You DO need intelligence to be a proper villain! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Marvel Cinematic Universe baddies whose wits, cunning, intelligence, and expertise elevated them above the rest — and gave the Avengers a serious run for their money.
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00:00I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:08And today, we're counting down our picks
00:10for the Marvel Cinematic Universe baddies
00:13whose wits, cunning, intelligence, and expertise
00:16elevated them above the rest and gave the Avengers
00:19a serious run for their money.
00:21Let's talk business.
00:24Number 10, Thanos, Varys.
00:26You should have gone for the head.
00:29Let's start off with the MCU's biggest bad guy to date.
00:32Sure, the intergalactic warlord is
00:35fearsome for his commitment to achieving
00:37his goal at all costs, as well as his relentless pursuit
00:40of the Infinity Stones.
00:42But his keen intellect and unflappable composure
00:45are ultimately what drive him.
00:46We were happy on my home planet.
00:49Going to bed hungry, scrounging for scraps.
00:52Your planet was on the brink of collapse.
00:55I'm the one who stopped that.
00:57In fact, it was these qualities that
00:59led the Avengers to their first major defeat,
01:02preventing Thanos from snapping his fingers
01:04while wearing the stone-encrusted Infinity Gauntlet
01:07and causing the infamous blip.
01:09While not without his weak spots,
01:11Thanos is almost totally reliant on his smarts,
01:14almost never allowing emotion to creep
01:16into his cold, calculating nature.
01:18What's your name?
01:21Gamora.
01:23You're quite the fighter, Gamora.
01:26Come, let me help you.
01:29Number nine, Mysterio, Spider-Man Far From Home.
01:31You handled yourself well out there today.
01:33Saw what you did with the tower.
01:35We could use someone like you on my world.
01:37Thanks.
01:39I'm sorry, your world?
01:40As you'll see on our list today, some of the greatest,
01:43smartest MCU villains proved their brains
01:45via cheating, lying, and overall deception.
01:48Case in point, Quentin Beck, portrayed by Oscar nominee Jake
01:51Gyllenhaal, is a master trickster.
01:54It's too late.
01:57Whatever happens, I'm glad we met.
02:00Old fishbowl head manages to convince Nick Fury,
02:03and in turn, Spider-Man, that he's
02:05a visitor from another universe and attends
02:07to warn the two about the dangers of the elementals.
02:10In reality, Beck is a disgruntled former Stark
02:13Industries employee, bitter about being
02:15fired from his work with advanced holoprojections.
02:18Not only is Beck capable of powerful technological feats
02:21of his own making, but he's clearly
02:23also exceptionally skilled at staying
02:25a step ahead of the competition.
02:27Spider-Man's real name is Peter.
02:31Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker.
02:35Number eight, Alexander Pierce, Captain
02:37America, The Winter Soldier.
02:38Busy in there?
02:39Nothing some earmarks can't fix.
02:43I'm here to ask a favor.
02:47I want you to call for a vote.
02:49Project Insight has to be delayed.
02:51Casting Oscar winner Robert Redford as Pierce
02:54was not only a major coup for the MCU,
02:56but a dastardly stroke of genius, too.
02:59Redford, cast in homage to his roles
03:01in such classic political thrillers
03:03as Three Days of the Condor, exudes
03:05a stately public persona that belies his nefarious intentions.
03:09Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star,
03:12and he was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer.
03:16And then the money was run through 17 fictitious accounts.
03:21A lifelong political expert and head of the World Security
03:24Council, Pierce uses his wit, connections,
03:27and in-depth knowledge of geopolitics
03:28to advance Hydra's agenda on American soil.
03:32Pierce also coordinates the Winter Soldier's attack
03:34on Captain America as a means of silencing
03:37his political enemies before ultimately being
03:39killed by Nick Fury as retaliation
03:41for his attempted murder.
03:42Hail Hydra.
03:44Number seven, Eric Killmonger Stevens, Black Panther.
03:47It was taken by British soldiers in Benin,
03:49but it's from Wakanda.
03:51And it's made out of vibranium.
03:55Don't trip.
03:56I'm going to take it off your hands for you.
