Marvel Studios is starting to have an issue in developing their
villains. Perhaps they always have, but the trouble is getting more and
more evident.
This may come as a surprise so soon after Black Panther, which
showcased Killmonger, one of the best villains the Marvel Cinematic
Universe has produced (I would go so far as to say he may be the best
movie villain. The distinction of best overall MCU villain still belongs
to Kilgrave). But Killmonger, along with Spider-Man: Homecoming's
Vulture, are the exceptions to what's becoming a distressing pattern.
This pattern is apparent in Iron Fist, the second seasons of Jessica
Jones and Luke Cage, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, and stretches all
the way back to the original Thor and the first Avengers movie.
Marvel Studios increasingly (A) making their villains more
multidimensional, to the point of being sympathetic and relatable, and
(B) involving their heroes in internal struggles rather than external
conflicts.
The Vulture is the best example of strategy A working well. He's
ruthless and aggressive, and has no qualms about harming innocent
people, but, at the same time, he's an everyman who's just trying to
provide for his family and secure a future for his daughter, whom he
genuinely loves. Additionally, his resentment of the various metahumans
in the MCU is almost understandable, if not relatable. The strategy
worked because he was still a genuine threat to public safety because of
his arms trafficking, and because he didn't hold anything back in his
clashes with Spider-Man.
T'Challa is the best example of success using strategy B. We see him
fighting to protect Wakanda in his tussles with Ulysses Klaue, and later
in his fight to foil Killmonger's plans and reclaim his throne, but all
the while Killmonger's rhetoric compels him to question the history and
future of his nation and of their place on the global stage, ultimately
resulting in him changing his mind and ending Wakanda's xenophobic
isolation. This worked because T'Challa is still placed in conflict with
a villain, with the fate of Wakanda and, ultimately, the world at stake,
but that conflict begins to affect him internally and color his
decisions.
Both narratives are still hero versus villain, still good versus evil –
the heart of any superhero story. Marvel’s able to make both that good,
and that evil, complex, while not straying too far from what it's all
about.
The strategies work well in these cases, but there are many more
examples of them missing the mark. Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Ghost was
made so sympathetic that she barely registered as a villain, leaving the
story with little sense of dramatic stakes until the literal ticking
clock introduced in the third act. In the second season of Luke Cage,
the motivations and machinations of its protagonist and antagonists got
so muddled, and developed so unevenly, that the result was a
slow-moving, maudlin mess that led to a thoroughly unsatisfying
conclusion. Jessica Jones's second season spent a few episodes hyping
up a mysterious antagonist, only to reveal that the shadowy assassin
picking off failed IGH experiments is none other than Jessica's own
mother, leaving the rest of the series completely without an antagonist,
shifting the focus to Jessica's struggles with her inner demons and the
question of what to do with her mother. Tragic? Yes. Engaging? No.
Amid Iron Fist's myriad issues was the absence of any primary
antagonist and a slew of pitifully underwhelming secondary ones – a
necromanced businessman and a cult leader doing his best Ra's al Ghul
impression. Hardly riveting. Even Loki, a longtime fan favorite since
the beginnings of the MCU, presented a similar problem – he was always
far too likable to be a true antagonist, and subsequent more sympathetic
renderings – playing up his status as a bastard son and black sheep of
the Asgardian royal family – didn't help (This was one of Ragnarok's
strong points; finally just giving in and making him an antihero).
It's likely that this approach stems from a desire for MCU sequels and
second seasons to do more than retracing the same territory as their
predecessors had and avoid relying too heavily on one-dimensional
villains. These are worthy aspirations, but Marvel Studios' track record
of successful attempts versus failures in this regard isn't looking too
great, and at this point the balance has been thrown off and needs to be
restored. One-dimensional villains can be just as fun and compelling
when drawn right. For every Killmonger, Vulture, and Ghost, you've got
to have a few Red Skulls, Ultrons, and Helas.