10 Worst Characters From Marvel TV Shows, Ranked (original) (raw)
Image via Disney+
Published Mar 16, 2024, 8:00 PM EDT
Danny Mills is an avid film and TV enthusiast with a love of many genres, from old Western tales and gritty action thrillers to magical Disney classics and Superhero adventures. He loves it all. As a List Writer for Collider for over a year, he's covered a variety of topics from the above media, ranging from beloved films and TV shows that'll stand the test of time to actor-targeted lists detailing their best work, the best things on Netflix, classic sitcoms, and everything in between. There’s a little bit of something for everyone. When he's not writing for the site, he's putting his love of entertainment into acting and working on his first-ever book!
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The MCU is one of the most popular and expansive franchises in the world. Disney and Marvel Entertainment are the creators of some of humankind's infinitely beloved movies, TV shows, comics, and characters, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. However, just because they've packed away some absolutely fantastic projects over the years doesn't in any way mean they're immune to some sour additions thrown into their filmography here and there. Not everything is going to sit well among such a vast fanbase.
Villains are a mandatory part of these movies and shows. There has to be someone to go up against the protagonist and cause all sorts of trouble for fans and their favorite superheroes. But that doesn't necessarily make them some of Marvel's worst characters. No, a bad egg can come in many forms, even in the shape of poor character development. Many Marvel TV characters have made audiences cringe, seeth, or roll their eyes for a poor choice, personality trait, or downright evil nature, and these ten are some of the worst of the worst.
10 John Walker (Wyatt Russell)
'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' (2021)
Wyatt Russell as John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Image via Marvel Studios
It didn't take long for Marvel's fraudulent Captain America to grow irksome for fans. He was introduced as someone with the potential that viewers could warm to, but it quickly turned into a challenge just to tolerate John Walker while he was on screen. He was cocky, arrogant, and stereotypically became so hungry for power that he didn't care how he got it. So when the opportunity arose for him to get his hands on some super serum, he jumped at the chance to feed that hunger.
Walker went from someone painted as a man of the people, ready to be the Captain America he felt people needed him to be, to someone willing to brutally murder a man in revenge for something he didn't even do, with the very shield that had become such a symbolic representation of strength. That image of the shield covered in blood sends chills down the spines of many fans even now. Wyatt Russell did a great job in TFATWS, but his "Captain America" just could not have been more infuriating.
Following the events of 'Avengers: Endgame,' Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities -- and their patience.
Cast
Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Danny Ramirez, Adepero Oduye, Dani Deetté, Indya Bussey, Desmond Chiam, Renes Rivera, Tyler Dean Flores, Cle Bennett, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly, Amy Aquino, Chase River McGhee, Aaron Haynes, Gordon Danniels, Alphie Hyorth, Georges St-Pierre, Gabrielle Byndloss, Elijah Richardson, Florence Kasumba, Neal Kodinsky, Veronica Falcón, Tyler Merritt, Charles Black, Janeshia Adams-Ginyard, Zola Williams, Demi Castro, Ken Takemoto
Seasons
1
9 Harold Meachum (David Wenham)
'Iron Fist' (2017-2018)
Image via Marvel Television
Harold Meachum is the literal definition of someone with so much money he doesn't know how to function without it. The idea of living without his funds sends him into a frenzy to do whatever it takes to keep his hands in Rand Enterprises, even while he's supposed to be dead. Not willing to accept that Danny is the rightful owner of the company, this manipulative businessman twists the few people who know he's alive around his little finger, getting them to do his dirty work for him.
He's supposed to be this evil, ruthless character, but he only becomes more and more annoying as his storyline goes on. His son, Ward, starts as arrogant as his father, but after a while, it's revealed that he is being manipulated by Harold the entire time. By the end of the series, Ward had become one of, if not the show's most favored character, as fans grew to like him thanks to his development and tragic background. His dad, on the other hand? Well, when Ward murdered Harold, the only person fans felt sorry for was Ward.
Marvel's Iron Fist
Release Date
March 17, 2017
A young man is bestowed with incredible martial arts skills and a mystical force known as the Iron Fist.
8 Ralph Bohner (Evan Peters)
'WandaVision' (2021)
Fake Pietro Maximoff smiling in WandaVision.
