comic book movie villains: 10 Epic Fails That Deserved Better!
When Comic Book Villains Get a Raw Deal: 10 Disappointing Endings
Comic book movies have always provided both memorable heroes AND villains. The MCU and DCU have a lot of great antagonists. Yet some villains get seriously shafted endings. It’s a shame; because no good hero story works without a great villain. Some vanish without a fight. Others? They get totally wasted; resulting in a truly poor ending, which leaves these moments completely memorable, only because they had to end so abruptly!
Many DCEU and MCU villains didn’t get good endings, showing some really poor decisions made at the ending points of those stories, leaving some really key thematic threads hanging undone. This article shows exactly ten villains that truly deserved better. These are not necessarily the worst villains, folks; but these examples show the poor choices that left those story arcs undone; creating questionable storytelling choices made only at those final story moments.
Top 10 Comic Book Movie Villains Robbed of Epic Endings
10. Venom (Spider-Man 3): A Wasted Opportunity for a Symbiotic Sequel
Topher Grace's Venom in Spider-Man 3 was controversial! And the handling was even worse! It crammed three villains into one movie; resulting in Venom's disintegration via New Goblin’s bomb. That's insane! The symbiote’s resilience makes this ending way too easy. Having Venom find a new host (totally normal in the comics!) would’ve made way more sense! Instead this is simply bad decision-making that hurt its narrative structure.
9. Two-Face (The Dark Knight): A Forgettable End to a Complex Character Arc
Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy? Almost perfect Batman! Except for some character endings… Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face is brilliant! He's awesome as a hero AND villain! Yet, his death? Anticlimactic. He falls after a fight with Batman! That’s lazy storytelling, folks! It wastes a complex, engaging character who should've gotten that long-awaited climax to his epic storyline!
8. Apocalypse (X-Men: Apocalypse): A Powerhouse Villain Reduced to Ashes
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) had issues; and one stands out: the ending! Apocalypse, that ridiculously powerful first mutant, aiming for world domination, deserved better than just being erased by Jean Grey! This is incredibly unimpressive storytelling, not helping to build the entire narrative and is entirely dissatisfying, especially for fans already displeased about the movie’s pacing and its own characterizations and writing. A cheap way to make a powerful character meet his maker, this completely negated how terrifying he really was, reducing the impact of this otherwise legendary villain.
7. Ares (Wonder Woman): A God's Undignified Demise
Wonder Woman (2017)? A DCEU highlight! Except for Ares’ ending. This movie revealed a literal god; making his introduction intriguing and shockingly relevant for audiences who may have already been completely engaged; yet that grand reveal is followed by his underwhelming death following only one small confrontation! This anticlimactic moment seriously hurts the overall experience and lacks the intense climax such an amazing story deserved!
6. Hela (Thor: Ragnarok): Killed Off by a Plot Device
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)? Awesome! It moved the MCU forward! Killed a big character! And introduced Hela, the ridiculously powerful Asgardian God of Death! Yet, she gets offed by Surtur after Thor summoned him to destroy Asgard! That’s a bad decision! A totally uninspired end to an incredibly interesting villain!
5. Bane (The Dark Knight Rises): A Puny End to a Titan of Terror
Bane in The Dark Knight Rises is amazing! A seriously terrifying and effective threat to Batman, a physical and tactical match! This is a key element to understand. His intellect, his immense physical power, his strength – none of that mattered during his poorly-executed and entirely unconvincing death. He gets beaten by Batman and then gets shot by Catwoman! That’s a whimper, not a bang. It really is an utterly disappointing end to a superb antagonist!
4. Green Goblin (Spider-Man): A Moment of Stupidity Seals His Fate
Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin (Spider-Man, 2002)? Legendary! One of the best supervillain performances EVER! His death though? Completely dumb! Killed by his own glider after being cocky! This could've been redeemed, though that only happened after some much later works created other narrative threads; but the original, initial death; felt totally unearned and unnecessary! This ultimately makes Dafoe’s performance shine, leaving it tragically short!
3. Ra's al Ghul (Batman Begins): A Wasted Opportunity for a Larger Storyline
Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins (2005)? Amazing! Clever manipulation and theatrical fights with Batman! His ending felt unearned: this could have gone much deeper and addressed his immortality; exploring more profound themes involved! Instead, Batman gets around that no-kill rule with a convenient trick – it cheapens everything, wasting a villain worthy of a better ending. That opportunity wasn’t ever considered, and his role was fundamentally reduced in favor of something simpler.
2. Killmonger (Black Panther): A Relatable Villain Deserved More Than CGI
Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger (Black Panther, 2018) remains a super compelling villain; arguably the most relatable in the entire MCU! That moral ambiguity, his reasonable goals (sharing Wakanda’s power)? Incredible. His death though? Ugh. That CGI fight was a mess. A forgettable ending, his very reasonable motivation to share technology makes his story all the more painful. A good villain getting a bad ending highlights a very large issue.
1. Jack Nicholson’s Joker (Batman): An Icon Deserved an Iconic End
Tim Burton's Batman (1989)? A classic! Michael Keaton's Batman versus Jack Nicholson's Joker was HUGE! Yet Joker's death? He simply falls off a building! That was ridiculously underwhelming for a legendary villain; reducing how frightening and epic he truly is, especially since Nicholson played him incredibly effectively! The ending is forgettable for one of Batman’s greatest villains!
Conclusion: When Good Villains Get a Bad Hand
These aren't simply the worst comic book villains! They were generally excellent. These stories highlight poor storytelling choices; resulting in badly written and poorly constructed endings that left those amazing antagonists entirely squandered. These bad decisions show just how badly villains can be treated. A great villain deserves a satisfying send-off. That makes a truly memorable character!
