Mighty Villains For The Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Even when you combine the best of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, the Avengers have plenty of strong enemies that take much more than power to beat. From well-known villains like Thanos and Ultron to lesser-known ones like Onslaught, here are 20 impressive enemies the Avengers have gone head-to-head with before. This list will definitely have you wanting to pick your comic books back up again.
1. Thanos
Thanks to the global phenomenon of the movies, there's no soul on the planet who hasn't heard of Thanos and his fight against the Avengers. Created by the iconic Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich, this purple supervillain first appeared in The Invincible Ironman #55 and has since been a terrifying foe for our superhero team. Hailing from Titan, this warlord is even more difficult to face in the comic books; with his superhuman speed, strength, ability to manipulate matter and so much more, he's hard to beat even without the Infinity Gauntlet.
2. Doctor Doom
While this beloved supervillain is usually at odds with the Fantastic Four, he's definitely made his name known to plenty of other heroes including Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Avengers as a whole. With Stan Lee and Jack Kirby being the masterminds behind this character, you know he's going to be good.
Once known as Victor von Doom, a brilliant inventor, he turned away from science to practice magic and sorcery, becoming the evil genius that is said to be able to rival even the Silver Surfer.
3. Mephisto
Another Stan Lee creation, Mephisto is a red demon who you might know best as the one responsible for turning Norman Osborn into Spider-Man's most famous adversary, the Green Goblin. Often seen as one of the most powerful supervillains in the Marvel universe, this character has been around for several decades. Not only is he immortal, he possesses several amazing powers including shape/size-shifting, manipulation, altering reality, and many more that all make him a serious threat to the Avengers.
4. Baron Zemo
Helmut Zemo, the 13th Baron Zemo in the family, was once an intelligent engineer before his father's death sent him spiralling. Wanting to get revenge on Captain America who was responsible for his loss, he became overwhelmed by hatred and anger, turning into the villainous man he is in the comics today. Eventually forming and becoming one of the leaders of the Masters of Evil, Zemo has repeatedly gone toe-to-toe with the Avengers thanks to his masterful schemes and impressive combat abilities.
5. Kang The Conquerer
First appearing in the Fantastic Four #19 comic, Kang the Conqueror has since made his mark, becoming one of Marvel's greatest, most recognizable villains of all time. Initially known as Rama-Tut who was purely a Fantastic Four villain, his transformation into Kang made him an enemy worthy of all the Avengers' efforts.
Though he may just be a regular human, his time-traveling abilities have allowed him to gain advanced technology from the future. This alone has made him a difficult beast to battle.
6. Doom Supreme
Though we've already put Doctor Doom aka Victor von Doom on this list, we felt a need to add Doom Supreme as a separate entity. Why? As leader of the Mulltiversal Masters of Evil and now the Sorceror Supreme, his power is simply extraordinary. Having beat strong opponents such as the Phoenix and Odin, it's safe to say Doom Supreme is easily one of the Avengers' worst nightmares.
7. Ultron
Many fans of Marvel comics will say that Ultron is the Avengers' biggest enemy. As a highly-intelligent robot capable of controlling its own body and mind, it has just one goal in sight: to obliterate humanity. Having a special hatred against Hank Pym who is responsible for creating it, this robot, which was made with good intentions, turned evil in the worst way possible. Combined with his amazing strength, speed, brainpower, and super abilities, Ultron continues to be one of the greatest comic villains ever created.
8. Galactus
As a god-like being who feeds on planets to sustain itself, Galactus is a vicious villain who has no sense of right or wrong.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, a winning combo, Galactus is often seen as a Fantastic Four enemy, but has gone up against all the Avengers as well. With his ability to absorb energy to utilize the Power Cosmic, the Avengers definitely always have their work cut out for them against him.
William Tung from USA on Wikimedia
9. Loki
As the adopted brother to Thor, Loki has a complex history in the Marvel universe. This God of Mischief is typically portrayed as a villain, but at times is also seen as an antihero. While he might not be the most powerful on this list, he certainly is iconic and beloved by all fans. He shouldn't be underestimated either, with his ability to manipulate energy, create force fields, and build projections, these can be true weapons when combined with his amazing intelligence.
