Certain Marvel characters frustrate viewers with their actions – things like betrayals, deceptive maneuvers, and decisions that disrupt heroic goals. This list focuses solely on what happens in the story – the consequences of actions and established facts from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s movies and shows. We’ll explore big surprises, questionable moral choices, and plot twists that had significant, lasting effects on other characters. Here’s a countdown from number twenty to number one.
Ronan
In ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, Ronan, a fanatical Kree warrior, attempts to destroy the planet Xandar. He teams up with Thanos and acquires the Power Stone, but then refuses to give it up. As his forces attack Xandarian citizens, Ronan’s flagship, the Dark Aster, approaches the capital city. The Nova Corps and the Guardians of the Galaxy manage to stop the invasion and destroy his ship, bringing an end to his destructive campaign.
Whiplash
Driven by revenge for his father’s fate, Vanko creates advanced arc-reactor technology and attempts to harm Tony Stark at the Monaco Grand Prix in ‘Iron Man 2’. He then teams up with Justin Hammer to create armed drones for a public demonstration. During the Stark Expo, Vanko takes control of the drones, turning them against the crowd. Iron Man and War Machine successfully stop the drones and defeat Vanko in a final battle.
Yellowjacket
In ‘Ant-Man,’ Darren Cross copies Hank Pym’s shrinking technology and turns it into a powerful weapon called the Yellowjacket suit. He intends to sell this technology to Hydra, which could lead to widespread use of size-changing weapons. The climactic battle puts Cassie Lang in danger as Cross repeatedly changes size while fighting. Scott Lang ultimately defeats Cross by disabling his suit when he’s incredibly small, seemingly killing him in the process.
Karli Morgenthau
In ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ Karli Morgenthau, leading the Flag Smashers, steals the Super Soldier Serum, believing it will help create a world without borders. Her group resorts to violence, bombing buildings used by the Global Repatriation Council and stealing aid shipments to try and force changes in policy. The situation worsens, leading to a hostage crisis in New York during a crucial GRC vote. Ultimately, Sharon Carter shoots Morgenthau when she refuses to surrender.
Kingo
During the events of ‘Eternals’, Kingo left the fight against Tiamut’s awakening, choosing not to take sides. He continued his public life as a Bollywood star, traveling with his assistant and secretly filming what the other Eternals were doing for a documentary. This meant a strong fighter wasn’t available for the crucial battle. After the crisis was over, he returned, having not been involved in the final plan to stop Tiamut.
Sprite
In ‘Eternals,’ Sprite faces the burden of living forever and sides with Ikaris to continue the Celestial plan. She uses her ability to create illusions against her fellow Eternals, and in a shocking moment, attacks Sersi with a knife. Phastos manages to subdue her during their attempt to prevent the Emergence. Ultimately, Sersi uses leftover energy from the Celestial beings to give Sprite the ability to age and become human.
Ikaris
In the movie ‘Eternals,’ Ikaris is ordered by Arishem to make sure Tiamut is born, even if it means destroying Earth. He kills Ajak to stop her from preventing Tiamut’s arrival and keeps it a secret from the other Eternals. When the Eternals team up to stop Tiamut, Ikaris fights against them in various places. After Tiamut fails to fully emerge, Ikaris flies directly into the sun.
Sharon Carter
In ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ Carter secretly works in Madripoor as the Power Broker. She controls a black market for stolen, advanced technology and plays different groups against each other. This eventually leads to her orchestrating the elimination of important witnesses at a GRC summit. Later, after being officially pardoned by the government, she starts trying to sell top-secret information again.
Trevor Slattery
As a huge Marvel fan, I always found the ‘Iron Man 3’ villain twist really clever. This actor, Slattery, was out of work and basically hired by Aldrich Killian to pretend to be the Mandarin. He did these broadcasts taking credit for bombings that were actually caused by problems with Killian’s Extremis technology. Tony Stark eventually figured out Slattery wasn’t a real terrorist, just a pawn. It was a surprise to see him pop up again in ‘Shang-Chi,’ though! He was being held captive at the Ten Rings base, which was a cool way to connect the stories.
M.O.D.O.K. (Darren Cross)
Corey Stoll returns as M.O.D.O.K. in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ continuing his story after being defeated as Yellowjacket in the Quantum Realm. Now working for Kang, he hunts down those who oppose him and uses powerful, high-tech weapons against the Ant-Family. His new form is a biomechanical body with a scaled face and a strong energy cannon. He eventually betrays Kang during the final battle and dies from the damage he receives.
