The Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced a lot of villains since the franchise was launched in 2008 with Iron Man. Many of these baddies came close to succeeding with their sinister goals, and a handful even succeeded to one degree or another. Regardless of where they stand, as one goes through the Marvel movies in order, along with the tie-in TV shows accessible with a Disney+ subscription, it becomes that a lot of the villains have spouted out a great quote during their time on screen, if not several.
But which villain quotes are the best of the best? That’s what we’re here to go over. Before moving forward though, it should be noted that this is only covering movies and TV shows produced by Marvel Studios. This means series like Daredevil, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Cloak & Dagger that were produced under the old Marvel Television banner won’t be mentioned.
“Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave… with a box of scraps!” - Obadiah Stane
After obtaining the remnants of Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit that he made while being held captive by the Ten Rings terrorists, Obadiah Stane set his scientists to reverse engineer it to make his own suit and build a miniature arc reactor to power it. While they had no problem doing the former, they weren’t able to do the latter, leading Stane to exclaim that statement and later steal the one from Tony’s chest.
“I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.” - Loki
Following his turn to the dark side in Thor, Loki went full villain for The Avengers, allying himself with Thanos to retrieve the Tesseract in exchange for conquering Earth with the Chitauri army. He made a memorable entrance at the beginning of the movie and said this line to Nick Fury as he was killing some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. director’s agents and brainwashing others, including Hawkeye and Erik Selvig.
“I am inevitable.” - Thanos
After wiping out half of all life in the universe at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos retreated to the garden and used the power of the Infinity Stones to destroy them. So the surviving Avengers’ hopes to reverse the Blip were quickly dashed when they learned this information at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, with the Mad Titan making this declaration, only to be beheaded by Thor moments later. His alternate timeline counterpart would later say these same words before trying to use the Infinity Stones.
“Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, 'cause they knew death was better than bondage.” - Erik Killmonger
T’Challa returned to Wakanda’s capital city in Black Panther to take back the throne and stop Erik Killmonger’s plan to distribute Wakandan weapons to War Dogs around the world and have them be used to free people of African descent everywhere. The two fought, and their clash ended when T’Challa fatally stabbed Killmonger. Rather than agree to have his wounds healed and be thrown into prison, Killmonger decided to die a free man and spent his last moments looking at the sunset.
“Darling, you have no idea what’s possible.” - Hela
Hela, Thor: Ragnarok’s lead antagonist, said these words after catching Mjolnir and hearing the God of Thunder express dismay at that action. Until that point, only those who were deemed worthy could pick up the hammer, but she intercepted it with just one hand. Adding insult to injury, she then destroyed Mjolnir, though it was thankfully reformed in Thor: Love and Thunder.
“I had strings, but now I’m free.” - Ultron
Avengers: Age of Ultron’s title antagonist took a line from the song “I’ve Got No Strings” from 1940’s Pinocchio and made it sound as sinister as possible. In Ultron’s case though, the “strings” refer to his gaining sentience and rebelling against Tony Stark’s programming. As such, he decided to act out by trying to destroy Earth rather than protect it.
“There is no God! That’s why I stepped in!” - The High Evolutionary
Despite The High Evolutionary’s ship beginning to go down in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the antagonist was determined to still capture 89P13, a.k.a. Rocket Raccoon. Recorder Vim begged him to let go of his obsession for Rocket “for God’s sake,” to which he explosively countered with the above. Realizing their leader wasn’t rational, Vim and the other minions in the room pointed their weapons at him and attempted to take control of the ship, but he incinerated them.
“I have lived ten of your lifetimes. I have eaten more salt than you have had rice in your life!” - Wenwu
Shang-Chi’s father Wenwu was bequeathed numerous special abilities by the Ten Rings, including immortality. By the time the main events of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings happen, he’s been alive for 1,000 years. So when Wenwu made it back to Ta-Lo and Master Guang Bo said the sins of his past would have destroyed this dimension, he cautioned the man for speaking that way towards him and reminded everyone how long he’s been around.
“… To build a better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies.” - Alexander Pierce
Although Steve Rogers didn’t know at this point in Captain America: The Winter Soldier that Alexander Pierce was one of HYDRA’s leaders, this line serves as foreshadowing to his ultimate goal. With Project Insight, Pierce was willing to sacrifice the lives of 20 million people selected by Arnim Zola’s algorithm to “save” the rest of the population. Well, he certainly made an enemy out of Captain America with thinking like that.
“If you can make God bleed, the people will cease to believe in Him. And there will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come.” - Ivan Vanko
In Iron Man 2, Ivan Vanko attacked Tony Stark while he was racing at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, and while his arc reactor-powered whips were impressive, Tony was able to beat him once he donned his Mark V armor. But in Vanko’s eyes, he was still victorious in a different way because the world had seen on TV that Iron Man could be hurt. He ended up being right, as it emboldened Justin Hammer into freeing Vanko from prison to help him create weapons to outshine the ones made by Stark Industries.
