Summary

• The best comic book movie villains often improve over time, with second iterations showcasing more accurate adaptations.
• Filmmakers benefit from refining previously flawed villain adaptations, creating more compelling and intimidating characters.
• Successful comic book movie villains go through rough iterations before finding the perfect balance between comic accuracy and on-screen impact.

Comic book movies are always in need of strong antagonists, but it often isn't until the second time around that they're able to perfect the adaptation of a famous comic villain. Establishing a compelling villain is nearly as important as the protagonist themselves in a given superhero movie, driving the narrative tension through their misdeeds. Unfortunately, the best comic book movie villains sometimes had to go through some rough iterations before landing on a successful adaptation.

Filmmakers are often lucky when they're able to re-use previously adapted villains from other films, able to take what worked and what didn't from their earlier appearances and refine them for the next installment. In this way, the greatest comic book movies get to benefit from the pitfalls of the worst. Whether it's a poor performance, bizarre story changes, or simply a terrible costume, the most disappointing comic book villain adaptations often make room for the greatest.

10 The Juggernaut

Deadpool 2

The Juggernaut is not an easy character to adapt into a live-action film. With his impossible monstrous physique, fish-bowl helmet, and association with the X-Men despite not being a mutant himself, The Juggernaut is an iconic villain that presents a litany of problems for adaptation. X-Men: The Last Stand turned the Juggernaut into a silly minor character whose outfit was reminiscent of a He-Man character, Juggernaut in name-only as he referenced an old meme.

WIth an intimidating voice, an impressive level of power, and one of the best Marvel movie musical themes to his name

Luckily, Deadpool 2 was there to pick up the pieces, once again putting the Juggernaut on the big screen. This time around, Juggernaut is a wholly CGI character, allowing him to fully live up to the impossible expectations of his comic illustrations. WIth an intimidating voice, an impressive level of power, and one of the best Marvel movie musical themes to his name, this more comic-accurate version of The Juggernaut improved on the original in every way.

9 Bane

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is certainly not without its problems, but one arena in which the third entry of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy unequivocally succeeds is in its depiction of the villain Bane. Bane was represented in the movies once before with the infamous Batman & Robin, in which Bane was a minor antagonist. Essentially a brutish minion of Poison Ivy, this Bane's costume may have been more faithful to the source material, but his dimwitted personality betrayed Bane's famous tactical mind from the comics.

Though Tom Hardy's vocal performance may have been questionable, he's nevertheless an intimidating presence worthy of Bane's name

In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane is given the credit he deserves as a cunning mastermind as well as a Venom-enhanced heavy-hitter. Though Tom Hardy's vocal performance may have been questionable, he's nevertheless an intimidating presence worthy of Bane's name, unlike the oafish fetish-gear-wearing Bane of the character's previous Batman movie appearance. There's still room for improvement in Tom Hardy's Bane, but he was a unanimous upgrade from what was shown off in Batman & Robin.

8 General Zod

Man of Steel

If there's one thing Man of Steel got right that previous Superman films struggled with, it was the terrifying presence of a non-Lex Luthor villain. Originally, Zod was played by Terence Stamp, who imbued the alien invader with a hilarious level of melodrama that made his iconic demands to "Kneel before Zod!" more silly than threatening. Looking more like a Las Vegas strip performer than a world-conquering tyrant, Stamp's Zod had his own charm to him, but wasn't a compelling villain.

Meanwhile, Michael Shannon's General Zod earns a worthy spot as one of the greatest Superman movie villains of all time. His cruelty towards humans and frustration with Superman's sympathy for them is reprehensible, but almost sympathetic considering the devastation he suffered from Krypton's destruction. Not to mention, Shannon's alien armor puts Stamp's open-chested suede robes to shame. Zod certainly benefited from a second-draft as a cinematic Superman antagonist.

7 Venom

Venom

Topher Grace's Venom had plenty of issues to contend with in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. Fighting for screen time with two other unique antagonists, not to mention Peter Parker's own arc with the symbiote, Spider-Man 3 doesn't have a ton of time to explore the relationship between Eddie Brock and his newfound alien parasite buddy. Not only that, but the cheesy performances of Raimi's films further dilluted the impact of finally seeing one of Spider-Man's greatest villains come to life on the big screen for the first time.

Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is by far the better of his two comic book movie villain performances

Luckily, Sony has been there to not only give Venom a second chance at the silver screen, but to have him headline his own solo series as an anti-hero. Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is by far the better of his two comic book movie villain performances, illustrating the life of a man with nothing to lose who is overtaken by his relationship with an unknowable alien entity. The chemistry Eddie Brock and Venom have in this version is off-the-charts, owing to the film being successful enough to spawn a whole Venom trilogy.

6 Rhino

Kraven the Hunter

Like the Juggernaut, Rhino is a headstrong bruiser from the comic books that isn't exactly a straightforward character to make look cool in a feature film appearance. The Amazing Spider-Man 2's solution was to make Rhino a simple gangster who comes into possession of a rhinoceros-like mech suit. Paul Giamatti's ludicrous Russian accent and bizarre blink-and-you'll-miss-it performance in the film ended up just being one entry on a long list of problems The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had.