Taskmaster (Antonia Dreykov)
In ‘Black Widow’, the villain Taskmaster is revealed to be Antonia Dreykov, who was believed to be dead after an explosion but was actually manipulated by the Red Room. She’s a highly skilled fighter who can copy her opponents’ moves – whether they use shields, bows, or claws – by carefully studying and analyzing them. A special pheromone system prevents her from attacking her father, until this programming is overcome. She’s ultimately freed by an antidote called Red Dust as the Red Room is destroyed.
Malekith
In ‘Thor: The Dark World’, the Dark Elf leader Malekith rises with the goal of retrieving the Aether, a powerful Infinity Stone. He commands his Kursed soldiers in assaults on Asgard and then focuses his attacks on Earth, specifically targeting Jane Foster. A rare alignment of the Nine Realms, known as the Convergence, gives Malekith the opportunity to cover everything in darkness. Thor intervenes by using portal technology to break up the alignment, ultimately defeating Malekith on his home world, Svartalfheim.
Ralph Bohner
In ‘WandaVision,’ it’s revealed that the character posing as Pietro in Westview is actually Ralph Bohner, a local resident being controlled by Agatha Harkness. He’s magically disguised using a beaded necklace. Monica Rambeau manages to stop him and take the necklace away, breaking the illusion and solving the mystery of the stranger at Agatha’s house.
Star-Lord
I still remember watching ‘Infinity War’ and feeling so frustrated with Peter Quill, or Star-Lord. He was part of the plan on Titan to try and take the Gauntlet from Thanos, but when he found out Gamora was gone, he just lost it. He punched Thanos, completely ruining the team’s coordinated effort! It broke Mantis’s hold on him, and Thanos was able to get free, ultimately escaping Titan. It was devastating, because it all led to Thanos completing the Snap on the battlefield in Wakanda. It felt like such a turning point, and honestly, a really painful moment to watch.
Aldrich Killian
In ‘Iron Man 3’, Killian leads the organization A.I.M. and creates Extremis, a dangerous serum that allows for rapid healing but can also cause explosions. He masterminds a series of fake terrorist attacks and uses a disguised duplicate to kidnap the President. The public face of ‘The Mandarin’ and the actor Trevor Slattery are both part of Killian’s elaborate deception. The final showdown sees Tony Stark battling Killian on a burning oil platform, utilizing a fleet of remotely controlled Iron Man suits.
John Walker
In ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ John Walker becomes the new Captain America but uses a stolen serum to boost his abilities. After his partner, Lemar Hoskins, is killed, Walker publicly murders a member of the Flag Smashers with Captain America’s shield. This act is filmed and shared worldwide, leading to his dismissal. He is later recruited for a new mission by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, operating under a different codename.
Zeus
In ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, the god Zeus rules over Omnipotence City but denies Thor’s plea for help against Gorr. He has Thor and his allies arrested and even attacks Thor with a lightning bolt. The team manages to escape with a powerful weapon, leaving Zeus wounded in his throne room. After the credits, Zeus dispatches Hercules to hunt down Thor and seek revenge.
Thunderbolt Ross
Following the battles in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, Ross creates and implements the Sokovia Accords, a set of rules for the Avengers. He then oversees the imprisonment of Captain America’s teammates after their conflict at the Leipzig airport in ‘Captain America: Civil War’. Before they break free, Ross places Wanda Maximoff and others under house arrest. Later, in ‘Black Widow’, he reappears to lead the mission targeting Natasha Romanoff.
He Who Remains
In the ‘Loki’ series, He Who Remains, at the Citadel at the End of Time, reveals how the TVA came to be and the history of the Multiversal War. He maintains order by eliminating timelines that split off and potentially create dangerous versions of himself. However, Sylvie ultimately kills him after a tense confrontation, which removes the only thing keeping the timelines in check. This leads to the timelines breaking apart and countless variants appearing.
The High Evolutionary
The High Evolutionary, first appearing in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’, is a scientist obsessed with creating a flawless civilization through genetic engineering. He kidnapped Rocket as a young animal and altered his brain to make him incredibly intelligent and resourceful. When his artificial planet, Counter-Earth, didn’t meet his standards, he ordered its destruction. Ultimately, the Guardians stopped him by disabling his ship, rescuing the creatures he’d captured, and defeating him on board the Arête.
Share your picks in the comments and tell us who you’d move up or down the list.
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2025-10-25 03:49