@saltinefromindiana UMVC3 was a very important game to me because it introduced me all the characters you mentioned along with a few more marvel and capcom characters and honestly it's amazing some characters in that game like iron fist and she hulk are in UMVC3 then they are in their show

[@saltinefromindiana]

@PlaystationFreak719 the game made me fall in love with a ton of Marvel characters. My main team in the game is Taskmaster, Deadpool and M.O.D.O.K and Taskmaster and Deadpool are in my top 3 favorite Marvel characters

[@Joshu-y1k]

The name "Age of Ultron" being criminally misused. "Weekend with Ultron" is more accurate.

[@elliottamini9872]

HAHAHAHA

[@thegatorhator6822]

Almost Age of Ultron

[@ipadbossbaby4558]

Literally can't even remember what he looks like or who he is

[@k.c.r.5974]

Really makes you realize what crap this all is. Thanos with the stone's should have given Superman trouble...yet here comes Captain America and Hawkeye and Iron Man to the rescue!! This was after Thanos kicked the crap out of Thor Hulk and Loki. You know what they should have done?? Call the finale "Infinity War: Endgame" and have them actually die. And then the next run of films be about Thanos going after the multiverse and the avengers who survived infinity war warning and fighting with the other universe versions of heroes and people... something like that.

[@iphonecloud1]

I wouldn't use Ultron at all. With A.I.M being set up, along with Hydra infiltrating Shield During Phase 2, where M.O.D.O.K should have been.. The Masters of Evil were literally right there. We don't need another round of Cannon Fodder for the Avengers to take on. A team of heroes vs A Team of Villains, with M.O.D.O.K as the Master Planner. Ultron felt like the perfect Thanos of The Next Ten Years. Really think about it, before the Events of Endgame, say Hank Pym made Ultron As a contingency plan for the Continuation of The Avengers. (Or have him create Ultron as secret project back in the 60s when he was the main Ant Man) After Endgame, The program is put into motion. All the while, The Skulls, The Thunderbolts, Personal Consequences of Thanos's machinations begin to come into play. Within the Confusion, Ultron over the course of The next ten Years, sees that Humanity is harming itself more than helping itself. Eventually leading up to The program Taking Matters into it's own Hands at the Climax of Phase 6.

[@Joshu-y1k]

Nearly every character essentially having Tony Stark's personality even though Tony worked so well originally because everyone around him was much more serious

[@daft_j]

and only ultron (in the MCU) can get away with having a similar personality since tony made him

[@Emir_969]

​@daft_j there should be some similarities between them personality wise, but not to the degree that was in the movie. Jarvis was created by tony too, yet he wasn't cracking jokes 24/7.

[@jovianmelendez]

​@@Emir_969 tbf I feel like Ultron was sort of supposed to be this sort of insane AI child that was desperately trying to find his way in the world in his own sadistic nihilistic way, maybe Ultron took after Tony Stark not because of programming or being made from Jarvis but because he saw Tony as a father the way a fatherless human boy sees their closest male figure as their shining example of how to be. The whole thing with Ultron singing that Pinocchio song kinda fits with the child aspect too.

[@Emir_969]

​@jovianmelendez Ultron is supposed to be a COLD Calculating teenage robot version of his dad "Hank Pym", highlight the words "Cold Calculating" 1000 times so baiscally even if he was created by Tony he should share some of his father personality but not the degree that was in the movie. Ultron never had all of Hank Pym's Personality and became an "Evil Hank Pym" in the comics until he had his "Pymtron" iteration when he literally merged with Hank Pym. So it's either that Joss Whedon misunderstood this part about Ultron or that he understood it but tried to change it and subvert it to fit his sarcastic goofy writing style as evidenced with how he wrote Ultron in his Introduction scene which is how he should've been like for the entire movie.

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

Don’t forget about the Malekith situation. The irony of MCU writers saying that Malekith would be an copy cat of Loki while having every hero having the same personality as Tony Stark. 😂

[@LegaLImmigrnt]

The way that Mysterio fights Peter is how Loki should have used his powers.

[@uncannyroaches5933]

But he did use it that way didn't he? Manipulating everyone from the starting of Avengers movie. It's a different power. But you can't always just do illusions and stuff. That gets boring.

[@CanadianTehGamer]

@@uncannyroaches5933 And Legal's point flew right over your head. Jesus christ lmao.

[@JStorkey6]

@@uncannyroaches5933 The literal fighting though. Loki should never have been swinging around with a spear like that. I think the illusions would be slightly less boring but maybe that's just me.

[@RealNicholasCota]

Yeah dude, he literally said that in the video. You don’t need to provide CC in the comments. How do people like such a nothing burger of a comment?

[@helloneighbour2408]

@@uncannyroaches5933 ...... and one clone + swinging a scepter isn't bring?? lmao you have to be joking right? no one is that dumb

[@dionstewart7394]

Man, its never lost on me that we could have basically had a whole emotionally charged Gladiator movie with the Hulk, and it was wasted.

[@JRMagro]

They couldn't at that time . Rights over the hulk kept them from writing planet hulk as a solo movie.

[@byronrush9802]

​@@JRMagrothey could have they just would have had to give up more money as they were borrowing the hulk for the MCU anyway which is also why you don't see hulk transforming that often in the MCU it sure wasn't the CGI budget

[@Mamoswine-s]

we have the animated world war hulk movie which is still better than half the mcu, hell i’d say most animated movies are better

[@dionstewart7394]

@@Mamoswine-s I see only facts in your statement 💯.

[@Mamoswine-s]

@@dionstewart7394 i just loved seeing bill get absolutely diffed with the build up shit was amazing

[@3Guys1Video]

You know you have a serious villain problem when your best villain in Phase 4 is one that already appeared in a Spiderman movie from 2002 that _wasnt_ even part of the MCU

[@mortenheidelbach]

I really liked Wenwu. Shang Chis biggest problem was the studio giving the movie the classic big cgi battle at the end

[@dr.boring7022]

Wenwu, Infinity Ultron, John Walker, Namir, and High Evolutionary are all good villains. Arishem and the Deviants have a lot of untapped potential. Electro and Doc Ock are also great (from that same movie), but yeah, Goblin is the best. My least favorite phase 4 villain is definitely He Who Remains/Kang though. Not a fan of him at all.

[@MrLuffy9131]

It's like Spiderman has interesting villains because they have one unique set like bombs, robot arms, sand, etc. When it starts getting to them alien territory cept venom then it becomes boring

[@Ghostface833]

⁠@@dr.boring7022Wenwu and Namor are horrible villains and John isn’t even a villain.

[@dr.boring7022]

@@Ghostface833 Wenwu is goated. I agree with the other 2, especially when John was such a missed opportunity and Namir is kinda mid, but Wenwu was the best part of his movie. He's almost as good as Kilmonger.

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

The irony of MCU writers saying that Malekith would be an copy cat of Loki while having every hero having the same personality as Tony Stark. 😂

[@turtleanton6539]

😂😂😂

[@belinskiparadox7687]

It's genuinely kind of shocking how they're still having the same villain problems that they've been having for 15 years now. How have they not solved this issue yet.

[@Rafael-rn6hn]

Without a doubt they think it's not a bug, but a feature.

[@ditotron9560]

@@Rafael-rn6hn I don't think that they think it's a positive. I think that it's just that nobody really seems to care, they get minor backlash so why fix what aint broken?

[@kaz-l6f]

because it’s not an issue to them

[@blushingralseiuwu2222]

Because honestly its not an issue, people just like big bad vilaiin. The only problen was that they did it so much, people getting bored. But honestly there is nothing wrong with doing big dumb vilaiin with one side of personality.

[@UkeShrum]

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”e

[@CBKwldge]

My biggest problem with Kang is that they showed him, they told the audience he was the “next big bad” after Thanos. What made Thanos so good was that he was kept a secret, he wasn’t known until The Avengers came out and even then he was only in the Post Credits scenes until Guardians vol 1. Having the big bad be the first villain in his saga and get defeated in that same first movie, shows how weak he is compared to Thanos. Thanos was this looming threat that worked behind the scenes, sitting in his throne until he had to take matters in his own hands. Kang is shown from the start. If they kept Kang out of the public, and kept him in the shadows, possibly in the Quantum Realm, he could’ve been this super powerful threat, even without doing anything.

[@haisebunny5799]

To be fair, when your next big bad gets beaten by ants of all things, it's really hard to feel any stakes or think they're threatening. Marvel did Kang dirty

[@Fairbranksthecat]

That's because Kang/Nathaniel Richards of earth 616 story is being told in reverse, we first get to see him after he won everything he is He Who Remains, in Ant-man he's Kang the conqueror ( and he's nerfed heavily since he can't use his time manipulation in quantum realm ) He got his plan down and only need Alioth to set it in motion, next we will maybe see him as an ally before he start his conqueror path, then in Kang dynasty will probably be Nathaniel Richards backstory detailed and how the multiversal war came to be, then in secret wars his story get tied back up in the loop, he capture and weaponized Alioth and make a deal with the Heroes so he become He Who Remains again.

[@Mothbean]

​@@Fairbranksthecat That would be some of the most unsatisfying storytelling imaginable. Why bother with all of that when we already know the guy gets beaten by communist ants in the end?

[@3ggser]

its a classic example of show, don't tell. they told us kang was super powerful, that he killed the avengers countless times. but he was actually a punk

[@akale2620]

I don't think it was that far thought out. Unlike thanos. Kang was just a plot device for the Loki show. Then after he got rekt, they were like, we need a new thanos, that kang is pretty big in comics, let's make him that. Which still confounds how, even if that was the case, his dismal portrayal in ant man 3.

