THE definitive Avengers villain?

[weezer17]

I got in an argument with a buddy of mine over this, and I'm interested to see what y'all think! What I've always liked about the Avengers is the diversity in their rogues gallery, and so my question is:

Who is the definitive Avengers villain, or villainous organization? When he/she/they show up, you're like: "Uh-oh!" In other words, if Marvel came to you and said, "Make the Avengers movie," who would you pick to be the main threat?

I haven't come to a conclusion yet, but right now for me it's a tie between Kang and Ultron, followed very closely by Thanos and then by Zemo and his Masters of Evil.

I tried to include as many options as possible (some are more of "neutral" or "sometimes-evil" characters), but if your vote isn't included then discuss! Have fun!

[Pigsticker]

Ultron all the way.

Kang is a solid second place finisher.. but there isn't really a good third choice. Thanos is the most dangerous out of the three by far, but more sporadically used. The Masters of Evil would have been a better argument 20 years ago but haven't been properly utilized in a long time.

[Mutant God]

Time villians confuse me sometimes and Thanos is more of a villain for space heroes I think, so I went with Ultron, he was created by an Avenger

[dragonmp93]

The Scarlet Witch is an option ?

I think she is more like of an x-men villain.

[strathcona]

Kang, followed closely by Ultron. No others should even be in the running. MoE are third, but it's hard to say they are definitive since the line-up changes so often, and since the original Thunderbolts the MoE have just been used as a name for any random group of villains as opposed to the threat they used to actually be.

I have never considered Thanos an Avengers villain. He's a cosmic villain, or maybe a MU overall villain... but not specifically an Avengers villain.

[IceCreamSamich]

Ultron is as Avengers as it gets, Kang, then Loki just cause.

[Hypestyle]

There needs to be a war of the Avengers villains to determine supremacy, with the Avengers team caught in the middle.

[hawkeyefan]

There needs to be a war of the Avengers villains to determine supremacy, with the Avengers team caught in the middle.

It was called the Destiny War.

[Nomads1]

I went ULTRON.

He's a 100% Avengers born villain and he sees THEM as his primary enemy above all else.
Kang is everywhere and has meddled with everyone, plus he has major ties to the Fantastic Four as well.
Ultron however is PURE Anti-Avengers nastiness and has been most responsible for shaping and re-shaping the team into who they are.

That's an intresting take on things. The definitive foe is not only seen by the Avengers as a primary threat, but sees them as his/her primary opponent.
I'm sure Kang also sees the Avengers as his primary adversaries, but, you're right, there is a rumored (unproven, as far as I know) connection with the FF, in that he may be a descendant of Doom or of Reed Richards himself. Still, a story like Kang Dynasty really sets a guy up as a majos foe.

It was called the Destiny War.

Refresh my memory, we never got to actually see that, right? It was only mentioned in a couple of places?

Peace

[Iron Maiden]

That's an intresting take on things. The definitive foe is not only seen by the Avengers as a primary threat, but sees them as his/her primary opponent.
I'm sure Kang also sees the Avengers as his primary adversaries, but, you're right, there is a rumored (unproven, as far as I know) connection with the FF, in that he may be a descendant of Doom or of Reed Richards himself. Still, a story like Kang Dynasty really sets a guy up as a major foe.

Peace

The Kang connection goes all the way back to his early appearances, back to the days of Stan Lee doing the plotting. Of course, it's not certain how much Jack Kirby contributed but we see Kang going to the castle of an ancestor because he finds there are no challenges in his era that interest him. This castle has a time platform identical to the one seen in Doom's first appearance. Later on, and I would have to find a copy to scan in, an FF anniversary comic from the DeFalco run has a bonus family tree diagram as part of the pin-ups etc and Kang is shown to be an ancestor of Nathaniel's by his son...Kristoff. DeFalco was the writer that has Nathaniel Richards claiming to be Kristoff Vernard's father, having encountered his mother in the past. So Kang could be an ancestor of the Richards family via Kristoff. Just at the end of the first volume of the FF in Nathaniel's final appearance in DeFalco's run he makes some kind of statement about not being truthful about everything he told people. So it is a bit up in the air still.