Ranking The Marvel Netflix Villains

After binge-watching Luke Cage this past weekend, and being way more than satisfied, a lot of things crossed my mind. One of them is how good the villains are. And where do they rank in the Marvel Netflix series’ so far?

I absolutely loved Mahershala Ali’s depiction of Cottonmouth. Alfre Woodward is always great! And she did not let us down with her depiction of Mariah Dillard. Shades lives up to his namesake, given his slithery ways. And speaking of slithery, Diamondback aka Willis Stryker is as vicious as the snake of the same name.

But where do they rank against all of the Marvel villains that we have seen on Netflix?

Before I dive into the list, I have a disclaimer. The following antiheroes do not qualify as villains: Elektra; The Punisher; Jeri Hogarth, and Stick.

Here’s how I rank the most influential Marvel Netflix villains to-date:

1. Killgrave. This was a close call. Vincent D’Onfrio’s depiction of Kingpin has been otherworldly. But David Tennant’s harrowing depiction of Killgrave left an indelible mark. Think the X-Men’s Professor X, gone really bad. There’s something extremely scary about someone being able to control your mind with cruel intentions.
2. Kingpin. Before Killgrave, Kingpin was number one. D’Onofrio has always been an underrated character actor and he nailed it here! But he also made you wonder if perhaps Kingpin had a point. But just when you did that, Kingpin would choke someone to death, and you’d remember how bad he truly was.
3. Shades. If you recently saw Luke Cage, it became obvious as the first season neared its end, that Shades was the ultimate puppet master. He is the shadowy “consultant” to my number five, the “sidekick” to my number four, and the manipulator of my number 6. But I get the feeling that he’s pushing to be more in future episodes. Stay tuned.
4. Diamondback. I thought for awhile before this high ranking for Willis Stryker. But I feel it’s warranted. Sure, his sometimes “over-the-top” acting and biblical quotes (reminiscent of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction) may be a bit much at times. But I really like the character, and felt that his erratic, unpredictably violent ways add a dose of levity to a show that can be a bit heavy at times.
5. Cottonmouth. Were it not for his demise in Luke Cage, Episode 7, he’d be number three on my list. Like Kingpin, he is a complex villain who is haunted by a violent upbringing forced upon him as a child. When you witness the flashbacks to his musical talents on the piano, you actually view him as a potentially good guy turned bad by his dysfunctional circumstances.
6. Mariah Dillard. Alfre Woodward is good at acting. No, Alfre Woodward is very good at acting. She has played the loving mother. And she has also played cold, calculating characters. And that range of experience is on full display as Mariah Dillard. To me, she represents good Harlem through her role as a politician trying to have a positive social impact on her community. But she is also bad Harlem because she acquiesces to corruption and violence as a means to push her political ends.
7. James Wesley. He met his end far too early in season one of Daredevil. His shocking death at the hands of Karen Page was a buzzkill. He was Kingpin’s trusted confidant and sidekick, and you got the impression that he was the operational brains behind everything corrupt that was going on in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s too bad that we won’t see more of him.