[@PrestonDtyk]

The hulk is the definition of wasted potential never seen such a strong, empathetic, morally grey hero done so dirty over and over again. They actually teased how dark he could go in the first avengers and that gave me hope after the solo movie but who would’ve thought we’d end up here. Norton actually understood the character and was a massive fan that’s prolly why he was such an ass on set same thing happened to Henry cavill but his fan base is massive and didn’t let Hollywood drop him after the Witcher.

[@creed8712]

I mean, you can’t entirely blame the MCU for its faults on hulk. They legally weren’t able to make movies with him which was not a concern pre Disney acquisition.

[@PrestonDtyk]

@@creed8712 dude im reading my comment back and u have me so confused where did i blame anyone? I even say the first avengers gave me hope for the character after the terrible solo film.

[@GloriousSquizoKing.]

It makes me sad that even tho they can put Hulk on stuff now they won't do anything of value anyway. I would love to have a solo Hulk movie dealing with Banner and the whole trauma thing but oh well...

[@jonathank786]

Honestly there’s so much depth to the hulk and banner so much potential for multiple movies and series be better if they just restarted with his arc don’t see this current hulk going anywhere special

[@RonaldBigelow]

😮​@@creed8712l no

[@Case2_0]

Baron Zemo could have been a great villain if he used his traditional weapon. In a world of guns and lasers, you fear the man who confidently walks into battle with a sword.

[@vise_atoxity8083]

I feel the opposite. Confidence doesn’t justify fear. Especially if I’m seeing a man with a normal sword go against a man in a suit made out of the strongest medal in the world, a man holding a shield made from the strongest medal in the world who is also a super soldier, a woman capable of beating Thanos solo (according to Endgame), and a man with a military arsenal all inside of a metal suit. The winter soldier worked because he was the polar opposite of the hero he was fighting. A man with nothing but a sword is the polar opposite to who in Civil War? Genuinely asking, not a dig in any way.

[@dannyboy5008]

In a world of guns and lasers you laugh at the man going into battle with a sword. Unless the person with melee weapons has powers that enhance his ability to kill you up close, like teleportation or a healing factor, it comes off as a joke.

[@lostree1981]

Yeah no offence but this doesn't sound as baddass as you think it does. You essentially think bringing a knife to a gun fight is a good idea. Beware the guy that isn't a fucking idiot, I think.

[@quakethedoombringer]

@@dannyboy5008exactly. Zemo can work in the MCU as a wealthy and extremely out of touch aristocrat (the purple medieval suit, the sword, etc.) but beyond the superficial aesthetic is a cunning strategist that brings down the Avengers

[@WoowMan-c8c]

He is already great villian btw. Very rememberable.

[@mr.grievous8426]

What sucks is that James Spader felt like the PERFECT casting choice for Ultron. They really got, arguably, one of the best in hollywood and made his character a exact copy of Iron Man 💀

[@jacket2383]

Robert California as Ultron

[@mr.grievous8426]

@@jacket2383 "There is only sex. Everything is sex. You understand that what I'm telling you is a universal truth." - Ultron

[@KingJet-m4z]

It worked in my opinion, ultron was a great villain and memorable compared to others

[@ArcTrooper269]

@@mr.grievous8426 I actually preffer his recast, Ross Marquand(Robot from Invincible), since he actually played ultron & not Iron Man jr

[@mr.grievous8426]

@ArcTrooperRod-269 I think Spader is better. His voice is more menacing than this guy. I think he did a great job for what he he was given (an awful script) in age of ultron. Also, the new guy is trying so hard to copy Spader and its abysmal imo. I don't think this guy is a bad voice actor, though, just not the one for Ultron.

[@anubusx]

The Big Grey Villian Universe.

[@MrDman21]

Pretty much

[@toonabby4156]

The Big Grey _Blob_ Universe is more like it

[@gabishepherd2379]

The blob just less imagination universe ay

[@RomnysGonzalez]

More like The Big Poo Brown Villian universe

[@MrDman21]

@@RomnysGonzalez ha ha 😄

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

Its funny how "comics are for kids, or geeks, and is not a serious story medium" but these films have destroyed some truly amazing stories and made them look silly when some of them could have been taken far more serious, or very serious, but the films made them look weak as heck.

[@Jay9966]

but comics aren't really for kids though, They have gore and political messages.

[@LatinNerdCosplayer]

Facts

[@PPP-dr8ng]

@@Jay9966 yeah, like the whole "comics are for kids" thing made sense before the 80s

[@kalashnicovcosis]

​@@PPP-dr8nghave you ever seen the comics from the 70ies? Batshit crazy psychedelic porn trips. "Fritz the cat", "big ass", "the fabulous furry freak brothers".

[@ulty1472]

@@PPP-dr8ngnot even we have cap punching hitler in his debut. If thats not political idk what is. Also war was a big part of early hero comics since ya know WW2 was goin on

[@brianmeans5965]

The idea of a villian based on being actually smart and powerful enough to control the grey blob villians would be great. Especially if the only hint of them existing in the trailers is their voice being the narrator for several other movies.

[@undeadch1cken523]

"Way too many parts that are messy and unappealing to look at" sums up the current art design for the MCU costumes perfectly

[@AkuTenshiiZero]

Man, they were so close to an interesting take on Ultron. I was on board with the idea of a dark mirror of Tony's personality. But what they should have done was take Tony's cavalier attitude, and then remove every last drop of humanity from it. Like have Ultron casually kill someone, make a cocky remark, and focus on just how disturbing it is that he is incapable of feeling any remorse over what he's doing because he just lacks the capacity to feel empathy. And man, they really needed to add red lights in his mouth to give that iconic jack-o-lantern look.

[@ballsackboi505]

The concept art that LEGO used for his minifigure was exactly how he needed to look like!

[@MrLuffy9131]

infinity ultron was scary

[@lingricen8077]

Zoomers are seriously so g*y, they keep starting their comments saying ‘Man’

[@vegasailor1309]

They should have had more focus on the father and son Dynamic between Tony and Ultron. all of Tony's issues with his own father, could have trickled down into his relationship with Ultron.

[@Captianmex1C0]

I disagree Ultron should've been Cold, Calculating and Merciless, We've already had dark mirrors of tony. What we needed was a Villian with Bad intentions, No Morals literally whatsoever and Endless knowledge, the dangerous part about Ultron should've been that he was the perfect strategists, Always Predicting what the heroes would do. Like the Hulk Trying to fight Ultron, Only for Ultron to call in the Hulk Buster knowing full well it would only piss Hulk off forcing the team to Stop him, All the while Ultron is Taking over a Navy Fleet or something and targeting the avengers tower and military

[@badbirb5698]

Really like how you give credit to villains like Winter Soldier and Vulture. Some of these guys do a great job at being dangerous in their movies.

[@justasentientmclarenp1879]

It's amazing how the can take two niche villains and make them into amazing villains, but take amazing villains and turn them into crap is amazing.

[@johnrockyryan]

Micheal Keaton fucking killed it as The Vulture the scene with him in the car telling Peter to stop intervening with his plans or he'll kill him and Aunt May was fucking awesome terrific performance

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

Retconning that Carol Danvers was the first avenger and is uber powerful and just was never mentioned or used. Suddenly we're supposed to accept the this character that suddenly appears is the best thing since sliced bread but she has no personality whatsoever and her story barely even affected the wider MCU at all.

[@JohnSmith-iw1wd]

Captain Marvel felt like a filler episode. Feels like its only purpose was to introduce a Superman-tier character that could fight Thanos head-on. These issues (retconning the established worldbuilding and introducing characters willy-nilly) would become worse with every new Phase 4 release.

[@mimilook4347]

"Since sliced bread" 😂 Joey

[@theextracrispycolonel9502]

I always found it funny that Kurse was accidentally implied to be tougher than Thanos based on how he shrugs off Mjolnir

[@SquaulDuNeant]

Based

[@sodokami6347]

@@SquaulDuNeant Baseball

[@xoradivided7950]

squirrel girl is a gag character that can take down anyone by whatever means necessary be it by outright defeating them or befriending them, thanos has casually stopped mjolnir just using his force field and he has stomped thor, hulk , thing and hercules all at once, mcu thanos was just weak @@stanboyd1

[@stanboyd1]

@@xoradivided7950 the squirrel girl comment was a joke

[@tienluong9648]

And Hela would have straight up no diff him lmao

[@Slasher120]

