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I think the MCU’s greatest realization of a villain was Mysterio

Durden

Durden

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
12,511
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I think the only real competition is Killmonger. And maybe it's because I read a lot more Spider-Man comics than Black Panther, particularly many that focused on Mysterio. Or maybe it's because I think Mysterio is more "comic-y" than someone like Killmonger in general. But I left FFH absolutely giddy with his portrayal in the movie. He completely made that movie. Unlike many Marvel movies where the villains are pretty whatever, I feel the movie would have been extremely lackluster without the focus on him.

I really just don't see how they could have done him better at all. They straight up ripped him from the comics and put him on the screen. From the entire movie being based around his deception, to him actually seeming and the marketing pushing him being a good guy for people that didn't know, (my girlfriend legit thought he was a good guy. The revelation was huge to her while also satisfying to fans that already knew), to one of the coolest moments in MCU history in the warehouse with Peter.



And Gyllenhaal did an incredible job. While I've never thought he was a bad actor at all, I guess I just always saw him as someone with middling range. But he destroyed Beck. Absolutely nailed it. He was able to switch when he needed to switch, look heroic when he needed to look heroic, and break down when he needed to break down.

Not to mention the character was dropped at not only the perfect time during the MCU, but in the real world. Where truth is very much something to actually be manipulated.

As far as Thanos....MCU Thanos was wonderful....as an end boss. But I don't think he was as well realized straight from the comics as Mysterio was. (Not saying I don't appreciate his changes though).

This is of course not including non-MCU villains, like Magneto and god damn Norman Osborne. Willam Dafoe's Osborne imo is the greatest Marvel villain to ever be realized on screen. (Yeah the mask sucks but wtf ever, every other single thing makes up for it).

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Not to mention he's one of the few villains that seemingly are going to have a lasting impact, considering his possible final broadcast
 
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andymcc

andymcc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,321
Columbus, OH
I think Vulture was very good too. The scene in the car was one of the best villain interactions in any of the MCU movies.
 
Kernel

Kernel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,906
I thought Mordo was a clever reveal.

They go from friends, to a difference in opinion over natural law to Mordo just going all out.

Bucky was a great reveal in TWS as well.
 
HotHamBoy

HotHamBoy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
16,423
As an adaptation Killmonger's the more impressive feat

Mysterio is 2nd place

then Vulture

then Ego
 
Keldroc

Keldroc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,989
Nah, it's Thanos. But Mysterio is probably the best "how do we take this impossibly lame comic thing and make it cool and thematically relevant" move in the MCU.
 
Stinkles

Stinkles

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
20,459
Thanos and Loki are better - Thanos because execution vs Underlying concept is incredible - ridiculous purple goon with a disco glove? Even if other villains are better, they all started near the top of the mountain relative to Thanos.

I concede Loki may be ineligible.
 
OP
OP
Durden

Durden

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
12,511
Khanimus said:
Vulture was good, but in the comics, he's just an old man with wings and a grudge. They had a lot of room to do whatever they wanted.
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Yeah exactly. Keaton's Vulture was excellent, and one of the best MCU adaptations no doubt. But comics Vulture don't really have that much goin on so MCU Vulture is basically an original creation. That car ride was one of the best moments in the entire MCU though for sure, and a much needed grounded villain moment in that regard.
 
GreenMamba

GreenMamba

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,337
I loved what they did with Mysterio in the film. Special shout out to his real Mysterio suit from the film.

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I thought it was really clever.
 
SupremeWu

SupremeWu

Banned
Dec 19, 2017
2,856
Yeah MCU villians are generally bad and very neutered from their origins. Thanos was a death-worshipper, not some warped environmentalist.
 

Deleted member 8468

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,109
Durden said:
Yeah exactly. Keaton's Vulture was excellent, and one of the best MCU adaptations no doubt. But comics Vulture don't really have that much goin on so MCU Vulture is basically an original creation. That car ride was one of the best moments in the entire MCU though for sure, and a much needed grounded villain moment in that regard.
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That car ride scene sealed it for me. Back when I saw the casting for Keaton I laughed it off and figured he'd just be another disposable MCU villain. Then they not only write a great character but of course Keaton knocks it out of the park.

Also the irony of him doing Birdman then taking this role is not lost on me.
 
balgajo

balgajo

Self-requested ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,251
I didn't even like it. I felt embarassed when I watched that expositive scene where he explains his origins. It had some good fight scenes though.But I didn't like this movie as a whole, it's my least favorite SM movie alongside TASM 1.
Killmonger is my favorite from MCU.
 
HardTimesFamilyPride

HardTimesFamilyPride

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,055
Appalachia
I was immensely impressed. As I said in I think the OT for the movie, the Spidey villains in the MCU are very skillfully adapted into that world in ways that make sense while maintaining as many comic elements as possible.
GreenMamba said:
I loved what they did with Mysterio in the film. Special shout out to his real Mysterio suit from the film.

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I thought it was really clever.
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I still want a damn Legends/Figuarts of this
 
Tace

Tace

Avenger
Nov 1, 2017
35,585
The Rapscallion
Yeah they adapted and modernized Mysterio beautifully. They did the same for Vulture in Homecoming. People get too hung up on the Stark connection but the Spider-Man MCU movies have had some of the strongest villains. No surprise given the source material

When I think about what Feige could do with Norman or Otto...oh boy
 
Zukuu

Zukuu

Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,809
Vulture was the only one with a real "story" and motif. He basically wins by default.