03:57Is it controversial to say that Killmonger's heart
04:00was in the right place?
04:01Although his methods were obviously
04:03extreme and misguided by anger and bitterness,
04:06one can't help but sort of agree with his motivation.
04:09That would be his frustration with Wakanda for, in his eyes,
04:13turning its back on Black people around the globe
04:15to cater to its own interests.
04:17A brilliant military strategist and former Navy SEAL,
04:20Killmonger puts his years of acquired skills and techniques
04:23to great use in attempting to usurp T'Challa's throne.
04:27What makes the Wakandan outcast particularly frightening
04:30is his comprehensive, fleshed-out plan,
04:32which goes far deeper than simple world domination.
04:35I know how colonizers think.
04:37So we're going to use their own strategy against them.
04:41We're going to send vibranium weapons out to our war dogs.
04:44They'll arm oppressed people all over the world.
04:47So they can finally rise up and kill those in power.
04:49Number six, Ivan Whiplash Vanko, Iron Man 2.
04:53You two didn't know.
04:54No.
04:54No.
04:55No.
04:56No.
04:57No.
04:58No.
04:58No.
04:59No.
05:00No.
05:01No.
05:02No.
05:02No.
05:03While Iron Man 2 may not have reached the sky-high heights
05:07of its predecessor, it certainly gave Marvel fans
05:09a memorable supervillain in the form of Mickey Rourke's
05:12Ivan Vanko, perhaps better known as Whiplash
05:15in the Iron Man source material.
05:16Although we had to consider Sam Rockwell's conniving
05:19Justin Hammer, Vanko has a significant edge,
05:23technologically speaking.
05:24You come from a family of thieves and butchers.
05:31And now, like all guilty men, you
05:34try to rewrite your own history.
05:37That is to say, Vanko is also a gifted engineer with ties
05:41to Tony Stark's past, using similar tech to that developed
05:44by Tony's father, Howard.
05:45Not only that, but he puts his technological know-how
05:49to good use by commandeering Hammer's army of drones
05:52to unsuccessfully take revenge on Stark.
05:55Ah!
05:58Number five, Helmut Zemo, Captain America, Civil War.
06:02My father lived outside the city.
06:06I thought we would be safe there.
06:08My son was excited.
06:11He could see the Iron Man from the car window.
06:13Not unlike Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger,
06:16Daniel Bruhl's fearsome portrayal of the character
06:18conceals a tragic backstory that serves
06:21as motivation for his misdeeds.
06:22Knew I couldn't kill them.
06:25More powerful men than me have tried.
06:28But if I could get them to kill each other.
06:32In a particularly sharp bit of world building,
06:34the catalyst for Zemo's actions stems from the events
06:37of Avengers Age of Ultron.
06:39The character lost his family in that climactic battle
06:42in which the Avengers just barely
06:44prevented global catastrophe at the expense
06:47of the Sokovian people.
06:48As such, Zemo impressively masterminds
06:51the events of Captain America, Civil War,
06:53sowing resentment and distress amongst the Avengers
06:56and ultimately causing their temporary splintering.
06:59Spend all that time, all that effort,
07:02and you'll see it fail so spectacularly.
07:13Did it.
07:13Number four, Aldrich Killian, Iron Man 3.
07:16That's the brain.
07:18Strangely memetic, though, wouldn't you say?
07:20Wow, that's amazing.
07:22Thanks, it's mine.
07:23What?
07:25This, you're inside my head.
07:27It's a live feed.
07:29Admittedly, Tony Stark's third outing polarized fans
07:33with a couple of late-breaking plot twists,
07:35namely revealing that Ben Kingsley's Mandarin was
07:38a paid actor and that Killian, played by Guy Pearce,
07:41considers himself to be the, quote unquote, real Mandarin.
07:45While 2021's Shang-Chi retroactively introduced
07:48the real, real Mandarin, there's no denying
07:51the AIM founder's unique smarts.
07:53How can I be pissed at you, Tony?
07:55I'm here to thank you.
07:57You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me.
08:00Desperation.
08:02If you think back to Switzerland,
08:04you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right?
