Every Reformed Villain Who’s Now a Superhero In MCU, Ranked Weakest to Strongest

Credit: Marvel Studios

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen a plethora of villains and heroes, the ones that always stand out are villains who turn into superheroes. The MCU has introduced many such complex villains, whom some fans understand and others don’t. They have also been successful in casting such actors to portray the complexity of these villains beautifully.

Ranking these villains who were reformed will not only be based on their pure strength but also on their narrative arc and how hard transforming into a hero was for them. These characters have made choices that serve against them; however, they remain fan-favourites. From their power to destroy the world to their character arcs and fighting for the world, these characters are what keep the Marvel universe at the top even today.

10 John Walker (U.S. Agent)

Ever since Avengers: Endgame, the responsibility of taking the “Shield” of Captain America forward was passed onto Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). However, in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Marvel universe introduced John Walker (Wyatt Russell) as Captain America, chosen by the U.S. Government. The character was complex and the complete opposite of who Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was.

Walker was forced into a role he could not handle and became the antagonist when he wanted to be the hero. Fans did not like the character because he was boastful, immature, and did not know how to use the power of the serum. In Thunderbolts*, fans saw a deeply human and flawed character that fans have come to embrace, but he remains the weakest of the antagonists who have transformed into heroes. He got his powers through the serum and has no training whatsoever, making him easily defeatable.

9 Nebula

Nebula was a character who was tortured by Thanos repeatedly for her “failures”. She became the bad guy, especially for her sister, Gamora, to gain favour with Thanos. Her body parts were constantly replaced and reconfigured into the one she had to make her psyche stronger. Despite the torture the character was put through, fans disliked how she sided with Thanos and constantly betrayed Gamora.

The character was weak even after being trained for years under Thanos. Yet, she showed a transformation from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 to Vol. 3 when it came to her behaviour. Nebula slowly became more likeable, despite being the weakest when fighting villains. Especially compared with Thanos’ other children, Nebula lacks the strength and power to defeat enemies in combat.

8 Abomination (Emil Blonsky)

The character was introduced as a villain in The Incredible Hulk, who had strength and superior skill due to the combination of super-soldier serum and gamma radiation. Abomination was considered to be an equal to Hulk; however, he lacked the strength Hulk got when he was fully enraged. While Blonsky was introduced as the antagonist, he transformed when he appeared in Shang-Chi and later in She-Hulk.

The character changed after years of imprisonment for causing destruction in Harlem. In Shang-Chi, he was fighting Wong in an underground battle. It turned out he was helping him train to become the Sorcerer Supreme. Meanwhile, in She-Hulk, Emil was a parole client for Jennifer and had accepted a more peaceful philosophy, as he agreed that the serum and the radiation made him a monster. Despite his transformation, he remains weaker than Hulk.

7 Ghost (Ava Starr)

Introduced in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ghost, aka Ava Starr, was taken advantage of by S.H.I.E.L.D. She has super cool powers where she wears a suit that enables her to pass through solid matter because of the quantum instability. She was a tough contender for Ant-Man and the Wasp, but she lost to them and was then brought back in Thunderbolts* as well.

Despite the character having immense potential and killing Taskmaster, the character still doesn’t use her abilities to beat enemies tactfully. She can do incredible things with her unique power, and yet hides behind the much stronger antagonists who turned superheroes. The character is now a New Avenger; however, the MCU still hasn’t explored her full potential as of yet.

6 Yelena Belova

Yelena is one of the strongest female characters to enter the Marvel universe. She has similar speed, strength, and agility to her sister, Natasha. The character is always ten steps ahead of any situation. Although she is not a “straightforward” villain, she is an anti-hero. However, she did become the antagonist to hunt down Hawkeye and kill him, thinking he was responsible for the death of her sister.

Engulfed with grief and loneliness, Yelena tried to kill Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), but after a heartfelt conversation, she changed her mind. In Thunderbolts*, Yelena showcases her ‘Red Room’ training put to use further by completing missions assigned by Valentina. But when you look at the MCU as a whole and the other villains on this list, Yelena has still had it better in her storyline than some of the other characters. She is strong and smart, but the change from an anti-hero to a superhero was easy for her.

5 Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier)

The character of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is in itself a redemption arc that happened over multiple films. He was brainwashed and made to work as an assassin for HYDRA for years on end until he came across his best friend, Steve Rogers. Even after redeeming himself, the Winter Soldier instantly turned into the antagonist when it was revealed that he had killed Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) parents.

