It's no secret that villains have never been the Marvel Cinematic Universe's forte. In fact, the majority of them kinda blow. The fact that I couldn't even come up with a Top 10 illustrates the point rather succinctly, I think.

For a franchise with such exemplary casting decisions for its protagonists, it's surprising that the villain portrayals tend to flounder between generic mediocrity to being outright ill-conceived. Now of course, such a bold assertion is largely a matter of opinion, and in the trapeze act of balancing plot, character-development, and world-building, it's understandable that some elements may fall on the wayside. And there's also no denying that as a whole, the MCU has had more hits than flops, and even the worst films aren't outright unwatchable so much as extremely polarizing.

But we're about ten movies in, and the MCU's baddies have tended to lean more towards the Reynolds' Barakapool end of the movie villain spectrum as opposed to the Ledger's Joker one. I don't want to say any names, or trigger redundant debates/flame-wars that have been done-to-death, but needless to say I didn't appreciate one of my favorite Marvel villains being reduced to an 'ack-tor'. Or the scenery-chewing ham that was a certain Kree Accuser. Or Malekith the Accursed in general. Because f*ck Malekith. #F*ckMalekith.

Anyway.

Still, in anticipation of the forthcoming Avengers sequel - which God-willing will do justice to one of the team's seminal adversaries - I've decided to compile a list of the best villain portrayals that the MCU has managed to churn out so far. Like I said before, a good villain isn't necessarily essential to a good movie - sometimes a merely functional one suffices - but more so than any other genre, supervillains are a big part of what makes comic-books unique. Superheroes are one of the few concepts in fiction where the binary nature of good and evil plays such a prominent role. E.g. both Captain America and Red Skull have the Super-Soldier Serum in them - but it's their inherent nature and personalities, and decisions, that put them on separate paths and make them the 'hero' and 'villain'.

My criteria for what constitutes a good villain portrayal includes any of the following:

• Overall character development and sensible motives
• A menacing/charming presence and personality traits
• General aesthetic and design
• Source-material faithfulness and a solid translation from the comic-book page to the celluloid screen

Do note however, that just because a villain isn't on my list, doesn't mean I necessarily consider him/her 'bad' per se. Some villains had dynamic visual appearances and exciting battles with the hero, a la Nobu, The Destroyer, Kurse, Batroc, or the Chitauri, even. But such portrayals make them less of a wholly-realized villain and more of a plot-device. And then there are the villains who have proven charming and well-characterized - but it's their limited screentime that holds them back from appearing on this list. Think Crossbones, Arnim Zola, Yondu, Nebula, Dr. Faustus or Thanos. And lastly, there are also villains who have committed the ultimate sin - they're not bad portrayals, but neither are they great...they're just perfunctory. Think Red Skull, Whiplash, Abomination, or Thunderbolt Ross. Largely accurate to the source material, yes, but executed with such a by-the-books mentality that the viewer feels they're just there to give the hero something to punch.

But the best of the best transcend all those limitations, and become villains that not only stay faithful or build off the original comic-book storylines, but also introduce something new and compelling to the table. This is the creme de la creme of the MCU's villains. Now, who knows, maybe once the summer closes I might just add Ultron and Yellowjacket to the list, and we'll finally have a solid Top 10. But until then, the following eight remain the most vile, vicious, and villainous of the greatest shared film franchise to date...

Onward!

8. Dottie Underwood (Bridget Regan)

In the furious war for superhero television dominance, Arrow/Flash and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D./Daredevil are oft-cited as the primary contenders for the small-screen, yet no one ever mentions Agent Carter. Seriously, watch this show (yes, you, I know you haven't don't lie to me). Aside from being another stellar addition to the Captain America franchise's track record in the MCU, this eight-episode miniseries nailed everything that a fan could want in an MCU tie-in. A concise plot, solid casting with a great female protagonist played by thespian/goddess-in-disguise Hayley Atwell, a charming 40s-era aesthetic, and most importantly - references and ties to the comics and the larger cinematic U. And one such thread came in the form of the show's most menacing adversary, Dottie Underwood - or as I like to call her, 1940s Black Widow.

