10 Potentially Great Marvel Movie Villains (That Were Grossly Underused)

With the bait and switch of the fake Mandarin with the slimy Killian, the twist serving to anger fans into disliking what is largely a fantastic film in Iron Man 3, an even bigger waste was made when the originally planned twist was scrapped because of toy sales, of all things.

Scientist Maya Hansen, and not the disappointing version of The Incredibles villain Syndrome, Aldritch Killian, was supposed to be the "real" Mandarin. An amoral geneticist whose moments of vague empathy and appreciation for Tony Stark wouldn't outweigh her goals as a scientist, Hansen would have made for a much better and less cliched villain, especially with how benign and helpful she seemed at first. It would have been refreshing to see the film swap out the incredibly cliched "smarmy businessman controlling a haggard scientist" trope for the scientist controlling the smarmy businessman.

What would have really made Hansen a great villain, however, is that she wasn't vengeful, sadistic, or diabolical. She was simply interested in conducting her research, but disturbingly uncaring of the consequences. As it stands, her role in Iron Man 3 was lacking in many ways, and the fresh idea of an amoral female genius wasted.