5. Ajax (Deadpool): The archenemy of Deadpool had to take a spot on this list. A mutant scientist with the ability to be immune to pain, Francis Freeman/Ajax runs an illegal lab in which he and his associates trick people who are sick or dying into getting tested and being given superpowers before being turned into superhuman slaves for the highest bidder. Francis is a massive sadist and enjoys inflicting pain on others, especially Wade Wilson. After disfiguring Wade, Francis goes after the merc with the mouth’s girlfriend Vanessa and kidnaps her to lure his enemy to his death. It is immensely satisfying to see Wade get revenge on Francis at the end of the film. I am certain that absolutely no one is unhappy with Wade for killing Francis aside from Colossus.
4. Donald Pierce (Logan): While Donald Pierce may not be the most complex villain on this list, he certainly is one of the most evil. As the head of security for Transigen, Pierce leads the pursuit for Laura in order to kill her to cover up the shady deeds of the company. When Logan and Charles intervene, Pierce chases them as well. Pierce is as sadistic as he is arrogant. When he isn’t torturing and killing innocent people (many of whom are children), he puts on a false smile and charming attitude to other people such as Logan, whom he claims to be a massive fan of. Aside from his superior Zander Rice, Pierce serves as Logan’s most persistent threat throughout the film. When Rice is killed by Logan, Pierce unleashes Logan’s vicious and unstable clone X-24, which basically seals Logan’s fate as he is brutally murdered by the clone. When Pierce is slowly killed by the very same mutant children that he tortured and tried to murder, it is extremely satisfying. His pathetic pleas for mercy were just the icing on the cake.
3. Thanos (Avengers: Endgame): If there was ever a villain who could be seen as the most epic threat in a superhero movie, Thanos would probably be it. After being built up since The Avengers in 2012, the mad Titan finally came into the spotlight for Avengers: Infinity War, where his quest for the Infinity Stones put him into conflict with Earth’s mightiest heroes. During the film, Thanos kills several major players in the MCU, including Heimdall, Loki, Gamora and Vision. Thanos’ ultimate goal is to wipe out half of the population in the universe, as he believes that everyone will die if there are too many people in the world. Despite the fact that this is blatant genocide, he still believes in his goal and will stop at nothing to achieve it. After completing what he set out to do, Thanos boasts that the Avengers should be grateful for murdering trillions of people, showing just how delusional he is. After Thor kills him, a version of Thanos from 2014 discovers that the Avengers are attempting to undo what his future self had done. Enraged that the heroes are once again interfering with his life long mission, Thanos vows to eliminate the entire universe and start from scratch, with him even claiming that he is going to enjoy destroying Earth despite it never being personal beforehand. After Tony Stark steals the Infinity Stones from him, Thanos is finally killed when the former uses them to wipe out the mad Titan and his army by turning them into dust. Thanos can do nothing but sit in defeat as he fades away. This has to be one of the most rewarding moments in the entire MCU. After all the trouble that Thanos caused, it was very fitting for the franchise’s biggest villain to be taken out by its first hero.
2. Ego (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2): While Thanos absolutely deserved his fate and was a horrible person, he at least had some sympathetic qualities and his intentions were noble in his eyes. Ego on the other hand is a complete monster who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, with his intentions being completely self motivated. The father of Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Ego is a god-like individual called a celestial, who also happens to be a planet. It turns out that Ego hired Yondu to abduct Quill from Earth after his beloved mother died from a brain tumor. When Ego first meets the Guardians of the Galaxy years later, he initially shows a laid back and caring attitude, with him claiming that he is remorseful for leaving Quill’s mother and wishes to reconnect with his son. However, it soon becomes apparent that Ego only wants to use Quill as a battery to power ”The Expansion,” where he would make every planet in the universe an extension of himself, which would effectively kill everyone. Not only is he using his own son and wishes to wipe out all intelligent life, but he also murdered thousands of his other children when they failed to share his gene. On top of that, he is the one who gave Quill’s mother the brain tumor that killed her. Understandably, Quill rejects his father and tries to kill him. Throughout their fight, Ego shows his true colors as an arrogant and sadistic raging maniac who is perfectly capable of murdering his own son just like his other kids. When Ego is finally killed, no one is upset about his death and it is immensely satisfying. If not for White Dragon in Peacemaker, Ego might just be the most evil and despicable character written by James Gunn. Yondu was right. Ego really was a jackass.
1. Sebastian Shaw (X-Men: First Class): I think Sebastian Shaw is often overlooked when it comes to the best comic book movie villains. I personally think Kevin Bacon did an amazing job as the character and that he is the best villain from the X-Men Film Series after Magneto. It is disappointing that he doesn’t get much recognition as one of the best villains in a superhero movie. However, when it comes to the most satisfying deaths in comic book movies, Sebastian Shaw is often at the top of the list and for good reason. A mutant supremacist with ambitions of world domination, Shaw is the one who turned Erik Lensherr/Magneto into a villain. Introduced as a Nazi scientist named Klaus Schmidt, Shaw punished Erik for not moving a coin with his mutant powers by killing his mother. After discovering that the best way to see Erik’s powers are through causing pain for the boy, Shaw tortured him for years until he was liberated from Auschwitz. Decades later, Shaw formed the Hellfire Club, a small group of evil mutants who wish to start a nuclear with the United States and Russia. Shaw’s desire for armageddon stem from his belief that mutants are ”children of the atom” who will rise up from the ashes and take over the world from the humans. Thankfully, the first ever X-Men team members are able to stop him, with Shaw being killed by Erik, who uses the same coin from years ago by slowly pushing it through his head. Shaw’s death is as brutal as it is rewarding. There was nothing about Shaw that was sympathetic. Not only was he a Nazi, but he nearly started World War III for the most delusional of reasons. Seeing him killed him by the person he tormented for so many years was incredible and is one of the most satisfying moments in comic book movie history.
