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Villains
Alioth
Alioth
First Appearance: Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1
An ancient entity from outside time, Alioth roams the timestream seeking sustenance to devour, with a particular fondness for time travelers.
- Eldritch Abomination: A giant, time-travelling angry cloud... thing which feasts on time travelers. Making it worse, Alioth is fully intelligent. You can converse with it, but there's nothing you can say that will sway it. It's still going to try and eat you.
- Evil Versus Oblivion: The oblivion to Kang's evil. Kang has expended some considerable resources fighting it, claiming at the end of The Terminatrix Objective that this is why he's never been fully able to destroy the Avengers. He's been too busy fighting this thing. Later showings would suggest this isn't entirely true.
- Sealed Evil in a Duel: The Terminatrix Objective ends with Alioth locked in an endless fight with Immortus's minion Tempus, fuelled by the sacrificed Council of Kangs. Avengers: Forever states Kang eventually broke the stalemate by shooting Tempus in the back, freeing Alioth to much its way through the TVA.
- Time Abyss: It's ancient, possibly one of the oldest things in existence.
American Kaiju
American Kaiju
Alter Ego: Todd Ziller
First Appearance: Avengers (Vol. 6) #0 (October, 2015)
"YUUU! ESSSSS! AAYYY!"
A US Marine who was experimented on by his government using a wide variety of mad science to create a monster they could control. And they succeeded.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Roughly thirty stories high, thanks to a dose of Pym Particles.
- Battle Cry: Yeeeww! Essss! Aayyy!
- Godzilla Threshold: Almost literally when he's deployed during King In Black to face off against several symbiote dragons.
- I Just Want to Be Special: During King In Black: Planet of the Symbiotes, he admits to himself that the reason he voluntarily became a Kaiju was because he felt his life was boring and meaningless as a human.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: The serum that transformed him was created by combining together several forms of Marvel mad science including Gamma radiation, Mutant Growth Hormone, Pym Particles, and Curt Connor's Lizard serum.
- Not Zilla: In case the name wasn't a hint... he's a giant green fire-breathing lizard.
- Punny Name: Todd Ziller
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: On his reappearance in U.S. Avengers, Todd is trying to get re-powered so he can show everyone his tail. For America! He definitely doesn't have underlying issues or anything!
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Literally has the colors of the American flag on his head and chest.
Annihilus
Annihilus
Notable Aliases: Lord of the Negative Zone, the Living Death that Walks, Ahmyor
First Appearance: Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November, 1968)
Annihilus, a native of the planet Arthos, is the ruler of the Negative Zone and longtime foe of the Fantastic Four. He is a nihilist who is obsessed with finding different ways to extend his lifespan and isn't opposed to destroying all that which he sees as a threat to his existence.
Baron Zemo
Baron Zemo XII
Alter Ego: Dr. Heinrich Zemo
First Appearance: The Avengers #6 (July, 1964)
"Hope, you must understand, is more powerful than most people can imagine. Granted, frustrated, crushed, it can control people—or even countries—so long as you control it."
Cap's archenemy from the Silver Age, created in a retcon. Heinrich Zemo was a Nazi scientist who created an adhesive that was nearly impossible to dissolve. In a tussle with Captain America, his purple hood was glued to his face by his invention and he swore vengeance, eventually being the cause of Bucky's "death." Zemo survived the war and became active when he learned that Cap was back, coming into conflict with the Avengers and even forming the first Masters of Evil. Heinrich was eventually killed in battle, with his son Helmut succeeding him as Baron Zemo.Baron Zemo XIII
Alter Ego: Helmut J. Zemo
Notable Aliases: Citizen V, Phoenix, Iron Cross, Mark Evanier
First Appearance: Captain America #168 (December, 1973)
"It is the perspective of the victor that forms history, and defines the future. So long as you win, you claim the moral high ground—No matter the means you used to claim it."
The son of Heinrich Zemo, Helmut got his start trying to avenge his father's death at the hands of Captain America. He's since gone on to be a fairly major player in the Marvelverse, founding the second Masters of Evil, and the Thunderbolts, and walking the line between Well-Intentioned Extremist and out and out villain. Blood Brothers
Blood Brothers
Alter Egos: Gh'Ree and R'Hos Blood
First Appearance: Iron Man #55 (February, 1973)
The Blood Brothers were two linked alien brothers who served as minions of Thanos.
