10 MCU Villains With the Most Tragic Backstories

In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of their biggest weaknesses was the villains. While the heroes were all well-defined, the villains often fell into the trope of the evil mirrored version of the hero. After sixteen years and various films and television programs, the MCU has introduced a host of villains. While some, like the Nazi-affiliated Red Skull or cruel animal abuser The High Evolutionary, certainly show the true evils that dwell in people, many villains of the MCU have rather tragic backstories.

To make an audience empathize more with the villain, they tend to show something from their childhood. Eight of the ten villains on this list have their childhood history either told to a character or shown to the audience.

The MCU certainly has plenty of former antagonist-turned-heroes like Echo or Adam Warlock; they aren’t villains. Even Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, despite being the titular antagonist of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, isn’t much of a villain at all, and the MCU went to great lengths to make him more of an anti-hero.

For this list, we are specifically looking at the characters who were the main threats to their films. These tragedies don’t entirely excuse the villains, but they give them some new depth. These are the MCU villains with the most tragic backstories.

10 Whiplash

Iron Man 2

Whiplash might be an often-overlooked and forgotten MCU villain. This is partially because Iron Man 2 is regarded as one of the worst entries in the franchise, and star Mickey Rourke has been rather unkind to the movie and the filmmakers. Due to it often being forgotten about, one might be forgiven for forgetting that Whiplash, real name Ivan Vanko, actually has a rather tragic backstory and childhood.

A Child of Abuse

Ivan’s father, Anton Vanko (the original Crimson Dynamo from the comics) was once Howard Stark’s business partner on building Arc Reactor technology, but he was deported when Howard Stark reported that Anton Vanko was selling military secrets to the Russians.

Nick Fury tells Tony Stark that Anton spent the following years in a drunk rage, which he likely took out on his son. While Ivan Vanko himself might not be the most complex character, it was clear early on that Marvel Studios was trying to add some tragedy to their villains.

9 Kingpin

Daredevil, Hawkeye, Echo

Kingpin, the main villain of Daredevil, has made a big presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe lately. He has appeared in both Hawkeye and Echo, and will return again in Daredevil: Born Again; the MCU has carried over much of the character’s backstory from the Daredevil television series.

Kingpin, real name Wilson Fisk, grew up in a low-income family household, and Wilson Fisk’s father abused both him and his mother. One day, young Fisk had enough and killed his father. Echo later showed that despite all of his status and power, Kingpin is still that scared little boy underneath who felt helpless to defend his mother.

Kingpin Becomes More Like His Father

Wilson would later dedicate his life to becoming the Kingpin, a criminal mastermind who, in his twisted mind, wanted not only power but to make the city of New York better, or at least in his image. Moreover, the psychological effects of his abusive childhood still have made lasting impacts on Kingpin.

Not only does he try to remake his sense of self, crafting an image of refined dignity to hide the monster that lurks beneath, but he, in his own way, becomes a manipulative and abusive father figure in his own right.

While he never physically harmed young Maya Lopez, Echo makes it clear that Kingpin was emotionally abusive to her, all in the guise of love. Kingpin’s tragic backstory does not excuse his actions, but it shows how hard the cycles are to break.

8 Loki

Thor, The Avengers

While Loki is now more of an anti-hero, his status in Thor and The Avengers still defines him as one of Marvel’s great villains. Part of what has made him so beloved and able to work as an anti-hero is his tragic background.

Loki was the adopted son of Odin, but this was concealed from him until his adult years when he discovered that he was, in fact, a Frost Giant and never was destined to be King of Asgard like he was told he could be his entire life. Loki grew up in Thor’s shadow, and for years, all he wanted to do was gain his father’s love and respect, not realizing he always had it.

A Lost God Looking for Purpose

Loki would eventually act out and felt he had to be defined as a villain. Even though he wanted to tell himself and others he was a villain, he still grieved when both Friga and Odin died. Despite saying they weren’t his parents, he loved them, and they loved him back.

Loki is a child who feels lied to and, in that betrayal, wants to push everyone away. Despite all of that, his family loved him and fought for him. The series Loki showed that despite Loki telling himself he was a villain, he could be so much more, and his series ended with him saving the Multiverse.

