Marvel Studios spends a great deal of time on developing origin stories for its heroes, but many of the MCU’s villains also have strong backstories.

Marvel Studios has explored the powerful origin stories of many of the most terrifying and memorable villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since the start of the MCU with 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel Studios has introduced dozens of iconic supervillains from Marvel Comics into the live-action franchise, with each one posing major challenges and deadly threats to the heroes of the hour. While every MCU installment has featured a dedicated villain, Marvel Studios has also introduced bigger enemies who have been developed as overarching villains for the MCU’s expansive Sagas, including Josh Brolin’s Mad Titan Thanos for the Infinity Saga and Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror for the Multiverse Saga.

Often, origin stories for Marvel Studios’ villains have been connected directly to the stories of the MCU’s heroes, with many, such as Tony Stark’s Iron Man, creating their own villains through their previous actions. Villain backstories in the MCU have also helped to make some of the franchise’s greatest foes seem sympathetic, with their motions becoming understandable and sometimes even beneficial to the state of the Earth or the universe as a whole. Often, supervillain backstories in the MCU have also teased these foes being reformed or transforming into heroes, while more recent villains introduced in Phases 4 and 5 have provided explanations for some of the MCU’s oldest mysteries.

10Taskmaster Allowed Black Widow To Fix Her Greatest Mistake

Olga Kurylenko’s Antonia Dreykov Was The Villain Of Black Widow (2021)

Olga Kurylenko debuted as Antonia Dreykov, a.k.a. Taskmaster, in 2021’s Black Widow. The Phase 4 film explored Natasha Romanoff’s story between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, and helped to answer one of the MCU’s longest-running mysteries, as Loki’s “Dreykov’s daughter” comment from 2012’s The Avengers was finally explained. As a child, Romanoff used Antonia Dreykov as bait to make an assassination attempt on her father, General Dreykov, but Antonia survived and was subsequently subjected to a life of experimentation and subjugation. During Black Widow, Romanoff was able to free Antonia from her father’s control, redeeming herself from her greatest mistake.

9Hela’s Backstory Uncovers The Truth Of Asgard’s Empire

Cate Blanchett’s Hela Was The Villain Of Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

2017’s Thor: Ragnarok revealed that Thor and Loki had a secret older sister, Cate Blanchett’s Hela, who had fought alongside Odin to obtain control over the Nine Realms and establish Asgard’s empire. While Odin had tried to hide the truth of their conquest, even banishing his own daughter to Hel, Hela uncovered the truth upon her return to Asgard, proving herself to be an incredibly formidable and powerful villain to the Nine Realms. The explanation of Hela’s backstory proved that Odin had kept a great deal hidden from his sons and subjects, yet helped Thor pave his own path in an effort to rule better than his father.

8Zemo’s Backstory Proves The Avengers Have Created Their Own Villains

Daniel Brühl’s Zemo Was The Villain Of Captain America: Civil War (2016)

One of the longest-running themes of the MCU is the idea of the franchise’s heroes creating their own demons. This has been seen several times over the years, and Daniel Brühl’s Baron Helmut Zemo is the perfect example, as he became a staunch enemy to the Avengers after the events of 2015’s Age of Ultron. During the Phase 2 crossover film, the Avengers’ actions caused the destruction of Sokovia, and the deaths of Zemo’s wife, son and father. This prompted him to target the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, and began his battle against the MCU’s super soldiers that continued into Phase 4’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

7Ultron’s Avengers Link Makes Him Tony Stark’s Biggest Mistake

James Spader’s Ultron Was The Villain Of Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

Alongside Zemo, the artificial intelligence Ultron, voiced by James Spader, is also a prime example of the Avengers’ creating their own enemies. Ultron was inadvertently activated after Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s meddling with the Mind Stone housed in Loki’s scepter, and the villain took control of Stark’s Iron Legion to create his own networked army. Ultron posed a potentially world-ending threat during Age of Ultron, making him Tony Stark’s greatest mistake, and the events of the Battle of Sokovia led to the emergence of other villains including Baron Zemo. Ultron proved to be a success in alternate realities, but presented the Avengers with one of their most terrifying challenges.

Earth-838’s Ultron was a success in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but a version of Ultron seen in What If…? season 1 became even more formidable than the version in Age of Ultron, threatening the entire multiverse after empowering himself with the Infinity Stones.