10. Red Skull
A fitting name for this villain's appearance, the Red Skull comprises of several individuals who have all taken up this alias. While he began as a Captain America foe, he is truly an enemy of all the Avengers given his close association with the evil organization, HYDRA. While he has no real superhuman abilities, his incredible mind is enough to be a threat; his power lies in his genius plans and inventive strategies.
11. Korvac
Hilariously, Korvac was initially created as a one-and-done villain by Steve Gerber, but he eventually became too great of a villain to throw aside. Coming from the alternate universe Earth-691, he was a traitor who was punished and turned into a cyborg. As half-man, half-robot, Korvac is able to accomplish amazing (but terrifying) feats such as downloading information and energy, including that of Galactus'. Also able to manipulate time and space, teleport, and project energy, he's not someone the Avengers want to mess around with.
12. The Sentry (The Void)
Though Sentry may have once been a superhero, when the Void bonded to Bob Reynolds, things became a lot more complicated. The Void is seen as an evil and violent entity that works against Sentry and is capable of unleashing great and terrible powers that could destroy the Earth. If Sentry is considered one of the most powerful beings in all of the Marvel universe, that makes Dark Sentry that much more to be feared should he ever be taken over.
13. The Celestials
As cosmic beings who are considered the oldest race across the entire universe, The Celestials are not a group you want to upset. Referred to as "space gods," should they ever decide they want to take out the Earth, it's up for debate whether or not the Avengers would be able to handle it.
14. The Kree
Coming from the planet Hala, the Kree are an alien race that have blue skin but otherwise look similar to humans.
Though they've provided Earth with some of their strongest fighters like Captain Marvel and the Inhumans, they've also done a lot of bad. Just take Ronan the Accuser for instance -- this ruthless Kree warlord was once a terrifying enemy for the Avengers.
15. Scarlet Witch
Though the Scarlet Witch is often portrayed as a superhero in the Avengers, she has had a confusing history jumping between both good and evil. As arguably one of the most powerful sorcerers in all of Marvel, she's able to alter reality. So when she's an Avenger, she's undoubtedly one of the strongest, but as an enemy fighting on the opposite side, she's one to be feared.
Miguel Discart & Kiri Karma on Wikimedia
16. Onslaught
Created from the minds of Charles Xavier and Magneto, two of the most powerful mutants around, Onslaught is a terrifying being that has telekinesis, telepathy, magnetic manipulation, mind control, and so much more. With his impressive range of super abilities, he's more than capable of taking down more than a few Avengers in one go.
17. Hulk
Let's be honest, when Bruce Banner goes green, everyone is his enemy. This rageful green monster is best known for having physical strength beyond comprehension. Unable to use rational thinking when in this form, the Hulk proves to be a difficult opponent no matter who he faces.
And when he's unable to tell friend from foe, it really doesn't matter who's across from him.
18. Magneto
A complicated mutant who changes from being villain to hero in different storylines, Magneto has the jaw-dropping ability of being able to control magnetic fields. Granting him immense power, you can only imagine what terrible deeds he's committed when used in the wrong way. Though primarily an X-Men enemy, he's gone against the Avengers numerous time, each one proving to be a difficult battle.
William Tung from USA on Wikimedia
19. Masters of Evil
What's more terrifying than one supervillain? How about an entire team of them? Essentially the evil counterpart to the Avengers, the Masters of Evil was formed by mastermind Baron Zemo and consists of villains like Goliath, Titania, Absorbing Man, Black Mamba, and more.
20. Taskmaster
Also known as Tony Masters, Taskmaster is a unique villain that is capable of mimicking whatever fighting style he is up against thanks to his incredible photographic reflexes. He has fought against numerous Avengers including Captain America and Spider-Man, posing as a serious threat thanks to being so skilled in combat. His ability to predict his opponent's move make him truly difficult to fight against, all except for Deadpool who's said to be so spontaneous and random, it's impossible to know what he's up to next.
