Every Avengers Movie Villain, Ranked Weakest To Most Powerful

For over a decade, the world of the MCU has been protected by the Avengers, and the celebrity superhero team has thwarted the destructive plans of several formidable villains. Originally comprising Tony Stark’s Iron Man, Steve Rogers’ Captain America, Bruce Banner’s Hulk, Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow, Thor and Clint Barton’s Hawkeye, the Avengers first banded together in 2012’s eponymous The Avengers to protect the Earth and avenge their fallen friend, Phil Coulson. Since then, many new heroes have become Avengers, and the team has faced several more powerful villains, but since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and the conclusion of the MCU’s Infinity Saga, the status of the Avengers has been uncertain.

The Avengers have been the cornerstone of the MCU since their formation in 2012, but the MCU’s most powerful superheroes would be nothing without dangerous and powerful villains. Over four Avengers crossover movies in the MCU, Marvel Studios’ premiere superhero team has faced a number of foes, each posing a huge threat to the Earth, or in some cases even the entire universe. Several of Marvel Studios’ Avengers villains have gone on to become dedicated heroes themselves, but others have stuck by their nefarious actions. The Avengers may have taken on many supervillains in the MCU, but some have posed a more significant danger than others.

Related

Every Marvel Villain Confirmed For MCU Phase 5 (So Far)

Phase 5 of the MCU is set to introduce several new villains, with a number of them already confirmed as part of the franchise’s upcoming projects.

15 Ulysses Klaue Provided Vibranium To Ultron

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue was featured in the MCU’s Black Panther franchise as a minor antagonist, having made several attempts at infiltrating Wakanda to obtain vibranium to sell on the black market. Even so, the villain first appeared in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, as the eponymous Ultron met with Klaue to gather vibranium needed to create his upgraded body that later became Vision. Klaue is an intimidating figure in Age of Ultron, but despite having criminal connections across the globe, he doesn’t have much strength or influence, and only acts as a minor foe in the Phase 2 film.

14 Crossbones Posed A Minor Threat To The New Avengers Team

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

After being outed as a HYDRA soldier in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Frank Grillo’s Brock Rumlow’s fate was left unclear after he was trapped inside the collapsing Triskelion. Rumlow returned in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, operating as the villainous Crossbones, though was killed off in the opening moments of the pseudo-Avengers project. After suffering significant burns and injuries, Rumlow’s nerve damage meant that he was impervious to Black Widow’s electric “bite”, but he quickly committed suicide in an attempt at taking out Steve Rogers’ Captain America, ending his MCU career before it had really begun.

13 Baron Strucker Was One Of HYDRA’s Leaders In The MCU

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker first appeared in the mid-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where he was revealed to have been experimenting on Loki’s scepter, using the weapon to enhance the gifts of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. As one of the leaders of HYDRA, Thomas Kretschmann’s Strucker had a huge amount of socio-political influence that makes him more powerful than the likes of Ulysses Klaue and Brock Rumlow, but he was severely lacking in sheer strength, and didn’t have any useful gifts prior to his demise at the hands of Ultron.

12 Baron Zemo Managed To Divide The Avengers

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Despite having no superhuman abilities, Daniel Brühl’s Baron Helmut Zemo perhaps did better than any other MCU villain at bringing the Avengers to their knees. As a former member of Sokovian special forces EKO Scorpion, Zemo was incredibly skilled at combat, espionage and strategy, and used these skills to devise a complex but effective plan to destroy the Avengers from within. While he was eventually imprisoned for his actions, his plan worked perfectly, as Captain America: Civil War saw the Avengers torn apart – an impressive feat for someone with no mystical or enhanced powers whatsoever.

11 The Outriders Helped Thanos Infiltrate Wakanda

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

What the Outriders lack in any semblance of personality, tactical thinking or humanity, they certainly make up for in brute strength. Thanos used the Outriders as one part of his army during Avengers: Infinity War’s attack on Wakanda and the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Endgame. The Outriders’ extraterrestrial physiology makes them incredibly strong, and their bloodlust means they’ll stop at nothing to continue their attacks, which was demonstrated when several Outriders killed themselves in an attempt to break through Wakanda’s forcefield. Despite being mindless, the Outriders are more powerful than any average human.

10 Corvus Glaive Was Successful In Injuring Vision

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

The weakest member of Thanos’ Black Order in Infinity War and Endgame still had a huge amount of power. Michael Shaw’s Corvus Glaive was successful in injuring Vision with his signature weapon, even despite Vision’s vibranium body giving him ample protection. Corvus Glaive had superhuman abilities, including enhanced strength, durability, speed and a regenerative healing factor that allowed him to heal from a wound inflicted by Black Widow. Nevertheless, Glaive was soon impaled on his weapon by Vision, and was killed again during Avengers: Endgame‘s Battle of Earth.

9 Proxima Midnight Was Defeated By Okoye, Black Widow & The Scarlet Witch

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Proxima Midnight is only marginally more powerful than her spouse, Corvus Glaive, as she is also a master acrobat and has incredible agility. Her skill with a spear is second-to-none, and Carrie Coon’s portrayal of the Black Order member proved her to be tactically-minded and very intimidating. Despite her superhuman gifts and battle-focused mind, Proxima Midnight was still defeated by the combined efforts of Black Widow, Okoye and the Scarlet Witch on the Wakandan battlefield, and was defeated again during Avengers: Endgame’s Battle of Earth along with her fellow Black Order members.

