5 Inherent Problems That Explain Why Every Marvel Villain Is Boring

Marvel's villains are boring. No two ways about it. The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be an absolute powerhouse, dominating the box office and redefining pop culture, but the studio proves time and again incapable of making a bad guy you can actually fear.

That's not saying they're overtly rubbish characters, just that they're so bland it's as if they're simply present out of obligation; a trope that must be included akin to Stan Lee's cameo, rather than an essential part of the movie.

There are exceptions to the rule. That Loki's awesome goes without saying and the way Thanos has been slowly built up over the past few years makes him an imposing figure, even if nothing has actually been revealed about his plan on screen. I even found Ronan, Guardians Of The Galaxy's hammy Kree warlord, a rather empathetic antagonist on rewatch, even if most of his threat is inferred.

Those few cases (you could argue The Winter Soldier is the series' most intense baddie, although he's morphed into an anti-hero) don't shake the fact that every time a new MCU movie hits the reaction is still the same - it was invariably a load of fun, but the villain's presence was incredibly muted. Why does this happen without fail? And why do Marvel not seem to care? Here are five reasons that actually explain why Marvel's villains are so damn boring.