Ranking Every Major MCU Netflix Villain From Worst To Best

As you may have noticed based on how other characters on this list have ranked, season one of Luke Cage had absolutely no shortage of fantastic villains. However, the one who stands above them all is Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes.

He is everything you could ask for in a villain. He's nuanced, he's vicious (God help you if you call him Cottonmouth to his face), he's beyond charismatic, and, above all, he has several layers of depth. On the surface, we see the violent acts and illegal dealings that keep him on top of the criminal underworld in Harlem, but we also get to peek behind the curtain and see what made Cottonmouth what he is.

It's implied he could have legitimately made something of himself thanks to his musical talent, but the harsh environment he was raised in led him down the same road as his criminal family. Seeing the stark difference between the reluctance he showed the first few times he was forced to kill as a teenager and how easily he does it of his own accord as an adult is genuinely heart-wrenching.

While killing off Cottonmouth made for a shocking moment and allowed for Black Mariah and Diamondback to rise, the series has simply not been the same without him.