Who is the main villain in Captain America: Civil War?

The main villain in Captain America: Civil War is Helmut Zemo, a Sokovian military officer who plots to destroy the Avengers from within. Unlike many Marvel villains, Zemo has no superpowers and does not try to defeat the heroes through a conventional battle. Instead, he studies their history and exploits their guilt, mistrust, and personal conflicts.

Zemo’s family was killed during the Avengers’ battle with Ultron in Sokovia. Seeking revenge, he frames Bucky Barnes for a bombing at a United Nations conference and uses stolen Hydra information to trigger Barnes’s Winter Soldier conditioning. Zemo then reveals that Barnes killed Tony Stark’s parents while under Hydra’s control, turning Tony against Captain America and breaking the team apart.

The film’s political conflict over the Sokovia Accords is therefore not the same thing as its central villain plot. The Accords divide the heroes, but Zemo manipulates that division for his own purpose. His victory is psychological: by the end, the Avengers are fractured even though he never matches them physically.