When it comes to choosing the right villain for a superhero movie, it can be quite a task.
It’s usually often a lot harder to get it right than to get it wrong.
Thanos was a huge risk for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but fortunately, they had learned from their mistakes from in some of their previous films. However, they got lucky.
Below are ten of the worst supervillain performances of all time.
Electro (Jamie Foxx)
Sony’s second attempt at a Spider-Man franchise came to a crashing halt with The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
The movie’s focus seemed to be simply threaded for spin-offs, rather than focusing on its own story.
Jamie Foxx’s Electro provided the main antagonist of the movie and unfortunately, it’s memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Dr. Doom (Toby Kebbell)
It’s a shame Toby Kebbell has landed parts in so many duds movies.
He’s not a terrible actor, but it’s hard to tell from his performance as Dr. Doom in Josh Trank’s infamous take on the Fantastic Four.
Supposedly one of the greatest villainous threats in comic history, this Dr. Doom was taken down in less than a third of the movie’s runtime.
Hopefully, the MCU can do him justice.
Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)
Jesse Eisenberg has proven himself to be an extremely talented actor.
Yet his casting as Lex Luthor for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice still drew criticism for him being a rather ‘out there’ choice.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to know whether Eisenberg could’ve played a great Lex.
A truly terrible script is what stops us from ever knowing.
Also Read: New Joker To Be Main Villain of The Batman Trilogy
Joker (Jared Leto)
Jared Leto is another established actor who could easily have redefined the character of the Joker.
But perhaps he tried to redefine the character a bit too much.
In Suicide Squad, we see his iteration of the Joker only for a couple of scenes but he’s far from the threatening clown we’re used to.
Leto just didn’t feel like the Joker and for that reason alone, his role almost seems pointless.
Perhaps we might see a different side if we can get the Ayer cut released.
Deadpool (Scott Adkins)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a film most of us are keen to forget.
Especially Ryan Reynolds. His first attempt at playing the character wasn’t a bad one.
Up until the point he gets his mouth sewn shut and becomes the complete opposite of who he’s supposed to be.
Scott Adkins plays the Weapon XI version of Deadpool towards the end of the movie. In terms of stuntwork, he delivers. But that’s kind of it.
Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac)
The X-Men franchise really didn’t know when to give up.
Apocalypse had the potential to be another Thanos-level kind of villain, but the script for the film was truly diabolical.
Not only does it feel like a bad B-movie, but the script takes the mick out of some of the poorer versions of the franchise while unknowingly being worse than any of them.
Thankfully, X-Men: Apocalypse did nothing to halt Oscar Isaac’s career.
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Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard)
Another movie Ryan Reynolds is keen to forget is The Green Lantern.
Before the DCEU was born, Warner Bros. took a stab at making Hal Jordan a household name.
Let’s just say, it didn’t go the way they wanted.
Peter Sarsgaard plays Hector Hammond, a character with a fairly prominent role within comic lore.
However, in this movie, Hammond is well and truly abused. I don’t know what they were trying to do with him, at all.
Venom (Topher Grace)
Spider-Man 3 was the movie that killed Sony’s first Spider-Man franchise. All plans of a fourth film were dead in the water.
Notoriously slammed for its use of villains in the movie, the Venom symbiote was just an extra thread crammed in.
Topher Grace was the wrong choice to bring this villain to the big screen. And, unfortunately, we still haven’t seen Venom done right.
Blackheart (Wes Bentley)
The Ghost Rider films are almost long since forgotten.
Wes Bentley is another actor who rarely gets to showcase his talents in a good movie.
His role in this film was no exception.
With no character to portray, the script lets him down. The rest of the film plays out as a bit of a snooze fest.
Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Now, I love Arnie. He’s had some great roles and sometimes plays subtlety really well.
Batman and Robin is not one of those movies and Mr. Freeze is not one of those roles.
Mr. Freeze is originally a rather tragic character, but in Batman and Robin, he is simply played as comic relief.
If you want an abundance of icy related puns, this performance is for you.
