The Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought many well-known comic book villains to the big screen. However, the movies often change the villains’ backstories or the heroes they typically face. While some pairings, like Red Skull versus Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger and Loki in Thor, are faithful to the comics, other MCU films pit villains against heroes they don’t usually clash with, or against heroes they first appeared against in the comics.
As a big MCU fan, I was thinking about some villains who never actually got to fight the heroes they’re famous for battling in the comics. It’s kind of strange! I put together a list of seven of them. Just a quick note: I didn’t include the Mandarin, because Iron Man did fight a fake version of him in Iron Man 3. The real Mandarin finally showed up later in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so it felt different.
7) Ultron Never Got to Fight Hank Pym
When Ultron appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel had to make some changes to his backstory. In the comics, Ultron was created by Hank Pym (Ant-Man), but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pym was older and worked with SHIELD, not the Avengers. So, the MCU reimagined Ultron’s creation, making Tony Stark and Bruce Banner his creators. This meant Ultron never got to battle his original creator, as he does in the comics. While the MCU did keep Ultron as an enemy of the Avengers – which is consistent with the source material – the absence of Hank Pym significantly altered the character’s origins.
6) Red Hulk Didn’t fight Hulk
Hulk and General Ross clashed many times, especially in The Incredible Hulk where Ross tried to capture Hulk and created the Abomination. But even after Ross became President (a change from the comics) and transformed into Red Hulk, he never actually fought his longtime enemy, The Hulk. Instead, he battled the new Captain America, which made logical sense for the story, but disappointed fans who were hoping to see a showdown between Red Hulk and the original Hulk.
5) The Leader Also Didn’t fight Hulk
Okay, so I was a little bummed that Red Hulk and the Hulk didn’t actually fight. I get why they didn’t, story-wise, but the real head-scratcher for me was bringing back the Leader and then… doing nothing with him regarding the Hulk! It’s weird because the Leader first showed up in The Incredible Hulk movie, and he wasn’t fully the Leader yet. It was his betrayal of Bruce Banner that made him the Leader, and you’d think that would lead to a showdown with the Hulk. They always had such a cool dynamic in the comics – the Leader using his intellect against the Hulk’s strength – but in the movies, he just ended up pulling strings with Red Hulk instead. It felt like a missed opportunity, honestly.
4) Kang Didn’t Meet The Fantastic Four OR The Avengers
Kang first appeared in Marvel Comics as Rama Tut in Fantastic Four, then as Kang the Conqueror in The Avengers. While he’s shown up twice in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), both times were in stories that didn’t involve the Avengers or Fantastic Four. Originally, Kang Dynasty was planned as an Avengers film, but it was changed. Instead, Ant-Man defeated a version of Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This was a bit of a letdown, and then another Kang variant was killed by Loki’s sister, Sylvie. Ultimately, Kang has died twice in the MCU without ever battling the Avengers.
3) MODOK Never Fought Captain America
MODOK appeared as a villain in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but this version was quite different from the comics. The movie version wasn’t the original MODOK, and he didn’t even fight Captain America, who is MODOK’s primary nemesis in Marvel Comics. Instead, the film presented Darren Cross, the villain from the first Ant-Man movie, inside a MODOK-like suit to keep him alive.
2) Ronan the Accuser Never Fought the Fantastic Four
Ronan the Accuser is best known as a character in Marvel’s cosmic stories, which has often brought him into conflict with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Interestingly, he also fought with the Guardians during the Annihilation Wave event, making his role as the villain in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie feel natural. However, the current version of the Guardians didn’t appear in Marvel comics until the Annihilation Wave. Ronan, though, first showed up way back in 1967 in Fantastic Four #65 and later played a role in the Kree-Skrull War storyline in The Avengers comics.
1) Cassandra Nova Never Fought Professor X
In Deadpool & Wolverine, Cassandra Nova is the primary villain. The film establishes that these villains originate from various universes, brought together by the TVA. This explains the appearance of characters like Blade, Elektra, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and Gambit in the final battle. Cassandra Nova’s powerful abilities make her a fitting main antagonist, especially considering her backstory: she’s Professor X’s twin sister, who he attempted to kill before birth. Driven by revenge against her brother, she never had the opportunity to confront him on screen within the Marvel Cinematic Universe until now.
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2026-01-29 19:12