There is no doubt that the character is immensely strong; he fought with Captain America, Iron Man, and many other superheroes during Civil War and won over all of them quite easily. He is quick and uses his metal arm to his benefit at the right time. The character has gone through torture, came back to his senses, lost control, and even after coming to his senses, he defeated several characters, putting him in the top five.

4 Agatha Harkness

Agatha Harkness was introduced in WandaVision as the nosy neighbour who entered the hex that Wanda created. She was a witch who was seeking the powers of the Darkhold in hopes of getting her son back and seeking more power. Agatha also became one of the strongest villains that Wanda had to fight. The character was the perfect antagonist, with the high-pitched laugh, evil intentions, and powers, and she knew how to hide her true intentions extremely well.

She was put in a hex by Wanda as the ‘neighbour’ before she left. With Agatha All Along, fans got to see the complexity of the villain and her transformation into a genuinely loving mother figure. She eventually gave her life for Wanda’s son, Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke), to protect him from Death (Aubrey Plaza). The witch of Salem has proved her strength throughout her storyline time and time again. She is now a ghost and also a mentor to Wanda’s kid, Billy.

3 Loki Laufeyson: God of Mischief

The character Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has always gone in circles when it comes to becoming the antagonist and then turning into a hero. For fans who have only watched him as the villain in the Avengers movies might wonder why he gets to be in the second rank. The character initially acted as the God of Mischief and always caused trouble for the Avengers, while being an ally to Thanos.

After Loki, his strength and resilience are proven to be stronger than those of any other reformed villain. He was a misunderstood character who was selfless and watched his entire life with sorrow, including his death as well as his mother’s death. The character changed with the friendships around him and had more empathy towards mischievous people. He sacrificed his life to get hold of the crumbling multiverse by becoming the anchor on which these branching timelines will rely. Easily, he is one of the strongest reformed antagonists who became a superhero.

2 Sentry (Robert Reynolds)

The character, just as Robert “Bob” Reynolds (Lewis Pullman), aka Sentry, is no match for anyone; however, when he channels his split personality, the Void, he can destroy an entire nation quite easily. The character was generally a normal person, introduced in Thunderbolts*, however, when he becomes the Void, there is no limit to his powers. He consumes people inside it and is technically a “super soldier” who was experimented on.

The character was like combining all the powers of the Avengers into one person. He became quite consumed with it and turned into the antagonist. After the Void, he went on to become the New Avenger. Sentry can easily beat all the Avengers with his ability to manipulate molecules, himself, and things around him. He is not vulnerable to any other hero except one, who is seemingly dead in the Marvel universe as of now.

1 Wanda Maximoff: The Scarlet Witch

The character emerged as one of the strongest of all in the entire MCU when she got the Darkhold. When she was introduced, she was the villain who sided with Ultron. But Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) saw the plans Ultron had and eventually fought alongside the Avengers with her brother. The Scarlet Witch was still holding back her powers back then, but she trained with the Avengers and became an Avenger herself.

Even before she got her hands on the Darkhold, Wanda literally warped reality and controlled multiple people at once in WandaVision without there being any signs that she was using her magic. Her grief led her to change the reality around her and recreate Vision, and also her children. Her incredible strength and potential were seen in Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness, where she traveled through timelines and killed every major hero with a snap of her fingers.

The Scarlet Witch showcased that she is the strongest Avenger out of all the original Avengers. Her chaos magic, with the ability to create illusions and false realities, surpasses all others. However, her future seems unambiguous as she was last seen sacrificing her life in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to destroy every copy of the Darkhold across all multiverses. Fans are speculating that the superhero will return as they reportedly saw a flash of red flickering away from the crash, where she seemingly died.

Rank	Character	Actor
1	Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch)	Elizabeth Olsen
2	Sentry (Robert Reynolds)	Lewis Pullman
3	Loki	Tom Hiddleston
4	Agatha Harkness	Kathryn Hahn
5	Bucky Barnes	Sebastian Stan
6	Yelena Belova	Florence Pugh
7	Ghost (Ava Starr)	Hannah John-Kamen
8	Abomination (Emil Blonsky)	Tim Roth
9	Nebula	Karen Gillan
10	John Walker	Wyatt Russell

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe progresses and comes up with new characters, the rankings can change with time. Especially when the MCU is planning to introduce the mutants in the next phase, fans might get to see stronger characters in the future with more complex and beautiful story arcs.

Who do you think is the best or worst reformed villain in the MCU? Comment down below with your answers.

All Marvel TV shows and movies are now available to stream at Disney+.