Summary

• MCU villains have varying fates, from redemption to death, setting the stage for dynamic character arcs and potential returns in future projects.
• Recent MCU installments have brought complexity to villains like Thanos, the Green Goblin, and Xu Wenwu, elevating them beyond mere antagonists.
• The longevity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe allows for the evolution of villains over time, keeping audiences engaged with their multifaceted journeys.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has lasted for over 15 years, and that longevity means it can sometimes be hard to which villains are alive, dead, or of indeterminate status. The fates of these supervillains are as varied as the heroes they face off against. While many of the MCU’s villains perish, others are left in a more complicated status, with some even redeeming themselves and living on as heroes for the rest of their time.

While the the movies of the MCU have largely corrected this issue in recent installments, with villains like Thanos, the Green Goblin, and Xu Wenwu, whose sheer threat level to the MCU’s heroes is matched by their complexity as characters. Of all the franchise’s properties thus far, here are the fates of the MCU’s villains.

MCU Phase 1

45 Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane) - Dead

Original Appearance: Iron Man (2008)

By the third act of Iron Man, Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane develops and uses his Iron Monger armor against Stark. The two only fight once in the movie, but the villain survives a fake-out death in which his armor freezes after flying too high. However, he survives the fall but shortly after is knocked into and fatally electrocuted by a massive Arc Reactor.

44 The Abomination (Emil Blonsky) - Alive And Redeemed

Original Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky becomes the villainous Abomination in The Incredible Hulk, though he ultimately survives his battle with the Jade Giant. Blonsky returns in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, having reformed and become an ally and friend of Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme. With the ability to fully control when he transforms and maintain his personality when he does, it's unclear if Emil will appear again in the MCU or not.

43 Whiplash (Ivan Vanko) - Dead

Original Appearance: Iron Man 2 (2010)

In Iron Man 2, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) dons the Whiplash armor to seek revenge against Stark as he believes Tony's father stole ideas and information from his father. Vanko is ultimately killed after teaming up with Justin Hammer and battling Tony and Rhodey alongside Hammer Drones. He ultimately enables his suit's self-destruct function in a last attempt to take Tony out with him, which it does not.

42 Justin Hammer - Alive

Original Appearance: Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2 was the first MCU movie to have multiple villains, with Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) working alongside Ivan Vanko. Hammer is a comedically inept rival of Tony Stark’s who ends up being arrested at the end of the film and, as shown in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King, remains at Seagate Penitentiary. Though there's been no official comment, rumors swirl that Hammer could return in the currently-undated Armor Wars movie.

The Armor Wars comic event deals with Tony Stark's enemies selling and using his technology for evil, including Justin Hammer.

41 Loki - Main Variant Is Dead (But Variants Are Active In The MCU)

Original Appearance: Thor (2011)

Tom Hiddleston's Loki is one of the MCU’s most popular and complicated villains, appearing throughout the franchise in various forms. The main timeline’s Loki is dead, killed by Thanos after trying to betray him in Avengers: Infinity War. However, the Avengers created a new timeline branch when they revisited 2012 New York in Endgame. The Loki there, who escaped capture with the Tesseract, has been the focus of the MCU since and is currently stationed outside of time, keeping the whole MCU multiverse intact.

Loki's post-Endgame story is told through Loki seasons 1 and 2 on Disney+

40 Red Skull (Johann Schmidt) - Unknown

Original Appearance: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Hugo Weaving's Red Skull is Captain America’s arch nemesis, who appeared to have died in Captain America: The First Avenger when the Tesseract evaporated him. However, it's revealed in Avengers: Infinity War that he was instead transported to Vormir to forever stand watch over the Soul Stone. It's unclear if he remains alive after Thanos' destruction of the infinity stones or if his unnaturally extended life ended with them.

MCU Phase 2

39 Aldrich Killian- Dead

Original Appearance: Iron Man 3 (2013)

Though the Mandarin was marketed as Iron Man 3's central antagonist, it's revealed that he's simply an actor hired to stir up drama. Scientist Aldrich Killian is revealed to be the man pulling the strings, using Extremis to grant people unstable fire-based abilities and commit terrorist acts. Killian dies in the film’s third act when Pepper Potts uses a combination of her Extremis powers and the weaponry from the Mark IX Iron Man armor to disintegrate him. Trevor, the aloof actor playing the Mandarin, still lives on.

38 Malekith - Dead

Original Appearance: Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) is the leader of the Dark Elves and the antagonist of Thor: The Dark World, attempting to use the Reality Stone to plunge the universe into darkness. Malekith is killed in the film’s finale when the efforts of Thor and his allies result in Malekith being crushed to death by his Ark warship. Despite Eccleston's proven talent as an actor, Malekith simply wasn't given much to work with in the movie and remains one of the MCU's more disappointing antagonists.

37 Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) - Alive And Redeemed

Original Appearance: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Steve Rogers’ best friend and WWII squate Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) becomes the brainwashed agent of HYDRA known as The Winter Soldier following the events of the first Captain America film. In his following MCU appearances, Barnes begins to his past life and breaks free from HYDRA’s brainwashing. He's been a hero for quite some time now in the MCU, and he's set to appear next as a member of the Thunderbolts' cast.

36 Ronan the Acc - Dead

Original Appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Lee Pace's Ronan the Acc is a Kree MCU villain whose plot to destroy Xandar inadvertently creates the Guardians of the Galaxy in the film of the same name. Ronan dies when the Guardians control the energy of the Power Stone and use it to disintegrate him. He is seen again, but it's via a prequel when a younger Ronan briefly appears in Captain Marvel.