Count Nefaria
Count Nefaria
Alter Ego: Count Luchino Nefaria
Notable Aliases: Stox, the Dream Maker, Kingpin, Kingpin of L.A., the Dream Master
First Appearance: Avengers #13 (February, 1965)
"He has no idea what and who he is up against. What power he is taunting. Tell our friend Count Nefaria will see him now."
Originally, Count Nefaria was just an ambitious Maggia Don who hired mad scientists and super-villains. Later, he became super-powered himself. He is one of the Avengers' most powerful enemies, although not one of their most recurring. He is the father of Madame Masque.
- All Your Powers Combined: Has the combined powers of Power Man (super strength, super endurance, invulnerability), Whirlwind (super speed, flight), and Living Laser (heat vision) multiplied a hundredfold. Later gains ionic abilities similar to Wonder Man.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Count Luchino Nefaria was the descendant of a long line of Italian noblemen, and he inherited a vast fortune.
- Beard of Evil: Has a trimmed goatee, fitting for an evil count.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: In the early days he get angry because the Avengers foiled his henchmen from stealing some furs, so he arranged a complex plan to defeat them... which included moving his whole castle, stone by stone, from Europe to the US. Couldn't he simply buy those furs in the first place? He is one of the wealthiest men in the world!
- Death Is Cheap: Supposedly died in X-Men #76, when Thunderbird brought down a jet he was escaping in. It didn't stick.
- Expy: His superpowers and costume were initially quite reminiscent of Superman.
- Eye Beams: Nefaria is able to fire powerful lasers from his eyes.
- Evil Genius: Extremely intelligent planer, organizer, and leader. While he lacks a scientific degree, his skills in leading and plans lead him to become as powerful as he is today.
- Flying Brick: Famously stopped Thor's hammer in mid-swing with one hand.
- The Mafia: His first appearance was as a powerless crime boss who was head of the Marvel's mafia equivalent (the Maggia). As a young man, Nefaria quickly made himself a powerful force in the Maggia through the offering of large sums of money to established Maggiosi, the financing of major criminal operations for the Maggia in return for shares of power, the advanced weaponry his scientists devised for him, and his own immense talent for criminal strategy.
- Offing the Offspring: The villain Nefarius claimed to be his son. If he was, the Count had no problem killing him to absorb his powers.
- One-Man Army: He is shown to be powerful enough to outfight the entire Avengers roster during their prime (including Iron Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Yellowjacket, Black Panther, Wonder Man, The Mighty Thor, and The Vision.) During the first major Avengers/Thunderbolts team-up, Hank Pym calculated that Nefaria currently controlled so much ionic energy that facing both teams in constant combat, without giving him time to draw breath, it would take three weeks to wear him down to a point where he would run out of power if they hadn't been able to stop him with a weapon specifically designed to drain off his power.
- Rapid Aging: It was revealed the power gain was killing him due to causing rapid aging. Treatments were found to restore him to normal, but Madame Masque distrusted the Avengers. She and the Ani-Men attacked them to free her father and gain revenge on Iron Man. In the process, Nefaria's weakened form was crushed and appeared to have died.
- Back from the Dead: He was later resurrected to join the Legion of the Unliving.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Typically he's an Avengers enemy, but for two issues of X-Men he had to deal with Marvel's Mutants (the Avengers were busy at the time).
- Serial Escalation: He started as an ordinary mob boss with a castle full of booby traps, then got a machine to trap Iron Man in disturbingly real dreams, and then he got some superpowers of his own, which he then trades in for Wonder Man's powers. He seems to keep upping his skillset every few appearances.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: He gained powers while Jim Shooter was the main writer and each villain seemed more powerful than the last (Tyrak, Ultron, Graviton, Nefaria, Korvac).
- Superman Substitute: In terms of powers.
