4. Erik “Killmonger” Stevens – Black Panther (2018)
Probably the most well-documented entry on this list is the antagonist of Black Panther, Erik “Killmonger” Stevens.
After years serving his country (the U.S. of A., who are obviously never the bad guys), Killmonger decides to exact revenge on his ancestral homeland, Wakanda – a nation of people who secretly hoard their advanced technology and masquerade as a poor African country.
Killmonger is quite obviously Black Panther‘s villain – he’s got lots of intimidating scars and spends most of his time sneering at the good guys – but his real beef with Wakanda is that they refuse to help other nations or involve themselves in global affairs. Oh, and they murdered his father for questioning them.
This is an entirely justified stance against the world’s most powerful nation, who decided of their own volition that they wouldn’t share their technology, wealth, or knowledge with the rest of the world, and T’Challa himself actually decides that Killmonger had a really good point by the end of the movie.
Fair enough, Killmonger’s plan is a little murder-y, but his father was executed for holding the same beliefs, so it’s only natural that he wants a little revenge. Plus, with a name like Killmonger, he was hardly going to arrive in Wakanda to share hugs with his countrymen, was he?