One Problem I have with MCU villains is that they kill them off way too early - building a rivalry between characters leads to far more tension, and dynamic relationships. MODOK in the comics is supposed to be a pretty important character (to a degree), as he's often depicted as the Leader of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics), but they just turned him solely into a comedic character. The villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home also just felt like a nostalgia trick, though I enjoyed No Way Home far more then Quantumania, because it's story actually meant something (both in wrapping up unfinished character arcs and progressing Tom Holland's Spider-Man), and Willem Dafoe's Goblin was great. A good example of wasting a character is Dark of the Moon Shockwave. In the Transformer's comics, and some of the show's, he's often depicted as a Mastermind who manipulates things carefully for his own agenda, either that or he's depicted as one of Megatron's most deadly and loyal follower's. In Dark of the Moon, however, they turned him into a massive brute, similar to the treatment Bane got in Batman and Robin. Overall, the reason why we don't get good villain's is probably a mix of the producer's thinking they're being "creative" or a general disconnect from the audience and writers. I'm pretty sure one of the writer's said in response something like "I'm right, they're wrong." Acting like a baby and saying your right and everyone else is wrong is one of the most delusional stance's a producer can take. It's like when the writer for Secret Invasion said they didn't care if people didn't like the show. Disconnect from the audience is perhaps one of the most deadly thing's to a franchise; it's happening right now with (again) Transformers. Many fans (though I admit there are a lot of fans who'd rather not have a reboot) want the new movie's to simply be disconnected from Michael Bay's "lore," yet some of the producer's insist that, to quote them: "It's not a sequel, but it's definitely not a reboot." As if that's supposed to mean anything (Rise of the Beast's is set in 1994, so if it is connected to the Bay continuity, then it would've already not been a sequel by definition). I think disconnect in marvel is far more powerful, however. Marvel writer's seem to actively disregard their fan's, often calling the community "toxic." To a degree the Marvel community is full of bad influences, but that doesn't give you the right to disappoint (what is most likely) a majority of the fan's who simply want good content. When you have writer's throwing temper tantrums and saying they are solely in the right and everyone else who disagrees is wrong (I guess you could call it "opinion fascism" or something) then you know the future isn't that bright. Considering the director for Quantumania is also allegedly the director for Kang dynasty, to say that I'm scared would be an understatement. It seems most Marvel villains are here to provide an opposite to a Hero, to make you aww instead of think. Good stories make you think and talk about them long after they've been released. If Sam Raimi's Spider-man movie's were bad we probably wouldn't be talking about them as much as we do now. The First Spider-Man actually cared about showing us an opposite; Green Goblin and Spider-Man are two sides of the same coin essentially. Peter learnt to use his powers for good upon gaining animosity (the mask), where as Norman learnt to use his powers for evil because with the mask on he is basically free of judgement. Both are opposites yet still scarily similar, a "what the hero could've become" story. But again, corporation's don't care about art; they care about money. Case in point, using AI to create scripts and or recreate the face's of dead actors (the writer's strike had a reason for happening).

[@Jeartozer]

The heroes as well

[@smolltaco5667]

The biggest problem is that they are treated as jokes, they are bland and gray, and when they are good they are just killed off and ruined

[@Slasher120]

@@smolltaco5667 Yeah, exactly. I'm not saying MODOK needed to be treated absolutely seriously (he's quite literally the butt of the joke in terms of Marvel Villains), but they could have easily saved him for several other Marvel movies. I also didn't know how much I wrote lol, that was a long comment I posted. I think to sum it up though, corporations only want to adapt the vague characteristics of a comic-book storyline without actually paying a character their due respect (and I'm in no way a comic book purist). A long running theme you can also see in Marvel villains is that they have views on how society is wrong, but they are quickly defeated in a few movies by the heroes who have "better" views on society. I'm not going to point things or start quoting a conspiracy theory but a decently detailed video pointed this out as "propaganda," and I admit it's definitely a tradition for Marvel movies.

[@ЛачугаАндроида]

Well with shockwave it was the obvious why Bay went this direction, the movie was already overblown by characters, especially villains. We had that human traitor, megatron, starscream, soundwave, soundwave's buzzard pet(forgot his name), and of course Sentinel. There was simply no place for shockwave to shine

[@Slasher120]

@@ЛачугаАндроида That's exactly what the problem with the Michael bay transformer movies were; they were over-saturated with "characters" (who did nothing but die and sell toys), with barely any of them getting time to shine. Regardless DOTM was still an insult to Shockwave's character, though I definitely see the reason for him not having a lot of spotlight - and his design was kinda cool. Rise of the Beasts, whilst not being a great movie, fixes this issue by having Scourge be almost the sole antagonist of the movie and (sort of) leaving an effect on the audience, because he has actual spotlight. If they were to ever use Shockwave as a Transformers villain it shouldn't be in the same movie where someone like Sentinel Prime is also the villain. I also find it funny (in no way to discredit you're argument, however) is that Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave don't actually do much in the movie (Soundwave's pet, Laserbeak, does most of his work for him). Megatron sits down and just watches the movie (quite literally), Starscream is killed off (by a human), and Soundwave just takes hostages and tortures Sam's girlfriend. Sentinel was kind of a cool character, I like it when they take a character who is basically the father of a character but has an opposing philosophy (in this case Optimus wants to preserve Earth whilst Sentinel want's to save Cybertron at Earth's expense), but they didn't really do it well in this movie. The Human Betrayer character (even I forgot his name lol) is also really boring and feels evil for no reason, they could've easily used that evil cyborg scientist guy from the cartoons.

[@castrochris94]

Love when writers just throw in "also he wants to kill children and randomly murders his gf" as a reason for why villains are bad and their message is wrong

[@Kabal39]

What?

[@hairman6535]

@@Kabal39Killmonger

[@veniaminkhil8651]

I mean while undoubtedly cool, he is also an Open fascist and Black Supremacist. So his message is 100 percent wrong, even if he had a sympathetic backstory.

[@ThornHailsnap]

I feel like they're trying to copy Anakin in Episode III, since he kills the younglings and nearly kills his wife before the final battle. But Anakin killing children and trying to murder his wife works because there's so much more nuance and depth to Anakin's character and story.

[@stinkytoy]

Same with the villain girl in falcon and winter soldier. She was honestly pretty reasonable for a good chunk of the story, but then she just randomly blows up a building full of people and shows no remorse, because the writers had to make her objectively bad. Which made falcon warming up to her at the end kinda odd. That would have made much more sense if she had simply remained an extremist who was willing to break things in the name of justice, and just got in over her head.

[@thejedisonic67]

It becomes a problem when a character like Dr. Neo Cortex, who's inherently a mad scientist goofy villain to be humiliated by his own braindead creation, has more of a threatening presence and menace than a lot of the villains in the MCU films

[@pixavier9746]

I mean, N Cortex soundtrack's leitmotif alone is already more threatening (and iconic) than 90% of MCU villains

[@FilmerNation22]

Its upsetting to think that our heroes dont really have villains, it’s always “what are they gonna conquer next?” not “how will this villain/hero relationship bloom and change?”

[@ArcTrooper269]

True, MCU has 0 villains because they always kill them or Forget about them

[@FilmerNation22]

@@ArcTrooper269 it feels like every superhero movie does that these days, none of our superhero movie universes have staple villains

[@NazriB]

Lies again? Vigrx Plus USD SGD

[@FilmerNation22]

@@NazriB what?

[@ashishkumawat6110]

They should learn from the Dragon Ball Series.

[@ivane5110]

I think we can all agree that the MCU's largest failure was to never have the Thanos copter.

[@ceooflowrolls2081]

It's in Loki.

[@ivane5110]

@@ceooflowrolls2081 Awesome!!!

[@303Thatoneguy]

Or a squirrel girl cameo 😂

[@peterduprey7286]

It’ll happen someday

[@concept5631]

​@@ceooflowrolls2081 Wait what

[@MrGunBunny13]

This can really be summed up in seven sentences. 1: Jokes should be used sparingly. 2: Never let the villain be mocked without severe consequences. 3: Even a sympathetic villain should be overtly wrong in most cases. 4: Powerful villains should utilize their power in creative, intelligent and dangerous ways. 5: Powerful villains should always try to raise the stakes as high as they can get them, and put nonstop pressure on the heroes. 6: Maybe let the bad guy get some victories and take a few victory laps once in awhile. 7: The villains need to be distinctive in their looks, feel, motivations and abilities.

[@binkyboy448]

Know any good examples?

[@stitchedbyiron]

You are 🧐🤓🧠

[@thelifeofcollinrs6030]

Pretty sure they let Thanos get a win

[@helloneighbour2408]

@@stitchedbyiron my god you're the cringiest 12yo

[@MrGunBunny13]

@@binkyboy448 Professor Moriarty comes to mind. So do many of the better Batman runs. In particular The Scarecrow from the "Dark Knight no 10-15 (2011-14) and The Mad Hatter from "Dark Knight" no.16-20 (2011-14). Scarecrow gets angry at Batman's interference and retaliated by gassing a major parade, turning it into a scene of panic and slaughter. Mad Hatter straight up unalives Bruce Wayne's fiancé.

[@Joshu-y1k]

MCU changed Malekith from being a cool looking fun villain to boring personalityless badguy.

[@billybadass3056]

the only thing I would add on your theory of a great villain is that not only must they be able to make the heroes journey as difficult as possible but to also perform feats in the movie show OR comic that are extraordinary giving the audience reason to wonder, well how is our hero suppose to stop this guy???

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

Aaah, too high concept and difficult for Hollywood. I think they first should focus on writing a character. Then they should give them goals that go against the protagonists. If you tell them "write a villain", they will just default to some Chat GPT shit.

[@SlugRiot]

fax

[@billybadass3056]

@@jesustyronechrist2330 lol... there's no talent in creativity any more in hollyWEIRD and really hasn't been for a LONG Time...

[@sphakamisozondi]

Exactly, because now, these movies are becoming formulaic and predictable.

[@lakshaykochhar6799]

​@@jesustyronechrist2330Hey! Don't insult ChatGPT like that!

[@Korre84]

It's been 5 and a half years since Infinity War and people still quote the Thanos Snap in pop culture. That's how effective he was!

[@kc_h7h]

​@@yeenybean2881 yea I feel like he lacks personality. Like the things good about him are his motivations and backstory. You can empathise with that. But he isn't entertaining to watch imo. If you look at villains like the joker in dark knight or bill in kill bill. You really enjoy their screentime. They have personality and natural dialogou in conversations. Thanos doesn't have that. His dialogou only continues the story. You don't see any natural dialogou from him as a person Mcu does that with every villain and I wish they would work on that. Some villains are smart or cunning or threatening but that's basically their whole personality. It's not a attribute to their personality like how a good villain is supposed to be written

[@eakamjit2545]

​@@yeenybean2881 What is your definition of a great villain. Thanos in infinity war was fantastic. I do agree with you on your point about other marvel villains except zemo and vulture they were also pretty good

[@JonoBogano]

Thanos was definitely their most compelling villain. His quotes are so iconic and watching him fight is highly entertaining.

