The Best MCU Villains Who Became Heroes

Summary

• Quicksilver evolves from a villain to a hero in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, saving lives before dying heroically.
• Ghost resorted to villainy due to experimentation but redeems herself by choosing the path of redemption in Thunderbolts*.
• Agent’s transformation from an egotistical villain to a hero in the MCU’s Thunderbolts* shows the power of change.

For almost twenty years, fans have been introduced to dozens of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, spanning five phases with multiple film and television crossovers. As a result of so many stories, characters have evolved in various ways, including the villains, with some standing out for abandoning their evil ways in favor of heroic ones.

Their transitions are not just plot twists; they are powerful narratives that explore themes of character growth and the complexities that arise in a world full of superheroes. It also showcases how not every character makes a one-time appearance, with some villains evolving into full-fledged superheroes in the Avengers and other teams.

10

Quicksilver

The Speedster Died Being A Hero

• Real Name: Pietro Maximoff
• Played By: Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Come and gone in the same movie, Quicksilver began with an avid hatred for the Avengers because he and his sister were victims of Stark Industries’ weapons. Thanks to experimentation with Loki’s staff by Hydra, they became enhanced with superhuman abilities, with Quicksilver earning his name for being able to run at inhuman speeds.

Quicksilver and his twin sister, Wanda, aka. Scarlet Witch, first joined the MCU in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, working under the titular Ultron. However, they had a change of heart once they realized that Ultron was plotting the extinction of the human race, not just the Avengers. As a result, the twins would join the Avengers and help save the world, until Quicksilver died, taking bullets to protect Hawkeye and a child.

9

Trevor Slattery

From False-Faced Villain To Protector Of Ta Lo

• Real Name: Trevor Slattery
• Played By: Ben Kingsley

Iron Man 3 made the controversial choice to make the Mandarin a fake villain for the real villain, Aldrich Killian, to hide behind. Ben Kingsley’s character is merely an actor named Trevor Slattery who was exploited because of his drug addiction, becoming the Mandarin to instill fear in Americans, and specifically Tony Stark.

Fortunately, Marvel Studios managed to do the Mandarin justice by introducing Xu Wenwu as the real Mandarin in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. Trevor Slattery redeems himself for his actions by helping Shang-Chi and the people of Ta Lo defeat the Mandarin and the Dweller in Darkness. Now, Trevor is helping the rise of Wonder Man in his Disney+ series.

8

Ghost

Ava Starr Is On A Path Of Redemption

• Real Name: Ava Starr
• Played By: Hannah John-Kamen

While it doesn’t excuse her actions in Ant-Man and The Wasp, it’s hard to blame Ava Starr, also known as Ghost, for resorting to villainy. The government experimented on her for her superhuman condition to make her the next super-soldier for S.H.I.E.L.D. However, her powers give her constant pain and agony and are slowly killing her.

Ghost was willing to take lives and cause other people pain in order to stabilize her body, but Janet Pym was able to cure her terminal condition using quantum energy. As a result, Ghost was able to see the error of her ways and is set to be in both Thunderbolts* and Avengers: Doomsday to, potentially, fight Doctor Doom.

7

U.S. Agent

Not Everyone Can Be Captain America

• Real Name: John Walker
• Played By: Wyatt Russell

A victim of his surroundings, U.S. Agent is what happens when the wrong person is chosen for a job. When he debuted on Disney+ in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he may not have been evil, but John Walker’s desire for personal achievement, combined with being picked as Captain America’s successor, led to his ego growing too much. He ended up being too pushy, condescending, and reckless, and that was before becoming a super-soldier.

When he took a super-soldier serum, all his negative qualities amplified and turned him into a bloodthirsty killer on a power trip, resulting in the government abandoning him completely. Fortunately, even he could see the error of his ways, which is why he helped Captain America and Winter Soldier before becoming a founding member of the MCU’s Thunderbolts.

6

Yondu

Star-Lord Became Who He Is Because Of Yondu

• Real Name: Yondu Udonta
• Played By: Michael Rooker

Yondu was there from the beginning when Peter Quill began his cosmic journey as Star-Lord. While he was a Ravager who was willing to steal from everybody and cared more about fortune than anything else, he always had a soft spot for Peter, even if he didn’t want to admit it. This wound up saving the universe for a time, since Peter’s biological father is an evil Celestial.

