Over the course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dozens of villains have been introduced, many of whom have broken Marvel Studios’ controversial one-and-done pattern. In the beginning of the MCU, villains that were introduced alongside Marvel Studios’ heroes would be defeated in one project, despite being featured much more prominently in the Marvel Comics source material. However, over the years, several villains have been lucky enough to appear in more than one story, and while some of their later appearances have been nothing more than cameos, others have seen major developments after their initial debuts.
Marvel Studios has often been scrutinized for seeing high-profile villains from Marvel Comics, such as Hela, the Mandarin, and the High Evolutionary, defeated in the same MCU project they debuted in. This was a very notable pattern for MCU films during Phase 1, as Obadiah Stane, Abomination, Whiplash, and Red Skull were all eliminated very early on. However, several other villains have gone on to have prosperous careers in the MCU, including seeing the eventual return of some of these early foes. Here are 20 examples of MCU villains that have made appearances in more than one project.
20 Emil Blonsky, A.K.A. Abomination
In an attempt to capture the Hulk in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, General Thaddeus Ross recruited Emil Blonsky, a former special-ops commander portrayed by Tim Roth, and injected him with an imperfect super-soldier serum. Blonsky was later exposed to Banner’s own gamma-irradiated blood, transforming him into the Abomination. While it seemed that Blonsky might not return following his 2008 defeat, the character made a cameo appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and later saw more development in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which revealed that he had gained control over the Abomination and had mostly given up his nefarious ways.
19 Loki Laufeyson
Tom Hiddleston assumed the role of Loki for 2011’s Thor, the adoptive brother of the titular God of Thunder, and despite apparently dying, Hiddleston returned in 2012’s The Avengers. Even though Loki was defeated again in The Avengers, he appeared as a minor antagonist in Thor: The Dark World and as a tentative hero in Thor: Ragnarok. Avengers: Infinity War saw Loki meet his final demise at the hands of Thanos until the Time Heist in Avengers: Endgame unleashed a 2012 variant of Loki on the MCU, who is set to continue his investigation of the TVA and Kang the Conqueror in Loki season 2 on Disney+.
18 Johann Schmidt, A.K.A. Red Skull
Red Skull is one of Captain America’s most recognizable villains in Marvel Comics, so it was no surprise that he was featured as Steve Rogers’ first villain in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Hugo Weaving originated the role of the head of HYDRA during WWII, but his future was left unclear after he held the Tesseract and was transported into space in the film’s final moments. The question of Red Skull’s whereabouts was answered in Avengers: Infinity War, as the villain made his shocking return as the guardian of the Soul Stone on Vormir, now portrayed by The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand, who would also appear in Avengers: Endgame.
17 Thanos
Damion Poitier first appeared as Thanos in The Avengers’ mid-credits scene before Josh Brolin assumed the role for Guardians of the Galaxy and a cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron’s mid-credits scene. Thanos was an intergalactic warlord, considered to be the most powerful being in the universe. Avengers: Infinity War marked Thanos’ most prominent MCU appearance, as the climactic film detailed his quest to acquire all six Infinity Stones, eventually completing his mission by erasing half the universe’s population. Thanos was killed by Thor in the opening moments of Avengers: Endgame, though a variant would make his way to the MCU’s present-day during the Avengers’ Time Heist.
16 James “Bucky” Barnes, A.K.A. The Winter Soldier
Originally depicted as a childhood friend and ally to Steve Rogers’ Captain America in The First Avenger, James “Bucky” Barnes would become HYDRA’s Winter Soldier in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Sebastian Stan’s misunderstood villain was crucial to the Avengers’ division in Captain America: Civil War before being handed into the care of the Wakandans, who eliminated his HYDRA programming. Stan would have appearances in Black Panther’s post-credits scene, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, before starring alongside Anthony Mackie for Phase 4’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He is set to return as the de facto leader of the MCU’s first Thunderbolts team in Phase 5.