[@WestGarbage6]

@@JonoBogano I think what helped Thanos the most is what helped other villains the most, he's serious, he's dark, and he's somewhat relatable. In both Infinity War and Endgame, he rarely if at all ever breaks composure, he doesn't crack jokes, he doesn't made off-comments, any and all of Thanos' funny moments were good writing being able to play off of his serious nature. This might also be one of the reasons the Vulture was so good, as well as of course Green Goblin and even Mysterio (Overall, the Spiderman trilogy in the MCU has just had some really memorable villains) because they don't crack jokes that much in the middle of a literal fight to the death, and it makes them seem more threatening. Not to say MCU Villains shouldn't be able to be jokesters, I think Ultron would've worked especially well if the rest of the MCU was different, it would make sense why he would act that way, both that he was made by Tony, and that he's a machine, he doesn't get tired or distracted, he doesn't need an abundance of time to think or process things, and he's more than capable of multitasking, but it got undervalued by every other character in the MCU being pretty much just the same.

[@dizznotdizzy]

my big problem with thanos is that he didnt utilize the stones in very creative ways. nine times out of 10 he just shot different colored energy blasts at characters and he could have achieved the results of these actions in much more creative and cool ways.

[@echo_z319]

Still had some cool moments though: its MUCH worse with kang. Dude is from 1k years in the future, with access to tech, gear, power even beyond that, yet all he does in the mcu is shoot energy blasts and then get clapped by some big ants.

[@Sillimant_]

@@echo_z319 he wuz kangz n shieeet, just expects everyone to bow down to him with no effort on his part

[@Spectrue]

This is what happens when studios don't pay their FX artists.

[@Ninjersey1]

@@echo_z319because the quantum realm nerfed him lol how is everyone glossing over that.He can’t use time manipulation his biggest weapon ability

[@echo_z319]

@@Ninjersey1 Maybe everyone is “glossing over that” because its irrelevant lmao??? Being able to time travel or not, he had all of his tech at his disposal. Thanos conquered xandar, easily beat the incredible hulk, and destroyed the entire trinity in a fight despite being 9 years from the past, all without Any infinity stones. If kang cant even kill some ants that are on his level technologically, or even have good defenses/durability when it comes to his armor & weaponry without needing to change time itself, theres very clearly a huge issue.

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

Avengers 1st villain: Loki Avengers 2nd villain: The Masters of Evil Avengers 3rd villain: Ultron Avengers 4th: villain: Maria Hill Avengers 5th Villain: Thanos Now that would look awesome.

[@turtleanton6539]

Thanks ?

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

@@turtleanton6539 oh my bad I met say Thanos. Auto-correct.

[@TylenArcher]

Why Maria Hill?

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

@@TylenArcher in the comics, Maria hill had a pivotal role in Civil War. She was a huge supporter in the Pro-Superhero Registration. She believed that super-humans need to be put in check. Heroes and Villains. She was also secretly a villain as well. Now, the MCU was originally building her up to be a major player in the future. There’s even a deleted scene in the first avengers movie where she dismissed the idea of “heroes”. That could’ve been built up to her being the big authority figure in the civil war movie. The MCU however replaced her with Thunderbolt Ross.

[@stitchedbyiron]

0:01 opening 0:40 iron man 1:29 hulk 2:25 iron Man 2 3:15 thor 4:06 Captain America 5:33 the avengers 7:51 iron man 3 14:34 shang chi 15:12 thor the dark world 17:11 captain America the winter soldier 19:22 why MCU villains suck part 1 23:31 guardians of the galaxy 25:36 avengers age of Ultron 33:21 the ant man 34:11 captain America civil war 41:48 doctor strange & mirror villains 45:16 guardians of the galaxy vol 2 46:51 spider man homecoming 48:41 thor Ragnarok 55:48 why MCU villains suck part 2 57:49 black panther 1:01:45 avengers infinity war 1:04:11 ant man and the wasp 1:05:20 captain marvel 1:07:40 avengers endgame 1:11:26 spiderman far from home 1:13:25 phase 4 1:13:44 wandavision 1:14:38 falcon and the winter soldier 1:14:58 loki 1:16:01 black widow 1:16:33 shang chi 1:16:50 eternals 1:16:56 Hawkeye 1:17:07 spiderman no way home 1:23:41 why MCU villains suck part 3 and how to fix the issue 1:39:34 Closing discussion

[@matthewdignam7381]

The goat 💪

[@stitchedbyiron]

@Bando_Tron thanks

[@PhantomGirl888]

Thank you 😊

[@clockworkclockwisepro4925]

Killmonger is liked because of Michael B. Jordan. If anyone else would have played that role I don't think anyone would even remember the character. Jordan is charismatic to the point that his fans would follow him to almost any role. His breif appearance in BP2 is one of the few highlights of that movie.

[@malcomchase9777]

Killmonger was a cool villain. From the text alone, he mirrored what other characters were already telling T'Challa. Shuri wanted progress out of the traditional elements of Wakanda (which played against her mother and Okoye) and Nakia had similar goals to Killmonger, only different plans for the execution. T'Challa's father was also easily framed as making a mistake, since he did kill his own brother and leave Eric an orphan instead of trying to understand their position or compromise in any way. T'Challa mirroring his attitude, keeping his values, was not a great look. That movie made Killmonger evil enough not to outshine T'Challa, but made T'Challa obviously in the wrong enough to make Killmonger compelling. Killing him off by the end is such a big waste.

[@clockworkclockwisepro4925]

@malcomchase9777 I agree with everything you said, but I think Jordan's portrayal of the character really hit with American audiences. When he said, "Hey Auntie... " that was improvised. It was perfection, and it resonated beyond the text. This is all a credit to a great actor in a perfectly placed role.

[@iCeeYouP]

The author of this video also skipped over the nuances of what actually made Killmonger popular as well. It deals heavily with the countless injustices Black Americans had faced up to that point (assuming the MCU mirrored their real life counter part America as far as history goes.), and to see a character rise to power to presumably help end those injustices once and for all was a huge part of why Killmonger had so much pull. Not only that, but Killmonger's father did what he did to help the Black people that were suffering across America, and although he betrayed Wakanda's rules, he did it for a cause he viewed as righteous. He believed giving a bit of Wakanda's power and equipping Blacks abroad would help them in the long run and assist in elevating them to the same stature as Wakanda, if not outright joining them. Black Panther's father having no choice but to execute Killmonger's father just lead to Killmonger inheriting his father's will in a more twisted manner. It wouldn't be an understatement to assume Killmonger would've become a modern day Hitler in trying to "liberate" Black people all over the world by genociding and or subjugating everyone else. Killmonger then proceeds to expose that he himself wanted absolute power to achieve is goals, all the while "Liberation" being a core ideal he held on through the entirety of his journey, adopting a "means justify the ends" approach. Nonetheless, the main lure of Killmonger had been the ideal he possessed. A flawed execution and approach, but an understandable one that continues to resonate til today.

[@John.McMillan]

Honestly if it wasn't for the political landscape of the time, the entirety of that movie would have been mostly forgotten. In fact it pretty much already is.

[@DurtyDan]

Jordan's charisma and contemporary American politics definately elevate Killmongers reputation

[@TheTomac]

"the ultimate simp of the marvel universe"?? dude, i KNOW you know about thanos.

[@Emir_969]

At least Thanos no longer loves lady death, so skurge is the bigger simp.

[@treyden]

idk what the "worst" villain would be but the one that frustrates me the most is Quantumania Kang. he was exiled by the other Kang's for being TOO EVIL and he takes over an entire universe (quantum realm) but he's stopped by punch punch and ants

[@jessicaheller3076]

Immortus seems like a bigger deal than the Exiled Kang.

[@darqjade]

I'm waiting for the inevitable "reset" when they realize they've killed off all the worthy villains and have nowhere left to go but down

[@DameTara]

I agree it needs to be reset.

[@lamsaidthetrue2238]

still knull , mephisto ,dr doom , galactus and beyonder and even dormammu to left the chat

[@Dabang_singham]

No then they will make random male guys as villain like in she hulk they made a random guy fake hulk. This has started to happen already like in falcon and the winter Soldier the villain flag smashers/karli's team was not in comics the writers created new ones for the show, in the comics flag smasher was a person not an organisation.

[@Dabang_singham]

​​@@lamsaidthetrue2238 knull, mephisto, dr. Doom, galactus etc will never be introduced. See like in wanda vision they had enough storyline to introduce mephisto( like wanda was being maipulated by him, Agata working on order of mephisto and corrupting her by introducing her to dark hold as solution to her problems, also there was a fly shown specifically with some attention to it by the makers which makes audience think that its him behind this scenes, but this type of details were to just cause deception in viewers like ralph was quicksilver was a deception). Also why in no way home strange will agree to do so much dangerous spell for such a stupid reason it had to be mephisto. This movie would be better if peter helps dr. Strange to stop mephisto resulting in multiverse of madness where dr. Strange fights mephisto with the help of wanda who gets over her pain slowly in the movie, but both wanda vision and multiverse of madness were given to women villains instead of mephisto who is a man villain. In no way home it should be shown that the 3 peters fight with sinister six and then they help strange stopping mephisto, by this plan we could have seen tobey Maguire in the dr. Strange 2 which was a sam raimi movie

[@Emir_969]

​ @lamsaidthetrue2238 Knull Sucked IMO. The only Thanos Level Threats left with good comic stories are Doom, Annihlus, Galactus and maybe Dormammu even though I don't remember a good story with him being a the universal threat he is.

[@DarthFhenix55]

13:49 This applies to SO MANY marvel movies, the way they bait you with the trailers and then mess up with the villains is one of the biggest problems of MCU writting.

