B-List Villains the Main Villain of a Comic Book Movie

[The Overlord]

Sometimes comic book movies will have a villain who is not considered A-list be the main villain of a movie and the results have somewhat mixed.

Whiplash in Iron Man 2, Electro in Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Sandman in Spider-Man 3 were okay, but pretty disappointing as villains overall. Hector Hammond, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Malekith were pretty bad villain wise.

However Zod was a pretty obscure villain before he was featured in Superman 2, so that worked out well for a previously B-list Superman villain. Captain America: The Winter Solider feature a bunch of B-list villains working together to further the plot and that worked well.

So should movie makers use villains that are considered B-list in the comics as main villains in the movies? What can be done to avoid having a B-list comic book villain becoming a mediocre movie villains, as has happened in the past?

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I think some B-List villains would be great to see in future CBMs. For example I would love to see Ruin or Preus in a future Superman movie. Here are some others I would like to see:

Hulk: Wendigo, The Red Prince, Skaar (not really a villain I know but would love to see him)
Spider-Man: Scorpion, Shocker and especially Morbius
X-Men: Proteus and more of Juggernaut
Ghost Rider: Scarecrow, Zadkiel
Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Fallen One (as a herald of Thanos maybe?), Blastaar
Transformers: Sixshot, Thunderwing
Hellboy: Koschei The Deathless
Fantastic Four: Super Skrull

There are more, but I can't think at the moment. I like that Agents Of SHIELD has introduced the likes of Graviton, Absorbing Man and Hyde into the show, I hope they continue to do this and we get to see more someday.

 

[Keehar]

Batman: Killer Croc

 

[Mightmitenot]

Batman: Killer Croc

Terra Man, decowboyed might work. Pastepot Pete aka Trapster. Myxlptlk is a powerhouse who likely could take out Galactus but a minor villain

 

[Keehar]

Myxlptlk is an awesome underrated villain. He looks goofy but he can be great when he's written properly.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Iron Man doesn't have any A-List villains, unless you count Avengers villains like Ultron.

 

[Donnie Darko]

I'm all for B-List villains. Like Kahran just said about Iron Man, some of these guys only have B-List or below.

Also, if using a lesser known villain means that one day, one day damn it, I get to see an X-Men movie that doesn't have Magneto, then hell yes! I love McKellan and Fassbender, but we've already had Magneto in five movies. Give him a break.

 

[Keehar]

Iron Man doesn't have any A-List villains, unless you count Avengers villains like Ultron.

Ultron isn't really an Iron Man villain. More an Avengers villain.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Spiderman has the most B list villains that could pass as main threats: Mysterio, Kraven, Scorpion, Morbious, etc...

 

[Lord]

I think Stryker in X-Men 2 was the biggest surprise of all, he was a villain even fans of the comics didn't know much or care about, when everyone was guessing what the X-2 would be about, nobody ever guesses Stryker would be a possibility.

In order for a B to C Villain to be interesting, he needs to have a good purpose to be in the narrative, and if necessary, his backstory can be changed. Whiplash seemed to have some good planning and the actor was trying hard for him to be unforgetable, however, it seems like the studio ruined that during the production.

 

[CaptainWagner]

I think Stryker in X-Men 2 was the biggest surprise of all, he was a villain even fans of the comics didn't know much or care about, when everyone was guessing what the X-2 would be about, nobody ever guesses Stryker would be a possibility.

In order for a B to C Villain to be interesting, he needs to have a good purpose to be in the narrative, and if necessary, his backstory can be changed. Whiplash seemed to have some good planning and the actor was trying hard for him to be unforgetable, however, it seems like the studio ruined that during the production.

Whiplash could likely have been on Loki's level of greatness. It was the studio cuts that did him in.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Ultron isn't really an Iron Man villain. More an Avengers villain.

I know. That's what I said.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Stryker was a great villain in X2, so much so that the writers of the X-Men films feel the need to keep using him and using him and using him because they have trouble making other villains compelling.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Stryker was a great villain in X2, so much so that the writers of the X-Men films feel the need to keep using him and using him and using him because they have trouble making other villains compelling.

The biggest problem with X-film villains is that since the first film, the writers feel the need to make every film about saving the world. Why not just someone like Moses Magnum, who is just an international criminal?

 

[Guard82]

It's always neat when they can take a lesser known villain from the comics and adapt him in such a way that he becomes memorable and earns higher recognition. The key to using a more B-list villain effectively is good storytelling and good characterization. That's generally the difference between B-list villains who are adapted well, and ones who aren't adapted so well.

Zod was a perfect example of this in Superman II, and so was Stryker in X2, and also Shaw in First Class. In addition, as someone mentioned, Agents of SHIELD had used several B-list Marvel villains in compelling and memorable ways. Absorbing Man, Graviton, Mr. Hyde, Blizzard, Kraken, and Lorelei have gotten some great portrayals in the show.

And as mentioned above, the lesser-known villains who appeared Captain America: The Winter Soldier were used superbly. You had the Winter Soldier himself, Crossbones, Arnim Zola, Alexander Pierce (an adaptation of Alexander Lukin), and Batroc, and all of them filled their respective roles in the story perfectly. I think that when you give these villain characters room in the story to shine, and write them as interesting characters, it can really elevate their profiles in the public mind.