MCU: 10 British Villains In Marvel's Cinematic Universe - Ranked Worst To Best

Although Marvel's Cinematic Universe has spent the last decade ushering in a new era of Hollywood history, its success is built firmly on a foundation of long-held traditions. For better or worse, action movies made in America will often feature their own heroes fighting enemies who are foreign rather than domestic, and it has also become the custom to hire actors from this very sceptred isle to bring these villainous types to life.

Rather than just German terrorists taking over skyscrapers however, the threats in the MCU come from much more exotic locations and with much bigger targets in their sights, but that hasn't stopped bankable British thespians from being the ones who bring them down to Earth. Even Everett Ross, the good guy CIA agent who carries out his government's questionable orders without question is played by quintessential Englishman Martin Freeman.

So here's a look at those with a bigger agenda than the ends justifying the means, and who follow in the likes of Terance Stamp's General Zod to Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus in representing the opposing side of the moral spectrum right from the very beginning of Marvel's biggest ever creative risk, way back in 2008.

Despite trying to add some depth and history to the Nine Realms it's unfortunate that Malekith, nemesis of Thor's own grandfather, never quite lived up to expectations. Although Christopher Eccleston brought his customary gravitas to the character, he still suffered from two major setbacks.

Firstly, he was hardly the most original of characters. Said to be older than the universe itself and whose grand scheme was to plunge all of existence into the darkness from which he was born, there was nothing about Malekith which made the MCU's doomsday bringer stand out from any of the others available elsewhere. He even delegated the death of Asgardian Queen Frigga to a subordinate rather than kill her himself.

More than this though, despite being The Dark World's Big Bad he has to settle for second place on Thor's list of problems; the first of which being his strained relationships with just about everyone else in his life. Not only is Jane feeling abandoned as well as infected by the Aether, but he must also deal with Loki's grief at their mother's death before his own.

Even when causing the destruction of Greenwich in between all of this, all Malekith can do is come across as not enough style and even less substance.