Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Villain Ranked Worst To Best

20. Arnim Zola - Captain America 1 & 2

The Plan: To help HYDRA establish a new world order, primarily by developing their own super soldiers.

Status: Deceased.

In Captain America: The First Avenger, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Arnim Zola is no more than a snivelling side-kick stooge, but by the time the sequel comes around, it's fairly clear that was all an act for self-preservation.

He might not have been as immediately memorable as his master, The Red Skull, and there were flashes in complexity in his slight resistance to Skull's more outlandish plans, but he was HYDRA through and through. And nobody should feel sorry for him.

That is particularly true when it turns out he was responsible for "re-programming" Bucky and ordering lots of assassinations for HYDRA. Sure, his transcendence into a digital consciousness is ridiculous (since the computer he resides in could barely load a webpage), but it's just about silly enough to work.