10 Times MCU Villains Actually Helped The Heroes

Summary

• Nebula, Thanos' daughter, turned from villain to hero over time, joining the Avengers in their fight against Thanos. Her redemption arc brought emotional weight to her transformation.
• Ghost, a quantum-powered villain, reformed and began working with Ant-Man after he helped stabilize her powers and saved her life. She became an anti-hero in Marvel's Thunderbolts.
• Vulture, after learning Spider-Man's secret identity, chose to keep it to himself, showing respect for the young hero and actually doing him a favor.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has built its formula around the classic heroes-versus-villains narrative, but occasionally the franchise sees an antagonist choose to help the heroes instead. The superhero genre relies on simple tropes, many of which center on the struggle between the forces of good and evil. As they adapt many of the characters and stories of Marvel Comics, the movies of the MCU most often feature at least one hero and at least one villain. However, over the course of the franchise, there are occasions when things are a little murkier in a moral sense.
Not all villains are purely evil. The complexities of the relationships between the MCU’s heroes and villains have seen many antagonists switch sides, helping the heroes instead. Sometimes this comes about as the result of a redemption arc, whereas others are just brief moments in the MCU’s movie timeline that see the motivations of a villain and hero align. Whatever the reasons, there have actually been many times when the villainous characters of the franchise have been able to work to the benefit of its heroic characters. Here are 10 times MCU villains actually helped the heroes.