Catch Up on Last Weeks Videos

What Does the Vision Show Casting Tell Us About the Show?

Who is Denzel Going to Be In Black Panther 3?

Two Fantastic Four Spaceships

Fantastic Four CCXP and New Teaser Footage

Thanks for Listening

I hope that you are enjoying the podcast. If you are, there are a few ways that I always talk about that you can support 10 Minute Marvel. Firstly, please consider sharing it with your friends as word of mouth really is a great way to help more people find the podcast, and personal recommendations are always great. As well as then subscribing or leaving a rating and review. Both of those make the podcast easier to find for people looking for a fun Marvel podcast. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, and Spotify or wherever you get your friendly neighborhood podcasts.

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Comments or Questions: What Is Your Favorite Marvel Phase 5 Movie?

Let us know which movie you enjoyed most in Phase 5? And how would you rank the best movie in Phase 5 against all the MCU movies?

You can let us know all of those things down in the comment section below, or tweet them to me @TheScando or by using #10MinMarvel. And there is now the Facebook page, as well, where you can join in the conversation here. And follow us on YouTube for more content here.

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Catch Up on Last Weeks Videos

Fantastic Four First Steps Trailer 2

Daredevil Born Again Finale and Series Thoughts

Thanks for Listening

I hope that you are enjoying the podcast. If you are, there are a few ways that I always talk about that you can support 10 Minute Marvel. Firstly, please consider sharing it with your friends as word of mouth really is a great way to help more people find the podcast, and personal recommendations are always great. As well as then subscribing or leaving a rating and review. Both of those make the podcast easier to find for people looking for a fun Marvel podcast. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, and Spotify or wherever you get your friendly neighborhood podcasts.

We also run a Patreon and that is another way you can help support. The Patreon, found here, goes to help improve the quality of the 10 Minute Marvel Podcast, pay for advertising and more. It also helps improve the Malts and Meeples YouTube Channel and Nerdologists.com website. Thank you, again, for listening and for considering supporting us financially.

Comments or Questions: Did You Like Daredevil Born Again?

Now that the series is done, what are your thoughts on it? Is it a show that you loved or thought was just okay?

You can let us know all of those things down in the comment section below, or tweet them to me @TheScando or by using #10MinMarvel. And there is now the Facebook page, as well, where you can join in the conversation here. And follow us on YouTube for more content here.

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Thank you all for checking out the podcast. The listenership is growing and that’s because of people subscribing and leaving ratings and reviews. If you have done that, thank you so much. If you are enjoying that, please consider subscribing and leaving a rating and review. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Google Play Music (soon to be YouTube Music), Spotify, and Stitcher.

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Thanks for Listening and Rest in Power Chadwick Boseman.

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So let’s talk about this list. Starting at the top and going down.

