You know, thinking about it some more I do think Drinker has a case for how weak villains have become in today's pop culture landscape. And I can think of no better example than the Romulans of
Star Trek.
Back in ye olden days of
The Original Series and
The Next Generation, the Romulans were compelling antagonists whom fans could count on to give the Federation a fight. They were modeled after the Roman Empire and pretty good at warfare that they forced Starfleet to sign a non aggression pact and map out a Neutral Zone on their border of space with the Federation.
What do we get in the recent
Star Trek Picard? Romulans as a piss poor allegory for the current migrant crisis.
Plus the double tandem of Commodore Oh and the incest twins. Quite possibly the worst villains I've seen in Star Trek.
Just goes to show how shit the writing talent is today behind these shows.