You can probably count on one hand the number of times that you see the modern incarnation of Marvel Studios put a creative foot wrong. With the amazing levels of success they’ve achieved in what is a relatively short timeframe, spectators could be forgiven for thinking that the company has a secret laboratory, no doubt concealed in an extinct volcano, where they are continually reforming the formula for taking something that appears utterly ludicrous on paper, but still managing to convert it into a product that both stands up to critical analysis and produces cold hard cash.

But this was not always so, and indeed the same care and attention Marvel now lavish on their properties is not always applied with equal measure by the studios who own the rights that were surrendered for some of the characters in harder times. And this is a dangerous thing. It only takes one miscast actor, or one sequence of criminally sloppy dialogue, and the thin sheen of perfection that a movie has been released under can so easily be swept away.

So, dear friends, take a trip with me if you will, and let’s have a look at 10 of the worst cinematic mis-steps and performances that have involved Marvel Comics characters:

(And if that’s not enough of a hook for you, we have a special award at the end in recognition of the worst ever performance of a Marvel character…. Let’s be honest, you probably already know who it is)

10. Dominic Purcell – Dracula

It’s a bit of a slow start to the list, I’m afraid. Purcell is meant to be playing a legendary literary character who has countless other incarnations outside of the Marvel imprint, and is the embodiment of evil and savagery. And yet, he manages to completely disappear into the film’s background, instead upstaged by a vampiric HHH holding a mutant Pomeranian.

Cast on the strength of his ‘Prison-Break’ run, Purcell looks like he walked from one set to the other, swapping his boiler suit for leather armour, and delivering his lines with total indifference.

The resurrected ‘Lord Of The Undead’ mooches around, moans a bit, then dies, and moans some more.

Most. Boring. Dracula. Ever……

9. Colin Farrell – Bullseye

We move on from one extreme to another. Whilst Dom Purcell looked like he required a good cup of joe and a slap round the face to wake him up, Colin Farrell seemed to instead need a strong drink and a lie down for a bit. There’s no doubting Bullseye was one of Marvel’s more hazardous villain roles to attempt, having a target carved into his forehead and all, but Farrell’s interpretation is WAY over the top.

Rather than the supremely confident and calculating psychotic killer that fans were expecting, Farrell cranked it right up to eleventy-stupid, all bug eyes and facial twitches. He cannonballs about the set, his Irish accent set to ‘BEGORRAH!’ level, sniffing away at his victims and smirking dementedly. Which perhaps might have been a touch less noticeable if any of the rest of the Daredevil cast had turned up to the show.

8. Terrence Howard – James Rhodes

There haven’t been many roles recast since the beginning of the MCU, so the fact that the studio felt the need to change things up and bring Don Cheadle on-board as a replacement speaks volumes here.

Howard was a poor fit, from start to finish, and gave the exact same toothless smirking performance he’s delivered in umpteen other film and TV roles. He never once convinces that he’s the career soldier that he’s supposed to be portraying, or that he’s going to be able to offer any challenge to Tony’s out of control personality.

It’s difficult to think of him delivering half the scenes that Cheadle has gone on to inherit. Howard and Rob Downey have little chemistry, and the ‘next time’ in-joke is as tragic to think about now as it was hollow back then.

7. Jamie Bell – Ben Grimm

To be fair to Jamie Bell, it’s obvious from watching his work in other movies that he is a fairly good actor, and in his defense, I’ll quite happily agree that his turn in this utter utter toilet bowl of a movie is by far the least offending thing about it.

But he should never have agreed to take the role, with his limp Ben Grimm performance making Michael

Chiklis’s hammy turn look Shakespearean in comparison.

Bell lacks both the physicality and screen presence to even approach the role, no matter how hard he has clearly tried to make it work. As soon as he and Miles Teller link up onscreen for the first time, it’s obvious the film’s in trouble, and not even a full CGI makeover rectifies the issues.

6. Doug Hutchison – Loony Bin Jim

Punisher: War Zone is a mess. A huge spasming neon drugs-trip of a mess. The production team took what they thought were the best and most workable components of the entire Punisher MAX imprint, and then tried to haphazardly crowbar them into one film, applying lighting and colour effects right out of the Simpson/Bruckheimer school of film-making.

And Hutchison’s performance as Jigsaw’s nutty brother typifies exactly where they went wrong. Hutchison was no doubt selected as a result of his portrayal of Eugene Victor Tooms in The X-Files, but spectacularly fails to replicate that here. The whole sell of Tooms was a menacing and silent terror that lurked in be shadows, exploding with savagery.

