Here are all the villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who still exists in the franchise. Over its more than a decade-long history, the MCU introduced a string of bad guys to square off against their heroes. Most of these adversaries only had one-off appearances, but some of them were lucky to survive their initial encounters with the franchise heroes that they continue to live through the events of the Infinity Saga.
Even some of Marvel's best villains don't live past their first movie appearance, robbing the franchise of the chance to see more of them. As the MCU has grown, Marvel has upped their game in of crafting well-rounded villains with Spider-Man: Homecoming's Adrien Toomes/Vulture (Michael Keaton), Black Panther's Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), and Avengers: Infinity War's Thanos (Josh Brolin). And though some of the earlier villains were somewhat lackluster, if they bring them back and utilize them better in the future, there's a second chance for greater success — similar to how they're doing to a handful of ing characters who didn't get their dues in their previous MCU appearances.
As the MCU transitions into Phase 4, new heroes and their respective villains are expected to be introduced through Marvel Studios' movie and TV projects. However, there's also a chance that some familiar bad guys will find their way back into the forefront moving forward. Here are all the previously-debuted villains who are still alive and can factor in MCU's future.
The Abomination
Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) debuted in The Incredible Hulk back in 2008 and was a member of Thaddeus Ross' (William Hurt) special team was tasked to capture Bruce Banner/Hulk (Edward Norton). After he was injected with a different variant of the Super Soldier Serum and eventually transfused with Banner's gamma-radiated blood, he transformed into Abomination and wreaked havoc in New York City with Hulk coming in to get him under control. The World Security Council viewed him as a hero more than a villain, however, and initially, even tried to get him included in Nick Fury's Avengers Initiative. This obviously didn't happen with Blonsky transferred to SHIELD custody instead; the last thing fans knew about him, he's being held in a cryostasis facility in Alaska. There's been no update about him in quite a while now; he may very well be still frozen, but with the HYDRA uprising in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it's also possible that he was freed. Assuming that this is the case, it's likely that he's just waiting for the right moment to re-emerge, with Marvel Studios saving him for an appearance in future projects like Disney+'s She-Hulk.
The Leader
Another villain teased in The Incredible Hulk film is the Leader, though he ultimately he became one of the MCU's dropped plotlines. While the Louis Leterrier film didn't feature the character in full form, his existence in the MCU was teased after Dr. Samuel Stern (Tim Blake Nelson) was exposed to the blood of the Hulk as he injected Emil Blonsky with it. During his last sighting, the character's head had started to mutate and get bigger, resembling the Leader's appearance in the comics. When asked about the potential future of the villain in 2017, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige explained why the studio haven't followed through with the character's arc, suggesting that as with their existing characters, they're just looking for the right time to bring him back. Like Abomination, She-Hulk can be the perfect place to bring the Leader back into the MCU forefront.
Justin Hammer
One of the more fun villains that the MCU has introduced is Iron Man 2's Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). The former CEO of Stark Industries weapons manufacturing competitor Hammer Industries recruited Ivan Vanko/Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) to help him replicate Iron Man/Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) arc reactor. This ultimately backfired as Vanko betrayed the war profiteer resulting in him being locked up at Seagate Penitentiary for colluding with a convicted terrorist. At this point, he may still be serving in time in prison, but between Rockwell being open to returning and Marvel Studios' penchant for utilizing people who hold grudges against Stark, it's not impossible to see him back into the MCU in some capacity. It's also worth noting that Hammer is also a Spider-Man adversary in the comics.
Georges Batroc
An infamous mercenary who Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) at the beginning of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Georges Batroc (Georges St-Pierre) was one of Interpol's most wanted criminals. He held up quite well against the Super Soldier but was ultimately captured in Algiers and has remained in SHIELD custody. It was later revealed that he was actually sent by Fury to the Lemurian as a decoy so Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) could steal valuable information without Captain America finding out about it. With his ties to the Thunderbolts in the comics, Marvel Studios can bring him back in case they move forward with the rumored MCU project.