1. Avengers: Endgame – It’s hard to say that this movie isn’t the best one. it wraps everything up nicely and it’s just amazing action throughout. Clearly I’ve been thinking about it and l am going to see it again. Rarely does a movie feel like it hits all the right notes like Endgame does.
2. Avengers: Infinity War – I like this movie for it’s shock value, I like it for Thanos as a villain, I like it for everything that it does. It also hits it out of the park, and we get to see the first of the team-up of Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy which should be fun, hopefully, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol III.
3. Thor: Ragnorak – I can watch this movie whenever. It has a blend of humor and action and is the only Thor movie to use Immigrant Song from Led Zepplin. Chris Hemsworth just plays comedy so well.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol I – I think this one is so high because it showed that Marvel could do something that was primarily comedy. Yes, there is action in Guardians of the Galaxy, but really it’s more about the humor. They also were able to get heart into this one.
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming – Peter Parker is one of my favorite, if not my favorite superhero. I grew up watching the early 90’s Spider-Man cartoon, so there’s nostalgia, and the original Spider-Man movies I liked, even kind of liked the mess that the third one was. But this is by far the best Spider-Man movie, and they really nail the feeling of Peter Parker in the MCU.
6. The Avengers – Hard not to put the original team-up movie up high. The battle of New York is just great, and Loki makes such a good villain. We also get to see the good Hulk really show off in this movie. We also get to meet so many characters that are important as well, like Maria Hill, Hawkeye, and really get to know Black Widow for the first time.
7. Iron Man – The original MCU movie. This movie just hit perfectly with Robert Downey Jr. playing a great Tony Stark. It was an origin story that started Marvel’s trend of creating really human and relatable characters as you see Tony from the start, at his weakest. The main villain might be underwhelming, but Robert Downey Jr. makes that not matter.
8. Thor – Way higher than most people will have it, but I love Thor. I think that it actually does a good job being a Thor movie that feels like the comics as well. You get some team-up of Asgardians, and you get to see Thor out of place. Plus Loki is always a good thing. I don’t think Hemsworth had hit his stride with the character yet though.
9. Ant-Man – Probably a lot higher than a lot of people have it. Again, I thought the villain was underwhelming, but the family comedy feel for this movie just works. Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd, is just great, and you get good sight gags, and action that is done in an interesting way.
10. Doctor Strange – This one is an interesting story, probably where we see the first drop off of movies that I really like to just like quite well. Benedict Cumberbatch does a good job as Strange and you get some interesting action throughout. It also didn’t have a big fight at the end against the final boss which was fun and interesting.
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron – James Spader as Ultron works great. Getting to see Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver is amazing, I love adding them in. This also really doubles down on the infinity stones. I also like it, because this movie is key to Tony Stark’s character arc and sets up Thor: Ragnorak by giving us some great Hulk and Black Widow scenes.
12. Ant-Man and the Wasp – I really like Ghost, but I thought that overall this movie wasn’t quite as fun as the first Ant-Man. Michael Pena is amazing in this movie, as well as the first Ant-Man movie. I suspect I’ll like this movie more on a second viewing, only watched it once thus far.
13. Iron Man 3 – Do they do the Mandarin wrong? Yes, in some ways. Mainly I say yes, because it could have been some other random bad guy, not someone as big as Mandarin, in terms of the comics. However, I think it works for the movie, and the end fight is great and exciting.
14. Captain America: Winter Soldier – First Captain America movie on the list, and definitely the best one in my opinion. I really like the twist the SHIELD is Hydra, and I think it would be fun to see some sort of Secret War angle for Nick Fury to lead a covert SHIELD and be battle Hydra still behind the scenes. Also, we get to see Cap conflicted about Bucky and deal with that.
15. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol II. – Probably another one that I need to see again, but it feel a bit flat for me. The biggest thing was Ego that part of the story just felt weird and off to me. I don’t know how they’d have been able to pull it off differently, but it felt like there should have been a better way.
16. Black Panther – Probably a lot higher for a lot of people, but I have a major issue with this film. The writing for Black Panther, himself, was bad. It wasn’t acted very well and it just didn’t work. Then you have Michael B. Jordan stealing the show. The look and tone were great for a Black Panther movie, but when the main character and his love interest are both the most boring characters in the movie, it’s going to fall very flat.
17. Captain America: The First Avengers – I’m not a huge fan of this movie. I think out of all of the origin story movies, it feels most like an origin story. However, Red Skull is a villain that I like, and I like that they’ve been able to kind of bring him back. Captain America just doesn’t have much character development as compared to say Iron Man.
18. Captain Marvel – Probably another one that surprised a lot of people. I got one issue, and I talked about it in my spoiler review of Endgame, but Captain Marvel is too powerful for the MCU. She isn’t a character that you can use often because you have to have an Infinity Stone to slow her down I guess? Maybe they can save her character by nerfing her powers now that the infinity stones are destroyed and it would make sense? Also, Brie Larson, I like you as an actress, but you didn’t feel like a super hero in this movie.
19. Captain America: Civil War – Aka. Captain America and Iron Man fight over Bucky. Sokovia Accords, what are those? This is about Bucky, with a side of Bucky, and a little bit more Bucky after that. That is why this movie falls so flat for me, while others like it. Sure there is a bit about the Accords in there, but when you really get down to it, Captain America spends more of his time fighting Iron Man because of Bucky than the Accords.
20. Iron Man 2 – I don’t think this is a horrible movie, but it just falls flat. Whiplash as a villain isn’t all that compelling, but like the rest of the Iron Man movies, it is often more about Tony fighting himself than it is about Iron Man fighting a bad guy. Just wish the bad guy had been a bit more compelling.
21. Thor: The Dark World – Chris Hemsworth did fine in this movie that really didn’t know where it wanted to go. However, Natalie Portman who had been okay in the first movie clearly is phoning it in on this one. I also don’t think they did a great job with the Dark Elves. Loki was entertaining, but not in it enough.
22. The Incredible Hulk – Haven’t seen it. That will change this summer, but sorry Edward Norton, you don’t interest me as the Hulk. There are only two hulks, Lou Ferrigno and Mark Ruffalo.

Now, what do you think of this list? I’m sure that there are some, mainly Civil War that people will have much higher on there lists, but you’re wrong. Wait, this is a list of what I like, so you can put them where ever you want in your list and enjoy them. Let me know what your rankings are in the comments below.

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I think one of the strongest ways you can create an effective villain is to have a character who doesn’t think what they are doing is wrong or to have some more motivation than just being a villainous character. This will be one of the biggest points for Killmonger versus Ares. Ares, as a villain, is the god of war. As a villain, that isn’t that strong a motivator other than that is literally who he is. He wants there to be war. Compare that to Killmonger. Killmonger is also trying to set-up war, but he’s doing it for more reasons than just wanting war. Killmonger is seeking out war as a way of revenge, but also to change the world. There is a piece of him that knows how he’s going about stuff is wrong, but he doesn’t care, as the ends justify the means. He wants to create a world where those he views as oppressed can now rule and likely be the oppressor, but he doesn’t think about it that way, he thinks that he is doing something good.

