Villains are a big topic of discussion in the MCU. While harmless at first, Marvel's unwillingness to develop their villains in film led to a problem that was repeated throughout most of the movies. There were a few exceptions like Loki, but it was mostly the same issue each time. They've made some steps in the right direction with both Killmonger and Thanos, but other movies are still in the same place. However, we're not concerned with how those characters were developed. Instead, we're focusing on how they look. It's important to design a great costume for a villain that stands out from the hero as well as saying a lot about their own identity. A great costume should make the audience feel something just by looking at it. The MCU has done a decent job in this regard, having some costumes for their villains that looked great on-screen.

That said, there were plenty that didn't live up to the expectations that fans had. What makes this problem even worse is that they had great source material to draw from when it came to bringing these characters to the big screen. All they had to do was use some of those costumes from the comics. We understand that changes need to be made for a film, but they didn't need to be so boring as a result. Join us as we discuss 10 MCU villain costumes that didn't live up to expectations and 10 that exceeded them on the big screen.

20 DIDN'T LIVE UP: ULTRON

Avengers Age of Ultron

There was a lot of excitement with the announcement that the second Avengers movie would feature Ultron as the villain. This psychotic robot was one of the most intimidating foes in Marvel Comics, so fans were appropriately excited to see how he would be adapted on screen. Unfortunately, Ultron's design was part of the issue.

Made to look and behave more like a human, he lacked the terror that was present in his comic book version. He looked more like a person than a crazed robot. The wide eyes and striking red of the comics were thrown out for a more obvious motion capture suit.

19 SURPASSED: YELLOWJACKET

Ant-Man's central villain left a lot to be desired. Darren Cross was as generic and underwhelming as they come, but his costume surpassed expectations. The Yellowjacket suit was a black and gold beauty. It looked exactly like it was supposed to, with the extra limbs and wide visor showing how Cross lost his humanity when he put on the suit.

It looked and behaved just like a giant scary weapon weapon, and it certainly left a visual impression going forward. Unfortunately, that's about the only good thing we can say about Yellowjacket, who falls into the underdeveloped Marvel villain trope otherwise.

18 DIDN'T LIVE UP: BARON ZEMO

We understand why Zemo was changed for Captain America: Civil War. Instead of giving the Avengers a new villain to face, the directors went with a normal person who was just trying to get revenge for his family's demise. That said, in the costume department, Zemo was certainly lacking. Early concept art showed that there were plans to include his purple hood from the comics.

That certainly would've been much more appropriate for an on-screen adaptation of Zemo. By making him a regular human with no similarity to his comic version, there's no point to even call him Zemo in the first place.

17 SURPASSED: IRON MONGER

When Tony Stark created the Iron Man suit, it was refined, sleek, and cool to look at. Obadiah Stane tried the entire film to recreate the technology but only succeeded in the very end. However, his version of the Iron Man suit was unrefined and clunky, which led to a much more striking appearance.

The much larger and gray Iron Monger suit was actually a bit scary, especially in comparison to the much more reasonably sized Iron Man suit. Despite that people knew Tony would win somehow, there was no denying that a massive suit of armor with an amplified Jeff Bridges voice was a bit scary.

16 DIDN'T LIVE UP: WHIPLASH

Iron Man 2 Whiplash

The Iron Man movies have been a bit lacking when it comes to their villains. This started to become evident with Whiplash in Iron Man 2, who failed in just about every way. We're going to focus on his costume, though, which was probably the least impressive part of the character.

For starters, his initial design was impractical and odd. It looked a bit too silly to be threatening. When he finally made a large suit for himself, it was big and gray, which made look more like a knock-off of the Iron Monger suit. Sure it had whips, but that was about all it had going for it.

15 SURPASSED: LOKI

Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Loki's outfit in the comics was always a bit goofy, so it was surprising that the MCU decided to bring it back. Somehow, though, they made it look cool in the process. With his subsequent appearances, Loki's costume became more sleek and contemporary, leading to his cape and more reserved helmet in Thor: Ragnarok.

