Top 10 Marvel Comics Heroes
In its 82-year history, Marvel Comics created some of the most iconic comic books characters. From the early days of Timely Comics to the heyday of Marvel in the 1960s, the world learned of great heroes and the evilest villains. What Marvel excelled at was developing heroes and villains alike that weren't cookie-cutter. The heroes were flawed, with self-doubt and anxiety. At the same time, certain villains saw their deeds as good or necessary for the greater good, even if the means were not. Below we take a closer look at the top 10 Marvel Comics villains.
10. Kingpin
What if a secret mastermind controlled all the criminal activity in New York City, from the street corner to the police to the prisons? That might be hard to do in real life, but in the Marvel universe, Kingpin took care of everything. Kingpin was like Michael Corleone, but with super strength, and maybe a little less respect for others.
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Wilson Fisk nearly defeated Daredevil on multiple occasions while dodging bullets from The Punisher, not to mention taking punches from Spider-Man without flinching. As a result, Fisk rose to become one of the most powerful global crime lords. He used his money and resources to influence politicians, making him untouchable to law enforcement, while his gangs did his dirty work.
9. Purple Man
Whatever Purple Man said to do was done, and he did this with the evilest of intentions. In recent years, Purple Man or Killgrave appeared in the Netflix series Jessica Jones played by David Tennent.
Purple Man controlled his victims with a chemical pheromone his body produced. The catch was he needed to be nearby. Only the most strong-willed could evade his control. The idea of controlling someone's actions, making them do things they wouldn't typically do is probably one of the sickest things a person can do.
8. Dark Phoenix
The Dark Phoenix Saga had to be one of the X-Men's most intriguing storylines. It featured a power the X-Men have never been able to defeat – The Phoenix Force, to be exact. The Phoenix Force possessed a young Jean Grey, giving her infinite power. It was similar to the Force in Star Wars. It was not evil in and of itself. How it was used determined its intentions. Unfortunately for Jean, the Phoenix Force corrupted her, and she lusted for power, making her the Dark Phoenix. Jean eventually killed herself instead of letting the Phoenix run wild. The Dark Phoenix returned, but the Phoenix proved to be an ongoing curse on her, the X-Men, and the universe at large.
7. Magneto
Magneto could be regarded as one of the greatest superheroes or, in this case, one of the greatest villains. As Magneto took the higher road, he stumbled, and found himself back on the naughty list. Magneto founded the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants as a fanatical mutant obsessed with making mutants the planet's superior race. Eventually, with aid from his friend Professor X, Magneto joined the X-Men, a rehabbed man.
However, Magneto still struggled with his anger due to growing up a Jew during the Holocaust and the persecution he experienced. Because of this, he tended to go back to his evil ways. His anger was born out of tragedy, so it was understandable for people to sympathize with him. However, he would often go too far, proving that he was a villain deep down.
6. Apocalypse
Let's face it, there are a lot of brutes in Marvel, good and evil. Apocalypse was one of them. Apocalypse was one of the first mutants to exist. Born in Ancient Egypt, Apocalypse learned that only the strong survive at a very early age. He took that mentality with him wherever he went. With the help of Celestial technology, Apocalypse made himself the strongest person alive. Nothing says evil like using technology for personal gains. For a thousand years, he traveled worldwide, clashing with characters ranging from Thor to Dracula. With his overwhelming power and strength, Apocalypse saw himself as the rightful master of the world. However, strength wasn't everything.
5. Green Goblin
The Green Goblin will forever rank among Spider-Man's greatest enemies. He took everything from Peter Parker, scarring him for life. At one time, an influential businessman, Norman Osborn was exposed to a strength-boosting formula, literally driving him insane. The Green Goblin was indeed a madman. Causing Gwen Stacy's death, Osborn would forever be linked to Spider-Man. The two would face each other innumerable times in their 60-year history. Green Goblin's sole goal was to kill Spider-Man a little each day.
4. Loki
Loki was a special case. As he said in Loki on Disney+, he did not choose to be evil. It's just who he is. It's what he does, and it's all he knows. Much like Mephisto and Galactus (who are not on this list), Loki wasn’t evil per se; he was just being himself. Is a spider evil because of the way it looks? However, Loki was a jerk all the same. Perhaps he wasn't evil in a way the Green Goblin was evil, and he may not like being this way. Nevertheless, what Loki did considered evil by all other standards. Loki preferred to lie, manipulate, and trick others into causing chaos. That made him annoying but also funny.
3. Red Skull
When you're a Nazi, and other Nazis are telling you to chill out, you know you're pretty bad. Red Skull was the head of Hydra, the branch of the Nazi party associated with performing inhuman experiments on living people. With his only standout attributes being enhanced physical strength and his creepy red face, Red Skull was not as powerful as some other villains on this list. However, he made up for what he lacked in supernatural power with pure malice. His soul was as void as Knull, with no morals whatsoever. He was not a sympathetic villain at all. Red Skull had one goal, and that was world domination. Because of that, he may not be the most interesting villain either.
2. Thanos
Thanos is the one absolute on this list. Then again, when you ask certain people, they might say, yea, he killed half the population, but he only did it because the world was running out of resources, and he had the guts to do what needed to be done to save the planet. Is he evil? Of course, he's evil!
Thanos was obsessed with death, literally and figuratively. He would do anything to gain Death's favor, including killing entire worlds. This is why Thanos was referred to as the Mad Titan. After obtaining the Infinity Gauntlet, he lost it in a fit of self-loathing. His desire for cleansing the galaxy mixed with self-pity made Thanos one of the most fascinating characters.
1. Dr. Doom
There’s no sympathizing with Viktor von Doom. Dr. Doom was consumed with a lust for power and arrogance that he could obtain it. He considered himself the most brilliant man in the world. To prove it, he constantly chased after the Fantastic Four (specifically Mr. Fantastic). When necessary, Dr. Doom often joined forces with the heroes to defeat a common enemy, but it always came with a hidden agenda that reared its ugly head in the end. As the ruler of Latveria, Dr. Doom considered himself a regal figure and demanded others to see the same. In his most disturbing act, in exchange for ultimate magical power, he once sacrificed his former wife to a pack of demons. That's messed up! They granted his wish, tore her apart, and built him new armor out of her skin. That's some Ed Gein stuff right there! That, right there, is enough to put Dr. Doom at the top of Marvel's Top 10 Comics Villains.
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Written By Eric Onkenhout