Throughout the comic book movies of the MCU and the DCU, there have been multiple antagonists who deserved far better endings than they were given. Even before the movies of the MCU cemented comic book movies as one of the most successful genres at the box office, heroes and villains from the pages of Marvel, DC, and other comics were being adapted to the big screen. No good superhero story is complete without an appropriate villain, making the antagonists of these movies every bit as important as the heroes.
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Unfortunately, the timelines of the DCEU and the MCU have seen many villains squandered by their respective endings. Some disappear with a whimper, while others are wasted in spectacular fashion, contributing to endings that are utterly disappointing on many levels. With that in mind, here are 10 comic book movie villains that simply deserved much better endings.
10 Venom Shouldn’t Have Died The Way He Did
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
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Of all the villains in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, none received quite the level of criticism as Topher Grace’s Venom. Though the iteration of the iconic Marvel villain was controversial, Spider-Man 3’s handling of the character was even worse. The film introduced Venom as a villain alongside Sandman and New Goblin, having Spider-Man face three separate antagonists in a single-film arc. It also gave Venom a definitive ending, though the villain deserved far better.
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Spider-Man 3 ended with both Eddie Brock and Venom disintegrated by one of New Goblin’s pumpkin bombs. However, considering how popular Venom is a character and how resilient the symbiote typically is in the comics, there was no reason to kill off both the symbiote and the host after a single appearance. Having Venom survive to find a new host would have made far more sense with regard to the villain’s symbiotic nature, but Spider-Man 3 didn’t give the alien antagonist or its host the ending they deserved.
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8.5/10 Spider-Man 3
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*Availability in US Director Sam Raimi Release Date May 4, 2007
9 Two-Face’s Arc Ended In An Unremarkable Death
The Dark Knight (2008)
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Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is widely considered a near-perfect adaptation of the Batman mythos, but that isn’t to say that it didn’t mishandle some of its characters’ respective endings. 2008’s The Dark Knight sees Harvey Dent rise to become the true hero of Gotham City, only for him to be transformed into the villain Two-Face by the Joker’s schemes. The movie ends with Two-Face’s death, though it simply wasn’t an ending that did the character justice.
After Two-Face’s crusade for revenge sees him menacing Commissioner Gordon’s family, Batman intervenes, and the ensuing struggle sees Two-Face fall to his death. The villain’s ending is as anticlimactic as it is disappointing, if only because he was compelling enough as both a hero and villain to warrant further exploration. The ending of Two-Face’s story was far too abrupt and forgettable, especially considering the complex character arc it caps off.
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16 9.6/10 The Dark Knight
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*Availability in US Director Christopher Nolan Release Date July 18, 2008
8 Apocalypse’s Death Was An Insult To The Character
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
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Although it’s not often considered the worst of Fox’s X-Men movie franchise, 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse still has a reputation as one of the most disappointing X-Men adaptations. The film’s eponymous villain, Apocalypse, is introduced as the first mutant, a hugely powerful and dangerous being who wants to bring about an end to almost all life on Earth. X-Men: Apocalypse also gives its antagonist an ending that a villain of his stature should never have had to endure.
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Considering Apocalypse is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, the movie’s handling of his story was poor. The film’s ending sees him killed by Jean Grey unleashing the full extent of her power, erasing him from existence. For a villain as substantial as Apocalypse to be killed in such a fashion after a single appearance felt cheap and undeserved, even though X-Men: Apocalypse didn’t adapt the character all that well in the first place.
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3.6/10 X-Men: Apocalypse
Director Bryan Singer Release Date May 27, 2016
7 Ares’s Ending Was The Worst Part Of Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman (2017)
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The movies of the DCEU introduced many villains into the franchise, though many had their respective issues that led to controversy or criticism. 2017’s Wonder Woman earned a reputation as one of the franchise’s best movies, with Gal Gadot’s hero braving the front lines of World War I in an attempt to find and defeat Ares. The movie doesn’t reveal Ares’ true identity until its final act, which sees the hero do battle with the God of War.
Considering the quality of the rest of Wonder Woman, the hero’s final battle with Ares is painfully anticlimactic. The notion that the DCEU introduced a literal god only to have him killed off after a brief appearance was disheartening, particularly as it did no service to an otherwise interesting antagonist. With the great mystery surrounding Ares’ identity, ending his story so quickly after the reveal was more than a little disappointing.
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Wonder Woman
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*Availability in US Director Lauren Montgomery Release Date March 3, 2009
6 Hela’s MCU Story Ended On A Technicality
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
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Upon release, Thor: Ragnarok was one of the MCU’s most exciting entries. It brought the franchise’s narrative forward considerably, explored the characterization of two core Avengers, and killed off a major supporting character. Ragnarok also introduced Hela into the MCU, the immensely powerful Asgardian God of Death and Thor’s long-lost older sister. However, for all Hela’s promise, Ragnarok ended her story in a decidedly unsatisfying manner.
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After Hela kills all of Thor’s friends and claims the throne of Asgard, he realizes that he isn’t strong enough to defeat her. He then summons Surtur to destroy his home world, killing Hela in the process. Having such a powerful villain killed off in such a way was disappointing, as a figure as grandiose as Hela deserved a far better ending than being abruptly killed by another villain while the hero flees.