7 Wenwu

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Little is known about Wenwu‘s backstory, aside from the fact that he was an ancient Chinese warlord. While that part of his origin is not the tragic part, it is how his story relates to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that makes it tragic.

The audience is informed that when Wenwu met Ying Li, he put the ten-ring weapons away and left his criminal life behind him. He tried to be a family man, but when former enemies of Wenwu’s past killed his wife, he returned to his violent criminal life, which would later drive a wedge between him and his children.

Can a Criminal Start a Family and Be Happy?

Wenwu is the Marvel version of Michael Corleone’s quote from The Godfather Part III, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” While he might have started as a criminal warlord, there is a tragedy in the idea that someone could attempt to turn their life around and move on from their horrible past to find redemption, only for it to be taken from them. His family and children were forced to suffer for his past.

Was it a mistake for him to believe he could live a happy, normal life after his many years as the leader of a criminal empire? That is up to the viewer to decide if he could have ever truly found redemption or a peaceful life. Yet actor Tony Leung sells every bit of Wenwu’s tragedy, making the audience understand him, and he is still the best villain in the Multiverse Saga so far.

6 Zemo

Captain America: Civil War

Zemo was introduced in Captain America: Civil War as a man out for revenge against The Avengers for their actions in Avengers: Age of Ultron. While Zemo is both a wealthy baron (hence his comic book name, Baron Zemo) and the head of an elite kill squad for the Sokovian government named “Echo Scorpion,” which does not make him immediately free from sin, his motivations for becoming a villain are certainly human.

His wife and children were killed following The Avenger’s action in Sokovia, making him hate not only the Avengers but the entire concept of enhanced superpowered beings.

A Family Man With a Plan

Zemo is a mysterious figure in Captain America: Civil War. The audience is first meant to believe there is another villain out for world domination, another Red Skull or Alexander Pierce. Yet, as the film goes on, it is clear that he has no interest in world domination. H

e is just a man who wants revenge against the people he blames for the death of his family. To an extent, he is right. If Tony Stark and Bruce Banner had not created Ultron, his family would still be alive, and Sokovia would still exist.

5 Namor

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Namor is the ruler of the underwater city of Talokan, inhabited by a group of descendants of the Mayans who consumed a special plant laced with Vibranium in the 1500s that gave them the ability to breathe underwater.

Because Namor’s mother was pregnant when she consumed the herb, Namor was born a mutant and had the ability to breathe both oxygen and water while also having wings on his feet that granted him flight, and he was given the name K’uk’ulkan, after the feathered serpent god.

On his first trip to the surface world to bury his mother in her ancestral home, he witnesses the horrors of colonization as the Spanish enslaved the Mesoamericans. He kills the invaders, and a Spanish priest calls him “niño sin amor,” which translates to “child without love.”

A Child Without Love Given the Burden of Leadership

What is interesting about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is that Namor is treated as an antagonist, but the movie is careful not to make him an outright villain. Namor is a king motivated by the need to protect people, and his distrust of the surface world is rooted in a very real fear of colonization.

Namor was only a child when he saw the horrors that the surface could do to his people if they were discovered, and he has spent his whole life being a king who protects his nation by any means necessary. Namor’s motivations are entirely understandable and because the audience knows the tragedy of his people, he has the potential to be one of Marvel Studios’ most fascinating characters.

4 Killmonger

Black Panther

When it comes to Marvel villains, Killmonger might be one of the most complex. His origin story is one of the most powerful and visceral in the entire MCU. Born Erik Stevens, he was the son of Prince N’Jobu and an American woman in Oakland, California, who, as a young boy, found his father killed and left alone.

He spent his life training to return to Wakanda, a place he only ever knew about from his father’s story. He gained the name Killmonger from his time as a Navy Seal. He is motivated not only by revenge for his father’s death but to fulfill his father’s mission to use Wakanda’s weapons and technology to give oppressed people all over the world the means to fight injustice by any means necessary.