His costume perfectly captured his more mischievous behavior and was an excellent contrast to the sharp and bright colors of his brother. It also helped that Loki was one of the most well-written villains in the entire MCU, which made his costume stand out much more.

14 DIDN'T LIVE UP: RONAN

ronan the accuser

Ronan the Accuser is easily the weakest part of Guardians of the Galaxy, and that point is extended to his costume. While the general idea of his costume from the comics is intact, it's colored with almost entirely black. Sure, he has blue skin, but it's also accented with black.

There are just a lot of dark colors with Ronan that just feel so easy. Bad guys wear black -- we get it. Perhaps the green costume of the comics wouldn't have worked as well, but it at least showed that the Kree themselves weren't bad people. By depicting Ronan in a dark costume, he becomes just as forgettable as the rest of the MCU's villains.

13 SURPASSED: HELA

Hela in Thor Ragnarok

Hela is Asgard's goddess of death and the secret older sister that Thor never knew he had. When she finally showed up in Thor: Ragnarok, she came with a striking design that was ripped straight from the comics. The most iconic part of the character, her horned headpiece, remains intact, and she can even use it in combat.

Combine that with her sleek, black and green outfit and cape, and she becomes the perfect antagonist for a movie that loves the '80s. Hela had a massive screen presence any time she showed up in the film, and that was partly due to how well her costume was adapted.

12 DIDN'T LIVE UP: EGO

The name "Ego the Living Planet" brings certain images to mind. The most obvious is the all-powerful planet from Marvel Comics who fought numerous characters. What we don't imagine is a raggedy Kurt Russell who powers his own planet somehow. While Ego's presence in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 was done well, his design left much to be desired.

Even during the final fight, he essentially turned into weird tentacles of light. That took away from the personal conflict of Star-Lord and his father. While the design change worked well for the story, it still isn't as impressive as the actual planet.

11 SURPASSED: CROSSBONES

Despite being a one-note Captain America villain, Crossbones still got good treatment in the costume department. When he finally made his debut in Captain America: Civil War, he did it with a militaristic suit with special gauntlets and a helmet based on a skull. The suit was actually made too, which made it look even better on screen.

As a matter of fact, the changes made for the MCU arguably make his design look better than the comics. It's unfortunate that he was little more than someone to push the plot forward, but Avengers: Endgame might give him a better legacy.

10 DIDN'T LIVE UP: MALEKITH

malekith

When it comes to lame MCU villains, Malekith is always near the top of the list. The diabolical and multicolored leader of the Dark Elves didn't make a graceful transition to the MCU, and that goes for his costume as well. In the comics, Malekith had two different colors, long white hair, and a crazy expression constantly on his face.

For Thor: The Dark World, all of those features were thrown out the window in favor of an entirely white guy with pointy ears (which were the only way the audience knew he was an elf). It was a shame considering what Marvel could've done with him.

9 SURPASSED: VULTURE

Michael Keaton's Vulture in his wing suit in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

A character like the Vulture was always going to need some changed before appearing in a live-action film. With his big screen debut in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marvel not only made his design look cool, but it turned him into an impressive character. Built entirely out of human and alien tech, there's a certain size and weight to Vulture that isn't present with other MCU villains.

The mask sells the entire look, having tiny green eyes that give the villain a scarier presence. Couple that with a set of massive, metal talons, and a fur jacket just to keep things more classic, and you have a well-designed comic villain on your hands.

8 DIDN'T LIVE UP: ALDRICH KILLIAN

Aldrich Killian breathing fire in Iron Man 3

Aldrich Killian was the twist villain in Iron Man 3, leading everyone astray by letting them think that the Mandarin was in charge the entire time. Powered with Extremis, this clean-shaven businessman fought Tony and looked spiffy while doing it. Unfortunately, there were no unique characteristics or design choices that made Killian memorable.

Even the Extremis formula within him didn't offer any visually interesting changes to his design. He's often depicted with slicked back hair and a white suit. That's about it. For a comic book villain, this strangely felt like a bad guy we'd see in a crappy Bond film.

