15 Worst Marvel Superheroes, Ranked (original) (raw)
Updated May 5, 2025, 5:20 PM EDT
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It's easy to define what makes a superhero movie great, and defining what makes a superhero as a character great is relatively straightforward, too. Great characters aren't necessarily the most powerful (though that can play a part), but the most interesting, well-written, well-acted, and layered, as well. A character being effectively used as comedic relief when needed is good, as are more tragic heroes, and if someone like Thor can do a bit of both, then even better.
In contrast, a bad heroic character isn’t necessarily a hero who does some questionable things (someone like Peter Quill is flawed, sure, but in interesting ways that drive conflict), and nor is it a character whose powers are simply a bit lame. Both could be factors, but the worst heroes from Marvel movies tend to just feel underwritten, inconsistent, or, simply put, just boring. The following includes those from the MCU and those outside it, all being some of the weakest heroic characters found in any Marvel film or TV adaptation so far.
15 Venom
First appeared: 'Venom' (2018)
Venom with his tongue out in Venom 2018
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Okay, getting things off to a controversial start, here’s a character from a trilogy of movies some people kind of like. Venom’s the character, and the trilogy… well, the trilogy isn’t all bad. The first Venom movie’s kind of ordinary, the second is sort of fun if you approach it as camp, but then the third is genuinely abhorrent. The third movie is the reason Venom is here.
Venom: The Last Dance deserved far more scorn than it got. It was an ugly, unexciting, unfunny, and dreary slog of a blockbuster, and one of the more miserable superhero movies in recent memory. Tom Hardy gave it his all in the first two movies, but looked tired in movie #3. The character deserves better, and if Venom gets done justice at a later date, then let this part of the ranking only address Venom as he was in 2024’s The Last Dance.
Venom
Release Date
September 28, 2018
Runtime
112 minutes
14 Hope van Dyne/The Wasp
First appeared: 'Ant-Man' (2015)
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Perhaps a little like Venom, Hope van Dyne/The Wasp isn’t a terrible character in all the movies she appears in. She becomes the Wasp in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp (surprise, surprise), and is a solid enough supporting character in 2015’s Ant-Man. But it’s 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that kind of dulled the character and showed she didn’t really work anymore.
You could argue that Ant-Man didn’t escape unscathed from that movie either, but at least he still feels like a welcome enough part of the MCU. The Wasp, though, was mismanaged and grating in this third film in the already kind-of-just-okay Ant-Man trilogy, and Evangeline Lilly apparently stepping away from acting makes the character’s future look uncertain to an even greater extent. Maybe it’s no great loss.
Ant-Man
Release Date
July 17, 2015
Runtime
117 minutes
13 Frank Castle/The Punisher
'The Punisher' (2004)
Image via Lions Gate Films
The Punisher is a mostly forgotten Sony superhero movie, and one of arguably too many. It came out at a time when comic book films were really taking off, and it could potentially be admired as a relatively early one that had an R-rating… but that level of grit and violence didn’t do a whole lot to make the movie itself particularly worth watching.
And sure, is the Punisher really a hero? Maybe not. Maybe he’s more of an antihero, so if you think that disqualifies him from being complained about here, then that’s valid. But he is a recognizable name and the center of a film that does ultimately take his side, given his horrifically tragic past, and he isn’t done much justice here either, at least compared to the later Jon Bernthal version of the character.
The Punisher
Release Date
April 15, 2004
Runtime
124 minutes
Cast
Frank Castle / The Punisher
12 Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven
'Kraven the Hunter' (2024)
Kraven punching something lying on the ground in Kraven the Hunter
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Speaking of Sony superhero movies, here’s Kraven from Kraven the Hunter, which was a pretty smelly movie and one of the worst of 2024. Also, like with The Punisher, here’s an R-rated comic book movie that definitely earns the rating, but the content doesn’t do anything to make the film itself good, unless you really enjoy comic book movies when they're exceptionally clunky and misguided.
Kraven could well be done better at a later date, but based on the most recent film (as of the time of writing), he’s a difficult character to respect. That applies to the world of film, and not to how he may or may not be in the comics themselves. Just to focus on movies, Kraven the Hunter was a big miss, and the character’s chances of succeeding on screen, at least for now, were kind of sunk in the process.
Kraven the Hunter
Release Date
December 13, 2024
Runtime
127 Minutes
Cast
Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven
11 Wade Wilson
'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (2009)
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool standing in an elevator in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Image via 20th Century Fox
Sure, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is pretty easy to pick on, but why not? Why not pass up the opportunity? It’s that rare kind of superhero film that pretty much no one likes, and though it didn’t permanently ruin its titular character, it did temporarily hurt the reputation of one of its side characters; one who, seven years later, was redeemed and became one of the most popular Marvel superheroes.
That character was (kind of) Deadpool, and his trilogy of movies from 2016 to 2024 was pretty good, all things considered… but his appearance here, even though it was Ryan Reynolds, just missed on every front. Wade Wilson isn’t really Deadpool here, but for a while, this was all the character had by way of appearances on the big screen, which is pretty grim to think about.