08:06Villainous though he may be, Killian
08:08is a brilliant scientist and entrepreneur.
08:11Possibly nearing Tony's own unrivaled genius,
08:14his extremist technology, while mostly used
08:17for evil in Iron Man 3, could have been a game
08:20changer in medical science.
08:21If only the future Iron Man hadn't brushed Killian off
08:25at that New Year's Eve party.
08:26Titillated by the notion of working with you.
08:28Yeah?
08:29I'll see you up on the roof in five minutes.
08:31I'm just going to try to get my beak wet real quick.
08:33You know what I'm talking about?
08:34I'll see you up there.
08:35Damn betcha.
08:36Number three, Loki.
08:37Various.
08:38We have no quarrel with your people.
08:41An ant has no quarrel with a boot.
08:44You planning to step on us?
08:46I come with glad tidings.
08:49They don't call him the God of Mischief for nothing.
08:52Thor's adopted brother is famous for his advanced skills
08:55in deceit and trickery.
08:57And he's often put these powers to good use
08:59by staying far ahead of the God of Thunder
09:02and his fellow Avengers.
09:03Loki's particular brand of evil takes various forms,
09:07as does the Norse god himself.
09:09Forever a uniquely gifted scheming strategist,
09:12Loki played all sides against each other
09:14in his initial appearance in Thor,
09:16before illicitly claiming the Asgardian throne
09:18in Thor the Dark World.
09:19No.
09:23Although the character dies in Avengers Endgame,
09:26that same film features a 2012 variant of Loki
09:29pulling off one more slick stunt,
09:32setting up the Loki TV series.
09:34Number two, Ultron.
09:35Avengers Age of Ultron.
09:37How could you be worthy?
09:40You're all killers.
09:42Stark, Jervis.
09:44I'm sorry I was asleep.
09:46Or I was a dream.
09:48You could argue that Tony Stark and Bruce Banner's
09:51robotic abomination, Ultron, has an unfair advantage
09:54on our list, being that he's, you know, a robot.
09:57But can you blame us, given the James Spader-voiced
10:00androids' capacity for cunning and cruelty?
10:03It's worth billions.
10:06Now, so are you.
10:11It's all under your dummy holdings?
10:13Finance is so weird.
10:15Imbued with Stark's trademark brilliance and mastery
10:18of technology, Ultron is a master plotter,
10:21seemingly able to outsmart the Avengers at every turn,
10:25and comes within nail-biting proximity of achieving
10:28his goal of destroying humanity.
10:29Even in death, Ultron's villainousness
10:32endures, although his evil plan is
10:34thwarted in the nick of time.
10:36His actions result in the destruction of Sokovia,
10:39casting a long, dark shadow over the public's perception
10:42of the Avengers.
10:43This is the best I can do.
10:45This is exactly what I wanted.
10:47All of you against all of me.
10:51How can you possibly hope to stop me?
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11:09Number one, Arnim Zola, Captain America, The Winter Soldier.
11:12Rogers, Steven, born 1918.
11:20Romanov, Natalia Alenovna, born 1984.
11:25First appearing in a minor supporting role
11:27as the Red Skull subordinate in Captain America,
11:29The First Avenger, the Hydra scientist
11:31returns in The Winter Soldier, albeit not in physical form.
11:35As the film explains, Zola was captured by the US military
11:39at the end of World War II and was
11:40able to avoid incarceration for his crimes
11:43by working for S.H.I.E.L.D.
11:44I am not a recording, Fräulein.
11:47I may not be the man I was when the captain took me prisoner
11:51in 1945, but I am.
11:55Little did the defense organization
11:57know that the former Nazi had his own sinister aims,
12:00helping to mastermind the Hydra infiltration
12:02and takeover of the United States government.
12:05The machine system.
12:06Need evidence of his considerable smarts?
12:09His physical body dying?
12:10Zola managed to transfer his consciousness
12:12into a computer program.
12:14I have never been more alive.
12:17In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis.
12:22Science could not save my body.
12:25Who do you think is the smartest MCU villain?
12:27Be sure to let us know in the comments down below.
12:29You heard your orders.
12:31Let's get to it.
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