[@Mathnicheguy]

Facts

[@hellothisismufin]

There's actually a lot of potential in Green Goblin being from another universe and gone now. Hobgoblin is a similar kind of character ability-wise, and his whole thing in the comics was that his identity was a secret and a huge part of his story. You can also throw in the symbiote in that story to play on Peter's unresolved anger surrounding May's death. It could be huge!

[@MrTwille]

I pray , Williams dafoe would bring some stakes that MCU has been missing . No magic trickery or powers

[@AkuTenshiiZero]

I think the best way to do it would be to introduce the MCU version of Osborn as a red herring, and never reveal who the Hobgoblin really is.

[@thegreatchipman]

@@AkuTenshiiZero I mean it's probably going to be Ned

[@laxmanrawat748]

What if James Franco comes back as hobgoblin

[@scaccu]

Mcu spiderman sucks.

[@ohapplesauce]

I honestly think the villains would have been less wasted if they weren’t defeated at the end of every single movie. It would have been so cool to see more villains team up with other villains to take down the main heroes, especially when the heroes get their own side trilogies. Introducing a new villain in every single film only to kill them off in the end each time isn’t very entertaining. This is why I really enjoyed Infinity War. The ending didn’t fall flat; the villain actually won; and the heroes actually tasted failure for once.

[@MrLuffy9131]

the thing was it was more frustrating that the reason thanos won is because they couldn't just work together so more of the heroes failure and then the second movie they did a deus ex machina and introduced time travel

[@lingricen8077]

You’re so wrong its insane. Story structure exists the way it does because it works and deviating from it is wrong. Infinity war ending would’ve been meaningless if they did things your idiotic way.

[@arifkimy4700]

​@@lingricen8077yeah,they should introduce every villain and kill them after in 1 movie

[@lingricen8077]

@@arifkimy4700 real mature, this is why you lose

[@arifkimy4700]

@@lingricen8077 lose what? My money,car or my ps5

[@codemancz798]

What I find fascinating about Ultron is that Joss already did this right once. When he was writing the X-Men, he introduced Danger; an AI made by Charles Xavier that goes rogue, builds a body and attacks the X-Men. She's introduced brilliantly, has very serious dialogue, and has an interesting fighting style built about perfectly analyzing the fighting style of the X-Men. Why Joss didn't adapt parts of that story arc is beyond me.

[@rafikz77]

Interesting

[@demonzabrak]

Sometimes in creative works, you are contractually obligated to not make things to similar to something you've already made, if that something is owned by someone else. So, if Joss makes a well written AI character for Fox, and then tries to use the same beats for a well written AI for the MCU, even though Joss made both of them, he doesn't own either. The studios he was working for does. The thing about "cutthroat legal battles over stupid shit" is right there in the name. They weren't even allowed to use the term "mutants" because of the split in X-Men rights.

[@FortunaeSD]

Because Ultron presents as male and Joss can only write girl boss and broody man charcters.

[@Emir_969]

​@timothyfreeby1031 This 100%. And the biggest evidence of this is how he wrote the A.I Villain A.I.D.A from Agents Of Shield which he personally directed if I remember correctly, and she was a better Ultron than his Ultron and was more intimidating and threating than his MCU Version. Joss Whedon is known to be a feminist.

[@DaVinciwithaphaser]

You know your having a laidback day when a 2 hour feature length video about mcu villains feels like 20 minutes.

[@angrytheclown801]

I suspect instead of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver being introduced in Age of Ultron they were originally going for Andrea and Andreas von Strucker, which would explain Baron von Strucker. But with the advent of the better Fox Quicksilver and the twins...difficult phillosophies, they decided to go with Magneto's much more camera friendly children.

[@bwestacado9643]

I keep forgetting that's supposed to be the Shocker in that Spiderman movie. Man they did that character dirty. I was always excited to see him in the comics, show and video games. Fun character that should have had better treatment. Even not being the main villain, they could have made him a tough obstacle for Spidey to overcome before getting a shot at Vulture

[@Batman30967]

I believe that hobgoblin should replace green goblin because ned Leeds should have like nightmares and go crazy because he thinks he is best friends with a person that “doesn’t exist” this would make ned be more comic accurate but also keeping a compelling story arc

[@turtleanton6539]

I th7nk so to😊

[@vaporwavevocap]

I think the Red Skull's betrayal of Hitler makes sense, his entire ideology is that he is a unique human being, he is better than everyone else, he's not a God but he's the closest human in existence to a God from his perspective, he states that the tesseract was not made for a normal human to look at, while looking at it. Thus, to Red Skull, Hitler was just his pawn.

[@kasam0308]

Agreed

[@thegoldenagehome6976]

The part about the Mandarin was especially good. I don't think any Marvel directors have every read the comics of the movies they produce.

[@joet7136]

You can bet the farm they didn't.

[@Enzo575]

​@@joet7136and it annoys me they kept doing this. Taikita Waiti was the worst of all

[@TheZajicekfarber]

I think the MCU High Evolutionary was great a villain. His outfit was a plain, but he has a neat creepy apperance. The way he could instantly switch from smiling friendly to screaming maniac was good and intense. His plans and motives were at least understandable, but completely amoral (and not just insanely evil). His only real problem was he was eliminated as a one-off; where I felt he could have honestly been a great new lead villain instead of Kang. Maybe have him be the creator behind a bunch of other villains and threats across the coming movies.

[@TunezCottage]

This channel is truly a gem.

[@brucifer2332]

Anyone who knows and loves Spiderman knows Shocker. Hes a good villain that was done dirty in the MCU

[@Neometal_Overlord]

Fr my man got like only a few minutes of screen time and he got slammed by a high schooler who found his friends silly string canon

[@jimbeam2299]

I refuse to call that character the name Shocker

[@PlanetMars2030]

@@jimbeam2299 He should have been called Jackson Brice. And the part where he was gonna leave. He forms The Enforcers. And the other character should have been called Herman Schultz/The Shocker. He shouldn't have died.

[@Mathnicheguy]

Facts, which is why i didn’t like Homecoming. They also ruined Spider-Man as well.

[@schoolboyartist7926]

another thing is that the government and worldbuilding is pretty much nonexistent in the whole mcu. You don't get to know how the government reacts to the massive battles of endgame. it makes the universe feel so disconnected and void.

[@mylesgxtreme2106]

In the films no But it is talked about in Falcon and the Winter Soldier

[@valance10]

You never see the military or even the police pull up, it's jarring

[@lingricen8077]

Thats…extremely stupid that you feel that way. Easiest DISLIKE I ever gave a comment.

[@mylesgxtreme2106]

@@lingricen8077 but he's mostly right if you just talking the films minus Civil War

[@schoolboyartist7926]

@lingricen8077 maybe it's stupid to you, but worldbuilding is extremely important, especially since all these hero films share the same universe yet never appear for each world ending threat for individual hero movies. That just breaks engagement with the bigger mcu story, making it seem like these movies are just in different universes and only gather up in one shared universe when it's convenient to mention it

[@TJK10]

I suspect this era of cinema will be looked back upon as an obsession with the concept of “subversion” in the most routine and cowardly of applications, with rare exceptions.

[@ShadowSonic2]

If Empire Strikes Back came out today, it would be ripped apart for "I am your father"

[@trayb6058]

I agree. I wish they could bring back earnest stories where they play things straight instead of having to undercut every vaguely serious moment with some stupid joke. Nothing seems genuine anymore, no stakes, just sarcasm and subversion

[@TJK10]

@@ShadowSonic2 How do you figure?

[@nunouno001]

Subversion is fine. The problem is that the subversion is supposed to make things more meaningful then we thought it was. This is why Empire Strikes Back is so good. We all thought that Yoda was going to be this great strong warrior and Vader was just an evil villain who killed Luke’s father. However, making Yoda a small green creature shows us how the force operates beyond traditional physical strength and the material realm, making it more mystical and mysterious. Meanwhile, Vader being Luke’s father makes the conflict between them much more complicated sand flips their relationship on its head in a way no one saw coming. The problem with modern day subversion is that for whatever reason, they flipped the dynamic. Instead of making things more meaningful, they make things less meaningful then what we thought it was. While it’s not impossible to make that work, more often than not, it just results in devaluing the story and the investment the audience put into the story. Making everyone ask the same question: “What’s the point?” Only for the unbearably smug author to answer: “ The point is that there is no point, because you all expected that to happen and I did something else. Hahaha aren’t I so clever!!!”

[@lingricen8077]

Its because of zoomers

[@HubiKoshi]

To be fair to Red Skull. What is more villainous than being a Nazi? Replacing Nazis by being More evil than them.

[@blablablabla8290]

The problem with long term story telling and reusing villains in a live action movie is that the actors age out or want to quit and do something else so you have to recast people, unlike in comics/cartoons. I rewatched iron man recently and totally forgot they recast war machine. It’s pretty funny if you watch iron man 1 and 2 back to back

[@ArcTrooper269]

Same when you watch back to back Arrow season 1 & they just casually recast Sara

[@KetsubanSolo]

Better recast than deepfakes

[@YGYRWYFTDD]

There's a reason why shows like The Boys and Invincible got really popular. It's not because of the gore and violence. It's not because of the comedy (they're definitely appreciated tho). It's because villains like Homelander and Omni Man instill so much constant fear when watching. You wonder to yourself, 'How far will they go in this scenario?' Any time Omni Man was with his wife I was scared for her. Any time anyone in the Vought building even *walked by Homelander* I was legitimately terrified. Even though Omni Man is more controlled than Homelander I still felt an equal amount of fear. I knew that these characters were serious. The problem with MCU villains is they aren't serious. Ultron wanted to get rid of humans but he was so unserious about it that I didn't take him seriously. The heroes also aren't taking the threats seriously so I don't feel danger. Most MCU villains aren't a threat because nobody treats it like one. Having characters like Thor and Captain Marvel half ass everything is obnoxious. Marvel can just look at what's popular and learn from them but they don't for some reason?????