“You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me.” - Thanos
While he wasn’t the Thanos who snapped away half of all life in the universe, this version of the Mad Titan from an alternate timeline glimpsed what his counterpart had done. So after making his way into the main MCU timeline and destroying Avengers Compound in Avengers: Endgame, he said these words to Iron Man, Captain America and Thor about their mission to secure other versions of the Infinity Stones to undo the Blip.
“Don't interfere in my business again. Because I will kill you and anyone you care about. I’ll kill you dead.” - Vulture
Some supervillains never learn the true identity of their superhero adversaries, but the MCU’s Adrian Tomes, a.k.a. Vulture, is not one of them. As he was driving his daughter Liz and her date Peter Parker to their homecoming dance in Spider-Man: Homecoming, he was able to piece together that Peter and Spider-Man were one and the same. So after Liz went into the school, Tomes pulled out a gun, told the teen he knew about his masked persona and delivered the above threat, one which Peter promptly ignored.
“… It broke my heart to put that tumor in her head.” - Ego
At the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, viewers watched Peter Quill’s mom die of brain cancer in 1988. As if that wasn’t tragic enough, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ego, his father, revealed that he put a tumor in Meredith’s head because he was becoming too attached to her. Star-Lord shooting his dad was the right response to this revelation.
“You break the rules and become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair.” - Wanda Maximoff
In Avengers: Infinity War, Stephen Strange gave Thanos the Time Stone that, while paving the way for the Mad Titan to erase half of all life in the universe, paid off five years later when all that life was snapped back into existence. Still, this was a bit of rule-breaking, so when Stephen Strange took issue with Wanda Maximoff wanting to kill America Chavez and take her power to travel through the multiverse, she said the above statement to him in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, though this was obviously a case of apple and oranges.
“You will bring me what I need, or I will kill your daughter in front of you, then make you relive that moment, over and over again in time, endlessly, until you beg me to kill you.” - Kang
When Scott Lang came face to face with Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the ruler of the Quantum Realm quickly made it clear he was not to be taken lightly. Wanting to escape this dimension, Kang demanded that Scott retrieve the power core to his ship, and if he didn’t help, he’d watched Cassie Lang die over and over again. You can’t blame Scott for complying.
“I never wanted the throne! I only ever wanted to be your equal!” - Loki
Loki exclaimed this to his adoptive brother towards the end of Thor while they were fighting each other. It didn’t justify the antagonistic actions he took, but it was among the many ways in which Loki was painted as a sympathetic figure in the movie, as he always felt like he was in Thor’s shadow. Ironically though, the Loki who led the Disney+ miniseries would end up getting his own throne.
“You'll see, Peter. People... need to believe. And nowadays, they'll believe anything.” - Mysterio
Quentin Beck, a.k.a. Mysterio, inadvertently caused his own demise in Spider-Man: Far From Home when one of the drones he was controlling misfired and hit him. Beck’s dying words were in response to Peter asking him why he wreaked so much havoc with the Battle of London. Sure enough, his words teased what was to come, as footage of Mysterio was posthumously released where he framed Spider-Man for the Elemental attacks and killing him, as well as shared his secret identity.
"It is a masterpiece, James. Complete. Comprehensive. It captures the African-American experience." - Helmut Zemo
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson asked Bucky Barnes if he’d listen to Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man soundtrack, one of the items in Steve Rogers’ notebook, which Bucky now had, to help him acquaint to the modern world. When Bucky awkwardly said that he liked the soundtrack, Helmut Zemo, their temporary ally, delivered this assessment of the album. While Sam felt the villain was out of line, he also acknowledged he was right.
“You’re officially pardoned… from life!” - Grandmaster
Although not Thor: Ragnarok’s lead villain, Grandmaster was a dastardly figure who ruled Sakaar with an iron fist. And he didn’t let family ties get in the way of doling out punishment, as he melted his cousin Carlo for committing high treason, telling him these words before he died. For those curious, the puddle of organic matter left behind smelled like burnt toast.
“Real power comes from undetectable influence.” - Dreykov
Both General Dreykov and his daughter Antonia were originally thought to have died in the Budapest bombing that Natasha Romanoff triggered, but Black Widow revealed they were still alive. Dreykov had spent years controlling the Red Room and having brainwashed operatives, including Antonia as Taskmaster, to assassinate targets of his choosing. In Drevkov’s mind, real power was being able to manipulate world events without anyone knowing it’s you doing it.
“Norman’s on sabbatical, honey.” - Green Goblin
Although it appeared as though Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin persona had gone away shortly after his arrival into the main MCU reality in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it resurfaced within Happy Hogan’s apartment. When Tom Holland’s Peter Parker detected something was amiss, he closed his eyes, concentrated, realized it was Norman, and webbed his hand. The Green Goblin then commended the Spider-sense as a “neat trick,” and when Doctor Octopus expressed confusion, the Willem Dafoe-portrayed villain said this statement that’s simultaneously amusing and scary.