Oh you knew right from her introduction that the ditsy small-town rube she portrayed was all an act, and when she started sneaking around Peggy's drawers you knew she was a baddie - but tying her to Natasha Romanoff's history was just a brilliant idea. In a show largely dominated by dull and ordinary mooks, having a comic-book villain of sorts was a welcome change. And boy, did she not disappoint. Bridget Regan could switch from sweet and naive to dangerous and sinister (much like Scarlett Johansson, actually) at the drop of a hat, and throughout the show she's portrayed as being ruthlessly efficient and effective. You can believe that she was the precursor to Romanoff, and a worthy enemy spy to Agent Carter. That final round of fisticuffs she had with Peggy is one of the most tension-filled moments in the entire series.

Also, I suppose that kiss she had with Agent Carter plays some small part in her inclusion on this list (oh now you want to watch it).

7. Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio)

I want to preface this by saying that my opinions on Kingpin are very premature. Daredevil has only been out for a little over a week at this point, and having only seen the entire series through once, my thoughts on the character are still forming. Who knows, they might change with a second viewing of the miniseries. But needless to say, D'Onofrio's Kingpin is quite possibly the most polarizing adaptation of a Marvel villain since Iron Man 3's "Mandarin". Now I'm not exactly the most well-read fan of Daredevil. I've caught snippets of Miller and Brubaker's work on the title, as well as some stuff from Bendis's Ultimate Spider-Man run, so I'm admittedly not too knowledgeable on comic-book Kingpin. But as I understand it though, the MCU's version of Kingpin does stray from most portrayals of the character. Where we usually have an intimidating Scorsese-esque Tony Soprano-type character, we've got a very flawed and indecisive Kingpin in Daredevil.

But here's the largest distinction between Wilson Fisk and Iron Man 3's "Mandarin" - the new conception of the character still made for incredibly compelling television. Both strayed to a degree from the source material (Mandarin moreso arguably), but while the Killian's generic 'Evil Businessman' shtick didn't do anything for me, I found Fisk to be a very nuanced character. The initial stuttering and awkwardness at Kingpin's introduction had me a little puzzled, but when we began receiving flashbacks to his past, and saw his relationship with Vanessa grow - the character became as interesting as Matt Murdock. Yes, his 'rise to power' seems a little suspect given his personality, and adapting him as a 'necessary evil' type bad guy seems contradictory to comic-book Kingpin, but Fisk provided a counter-balance to Matt at every turn, which is what a good villain is supposed to do. That final episode's back-alley brawl with Daredevil practically cements this too.

So is D'Onofrio's Kingpin necessarily an accurate adaptation of comic-book Kingpin? Probably not. But did he present an interesting and well-rounded character that contributed to the story? Yes he did. And for that alone, I'm willing to overlook straying from the source material.

6. Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell)

I swear I'm one of only six comic-book fans on the face of the planet who actually enjoyed Iron Man 2. Oh I'm not saying it was a flawless movie, far from it, and it certainly doesn't even reach the heights that the first one did. But come on. Silver Centurion briefcase armor! Iron Man vs. War Machine! A three-act story like every classic Stan Lee-era Marvel story! If not well-executed, at least this sequel made for some stunning action-packed sequences. But coming to the subject of #6, one of the most-enjoyable elements of Iron Man 2 for me was without a doubt - Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer. Now again, not a particularly comic-book-accurate version of the character. 616 Hammer was a ruthless septuagenarian who actually proved a serious threat to Tony throughout the Stark Wars storyline. A far cry from the ineffectual and comedic Rockwell in this movie.