Otherwise, I did enjoy Dormammu and Winter Soldier.
 
Watchtower

Watchtower

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Oct 27, 2017
11,671
GreenMamba said:
I loved what they did with Mysterio in the film. Special shout out to his real Mysterio suit from the film.

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I thought it was really clever.
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Making his real "costume" a stylized mocap suit, having his "illusions" be drones doing the most advanced AR shit on the planet, giving him an entire background troupe for the sake of pulling off his performances...

He might not necessarily be the best realization of a Marvel villain, but goddammit is he the best goddamn realization of Mysterio one could've ever come up with.
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,262
chrisPjelly said:
Jake Gyllenhaal NAILED it and the AR gimmick was incredibly fun BUT
I do feel the Stark connection was a bit forced. Making Tony look like more of a dick post mortem was a weird decision.
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Saw a video on youtube recently that I agree with. The connection itself isn't necessarily the bad thing (though I didn't mind it), it's that the crux of the plan should've involved Mysterio taking the Iron Spider suit.
 
TAJ

TAJ

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
12,446
I loved how they depicted Mysterio messing with Peter, but everything about the characters believing his story was dumb enough to ruin the movie for me even if everything else had been amazing.
 
GreenMamba

GreenMamba

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Oct 25, 2017
10,337
I don't even really mind the Stark connections that Vulture and Mysterio had. I like the idea of them being big time players that Spider-Man just kind of finds himself stuck up against through happenstance.
 

Deleted member 17388

User requested account closure
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Oct 27, 2017
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I really like how he looked. Brilliant design, and so comic accurate :D

Here's hoping they surprise us with Taskmaster; he looked more interesting in the last trailer though.
 
Rockstar

Rockstar

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Oct 28, 2017
1,850
US
Did you guys notice that Quentin Beck as Mysterio and Peter Parker as Spider-man fought against each other just once in the whole movie?
 
refusi0n1

refusi0n1

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,921
andymcc said:
I think Vulture was very good too. The scene in the car was one of the best villain interactions in any of the MCU movies.
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and add to the fact Peter had made his decision as the threats were being made *chef's kiss*

With Mysterio, watching the illusions scene in Dolby cinema was awesome
 
Chasing

Chasing

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
10,756
OP you should watch Nightcrawler if you haven't already. It's Gyllenhaal taking the Beck character archetype to its sociopathic, manipulative extremes and killing it.
 

Adventureracing

The Fallen
Nov 7, 2017
8,042
I think it's hard for me to judge this character as the movie itself was just so bland and frankly bad. I place this movie VERY close to the bottom of the MCU. I didn't hate mysterio's portrayal but some of it just felt so off (the reveal scene just didn't work for me) and i just couldn't buy what the movie was attempting to sell.
 
Lotus

Lotus

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 25, 2017
106,058
Amazing villain from an amazing movie, and I agree with those saying it was reminiscent of his Nightcrawler performance
 
Illusion

Illusion

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,407
Almost every villain in Phase 3 and beyond was great. Marvel caught their faults with their villains and delivered.

The only villain somewhat lackluster was Yon-Rogg from Captain Marvel. And even then he barely scraps the bottom of the barrel.

Before Phase 3 the only good villains were Loki and... Obadiah Stein?

Marvel knows now the villains need to be equally as entertaining, captivating and able to be heroes of their own story.
 
Border

Border

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,859
Didn't care that much for Mysterio. His tech didn't make much sense. Even if the drones can project holograms, they'd look fucked up unless you saw them from exactly the right perspective. Makes sense for a 1-on-1 fight maybe, but doesn't work if multiple people are viewing from different angles.
 
hydruxo

hydruxo

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Oct 25, 2017
20,460
I liked Mysterio a lot in FFH but I thought the bar scene when he reveals his true intentions was a little goofy. The scene when he tricks Peter into thinking he's Nick Fury was incredible though and the highlight of the whole movie. I definitely preferred Killmonger overall.
 
Cuburger

Cuburger

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Oct 28, 2017
10,975
He was a great adaptation, in terms of appearance and M.O. I always thought Mysterio would be a great Spider-man movie villain for exactly the reason he works so well here. That said, huh? He's a good antagonist because he's entertaining and is adapted well, but what makes him "the greatest realization of a villain"?

I think Marvel has had plenty of good villains and a few great ones for in multiple aspects. I think people in general have really specific and subjective criteria for what makes a good villain that I just don't understand.
 

Deleted member 34949

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andymcc said:
I think Vulture was very good too. The scene in the car was one of the best villain interactions in any of the MCU movies.
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I remember someone in a past thread saying that Peter finding out Vulture was Liz's dad at the same time as the audience is probably the best on screen example of the Parker Luck we've gotten to date, and that really stuck with me as a perfect way to describe that scene.
 
Rendering...

Rendering...

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Oct 30, 2017
19,089
I think Thanos and Loki are a clear cut above, and Vulture is at least on par. But yeah, Mysterio was well done.
 
MadLaughter

MadLaughter

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
13,101
Nobody cares about Vulture in the comics, so it's incredible how well they made him work in the MCU. Mysterio is more well liked, and they lived up to that.
 
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