- Superpower Lottery: Count Nefaria was a normal human until subjected to a process perfected by one of Baron Heinrich Zemo's scientists Dr. Kenneth Sturdy which granted him the combined powers of the villains the Living Laser (energy projection), Power Man (Super-Strength), and Whirlwind (Super-Speed), amplified a hundredfold. Because of this, Nefaria is one of the physically strongest known humans.
- Villain Decay: During Siege where he is laid out by Wolverine and Ms. Marvel in three pages because he isn't an A-list villain. Partially justified, in that the New Avengers specifically planned out the quickest and most effective way to take him down, whilst he had no idea of the ambush. He also lost to Moon Knight who thought he was Wolverine in one issue. To put it into perspective, Moon Knight is a street-level fighter while Nefaria is a Flying Brick.
- Villainous Teleportation: How he survived the supposedly fatal plane explosion that got Thunderbird. He used the teleportation system he'd used to get the Ani-Men inside NORAD to teleport himself to safety.
- You Have Failed Me: Kills the members of Night Shift after one too many failures.
Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Alter Ego: Victor Von Doom
Notable Aliases: King Boss, Doombot, Rabum Alal, Infamous Iron Man
First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #5 (July, 1962)
"My sense of fair play extends only to the limits of the match — and now that the game has concluded, I have no qualms whatsoever about multiplying the odds... in my favor."
The premier Marvel Universe supervillain, and self-proclaimed Emperor of the island nation of Latveria, which he rules with an iron fist. Traditionally the Arch-Enemy of the Fantastic Four, Doom has cultivated rivalries with several members of the Avengers, particularly Iron Man note and Black Panther note . See Doctor Doom
The Enchantress
The Enchantress
Alter Ego: Amora
Notable Aliases: Christine Collins, Helen Eve, Amora Incantare, Amora Lorelei, Leena Moran, Valkyrie
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery #103 (April, 1964)
One of the most powerful magic practitioners to emerge from Asgard, Amora developed an attraction to Thor which led her to an attempt to murder his mortal girlfriend, Jane Foster. Angered by this defeat, and resentful for being banished from the Aesir, Amora sought revenge by joining the Masters of Evil, which led her to develop rivalries with Doctor Strange, She Hulk, and Hercules.
See The Enchantress
Galactus
Galactus
Alter Ego: Galan
Notable Aliases: Ashta, The Devourer of Worlds, The Lifebringer, The Seeder of Worlds
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #48 (March, 1966)
"I know not who or what they are below! I only know Galactus must feed!"
A gigantic cosmic entity that consumes planets to preserve his life force. Feared throughout the known universe as a Destroyer of Worlds, Galactus is first and foremost a Force of Nature, operating without regard to the morality and judgments of mortal beings. See Galactus
Graviton
Graviton
Alter Ego: Dr. Franklin Hall
Notable Aliases: Dr Hall, Minister of Science
First Appearance: Avengers #158 (April, 1977)
- "You're looking for purpose in a world where nothing matters. I'm an agent of chaos. Welcome to death by happen-stance."
Graviton was a physicist, named Franklin Hall, who was involved in an experiment in a private research facility in the Canadian Rockies. A mistake in Hall's calculations causes graviton particles to merge with his own molecules, and Hall later discovers that he can mentally control gravity.
- And Then What?: Moonstone once managed to stop him by asking this. Unfortunately for all concerned, next time they fought, he had an answer.
- Badass Cape: He's also usually seen with a flowing white cape.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Using his force field generation he can also breathe in space.
- Beard of Evil: He's evil and has a beard.
- Chunky Updraft: Considering his powers, he tends to cause a lot of this.
- Deflector Shields: He can create a gravitational force field around him capable of protecting him from any concussive force up to and including a small nuclear weapon.
- Gravity Master: Graviton possesses the ability to mentally manipulate gravitons (that carry the attractive, gravitational force between atomic nuclei), enabling him to control gravity. He can surround any object or person including himself with gravitons and anti-gravitons (particles similar to gravitons but with opposite charge and spin), thus increasing or decreasing the Earth's pull of gravity upon it.
- Not Quite Flight: By decreasing the pull of gravity beneath him, he can fly at any speed or height at which he can still breathe.