Image via Disney+/Marvel Studios
At first, the highly-anticipated re-appearance of Evan Peters' Quicksilver was incredibly exciting, albeit immediately confusing. His presence at the end of WandaVision's fourth episode surprised viewers, but as time went on and certain things were explained, it didn't necessarily answer the big question as to why Peters had been cast as this seemingly random character.
While the showrunners have stated that a big inspiration for his casting had to do with their fascination with grief, many fans feel like it would have been better to either have Aaron Taylor Johnson reprise his role or. If he were unavailable, then maybe they shouldn't have included Ralph Bohner in the show at all. Regardless of what each fan thinks, there's no denying that Ralph's personality was abrasive and annoying, and his being just a random resident of Westview felt like a cop-out, especially when dealing with the introduction of the multiverse.
WandaVision
Release Date
2021 - 2021-00-00
Blends the style of classic sitcoms with the MCU, in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision - two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives - begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
Cast
Elizabeth Olsen, Grey DeLisle, Paul Bettany, Kathryn Hahn, Teyonah Parris, Randall Park, Kat Dennings, Yuuki Luna, Eric Delgado, Randy Oglesby, Rose Bianco, Lana Young, Sam Younis, Viviana Chavez, Bobby Hernandez, Shaun MacLean, Brian Brightman, Vince Canlas, Archith Seshadri, Michaela Cronan, Janet Song, Lloyd Pitts, Christopher James, Baylen D. Bielitz, Gavin Borders
Main Genre
Sci-Fi
Seasons
1
7 Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali)
'Luke Cage' (2016-2018)
Image via Marvel
Image via Marvel Television
When a TV show introduces a character who looks set to be the villain and then kills them off midway through the season, it can be quite annoying. If anything, it throws the audience for a loop as they've had these characters set in their minds, only for them to be ripped away at an unexpected moment.
Cornell Bertram Stokes, better known as Cottonmouth, felt like a relatively useless addition to Luke Cage's first season. He was supposed to be this big bad criminal organization leader, but, in actuality, he just wasn't cut out to be in charge as much as he thought he should be. Episode seven sees his life come to an end, and the real villains of Luke Cage begin to come into play. Overall, there's no real need for him; Cottonmouth is not a useful character in the plot, merely a decoy meant to distract. And distract he did, but for all the wrong reasons.
Marvel's Luke Cage
Release Date
September 30, 2016
When a sabotaged experiment gives him super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem and must confront his past and fight a battle for the heart of his city.
6 Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman)
'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' (2021)
Karli Morgenthau in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Image via Disney+
Karli Morgenthau had a difficult start in life. However, turning her pain into a movement may not have been the best idea for a nineteen-year-old with seemingly no qualms about murdering a few innocent people to get what she wants. What's infuriating about this character is that her goals are valid: she sought to restore civilization impacted and affected by the Blip but went about it in the worst way possible.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier introduces Karli as the leader of the terrorist organization known as the Flag Smashers before ultimately revealing Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) as the ringleader of the show's problems. Karli may not have been so unlikeable had she gone about her purpose in a better way. By the time her death rolled around in the series finale, there just wasn't enough there to make fans feel all too bad for her.
5 Todd Phelps (Jon Bass)
'She-Hulk: Attorney At Law' (2022)
Image via Marvel
Image via Disney+
Two traits can make someone potentially dangerous: they have so much money that they don't know what to do with it, or they possess a narcissistic personality. Combining those two has the means to cause a blowup in some way or another, either for themselves or, more commonly, the protagonist of a story.
2022's final Marvel Television project came with the release of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law to close out Phase 4 of the MCU TV shows. The show introduced viewers to the latest in a line of irritating characters, Todd Phelps. Thinking he was above everyone else made him easy to hate as a person, but his sexism and egocentric personality only fueled the flames of his hatred. Phelps is a misogynist and harasser whose relentless pursuit of She-Hulk made him obnoxious at best and outright predatory at worst.