But god, he's just so charming. Rockwell's Hammer (great name for a band) reminds me of that one class clown in every class - that goof who is a desperate attention-seeker, but you still laugh at his jokes and pranks. Hammer just exudes charisma and levity in every scene, which I know might not necessarily be the ideal tone for a superhero film, but I for one actually enjoyed it. That bit with Rhodey alone, where he lays out all these high-tech firearms and heavy ordnance in a humorous montage, was just great. And I guess a part of me feels almost bad for Justin Hammer. Here is a guy who is constantly upstaged by Tony Stark, a man who succeeds and upstages him in every conceivable category, and I guess I'm always a sucker for the underdog. I'm unapologetic about my inclusion of Hammer on this list. Oh he's a fairly non-threatening B-sideplot villain but I still thought he was a really enjoyable aspect of the film.

And come on, have you guys seen Hammer's cameo in the All Hail the King short? With his boyfriend in Seagate? Funny stuff.

5. Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)

Yes, he's a villain. Can we just get that out of the way? I know Bucky Barnes on a whole is not a bad person, I'm one of the most-notable fans of Captain America on this board for crying out loud (yup, tooting my own horn), so you can sit down. Yes you, guy with the copy of Ed Brubaker's run in his hand. But for the duration of The Winter Soldier (right there in the title, guys), Bucky is a villain, and so he deserves a spot on this list.

First things first, can I just point out that Winter Soldier has - bar none - the best comic-to-film costume adaptation of any character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No other MCU villain matches the faithful translation that the Winter Soldier's film appearance represents. I mean look at that. Yes they replaced the domino mask with eye-shadow and Harry Osborn's New Goblin gear, but everything else is gold. The leather uniform, and god, that bionic arm! It's like a drawing of Steve Epting come to life. And the character just exudes menace and badassery in every moment on the silver screen. The Winter Soldier is chocked full of some of the best action sequences in the MCU, and Bucky is the star of most of these incredible scenes. The assassination of Nick Fury. The extended highway fight against Cap, Widow, and Falcon. The final, emotional encounter with Steve on the Insight Helicarrier. Every time the Winter Soldier appears, and that high-pitched soundtrack kicks in, you knew shit was about to go down.

Now the only thing that keeps Bucky Barnes from ascending any higher is the argument that he doesn't receive much development throughout the second movie. Which, credit where credit is due, is a fair point to raise. It's why he's only #5, despite him hitting all the comic-book-accuracy, good design, and menacing villain criteria. But I'll counter that with the assertion that we actually received a fair amount of development for Bucky in The First Avenger. We saw the 'death' of that character in the first movie, so those emotional repercussions come into play in the sequel. So yes, while the Winter Soldier doesn't say much in the way of dialogue, and his most emotive expression is glaring, Bucky (taken as a whole) makes for a very tragic and layered bad guy. It's the tried-and-true trope of the friend-turned-enemy; so when we see the flashbacks of Buck and Steve after the latter's mom's funeral, to the painful brainwashing at the hands of Alexander Pierce, to that last battle where Steve willingly stands down...

I mean, damn, if you don't feel something at that "I'm with you till the end of the line" speech, you probably don't have a heart. Christ, now I'm going to cry.

4. Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges)

We've probably reached the 'Evil Businessman in a Suit' quota of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by this point. Three in a row is a little overdoing it, don't you think, Tony? That said, I give Obadiah Stane his props because 1) He was the first and 2) Jeff Bridges gives a criminally-underrated performance. At first glance, Stane is a fairly generic origin movie bad guy. Close confidante of the father who secretly wants to overthrow the son; a power-hungry unscrupulous industrialist who makes black market deals and only cares for profits. We've seen this done a hundred times before in movies, and the claim isn't inaccurate at all. But Iron Monger is the villain who started it all. Had he not hired the Ten Rings to assassinate Tony, the MCU world would never have gotten Iron Man and consequently, the Avengers. His villainy was the spark that lit the entire universe, and for legacy reasons alone, I'm willing to reserve a spot for Obadiah Stane on this list.