6Xu Wenwu Answered The MCU’s Oldest Mystery

Tony Leung’s Xu Wenwu Was The Villain Of Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)

The Ten Rings has existed since the start of the MCU, but it wasn’t until Tony Leung’s debut as Xu Wenwu in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that the truth of the terrorist organization was explained. Wenwu’s backstory revealed he discovered the mystical Ten Rings roughly a thousand years ago, and they granted him immortality and superhuman abilities, which he used to build a global empire. Even though he renounced the Ten Rings after falling in love, he sported them again after his wife’s death, proving himself to be one of the MCU’s most troubled villains, which was again shown in his manipulation by the Dwelller-in-Darkness.

5The Winter Soldier Went From Best Friend To Powerful Enemy

Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes Was The Villain Of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes has one of the most emotionally-rich backstories in the MCU, as he was introduced as Steve Rogers’ childhood best friend in Captain America: The First Avenger, but later became one of Captain America’s most powerful enemies. After seemingly falling to his death, Bucky was taken in by HYDRA and brainwashed to become the perfect assassin. This led to Bucky, now operating as the Winter Soldier, coming back into contact with Rogers in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Luckily, Bucky’s conditioning was eventually removed, allowing him to become an MCU hero, but his connection to Captain America still made his turn to villainy even more tragic.

4Killmonger’s Childhood Story Sets Up A Sympathetic Villain

Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger Was The Villain Of Black Panther (2018)

Erik “Killmonger” Stevens debuted in 2018’s Black Panther as the perfect antagonist to the late Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa. Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger was T’Challa’s cousin, the son of T’Chaka’s brother, N’Jobu, who was accidentally killed by the former Wakandan King, with the young Killmonger being left abandoned. This kick-started his lifelong quest to infiltrate Wakanda and use its advanced resources to arm minorities around the world. Killmonger’s motivations were incredibly understandable, and though his methods were questionable and certainly villainous from T’Challa’s perspective, his actions did manage to change the way T’Challa ruled over his Kingdom, so, in a way, he did succeed.

Killmonger returned to greet Shuri in the Ancestral Plane in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever upon her ingestion of her synthetic heart-shaped herb, teaching her new lessons on how to be the best Black Panther possible.

3Loki’s Backstory Sets Him Up As A Villain & A Hero

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki Was The Villain Of Thor (2011) & The Avengers (2012)

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is one of the MCU’s oldest villains, debuting in 2011’s Thor and persisting as the original Avengers team’s adversary. As the brother of Thor, Loki grew up in his brother’s shadow, always seeking the approval of Odin, but never getting it. This quest for approval led to the Battle of New York in The Avengers, but also set Loki on a redemption arc in the MCU’s Phase 3. Even though he met his demise in Infinity War, a variant of Loki embarked on a new adventure with the TVA in Loki on Disney+, which led to him protecting the entire multiverse and completing his full redemption storyline.

2Thanos’ Backstory Is What Makes Him Such A Great MCU Villain

Josh Brolin’s Thanos Was The Villain Of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) & Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Josh Brolin’s Thanos was depicted as the primary villain of the Infinity Saga, but his conquest for the Infinity Stones was detailed specifically in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. After predicting that his homeworld, Titan, would experience collapse due to overpopulation, Thanos suggested random genocide, and though he was considered mad, his prediction would eventually come to pass. Imagining this for the entire universe, Thanos set out to wipe out half the population of the cosmos with the six Infinity Stones in an effort to bring balance to the universe, hoping the survivors would be grateful. His actions were reversed, but many still believe Thanos was right in his intentions.

1Scarlet Witch’s Villain Arc Built Up Over Several Years

Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff Was The Villain Of WandaVision (2021) & Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)

Wanda Maximoff was introduced as a minor antagonist in Age of Ultron, but Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch would go on to become a prominent member of the Avengers. After losing their parents, Wanda and her brother signed up for HYDRA experiments that gave them superhuman abilities (or enhanced pre-existing powers). Later, after the death of Pietro in Age of Ultron, and the loss of Vision and their children in WandaVision, Wanda became corrupted by the Darkhold, completing her transformation into a bona fide villain. The Scarlet Witch’s backstory is one of the most tragic storylines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, providing a deep dive into themes of grief and trauma.