Summary:
- From Galactus to Justin Hammer, countless MCU villains are still alive, somewhere out there.
- Each MCU villain who is still breathing holds limitless potential to propel the story forward.
- We have compiled a list of every MCU villain that is alive in the MCU, along with their first and last appearance.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon turn 20 years old in 2028. With more than 30 movies and TV shows under its belt, the MCU has introduced us to multiple characters, and over the course of these 20 years, some of these characters have been lost. We usually keep track of heroes like Shang Chi or Captain Marvel, often theorizing where they might be, but have you ever stopped to think about the villains who slipped through the cracks?
Have you ever thought about where Justin Hammer from Iron Man 2 is now? To answer that, we’ve rounded up every MCU villain who’s still alive somewhere out there.
Table of Contents
1. Abomination
- First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Last Appearance: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
Marvel released The Incredible Hulk just one month after Iron Man and introduced Emil Blonsky (Abomination) as the primary villain, making him technically the oldest MCU villain. The movie ended with the Abomination being imprisoned in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison, after which they transferred him to the Damage Control Supermax Prison. We then saw Blonsky appear in Shang-Chi alongside Wong.
Wong would open a portal to transfer Blonsky from his portal to fight at the Golden Daggers Club in Macau. Following his brief appearance in Shang-Chi, Blonsky had a major role to play in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, with the show ending with him being imprisoned yet again. However, funnily enough, Wong breaks him out for good this time around. We have yet to see Blonsky again.
2. Justin Hammer
First and Last Appearance: Iron Man 2 (2010)
Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer served as one of the antagonists of Iron Man 2. At the end of the movie, he was arrested and sent to Seagate Penitentiary. We even see him alongside Trevor Slattery in the Trevor Slattery short. Justin Hammer is one of the most iconic villains of Tony Stark, be it in business or on the battlefield.
It was rumored that the character would return in Armor Wars. However, as of writing, Armor Wars’ future is uncertain, and it is unlikely when the show/movie will even release.
3. Red Skull
- First Appearance: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- Last Appearance: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Red Skull served as the villain in Captain America: The First Avenger and misused the Space Stone (Tesseract), which led to his banishment to Vormir at the end of the movie. However, many believed that the character had just disintegrated.
In Infinity War, we learned that Red Skull was cursed to serve as the guardian of the Soul Stone for life. However, after Thanos claimed the stone, the curse was broken (technically), setting Red Skull free.
4. Ultron
- First Appearance: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Next Appearance: VisionQuest (2026)
Avengers: Age of Ultron ended with Vision confronting the last Ultron bot, destroying it to stop Ultron once and for all. However, we do see a brief appearance by Ultron in Spider-Man: Homecoming when we see Peter finding an Ultron head in a damage control truck, but that was seemingly just a fun Easter egg.
That said, Ultron is confirmed to be returning in VisionQuest, with James Spader returning to voice the character. We will also see other A.I. variants from the MCU, like F.R.I.D.A.Y., E.D.I.T.H., and Jarvis, returning for the series. All of the characters will also be in their human form. However, no plot details have been revealed.
5. Baron Zemo
- First Appearance: Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Last Appearance: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Baron Zemo was the MCU villain responsible for pitting the Avengers against each other in Captain America: Civil War. To date, he is one of the few villains who succeeded in his agenda alongside Thanos. He was imprisoned at the end of Civil War.
However, Bucky Barnes brought him out to help Barnes and Sam Wilson find the Flag Smashers. As always, Zemo had his own nefarious schemes, but he was eventually captured at the end of the series. He is currently being held in a prison in Berlin.
6. Kaecilius
First and Last Appearance: Doctor Strange (2016)
Kaecilius, played by Mads Mikkelsen, is one of the most underutilized actors and villains in the MCU. He wanted the Dark Dimension (Dormammu) to consume Earth. He believed that this would give everyone eternal life and save humanity. However, Doctor Strange didn’t let this happen.
Kaecilius himself was trapped in the Dark Dimension, doomed to suffer eternal pain for the rest of his life. Owing to his fate in the Dark Dimension, Kaecilius exists beyond life and death, meaning he can return if writers want him to.
7. Dormammu
First and Last Appearance: Doctor Strange (2016)
Dormammu is one of the strongest entities in the Marvel multiverse. He can quite literally warp reality and teleport across dimensions. You thought Galactus was strong for consuming planets? Dormammu can consume entire dimensions. Many fans have speculated that Kaecilius can even serve as the vessel for Dormammu if he ever returns to the MCU.
8. The Vulture
- First Appearance: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Last Appearance: Morbius (2022)
Adrian Toomes’ (Vulture) fate is quite weird in the MCU. We see him in prison at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, the post-credits scene of Morbius transports him to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, with a potential team-up being teased. Sony’s Universe is most likely dead, so Vulture might be stuck in a universe limbo.