- Superpower Lottery: A big-time winner. Despite having only one superpower, he has learned a lot of ways to use it, and the scope of it is enough that he could easily destroy a city if he wanted to.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Graviton pretty much jumped off the slippery slope from the moment he got his powers.
Grim Reaper
Grim Reaper
Alter Ego: Eric Williams
Notable Aliases: Adopted son of the Abyss, Left hand of Darkness, Son of Darkness, the Reaper, Master of Death, Spawn of Perdition
First Appearance: Avengers #52 (May, 1968)
- "That which has been duly sown, shall now be harvested, by the man who killed the trio of Avengers... I... the Grim Reaper!!"
The brother of Simon Williams, Eric blamed the Avengers for the apparent death of his brother, and swore vengeance on them, becoming the supervillain known as the Grim Reaper, even after Simon turned up alive again. Killed in battle against the Avengers, the Grim Reaper was brought back to life using black magic. For a time he had to take the life energy of a human every 24 hours to stay on Earth; he was cured of this thanks to Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch. Simon's many attempts at getting revenge on his brother, the Vision and the Avengers have cost him more than one life, but sooner or later the Grim Reaper walks again.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: His scythe can cut through iron doors as if they were made of paper.
- Artificial Limbs: His right hand had been amputated and replaced with his trademark weapon.
- Avenging the Villain: Or so he believed. He didn't know his brother Simon had made a Heel–Face Turn and Zemo was the real party responsible for his death.
- Back from the Dead: More than any other Avengers villain, Eric just has a knack for dying and coming back to life. And this is without being a robot or a time traveler.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: It's stated in Uncanny Avengers that one of the first signs there was something seriously wrong with Eric was his habit of torturing small animals back when he was a kid.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to his brother, Wonder Man's Abel.
- Came Back Wrong: Depends on your definition of wrong. But when the Apocalypse twins brought him back as one of their Horsemen of Death there was decidedly something off about him.
- Deal with the Devil: Has at least one instance of working for Mephisto on his resume. The goal? Stealing Dr. Strange's soul. He very nearly came close.
- Death Is Cheap: He's died several times, but always comes back.
- Fantastic Racism: He doesn't see synthezoids like the Vision as fully alive or equivalent to humans.
- Hellish Horse: A signing-up bonus of working for Mephisto that one time; a demonic flying horse. Not so good when faced with a Valkyrie who comes with an angry Vanir horse who didn't like scabs...
- Hoist by His Own Petard: One of his schemes involved reviving dead Avengers to serve as his minions, and controlling the not-quite dead, not-quite alive at the time Wonder Man. Three guesses how he got defeated.
- Human Popsicle: Of the mostly-dead type, for a while. Nekra carted him around in a casket.
- Master of Illusion: His Reaper grants him the ability to create convoluted illusions.
- Necromancer: When he was resurrected he gained some mystical powers allowing him to re-animate the souls and bodies of the dead, either through Voodoo training received from the Black Talon or powers bestowed upon him by Lloigoroth.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Eric is of the white supremacist variety. As the leader of a Lethal Legion team, he called Man-Ape (M'Baku) a "Black Savage" and lashes out at him, telling him that he is in charge and basically dismisses M'Baku's intelligence. Having known his bigotry for months, M'Baku was fed up with him and stated that the Grim Reaper would get his comeuppance. Nekra, a black mutant with albinism, who was just making out with Grim Reaper previously, reveals to him that she is black, in response Eric kisses her and tells her she fine because she is the purest white he has ever known and that made her unique in his eyes, he considered her a white woman despite her ancestry. In the end, at the climactic battle with the Avengers, Man-Ape and The Black Talon, both who dealt with his racist abuse, left the team to their own devices, shifting the power balance between the two groups.
- Self-Serving Memory: On his return in Avengers vol. 3, he's ranting about how Simon was their dad's favourite brother while he was the abused and un-loved one, telling Vision (who has Simon's memories) to shut it when he tells him he's wrong. Simon manages to prove more successful when he fights off Eric's mind-control. Old man Williams was a terrible father to both of them.