Hutchison’s small frame and lack of acting ability mean he can’t convincingly carry off the extrovert nutjob he’s been asked to play, and the result is a loud, small and annoying thumbnail, who you’re just counting down the minutes until Castle shoots the shit out of him.

5. Nick Nolte – David Banner

Ang Lee’s 2003 attempt at a Marvel movie has not stood up well to the test of time. Don’t succumb to the nagging desire to rewatch it after you read this, thinking you may find some redemption in it. All you’ll find is a mess of ideas that don’t work well together.

Oh, and a grubby Nick Nolte sounding like he’s gargling a pint glass of gravel. As Nick’s career has progressed, he’s gradually become less and less comprehensible, to the point that you’re as bewildered as Bruce Banner is when Daddy suddenly bimbles back into his life.

Styled like he’s been auditioning for ‘Castaway’, and rasping his lines whilst looking like he’s woken up and crawled out of a bottle, it’s impossible to believe this man was ever a scientist (however demented), or managed to hold down a day job, let along a government one. And then there’s the whole ‘mutant dog’ and ‘made of lightning’ issues…..

4. Tim Roth – Emil Blonsky

Continuing with the ‘Hulk’ theme, Tim Roth has always been happy to go on record to state he sometimes accepts jobs for money, rather than acclaim (Hello ‘Grace Of Monaco’!), and his turn in the Louis Leterrier reboot appears to be a case in point.

The role calls for a battle-hardened combat veteran, driven by adrenaline and a deep rooted desire to beat the opposition. The presence of an Englishman at all amongst the antagonists is odd. Particularly one as diminutive and toothless as Roth.

Nothing about his inclusion seems right, from the unconvincing fight scenes, to the sudden poorly-explained character shift partway into the narrative.

3. Hugo Weaving – Johann Schmidt

A classic case here from the ‘why not just get a German actor in to play a German character?’ school of casting.

We know that Weaving excels when playing complicated characters, and can layer up the menace when needed, as his classic performance in ‘The Matrix’ illustrates. But his accent in this film is just deplorable. He couldn’t lay it on thicker if he tried, and it converts his performance to one of parody, rather than villainy.

The character spends the first half of the film hissing clipped lines at sycophantic henchmen, and then when the confrontations with the hero arrive they feel pedestrian. Uninvolved. Which is probably why his rumoured reappearance in the MCU never came to pass.

2. Mickey Rourke – Ivan Vanko

Iron Man 2 gets a rough ride, particularly when you factor in the subsequent disappointment of Iron Man 3, and it’s the inclusion of Mickey that doesn’t really help matters.

That accent. Jesus. Every word sounds like it’s taken the long way round his mouth to come out. He takes about five minutes to pronounce the word ‘bird’.

He looks the part, which is probably why he got cast, but he can’t remotely convince as an engineer, and isn’t helped by the underwritten nature of the role.

1. Aaron Taylor Johnson – Pietro Maxmoff

Everything about this casting just screams ‘wrong’, with Aaron Taylor Johnson the least suitable actor Marvel could have found to fill Quicksilver’s speedy sneakers.

It’s not of course helped by Bryan Singer’s opposing incarnation played by Evan Peters over in the X-Verse.

But that aside, Taylor Johnson manages to miss every target he needs to hit. He’s buffed up to within an inch of his life, looking like he fell into a wrestling ring, not a running track. The accent and delivery of the lines are akin to a Michael Bay movie, and he just looks confused by what’s taking place.

It’s possible that with the number of players involved, Whedon wasn’t able to fully flesh the character out, but what is presented lacks warmth or emotion, with his un-necessary and uninspired departure no real loss to the MCU.

And which acting great is the recipient of our ‘outstanding achievement in the field of awfulness’ award?

Yep, you guessed it. It’s Vinnie Jones.

Rarely is a film damned for all eternity by the utterance of one line. And yet, with the incredulous blurting out of the words “I’M THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH!!!!!!!”, former footballer and occasional TV personality Jones managed to temporarily torpedo an entire franchise.

We know who you are, Vinnie. Even underneath all those disgusting muscly prosthetics, and comedy helmet, we got the message. It doesn’t need your cockney tones screaming it off the screen at us like some sort of overtired toddler.

Now take your award. And get thee hence, back to the DVD bin…

What’d you think of the list? Sound off below!