“I take power from the undeserving. It's kind of my thing.” - Agatha Harkness
She wasn’t responsible for cycling Westview through those TV sitcom eras, but Agatha Harkness, who disguised herself as nosy neighbor Agnes in WandaVision, did disrupt Wanda Maximoff’s life within the manipulated reality, including recasting her brother Pietro. After her true identity was revealed, Agatha attempted to take Wanda’s chaos magic because she felt she wasn’t worthy of wielding it, but that only led to the former Avenger officially becoming The Scarlet Witch.
“There’s only one path to peace: the Avengers’ extinction.” - Ultron
Ultron was originally designed by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner to be the artificial intelligence behind a peacekeeping program for Earth, but the AI gained sentience after being in proximity to the Mind Stone and developed a god complex. Now holding a twisted view of what constitutes “peace in our time,” Ultron felt the only way to accomplish this was by killing the Avengers, though he later broadened this to wipe out all of humanity.
“It feels more like a promise than a curse. So, this is my vow: all gods will die.” - Gorr
After the Necrosword presented itself to him while he was being mocked and strangled by Rapu, Gorr slayed the deity and proclaimed that he would kill all the gods in the universe. It’s understandable why he felt this way given that his daughter despite her and him praying for their gods to save him, but wielding this weapon in Thor: Love and Thunder corrupted his mind and eventually killed him due to a curse.
“I don’t even know who you are.” - Thanos
The Thanos who attacked Avengers Compound in Avengers: Endgame was not the same Thanos who caused all the devastation in Avengers: Infinity War, which included ripping the Mind Stone out of Vision and killing the android. So when Wanda Maximoff confronted the alternate Thanos during the Battle of Earth and told him he’d take everything from her, he appropriately responded with this statement.
“I have many names. My people call me Ajaw K'uk'ulkan. But my enemies call me Namor.” - Namor
The Marvel Cinematic Universe took some creative liberties with its adaptation of Namor the Sub-Mariner in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which has him being born in the 16th century and being looked at as a god by his people thanks to his unique mutations. So although the citizens of Talokan call him by the first name, the more recognizable second name is only used by those who oppose him in the MCU, with it coming from being called “El Niño sin Amor,” meaning “the child without love.”
“You are failing!” - Red Skull
Sometimes it just takes a few words to summarize how you’re feeling. Red Skull said these three words to Arnim Zola in Captain America: The First Avenger after Steve Rogers and his team had destroyed many of HYDRA’s bases, with the man originally known as Johann Schmidt feeling the spectacled scientist had dropped the ball.
“The people need to be reminded that this city belongs to me.” - Kingpin
Three years after Netflix’s Daredevil ended, Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, resurfaced in Hawkeye. Revealed as the overseer of the Tracksuit Mafia and the man who manipulated Clint Barton into killing William Lopez during the Blip, Fisk is just as determined to hold onto his power. So when things in operation start going awry in his operation, he says this line to his henchman Kaz.
“Can I tell you a secret? I enjoyed dealing out pain on your behalf. That is the greatest sin I carry.” - Arthur Harrow
In the MCU mythology, Arthur Harrow was Khonshu’s avatar before Marc Spector came along, but he gave up that role when he decided to follow Ammit instead and start punishing people based on future crimes they’ll commit. There’s definitely no love lost between Harrow and Khonshu during the Moon Knight miniseries, but at least the former was self-aware enough to admit this to the latter, even if he hates that about himself.
“Captain Marvel, The Annihilator. You took everything from me. And now I'm returning the favor.” - Dar-Benn
It was revealed in The Marvels that when Carol Danvers went to Hala to overthrow the Supreme Intelligence, it resulted in a civil war erupting, which in turn led to the planet losing its air, water and sunlight over the next 30 years. This earned Carol the nickname The Annihilator among the Kree, and Dar-Benn, their new leader, decided it was time to exact revenge on Captain Marvel over her indirectly ruining her life.
“I wanted to repay you the selfsame gift that you so graciously imparted to me. Desperation.” - Aldrich Killian
All Aldrich Killian wanted to do in 1999 was impress Tony Stark and try to get him and Maya Hansen to join AIM, but he got blown off. Though he considered dying by suicide, by the time Iron Man 3’s present-day events rolled around, Killian was a changed man and dedicated his resources, both through AIM and as the “true” Mandarin, to target Tony and make him feel the same way he’d felt over a decade previously.
“People think in terms of good and evil, but really, time is the true enemy of us all. Time kills everything.” - Kaecilius
Wong and Mordo warned Doctor Strange not to manipulate time, but that’s precisely the reason why Kaecilius and his group of zealots rebelled from The Ancient One. These people wanted to gain eternal life by overcoming time, and they planned to do so by contacting Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dimension, where time doesn’t exist. Well, Kaecilius and his remaining followers got their wish, but it came with eternal torment.