[@ShadowSonic2]

The MCU is about its heroes, not its villains. You want movies where the villains are the real stars, go watch old CBMs from the 90s.

[@bigchungus6827]

@@ShadowSonic2 A hero can't shine without decent villains. If you fail to make a villain that people will be scared of, you fail to make people meaningfully appreciate the heroes triumphing over them. That's aside from the facts that the heroes generally aren't written *that* much better lately.

[@diannerenard]

​@@bigchungus6827 Pretty much. A big part about the journey of the hero is the struggle, to lose some and after hitting rock bottom, rise again more determined than ever. Almost all MCU villains are treated as le epic walking joke and memed by the heroes in what should've been the climax of the story, the final battle

[@ExeErdna]

@@ShadowSonic2 You're not helping beat the charges that viewers like you are dumb. Villains Unironically matter more than the heroes. Without villains there's no hero it's just a romcom.

[@FortunaeSD]

The problem stems from fans wanting their heroes to be heroic and shine being true to the source material and the villains to challenge them in their personal spaces or to mess with their ideology so it draws the hero out... and the writers and/or the producers were more focused on "the message" DEI or ESG.

[@conlinmckay1742]

Thank-you Alberti. Not only have you spent time watching hours of MCU content, but also give a marvelously detailed analysis on comparing these villains and why they don't work.

[@JacklynRockwell]

If the MCU ever gets rebooted, We need Braeden Alberti to be in charge in Marvel and start over this whole entire thing again and make the MCU more comic accurate.

[@theenigma2861]

The footage of Avengers: Earth's mightiest heroes used for comparison is perfect. It may not be the best show with tonnes of character growth and long-winded storylines but adapted major plotline after major plotline in ways that did justice to the comics, and the true sense of change the marvel universe goes through.

[@ArcTrooper269]

Wrong, IT WAS AN AMAZING SHOW IN CHARACTER GROWTH & LONG STORYLINES(too bad it was cancelled too early)

[@RyanSmith-xq6cp]

I’m glad my boy Shocker is getting praise. He’s always been a favorite Spider-Man villain of mine because for another hero he’d be a menace. A man who invented his own technology to shoot blasts at the speed of sound that could level buildings. But he’s against a hero who can move fast enough to dodge the blasts, is smart enough to invent ways to counteract the technology, is strong enough to not get crushed by any rubble the Shocker makes, and has a spider-sense to help dodge the blasts. He’s a legitimate threat that is light work to Spidey and that’s what makes me love him so much

[@ItsYourYuya]

Honestly this made me think about how Marvel uses all these villains and gets rid of them like they are going through a boss rush in a Megaman game, instead of using them like the were in the comic and how they have layers and layers of good story attached to them All of it essentially is just them trying to rush their butt to the “main” villain of the phase so they can make another avengers movie.

[@NickMario1]

That’s the best way to describe it, a MEGAMAN boss rush

[@turtleanton6539]

Yes

[@turtleanton6539]

​@@NickMario1indeed😊

[@CheeksE-yi8mt]

This synopsis was better written than 95% of the MCU

[@7evenseas975]

Sometimes i wish the villain to survive just to make it feel more like a comic book movie. You always want in the back of your head the possibility that they could return. I predict that the Leader is going to die ethier by Captain falcon or by some kind of falling off something.

[@TF2CrunchyFrog]

Except the majority of uperhero comics books are frankly trash. And if you think replicating Saturday morning kids cartoon show formulas to life action movies is a good idea, I'm sorry, you're an idiot. In those kids shows and comics, the "villain" returns every other episode with yet another silly plot to do X, get thwarted, then runs away, because those shows are basically schoolyard rivalries with the heroes and villains never killing each other but only having the superhero equivalent of brawls. THe moment stories get more serious and realistic, you inevitably have people asking "Why doesn't Batman just murder the Joker instead of sending him to Arkhan Asylum over and over, from which he appparently can escape from any time he wants to?" Which lead to a kind of fascist worldview where the "hero" should murder anyone he deems a villain and is still seen as the "hero" because, hey, he's killing "villains", that makes him the good guy, right? /sarcasm

[@farmer_joe_]

​@@TF2CrunchyFrogcope harder

[@captainmega6310]

@@TF2CrunchyFrog then have them win sometimes

[@jared2879]

@@captainmega6310I mean the goblin secretly did that in comics he could of easily did that in the raimi trilogy espically with the gliders location it hitting their would kill same with doc ock actually die more of drowning and not by the sun since he going to the side of the sun

[@Reddotzebra]

Not to mention that the Mandarin had his cool power rings, that then later turned out to be alien technology that he'd stolen from the spaceship of Fin Fang Foom and his crew. So he's actually a full tech user like Tony Stark except his tech is advanced enough to be indistinguishable from magic.

[@wnd9434]

Its looks the same sound the same. Unlike anime like Naruto everyone has unique power and it's feel misterious, why can't mcu be like that.

[@anubusx]

Changing Mysterion into a Stark Villian was a terrible idea.

[@MrSkillsMotivation]

Ong

[@anubusx]

@@MrSkillsMotivation Mysterio Whoops Typo!!

[@srstriker6420]

@@anubusx yup and the only villains that should be connected to Ironman is Green goblin and Doc Ock

[@ArcTrooper269]

@@anubusx They turned Spider-man Villains into Stark Villains & Iron Man Villains, like Dynamo, Ghost & Mandarin, were given to other heroes 😓

[@laverdad871]

Don’t worry, I also wanted to see Kenny fight Spider-Man

[@DerrickBarrows]

This was the most rithless and thourough disection of a movie franchise i have ever heard. Well done, great points

[@Duothimir]

The worst part about Kurse is that he has color in his design but they insisted on washing it out in every scene and just kinda gave up below his chest. There are some pics of his toy where the red really pops, and it's not a bad start! He just needed more time to bake...

[@pedroivog.s.6870]

For me who didn't even know who it was, didn't impact at all, just looked like a buff sidekick unfortunately

[@Culvix]

I actually really liked Zeno in the Mcu, because he was a master tactician who had skill in combat. He was the man who split the avengers and actually defeated them before Thanos did. His comic and animated versions may be better, but he wasn’t completely wasted.

[@ArcTrooper269]

Zemo & John Walker Were Right in F&TWS ¿How terrible should be your show when you make the "villains" more likeable than the heroes?

[@ohapplesauce]

This and Zemo still has potential. FATWS showed us that he’s not done yet and he is very much still a dangerous person. Even if he seems somewhat redeemed.

[@IvanYurdec]

Disney Plus redoing "boring" ECHO series cutting Ezra Miller parody, MMIW, what Skin Walking is and where the missing Native American women went

[@valoruniversity]

the only thing with Zemo, I wish he would have got more screen time

[@TitanForcemax]

His plan wasn't great though. It entirely relied on iron man coming to the base on his on free will.

[@joezelljr]

Dude can drop an almost 2 hour video about just one thing that's a major issue of the MCU and the fans will still be like "yah but the MCU is peak cinema"

[@turtleanton6539]

Well it Kinda is but can still be a ton better.😊😊😊

[@mrkrubbykrubs5378]

Thanks for using so much EMH footage, that show was the perfect template for an MCU why’d they have to cancel it😭

[@-PVL93-]

Wasp was drawn too hot for TV

[@SecretMagician]

​@@-PVL93-nearly every female in EMH was drawn too hot for TV. Wasp, Ms. Marvel, Maria Hill, Black Widow, Enchantress, etc.

[@-PVL93-]

@@SecretMagician Holy based animators

[@flamebrindger3984]

It sucks how each film wipes the slate clean for the villain only for them to be mostly killed off. There are no henchmen/criminals wanting to rise up to the occasion, no scenes of villains getting arrested and charged for their crimes, no family of the villian wanting revenge, no villains wanting to team up, etc. We never see their plan come to fruition. Even Thanos was done dirty. People like to meme "Thanos was right," but ironically we'll never know if he was right or not because Marvel chose to do a time skip. Not only a time skip, but then use time travel to resurrect everyone. It didn't even undo the snap when you think about it. It just brought those who were gone into the future. And what are the ramifications of those already alive seeing people be brought back to life, and realizing the heroes and villains are capable of such feats like time travel, reality warping, and resurrection? Nothing as far as I've seen.

[@jamesamey]

The bad bald guy in Iron Man 1 is called Razza. It would have been cool to see him come back as a bigger threat but it's often forgotten that he was based on a Kree villain in the comics, so the MCU had already strayed far away from the source.

[@offtheshelfET]

Love the DIO cameo at the end when you’re talking about great villains. Bro has taste😎

[@kbg12ila]

I never really thought about it but youre right. One of the main reasons MCU villains are so weak is because... They're weak. They aren't good antagonists to the heroes because they dont pose a real threat.

[@erickalbani546]

You see, what hurts about Skurge is that his last speech (and the road to there) really resonates with some people who were hurt and bullied; dude was not educated, but he wasn't dumb and so the ridcule hurt a little extra there. and then they made him that sack of nothing in the MCU

[@NewLifeFromTheWayofTruth]

Stop

[@MitzyPep]

Dude, thank you for addressing thanos’s motivation. He fell almost completely flat for me because his motivation was ridiculous. He just came across as a psychopathic moron.

[@h8thegr8]

Comic Thanos might’ve been a giant simp for Death, but at least his motivations in that story were consistent with what Thanos would’ve done for love, instead of this vague and inconsistent motivation to justify killing half of the universe.

