There's no denying that the 2010s was dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it concluded at the very end of the decade with 2019's Avengers: Endgame, but fans are still certain that Thanos will return at a later date. Thanos had such a cultural impact that everyone in the world knows who the purple alien is, but even though he is the most famous villain of the 2010s, he might not be the best.
There have been so many other incredibly written and performed villains over the past few years, and Redditors have debated who the best antagonists were of the 2010s. Between a music instructor in a psychological drama, another MCU villain, and the DCEU's biggest mover and shaker, these villains made the 2010s.
Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Insanezain points to the obvious, explaining that the giant purple alien is the best villain of the decade. The Redditor notes, "I'm not even a big MCU fan but he owned every scene he was in and part of the most popular franchise of the 2010s." Though Thanos spawned tons of hilarious memes, there has been no bigger threat in a 2010s superhero movie.
No movie series has managed to pull off an overarching villain as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe did. The original The Avengers, everyone sure knew who he was seven years later by the end of Avengers: Endgame.
Terence Fletcher (Whiplash)
While it isn't exactly an action movie with a powerful supernatural antagonist, Whiplash features the best villain of the 2010s. When it comes to movies about college students trying to accomplish something phenomenal, their teachers always act as mentors and massively inspiring figures. It's a cliche that has become so predictable, but Whiplash completely flips that trope on its head and subverts expectations.
The movie follows an aspiring jazz drummer who is constantly held back by his music teacher, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons.) There's no doubt that it's one of the best movie performances of all time, as Simmons is totally believable as a ruthless instructor who seemingly enjoys psychologically breaking down his students.
Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)
Gone Girl is the 2010s' best villain, positing, "If we take away the cultural impact and judge them just by the movie itself, then Rosamund Pike is the best." If there's one thing director David Fincher is great at, it's keeping character motives hidden, which makes for some shocking twists, and he does exactly that with Amy.
As Gone Girl is essentially split into two with one half from Nick's perspective and the other Amy's, the director almost makes the audience side with the villain. That's until viewers see her manipulate everyone she comes into with and absolutely slice and dice Desi (Neil Patrick Harris).
Amanda Waller (Suicide Squad)
Suicide Squad wasn't the best-reviewed movie in the world, there's no denying how great Waller is in it. The Redditor explains, "She’s a badass and definitely deserves credit as one of the best villains."
Almost like a bizarro Nick Fury, Waller puts together a team of supervillains in Suicide Squad, but she's worse than any one of them. And just like the best villains in cinema, she believes what she's doing is right, which makes her even more dangerous. Waller is heavily featured in 2021's The Suicide Squad too, and she was even more vengeful than in the 2016 film.
Howard (10 Cloverfield Lane)
10 Cloverfield Lane is the best villain of the 2010s, but it's open to interpretation over whether or not Howard is the antagonist. Howard was clearly just looking out for number one, trying to keep himself safe. And he was gracious enough to keep two stragglers safe as well.
Throughout the whole movie, Howard tells Michelle that the apocalypse is happening outside and that she should stay in the bunker, but neither his captors nor the audience knows how much truth there is to that. But it turns out he was right the whole time. However, it's his methods in keeping her "safe" that call his intentions into question, as the threat of death constantly looms over Michelle and Emmett's heads.
General Zod (Man Of Steel)
Man of Steel was an extremely divisive film, as not only did it feature director Zack Snyder's polarizing CGI-filled style, but it also turned a superhero that's a symbol of hope into a vessel for such a dark release. Superman caused way more destruction than anything, especially in the final act when he faces off against General Zod (Michael Shannon). However, NightcrawlerKing has no problem with that direction, and they argue that Zod is the best villain of the 2010s.
Zod is once again a villain that was made so much better by the performance, as Shannon's ability to be somehow reserved yet eccentric at the same time turned the character into the most threatening on-screen Superman villain ever. If the studio had cast a different actor, the villain might not have been as memorable and it definitely wouldn't have become one of Snyder's most rewatchable movies.
Erik Killmonger (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Black Panther's Erik Killmoner (Michael B. Jordan) is the best villain of the 2010s and the best MCU villain. The Redditor comments, "He has a justified reason for wanting to bring change to Wakanda but the way he goes about making that change makes him a bad guy and it’s just so interesting to watch it all unfold."
While there's no comparison to how much of a universal threat Thanos is, some could argue that it feels like there's more at stake with Killmonger. He isn't a CGI alien but a real person who is genuinely ionate about his heritage and feels like he's been mistreated, and many viewers could even understand the character's intentions.
Mark Zuckerberg (The Social Network)
While the portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network has been called into question as to how accurate it is to the real-life Facebook owner, Zuckerberg as a character is one of the most deceitful and malicious villains of the 2010s. Lacourseauxetoiles argues that the character is the best antagonist of the 2010s.
The Redditor notes, "If you count him as a villain, Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network." Director David Fincher is great at creating movie villains, whether it's John Doe in Zodiac, but the billionaire Harvard alum is one of the most terrifying.
Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)
The Dark Knight Rises, which was a fairly disappointing and underwhelming death for a character who managed to almost kill Batman with his sheer brute force alone. However, Bane still left a lasting impression on audiences given how much damage he caused throughout the movie.
On top of that, even though it was the center of many jokes, Bane's mask and voice have undoubtedly become iconic. Between Tom Hardy's performance and the development of the character, it makes audiences forget about the terrible portrayal of the villain in Batman & Robin, which was very much needed.
Magneto (X-Men)
Magneto was one of the best villains of the 2000s, as Ian McKellen played the X-Men antagonist brilliantly and managed to be more imposing and fearful than fans of the series could have hoped for. And as the 2010s saw several prequel X-Men movies, fans saw the character being portrayed by a different, younger actor, and NaturesWar argues that it's the best of the decade.
Michael Fassbender somehow managed to outdo McKellen, as he brought emotion and determination to the villain that McKellen didn't in the 2000s movies. Between Fassbender's commanding presence and the more engaging stories that were told in X-Men: Days of Future Past, there's no doubt that his version of Magneto was the better of the two.
