Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 10 Ways It Beats Thor 2

7. The Villain Is At Least Of Consequence

The Winter Soldier, who is in fact Steve Rogers' former best friend and ally Bucky Barnes, is not the most memorable villain in MCU history. Sure, he lacks personality as a result of the plot (he has been brainwashed by Hydra and is therefore one of those broody silent types), but that's hardly an excuse for the relatively bland nature of his presence. Still, unlike the villian that pushes the plot forward in Thor: The Dark World, The Winter Soldier is at least a character who was grounded and introduced in the The First Avenger and therefore offers up some emotional weight. Christopher Eccleston's Malekith seemed like something of a wasted opportunity in The Dark World, after all - a bad guy for the sake of it, if you will, a matter made worse - according to Eccleston, anyway - through Marvel's decision to remove most of the scenes that developed him better as a character. So whereas it would probably be unfair to suggest that The Winter Soldier is a better villain than Malekith, he sort of is by default because he's relevant to the story and will be in future installments. Unlike Malekith, who did some evil stuff and was instantly forgotten.