15 Alexander Pierce
Unlike most of Marvel Studios’ villains, Alexander Pierce is nothing more than a human, harboring no extraordinary gifts other than having a huge amount of power. As the Secretary of the World Security Council, Pierce recruited Nick Fury as the Director of SHIELD but was one of HYDRA’s highest-ranking leaders and top operatives in the United States government, unbeknownst to everyone. Fury killed Pierce after the truth of Project Insight came to light in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but Robert Redford reprised the role for a cameo in Avengers: Endgame, appearing during the Time Heist in the moments after the Battle of New York.
14 Wanda Maximoff, A.K.A. The Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff is one of the MCU’s most nuanced villains. Elizabeth Olsen debuted as Wanda in Avengers: Age of Ultron, depicted as a minor antagonist, but soon joined the ranks of the Avengers. This led to her next appearance in Captain America: Civil War as an official team member, but her story was explored in greater detail in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and WandaVision. WandaVision saw Wanda embrace her identity as the Scarlet Witch before waging war on the multiverse in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness when she was corrupted by the Darkhold. Despite apparently sacrificing herself, the Scarlet Witch could return in the MCU’s future.
13 Ronan The Accuser
Lee Pace debuted as Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy, a radical Kree warlord who sought to destroy Xandar using the Power Stone that he had originally acquired for Thanos. Even though he held the Infinity Stone, Ronan was thwarted by the newly-formed Guardians of the Galaxy, who, between them, shared the energy of the Power Stone and killed the villain. Pace reprised the role in 2019’s Captain Marvel, portraying a younger version of Ronan for the 1990s-set project. This version of Ronan was a participant in the Kree-Skrull War, working with Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg and the Kree Starforce to eradicate the shape-shifting Skrulls.
12 Ultron
Despite being a long-running villain in Marvel Comics, the MCU’s Ultron fell victim to Marvel Studios’ one-and-done pattern, being defeated by the Avengers in Avengers: Age of Ultron. James Spader voiced the Tony Stark-created artificial intelligence, breaking free from his chains to try and render the Avengers, and humanity as a whole, extinct. Despite not seeing a return in the MCU’s main continuity, Ultron drones made an appearance on Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Ultron is also the overall antagonist of What If…?
11 Darren Cross, A.K.A. Yellowjacket & MODOK
Corey Stoll has portrayed not one but two villains over the course of his MCU career. Initially debuting in 2015’s Ant-Man as the protégé to Hank Pym, Darren Cross would develop Ant-Man-like size-changing technology, naming his suit the Yellowjacket. After apparently being killed by Scott Lang in the final moments of Ant-Man, Stoll would return in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, revealed to have survived Scott’s attack and been shrunk and deformed in the Quantum Realm. Quantumania saw Stoll become Marvel Comics’ iconic MODOK, the right-hand man to Kang the Conqueror, who ends up sacrificing himself to help take down the villain.
10 Baron Helmut Zemo
Initially, it seemed as though Daniel Brühl’s Captain America: Civil War villain, Baron Helmut Zemo, would be another one-and-done villain in the MCU. He caused division in the ranks of the Avengers at the perfect time, striking while the Sokovia Accords were being implemented to destroy the Avengers from the inside. Interestingly, Zemo is one of the few MCU villains who actually succeeded in their mission, as the Avengers were disbanded following his interference, though the villain was incarcerated for his various crimes. Even so, Zemo returned in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to help Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, though he was later turned over to face Wakandan justice.
9 Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, A.K.A. N’Jadaka
As the abandoned son of the Wakandan Prince N’Jobu, N’Jadaka grew up in the United States as Erik Stevens, earning his Killmonger nickname as a Navy SEAL. Michael B. Jordan assumed the role in 2018’s Black Panther, arriving in Wakanda and challenging Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa for the throne, hoping to use Wakanda’s resources to help marginalized communities across the globe. While Killmonger was killed by T’Challa in the pair’s final battle, Michael B. Jordan reprised the role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as Killmonger appeared to Shuri in the Ancestral Plane, questioning her on what kind of Black Panther she would be.
8 The Black Order
Where Thanos goes, the Black Order isn’t too far behind. Comprised of adopted children of the Mad Titan, the members of the Black Order were some of the most formidable villains in the universe, carrying out their leader’s every wish with almost unstoppable brutality. Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Cull Obsidian debuted in Avengers: Infinity War, making their way to Earth to collect the Infinity Stones. While each of the Black Order’s members – also known as the Children of Thanos – were killed during Infinity War, their 2014 variants journeyed to the MCU’s present day with Thanos for the final battle of Avengers: Endgame.