And barring that, Jeff Bridges is just fun to watch. There've been numerous interviews confirming that most of Iron Man's dialogue was improvised, seeing as how the scripts weren't complete (and the fact that the end result was so good blows my mind), and despite Bridges admitting that this wasn't how he liked to work, he went with it, and the villain turned out great. It's hardly the thespian's most meaty and heavy role, but for what it was, I always enjoyed it whenever 'Obie' was on-screen. From his silky-smooth voice which made you believe he was a charming corporate tycoon, to the still-memorable "TONY STARK WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A CAVE WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS" moment...Obadiah Stane was a crucial element of the first movie's success. And one can't forget that Iron Monger armor too. Many criticize it for being just 'a larger Iron Man suit', but go rewatch that final fight again. That is easily one of the most 'comic-book-ish' battles ever portrayed on film

I know in this day and age, we tend to take CBMs for granted, but back in 2008 - seeing Iron Monger toss Iron Man through a bus while spouting off a classic villain monologue - was the closest to a comic-book I'd ever seen a movie go.

3. HYDRA (Assorted)

Look at the person sitting in the cubicle next to yours. Can you trust that person? Is he secretly whispering something that looks suspiciously like 'Hail HYDRA' to another co-worker?

That's the overall genius of what makes HYDRA such a convincing and terrifying force of evil. One could make a pretty persuasive argument that of all the villains in the MCU, it was HYDRA that came to closest to total world domination. In The First Avenger, HYDRA was little more than appendage for the Red Skull to wield. They provided cannon fodder for the good Captain to clobber, a handy excuse to avoid any mention of Nazism (and alienating certain geographic markets), as well as cool Killzone-esque outfits too, I suppose. But aside from being stylish henchmen, there wasn't much else separating HYDRA from any generic villain organization. Fast-forward three years later to The Winter Soldier, and this stellar movie single-handedly transformed HYDRA from a forgotten science-death-cult to what essentially amounts to the freaking Illuminati. Think about it. They'd infiltrated the world's foremost intelligence organization. Accumulated enough firepower to wipe every threat to their devious machinations. And seeded countless conflicts and presumably caused thousands of civilian deaths just to further their cause of fear-mongering. And they did all this whilst hiding in plain sight.

You know what The Winter Soldier did for HYDRA? It made them 616 HYDRA.

Plus, in what is perhaps an even greater feat for the movie than legitimizing HYDRA as a threat, this plot twist was the shot in the arm that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so desperately needed. Before Cap 2, Agents was a sickly Steve Rogers, and this movie proved to be the veritable Super-Soldier Serum. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was mind-numbingly boring in its first few episodes. I remember having to force myself to endure the below-average freak-of-the-week plots, characters whom didn't really endear themselves to me, subplots and ominous references that had me rolling my eyes. It got to the point that every time I heard the term 'T.A.H.I.T.I.' one more time, I would drop-kick an infant baby. It was a grueling exercise just to get through those first fifteen or so episodes. But once the HYDRA revelation kicked in, and the team was put on the run, and one of their number was revealed to be a traitor...jeez, I'd stopped watching the show right around the tenth episode, but when I finally got back to it, I blew through the show all the way to that superb finale with its glorious Sam L. Jackson guest-appearance.

And sadly enough, while we didn't get Sonny Chiba for Daredevil, we did get Robert freaking Redford for The Winter Soldier. Another reason to hail HYDRA!

2. Loki (Tom Hiddleston)

Honestly, what can I say about Hiddleston's Loki that hasn't been said already? Don't act like you were even remotely surprised at his inclusion on this list. Loki is a critically-acclaimed hit in the MCU. Hiddleston's an incredibly charming actor; the fans love his portrayal - as do many preteen girls (much to the chagrin of some fans, funnily enough. Come on, let the girls do their thing) - and he was the main villain of the Avengers - the culmination of years of post-credit scenes. Loki is arguably the most enduring and compelling antagonist of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Truth be told, I'm wracking my brain to think of something new to say about Hiddleston's Loki. We have the (largely) comic-accurate green/gold costume and even the goofy horned helmet. We have a likeable yet sinister performance on Hiddleston's part. We have a multitude of great action scenes starring Loki - the entire Battle of New York alone obliterates the memory of any MCU battle in my mind (yes, even The Winter Soldier's). I mean what more do you want, right?