In Another Life, He Could Have Been A Hero

Of all the MCU villains, Killmonger is the one the audience learns the most about in just one entry. The film treats him very much as a co-lead as it even features a scene of him in the Astral Plain speaking to his deceased father, giving a greater insight into him as a villain and the ultimate tragedy of his character.

He becomes the personification of Wakanda’s sins. While his methods certainly are extreme, a palpable anger left many audiences thinking Killmonger brought up some valid points. The movie even semi-agrees with this as T’Challa is changed by his battle with his cousin, and he decides that Wakanda could be doing more. In another life, Killmonger and T’Challa might have been close friends, but due to their father’s mistakes, they were put on different paths.

3 Scarlet Witch

Avengers: Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

If one character has had a rocky road in the MCU, it is Wanda Maximoff, aka The Scarlet Witch. Introduced as an antagonist looking to take down The Avengers in Avengers: Age of Ultron, she eventually joined the team and became one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Yet following the tragic events of Avengers: Infinity War and WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff fulfilled her role as the Scarlet Witch and became the main villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

A Tragic Character Giving a Tragic Ending

Wanda’s turn to villainy was controversial among fans, particularly as the audience had come to know and really care for Wanda Maximoff for over seven years. She was orphaned as a child due to Tony Stark’s weapons; she had lost her brother, Quicksilver, and the love of her life, Vision. She fell into a depression, creating a perfect reality for herself with a family that she would eventually have to give up.

Wanda becomes a full-blown villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but she sees that she has gone too far and decides to sacrifice herself. Wanda Maximoff’s story in the MCU is filled with tragedies, and many hope she returns to a future MCU project to find some semblance of peace.

2 Taskmaster

Black Widow

Taskmaster is the embodiment of Black Widow’s tragic past coming back to haunt her. The character is reworked from the comics, and in the MCU is Antonia Dreykov, the Draykov’s daughter whom Loki alluded to being a big part of Black Widow’s dark past in The Avengers.

She was the daughter of General Dreykov, the man who ran the Black Widow program, and who was caught in an explosion that Black Widow intended for Dreykov. Not only did Dreykov survive, but he turned his badly wounded daughter into a brainwashed killer.

A Daughter Made Into Her Twisted Father’s Image

There are so many tragic layers to Taskmaster. The first is being a young child caught in the crossfire of an attack meant for her evil father. The second is that father taking his daughter and deciding the best thing to do for her is to make her a weapon, taking complete control of her, where her consciousness becomes a prisoner in her body.

Olga Kurylenko does a great job conveying this with her eyes, showcasing the pain going on in Taskmaster’s mind. A deadly fighter, but not by choice, fans are curious to see how Taskmaster fits into the upcoming Thunderbolts*.

Black Widow ended with the implication that they were going to free Antonia of her father’s programming, so will she be a willing member of the team, or is she once again a puppet under the control of a new political figurehead? Audiences will find out soon, but hopefully, she gets some semblance of a happy ending.

1 Ghost

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Easily the villain with the most tragic backstory is Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Despite the film being a light-hearted comedy and deliberately released after the tragic Avengers: Infinity War to give the audience somewhat of a palette cleanser, the movie’s villain, Ghost/Ava Starr, came from an unexpectedly grim place.

As a young child, Ava was caught in a Quantum explosion that killed her mother and father. While Ava survived, she was caught in molecular disequilibrium, granting her phasing powers but also chronic pain.

A Child Turned Into a Soldier

If the idea of a child losing both her parents and then no longer being able to hug anyone likely when she needs it most while also being in constant pain was not enough, the movie points out that despite the best efforts of Doctor Bill Foster to take care of Ava, S.H.I.E.L.D. exploited the young girl’s ability.

They built her a special containment suit and made her into a weapon, an operative to carry out secret missions. A young child was put through experiments and eventually trained to be a killer. Her primary motivation in Ant-Man and the Wasp is not power or revenge but to make the pain of her ability finally go away.

Thankfully Janet Pym is able to take away her pain, and that was the last audiences saw of Ghost. With confirmation, she is part of the cast for Thunderbolts*, and it will be interesting to see where Marvel takes her story and if she finds a bond with fellow tragic villain Taskmaster.