10 Massively Underrated Marvel Villains

Now that Marvel has spread beyond comics to a film and TV empire, more people than ever before know their iconic villains.

However, while the likes of Loki and Ultron may be instantly recognisable along with the big-name villains, Marvel actually has a whole treasure trove of great bad guys that it can exploit.

Unfortunately though, a lot of these characters don't get the respect they deserve and are often relegated to the lower tiers of a hero's rogue's gallery. A lot of them have the potential for greatness, but they end up serving as the backup to more famous villains or as cannon fodder in large groups like the Masters of Evil.

There are still hidden gems hidden among the likes of Paste-Pot Pete and Frog-Man. Some are villains who should be used way better than they are now, others are simply in need of a comeback and one just needs to stop being written with such a ridiculous accent.

One of the most common complaints about Marvel movie villains is how generic and underdeveloped they are, maybe it's time to give some of these guys a shot instead.

Apart from Ultron, Hank Pym doesn't exactly have the best villains (heck, his other archenemy is a genius with a pointy skull called Egghead). Whirlwind has potential though.

Whirlwind got off to a pretty bad start. In his first appearance, he was called the Human Top and used his mutant power to create tornadoes to spin around (like a record baby) and not much else. Since he became Whirlwind, he's become a bit more of a threat, but still mainly just uses his powers to fly or throw himself at enemies.

Heroes like the Flash have shown that the ability to create hurricanes and vortexes is a formidable ability and Whirlwind has the potential to be a real threat if used better. Unfortunately, he mainly seems to just appear in the background as part of a larger group of villains.

What also gives Whirlwind the potential to be a big part of Ant-Man's rogue's gallery is his personal connection to Hank Pym. David was originally just a jewel thief, but he later posed as Janet Van Dyne's chauffeur. Initially he planned on robbing her, but he fell in love with her. When she found out his identity and fired him, Whirlwind then became dangerously obsessed with the Wasp.

It's a dynamic that could make him an interesting villain for the pair.