Every Netflix Marvel Villain Ranked Worst To Best
Who'll come out on top? Kingpin, Kilgrave or, er... Bakuto.
Marvel is known for its famous superheroes, but a hero is nothing without a villain to defeat. The Netflix expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe aimed to take a grittier route with higher age classifications pushing the boundaries of what audiences had come to expect from Marvel productions.
With this change, came a new set of anti-heroes, and when your protagonist has questionable morals, you need your villain to go even further down the dark path and double down on their dastardly deeds.
Tragically, cancellations eventually came to all six of the Marvel/Netflix shows: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, The Punisher, and The Defenders. The critical receptions may have deteriorated over time, but the Netflix MCU wasn't without its strengths, especially when it came to the new breed of bad guy they cultivated.
Together, these six shows provided us with 17 villains. Much like the Netflix MCU as a whole, these antagonists vastly varied in quality ranging from generic to downright unforgettable.
So, let's just jump straight into the bottom of the barrel.
17. Bakuto (Iron Fist Season 1, The Defenders)
Portrayed by Ramón Rodríguez, Iron Fist's Bakuto certainly played a pivitol role in Netflix/Marvel's darker expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As founder and leader of the criminal organisation The Hand, Bakuto introduced us to an antagonising force that would repeatedly challenge our anti-heroes. However, as an individual, Batuko failed to be anything other than generic.
During his time at K'un-Lun, Bakuto studied the power of the Iron Fist and in the age-old tradition of the villain, he misused both its power and its teachings - shocking, I know. Bakuto was a somewhat satisfying mirror to Danny Rand, whose dedication and allegiance to the immortal iron fist became a little dreary, but this hardly redeemed Bakuto from being anything other than a two-dimensional villain.
Even Bakuto's death in Iron Fist's first season came from the hand of second-tier character, Davos, proving that Bakuto's entire arc was lacklustre. Bakuto was resurrected by The Hand in the crossover series, The Defenders, yet even with this second chance, he failed to leave a lasting impression.
The Hand overstayed their welcome in the Netflix MCU and for that, we have Bakuto to thank. That in itself is reason enough for his last place ranking.