10. Malekith The Underwhelming
Getting to know a new villain in any Marvel Cinematic Universe movie often proves to be the most interesting part of the whole experience - it's the villains who change from film to film, after all, and a compelling villain can help lead an otherwise mediocre movie into more memorable territory. Though that has been the case in the past, though, it isn't really the case here: Malekith, played by a barely recognisable Christopher Eccleston, had the potential to be a bad guy of epic proportions, but by the time the movie is over we don't feel like we got to know him at all. It's a shame, given the intimate backstory he's granted in the opening prologue: Thor's grandfather, Bor, once fought a great battle against Malekith and his forces of darkness in an attempt to rid him of something called "Aether," a strange and mysterious force that imbues its host with extraordinary powers. Malekith defeated and restrained, Bol demands that Aether is buried deep within the bowels of the universe, where nobody will ever find it. So when Malekith awakens years later, he's got a built-in grudge with Thor's family that could have been played to juicy dramatic heights. Alas, Malekith has the weight and depth of a Power Rangers villain. We learn almost nothing about him, and he exists to simply attack Thor (or to tell his guards to attack Thor, even). It's all very bland and generic, and actually rather unexpected given that Marvel usually seem to focus a lot of their energies on nailing their villain characters. Still, at least there's Loki - and they do make the most of him.