You Can’t Have Heroes Without Villains

Every great hero needs an iconic foe to equal their strength and coolness, bringing chaos, excitement, and challenges to the mix. From troubled and complex to complete nihilist, every villain has a unique backstory and a personality all their own. Here are 20 of our favorite antagonists in the Marvel universe.

Image by Deepak Chaurasiya from Pixabay

1. Mystique

Mystique is the most loveable supervillain in the Marvel universe. She has the power to shapeshift into anyone which makes her extremely powerful. She’s also a great fighter and has a sharp wit in the comics.

Giuseppe Milo on Wikimedia Commons

2. Venom

As if being as terrifying looking as this alien foe–with his shark-like teeth and snake-like tongue–wasn’t enough to make our list, he’s also one of the most powerful villains in Spider-Man. He has super strength, he can swing from buildings using a web, mask himself from Spider-Man’s spidey senses, and shapeshift.

Image by Yann Aubry from Pixabay

3. Green Goblin

The Green Goblin–Doctor Osborn’s alter ego which came about from an experiment gone wrong was Spider-man’s first great foe. The Goblin has super strength, speed, reflexes, regeneration, and enhanced intelligence. However, these things come at the price of his sanity.

Daniel Kruse on Wikimedia Commons

4. Doctor Octopus

Another iconic villain from Spider-Man’s world is Doctor Octopus or Otto Octavius. His body was fused to four mechanical arms in an atomic research project that also impaired his brain, making him evil.

GabboT on Wikimedia Commons

5. Loki

The God of Mischief is Thor’s evil brother. He’s a powerful sorcerer who can cast illusions, read minds, shapeshift, and teleport among other things. He’s highly intelligent, cunning, and full of contempt for Thor making him a powerful evil force. 

Image by MythologyArt from Pixabay

6. Magneto

Magneto was a trailblazer for comic book villains because he was sympathetic, layered, and complicated–far from pure evil. He can create and control magnetic fields making him very powerful. Luckily, he crossed over to the good side now fighting with the X-Men, not against.

Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons

7. Scarlet Witch

The Scarlet Witch a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff is a powerful sorceress with the ability to warp reality. She’s depicted as a reluctant villain who joins Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants but eventually leaves for the Avengers.

Miguel Discart on Wikimedia Commons

8. Doctor Doom

With superhuman intelligence, strength, and durability, Doctor Doom is the formidable enemy of the Fantastic Four. He spent his life honing his skills to avenge his mother who died after making a deal with the demon Mephisto. His face was scarred from a machine he built to make contact with her so he spends his life masked.

Pat Loika on Wikimedia Commons

9. Kingpin

Kingpin is one of the most feared crime lords in the Marvel universe. Although he lacks superhuman abilities, he’s a criminal mastermind, skilled strategist, and martial artist, and an all-around cool character.

Richie S on Wikimedia Commons

10. Sandman

The Sandman a.

k.a. Flint Marko was a prison convict who came into contact with irradiated sand. This gave him the ability to turn his body into sediment which he used to return to his life of crime, pinning him against Spider-Man numerous times. 

David Shankbone on Wikimedia Commons

11. Lizard

Doctor Curtis Connors created a potion to regenerate limbs like a reptile to replace his arm which he lost in war, turning himself into a giant lizard in the process. He has superhuman strength, speed, reaction time, a bulletproof hide, and is just a super unique villain. 

Pat Loika on Wikimedia Commons

12. Ultron

Ultron was an AI creation by Tony Stark designed to protect the world. He went rogue when he realized humans were the biggest threat to Earth, making his new directive humanity’s extinction. Pretty deep for a Marvel storyline!

Image by edward rada from Pixabay

13. Viper

Viper is a troubled orphan-turned-terrorist who became a part of the evil organization Hydra. She wears her hair in front of her face to cover a scar from an unspecified event, is a skilled strategist, and martial artist, using whips and poisoned darts as her weapons of choice, and she’s immune to most toxins and venoms. 

Kyle Nishioka on Wikimedia Commons

14. Dormammu

Dormammu is a demonic cosmic being with sinister plans to conquer and rule worlds. He travels to alternate dimensions to achieve his goal and poses a constant threat to Earth with his immense magical powers that allow him to travel through time and space, manipulate souls, and communicate telepathically.

Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons

15. Galactus

Born billions of years ago, before the Big Bang, Galactus is perhaps the most powerful and abstract villain in the cosmos. He was revived with godlike powers when he survived the destruction of the previous universe. He sustains himself by consuming the energy of planets. 

Pat Loika on Wikimedia Commons

16. Thanos

A warlord from Titan, Thanos’s directive is to wipe out half of all life in the universe to restore balance, a goal he believes he can achieve with the power of the Infinity Stones. He possesses super strength, resistance to injury, and can rise from the dead by sacrificing others making him a formidable foe to the Earth’s superheroes. 

Image by Iván Jesus Rojas from Pixabay

17. Apocalypse

A mutant warrior born in Ancient Egypt, Apocalypse is a merciless villain whose goal is to eradicate all the weak, ensuring only the strong survive. He can shapeshift, has super strength, and immortality. 

Mooshuu on Wikimedia Commons

18. Sabretooth

A cold-blooded mutant, Sabretooth was chained in his family’s cellar, raised like an animal after killing his brother but he eventually escaped. His brutal animal-like instincts, strength, and regeneration powers make him a powerful enemy, going head-to-head with Wolverine often.

Joella Marano on Wikimedia Commons

19. Annihilus

An insectoid from another dimension, Annihilus has super strength, stamina, durability, and reflexes, and wields the Cosmic Control Rod which he uses to command armies.

He’s a nihilist who is obsessed with his own survival and power, willing to destroy anyone in his path.

Image by Евгения from Pixabay

20. Kang the Conqueror

One of the most notable Marvel villains, Kang the Conqueror is a time-traveling warlord and genius from the future. Constantly challenging the Avengers, his goal is to conquer the multiverse using his mastery of futuristic technology, engineering ability, and expert combat skills.

Eva Rinaldi on Wikimedia Commons