The Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded far beyond just a few movies, introducing comic book heroes to the live-action film world. Now, the MCU has become a sprawling franchise. There are movies, television shows, companion comics, video games, and all sorts of different stories. The stories of the MCU largely have to do with superheroes and their supervillains, but, in a larger sense, these “good” and “evil” figures reflect themes in the world around the real audience watching these stories.
The villains of the MCU have been incredibly important to the universe, and so it’s lucky that many of them got their start in the comics, with a rich backstory already in place when they enter the franchise. There is no good without the bad, and so there are no heroes without their villains.
32 Adrian Toomes/Vulture — The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (1963)
Many people found themselves sympathizing with Adrian Toomes, portrayed by Michael Keaton, in Spider-Man: Homecoming. In fact, in many ways, audiences even empathized with Adrian— or, as he’s also known, Vulture.
Before showing up in the MCU, Vulture made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 in May of 1963, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
31 Aldrich Killian — Iron Man Vol. 4 #1 (2005)
At first, it seemed that the main villain of Iron Man 3 was going to be the Mandarin. However, the MCU pulled a messy, terrible twist, and the Mandarin wasn’t even really the real Mandarin. Instead, Iron Man 3’s main villain was Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pearce.
Aldrich Killian is not a significantly old character. Created by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov, Killian’s first appearance was in Iron Man Vol. 4 #1 in January of 2005.
30 Alexander Pierce — Nick Fury Vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. #3 (1988)
It seemed that Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, could have been the villain of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but he’s really the one who needs to be saved. He’s basically been a prisoner of war for nearly a century, and Steve Rogers knows he needs to save his best friend.
Instead, the villain was Alexander Pierce, portrayed by Robert Redford. The character was created by Bob Harras and Paul Neary, and made his first appearance in Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. #3 in August of 1988.
29 Ava Starr/Ghost — Iron Man #219 (1987)
In the comics, the character of Ghost is not a woman, but the MCU changed things around a little bit. Similarly, Ghost isn’t so much of a villain anymore as they are an anti-hero— in either iteration— but she was still meant to be the main villain of Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Portrayed by Hannah John-Kamen, this female version of Ghost is a little different from the comics, but is still undoubtedly the same character that first appeared in Iron Man #219 in June of 1987, created by David Michelinie and Bob Layton.
28 Baron Helmut Zemo — Captain America #168 (1973)
A more recently popular MCU villain is Baron Helmut Zemo, who just appeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, the MCU’s Zemo is relatively different from the Zemo of the comics.
While the villain “Baron Zemo” was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first appeared in 1964, this was Heinrich Zemo, Helmut Zemo’s father. Helmut Zemo’s first appearance in Marvel Comics was actually as a villain called Phoenix, created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella, and Sal Buscema, who appeared to oppose Captain America in Captain America #168 in 1973.
27 Billy Russo/Jigsaw — The Amazing Spider-Man #162 (1976)
On the small screen, the villains are no less impactful to the MCU. Ben Barnes’ performance as Billy Russo, or Jigsaw, may not have been in any of the Marvel movies— but his villain role in the Netflix show The Punisher is still excellent.
Jigsaw first showed up in the comics in The Amazing Spider-Man #162 in November of 1976, created by Len Wein and Ross Andru. Ever since, he’s opposed both Daredevil and the Punisher in turns.
26 Cornell Stokes/Cottonmouth — Power Man #18 (1974)
There are actually a few villains through the run of the show Luke Cage that the eponymous hero, Luke Cage, has to face. Cornell Stokes, also known as Cottonmouth, was not only a great villain character, but Mahershala Ali gave one of the MCU’s best performances in the role.
Cottonmouth may not have gotten enough space in the show, but he does have a bit more space in the comics— he first appeared in June of 1974 in Luke Cage, Power Man #18, created by Len Wein and George Tuska.
25 Darren Cross/Yellowjacket — Marvel Premiere #47 (1979)
The MCU has their own version of Yellowjacket in the form of Darren Cross. There have been multiple Yellowjackets in Marvel Comics, but Darren Cross, specifically, is his own character.
He was created by John Byrne and David Michelinie, and he made his first appearance in Marvel Premiere #47 in April of 1979. In 2015, Corey Stoll portrayed the character in Ant-Man, which would lead to Darren appearing as Yellowjacket in Marvel Comics just one year later.
24 Ego The Living Planet — The Mighty Thor #132 (1966)
When fans heard that Peter Quill’s real father might be appearing in the MCU, they were expecting to see the character J’son from the comics. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 instead brought in a different father for Star-Lord.
Ego was not just a living planet, but, in the movie, where he was portrayed by Kurt Russell, he was also Peter’s biological father— as well as a Celestial. For all these complications, Ego the Living Planet, created by Jack Kirby, made his first appearance in The Mighty Thor #132 in September of 1966.
23 Elektra Natchios — Daredevil #168 (1981)
Elektra Natchios has made multiple live-action appearances in the 21st century. She was originally created by Frank Miller— which means, of course, that Miller is notoriously territorial of her, as he is over every character he has created.