[@kulitmed]

hence the name Mad titan

[@bigchungus6827]

@@kulitmed Doesn't really work, though. In the comics the name made sense, since his end goal was actually just insane and selfish. In the movie he talks like he reached some big epiphany based on a lot of research, while saying things that wouldn't make it past an introductory course in economics.

[@emblemblade9245]

@@bigchungus6827Well that’s just the thing, he’s an egotist who came up with a stupid idea and wants to enforce it no matter how many people tell him no just to prove that it can be done. I have a lot of complaints about MCU Thanos but I think the underlying motivation (as in the psychological side, not the “muh resources” side) is good.

[@bigchungus6827]

@@emblemblade9245 I can kinda see that, but that just makes him seem more like a stubborn old grandpa than a fearsome villain. It's not really improving my view of him as a character at all.

[@owen-yl1uq]

29:34 honestly sums up one of the biggest problems with most writing these days. People have no concept of good and evil because it’s all taught to be relative, so they can’t commit to showing either.

[@darthvader4762]

Well, the enchantress was in the MCU, but not in the big movies but in the side show called "agents of shield." Which in its first seasons is quite fun to watch. But even there, the enchantress isn't really called out by name, but her powers are used.

[@askers81]

she is in loki actually, so she still is

[@xoradivided7950]

loki's sylvie is not Amora the enchantress, she is not even the fake enchantress that was in young avengers@@askers81

[@whobitmyname]

DC Enchantress made the name Enchantress a bit taboo. What with the crappiness and all.

[@reffa2858]

I loved the Mandarin in Marvel ultimate alliance. The game really taught you about Marvel heroes and villians. I even learned who Fing-Fang-Foom was. Its a shame you cant download it anymore.

[@auliamate]

I think I learned about Fing Fang Foom from one of the animated Marvel series 😊

[@mittycommitspizzatime92]

I leaned about Fing-Fang-Foom (and a couple other characters) from Lego marvel super heroes lol

[@kasam0308]

You could still download it on PC, it’s just pirated to do it.

[@braydonfisher9273]

It's so sad that Agents of Shield gets so overlooked when talking about the MCU. It's such good supplemental media, even though it's technically not canon.

[@ArcTrooper269]

Has some of the best written characters I've seen like Mai, Quake & Ward

[@webbedshadow2601]

I'll have to watch it sometime

[@isabelsteurer7573]

a thousand times yes. agents of shield is CRIMINALLY overlooked. season 1 started out as this corny slightly cringy show with episodic one-hit threats, but the storyline around phil’s return from the dead carried the season into the political fight between shield and hydra that was s2 - what secret wars could’ve been. and quake’s origin story imo is still one of the best in marvel. s3 and s4 were amazing writing and even though the show got more and more whacky over the years with time travel and space and all that, it holds such a dear place in my heart. loved it start to finish.

[@braydonfisher9273]

@@isabelsteurer7573 i think you meant underrated but yes!

[@ydid687]

apart from the mary sue Daisy, i argue Agents of Shield is the best marvel thing to happen even surpassing MCU at times season 4 and 7 are just some of the best

[@Joshu-y1k]

We wanted Gorr, they gave us Voldemort, We wanted Beta Ray Bill, they gave us Jane Foster/Lady Thor We wanted a good serious Thor movie, they gave us a Rom-Com mixed with the Adams Family rated PG-13…

[@srstriker6420]

Yes because Gorr doesn’t fit in this movie it feels like he’s a horror movie monster

[@IvanDubsK7]

I didn’t think Jane Foster Thor was bad imo, but GOD I’d love it if they brought in Beta Ray Bill and played him straight

[@austinbelitz3808]

Thor 4 should've focused more on the 'gods' and given Gorr the God Butcher more screen time. This would have also gave us some more context and backstory for a more highly anticipated Thor 5 villain Hercules

[@ShadowSonic2]

​@@austinbelitz3808The movie was "Thor Love and Thunder", not "Gorr Love and Thunder". The story was about Thor and Jane, not Gorr

[@Sillimant_]

the first thor film is the strongest, taika just can't write anything serious at all. how many times are we going to get "thor is sad and needs to go on a quest to find a thing to find himself to save people"

[@Cvr5ta0ywa]

Malekeith would have been an interesting plot point especially when you have a narrative of two anti-villains opposing each other's philosophies while presenting an aspect of worldbuilding in a more fantastical way like Lord of the Rings. Loki and Malekeith would have been an interesting Pair where Malekeith is like a broken mirror version of Loki, which would have made an even more intriguing Thor villain. At the same time, Kurse should also be a misunderstood villian who can relate to Thor and his past of warrior escapades, someone who could have been part of Thor's entourage (The Warriors Three) and have shared beliefs of warfare. A four-corner opposition like the first Nolan Batman film would have been an interesting take in Thor the Dark World. The second Thor movie would have really established Thor's world, especially with the realms and how they ultimately have disagreements with Asgard.

[@TNTspaz]

I never really even thought about the fact Darth Vader is so memorable because the dude legitimately just straight up murders every time he is on screen. Every cameo he shows up in nowadays his mere presence is commanding and tbh. Having not watched the movies in a long time. I'd forgotten why

[@ShadowSonic2]

Vader is rather boring a character, if he debuted today he'd be recognized as such

[@lukebytes5366]

@@ShadowSonic2 So are the majority of the best classic villains, depth isn't what made them iconic.

[@Mathnicheguy]

Darth Vader is amazing villain, my only hope is Disney doesn’t fuck it up.

[@Mathnicheguy]

@@ShadowSonic2Vader isn’t a boring character, he’s a villain that is treated as such, that has an actual arc.

[@Gar1onriva]

Fascinating video. Thank you. It got a bit rushed towards the end, blitzing through some films and skipping some media. Other than that, I enjoyed this, and I appreciate the hard work you put in.

[@Monkey_Boy9602]

I wasn't planning on watching the entire video, but your Marvel Comics knowledge rivals even mine, and I ended up watching the whole damned thing! You've pretty much mentioned every problem that I've had with the villains in the MCU over the years. So many times I'd get so excited about an upcoming villain (Ultron, Mandarin, Ego, Taskmaster, M.O.D.O.K.), only to find that they were barely their comic counterparts. I guess the one positive is that they didn't just make up characters (or combine existing ones), like the Fox "X-Men" movies. Oh, and the Russos taking Nebula's moment of triumph over Thanos and giving us a "Girl Power" scene instead completely pissed me off! I was looking forward to seeing MCU Nebula finally get the revenge that she so deserved, but nope! They made the gauntlet too dangerous for people to use, so Professor Hulk gets to do it. 🙄

[@ArcTrooper269]

Agree

[@hayesism]

Thank you for being the only person I've ever seen point out the massive goof of all the Chutari (don't know the spelling) just randomly die for no reason. I wondered if I was crazy for thinking that was ridiculous.

[@rex788]

Red Skull being Alexander Pierce in “The Winter Soldier” would have been amazing. HYDRA would have come off more dangerous.

[@bowserbreaker2515]

Avengers EMH did that twist of the Red Skull disguising himself as a politician, and it was perfect. It made his one appearance in the beginning of the show feel like it mattered for more than just showing Cap in WWII.

[@TheAngmarbucket]

Probably inspired by the comics where he actually became part of the president's cabinet, iirc.

[@TheIdiotChihuahua]

1:15:55 can we not call abuse allegations cancelling? just feels weird

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

One of the big problems is they are spending so much time on the heroes and not on the villains. If a villain has been in 100s of stories and is a formitable foe they should be in a trilogy with the hero, not just one film because there should be enough material to make them just as interesting and to have just as many fans. That's one of the problems with multiverses, they aren't great at building characters= development as they try to stuff as many characters in them as they can. I am a fan of making more villain films or movies that show more villain scenes and cover an event not just a hero, so you get development for both characters and other lesser characters get some tiem also. But for major events shows and movies should work together live action and art.

[@smolltaco5667]

It's not even like the heroes rn are good either

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

The villains are a problem but the heroes they're showcasing right now are an even bigger issue. They simply aren't as entertaining as the characters they're replacing. It shouldn't have been a surprise that the MCU would tank when they made the switch because the same thing happened in the comics as well. Another problem is that they aren't really adapting stories from the comics anymore either. They're tossing out decades worth of stories featuring characters we know are popular in favor of highlighting other people who have often already been rejected by comic book readers. Marvel and DC both convinced themselves that these new characters and stories were rejected because of their straight white male fanbase was toxic and full of racists, misogynists, homophobes, transphobes and all the -ists and -phobes. That the writers and editors were putting out bad stories featuring obnoxious unlikable characters was simply inconceivable to them. Thus the producers, writers, and directors arrogantly proceeded down the same path and were somehow shocked when they got the same results. Amazingly after seeing the same thing happen *again* many of the creators and remaining fans have taken to attacking the unhappy paying customers for not liking the trash they're getting. The people working on both the comics and movies are so far up their own asses that they're willing to kill the franchises they're lucky enough to work on instead of giving the fans what they want. Their narcissism and sense of entitlement means they're perfectly happy to take something other people love and wreck it.

[@smolltaco5667]

@@BiggieTrismegistus not necessarily, the main focus is to be an obstacle

[@ShadowSonic2]

@@BiggieTrismegistus "stories were rejected because of their straight white male fanbase was toxic and full of racists, misogynists, homophobes, transphobes and all the -ists and -phobes" They were all those things.

[@Shouja198]

I haven't finished the vid yet, but I just got to civil war when you point out that Scarlet Witch is not at fault or the aggressor in that situation. When watching that scene in theaters, I felt so confused. I could understand her personal sense of guilt, but after how intensely the movie pushed the narrative that everyone was split on if they were at fault for the explosion. I just thought finally someone else said it.

