what exactly did he do again?

Zola made the "plan" a reality, Tony upgraded the carriers, Bucky and Crossbones did all the footwork

I remember Pierce being a figurehead more than anything

Although I'm very excited for Thanos, I wouldn't have him crack the top 10 yet since we haven't seen him do much. I really like Ronan, but he was rather bland. Obediah Stance certainly deserves to be there, as he was Iron Man's best villain in my opinion. I'd go with:

1. Loki
2. Alexander Pierce
3. Winter Soldier
4. Kingpin
5. Obediah Stane
6. Grant Ward
7. Ultron
8. Red Skull
9. Ronan
10. Darren Cross

@granitesoldier: what exactly did Pierce do that makes him ranked so high?

I really liked the way the built Jianying. You think that it's the husband whose nuts but it turns out his just doing what his wife tells him to (for the most part).

And that she's even more ruthless than Mr. Hyde.

Kingpin is my first vote while Loki is the only other one that I've followed that I consider close for a second.

@mrnoital: Pierce masterminded the entire HYDRA takeover of SHIELD. Sure, Zola kept HYDRA alive but Pierce masterminded the attempted coup and Project Insight. Did he come up with the algorithms for Insight or pull the trigger in all Bucky's assassinations? No, of course not. But he did plan it all, pick the targets, and give the orders. He's the General, so to speak.

I completely disagree with these rankings. Thanos before Kingpin? What has Thanos done yet besides sit in a chair and look menacing?

Yeah, this list.....no

Ultron's probably last for me while Kingpin and Loki are at the top.

Winter Soldier and Loki were my faves. Whiplash was a good villain in IM2.

@granitesoldier: his plan was to kill all their enemies

Zola's algorithms came up with the targets, or people that got too close were targets, like Fury (but instead of making it some kind of low profile assassination when he doesn't expect it, he decides a huge attack in broad daylight directly after their meeting is best)

and he didn't need to take over Shield, he assigned Fury to be director of Shield instead of someone loyal to him or Hydra, and Hydra was already so implanted within shield and he could've slowly fired people that weren't, him exposing himself like that was his downfall

and project insight was

"lets kill everyone that could be a threat"

"ok....how do we do that?"

"I don't know, lets go get a real plan from Zola"

He's more like the Queen of England, is a figurehead that gets credit, but does basically nothing

Kingpin

Loki

Red Skull

Jiaying

John Garret

Grant Ward

Obediah Stane

Nobu

Abomination

Wesley cause I needed a number 10 and he was pretty awesome.

No particular order.However,I have no idea how anybody could pick Ronan or Ultron.

@mrnoital: Meh, Zola's algorithm was for Insight. Not everything he had done before then. He was still calling the shots and still came up with the idea, even if his people developed the processes to make it happen (like Zola's algorithm). He's still the mastermind, there's a reason he rose to the top of a ruthless organization.

@granitesoldier: his master plan was "lets kill everyone that's a threat"

that's not a plan, it's a very vague idea, and he had no way of finding everyone that was a threat without Zola

he could've been replaced by just about anyone, sure there should have been a reason he was their leader, but we never get to know it, it could've easily been been done that Hydra Senator from Ironman or that Sitwell guy, there wasn't really anything that set Pierce apart from those guys

Loki or Kingpin everybody else is in the kiddies pool.

I thought Whip Lash was a good villain with pretty good motivation. He doesn't deserve top 10 but he rarely gets talked about.

Obadiah Stane and Red Skull, I also like Ultron

@mrnoital: Conform or perish. Basically the same ideologue as Red Skull. That was sort of the point. All these years later, and totalitarians are still totalitarians. You think like we do, talk the way we talk, believe what we believe, or you are a threat that needs to be dealt with. It was just a modernization of HYDRA's original goals. It didn't really need to be spelt out since that was established in the first film.

As for Pierce, he played the swiney political figure. He could deceive everyone around him and was acted convincingly in that role. It's why I put him so high. Loki's or Kingpin's or even Zod's machinations in any of their respective franchises/films haven't been any more complex. Loki has been pining for the throne of Asgaard for how many films? Yet even I think he's great. A lot of it has to do with how well conveyed they are, since comic book machinations (or really any in any fiction) are rarely 'complex'. It's why I liked Pierce so much. He was ruthlessly pursuing the dogma of Red Skull, and was doing it with the power of modernized, automated technology.

Or, he was a funny, unusually fleshed-out, well-acted character with a good sense of motive and personality. At least in the opinion of this non-tumblr-fangirl.

But I will amend my comment to say that Kingpin was also great.

1/Kingpin

2/Loki

3/Alexander Pierce//Winter Soldier

4/Ultron

5/Obadiah stane // RedSkull

Can't say about Thanos since we've not seen him yet fully.

Obidiah Stane should at the top of the list. He set the bar for all the Marvel villains who came after, and it was pretty high. I found him more impactful and impressive a bad guy presence than Loki has been so far.

@granitesoldier: yeah, and literally anyone could have taken the spot of "replacement Redskull", Pierce wasn't unique from that Hydra Senator, Agent Sitwell, or even Crossbones, they all thought like that

Pierce wasn't that convincing, lets see how many people didn't seem to trust him

Nick Fury, the World Security Council, Captain America, Caps neighbor, half the people he tells to hunt down Cap, Maria Hill, Black Widow,

I don't remember him really deceiving anyone he had contact with

and he would've done it any way he could, once again, it was Zola who made it able to be done with automated tech

I'm actually watching the movie right now, and just go to the part where Zola explains how the entire plan was made long before Pierce

"the war taught us much, humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly...for 70 years Hydra has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war...Hydra created a world so chaotic that humainty is finally ready to sacrifice it's freedom to gain its security"

the plan was far from something Pierce made, but probably by Zola before Pierce was ever born

Kingpin for me. Being a villain is more than power and accomplishments, it is about characterization and Fisk in Daredevil was by far the best developed and realized villain Marvel has had on big or small screen. "I am the ill intent", sticks with me.

