30. Justin Hammer
Not quite a supervillain, Sam Rockwell proved one of the few real highlights of “Iron Man 2.” Rockwell had been on the shortlist to play Tony Stark before Downey Jr. bagged the gig, and plays corporate scumbag Hammer like an evil twin of the hero, with the cocky asshole dial pushed all the way up. Rockwell gives the kind of joyously detailed performance he always does (complete with tan-lines on his hands), even if the film never makes him much of a threat. To catch a little extra of the character, check out Drew Pearce’s short “Hail To The King” (also starring Scoot McNairy and Ben Kingsley).
29. Jane Foster
These Marvel movies haven’t always been a great place for women, but credit to the otherwise hyper-masculine “Thor” franchise, they made Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster more than just a love interest. Obviously you’d have to in order to attract an actress of her caliber, but the whip-smart scientist who doesn’t sit around waiting to be rescued was a breath of fresh air for the blockbuster, even if the second movie didn’t use her as effectively (she’s reportedly not going to be returning for the next film).
28. Darcy Lewis
With Alien Viking Gods, Ice Giants and Aethers and what have you, the “Thor” films needed someone to metaphorically raise an eyebrow and point out how ridiculous everything is. That person is Kat Dennings in the form of snarky grad student Darcy Lewis. She’s ostensibly there to help out Selvig and Jane Foster, but her wisecracks and unashamed lusting after Chris Hemsworth’s abs made her a welcome addition to the film (though she also suffers in the sequel from not really having a reason to be there).
27. Nebula
Achieving a sort of geek event horizon, the Marvel Cinematic Universe touched on “Doctor Who” mythology by casting Karen Gillan (aka Amy Pond) as Nebula in ‘Guardians.’ Gamora’s half-sister and mirror image, Nebula is the “good” daughter who’s remained loyal to their father Thanos by remaining evil. She sadly doesn’t get that much screen time nor that much dialogue, but she looks fucking cool, is a deeply sadististic character and is the perfect sparring partner for Gamora, so we look forward to seeing her in the sequel.
26. Sam Wilson/The Falcon
Anthony Mackie should be in everything, so it’s great that he’s joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, seeing as pretty soon they’re going to be the only films made for the rest of time. Mackie first cropped up in “The Winter Soldier” as Captain America’s new BFF, a soldier with a jet-powered backpack, and he lent the film some graceful comic notes while also suggesting both PTSD and an adrenaline junkie’s hunger for a return to action, which added some humanity to the film. He has a brief bit in ‘Ultron,’ but it looks like he’ll be crucial to future movies, and that’s good news for everyone.
25. Ultron
Made in Tony Stark’s image —brassy, arrogant, motormouthed— the robot Ultron may go down in the MCU books as a fan favorite, but he’s one of the weaker links in ‘Age Of Ultron.’ While he spouts ideological maxims of saving the world from itself, precautionary deterrents and using any-means-necessary preventive measures, his end game is pretty basic: world destruction. We’re a little divided overall —some of us find James Spader‘s voice work refreshingly characterful for a robot villain, while others feel the character loves the sound of his own voice too much and which gets tiresome pretty fast. Whatever your take, it’s inarguable and a bit disappointing that like the first ‘Avengers’ film, his strategy is basically “send a bunch of robots in here to blow shit up.”
24. Alexander Pierce
It’s probably time to put the ’70s-conspiracy-thriller meme to rest with respect to “The Winter Soldier” —there’s about as much “Parallax View” in that film as there was Ozu DNA in “The Wolverine.” Much of that association came from the casting of Robert Redford as S.H.I.E.L.D. head/secret HYDRA leader Alexander Pierce, and it was an undoubted coup, but perhaps less for evoking “Three Days Of The Condor” than because it was a chance to see a cinematic paragon of virtue and American indie cinema’s patron play a sci-fi Nazi. Redford’s natural gravitas and charisma made Pierce an atypically effective Marvel villain, enough so that we were almost sorry to see him go.
23. Pepper Potts
Gwyneth Paltrow might be more focused on macrobiotic diets and lifestyle blogs than acting these days, but she proved to be an unexpected boon to the “Iron Man” movies. Looser and funnier than she’s been in recent years, Paltrow brought a welcome screwball edge to her role as Tony Stark’s longtime assistant/love interest, sharing a ton of chemistry with Downey Jr. and proving genuinely pivotal to the franchise. One couldn’t help but cheer when she got superpowers of her own at the end of the third film, even if it felt a little shoehorned.
22. Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull
These Marvel movies have, as we’ve said, generally suffered from some underwhelming bad guys, but one of the better examples has been Hugo Weaving’s mad science Nazi The Red Skull, the principle adversary in “The First Avenger.” Weaving’s played the bad guy enough times that it would have been easy for him to be retreading finer hours, but complete with a Werner Herzog accent, he did a damn fine job at a difficult and somewhat obviously one-note character.
21. Nick Fury
To be fair, Samuel L Jackson has a thankless task playing Nick Fury. For so long relegated to cameo-level appearances or sudden walk-ons in post-credits sequences, his function was always to operate as a tie-in element between disparate entries in the MCU, and thereafter to deliver equal doses of exposition and tough-love motivation to the team. The first Avengers film gave him perhaps his most interesting part yet, as his motives were called into question and he got a good moment in ‘Winter Soldier,’ but all that really saves Fury from forgettable and humorless blandness within the MCU is that it’s Samuel L Jackson in an eyepatch. Which counts for quite a lot.
Captain American "isn\’t remotely cool"? Clearly you\’re paying too much attention to Avengers-Cap (goody-two-shoes) and not enough to Solo-Movie-Cap (a punk). Stark is an ego-maniacal menace.
I love the ranks but Nick Furry should definitely be in the top 20.
This list could be interesting, but could you point out why the characters are interesting instead of what they did wrong? I understand some of the opinions, but you\’re also missing things like how The Winter Soldier\’s appeal is his connection with Steve and how his nuanced scenes actually do show a lot about him once he starts remembering. Plus how his flashback and first movie shows how much the two cared about each other.
Little disappointing that Daredevil and Wilson Fisk were omitted. Not technically "cinematic" universe character, but still part of that shared universe.
If credits-teasers count, then Howard ought to be up here somewhere, no?
I have seen "Age of Ultron," and I still think Hawkeye is at least twenty spots too high on this list.
Interesting list, but I would have put Alexander Pierce (as played by Robert Redford) much higher up the list. One of the reasons CA:TWS was so successful as a film was Redford\’s portrayal of a villain that was not really that villainous. In fact, unlike so many villains in the MCU, Pierce/Redford had a very clear, logical and compelling reason for pursuing the goals he did. He convincingly believed in those goals as righteous in a way that comes close to convincing the audience that he is correct in his thinking. That\’s no easy feat and what makes The Winter Soldier such a compelling and thoughtful drama to boot.
More lists please. How about ranking the top 25 domestic all time grossers. It\’s a fascinating collections of films that totally deserve to be there and totally don\’t
I knew Iron Man would be number 1. But I\’m stoked Chris Evans is #2 I totally agree. He had the hardest job turning a square into a totally badass funny and charismatic dude. It\’s the same dilemma DC faces with Superman but they haven\’t been able to pull off. Props to Chris, great list
Love your ranking lists guys!!!!
The mid-credit scene to Age of Ultron will bump the purple baddie up a few spaces.
I like how you guys used the credits picture of Thanos from the first Avengers, where he was portrayed by a completely different actor (Damion Poitier – no relation to esteemed actor Sidney Poitier) while talking up Josh Brolin and not using a shot of his appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy. As one of many lifetime Thanos fans, the "underwhelming" nature of his appearances and the setup involving the infinity stones makes a lot of sense. To just have him run roughshod from the first film onward wouldn\’t have done any good – they needed to establish the Avengers as a team and having a presence like Thanos undermining that would\’ve made the film suffer. Presumably once we get to the Infinity War film(s) we won\’t have to worry about any more team building developments and we\’ll be treated to a story that showcases the kind of cosmic threat someone like an Infinity Gauntlet wielding Thanos poses to the Marvel cinematic universe at large (this is the guy who stood nose-to-nose with Captain America and told him straight that in spite of his noble efforts he was still going to die – a moment I desperately hope to see translated to the film because it\’s one of those great sequences in the comics that defines both characters).
Thanos by far is the shittiest character in Marvel universal. Looks like a joke.
Don\’t forget to watch the trailer for the REAL Superhero movie, Batman Versus Superman : Dawn of Justice. Thanks for reading.
and oh spoiler warning.
Seriously? NO NICK FURY in the top twenty? What.. the… frack!?