5 Issues Marvel Studios Needs To Fix For Phase 2

5. The Villains

The old cliché is that a great hero needs a great villain. You can find all sorts of cases throughout Hollywood history that support this. Die Hard wouldn't be the same without Hans Gruber. Darth Vader is one of the most memorable aspects of Star Wars. The Joker from The Dark Knight is one of the best characters in cinema. If you're writing an action/adventure film for the summer blockbuster crowd, give it an awesome bad guy and you most likely have a winner. Marvel Studios has survived bucking this trend so far. Outside of Tom Hiddleston's Loki, their villains have been somewhat lacking in my opinion. None of the three Iron Man movies have what I would call an iconic enemy for our hero to fight (Ben Kingsley's Mandarin was memorable for all the wrong reasons) and Captain America: The First Avenger's Red Skull - despite being played by Hugo Weaving - was forgettable. For the most part, Marvel Studios productions are carried by the performances of their leads including Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans, who perfectly portray the titular characters. While this is a smart move for the origin story (there aren't many people who would call Nero from 2009's Star Trek memorable, yet most agree it was a great movie), audiences expect the villains to improve as revisit each franchise. The studio really dropped the ball with the handling of the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Based on the trailers and other marketing materials, it seemed as if the filmmakers took to heart the criticism that Obidiah Stane and Whiplash were weak as enemies and had finally given Tony a threatening menace to take care of. The first half of the film features a chilling performance by the Oscar winner, particularly in those videos he plays for the President. Of course, it's revealed that "the Mandarin" is a bumbling actor named Trevor; a twist that caused a stir online. The real villain is Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian, a scientist with a vendetta against Tony and a plan that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. This is the kind of thing Marvel needs to avoid. When you have the potential for a terrific villain performance, go all in. A memorable foe can elevate not just your hero, but your final product to the next level. Let's hope the Thor and Captain America sequels address this.