7 Ava Starr, A.K.A. Ghost
Until Phase 5, Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man franchise had become known for its low-stakes adventures, and 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp was no exception, as Hannah John-Kamen debuted as the layered minor villain, Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost. Inflicted with a phasing ability after being in the middle of a quantum accident as a child, Ghost wanted to harness the power of the Quantum Realm to cure herself – which ended up occurring anyway after Janet van Dyne’s return. Although Ghost hasn’t yet appeared in another MCU project, she is set to become a member of the MCU’s inaugural Thunderbolts team in Phase 5.
6 Agatha Harkness
Kathryn Hahn’s magnetic performance in WandaVision saw her go from unwitting nosy neighbor Agnes to original Salem witch Agatha Harkness over the course of the Disney+ series. Obsessed with investigating the Scarlet Witch in an attempt to steal her power, Agatha infiltrated Wanda’s Westview Hex and played along before revealing herself in episode 7, “Breaking the Fourth Wall.” Agatha was placed under a spell by the Scarlet Witch in WandaVision’s finale, but Kathryn Hahn is set to reprise the role to helm her solo spinoff series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, as part of the MCU’s Phase 5, which will also introduce several other witches to the MCU.
5 John Walker, A.K.A. US Agent
John Walker was introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the man chosen to replace Steve Rogers as Captain America. However, the series soon revealed how flawed Walker was, and after brutally murdering a member of the Flag Smashers with the Captain America shield, Walker was stripped of his title and left to fend for himself, despite taking the super-soldier serum. Recruited by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell’s antihero helped Sam Wilson – the new Captain America – and Bucky Barnes in the final battle against the Flag Smashers and was later transformed into US Agent, ready for his upcoming appearance in Phase 5’s Thunderbolts.
4 Contessa Valentina Allegra De Fontaine
Debuting in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as John Walker’s mysterious new benefactor, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is one of the MCU’s most interesting recent additions. Throughout Phase 4, Julia Louis-Dreyfus made several cameo appearances as Valentina, building up to her starring spot in Thunderbolts. She recruited John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, was shown to have Yelena Belova under her employ in Black Widow, and was revealed as the Director of the CIA in the MCU in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, so the balance of power could shift massively when she finally brings together her Thunderbolts team.
3 Kang The Conqueror & His Variants
Jonathan Majors debuted as He Who Remains in Loki season 1, the man-behind-the-curtain of the TVA who warned of his more malicious variants on the cosmos. Following his demise at the hands of Sylvie, more variants of Kang have been seen in the MCU, including Kang the Conqueror himself in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Quantumania’s mid-credits scene also saw Majors assume the roles of several other Kang variants, including Immortus, Pharaoh Rama-Tut, and a version of Marvel Comics’ Scarlet Centurion. Victor Timely was also introduced ahead of an appearance in Loki season 2, and Kang is expected to be the major villain for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in Phase 6.
2 Antonia Dreykov, A.K.A. Taskmaster
By exploring Natasha Romanoff’s backstory in the MCU, 2021’s Black Widow also paid off the mention of “Dreykov’s daughter” from 2012’s The Avengers, as Olga Kurylenko debuted as Antonia Dreykov, the villain known as Taskmaster. Able to perfectly mimic the movements and fighting styles of anybody she sees, Taskmaster is an incredibly interesting villain that was arguably wasted in Black Widow. However, her story will be developed further when she appears as a member of the MCU’s first Thunderbolts team in Phase 5 – no longer under her father’s control.
1 Wilson Fisk, A.K.A. Kingpin
Perhaps one of the most exciting additions to Marvel Studios’ roster of villains is that of Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin. Vincent D’Onofrio originally portrayed Fisk on Netflix’s Daredevil series but made the move to the MCU proper during Hawkeye on Disney+. The archenemy to Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, Kingpin is set to return in Echo ahead of a larger appearance in Daredevil: Born Again. D’Onofrio is expected to be a long-running fixture in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, acting as the perfect villain for the MCU’s street-level heroes in the Multiverse Saga and beyond.
