Since the entrance of Marvel Cinematic Universe, films have been changed to follow the trend that Marvel has started. Other studios have also started their own Cinematic Universes but none have rivaled the success of Marvel. The studio had tapped into a formula that seemed to work no matter the hero, and they don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Marvel, although consistent with their films have lacked to give as much a chance to their villains as they do to their heroes. This execution has resulted in some very memorable heroes and forgettable villains. Marvel president Kevin Feige discussed this problem and the reason why they chose to ignore it still. Feige said:
“In 2008, two superhero movies that came out. One focused on the villain, one focused on the hero, and we at Marvel looked at them, like ‘Yeah, we focus on the heroes. We don’t mind that. We like that.’ Please don’t start a flame war. Nobody wants that. But, again, it really always is what serves the story.”
Marvel villains are quite memorable in the comics, villains such as The Mandarin or even Red Skull. Marvel has however chosen to take a path that ensures their heroes will stay glorified and throw villains out like they were invaluable. If this is what Feige means by serving a story, they definitely are not looking deep enough.
“It always starts with what serves the story the most and what serves the hero the most. A big criticism of ours is that we focus on the heroes more than the villains. I think that’s probably true. Loki, a great character, serves [Thor] in a lot of ways. Zemo served that conflict between Cap and Iron Man.”
What makes Loki and even Thanos so memorable is the fact that both characters have been given a chance to explore different aspects of their personality rather than just focusing on ruling the world.Will we finally see more memorable villains in future movies? Based on Feige’s answers, it looks like we will not.
