Everyone knows that a good superhero movie depends on the bad guy as much as the good guy. Throughout the history of the MCU, audiences have been treated to villains of all shapes and sizes – all driven to acts of evil for very different means.
Sometimes, however, it's all too easy to feel sorry for the villain instead of fully flat out hating them. Whether it's a tragic event, manipulation, or just really bad luck, these are the ones most deserving of viewers' sympathy.
Ghost
Ava Starr – AKA Ghost – is the primary antagonist in Ant-Man and the Wasp, but it's not really because she's a villain. She just has a goal that directly conflicts with the heroes. With the ability to make herself intangible and generate extreme amounts of power, she repeatedly makes to steal Hank Pym's lab to gain access to its Quantum Tunnel.
However, this isn't exactly for malicious reasons. Ava's looking for a solution to her powers as they leave her in constant agony. Even worse, this is the result of an accident at Pym's lab when she was just a child. She might resort to nefarious means to get what she wants, but her backstory gives her an extremely good reason.
Taskmaster
The Black Widow. Not only does it give depth to a relatively 2-D villain in the comics, but it really reinforces Draykov's position as the lowest of men.
That's because Taskmaster isn't just an assassin for hire. Instead, Draykov's own daughter has taken on the role, controlled in both body and mind by a chip after being seriously injured as a child in an assassination attempt on her father. She never asked to be born the daughter of a killer, and she certainly never asked to be turned into one by the person she should be able to trust most.
Sandman
Over 10 years since his movie debut, Sandman only entered the MCU in No Way Home. He may not have played the bad guy as much in the movie as his fellow villainous co-stars, but he still goes to battle against the three Spider-Mans in the finale.
Still, it's tough not to feel bad for him. While he killed Ben Parker, it was a complete accident – one that haunted him for years to come. His powers are more like a curse than anything else, preventing him from seeing his daughter. And considering he never asked for them (they were the result of falling into a supercollider) he seems more like a victim of circumstance than anything else.
Wenwu
There's no denying that Wenwu does a lot of bad in Shang-Chi. Over the centuries, he's killed entire armies with the aid of the Ten Rings. However, he's happy to give up his life of villainy after meeting the love of his life, Jiang Li.
But fate has other plans. When his wife is killed, Wenwu returns to his evil ways. However, knowing that he's driven by pain, grief, and loss puts his actions into an entirely new perspective. He doesn't want global domination. He just wants to see his wife again – whatever it takes.
Green Goblin
Of all the Spider-Man villains to return in No Way Home, Green Goblin is by far the most dangerous. His only motivation is pure and utter chaos, killing for nothing more than sadistic fun.
Yet he still manages to be sympathetic. In his clear moments, he's just Norman Osborn – the scientist who desperately took his own formula for a performance enhancer to try and meet the tight deadlines of his failing company. He's as horrified by the dark side of his Dissociative Identity Disorder as anyone but, for him, there's no escape.
Helmut Zemo
Without any superpowers, the greatest threat Zemo poses is his brain. The criminal mastermind tries (and succeeds) to tear apart the Avengers, and hopes to put an end to super soldiers.
This isn't just on a whim. Born and raised in Sokovia, Zemo is one of many to suffer when the Avengers cause chaos in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite promising them the Avengers would help, Zemo loses his family and home in the battle. He may have been misguided in thinking destroying the team was the best solution, but he stands for the many whose lives are carelessly ruined for the sake of the Avengers' bigger battles.
Nebula
Nebula may have made her peace with her sister, but she was once very much the villain. In Avengers: Endgame she is either the bad guy of her own accord or at her father – Thanos' – command.
True, she commits evil deeds along the way but it's tough to blame Nebula alone. Stolen from her real family, she spends her youth at Thanos' beck and call. Forced to train and compete with her adopted sister, she is never her father's favorite – no matter how much she tries – and is constantly torn apart and rebuilt in order to become better. It's a constant loop of pain and suffering from which she desperately struggles to escape.
Winter Soldier
When audiences first meet Bucky Barnes, he's the charming, brave, and loyal best friend of the future Captain America. Much to Steve's despair, Bucky is killed on a mission in the midst of World War II – or so it seems.
Kidnapped by HYDRA, Bucky is brainwashed and his memories overridden for decades. As if losing one's sense of self isn't enough, he's fashioned into a killing machine – brought in and out of cryostasis to kill those HYDRA deem a threat. This is trauma, guilt, and self-loathing that Bucky has to carry for the rest of his life.
Loki
Thanks to his trademark wit, Loki has long been a favorite villain in the MCU fandom. That's in spite of him repeatedly torturing his brother, trying to take over earth, exiling his father, and leading Thor to believe he's dead on multiple occasions.
This good feeling towards him can be partly explained by his endless charisma. The rest comes down to his backstory. Always feeling different and unfavored compared to his seemingly perfect brother, Loki is devastated to learn that he's actually the son of the monsters his family is famed for defeating. All he wants is to feel loved but his methods are just slightly questionable.
Killmonger
Not only is Killmonger arguably the MCU's most charismatic villain, but he's also one of the most sympathetic. His plans to dethrone T'Challa and use vibranium to position Wakanda as the world's controlling country don't come from a place of evil, but rather a desire to end the oppression of Black people across the world.
Having been forced to see his own father dead – and abandoned by his own people – for wanting the same thing, he pledges to make his goals come true. Wanting to use Wakanda's secret wealth and resources to help others is so understandable that even T'Challa takes his goals to heart at the end of Black Panther.
