With the Black Widow movie coming out, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane to look at her other outings within the Marcel Cinematic Universe. Scarlett Johansson’s character has been gracing our screens regularly ever since Iron Man 2, the movie where she’s initially introduced as Tony Stark’s personal assistant before revealing herself to be, in fact, a rather remarkable special agent.
Black Widow has taken part in countless fights and battles over the years, so we’re now going to rank the villains she’s faced. Starting with the worst, from her very first movie…
Ivan Vanko
In her first appearance in the MCU, Black Widow is given the task of helping Iron Man and Nick Fury defeat Ivan Vanko, who is out for revenge after his family died as a direct consequence of Tony Stark’s actions. She and the duo eventually succeed but the battle is far from straightforward and some late help from War Machine helped them salvage the day.
Vanko is a good villain - certainly his attack on Stark at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix is quite something - but he pales in comparison to other bad guys on their list, which is why he comes in at bottom.
Baron Zemo
In Captain America: Civil War, most of the Avengers find themselves being split in two due to a breakdown in Captain America and Iron Man’s relationship. This is all stirred up by Baron Zemo, who spends time plotting revenge after his family died in Sokovia.
There’s nothing special about Zemo, he says it himself. He knows he doesn’t have the tools required to get revenge in combat so he instead turns into a master manipulator, playing Cap and Iron Man off against each other by using the Winter Soldier as a pawn in his game. He’s fascinating and we’re glad he’s coming back for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series on Disney+. There’s definitely unfinished business here.
Alexander Pierce
That old saying, hiding in plain sight, couldn’t apply more to Alexander Pierce. As the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. he comes across as a good guy towards the beginning of Captain America: The Winter Soldier but, by the end of the blockbuster, it’s revealed he’s actually a Hydra agent working to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. from within.
Pierce is loathsome, confident that he won’t get caught out and even murders people himself. He orders the hit on Nick Fury but the agent survives and his plan is eventually foiled by the heroes just in time - thanks to Black Widow’s intervention. The only thing that stops him coming higher, again, is the simple fact there are better villains to choose from.
The Winter Soldier
Alexander Pierce isn’t the only bad guy in the second Captain America movie, with the Winter Soldier also being the main antagonist throughout the film. Blessed with speed and remarkable fighting skills, he proves a tough foe to beat - even for somebody as strong as Steve Rogers.
Obviously, his past ties to Steve means that Cap never once tries to beat him. Instead, he spends most of the time focusing on stopping Bucky from hurting others. Chris Evans’ character nearly dies at the end but Bucky saves him, performing a sudden u-turn at the last minute. It’s this complexity to the relationship that makes both characters so intriguing, especially when pitted up against each other.
Ultron
Tony Stark’s attempts to play God backfire spectacularly in the second Avengers movie when his creation, Ultron, chooses to side against his creator. He does this after learning all about the world and, using his artificial brain, concludes that the planet would be better off with robots instead.
Ultron is relentless in his goal, even tricking the likes of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff into helping his cause. He causes thousands of innocent people to die as a result of his bloodthirsty nature and it’s only late in the day that he’s able to be defeated, with Wanda and Vision both ensuring his reign of terror come to an end.
Loki
The God of Mischief himself is Loki - and he certainly lives up to his name. Black Widow encounters Tom Hiddleston’s character on numerous occasions throughout their time in the MCU together and, more often than not, they’re on opposite ends of the battlefield.
What makes Loki so dangerous is his ability to trick and deceive - as well as how unpredictable he can be. One minute he’s good, the next he’s bad. He was killed off in Avengers: Infinity War after attempting to trick Thanos but we’re hoping he’ll be at his mischievous best when his TV series comes out on Disney+ in 2021.
Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War)
Naturally, the final two people on this list are different versions of Thanos. And getting the silver medal is the 2018 version, the one who succeeds in obtaining all six Infinity Stones and turning half of the universe to dust at the end of the movie.
Thanos, in this film, isn’t quite as bloodthirsty as he is in the sequel, Avengers: Endgame. And that’s what makes him so dangerous. He genuinely believes what he’s doing is merciful and, when a bad guy is that twisted in the mind, it means they’ve reached the point of no return. The way he speaks to members of the Avengers as he defeats them is enough to give anyone chills - and it’s no wonder Thor spent years attempting to drink the Mad Titan out of his head.
Thanos (Avengers: Endgame)
Once we saw Thanos’ head lopped off at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, we knew we’d see a younger version of the Mad Titan appear (particularly with time travel involved). What we didn’t expect, however, was just how drastically different he’d be.
At this point, he’s yet to get anywhere near accomplishing his goal. He’s angry - like, really angry - throughout the blockbuster and fights each member of the Avengers team with malice and intent to kill that was missing years previously. We also get to see just how amazing he is in combat and if anything, he seems stronger with a sword than he does the Infinity Stones. Josh Brolin is superb as the brute once again and, even though he’s dead, we’re still hoping he makes an appearance some point in the future.