Cast
Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Gonzaga, Jameela Jamil, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Josh Segarra, Maliah Arrayah, Steve Coulter, Drew Matthews, Mark Linn-Baker, Nicholas Cirillo, Patty Guggenheim, Toni Bryce, Mark Ruffalo, Brandon Hirsch, Monica Garcia Bradley, Tiffany Denise Hobbs, Quincy Giles, Cabot Basden, Arrianna Marie, Vincent van Hinte, Tess Malis Kincaid, Candice Rose, Michael H. Cole, Keith Flippen, David Kronawitter, Derrick J. Haywood
Seasons
1
4 Ben Poindexter (Wilson Bethel)
'Daredevil' (2015-2018)
Wilson Bethel dressed as Daredevil in Season 3
Image via Netflix
Soon to return to TV screens in 2025, Ben Poindexter, otherwise known as Bullseye, left his mark as quite the thorn in the side of Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and his friends in Daredevil's third and final season. Working with Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), Dex's mental status slowly deteriorates as the season progresses, becoming more unstable with each passing hiccup.
Being Wilson Fisk, he saw a connection between himself and Dex and discovered a way he could utilize the man for personal gain. While Dex's character isn't the most likable person, the worst thing about him is that Kingpin uses him to destroy everything Matt worked so hard to build. As a villain, Dex is effective, but there's something lacking in his characterization that makes him less compelling. Hopefully, the upcoming reboot will spend more time developing him.
Daredevil
Release Date
2015 - 2018-00-00
A blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night. Matt Murdock fights the crime of New York as Daredevil.
3 Joy Meachum (Jessica Stroup)
'Iron Fist' (2017-2018)
Image via Marvel
Image via Marvel Television
When Iron Fist was first released in 2017, viewers met a few other characters alongside protagonist Danny Rand (Finn Jones). While the series focused on Danny and his mystical power of the Iron Fist, it also liked to showcase its secondary characters, specifically their flaws.
In the first season, Ward (Tom Pelphrey) and Joy Meachum refuse to believe their long-presumed friend Danny actually returned to the land of the living. Initially, Ward is the more skeptical and spiteful of the two before he makes some decisions that change fans' opinion of him for the better. However, Jo becomes so cold towards Danny that she pays someone to hurt him. Petty and cruel, she becomes bitter towards Ward as well, cementing her legacy as one of the worst characters in one of Marvel's worst television shows.
2 Billy Russo (Ben Barnes)
'The Punisher' (2017-2019)
The Punisher billy interrogating and frank
Image via Marvel Television
Billy Russo started his time in the series as Frank Castle's (Jon Bernthal) best friend. It didn't take long for audiences to realize Billy is largely behind the murders of Frank's family. What makes it worse is that Frank's wife and kids saw Billy as family, only for him to betray every one of them in the worst way possible.
Frank gets his revenge on Billy in the first season's finale when he introduces the man's face to several shards of glass by dragging him down a broken mirror. While Billy's punishment is immensely satisfying, many fans felt like the injuries he sustained should have produced more scarring and that he didn't look like a true Jigsaw from the comics. This only added another reason to dislike Billy, a character who was not only hateable as a villain but as a presence in the show itself. Whether that makes him a more compelling antagonist is up for debate.
The Punisher
Release Date
2017 - 2019-00-00
After taking revenge on those who murdered his family, aimless Marine veteran Frank Castle finds a new meaning in life as a vigilante known as "The Punisher."
1 Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor)
'Jessica Jones' (2015-2019)
Image via Marvel
Image via Marvel Television
Trish Walker's character has to be one of the most infuriating people to ever appear in a TV show. Her best friend and adoptive sister has superpowers because of a car crash in which she lost her entire family. What does she do? Try and convince her to go back down that path simply so she can also develop powers. She becomes so power-hungry that it nearly costs her her life, and when Jess saves her, she isn't exactly grateful. To make matters worse, she kills Jessica's mother.
Although Trish had a tumultuous childhood, it's never really confirmed if that has anything to do with the horrible choices she makes throughout Jessica Jones. Frustrating even before becoming an antagonist, Trish is just annoying and outright unlikable. Her questionable decisions are enough to make the viewer seeth on multiple occasions, and her descent into villainy in the show's third season feels anti-climactic because she's been utterly horrible since her debut.
Marvel's Jessica Jones
Release Date
2015 - 2019-00-00
Following the tragic end of her brief superhero career, Jessica Jones tries to rebuild her life as a private investigator, dealing with cases involving people with remarkable abilities in New York City.
Cast
Krysten Ritter, David Tennant, Mike Colter, Rachael Taylor, wil traval, Erin Moriarty, Eka Darville, Carrie-Anne Moss, J.R. Ramirez, Terry Chen, Leah Gibson, Janet McTeer, Benjamin Walker, Sarita Choudhury, Jeremy Bobb
Seasons
3