Still, Elektra made her first appearance in Daredevil #168 in January of 1981, and has been appearing ever since. Élodie Yung portrayed Elektra in both Daredevil and The Defenders on Netflix, where she has both helped Daredevil and hurt him, in turn.
22 Erik Killmonger — Jungle Action Vol. 2 #6 (1973)
Much like other characters such as Vulture and Zemo in the MCU, Erik Killmonger’s “villainous” actions are pretty justified considering the entire scope of what he’s doing and why he’s doing it.
He first appeared in Jungle Action Vol. 2 #6 in September of 1973, created by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler. Michael B. Jordan nailed his performance of the character in Black Panther in 2018, nearly fifty years after Killmonger’s first appearance in the comics.
21 Frank Castle/Punisher — The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974)
Frank Castle made his first appearance in the MCU in Daredevil before getting his own show, titled after himself, called The Punisher; he was portrayed by Jon Bernthal in both shows. He has been a fan favorite for many years, ever since he first appeared in the 1970s.
His first appearance was in February of 1974, in The Amazing Spider-Man #129. He was created by Gerry Conway, along with John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru, based off of the series The Executioner.
20 Harold Meachum — Marvel Premiere #15 (1974)
The big bad villain of Iron Fist’s first season was a relatively unexpected figure. Harold Meachum was the father of Joy Meachum in the comics and the brother to Ward Meachum. However, in Iron Fist, he was the father to both Joy and Ward.
There, he was portrayed by David Wenham, but he was still much a villain fighting against Iron Fist as he was in the comics. Harold Meachum made his first appearance in Marvel Premiere #15, created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, in May of 1974.
19 Hela — Journey Into Mystery #102 (1964)
While the “character” of Hela has been around for a very, very long time, she was adapted into the Marvel Comics as her own character, much like Thor and Loki were.
Hela as she appeared in the comics first appeared in Journey into Mystery #102 in March of 1964, created/adapted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Cate Blanchett is the one who portrayed Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, adding even more layers to one of the Norse villains of the MCU.
18 Johann Schmidt/Red Skull — Captain America Comics #1 (1941)
Technically, like Captain America, Red Skull’s first appearance was not in Marvel Comics themselves. His first appearance was actually for Timely Comics before Marvel existed. Red Skull, created by Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, and France Herron, was introduced for the very first time in Captain America Comics #1, from March of 1941.
Red Skull made his first appearance in the MCU in Captain America: The First Avenger, as portrayed by Hugo Weaving, before appearing again in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, where he was portrayed by Ross Marquand.
17 John McIver/Bushmaster — Iron Fist #15 (1977)
While Bushmaster may be one of the main villains of the Luke Cage television show in the MCU, he did not first appear in a Luke Cage comic. In fact, Bushmaster first appeared in Iron Fist #15 in September of 1977.
He was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, who are perhaps best known for their X-Men stories. In Luke Cage, Bushmaster— the John McIver version, specifically— was portrayed by Mustafa Shakir, who carried a great deal of the villainous weight in Luke Cage’s second season.
16 Kaecilius — Strange Tales Vol. 1 #130 (1965)
There are a couple of villains in Doctor Strange, but perhaps the most villainous— as well as the biggest bad, as well as arguably the most impressive villain performance in the film— is Kaecilius.
Portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen in the movie, Kaecilius actually made his first appearance in the comics over fifty years ago. He was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and his first appearance was in Strange Tales Vol. 1 #130 from March of 1965.
15 Kilgrave (Killgrave)/The Purple Man — Daredevil #4 (1964)
In the television show Jessica Jones, Killgrave was spelled slightly differently— as Kilgrave— as well as being referred to as Kevin Thompson, a very specific iteration of the character. He was also called the Purple Man, but this was in reference to his clothes rather than his skin.
In the comics, the character of the Purple Man actually had purple skin, and first appeared in Daredevil #4 in November of 1964. Stan Lee and Joe Orlando created the Purple Man, who was portrayed by David Tennant in Jessica Jones.
14 Loki — Venus #6 (1949)
Like Hela, Loki was not created for Marvel Comics, but he was adapted to Marvel Comics. Unlike Hela, however, Loki actually appeared so early that his first appearance was in a Timely Comics comic. Loki first appeared in Venus #6 in August of 1949.
He has changed dramatically over the years, with his more modern self making his first appearance in Journey into Mystery #85 from October of 1962, but this 1949 appearance was undoubtedly the first. He was created/adapted by Stan Lee, as well as Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, who helped with his modern age revamp, which would later inspire Tom Hiddleston’s MCU appearance.
13 Malekith — Thor #344 (1984)
Thor: The Dark World was not the best received of Marvel’s movies, but it still had some phenomenal actors giving great performances as a number of heroes and villains. The film’s main villain was Malekith the Dark Elf, portrayed by Christopher Eccleston.
Compared to many of the older villains in the MCU, Malekith made his first appearance in the 1980s. Malekith was created by Walt Simonson and first appeared in Thor #344 in June of 1984.