Summary

TheMarvel Cinematic Universeisn’t curt on villain , and many of the enfranchisement ’s opposer in reality have incredibly sad backstories explaining their motivations . Every good Hero of Alexandria needs a upright villain , but the respectable antagonist are often those who are n’t virginal evil . The goggle box shows andmovies of the MCUhave introduced many villains , often with complex need or stories that paint them as emphatically tragic figures . In fact , many of the best superhero account see the Hero of Alexandria facing off against enemy who are n’t inherently sorry but instead tied to a contrasting moral codification or attempting to reconcile a difficult yesteryear .

Throughout theMCU ’s movie timeline , the enfranchisement ’s most memorable villains all inspired at least a modicum of fellow feeling for the elbow room their story has played out . Many are established or revealed to have especially tragic histories , determine them into the morally dubious but not entirely indefensible scoundrel they appear to be . Though all villains believe themselves to be defend for a worthy cause , only a choice few have genuine reason to feel aggrieved - either with the hero sandwich or the cruel twists of destiny that shaped them . With that in mind , here are the 10 saddest villain backstories in the MCU so far .

A hero is normally only as compelling as their villains , and the MCU has fork over a across-the-board range of antagonists of diverge power layer .

A split image of Thanos, Kang, and the High Evolutionary in the MCU

10He Who Remains Has To Make The Difficult Choices

Loki (2021)

9Dar-Benn Watches Her Planet Crumble

The Marvels (2023)

One of the most interesting accession to thecast ofThe Marvelswas Dar - Benn , a Kree revolutionary who obtain herself at odds with the films ' hero . Despite acting as the film ’s villain , she actually has something of a tragic backstory : after Carol Danvers destroys the Supreme Intelligence followingCaptain Marvel , the Kree Empire falls into civic state of war . This has a knock - on gist on Dar - Benn ’s homeworld of Hala , which quite literally begins to fall apart before her optic . Spurred on by the impendent annihilation of her hoi polloi , Dar - Benn descends into firmly - headed villainy , albeit in pursuit of a comparatively noble terminal .

8Hela Is Betrayed By Odin (Who Made Her In His Image)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

As MCU villain go , Hela is one of the few who is not written to be morally ambiguous . She ’s a grave vanquisher who make merry in expiry and destruction , but ultimately , she ’s fueled by revenge . After creating her in his image and raising her to be one of the most bloodthirsty organism in existence , Odin then adjudicate he wanted peace , and his daughter did n’t gibe his programme . He discards her , then replaces her with his sons Thor and Loki . The All - Father ’s death finally allows her to return and reclaim her rightful blank space on the potty of the beginner who unfeelingly shunned her .

7Killmonger Is Banished From Wakanda

Black Panther (2018)

Of the many MCU villain who seemed to have a full point , Killmonger often ranks highest . Exiled as a child for the action of his father , vernal Killmonger is forced to grow up in poverty despite being a part of the Wakandan royal family . This have him to begrudge his Wakandan heritage , peculiarly as he intends to go for the nation accountable for its inactivity and unwillingness to support minorities throughout the rest of the world in times of pauperism . Though his murderous approach is n’t admirable , Killmonger ’s tragical upbringing makes him one of the most justified villains in the MCU .

6Ghost Is An Orphan Who Was Manipulated Into Villainy

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

As a child , Ava Starr lost her parents in the same quantum plosion that break her the power to render herself intangible . orphan and ineffectual to control her power , Ava was lead in by SHIELD prior to the Hydra Uprising . There , she was used for her abilities and trained as a stealth operative despite the fact that her constant need for quantum energy was tardily kill her . It ’s only out of her drive for survival that specter act as a villain , attempting to cure her affliction by tapping into the quantum energy of Hank Pym ’s experiment . Ultimately , Ghost was manipulated into her nefarious agency after a puerility filled with tragedy .

5Thanos Watches His Planet Die

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Born into the royal category of Titan , Thanos ab initio enjoyed a life of relative privilege . However , when overpopulation began threaten his planet ’s continue existence , Thanos ' basal approximation to kill off half its population was regard extreme . Then Thanos watched as his bad fears come to pass : Titan was devastated just as he ’d predicted , and his race was driven to the verge of extinction . This startle the already radical ideas of the villain , prompting him to embark upon a movement to balance the cosmos by wiping out one-half of all biography . Though he ’s undeniably one of the MCU ’s most grievous villains , the trauma in his past is incredibly distressing .

4Taskmaster Is Almost Killed Before Being Mind-Controlled

Black Widow (2021)

The MCU ’s Taskmaster is somewhat unlike from the role in the comics , but the moving-picture show enfranchisement ’s looping of the scoundrel has an especially tragic narration . The nestling of Dreykov , the former Soviet officer and superintendent of the Black Widows ' training , Taskmaster ’s existent name is Antonia Dreykov . When Natasha Romanoff attempts to assassinate her former skipper , she unwittingly targets his young daughter instead , scarring her and set aside Dreykov to implant a mind control chip into her brain . Through her father ’s experiment and inexorable control , she becomes the villain Taskmaster , although only as the mathematical product of others ' misdeeds rather than any sort of autonomous choice .

3Gorr The God Butcher’s Daughter Dies In His Arms

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Thor : Love and Thunderintroduced Gorr , a being design on killing all god . His bloodthirsty nature halt from his sad backstory : after praying to his god to save his girl ’s life , he watches the young girl break down of thirst . Shortly after , he stumbles across the god , who laughs in indifference at his quandary . Influenced by the Necrosword , Gorr then start out to engage war on the gods , also try Eternity to realize his greatest wish . However , despite his cause against the gods , Gorr only require his daughter back , show that he ’s one of the MCU ’s most tragic villain .

2Wanda Becomes The Scarlet Witch After Losing Everything

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

There are very few arcs in the entire MCU that are as sad and unfortunate as Wanda Maximoff ’s . As a tike , Wanda was orphan when her parents were kill in Sokovia . Later , she ’s introduce as one of theMCU ’s most powerful charming users , only to recede her matching brother in an human activity of heroic sacrifice . Then she falls in love with Vision , only for Thanos to kill him . In her grief , she as if by magic make a family with her late lover , only to misplace them too . It ’s only after lose everything that Wanda finally turns into a scoundrel , and even then , it ’s only to recover some of the mass she lost .

1Loki Just Wanted His Family

Thor (2011)

Though Loki begin out as an MCU villain , the franchise later see him redeem into one of its most pop poor boy . His first appearance in 2011’sThorgives him an appropriately pitiful backstory , though : a young Frost Giant whose parents are killed in a war against Asgard , Loki is adopted by Odin and raised as Asgardian royal house . However , he ’s always leave out in favor of his buddy , Thor , and grows envious as a result . It ’s only through his yearning for Odin ’s love and respect that Loki provide himself to become a villain , give him one of the sad backstories in theMarvel Cinematic Universe .

Iron Man looking inside Sokovia in Avengers Age of Ultron

Gorr at the Altar of Eternity in Thor Love and Thunder

Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher crying in Thor: Love and Thunder beside Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger in Black Panther

Jonathan Majors as He Who Remains in the Citadel at the End of Time in Loki

Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn with Cosmi-Rod in The Marvels

Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) without her mask in Ant-Man and the Wasp

A close-up of Thanos  (Josh Brolin) in Avengers Infinity War

Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov A.K.A. Taskmaster in Black Widow (2021) in the MCU

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in full regalia as a villain in The Avengers

Marvel Cinematic Universe