Yondu’s loyalty to Peter would also be his downfall with the Ravagers, but his gateway to becoming a Guardian Of The Galaxy. After being betrayed by his fellow Ravagers, Yondu would make up for all his mistakes by not only saving his adopted son, Peter, but helping destroy Ego, The Living Planet, dying in the vacuum of space in one last heroic act.

5

Thaddeus Ross

Proof That Anybody Can Change Their Ways

• Real Name: Thaddeus Ross
• Played By: William Hurt, Harrison Ford

Before ever getting powers as the Red Hulk, Thaddeus Ross was already a foe of the Hulk, obsessed with weaponizing him for the military. He would continue to be an antagonist to the Avengers, as his creation of the Sokovia Accords would effectively tear them apart from the inside. He didn’t even help when Thanos attacked Earth.

Much to the surprise of audiences, even Thaddeus Ross is capable of change. In Captain America: Brave New World, despite the movie being about his dirty secrets being unveiled, he is no longer a villain. He’s tried being more diplomatic as President of the United States, restarting the Avengers, and even making amends with his daughter. This good side is what helps Captain America stop the Red Hulk’s rampage in the end.

4

Scarlet Witch

The Universe Was Not Fair To Wanda

• Real Name: Wanda Maximoff
• Played By: Elizabeth Olsen

Throughout her tenure in the Infinity Saga, Wanda Maximoff worked to make up for her time as a villain in Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Scarlet Witch proved to be one of the most powerful Avengers, and one who remained a hero for a long time. However, even during her best times as a hero, there were hints of darkness within her that were realized after Thanos killed Vision.

In the Multiverse Saga, the Scarlet Witch returned to villainy after her trauma caused her to accidentally take over an entire town in WandaVision, create a new family, and then be corrupted by the Darkhold. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she went on a multiversal killing spree to reunite with her children. This fall from grace proved to be too much, so when she saw the error of her ways, she sacrificed herself to destroy the Darkhold in every universe.

3

Nebula

Overcame Years Of Trauma To Become A Guardian Of The Galaxy

• Real Name: Nebula
• Played By: Karen Gillan

When Nebula first debuted in Guardians Of The Galaxy, it was impossible to see her as anything but a sadistic assassin serving Ronan and Thanos. She was taking innocent lives like it meant nothing to her while also doing everything in her power to make sure that she beat her adopted sister, Gamora.

However, thanks to the talents of James Gunn and the Russo Brothers, Nebula evolved with each entry in which she appeared, showing more pathos and character development. From her tragic backstory to eventually bonding with Gamora like a true sister, Nebula made audiences fall in love with her, especially when they saw how Thanos treated her. She would then become one of the leading Avengers to go up against him, and would go on to become an official Guardian of the Galaxy.

2

Winter Soldier

Hydra’s Top Assassin Evolved Into A Beloved Avenger

• Real Name: James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes
• Played By: Sebastian Stan

Over ten years after Bucky Barnes returned to the MCU as the Winter Soldier, he has become an icon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has starred in two Avengers movies, his own show on Disney+, and is the leading member of the Thunderbolts. To think he began as Hydra’s version of Captain America, designed to blindly assassinate targets.

Like U.S. Agent, Bucky is someone trying to make amends for his past, but he arguably has it worse because he lacks control over his actions as a brainwashed pawn for Hydra. Now, he has fought off alien threats and other super soldiers and serves as a U.S. congressman, all while remaining loyal to his friends and comrades in the Avengers.

1

Loki

Everyone’s Favorite Evil Asgardian Turned Time-Hopping Superhero

• Real Name: Loki Odinson
• Played By: Tom Hiddleston

Thor’s little brother, Loki, went from a spiteful sibling with father issues to being the threat that brought the Avengers together for the first time, and then evolved to be more of an anti-hero. At the very end, Loki would die by the literal hand of Thanos as a hero trying to protect Asgard and save the universe from the threat he once served under.

Despite the evil he did, Loki is one of the MCU’s most beloved characters, and part of that has to do with his evolution from evil God of Mischief to sacrificial son of Odin. This is what led to fans getting the Loki Disney+ series, which featured a Loki variant on a similar journey from selfish antagonist to a man willing to sit on a throne forever as the God of Stories to watch the Multiverse play out.