Ranking Every Major MCU Villain From Worst To Best
7. Justin Hammer (Iron Man 2)
As mentioned earlier, Iron Man 2 was potentially the most underrated of Marvel's films, and no performance in the movie accounted for that as strongly as Sam Rockwell's. Rockwell helped redefine Justin Hammer, a business rival of Tony Stark's, who was an aging Brit in the comics.
Rockwell made the role his own, turning Hammer into an angry milquetoast who solved (and created) problems with his wallet, not his fists. In fact, Hammer is a true rarity as a comic book movie supervillain - he doesn't hit anybody, he doesn't hurt anybody, and he doesn't even fight with the hero - Tony Stark and James Rhodes defeat a bunch of automated Hammer drones while Rockwell's character is arrested at the Stark Expo.
With the drones and Whiplash doing the heavy lifting in terms of action, the filmmakers were able to innovate with Hammer. He was a man who could only meet Tony Stark on Stark's own battlefield, and even then, couldn't do it nearly as well - and from there, a great villain was born.