Michael B Jordan Reveals His Top Two On-Screen Villains
Michael B Jordan opens up about playing Killmonger in Black Panther and shares which two iconic film villains he rates as the best: Heath Ledger’s Joker and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto.
When it comes to casting heroes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been on point, but finding memorable baddies has been a tougher ask. Across the first couple of phases, there were plenty of villains who didn’t leave much of a mark. That changed when Michael B Jordan stepped into the shoes of Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. Unlike the usual one-note antagonists, Killmonger had a backstory that made his anger feel justified. Growing up abandoned and witnessing the harsh realities faced by his people, he was driven to take action by seizing control of Wakanda. While T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, stuck to a non-violent approach, he hadn’t experienced the same global prejudice that fuelled Killmonger’s mission.
Jordan reckons that these sorts of layered villains are the most compelling. Speaking to W magazine, he said,
‘They are the ones you can empathise with. They want you to not like them, but you can still understand their motivation.’
He went on to mention that even though he played the villain in Black Panther, fans still greet him with ‘Wakanda forever’ on the street.
‘They don’t immediately realise that my character is not exactly pro-Wakanda. Midway through saying something, it registers: “Oh, he wasn’t really with Wakanda”. But, by then, they’ve already committed.’
Villains Who Set the Standard
Jordan is clearly chuffed with his work in Black Panther, but he’s also quick to tip his hat to other comic book villains who paved the way. When asked to name his all-time favourites, he couldn’t pick just one, saying,
‘It’s a tie’
between Heath Ledger’s Joker and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto.
Superhero films have been around for yonks, but it was The Dark Knight that really made people sit up and take notice. Christopher Nolan’s crime drama tackled big themes like obsession and class, but it was Ledger’s chilling take on the Joker that stole the show. Ledger’s performance, which sadly came out after his death, became a cultural touchstone and earned him a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. While his Joker wasn’t exactly relatable in the same way as Killmonger, he did shine a light on society’s comfort with chaos.
Magneto’s Tragic Depths
On the other hand, Fassbender’s Magneto, or Erik Lehnsherr, is a more classic tragic figure. He starts out as mates with Charles Xavier, played by James McAvoy, before heading down a darker path. Ian McKellen had already played an older Magneto in the earlier X-Men films, but Fassbender brought new layers to the role, starting with X-Men: First Class. There, it’s revealed Magneto survived the Holocaust and set out to hunt those responsible for his mother’s death, all while edging closer to becoming a full-blown villain in his quest for justice.
With Disney’s takeover of 20th Century Fox, many of the X-Men characters were put on ice, and Fassbender’s last go as Magneto was in Dark Phoenix. Still, there’s talk that the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars might bring back some old favourites, possibly even giving fans the showdown between Jordan’s Killmonger and Fassbender’s Magneto they’ve been hanging out for.