10 Sersi
First appeared: 'Eternals' (2021)
Close up of Gemma Chan as Sersi looking to the distance on a beach in Eternals.
Image via Marvel Studios
Sersi is taking one for the team here, representing the most boring of all superhero teams yet: the group known as the Eternals, all of whom have appeared in just one film to date: 2021’s Eternals. It would be difficult to list everyone here, and it wouldn’t be fair to clutter a ranking with too many Eternals… but if Sersi is the main character of the film, and gets the most screen time, then why not pick her as a stand-in.
Neither Eternals as a film nor the Eternals as characters worked, with the film trying to do too much all at once, and far too many new main characters being introduced for any of them to connect. People are unlikely to remember names like Sersis, Ajak, Sprite, Druig, and Phastos, and demand for a sequel to Eternals seems non-existent. Still, never say never (though you could say it’s unlikely).
Eternals
Release Date
November 5, 2021
Runtime
156 minutes
9 Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider
First appeared: 'Ghost Rider' (2007)
Nicolas Cage and Donal Logue in Ghost Rider
Image via Columbia Pictures
It’s possible to find some people defending the Ghost Rider movies, so calling the titular hero one of the very worst in Marvel history might be a little bit of a hot take. At the very least, 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance did grace the world with Nicolas Cage playing a Marvel superhero, and he does bring his typically strange and unpredictable acting style to the role.
The films themselves are also quite wild (especially the second), but they’re an acquired taste, and the character at the center of both doesn’t have quite the impact you’d expect. After all, the hero is a stuntman named Johnny Blaze who makes a deal with the demon known as Mephisto, and then finds himself with powerful supernatural abilities. It’s probably more a case of the movies not quite doing the character justice, because there’s undeniable potential there.
Ghost Rider
Release Date
January 15, 2007
Runtime
114 minutes
Cast
Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider
8 Danny Rand/Iron Fist
First appeared: 'Iron Fist' (2017–2018)
Danny Rand in a hallway with a scruffy beard and blood on his lip gets into a fighting stance in Iron Fist.
Image via DIsney+
Not many people like the Iron Fist series, and there are some supporting characters within it who rank among the worst of any Marvel TV show. The hero at the series’ center isn’t exactly the best, either: Danny Rand, a wealthy young man who’s given mystical powers and becomes proficient in martial arts, using such abilities to become a superhero known as Iron Fist.
The show was never particularly well-regarded, and despite the best efforts of the second season righting the wrongs of the first, Iron Fist never managed to fully redeem itself or become something with a genuine fanbase behind it. Some of that has to come down to the hero not being a great one (again, on-screen), and someone who looks less exciting in the wake of other heroes with mystical/magical powers that viewers did generally like, including Doctor Strange and Shang-Chi.
Iron Fist
Release Date
2017 - 2018-00-00
Network
Netflix
7 Matt Murdock/Daredevil (2003 version)
First appeared: 'Daredevil' (2003)
Image via 20th Century Studios
Standing as one of three less-than-great movies that poor Ben Affleck appeared in during 2003 (at least he’s bounced back in more recent years), Daredevil is not looked back upon fondly by any means. For a while, the titular character was something of a punchline, and though a more recent take on the character in the world of television has redeemed him, this 2003 movie does still exist.
Daredevil in 2003’s Daredevil just isn’t it, and was a misfire when it came to representing the character of Matt Murdock/Daredevil on the big screen. The blame can’t be entirely put on Affleck, but it’s arguable he was at least a little miscast, and the film he appeared in just generally not confident enough to bring new fans to the titular hero. For Daredevil, the 2010s and onward were generally a better time…
Daredevil
Release Date
February 14, 2003
Runtime
103 minutes
Cast
Jennifer Garner
Elektra Natchios / Elektra
6 Elektra Natchios
First appeared: 'Daredevil' (2003)
Jennifer Garner as Elektra wielding two sai and walking towards something off-camera in the film 'Elektra.'
Image via 20th Century Studios
Another casualty of 2003’s Daredevil was the character of Elektra, who got her own not-quite-amazing movie in 2005, and was better-received some years later thanks to the Daredevil TV series. She’s an essential part of Daredevil’s overall story, being a sometimes-ally and sometimes-adversary to the blind lawyer/masked vigilante, and herself having physical abilities that make her a force to be reckoned with.
Very few responded well to Elektra (2005), though, meaning the film did the character little to no justice, mainly owing to the way it was written and put together more so than because of Jennifer Garner’s performance. Like with Daredevil, at least time has been a little kinder to Elektra and the character herself is no longer treated as a complete joke. But for this version of the character, as she appears in Daredevil and _Elektra_… it’s not great.
Elektra
Release Date
January 14, 2005
Runtime
97 minutes
Cast
Jennifer Garner
Elektra Natchios / Elektra