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14 7.6/10 Thor: Ragnarok
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*Availability in US Director Taika Waititi Release Date November 3, 2017
5 Bane’s Ending Didn’t Reflect His Potential
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
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The Dark Knight Rises ended Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy in epic fashion, spinning a narrative that saw Gotham City come close to complete destruction. The film’s main antagonist, Bane, proves to be a match for Batman on practically every level, as he’s able to physically overpower the Dark Knight as well as outmaneuver him from a tactical perspective. However, this is ultimately what makes Bane’s ending feel so poor.
Despite being perhaps the most dangerous and difficult to overcome villain in the Dark Knight trilogy, Bane is defeated with relative ease. After being beaten by Batman, Bane is shot and killed by Catwoman in a moment that does no justice whatsoever to the character. Bane’s connection to the League of Shadows, as well as his keen intellect and physical strength, all should have combined to make him as difficult to kill as Batman himself, though The Dark Knight Rises opted instead to give him a worse ending than he deserved.
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30 8.6/10 The Dark Knight Rises
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*Availability in US Director Christopher Nolan Release Date July 16, 2012
4 The Green Goblin’s Death Was Utterly Pointless
Spider-Man (2002)
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2002’s Spider-Man helped cement the superhero genre as a cinematic behemoth in the modern age, partially thanks to an incredible performance from Willem Dafoe. Dafoe’s turn as Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin continues to stand out as some of the best acting in any superhero movie, as he was able to capture the inherent duality of the character. Unfortunately, his movie arc in the Raimi trilogy came to an abrupt end, as he dies during the film’s climactic battle.
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The Green Goblin being killed by his own glider is the result of a moment of needless hubris, making his ending seem frustrating. Dafoe had much more to give in the role, but his story was cut decidedly short by an uncharacteristic moment of stupidity. Being killed in such a manner was not the ending he deserved, and though it was later redeemed in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it once served as his definitive movie ending.
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Spider-Man (2002)
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*Availability in US Director Sam Raimi Release Date May 3, 2002
3 Ra’s Al Ghul’s Death Was A Wasted Opportunity
Batman Begins (2005)
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The Dark Knight trilogy put a decidedly grounded spin on the characters of the Batman mythos, including the main villain of Batman Begins, the typically mystical figure of Ra’s al Ghul. The movie saw the antagonist employ theatrical tactics of misdirection both while mentoring Bruce Wayne and fighting against Batman to destroy Gotham. His death at the end of the movie marked a significant missed opportunity for the trilogy on multiple levels, however.
Ra’s al Ghul’s death could have seen the trilogy address his immortality in the comics in some way, though this wasn’t the case. What’s more, his ending coming about as the result of Batman using a loophole in his “no-kill” rule felt far more cheap than it did clever. Ultimately, this contributed to an ending for the villain that was significantly less substantial than he deserved, especially considering his long-standing role as an immortal villain in the source material.
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13 8.4/10 Batman Begins
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*Availability in US Director Christopher Nolan Release Date June 15, 2005
2 Killmonger’s Death Squandered The Best MCU Villain
Black Panther (2018)
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Acting as the main antagonist of 2018’s Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan made his MCU debut as Erik Killmonger, swiftly earning the title of the most relatable villain in the franchise. Killmonger’s motivations were regarded as reasonable at their core by many, adding a complex moral layer to Black Panther’s narrative and further contributing to the film’s success. However, his death during the film’s ending proved to be one of the most hated MCU deaths, because Killmonger simply deserved so much better.
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Killmonger wanting to seize control of Wakanda to share its power with the world was a noble goal, even if his methods were unnecessarily violent. The film’s final battle saw him and T’Challa face off, both possessing the enhanced abilities of the Black Panther. The CGI showdown was a disappointing finale in a visual sense, with Killmonger’s unceremonious death proving to be far less than the villain otherwise deserved.
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12 9/10 Black Panther
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*Availability in US Director Ryan Coogler Release Date February 16, 2018
1 Jack Nicholson’s Joker Deserved To Be Batman’s True Nemesis
Batman (1989)
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It’s no secret that Tim Burton’s Batman franchise was criminally short-lived, but its handling of villains didn’t lend itself well to longevity in the first place. The director’s first foray into Gotham came in 1989’s Batman, introducing Michael Keaton’s Dark Knight alongside Jack Nicholson’s Joker. The iconic hero facing off against his equally iconic nemesis was a triumphant moment for superhero cinema, although the Joker’s ending was nothing like what he deserved.
The movie ended with the Joker’s death after the villain fell from the top of Gotham Cathedral. As Batman’s most infamous foe, the Joker never should have been killed off so swiftly and unremarkably, particularly as Nicholson’s performance in the role delivered a staggering amount of frightening comic accuracy. As such, the Joker’s ending in 1989’s Batman stands out as one of the most disappointing villain endings in the MCU, the DCU, and beyond.
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25 9.2/10 Batman (1989)
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*Availability in US Director Tim Burton Release Date June 23, 1989
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