The Avengers have an awesome rogues' gallery, filled with gods bent on world domination, robots dedicated to the destruction of mankind, and even former allies who've switched sides. Characters like Ultron and Baron Zemo have stood the test of time, proving themselves some of the most enduring bad guys in modern pop culture.
The MCU has received acclaim for its depictions of antagonists like Loki and Thanos, but for every awesome villain the Avengers have faced, there are two who are a little too wacky for the silver screen. For a variety of reasons, these ten antagonists are better left on the printed page.
10 The Space Phantom's Backstory Got Out Of Hand
The second enemy the assembled Avengers ever faced, the Space Phantom was part of the last phase of Silver Age alien invaders. Like many other aliens, the Space Phantom sought to conquer Earth; unlike many other aliens, the Space Phantom could take on the appearance of another being, thereby banishing them to Immortus's Limbo.
As time passed, the nature of the Space Phantom became more bizarre. It was revealed the Space Phantom was actually a being who'd spent too much time in Limbo, becoming a slave of Immortus dedicated to sowing confusion amongst Earth's Mightiest Heroes. This odd aspect of the Space Phantom was too much for the MCU.
9 The Circus Of Crime Would Need A New Name
In the game of superpowers, naming is important. The "Masters of Evil" and "Fantastic Four" remain in memory, while few ever talk about the ill-fated "Force Works." Originating in the Silver Age as enemies of the Hulk, the Circus of Crime has walked the tightrope in terms of name-effectiveness.
As a group of ne'er-do-wells held together by a strong theme, the Circus does a great job as enemies in the four-color world of comics. However, their ludicrous name makes it hard for audiences to take them seriously, and any MCU debut they had would suffer consequently.
8 The Legion Of The Unliving Is Too Ill-Defined
When you're in the superhero business long enough, you're bound to encounter death. The Avengers have dozens of members and have fought hundreds of foes, so it should come as no surprise that the Legion of the Unliving is made up of deceased members of the aforementioned groups.
The Legion of the Unliving is less a specific group of characters and a more general concept. Past members included varied individuals such as Swordsman, the Green Goblin, and the ghost of the Flying Dutchman. Generally assembled by either time lords or vampires, the Legion is too ill-defined to appear in the MCU.
7 The Zodiac's Theme Is A Little Wonky
If you've got superpowers, it's important to have a theme, and doubly so if you're on a team. The Serpent Society are themed after snakes, the Wrecking Crew construction, and the Sinister Six hating Spider-Man. Marvel's Zodiac is aptly themed around the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
Marvel's Zodiac has been through a variety of rosters, first founded by nefarious businessman Cornelius Van Lundt. Since then, the team has featured a variety of animal-costumed crooks, including one team solely made up of androids and another run by Thanos. The Zodiac is good, campy fun, but they might stick out just a tad too much in the more realistic MCU.
6 Arkon Is One Genre Too Many
The Marvel Universe is a beautiful hodgepodge of genres, creating a place where gods of Norse myth can rub shoulders with androids capable of tears. Arkon, the Warlord of Polemachus, is a great example of this, tying sword and sorcery by way of Edgar Rice Burroughs into the Marvel Universe.
Arkon is a pretty wild character: he throws lightning bolts that can generate portals and has no shame wearing little but a belt, a loincloth, and flared helmet. Still, Arkon, isn't quite MCU material. Aside from his complicated origin story of a post-/pre-nuclear world, Arkon's Polemachus would involve too much explaining to appear in the MCU.
5 Psyklop Looks A Little Too Goofy
Weird, malevolent aliens are a stand-by of superhero comics and the perfect fill-in villains when Doctor Doom is otherwise occupied. Psklop is an insectoid alien who worships the elder Dark Gods, meaning his repeated attempts to enslave and dominate the Earth make him a perfect fit for this supervillain subgenre.
Despite the fact Pskylop is a great enemy alien, his design is just a little too out-there for most modern audiences. Pskylop's design straddles the line between horrifying and menacing. This means that, when not rendered with the utmost care, he comes off as silly.
4 Diablo Is Too Forgettable To Appear In The MCU
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If your villain of the week isn't an alien, they're likely some kind of mad scientist. Diablo is one such villain. He's a 9th century alchemist who, after selling his soul to Mephisto, used his newfound immortality to seek power and profit in the greater world.
Despite Diablo's golden backstory, he's forgettable on the printed page. Stan Lee was once asked if there were any characters he regretted creating, and his answer was Diablo, citing his inability to remember anything about him. If the MCU wants to keep working on their villains, Diablo is not the answer.
3 The Red Ghost Would Conjure Ideas of Animal Abuse
Comic book history is full of awesome animal-hero pairings, like Redwing and Falcon, Krypto and Superman, and Zabu and Ka-Zar. Ivan Kragoff, aka the Red Ghost, is no stranger to this tradition: he and his Super-Apes have menaced the Marvel Universe since the Sixties.
The Super-Apes are a formidable lot, being trained by Kragoff to fly with him to the Moon. Mikhlo the Gorilla, Igor the Baboon, and Peotr the Orangutan all have superpowers, but they wouldn't work as MCU antagonists for one reason: nobody wants to see superheroes punch animals. It'd be hard to make a fight between Thor and a baboon seem fair, even if that baboon can shapeshift.
2 The Griffin Lacks Pathos
Stories of bodily transformation and hybrid beings have transfixed audiences since ancient times. Much remains the same in the modern age, and audiences are still transfixed by Bruce Banner's struggles with the Hulk and Anakin Skywalker's roboticization as Darth Vader.
Unlike the two previous examples, Johnny Horton's transformation isn't comparable. Horton was a small-time hood who mutated into a monster and continued to be a small-time hood. While the MCU has been leaning into its comic book aesthetic more and more, the Griffin's lack of an interesting backstory makes him a poor candidate for movie adaptation.
1 The Dire Wraiths Have Too Much Going On
Alien villains also come as groups of beings, rather than named individuals. The Dire Wraiths are a great example of this. They're a shapeshifting race of world conquerors with the ability to steal memories from their victims by sucking out their brains.
While the evil of the Dire Wraiths might make them seem straightforward, their background is more complex than just "alien invaders." They're an off-shoot of the Skrulls created by the Celestials, who crafted a society based on magic inside the Dark Nebula who are always at odds with the noble, robotic Spaceknights. If that seems overly complicated for the MCU, it's because it is.