Lex and Zemo

Well, they are not actually hidden, especially for those with a minimum of comic book knowledge. As far as Lex Luthor is concerned, everybody has heard about him, from the original Superman movies to the Bryan Singer reboot attempt. With Zemo, things get complicated from this point of view, since, well, he is just a Captain America villain.

Anyway, in the movies, these villains aren’t physical threats to the heroes. Instead, it’ss their machinations that bring the good guys to the edge.

Lex Luthor manipulated Bruce Wayne into blaming just Superman for the destruction of Metropolis, feeding Wayne’s (already existing) paranoia. On the other hand, he literally forces the Man of Steel to go against the Bat (by kidnapping his mother), even if Clark, ultimately, tries to prevent a full-on brawl with the ordinary human known as Batman.

In Civil War, Zemo becomes obsessed with the Avengers and breaking them up, blaming them for the deaths of his loved ones (and no, I don’t really believe he was speaking the truth when revealing his reasons). His end game? Bringing the leaders of the Avengers (Captain America and Iron Man) to the point where they cannot trust each other, thus dissolving the team.

Even if the villains pose a physical threat to the heroes in the comics, they don’t in the movies. And that is because of the other big, superpowered baddies used in the movies.