The best villains often believe that they are doing something good. It’s hard to see a lot of the time, but when twisting it from their perspective, they see something as good. Even the right to rule for a villain is often them seeing it as the good and right thing to do. They’d do better than who is there right now. Granted, it would be worse for everyone else, but they don’t see it that way, they are thinking about what is good for themselves and don’t see what they are doing as evil. It’s an interesting way to look at things, but going back to Killmonger and Ares, it is something that gives Killmonger a lot more depth than Ares.

I’ll give DC some credit though with Ares. I think he’s one of the first DC villains that they could have had an interesting take on and made him someone who really manipulates from the background and only does that. Instead, they tried to make it that first, and then turn him into whom he is in the comics, with his armor and the big battle and basically made him an ineffective villain. Killmonger is instead of a villain who is trying to create some sort of change because they think it will be better and the ends justify the means, and there is also a large piece of hatred and revenge thrown in.

But, beyond those, why does it matter so much to have a villain that thinks they are doing good? I’ve already talked about it some, but it really is the crux to having a great villain. Sure, you can have memorable traits for a villain, like the Joker from The Dark Knight, but when it comes down to it, the Joker is a character who is crazy who does crazy things. His motivations aren’t that strong, but when you have a villain who has strong motivations from a place where they are seeking for something, that makes a great villain. They don’t have to be the muscle, they don’t have to always be on the scene, but someone who has a plan and is looking to complete it for the betterment of themselves or a select group of people or for revenge is a lot of fun to see or read about.

What else is important for a villain? I think one thing that often gets overlooked is having a backstory for the villain. Now, this is something that a lot of writers do well at, but there are a number of times where the villain doesn’t seem to have the background that they should. Even if the whole thing isn’t laid out, as a writer or dungeon master, you should know something about who the villain is. This can tie into them thinking that they are doing the right thing, but another way to look at it is it determines how they do things. A villain who grew up on the streets and is leading their own personal army to get into power might be looking at power as a way to say, I told you so or for riches, versus control over people, because they had nothing, and now they want things and everyone to see that they have things. Other characters might seek power for the ability to rule because they believe they can rule better or deserve to rule.

Keeping with the example of wanting power, it can be broken down in different ways besides the end goal. How someone gets to that end goal can also vary a lot. From the backstory of the villain, you are going to know if they are leading the charge, controlling things from the back of the battlefield, waging a war of mind games, or seeking all the attention that they can get. All of these things make your villain feel unique. Unique is probably the word that I should have started with in terms of backstory and why it  matters. You don’t want your bad guy to feel like just another bad guy.

A great example of someone who creates unique villains is Stephen King. In Under the Dome, the villain is truly horrible in terms of what he does. It’s still probable that he sees himself as a good guy, though it’s hard to know how. He does so many just horrible things to the other people in the town all with his desire to have power and rule and be right. You feel dirty in many ways after reading his character. That character is unique to It where it’s a much greater being that almost toys with people. However, there’s the human villain in It, who is again a horrible character, but he’s driven as a kid as being a bully, and as an adult as trying to relive his glory years in many ways. You can see how the character grows over time.

I do want to talk about one last type of villain. I don’t know how to describe it and it’s a character who is so heavily steeped in doing the right thing that they lose focus but seem like they can regain focus on it. It is really the antihero character, where you’re watching the hero be a villain. In Code Geass, Lelouch is trying to make a safer world for his sister and get revenge on his father, the Emperor of Britannia. His methods can at best be described as suspect and his power to control other people ends up causing as much trouble as you’d expect. His power ends up with characters you like way more than him being killed, and he keeps on going further and further down the villainous pathway. While I have issues with the show, and I’ll likely write a review on that soon, it’s interesting to see someone become a villain and have a level of awareness at times that they are a villain and how that can create an interesting story.

The above example is probably  harder to pull off. By the time Lelouch is really headed down the villainous path, I was too far in to stop watching, I might have. There are certainly plenty of shows, books, and movies with anti-heroes or no clear cut good character, but there’s a balance of weight that you have to go with when making a villainous main character as it’s very easy to drift into something that is too dark or only depressing. I think you could make an argument with the book The Magicians, that the main character is practically a villain and he really doesn’t have redeeming qualities or ever get redeemed, the book ends up just being negativity piled on top of negativity and is a weak book because of that whereas Code Geass does a better job balancing out that weight with some levity and not just having the main character be bad.

What are some examples that you love of a character who is unique and believes that they are doing the right thing? Who are your favorite villains in books/tv shows/movies?

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