10 Movie Villains Totally Ruined In The Sequels

8. Magneto - X-Men: Apocalypse

The Original

Magneto is one of the most iconic villains in the history of superhero cinema, as first played by Ian McKellen and more recently by Michael Fassbender.

And back in Bryan Singer's original X-Men movie, the character was incredible - his backstory as a Holocaust survivor made him immediately fascinating, and his plan, to transform world leaders into mutants, was most unique.

Though Magneto's constant switching-up between heroism and villainy became tired by the time X-Men: The Last Stand rolled around, Fassbender's portrayal of a younger Erik Lehnsherr in First Class appeared to breathe new life into the character just when he needed it the most.

The Sequel

First Class follow-up Days of Future Past gets back to business as usual, however, with Magneto strutting his villainous stuff. But it is ultimately his manipulation of the Sentinels that causes the Sentinel program to be shuttered and the future apocalyptic scenario avoided, so it's a little easier to tolerate the constant allegiance-switching.

But the most recent X-Men film, Apocalypse, finally exhausted fans' goodwill entirely, once again trying to paint Lehnsherr as sympathetic after his family is murdered, yet eventually having him side with Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) and slaughter millions of people while destroying cities around the world.

Hilariously, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) yet again seem to forgive Erik for his actions by the end of the movie, as though it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

But by hand-waving mass slaughter of innocents - the very thing Erik himself was caught in the middle of as a child - X-Men: Apocalypse truly saw Magneto jump the shark.

As both a villain and especially an anti-hero, he's now impossible to take seriously.