The real strength of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its characters. Audiences flock to the MCU's films to see beloved characters interacting with one another, crossing into each other's films, and dealing with new problems and situations. This doesn't necessarily just extend to its heroes, but also to a fair few of its villains.

RELATED: 8 Most Misunderstood Movie Villains, Ranked

The MCU has received criticism for some of its villains, describing them as bland and uninteresting. However, particularly in more recent films like Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, the franchise has pushed to make its villains more watchable. A few MCU villains have even managed to be poignant and tragic in their characterization.

7 Ava Starr Simply Wants The Pain To Stop

Ava Starr Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man And The Wasp has two main villainous factions, the more comical and one-dimensional Sonny Burch and the more focal and nuanced Ava Starr, codenamed 'Ghost'. Starr is a sinister figure who can shift through solid objects. She has a dark past as an assassin for S.H.I.E.L.D., and plans to kill Janet van Dyne.

However, Ant-Man And The Wasp gives her sympathetic reasoning for her actions. Following a childhood accident, her phasing is effectively a chronic condition that causes her immense pain and is slowly killing her. Everything Ava does is to try to cure herself. Even the heroes feel sympathy for her and when a peaceful solution is found, everyone seizes upon it immediately.

6 The Winter Soldier Has No Control Over His Actions

Bucky Barnes having his memory wiped in Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The titular character of Captain America: The Winter Soldier isn't the film's overall villain, but he is its most obvious antagonist as the shadowy assassin pursuing select members of S.H.I.E.L.D. who stand opposed to HYDRA. He initially appears to be a fairly generic villain. Midway through the film, he is revealed as Steve Rogers' childhood friend, James 'Bucky' Barnes.

RELATED: MCU: 10 Strongest Villains Defeated By Teamwork, Ranked

After falling to his seeming death in World War II, Bucky was experimented on by a Russian cell of HYDRA, giving him a robotic arm and brainwashing him into a ruthless assassin. The Winter Soldier becomes increasingly conflicted over the course of The Winter Soldier. Years later, after the brainwashing is cleared, he experiences immense guilt for all the things he did for HYDRA against his will.

5 Xu Wenwu Is Blinded By His Love

Xu Wenwu in MCU's Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings

There are plenty of terrible things about Xu Wenwu in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. Even aside from his villainous goal to destroy Ta Lo and the unintended consequences of releasing the Dweller-in-Darkness, Wenwu spends much of his time as an abusive father to both Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing. Xu ignores Xialing while brutally training Shang-Chi.

Despite this, there is a certain tragedy to Wenwu because everything he does is out of love for his wife, Ying Li, and his desperate belief that she is still alive. He also shows his nobler side when he sacrifices himself to save Shang-Chi. These factors do not excuse his actions, but his motives are undeniably tragic and build sympathy for him.

4 Wanda Maximoff Has Nobody To Help Her Through Her Trauma

Wanda Maximoff realizing her mistakes in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

After being a hero who frequently flirts with villainy throughout much of the MCU, Wanda Maximoff finally takes the plunge into becoming an outright villain in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. She does monstrous things throughout the film with the goal of killing a child so that she can reunite with her family from WandaVision.

Wanda is undeniably villainous, but her time as a hero and her backstory serve to make her tragic. Her entire life has been an almost unbroken string of traumatic incidents, and she's had very little support or professional help. Most recently, she lost her children, whom she desperately wants to return to. In addition, she has been corrupted by the Darkhold, taking her understandable desires and pains to an unreasonable level.

3 Helmut Zemo Is Broken By The Loss Of His Family

Helmut Zemo interrogating a HYDRA officer in Captain America: Civil War

The true villain of Captain America: Civil War, Zemo is one of the most successful antagonists in the MCU, as well as one of the more sympathetic. Zemo's turn to villainy is a result of the events of Avengers: Age Of Ultron. In the Battle of Sokovia, caused by the Avengers and fought by them, he lost his entire family.

RELATED: 10 MCU Villains Scarlet Witch Could Defeat By Herself

As such, Zemo seeks to bring about the end of the Avengers and is willing to do terrible things to succeed. Zemo bombs a diplomatic meeting, has Bucky kill innocent people, and tries to have Iron Man and Captain America fight to the death. However, he is haunted the entire time by the last voicemail his wife left him. He even apologizes for harming others in his plan, such as King T'Challa and his father.

2 Loki Is The MCU's Most Complex Villain

Loki looking unimpressed under grey sky in the Loki TV series MCU.

One of the first well-liked villains in the MCU, Loki is introduced in Thor as one of the few Phase One antagonists to be given any real depth or nuance. Although he tries to do plenty of despicable things, he is motivated by a lifetime of feeling like the second-favorite, and a desire to prove himself to others.

Loki is already sympathetic and tragic in his debut movie, but this is only expanded upon further in later films. His complex relationship with his brother Thor, his genuine affection for his other family members, and the self-defeating nature of his character flaws all combine to create a villain who audiences can care about - even before his turn to good.

1 Killmonger Wants To Combat Injustice In A Vicious Fashion

Erik Killmonger arrives in Wakanda Black Panther

Killmonger's plan in Black Panther is fairly simple but undeniably devastating. By sending vibranium weaponry to oppressed African populations around the world, he wants to start a race war that will kill millions in revenge for the oppression of Africans and their descendants.

Killmonger's ultimate motivations are sympathetic (even T'Challa can't refute his points) and so is his backstory. His father was killed when he was young, sending him down a dark path as a talented but ruthless soldier. Ultimately, Killmonger is sympathetic even as he performs terrible deeds, and his death scene is considered one of the most poignant in the entire MCU.