The Kingpin is far and away the best villain Marvel has put on screen. He's the most fleshed out character and also the most intimidating. D'Onofrio's portrayal of him is both chilling and sympathetic.

RONAN ABOVE THE KINGPIN ?! WINTER SOIDLER IN 9 ?!

Kingpin is my favorite with Loki and Winter Soldier trailing behind.

The MCU version of Ultron was really disappointing. Surprised to see him ranked so high.

Ronan was awful IMO.

@mrnoital: Zola certainly had a hand in all the chaos before Insight, but he doesn't actually take credit for Insight.

And Fury is paranoid, we know that. Cap hates the spy game and double dealing in general. We see him tell Fury as much when Fury with held info from their mission. Widow doesn't hardly trust anyone. The Security Council bickered with Pierce but still went along with him so I'd chalk that up. Pierce had most of SHIELD except for a select few players believing Cap had gone rogue till then end of the film.

Insight was Pierce's endgame from decades of HYDRA manipulating world events. Zola says 'we' so we can't credibly give Zola credit for anything but the algorithm for Insight, because before Pierce there were how many HYDRA leaders? He may not be the mastermind but he's making it happen. Hitler didn't come up with Concentration Camps but he made it happen.

If you would prefer I said HYDRA in general I would agree with that because at this stage it's been the single largest villainous influence in the MCU on the big and small screens. Pierce is just the HYDRA figurehead.

I'm not asking you to agree with me, these are fake characters open to interpretation. You asked why and I've supported it.

Edit: Not trying to be rude, but it is all opinion and most people's opinions won't change once made. So I just wanted to make it clear I'm not trying to change your mind. I don't really care who others think is good or bad.

Loki is the worst villain I've ever seen.

@granitesoldier: I'm glad that you agree that Pierce is just HYDRAs figurehead, it's true that he's their leader when the plan comes to fruition, but I think we can agree that Zola influence the events more than Pierce did

he kept HYDRA alive, and explained how he(was at least one of the people that) created the plan going on for 70 years, then came up with the method to implement that plan, and was also one of the doctors that created the Winter Soldier himself

I'd go as far as to say he was the true villain of The Winter Soldier, and I'd like it if he downloaded his mind somewhere so he could come back as MODOK or something

Obidiah Stane, Madame Gao, and Winter Soldier are my top 3, after that its a toss up

It's no surprise that Loki is number 1. The actor makes the character so damn charming. Though this is a nice list.

Kingpin/Loki tie

Grant Ward is the best. No foe is more hated than the one who used to be a friend...

For me it was between Stane and Kingpin, I ended up voting for Stane because I presumed Kingpin would be gettin' plenty of love, which he was.

No John Garrett?

No Justin Hammer?

In terms of being a compelling and interesting villain, he runs circles around just about everybody on this list, with the exception of Ward and maybe Loki.

Eh.

Beata

Don't agree with most of this list. But too lazy to counter it with my own.

@kid_apollo: I agree with Obadiah Stane but who is Madame Gao

Ronan doesn't deserve to be higher. He was awful and cliche and used terribly. Underdeveloped. He shouldnt even be on the list. He was defeated by a dance...

Kingpin and Loki are the two best.

1. Loki

2. Kingpin

3. Ultron

4. Alexander Pierce

5. Red Skull

6. Winter Solider

7. Thanos

8. Grant Ward

9. Yellow Jacket

10. Obadiah Stane

Are you kidding me? Kingpin was easily the best villain of the MCU, he was so interesting. Alexander Pierce was my favorite from the films.

What about William Stryker? Silver Samurai? Viper? Sabretooth? Ian McKellen's Magneto? Where is the X-love?

Why was Ronan on here when Obadiah Stane wasn't?

I would've put Abomination on this list. His obsessive character played by Tim Roth was the most entertaining part of The Incredible Hulk.

Loki slightly over Kingpin, but a close call, with Ultron next, and Thanos after (because Thanos is going to mess some things up soon).

Top 2 are great picks. I'd have kingpin at 3 though. Also red skull should be higher because he's had a lasting impact in the MCU

thanos has no business on here....from from top ten. he hasn't done jack

1: Loki (best acting, most developed character, and still the guy you love to hate)

welllll maybe the last one should go elsewhere.....smh

My list:
1. Grant Ward
2. Loki
3. Kingpin
4. Alexander Pierce
5. Ultron
6. Obadiah Stane
7. Red Skull
8. Abomination
9. Yellow Jacket
10. Ronan

I don't consider Winter Soldier a villain, more like a force since he was being controlled. Most of these villains have been subpar, except for the top 3/4. I hope we get some great villains in the future, such as Purple Man and Baron Zemo.

I don't understand the criteria for this list because it just seems random. While I absolutely love Marvel and the MCU, the MCU has only had three great villains so far (Kingpin, Ultron, and Loki). The other villains have either been good (such as Red Skull and Abomination) or good enough (such as Yellowjacket), and while Thanos may be great in the comics, in the MCU he hasn't done anything yet so you really shouldn't add him to the list.