Live-action CBM villains who are on par with Heath Ledger's Joker

Yes, Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was amazing and the character himself was truly creepy, but it is getting kinda tiring how so many people put him on this unreachable pedestal and downplay all the other amazing live-action comic book villains we have had over the years. So, how about giving some love to them for a change? Who do you think deserve the same amount of love that Ledger is getting?

My list is in no particular order.

Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger
This is pretty obvious choice and I believe that I'm not going to be the only one who says this, but Killmonger was amazing villain and Jordan would absolutely deserve to win an Oscar like Ledger did. The motivations of the character are great, you genuinely feel bad for him and Jordan is giving everything he got in his performance.

Josh Brolin as Thanos
This might seem like lazy choice, considering how super-popular Infinity War was and how fresh it still is in everyone's mind, but I think that Brolin deserves all the credit he is getting. Thanos can be huge larger-than-life figure in one scene and then vulnerable human being (well, technically an alien being, but you get what I'm saying) in the next one, and Brolin plays both flawlessly. You might not agree with Thanos' world view or at least no how he goes about it, but you do understand his motives and where he is coming from.

Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender as Magneto
Two amazing actors playing different versions of the same character and both did great job. McKellen was calm and calculating, Fassbender was menacing and aggressive and both showcased the inner pain of the character fantiscally. Sure, both suffered from bad writing in their respective third movies (X3 turned Magneto into a more one-note bad guy and Apocalypse really half-assed his "redemption" arc), but their perfromances were always great.

Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo
This is a choice that I expect a lot of people to disagree with, but I stand by it. Some people don't like how underplayed Zemo was, but in my opinion that's what made him so great. This is not a grandiose super-villain, but just some regular dude trying avenge the death of his family. Brühl also gives amazing cold performance, which makes the character look dead inside. Zemo's plan is perhaps bit too complicated and relys too heavily on pure luck for its own good, but once you sort out some of the details in your head (for example, he wasn't trying to orchestrate the Sokovia accords or the superhero civil war, they were just happy accidents) it is plausible enough by "summer blockbuster logic" (and let's be honest, Joker's plot-armor in Dark Knight requires a healthy dose of that too) that you give it a pass. Not to mention, Zemo water torturing a HYDRA agent is right up there with Joker's "magic trick" as messed up things that you can't believe they got away with in PG-13 movie.

Killmonger? Really? I never understood why people like him that much . He was good but that's it. And he is definitely not Oscar worthy. But the rest I like. And especially Zemo. Sure from the little I know about his comic book counterpart, he is nothing like him but for they were going for, he was good.

no one is on par with him plus thanos and killmonger are just hype, however loki and magneto are very close.

LoL.

or maybe no one is actually on his level. saying that doesn't mean there aren't other good villains, bane is the closest imo

I still believe that Michael Keaton's Vulture is the best MCU villain. He might not be "on par" due to the brevity of the material, but he deserves to be in the conversation.

The only one who can even be debated is Fassbender's Magneto.

In terms of popularity Hiddleston's Loki is up there. If you're going by acting chops and conviction to the roles then Fassbender's Magneto and Hardy's Bane are up there plus they're popular too. The rest dont even come close.

No one. >:(

Brolin’s Thanos

Shannon’s Zod

Fassbender’s Magneto

Hardy’s Bane

Hiddleston’s Loki

Rosenbaum’s Lex

All are at his level imho in terms of embodying the character they’re portraying, nailing his performance and providing a compelling and intriguing villain that sucks you into the film/series.

Mandarin stomps

In terms of solely acting chops, Fassbender's Magneto and maybe Brolin's Thanos though they only come close and I wouldn't consider them on par with Heath Ledger's Joker as he's in a league of his own. I won't disagree with Hardy's Bane from a general consensus viewpoint but I personally consider the Talia reveal to undermine and ruin all of the build up as a result of it. The rest don't even come close.

Thanos and killmonger being on this list is a joke DCEU Zod is better than both of them

Both Magnetos are the only ones who come close which isnt really that close

I respectfully (but completely) disagree with your list.

What made Heath Ledger's Joker so great was Heath Ledger himself. He gave no only the best acting performance in CBM history, but one of the best acting performances in movie history, period. He acted so well that the Academy Awards had to forgo their usual bias against comic book movies and give him a posthumous Oscar. I believe that the only other live action CBM villain that is even comparable is Jack Nicholson's Joker.

However, I do believe that there is 1 MCU villain who could actually be on par with Heath Ledger's Joker; Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin. I'm shocked that he didn't get an Emmy nomination after Daredevil season 1.

I agree. Michael Keaton was so down to Earth and yet so bad at the same time.

I wouldn't put Zemo on there even though I was a fan of him.

I agree with Fassbender/McKellen's Magneto, Brolin's Thanos.

Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin and David Tennant as Kilgrave also deserve to make that list.

Only Thanos comes close

The only CBM movie villains that come close, particularly for acting are Fassbender Magneto, Kingpin, Kilgrave, and Maybe Michelle Pfiefer Catwoman. They aren't on his level tho imo

One could also mention Ra's or Bane, but they were from the Nolan movies as well

Definitely no one from the MCU...