9. Scorpion
- First Appearance: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Next Appearance: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
Spider-Man: Homecoming teased Mac Gargan (Scorpion) at the end. In prison, the Vulture meets him, and the villain asks about Spider-Man’s identity. Almost 10 years since the tease, the MCU confirms Vulture’s return as a villain in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
10. The Tinkerer
First and Last Appearance: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Phineas Mason, aka the Tinkerer, is an inventor who uses his engineering skills to build weapons. He used the Chitauri and Stark Tech in Homecoming to make weapons for Vulture and Shocker. It was never revealed what happened to Tinkerer at the end of Homecoming.
11. Shocker
First and Last Appearance: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming introduced us to four villains that are still alive in the MCU. One of these is Herman Schultz, aka the second Shocker. Jackson Brice was the Shocker in the beginning of the movie but was killed by Vulture since he didn’t obey orders. Schultz took on the mantle and even went up against Spider-Man in the final battle. However, he was arrested by the NYPD, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of the character returning.
12. The Grandmaster
First and Last Appearance: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
The Grandmaster was overthrown as the ruler of Sakaar by a revolution. He was set to reprise his role in Thor: Love and Thunder, but his role was cut. The Grandmaster in Marvel Comics is one of the oldest and most powerful beings of the universe, but he’s played off for gags in the MCU, so he might not necessarily return in the future.
13. The Collector
- First Appearance: Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Last Appearance: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
The Collector held multiple Infinity Stones at one point in the MCU. He was last seen in Avengers: Infinity War, with Thanos raiding his shop and gaining the Reality Stone. In the comics, Collector is the Grandmaster’s brother and is on a similar power scale to him. He has captured Marvel heroes at multiple points to add them to his “collection.” The actor has stated that Collector might return to the MCU, so we might get to see the storyline after all.
14. Kang the Conqueror
- First Appearance: Loki (2021-2023)
- Last Appearance: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Ah, yes, the latest big bad of the MCU. Plans for Kang were scrapped by Marvel after actor Jonathan Majors was found guilty of assault in 202. This made Marvel pivot to Doom, but technically, Kang is still alive in the MCU. The Kang from Quantumania was put in his own Time Sphere and trapped in the Quantum Realm.
However, the post-credits scene teased that there are multiple Kang variants out there. This was supposed to be a setup for Kang Dynasty, but that never came to be. However, Marvel may bring back Kang, though played by a different actor.
15. High Evolutionary
First and Last Appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
The High Evolutionary is the only villain in the Guardians trilogy that is not killed. This is owing to Rocket’s development as a character and him not wanting to stoop to his level. It is explicitly shown at the end that the character is rescued by Drax. A deleted scene even showed the High Evolutionary being imprisoned on Knowhere. It is unlikely that Marvel would use this villain again, especially considering his deep ties to one of the Guardians.
16. Arishem
First and Last Appearance: Eternals (2021)
Arishem is one of the strongest characters of Marvel Comics. He is a Celestial and has existed for billions of years; he can even create and destroy planets at will. Arishem appears at the end of Eternals and confronts the remaining Eternals for preventing the birth of Tiamut. He then leaves Earth, taking the Eternals with him, and declares that he will return. If the MCU plays its cards right, the Celestial storyline can be quite a gripping story told on an immense scale.
17. Kingpin
- First Appearance: Hawkeye (2021)
- Next Appearance: Daredevil: Born Again season 2 (2026)
Kingpin was first introduced in the MCU at the end of Hawkeye, and it had fans going wild. Since then, Kingpin has become a major player among the street-level heroes of the MCU. He appeared in Echo and Daredevil: Born Again. He is currently the mayor of New York City, which prompted Daredevil to form a new team against him. He is confirmed to be the big bad yet again in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 and maybe even Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
18. The Leader
- First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Last Appearance: Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
After Abomination, the Leader was the second villain the MCU brought back from one of their oldest movies. He served as the big bad in Captain America: Brave New World, controlling the strings to frame Thaddeus Ross. He was imprisoned on The Raft at the end of the movie. He even teased the arrival of Doom in a post-credits scene.
19. Mephisto
First and Last Appearance: Ironheart season 1 (2025)
WandaVision fans were quite happy to see this appearance, that is, if they even saw the show. Mephisto was finally revealed in the MCU at the end of Ironheart Season 1. Played by Sacha Baron Cohen, who was long rumored to be playing the Devil, we finally have Mephisto in the MCU, putting to rest all the Mephisto memes and paving the way for an interesting storyline.
20. Galactus
First and Last Appearance: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
We finally got to see Galactus in all his glory in Fantastic Four: First Steps, instead of being a giant cloud in the 2000s Fantastic Four. First Steps ends with our heroes managing to send the Devourer of Worlds to the edge of the universe. However, Galactus is too big a threat for this to be the end of him. Once the Doom saga is over, Galactus will surely return in the MCU.
Which Villains Aren’t On This List
It’s important to note that we haven’t included every single villain in this list. Minor villains like Mandarin Henchman #3 are obviously not included. That said, reformed villains like the Winter Soldier, Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Loki are also not included. This is because these characters are no longer villains and have continued their journeys as heroes in the MCU.
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