10 Most Disappointing Villains From Otherwise Great Movies
1. Obadiah Stane - Iron Man
The Great Movie: Long before Marvel became the cinematic behemoth it is today, the comic company turned production studio offered a debut effort in Iron Man, centred around a B-list superhero played by an actor trying to make a comeback. Against all odds, everything worked and we were treated to a fascinating character study with plenty of exciting action.
The Disappointing Villain: Just as we didnt yet know the successes that Marvel films would have, we also didnt yet know of their consistent inability to handle villains. Obadiah Stane marked the first such occasion of a talented actor taking on a recognizable villain only to be both underused and underdeveloped.
Stane was never given enough time to build his character on his own. As such, he comes off as a generic bad guy, wanting power and money just for the sake of having it. Furthermore, having Stane become Iron Monger just comes across lazy. The climax was essentially just Iron Man fighting an older version of himself.
What made Stane all the more disappointing was how successfully they crafted Tonys character. The strength of the film lies in his arc, not the action or the plot, so failing to develop the other characters around him, particularly his nemesis, is an even greater sin.