If Gotham wasn't teeming with criminals, Batman would just be a rich weirdo in a cape and if not for intergalactic threats, Clark Kent's alter-ego would be Clark Kent. The fact is, there can be no superheroes without supervillains, and, despite their despicable nature, some of the best baddies are just as popular as their virtuous counterparts.

Being a good villain is crucial to the success of a superhero movie. With a combination of malevolence, charm, and evil genius, some villains have taken spots in the upper echelon of superpowered beings. Only a select few, however, can claim to be the best live-action superhero movie villains of all time.

10 Loki's Loco Brand Of Mischief Across The MCU

• IMDb Rating: 7.0

In Norse mythology, Loki is the God of Mischief, who sometimes works with the other deities, but mostly causes chaos. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he's pretty much the same, causing widespread mayhem in Asgard, for the Avengers, and the universe at large. He does, however, redeem himself in the end, which was an act that earned him his own streaming series on Disney+.

Loki first appeared in the 2011 Thor movie and was such an awesome villain, that he came back the next year as the main antagonist in The Avengers. Unlike most superhero movie villains that have been portrayed by several actors, Tom Hiddleston owns the role of Loki on both the big screen and on television. Loki's devilish charm, which has endeared the character to fans, is a testament to Hiddleston's brilliant handling of the trickster god.

9 Red Mist Is A Filthy Foe In Kick-Ass 2

• IMDb Rating: 6.5

Red Mist from the 2010 black comedy superhero movie, Kick-Ass, wasn't even really a villain until the end of the film, and even then he wasn't imposing as a dorky cosplayer. Coming back in Kick-Ass 2, the character returned as a much more formidable foe, with a profane new persona that rhymes with "other trucker." He also amassed a league of supervillains with an equally filthy name, to exact his revenge against Kick-Ass and Hit Girl.

What makes Red Mist, or his dirtier alter-ego, such a great movie villain is that he's sufficiently evil, but also comically inept. The juxtaposition of his propensity for violence and his maladjusted insecurity makes for an intriguing and hilarious baddie. No actor could have pulled off this walking contradiction better than Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who excels in the complexities of nerdiness.

8 Only The Russian Can Punish The Punisher

• IMDb Rating: 6.4

The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane in the title role, is easily the most underrated Marvel movie. With a clever story of revenge and great performances, the 2004 film is also one of the best comic adaptations. Part of what makes it such a thrilling watch is the amazing cast of villains, from John Travolta as Howard Saint to Mark Collie as Harry Heck. It is The Russian, however, that steals the movie with one of the all-time greatest, and funniest, fight scenes ever.

Frank Castle, A.K.A., the Punisher, never met a butt he couldn't kick, but when The Russian stormed in, it was almost more than he could handle. Played by professional wrestler Kevin Nash, The Russian looks like Dennis the Menace if he grew up on a steady diet of steroids. During the filming of the famous fight scene, Jane actually stabbed Nash in the collarbone, but he never broke character, proving that movie supervillain is a bit of a superhero in real life.

7 The Green Goblin Gets Tangled In Spider-Man's Web

• IMDb Rating: 7.4

For a teenager, Peter Parker sure has accrued a litany of arch-enemies, but that's probably something that comes with being Spider-Man. While there have been great villains in Spidey's filmography, from Doctor Octopus to Sandman, none of them beat Green Goblin from the 2002 Spider-Man movie. Testing a performance-enhancing chemical on himself didn't just make Norman Osborn unhinged, it turned him into one of the greatest supervillains in movies.

The role of Green Goblin is synonymous with Willem Dafoe, who brought his creepy intensity to the character, but things could have been much different. John Malkovich, who also does creepy quite well, was originally offered the role but turned it down. In a much worse scenario, James Cameron was slated to direct the film before Sam Raimi was brought in and wanted Kevin Spacey as Green Goblin. Luckily, things worked out, and the movie hasn't been retroactively canceled.

6 Agent Smith Is An NFT Villain In The Matrix

• IMDb Rating: 8.7

Some would argue that The Matrix isn't a superhero movie, but they can't explain why not. Main protagonist Neo/Thomas A. Anderson is an average person who realizes he has developed superpowers, which sure sounds like a superhero origin story. Also, he becomes almost god-like and uses his awesome power to battle the forces of evil, which is the exact definition of a superhero movie. Additionally, Agent Smith is one seriously sinister supervillain, so there's no question what type of movie The Matrix, or the sequels, are.

Agent Smith is an AI program tasked with keeping law and order within The Matrix, which makes him the ultimate tool of human oppression. His human form is a sunglasses-wearing government agent type, which lends to his ominous presence. Of course, his epic battles with Neo were the highlights of all the films. Hugo Weaving primarily portrayed Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy, and he also played Johann Schmidt / Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger, lending a little more superhero cred to the films.

5 Ain't No Mistake About Mystique

• IMDb Rating: 7.3

The superhero movie villain collective is kind of an all-boys club, but several female villains have broken the glass ceiling. Lady Deathstrike, Proxima Midnight, and Hela are all sufficiently villainous, but Mystique from the 2000 film X-Men and subsequent sequels is in a class all to herself. As her name would suggest, she possesses an alluring mystery, as well as terrifying powers that spell danger and instill fear.

Jennifer Lawrence portrayed Mystique admirably in the prequel films, but Rebecca Romijn nailed the character as close to the comic books as possible. She also suffered for the role, going through endless hours of make-up as the prosthetics were applied, and oftentimes, 24-hour days without rest to bring Mystique to the big screen. The result was one of the most memorable and iconic movie villains ever.

4 Joker Is Anything But A Barrel Of Laughs In The Dark Knight

• IMDb Rating: 9.0

Riddler deals in cryptic puzzles, Penguin waddles like a flightless aquatic bird, and Poison Ivy gives a rash, but Joker is anything but funny. Batman may have the best collection of villains out of any superhero, but Joker is by far his most formidable and interesting opponent. He got his name because after he fell into a vat of chemicals and ended up with a clown-like appearance, but he's not exactly the jovial type.

Joker is a career-defining role and so many have done him justice. Cesar Romero originated the character in the 1960s Batman TV show as well as the 1966 film Batman. Jared Leto was unfairly maligned for his excellent interpretation in Suicide Squad, and Joaquin Phoenix brought gritty realism to the role in the stand-alone 2019 film Joker. Jack Nicholson would have been the top portrayer of Joker in Tim Burton's Batman, had it not been for the Academy Award-winning performance by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

3 Magneto Is A Mutant Torpedo in X2

• IMDb Rating: 7.4

Magneto is one of the original superhero movie villains that fans fell in love with. Despite the absurd torpedo-head look, Magneto is a powerful force to be reckoned with, having the ability to manipulate metal and a hatred of humanity. Having escaped the Nazi death camps as a child, Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) knows all too well the horrors humankind is capable of.

Magneto is such a great villain because his character is complex, and from a certain point of view, he is not even the bad guy. He certainly does some awful things, but ultimately, he wants to protect mutants from extermination by the normies like in 2003's X2. With no offense to Michael Fassbender, who played Magneto in the prequel movies, the role belongs to Ian McKellen, who brought both intensity and intricacy to the character, making him an icon.