[@Shouja198]

I don't mean to have a running commentary, but at the end of talking about gotg you mention them getting a power up. What if to bribe them to likeing him, Ego grants them extra power/quill becomes gains a power uo while on the planet that adds a repercussion to leaving as well as killing ego. It can add to the story of a dead beat dad who never provided trying to bribe their way back, before trying to be a leech. While in the explosion the extra boost they got can be made permanent, while slightly reduced and ego could reform from a smaller chuck taking over either a star/making a hive mind civilization.

[@hittingyouoverthehead]

The argument is more philosophical in nature. Look, if there's a terrorist hostage situation and an army with regular guns show up to rescue the hostages and end up accidentally killing some bystanders, at least that's human made error. Scarlet Witch on the other hand is so powerful that she might as well be a God. So when she takes the call that the right way to use her powers in this situation is XYZ, humans have no say there. This time, maybe she accidentally killed a dozen people while trying to save a hundred. What if it's the other way round next time? Or what if the choice is between saving a hundred prisoners and saving a dozen children? Her powers are too much for her to use it on her own discretion. If you want a similar discussion in the real world, think of self driving cars. Humans accidentally cause hundreds of deaths in car accidents all the time but the moment ONE self driving car (or more accurately the AI controlling it) causes the death of a human being, we find it completely unacceptable. Maybe the AI driving can otherwise save hundreds of life but we don't want to leave the agency in these matters to non human entities. Scarlet Witch, while human, might as well be an other worldly entity as far as Ross and other regular humans in the Avengers universe are concerned. So it's natural to understand why they might want her held accountable in a way they understand. Hence the conflict- one half of the heroes want the general public to be comfortable with them since after all, they're the ones whom the heroes are saving. They want the Sokovia Accords and give the people at least an illusion that the Avengers are under their control. The other half of the heroes claim that they're ignoring Wanda's humanity when they're treating her like a weapon to be unleashed when the humans command.

[@andrewfalconer8599]

Wow, never realized the "Big Gray Blob" problem until you highlighted it. Much appreciated.

[@TylenArcher]

1:02:50 Thanos wasn't trying to "Just" stop food shortashes, he was trying to teach everyone to appreciate what they have by taking someone or something they loved away.

[@dacatindahat8275]

What they did to Gorr was a real travesty. He shoukd have been the scariest most brutal killer they've had in the mcu. Dudes called THE GOD BUTCHER. 😢

[@TheHmongol]

Comedy Is more powerful apparently lol

[@yayazow]

Thor 4 was a joke 💀

[@ProdLucio]

Literally should have been the scariest villain they absolutely wasted Christian bale

[@therealbingus5143]

As much as i agree with you on the suit, the High Evolutionary has never been super compelling to me in the comics. The idea behind his character is interesting, but he never had an interesting personality. I think that James Gunn choosing to ground him in the idea of just being a fucking maniac combined with Chukwudi's performance makes him infinitely more memorable and interesting than his comic book counterpart.

[@turtleanton6539]

Yeh he NEVER had a goodstprylune before.😊

[@justinbaker2883]

The movies are successful because they try to be individual pieces while also hinting at something larger. Its hard to have a good villian because the hero arc needs to complete itself otherwise the story would feel unfinished. Its a tricky spot they in with the formula they created. BP had the opposite problem where the villian outshined and the hero felt lackluster. Its tough to thread the needle. Its easier to just go cookie cutter and focus on interesting pieces inside of that structure.

[@e1iteyoshi998]

Yeah i have to agree with this. Outside of Loki and a few others there's not a lot of memorable villains. And given the villains roster we've had since Endgame it doesn't look like the villains are gonna get any better. But the again the MCU as a whole lost the spark it had.

[@kasam0308]

Yeah that’s pretty much the main problem with having good MCU villains. They focus more on the heroes, and the villains are there just to make the heroes look good.

[@ShadowSonic2]

@@kasam0308 That's how a good story should be. Would Jaws be better if the Shark was sentient?

[@Mathnicheguy]

@@ShadowSonic2No, you need to watch The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 2 on how to do a movie.

[@Cartoonssolosyourfavoriteverse]

MCU's Ultron disappointed me the most. His characterization and motivations in Age of Ultron were lackluster compared to the animated series, "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes". Ultron is an A.l. that can transfer from one technology to another, and he is consistently motivated by creating lasting peace on Earth, as well as the universe, by making humanity extinct. These traits make him one of the most interesting Marvel villains, and one of the toughest villains to defeat. In Age of Ultron however, in large part due to his limited appearance, his characterization is reduced to a run of the mill bad guy who seems to be interested in nothing more than destroying the world just for the hell of it, as well claiming to hate Iron Man for no apparent reason. Worst of all, James Spader and Joss Whedon tried too hard to make him funny when he is meant to be an intimidating and emotion-less killing machine with a twisted sense of logic. And then he was killed off outright as if he had nothing more to offer to the MCU. What a waste!

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

They’re multiple avengers storylines they could of adapt in standalone movies. For example: The Kree-Skrull War Nights Of Wundagore The Korvac Saga Avengers: Kang Dynasty The New Avengers: Breakout Red Zone Acts Of Vengeance Ultron Unlimited Avengers: Disassembled Under Siege Operation: Galactic Storm Dark Reign The Gatherers Saga Avengers Forever The Serpent Crown The Contest Fear Itself Assault on Olympus Who tf are the eternals!!!?????

[@srstriker6420]

Yeah because they have brought in the Masters of evil and I thinking of the Dark Reign storyline before Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released

[@Supremmo]

Eternals were a Marvel staple back in the day and mostly appeared in Avengers comics. The Avengers had one Eternal on their roster back in the eighties. Who can forget Sersei???

[@VidoeGamesForEver]

True. It’s just wish they made it a tv show instead of a movie. It had some great concepts. Mystery, Historical events, Romance, Sci-fi, Betrayals, etc.

[@vileviolentviolet]

Most Avengers stories aren't great tbh, and they'd be even worse if translated into MCU format imo

[@Owoshima_]

@@VidoeGamesForEver fr. I'm still salty they didn't just copy and paste Neil Gaiman's Elementals onto the screen, maybe tie it a bit into the grander tale, and called it a day.

[@veteranredbeard6222]

I'm convinced they didn't make a great mandarin because they didn't want to make china mad. They saw him as a stereotype.

[@ArcTrooper269]

That's exactly what happened

[@asdkotable]

You can't blame this on China. The Iron Man 2 "Mandarin" wasn't played by an East Asian person, and he didn't have particularly Fu Manchu-ish vibes. Disassociating the Mandarin from those racist tropes would have been enough, see Xu Wenwu Mandarin as a good example. They just didn't do a good job executing it.

[@alexanderchristopher6237]

You think the Chinese people and government cared about some stupid American racist stereotype? They already see that when reading whatever the garbage that was American press wrote about China. A Marvel film is going to hurt them that bad? They’re not unfamiliar with American Yellow Peril media. Get it in your head: it’s an American who decided that some Fu Manchu-esque Iron Man villain is problematic and decided to replace him with a white knockoff that got treated as a joke. Not the Chinese audience nor the Chinese movie censors. It’s the work of some Americans who inserts their own stereotypes and tropes about their work and instead of owning up to it, blames the supposed sensibilities of others for their own error in judgment. That’s pathetic. Tony Leung was a movie legend from the golden days of HK cinema. The reason why folks in China and other Asian market are watching Shang-Chi is not for Simu Liu (according to them, his face was so generic and bland for a lead) and Akwafina (who was never really popular in China). They’re watching for Tony Leung. And boy did they waste him. He just looks so non-threatening for supposedly someone who takes his name and reputation so seriously. The deeds done in the name of the fake Mandarin (bombing a U.S. base, bomb the Chinese Theater, kills an oil tycoon, and kidnaps the POTUS) are way more threatening than whatever he was doing in Shang-Chi. I’m even confused whether Wenwu is some kind of immortal warlord or a Chinese Triad (organized crime) boss. The biggest threat to his family was some Chinese Triads who killed his wife, which in Chinese cinema is pretty low in terms of threat level for a supposed powerful being like him. As someone of Chinese descent, I much prefer some powerful Chinese techno-wizard than whatever we got. He’s immortal thanks to the rings? You can incorporate even that look for a more compelling villain. It means he kept that same look as when he was immortal. The Fu Manchu came about during the Chinese Century of Humiliation, so make him some kind of immortal Chinese warlord with powers whose motivation was punishing the enemies of his homeland. DC comics did a good job at showcasing a Fu Manchu villain in their Chinese Superman (Kong Kenan) comic whose goals are still opposed to the hero, but still nuanced and deep enough that it gave the hero something to think about. For supposedly being more progressive than DC, Marvel was unable to produce that kind of nuance for their movies.

[@joelle4226]

I feel like that’s a good reason to make a better character that isn’t a stereotype

[@ArcTrooper269]

@@joelle4226 ¿are you unironically suggesting that Killian is a way better villain than Gene Khan?

[@1234redwing]

With the black panther stuff, they should have had the power of the Black panther run through Royal bloodlines. It would explain why only the main heroes and villains would have powers, instead of having a super soldier serum that literally anyone can take but only one person gets it, it would explain why the have a caste system despite being "more advanced" then everyone else, and it would give umchaka, and killmonger superpowers without convoluted explanations.

[@92brunod]

Who the fuck is umchaka?

[@anonymoushero-iq3mg]

This guy perfectly describes just how mediocre the Marvel films are. Ironman3 is just a ripoff of "The Incredibles«. The 1st Avengers movie is just an ironman3 movie

[@taotzu1339]

They wasted Benedict Wong on a side character. He would have made an incredible Mandarin. The way he portrayed Kublai Khan in Nextflix's Marco Polo showed he could have easily brought the Mandarin to life as a shrewd, dangerous, and utterly ruthless character.