7 SURPASSED: RED SKULL

If you have Captain America, you have the Red Skull -- that's how the game works. That said, Marvel had a good chance of screwing him up in Captain America: The First Avenger. Thankfully, they embraced the campy evil ideology, used CGI for the creepy red face, and cast Hugo Weaving in the role, making for a wacky yet satisfying antagonist.

Complete with an esteemed Hydra outfit and a generally well-crafted head, Red Skull was one of the better-looking villains in the MCU's first phase. His reappearance in Avengers: Infinity War also fits well with his "red skull," making him look like a grim reaper.

6 DIDN'T LIVE UP: KAECILIUS

If there's one thing you can remember about Kaecilius' design from Doctor Strange, we'd love to hear it. Other than the strange eyes after selling his soul to the Dark Dimension (or something along those lines), there isn't anything worthy of remembering with this antagonist -- he just has yellow robes and gray hair.

It fit with the rest of the magic users in the film, but for a movie about someone learning to become a wizard to fix his permanently damaged hands, there is no reason why Marvel couldn't pull out some wackier costumes for the film. Everyone but Doctor Strange had a bland outfit.

5 SURPASSED: GHOST

ant-man-and-the-wasp-ghost-header

While Ant-Man and the Wasp is little more than a serviceable movie that just tells the next chapter in Scott Lang's story, something needs to be said for Ghost's costume in the film. With so many villains either being mirrored versions of the heroes or just big gray evil guys, seeing a sleek, white antagonist was a fresh design through and through.

Ghost didn't leave a serious impression in terms of her character, but her hood and mask were some of the best-looking parts of the entire film. The mask and powers added to her mystery. However, the movie tried to make her a more sympathetic character, which led to her mask coming off a lot.

4 DIDN'T LIVE UP: PROXIMA MIDNIGHT

Proxima Midnight in Avengers Infinity War

The CGI for Thanos and most of the Children in Avengers: Infinity War was impressive. However, there was one villain that looked noticeably worse than the rest of the bunch: Proxima Midnight. In the comics, she was known for having some multicolored armor and had a unique mask with horns over the top.

Unfortunately, that was all thrown away in Infinity War in favor of something that looked more organic. However, the CGI wasn't quite as polished as it was on the rest of the film, which made her stand out in a bad way. All Marvel had to do was cast a real person and make the costume from the comics.

3 SURPASSED: KURSE

Thor: The Dark World isn't an exciting film, and that's largely due to its antagonist, Malekith the Accursed. However, he used his power to jack up one of his Dark Elves: Kurse. He transitioned beautifully from the comics to the big screen.

His bright colors wouldn't have been all that welcome in a modern action film, so Marvel turned him into a horned beast that looked like it was ripped straight out of The Elder Scrolls. It certainly left a much bigger impression than his master ever did. He also managed to put up the biggest fight, easily tackling some of Asgard's strongest warriors.

2 DIDN'T LIVE UP: BARON STRUCKER

Baron Von Strucker MCU Deserve Better

Baron Strucker was a glorious leader in Hydra who rose to power during the organization's resurgence in the present day. Hydra was known for wearing bright green in the comics, so we can excuse the color change in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

However, we can't excuse the fact that he's just a dude in a suit and a silly monocle. You don't understand who he is just by looking at him, which is a shame for such a big figure in Hydra. Marvel could've given him a modern suit with a large Hydra symbol or even given him some cybernetic parts to let him look interesting to some extent.

1 SURPASSED: KILLMONGER

Killmonger in Black Panther

This entry comes with an asterisk -- we're talking about Killmonger before he was the king of Wakanda and had his own Black Panther suit. Before then, Killmonger wore a suit that combined his military background, African heritage, and urban lifestyle all in one.

It was a sharp contrast to the regal outfit of T'Challa and the rest of Wakanda. It directly showed the distance between the two characters. Furthermore, the scars on Killmonger's chest were practically crafted and looked great on the big screen, symbolizing his obsession with challenging his own cousin one day. He was a foe to be feared.