8 Cull Obsidian Was Killed By Bruce Banner’s Hulkbuster

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Even though Cull Obsidian is perhaps the most brutish and less intelligent members of Thanos’ Black Order, his extreme size, strength and mastery of his deadly hammer make him one of the group’s most powerful figures. His eagerness to battle came in handy during a spar with Iron Man in Avengers: Infinity War, yet his arm was no match for Wong’s sling-ring portal, and he was eventually outwitted by Bruce Banner on the Wakandan battlefield. A variant of Cull Obsidian was taken on by Drax the Destroyer during Avengers: Endgame’s Battle of Earth, where he was killed along with the rest of Thanos’ army.

Related

The MCU Finally Shows How Powerful The Black Order Really Is

In Marvel’s What If…?, the Black Order gets some much-needed redemption after being underutilized in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.

7 The Chitauri Formed Loki’s Army In The MCU’s Phase 1

The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Similarly to the Outriders, the Chitauri were also a huge extraterrestrial force employed by the Mad Titan Thanos throughout his MCU career. First seen in 2012’s The Avengers, the Chitauri had been loaned to Loki to provide him with an army for his invasion of New York City, and since they are massive in number, the Chitauri posed a major threat for the original Avengers team. The Chitauri’s use of advanced weapons and technologies make them even more terrifying and powerful, as they could take out targets from much further away rather than engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

6 Quicksilver Quickly Became An Ally To The Avengers

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Pietro Maximoff was introduced to the MCU as an antagonist, having aligned himself with HYDRA and Ultron in an effort to seek vengeance on Tony Stark’s Iron Man. In Marvel Comics, Pietro Maximoff is the mutant Quicksilver, gifted with super-speed, but this was altered for the MCU with his speed being the result of HYDRA experiments with Loki’s scepter and the Mind Stone. Pietro’s quick feet gave him the upper hand during battle with the Avengers, though he wasn’t quick enough to escape a barrage of Ultron’s bullets during the Battle of Sokovia, in which he sided with the Avengers and became a bona fide hero.

5 Ultron Was Created By Tony Stark & Bruce Banner

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

James Spader voiced Ultron in the MCU’s Phase 2, introduced as the primary adversary of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Following Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s attempts to create a peace-keeping artificial intelligence from the Mind Stone, Ultron sprung to life and sought to end the Avengers and wipe out humanity – bringing peace to Earth in his own way. Ultron’s mechanical make-up made him an incredibly difficult villain to injure, and his ability to transfer his consciousness into any number of bodies meant that the Avengers not only battled one threat, but an entire army. Ultron was moments from destroying the world, proving he was a formidable foe.

4 Ebony Maw’s Telekinetic Ability Made Him Very Powerful

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor’s Ebony Maw was by far the most powerful member of Thanos’ Black Order, as his telekinetic ability sets him far apart from his soldier comrades. Ebony Maw may not have had enhanced strength or durability, but his telekinesis and his remarkable intelligence meant that he was a persistent threat to Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, though Tony Stark and Peter Parker did work out a clever way to eliminate him. Ebony Maw seemed to be Thanos’ right-hand-man in Avengers: Infinity War, and even proved himself capable of holding the Tesseract in his hand, something that not many MCU characters can achieve safely.

3 Loki Was The Avengers’ First Villain

The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki had the honor of being the Avengers’ first villain in 2012’s The Avengers, continuing his villainous streak from his MCU debut in 2011’s Thor. Loki’s desire to rule over Earth turned him into a capable, conniving and sinister villain. His sneakiness got him close enough to Thor to stab him, and his scepter enabled him to mind control the likes of Clint Barton and Erik Selvig. Even so, the Avengers – the Hulk specifically – brought him to his knees. This started a lengthy chain of events that culminated in Loki becoming the most powerful hero in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, completing a decade-long redemption arc.

2 Thanos Was The Main Villain Of The MCU’s Infinity Saga

The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Throughout the MCU’s Infinity Saga, Josh Brolin’s Thanos was teased as an ever-present threat to Marvel Studios’ heroes. Thanos proved himself to be inconceivably strong, with enhanced reflexes, speed, agility, durability and a brute strength unmatched by almost every other character in the MCU. What set him apart even further, however, was his indomitable will. This allowed him to harness the combined power of the six Infinity Stones – turning him into the most powerful being in the universe – and wipe out half the universe’s population in an instant. Thanos was a terrifying threat in Infinity War and Endgame, though was ultimately defeated by Thor and Iron Man.

Related

Thanos’ 10 Most Impressive Displays Of Power In The MCU

Thanos was the main villain throughout the MCU’s Infinity Saga and, as such, displayed several incredible feats of power while fighting the Avengers.

1 The Scarlet Witch Was A Villain Before Becoming An Avenger

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Since her debut in the mid-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, audiences have seen Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff go from strength-to-strength, and eventually embrace her identity as the Scarlet Witch. While unassuming, the Scarlet Witch’s chaos magic gives her the potential to reshape reality – which she demonstrated in 2021’s WandaVision with her sitcom-style Hex around Westview, New Jersey. Avengers: Endgame also showed the Scarlet Witch moments away from tearing Thanos apart single-handedly, and her villainous turn in the MCU’s Phase 4 was the stuff of nightmares. While she has been featured as an Avenger herself, the Scarlet Witch is certainly the most powerful Avengers villain, too.