List items
-
Could number one on this list really have been anyone else? Dr. Doom remains not just a fan favorite, but a creeping reminder of the evil that lurks in the Marvel Universe, ready to rear it's head at any opportunity. Doom is the smartest man in the Marvel Universe - yes, even smarter than his hated enemy Reed Richards - but like all great villains, his hubris blinds him to his own potential. Not content with mastering only science, Doom is also one of the most powerful magic users in the Marvel Universe, and was once considered a rival to Dr. Strange for the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
-
Magneto has straddled the line between hero and villain over and over again since his introduction in the '60's, and his current status quo places him somewhere in the grey area between the two extremes, but in his villainous days Magneto has often been one of Marvel's most ruthless villains. It's Magneto's dichotomy that makes him so compelling, and so effective as a villain. It's hard not to sympathize with Magneto knowing his suffering at the hands of the Nazis, and understanding that his extreme views have often been pursued while attempting to build a future for mutant kind.
-
For many years, Loki was almost the primary villain of the Marvel universe, menacing not just his brother the mighty Thor, but many of Marvel's other big names, even leading to the formation of the Avengers. It is, therefore, appropriate that he also took that role in the Marvel cinematic universe, a turn that has made Tom Hiddleston a star, and made Loki almost more popular among some fans than the heroes he opposes
-
Before catching the briefest glimpse of Thanos in the end credits of the Avengers film, most mainstream audiences probably hadn't even heard of the mad titan. But longtime Marvel readers know him as the cosmic bad-ass who long possessed the reality-altering Infinity Gauntlet, and who slew half the universe, including many Marvel heroes, before his misdeeds were undone.
-
In recent years, Norman Osborn has caused more trouble under his own name than that of his grinning, cackling alter ego, even taking over as one of America's top cops in Dark Reign, culminating in his comatose body somehow escaping its hospital bed after his defeat at the hands of the Avengers, before he returned to the role of Green Goblin – albeit with a surgically altered face.
But before all that Norman Osborn was secretly the Green Goblin, one of Spider-Man's greatest foes, and not only the man who killed Peter Parker's true love, Gwen Stacy, but also, in his secret identity, the father of Peter's best friend Harry Osborn. Norman Osborn's apparent death at that time lead to several others taking on the mantle of the Green Goblin, and the Goblin's true identity was a mystery for years prior to these events.
-
Until fairly recently, the long-running but sometimes silly Dr. Octopus might have been considered a B-List villain at best, despite often functioning as Spider-Man's arch-enemy. Under Dan Slott's guidance, Doc Ock earned that title once again, enacting numerous schemes that threatened not only Spider-Man but the entire world, culminating in an act that almost no other villains in Marvel Comics have accomplished - he actually finished off his nemesis.
That's right. As most of you know, Doc Ock's final scheme was transferring his consciousness into Peter Parker's body, trapping Peter's mind in Ock's own dying form. In this feat, he actually succeeded, going on to take over Peter's life, and his role as Spider-Man. Though Peter eventually defeated Dr. Octopus once and for all, and returned to his role as Spider-Man, many of the things Doc Ock did while under the mask are still affecting his life.
-
Despite being best known in recent years for the time-spanning crossover Age of Ultron - from which Ultron himself was conspicuously absent for much of it - Hank Pym's ill-fated creation has a history which runs much deeper, and far more deadly than that crossover. In the years since his creation, Ultron has menaced the Avengers time and again, perhaps even becoming their primary nemesis.
-
Supposedly created when Jack Kirby and Stan Lee pondered what would happen if the Fantastic Four encountered God, the world-eating Galactus quickly became one of the greatest threats ever encountered in the Marvel Universe, often uniting various heroes and even villains when his boundless hunger draws him to the lifeforce rich Earth.
-
By far the oldest villain on this list, the Red Skull is emblematic of far too many aspects of villainy to list. Never wavering from the Nazi ideals he has espoused since World War II was still being waged, the Red Skull is the absolute counterpoint to Captain America, Marvel's moral center, and provides just about everybody someone to hate.
-
Despite appearing in earnest in only one story arc, the Dark Phoenix (Jean Grey type) was the central villain in what is, arguably, the most iconic X-Men story ever produced. Partially owing to Jean Grey's prior status as a heroine, and to her destruction of an entire galaxy, the Dark Phoenix remains one of the most shocking and effective villains of Marveldom.
Load Comments