The Single Greatest Thing In Each MCU Movie
8. Black Panther - Erik Killmonger
The most jarringly unfair criticism of the MCU is the so-called villain problem, because it's arguable that this franchise never really had one.
Yes, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange and Black Widow all had terrible lead villains but many of the MCU's villains are pretty great. Besides, most of the other lower-tier ones are OK at worst.
Some of the MCU's big bads are among the best villains in superhero movie history and the best one up to this point was Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), the lead villain of the excellent Black Panther.
The character is a masterpiece in terms of both writing and performance. Jordan's brutal and rage-filled performance is intense to the point of being difficult-to-watch, but in the best possible way, and he should've been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.
What's equally important is that Killmonger has an intensely unsettling and thought-provoking backstory, a very frightening villainous scheme and the most poignant end to any MCU villain. He's both utterly repulsive and incredibly sympathetic, and is always captivating to watch.
The film might be called Black Panther, but this was Killmonger's movie without a doubt.