10 MCU Characters Fans Love To Hate

Much in the same vein as the previously mentioned limp bad guy that was Malekith, Iron Man 2's diabolical foe has also become notorious for his overall lack of effectiveness.

But whereas Eccleston's turn could be accused of being mostly forgettable and bland - likely due to the heavy prosthetic nature of the role more than anything - Mickey Rourke's wheeling out of Ivan Vanko was anything but. Going all in on a questionable Russian accent and need to have his bird present at any given moment, Rourke's dedication to the role could never be called into question.

It's just a shame that his intense attempt to make an impact on the MCU ultimately didn't mesh well with the general tone Marvel was aiming to imbue into their flicks at such an early stage of the franchise's development. Therefore, much of the barmy villain's screentime was reportedly cut and we were eventually left with a clunky, frequently derided entity that was even occasionally outshone by the always-captivating Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer.

But Vanko still gave us the sight of a race car being split in half by an electric whip, so it wasn't all for nothing, eh?