The Marvel movie universe is hamstrung by its inability to flesh out their 'Big Bad. It's unfortunate because there can be no doubting that the Marvel movie universe is cashing in at the box office, however the movies are undeniably lacking in their ability to raise the stakes and to portray their heroes as being in serious peril.
Marvel TV doesn't have this problem, they have an entire series to flesh out their villains, add depth to the character. Daredevil's Wilson Fisk has serious daddy issues, Jessica Jones' Kilgrave has a multitude of social, sexual and family issues, on account of his parents genetically testing on him as a child.
The resulting test mutations actually causing him to develop his 'abilities'.
Marvel TV has a definite edge on the Marvel movie universe and DC Universe, because they have pinpointed the flaw within the movie universe, understood it and developed the villains as much as the heroes. This has allowed the Marvel TV universe the ability to evoke sympathy from viewers, of characters whose actions are despicable and as a result are wholly unsympathetic people.
It's not that you ever hope the character triumphs over the main protagonist but instead, you almost empathise with the villain. If your family, the people you expected to raise you, instead beat you, ran scientific tests on you or rejected you outright, you can understand why the villain might be slightly unhinged and decide to reject the world.
They are almost justified in hating a world that allowed this abuse to happen.
However in the Marvel TV universe, the heroes are not without their tragic backstory, Jessica Jones is an orphan, an alcoholic and possibly suffered sexual assault and Dardevil's Matt Murdock father was murdered after refusing to throw a fight. These tragedies help give us the viewer, our moral compass and allow us to eventually reject the villains tragic back stories as reasons for being villainous.
If our heroes can raise triumph from tragedy, then why can't our villains.
Without going into too much detail, on behalf of fans who have yet to start the series', Daredevil is only really a tragic loss away from becoming his nemesis The Punisher. (The Punisher even references this anomaly within the show.)
Obviously when you look at it from a completely methodical logic, bad guys are bad guys and good guys are good guys, but if you look at it from a different angle.
Daredevil is a guy in a suit running about, outside the law beating people to a pulp. Jessica Jones is an alcoholic who may or may not have murdered several people, and Luke Cage generally wanders about Hells Kitchen smashing peoples faces in. (Regrettably of course.)
The police in Daredevil don't see Daredevil as a hero, they see him as a vigilante inspiring other vigilantes.
The issue with the Marvel movie universe is that the movies only have a limited running time, and in that time have to build a narrative, add peril, add in a few more side characters for the viewer to care about whilst keeping the viewer entertained. They also have to progress the enormous ongoing narrative by referencing Thanos, the infinity stones, Captain America, Tony Stark, etc whilst setting up the next movie in the universe.
It must be exhausting.
The most fleshed out Marvel movie villain yet was Loki, but Loki's goal was to steal the Asgardian throne from Odin, and at the end of Thor The Dark World (spoilers) he achieved it.
Captain America is now defending the Winter Soldier, Ultron was defeated (relatively easily), Thor is in Australia working in an office,The Hulk has went awol and the Avengers are so disengaged with the standard of villain in the Marvel Movie Universe, they've taken to fighting amongst themselves in Civil War.
When you think about it, there is a pretty good chance that during The Punisher's rampage through Hells Kitchen, he killed more people than the number of people who died in the entire 'Battle of New York' and Battle of Sokovia combined.
Now that's my kind of villain.
