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Rise of the Villains

Marvel has the big screen on  lock. 18 movies? In 10 years, billions made and a massive story unfolding. It must have been nice for Stan the Man to see his lives work explode like it has in the last decade. Now marvel and Netflix on the other hand has been hit and miss. The first Daredevil was amazing! Some of the rest has been pretty miss… The one thing though they have done awesome though, is the villains! I am not sure, maybe it’s the character, maybe it is the actor but Marvel and Netflix are winning at villains.



Jessica Jones is not for me. Don’t get me wrong Krysten Ritter nails the grumpy, drunk detective. The junkie neighbor, not super interesting. A semi famous sister, again not hooking me. It did not hook me until Kilgrave gets a lot more screen time. I am a big David Tennant fan and again he nails the role. Psycho, attempt at a good guy and back to the villain. I honestly wish the kept him alive. Would be great to see again. The second season, not nearly as interesting. A super powered mom doesn’t keep me hooked and the lead into season 3. Trish having powers… NO thanks.

The Iron Fist, another great villain. Ward Meachum totally hateable. Is there a more punchable face out there? Sorry Tom Pelphery they cast you perfect! (Except that maga hat wearing kid? But we aren’t getting into politics today) Harold Meachum, perfect psycho! David Wenham another great choice, great actor! Name a bad role he is in, see hard to do isn't it! I could do without the Hand but I guess you kinda need them for the whole story…. Second season Davos a boring villain paired with Joy another boring villain and ya..... Just a downhill  season. Hell the tattoo artists could have had a bigger role and it might have been better.

Luke Cage, went the other way. I couldn’t finish season 1. It wasn’t entertaining. Cottonmouth might have kept it interesting but they had ta kill him off….. This show seems lost if it is a crime show or a Marvel show. But then the second season fixed it. Shades actually got interesting, I am sorry Theo Rossi I can never take serious after Sons but the story was good. Bushmaster, awesome. The story was interesting. The action great and Mustafa Shakir brought his A game! The villain revitalized this show and Luke turning bad guy was a great cliff hanger. The final scene, a tribute to the godfather BOOM! They finally got it right and based again on the villain!

Fisk, Wilson fricking Fisk. That is all I have to say when we talk of villains. We all know Charlie Cox knocked it out of the park as Daredevil. I wasn't a big Daredevil fan before, but Charlie's portrayal got me hooked. (Same as Chris Evans as Cap.) The moody, broody, troubled man is a Bruce Wayne less the fancy gadgets. Turns out he isn't as boring as I thought. But Vincent D'Onofrio made me a believer in Kingpin. A villain I thought was just lame. I will be honest, he seems to wield too much power but wow, he is great. Then season 2 starts out amazing. The Punisher could have been the fulltime villain and I would have been happy. Elektra and the Hand just don't transfer well from pages to screen. I know it is required there to lead to Defenders, tie in with Iron Fist and so on but again, lame villain, lame season. Season 3 we get bullseye. Again a villain I had 0 interest in, now again the story was great and Wilson Bethel nails it. Or I should say I think plays a great bullseye since I really dunno how he should be played. Of course Kingpin is back so that really helps. Oh and no ninjas running around. So what I am saying is Daredevil wasn't anything I even liked until Netflix did it. And I highly doubt I would have been nearly as hooked had the villains not been so damn good.

Avengers was amazing. Keep in mind what led to it first. Iron Man 1 was great, 2 was decent. Captain America was decent. Thor was meh, the Hulk that is in the MCU super meh and they had yet again another new hulk. BUT they all came together to make a HUGE movie that blew freaking minds!! So I hoped Defenders might to the same for Netflix. Was I wrong! And again I base it on the villains. Elektra had potential but they made her way to strong! The rest of the hand honestly was boring. Don't get me wrong, a weak villain didn't ruin this. It was fun to see them all together but it was not nearly as good as I think many people hoped.

I can’t say if it is the writing, the acting maybe both but the hero and the villains are awesome. What I wouldn’t give to see a prequel where Billy Russo and Frank work together. Billy is charming and lethal which makes a perfect villain. You need to either HATE a villain or like them for them to be a great villain. He kinda mastered both. Maybe I am man crushing on Ben Barnes but if I ever write or produce anything I want him in it! Also I was wrong Paul Schulze as Rawlins has a way more punchable face than Ward Meachum. The villains really help this series. I thought I was going to be bored with a Punisher not running around New York killing people, but a story about old war crimes. Is it a bit slow, yes I won't lie but is it crazy good? The answer again is yes. I can admit as of this writing  I have only seen the first 7 episodes of Season 2. BUT I can totally dig the Pilgrim. I have a funny feeling he will be another winning villain in the MCU

Netflix and the MCU have done a great job on villains. BUT lets put a few honorable mentions on shows that the villains really have helped out. For instance Walking Dead. The governor was a let down, they didn’t make him as bad as he should have been. I think if AMC redid it now he would be darker and scarier but I think they were just finding their legs at this point. To me the show was on its last legs until Negan appeared and made it watchable again. He had his run, him being free again might help a show slowly limping to death. Also I have hope the whisperers are going to be good. Dexter was amazing but if you are honest it was only as good as the villain Dex was chasing. Trinity easily the best season and the best villain. Though his brother was a close second. Game of Thrones, would it be what it is without the great villains? Ramsay, Cersei and Joeffery? He actually wins most punchable face! What I am saying at the end of all this ramble is a great villain can make or break a show or a season!!

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