Trevor Slattery and the Real Mandarin
Iron Man 3's ultimate villain was Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who hired actor Trevor Slattery to play as the Mandarin - a global terrorist. What they didn't know at that time was that the real Mandarin actually exists, and is waiting to re-emerge in the film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Played by legendary Chinese actor Tony Leung, the villain will be the main antagonist to Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in the origin movie. With his name used in vain in Iron Man 3, however, chances are that Marvel Studios will establish a connection between the events of the Shane Black film and Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings. The Marvel One-Shot titled All Hail The King already teased a face-to-face interaction between Slattery and the real Mandarin, which will more likely be revealed in the Destin Cretton project.
Ayesha
While Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) only appeared sporadically in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it's clear that director and writer James Gunn has plans for her in the future. The Golden High Priestess of the Sovereign originally hired the cosmic team to protect the Anulax Batteries from the Abilisk. However, things went downhill when Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) decided to steal some batteries to sell them off later. The gang narrowly escaped the villain and her fleet of Omnicrafts, but the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 stinger confirmed that she is motivated to get even. In the end, Ayesha was revealed to have created Adam Warlock to help with her endeavor. Depending on whether or not the story of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was altered after its delay, there's a good chance that Ayesha's MCU's return will be in that threequel.
Helmut Zemo
The mastermind behind the falling out of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in Captain America: Civil War, Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) is one of the most unique villains in the MCU. Instead of antagonizing the Avengers head-on, he devised a plan that would break them up from the inside which proved to be a successful tactic as the team was separated for two years until Thanos' (Josh Brolin) attack in Avengers: Infinity War. It's unknown where Zemo has been up to since he succeeded in seeking revenge against the Avengers for the destruction of Sokovia, but he is already slated to make his MCU return in the Disney+ series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Given what's been revealed about the show thus far, however, Zemo may not function as a straight-up villain in the show.
Dormammu
Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange changed up MCU's typical third-act battle by pitting the titular character to Dormmamu — an interdimensional entity who corrupted Kaecillius (Mads Mikkelsen) to destroy the Masters of the Mystic Arts in order for the Dark Dimension to easily take over Earth. While Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) was no match for him in of power-set, the sorcerer out-witted the villain by locking both of them into a time loop using the Eye of Agamotto/Time Stone, only releasing Dormammu if he promised to leave Earth with his minions. Defeated, the entity agreed to Strange's demand. While part of their deal was for Dormammu to never come back, with the Time Stone no longer in the sorcerer's hands after the Infinity Saga, it's possible that the Dark Dimension ruler takes advantage of the situation to pose a new threat to the MCU in the near future.
Karl Mordo
Originally an ally to Stephen Strange, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was a member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts and a student of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) introduced in Doctor Strange. However, after learning about his master drawing her powers from the Dark Dimension, Mordo became disillusioned. Upon learning that Strange meddled with time during his encounter with Dormammu, Mordo was fully convinced that he no longer wanted to be associated with them. He left the order and the Doctor Strange post-credits scene revealed him operating independently by tracking down sorcerers and stripping them of their powers. This was supposed to be a set-up for his and Strange's face-off in the sequel, but, it's unclear how much of their conflict will play into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Ejiofor did it that he's slated to reprise his MCU role in the Sam Raimi project, however.
Vulture
Michael Keaton returned to the comic book movie world after previously playing Tim Burton's Batman, but this time in the MCU and as the villain Adrian Toomes/Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. An illegal Avengers battle scene scavenger, the villain sold what scraps of materials he collected on the black market while making high-powered weapons from it. The Marvel Studios/Sony collaboration project took it one step further by revealing that Toomes is also related to Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in an unexpected way being the dad of his high school crush, Liz Allan (Laura Harrier). Vulture is arguably one of the best villains the MCU has come up thus far and fans were thrilled to know that he's not a one-off villain, although, by the end of Homecoming, he's revealed to be locked up. He's able to leave prison one way or another as confirmed in his next appearance in the Sony spin-off, Morbius. He can also easily pop back in the MCU if news of a Sinister Six film in the works come to fruition.
