As far as comic book genre goes the Marvel Cinematic Universe has reigned supreme since Iron Man came out in May of 2008. Along the way we’ve only been treated to few memorable performances from villains. After 18 movies in you would think that we’d have more then just a few great villains. As I write this I’m sitting here struggling to remember who the villain in Thor: The Dark World was.

We can look at it from the perspective that all these villains have been tiny puzzle pieces building to the larger picture the long awaited showdown between the Avengers & Thanos, but thats letting Marvel off easy for consistently letting us down. Right now I should be comparing Erik Killmonger to the great Ultron, but instead I’m here to tell you why Killmonger is the greatest villain in MCU to date.

Amidst a star studded cast that included greats like Angela Bassett & Forest Whitaker, Michael B. Jordan arguable shines the brightest. So much that at times Jordan’s Killmonger has you actively rooting against Black Panther.

Killmonger Marvel’s Most Relatable Villain

I need two things in my villain. One, give me someone who truly believes that they are the hero of the story. I don’t want someone who wants to take over the world and destroy it for the sake of destruction. I want someone who thinks what they are doing is for the better of everyone.

The second thing that I need is for the villain to be relatable, give me a scenario that I can put myself into and see how I’d react. The hatred that Killmonger has for T’Chaka and the people of Wakanda is exactly how I’d feel in those shoes.

No matter what party you side with these days, it’s hard for many of us to trust that the government is out to do the right thing for its people. The power in Jordan’s performance is that he takes those frustrations and strings them into Killmonger’s motivation. Making it so at times you find yourself relating more to the villain of the movie versus the hero, which has to be a first in the MCU.

Where Killmonger Ranks

The title of this post gives away just where I rank Killmonger…Number One, but I feel like I should at least explain why he is better than the villains who previously held the top spot.

For the longest time I ranked Loki as the greatest villain in the MCU, mainly because the rest of them were terrible. Honestly when you get guys Malekith, Whiplash & Aldrich Killian it’s not hard to see why Loki lasted so long a top my list. Tom Hiddleston performance as the “God of Mischief” has been great and I don’t want it to come off like I don’t appreciate him, but his competition has been lacking.

Knocking Loki off the top spot was Vulture who was a breath of fresh air in a very damp and closed room. It was hard to root against the working class guy who was just trying to keep his family a float in a drowning economy. If only he wasn’t a mad man who wanted to kill Spidey.

For the reasons above Killmonger took over the top spot, but it was also the impact that he had on T’Challa that helped him earn my top spot. Without Killmonger telling T’Challa the truth and showing him just how big of an affect Wakanda could have on the outside world, he wouldn’t be the complete hero that he became. Killmonger not only helped the Black Panther grow as a hero but helped T’Challa grow as a person.