Once again, Sony seems willing to provide more faithful adaptations of Spider-Man villains in solo films where the mainline Spider-Man films fail. The most recently-released trailer for Kraven the Hunter shows off a Rhino with a comic-accurate appearance, featuring scaly gray skin, a massive size, and an imposing horn sticking out of his head. Somehow, this appearance that should be goofy-looking on paper ends up looking quite impressive, leaving high hopes for the character in the film.

5 The Joker

Batman (1989), The Dark Knight

Few cinematic superhero villains are as famous as the Joker, and for good reason. With so many different on-screen interpretations, many prestigious actors have thrown their hat in the ring in an attempt to portray the Clown Prince of Crime. However, the character's first movie appearance in the Adam West Batman series tie-in movie left much to be desired. Caesar Romero's Joker placed a heavy emphasis on the clown theme without being particularly threatening, and the actor famously didn't respect the role enough to shave his mustache for it.

Jack Nicholson's take on the Joker in 1989's Batman was a far more menacing approach, adding a layer of genuine terror to the psychotic clown-themed gangster. Of course, years later, Heath Ledger would make history as the character with one of the most iconic movie performances in general of all time, let alone within the context of a superhero villain. It's safe to say that almost every live-action interpretation of the Joker has been an improvement over the painted-over mustache of the original Batman film's version.

4 The Penguin

The Batman

Batman Returns' version of Selina Kyle may have been one of the single best movie Catwoman designs ever, but Tim Burton's interpretation of The Penguin left much to be desired. In the comics, Oswald Cobblepot is a disgraced socialite desperate to win back the wealth and influence of his fallen old-money family by criminal means, despite his ill reputation and diminutive physical presence. Batman Returns took Penguin's physical characteristics to the extreme, diminishing him into a feral sewer monster fond of eating raw fish.

Meanwhile, the second major movie version of The Penguin leaned much further into the organized crime aspect of the character, making The Penguin into a fast-talking Italian mobster with a New Jersey accent. Colin Farrel excellently portrays this villain through astounding layers of makeup, crafting a much more multi-faceted and realistic character compared to Danny DeVito's nightmarish goblin. Reeves' version of The Penguin has been successful enough to get his own self-titled prequel spin-off series on HBO.

3 The Riddler

The Batman

The Penguin isn't the only Batman villain Matt Reeves was able to reform in the eyes of the movie-going public after a previously-disastrous film incarnation. In Batman Forever, Jim Carrey lends his performance as a woefully over-the-top version of Edward Nygma, a.k.a. The Riddler. Dancing around in a bright green jumpsuit, the enigmatic mastermind villain from the comics is reduced to a shrieking, oddly sexual jester in Batman Forever, contributing to the film's unfortunate reputation.

In The Batman, The Riddler is given the respect he deserves, being more of an unknowable criminal with dark plans in lieu of the Jigsaw killer from Saw rather than a Saturday-morning cartoon villain. His intimidating mask and ghoulish voice-disguiser makes The Riddler into a very realistic serial murderer, shockingly brutal from the earliest opening moments of the film. Even if Dano's performance echoes Jim Carrey's eccentricities once he's captured, his version of The Riddler is far more compelling.

2 Two-Face

The Dark Knight

The Riddler wasn't the only villain from Batman Forever to be done justice in a later Batman continuity. Enter Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face, a strange, feverish take on Harvey Dent that creates more questions than answers. While Two-Face in Batman Forever stays true to his obsession with duality and random justice, he isn't given enough backstory to make memorable, ultimately turning him into a colorful goon for Jim Carrey's The Riddler to exploit.

Meanwhile, Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face is an underrated gem of The Dark Knight. Rather than simply showing him already as Two-Face, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy first introduces Harvey Dent as an honorable district attorney trying to do the right thing for Gotham City, driven to madness by the insidious criminal elements therein. The CGI and makeup of Two-Face's scarred visage still holds up today, and Ekchart gives a commanding performance as the chance-obsessed villain.

1 Galactus

Fantastic Four: First Steps

Galactus' inclusion in Fox's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer may be one of the single most disappointing comic book villain adaptations of all time. In the comics, Galactus is one of the most threatening and iconic Marvel villains ever conceived, devouring entire planets in his eternal hunger. Traditionally, Galactus is depicted as a massive humanoid wearing a signature purple Celestial armor, giving him a recognizable profile in his journeys throughout the Marvel cosmos.

While his full character design has yet to be revealed, hopes are high for a redemption for the initially poor adaptation

Sadly, in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Galactus was reduced to little more than an angry sentient purple cloud, much to the dismay of Fantastic Four fans. Thankfully, the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be presenting a more faithful version of Galactus in Fantastic Four: First Steps, which revealed early footage of a humanoid Galactus peering through the top floor of the famous Baxter Building. While his full character design has yet to be revealed, hopes are high for a redemption for the initially poor adaptation of this comic book movie villain.