@anthp2000: Thanos is definitely on par, I don’t see anyone being able to make a giant purple alien a good villain again anytime soon.

I say Killmonger, Thanos, Loki, and Cornell and Mariah Stokes

@variant06: that doesn't change the fact that the MCU hasn't made a great villain in a good while now. Killmonger, Loki, Thanos and Hela are good villains, but that's it and I wouldn't say any of them were Joker level, even though I think the film itself is overrated compared to other CBMs.

@anthp2000: let me guess... compared to BVS and MOS.

Thanos was great because of what they added in depth to him versus his comic character. Agree on Killmonger, he was well acted and cool... but not the greatest villain per se

@variant06:

No, these aren't genuinely good movies (though I did enjoy BvS). I was thinking more in comparison to the best MCU movies (TWS, CW etc).

Yeah Thanos is probably the best MCU movie villain, but I wouldn't say he was as interesting as the Joker.

What the f*** is with the Killmonger hype. He’s consistently ranked as one of the greatest CBM villains. Do I need to be black to get it???

Thanos is the only contender.

Nah. He's just overhyped. I don't think he's a bad villain or anything but not even close to the greatest CBM villains like a lot of people rank him. I'm black and TBH a lot of my family didn't like Black Panther(which is saying something since they almost always like/love MCU movies)and Killmonger is one of the chief reasons for that.

My youngest sister in particular felt like he was just a punk and thought he was quite bad.

@anthp2000: yeah I agree

@amcu: I mean I liked him too. I’m also a big fan of Hela, and I’d put the two on the same playing field. But I can put my predispositions towards Hela aside and admit that she is not one of the greatest villain characters. I think people liked Black Panther a lot and they got charmed by Michael Jordan’s performance, but Killmonger to me was not an exceptional character or anything.

He did come across as a bit of a punk and even in over his head. He was very very fortunate in his plans.

I agree. I think him as a villain and the film overall were good. But over hyped.

What an awful list lol

kilgrave, kingpin, steppenwolf, etc.

where's the rest

Just Magneto and Thanos really.

Don't know what to say but Thanos(Brolin) and Magneto(Fassbender) are one of the best antagonist of modern CBM era , but Ledger was on another level , he is simple the best there is ....

Ledger maybe the only villain i KNOW who had portrayed par as Joker more than even Brolin had done with Thanos because Joker never needed a background to prove himself but Thanos's background had influenced more on comics than on IW movie ....................

Replace Killmonger with Loki and your list is solid.

(Just my opinion)

At the risk of sounding like a comic book purist, I don't like how he's called "Zemo" despite being just some dude who looks nothing at all like the real Zemo. After watching Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes and seeing how awesome Zemo was in that show, it's forever tarnished how I look at Zemo in Civil War. It's hard for me to see anyone else as the definitive version of Zemo other than the way he was depicted in that cartoon, a ruthless sworn enemy of Captain America. That show was too awesome for its own good.

Loki

Both Magnetos

Bane

And these are not equal, these are just the closest we got

All four you mentioned are inferior. Next.

I guess so.

My pick are Doc Ock, Loki, Magneto and Kilgrave

Or it's just a lot of people's opinions who you don't happen to agree with. It's ok it'll happen more in life as you age.

Killmonger was decent, but I don’t know how you can seriously say that it is an Oscar Worthy performance.

Zod, Thanos & Magneto (Fassbender)

They may not be better, but they’re def in the discussion. Tbh, I’d even throw Loki’s card in the hat too if Hiddleston had more serious writing/content to work with.

Thanos and reboot Magneto, but even those two are not necessarily on par. Ledger's Joker is unforgettable.

I think the reason people liked him so much is because he was a picture perfect portrayal of our problem with Hoteps in the community and how that specific ideology erodes a potentially great mind and turns them into a monster.

Annnnnnnnnd then some people actually started siding with him and I started seriously questioning my life.

I don't know why are so many MCU fans are obsessed with Thanos being the greatest villain , i am not totally convinced with the character script or the background that proves Thanos's antagonism on IW . He was more reasonable , definable and had good back on comics all though i will not disagree Brolin had done his best to make the character alive ............

I liked Thanos a lot, but I can’t give him full credit knowing how inaccurate to the comics this version is. I get that things get adapted in translation, but they completely changed Thanos, and instead of making him better, they took him in an easier, safer, more cliche direction.

I mean the “villain thinks he’s saving the world by weeding out the population” was done by a lot of villains recently, like Malcolm Merlyn and Wilson Fisk. And it wasn’t an original idea when they did it either. I felt like I was watching the same thing I’ve seen before as far as Thanos’ goals and ideology.

@DeathandGrim2: I did appreciate that. He was a real guy with logical goals informed by his experiences. He wasn’t a caricature or just “the villain” like Hela was. He did end up pretty much being pure evil though, without any redeemable traits or sympathy.

@taconatsi: hated kill monger, do t get the hype at all