So all I can really say about what makes Loki such a great MCU villain is this: his relationship with his adopted brother. Thor and Loki are arguably the glue of the Thor film franchise; their brotherly bond is the central cornerstone of those movies, and even The Avengers to a certain degree as well. And it's this familial relationship that elevates Loki from run-of-the-mill world-conquer to a truly 'human' villain with depth and pathos. At the end of the day, I feel like all Loki wants to be is like his brother. Loki isn't satisfied with the cards that he's been dealt with in his life. He's a Frost Giant and not the true son of the father whom he just wants to impress. He lacks the masculine power and outgoing charm of Thor, but instead has been gifted with sorcery and intellect. And all of his mischievous maneuvers and devious plots are just in pursuit of this ultimate goal of being like his brother - powerful and respected. And I feel all of that is what makes Loki such a convincing villain. All of us have a little Loki in our lives. We all have people in our lives whom we look up to and always strive to emulate, and yet our own human failings hold us down.

For Loki to represent such a true and real experience that many have gone through, I think that's what makes him such a fantastic villain. And I think ultimately, what makes the Loki-Thor brotherhood such a delight to watch is that at the end of the day, you know the two siblings still love each other so much. That one scene in Avengers, on the mountaintop, where Thor basically begs Loki to stop his madness and come home...you can tell that all both brothers want to do is to return to how things were. But by the events of The Dark World, they know that they've both gone too far down their respective journeys, and have begun their legends as the hero and the villain.

1. Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccleston)

Ha. Just kidding. #F*ckMalekith.

1. Grant Ward (Brett Dalton)

OK, I know whether or not Grant Ward is actually a 'supervillain' is debatable but goddamn. Go watch the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Specifically the latter half. By the time you come back, I guarantee you you'll have zero reservations about labeling him the greatest villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far.

When we're first introduced to Ward in the pilot, he comes across as your average 'by-the-rules-I'm-too-cool-to-work-alone' badass super-spy agent that every show of this genre tends to have at least one of. Every character of Coulson's team had their character trait; Skye was the charismatic newbie, Fitz-Simmons were the nerds, May was the 'Batman', and Grant Ward himself was budget Captain America. Uninteresting, dull, and flat. Then, midway through the series - and this comes back to what I mentioned about HYDRA earlier - the show suddenly reveals why Ward was characterized the way he was. So why he was so bland and unremarkable? (brace for year-old spoilers): Because he was a fucking double agent! Once we get there, all the pieces suddenly fit. And earlier flashbacks to his childhood take on a whole new meaning. Of all the twists and surprise reveals that the MCU has had throughout its ten movies and assorted tie-ins - this was the only one that had me genuinely go, "Oh shit."

What I love so much about the characterization of Grant Ward, and what makes him such a superb example of villainy, is that he's no genius mastermind - he's just a soldier following orders. Ward is almost like a dark inversion of Captain America; a man who only knows how to follow his superior and obey authority. And whereas Cap's moral compass was able to break rank in The Winter Soldier, Ward was the complete opposite, and in the S.H.I.E.L.D. civil war, he succumbed to his role as a mindless grunt. Think of some of the greatest examples of villainy in the real-world. How many times have normal, everyday people done horrible things just because they were 'ordered' to? That's what Grant Ward is. When he was a child, he was afraid to disobey his older brother's orders to beat up their younger sibling. When he was recruited by Garrett, he shot his own dog just because the man told him to. And when HYDRA finally revealed itself, and Ward was forced to turn on his friends - men and women whom he'd fought side-by-side with for months now - he betrayed them without hesitation.

Just because he was ordered to. Because he was on a mission. Because it 'wasn't personal'.

I can't think of anything more chilling than that in a villain.

So here we are at the end. Veshark's Top 8 Villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, I'm bracing for it. The passionate arguments for the inclusion of your favorite villain. The mocking and haranguing of one of the baddies on my list. Sound off in the comments below!