- Sinister Scythe: His trademark weapon is a techno-scythe which initially had the ability to allow the blade to spin at rapid speed, making the weapon usable as a buzzsaw, missile shield, and an improvised helicopter. Eric later received an enchanted scythe that was magically sharp and was capable of energy blasts much like the original, but could also be used to drain energy.
- Too Dumb to Live: Attacking three super-powered synthezoids by yourself is a very bad idea. In The Vision (2015) he attacks the Vision family single-handed and impales Viv, at which point Virginia beats him to death. Fortunately, for the Grim Reaper, Death Is Cheap.
- Unwitting Pawn: At least one of his plots (trying to convince Vis to transfer his mind into Captain America's body) was Immortus manipulating him in an attempt to get Vision to start a romance with the Scarlet Witch, as part of an even more complex plot.
- Villain Teleportation: Can teleport himself and others.
High Evolutionary
High Evolutionary
Alter Ego: Herbert Edgar Wyndham
Notable Aliases: Dr. Wyndham, God, HE, Lord High Evolutionary, Worldbuilder
First Appearance: Thor #134 (November, 1966)
- "The High Evolutionary intends to build a god fit for the twenty-first century. And you will be his raw materials."
A geneticist from the 1930s who became obsessed with further evolution experiments which he used on himself. Depending on what he hopes to gain from whatever his current experiments are, he has been a force for the greater good, and for his own dark purposes.
- Affably Evil: No matter which side of the moral spectrum he's on at any given point in time, he's almost invariably polite (if a touch condescending).
- Always a Bigger Fish: He reached a crushing realization that for all his efforts to advance himself and his god complex, he is still on an order several magnitudes below the Cosmic Entities of the Marvel Universe: For example, Galactus was able to overpower him when he arrived at Counter-Earth, his greatest achievement; the very same planet was stolen and placed in a space museum on order of the Beyondersnote , and even after hyper-evolving himself to an ethereal being, he was still experimented on by the Celestials. This gives an idea of the sort of level these big cheeses are operating.
- Adaptational Villainy: Most animated appearances have cast him as a minor or major antagonist: X-Men The Animated Series, Spider-Man Unlimited, Hulk and the Agents of SMASH. See Anti-Villain below. His MCU incarnation is well in the running for the most utterly despicable and vile villain Marvel movies have ever known.
- Anti-Villain: He's usually well-intentioned, genuinely believing that he's doing the right thing for humanity, and sentient life as a whole, and is often contrasted with more selfish villains or more dangerous forces, such as Galactus. One What If of Evolutionary War showed that he wasn't necessarily wrong - if he'd succeeded, humanity would have evolved en masse and left its conflicts behind, while mutantkind would have evolved even further, into a combined cosmic consciousness capable of replacing Eternity and Galactus.
- Artificial Animal People: He is introduced in The Mighty Thor transforming animals by "evolving them" into human-looking forms (some of them). He usually has a number of them in his company at any given time.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: He and Hercules once did this in the climax of the Evolutionary War; hyper-evolving until they both transcend their physical bodies and left the Earth's plane, ending up another galaxy in a part of the cosmos where the Celestials were operating. However, he would later return in his 'mortal' form.
- Big Bad: Of the Evolutionary War storyline.
- Cool Helmet: A part of his Powered Armor, it has an Expressive Mask and a short raised ridge, that is either solid or hollow Depending on the Artist.
- Crystal Dragon Jesus: He has on occasion, particularly during Adam Warlock's series, being described in terms analogous to God by his creations. He also renamed 'Him', Adam Warlock ('Adam' as he is the first of his kind, 'Warlock' because "Men will fear his powers"). This in turn, applies better to Warlock himself.
- Expressive Mask: In later appearances, since at least the 1980s. One cover during Evolutionary War story arc gives him a triumphant smile while holding the Earth.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He will wipe out entire cities of his creations if they don't meet his standards, but he does not condone wanton wasteful killing of them, especially if the murders are cruel. Kraven blackmailed him into making clone sons for him after terrorizing him and his Nu-Men over a protracted period of time, circumventing all his security and painfully torturing his subjects to death until the scientist gave him what he wanted.
- Evilutionary Biologist: The Trope Codifier.
- Evil Sounds Deep: While not outright "evil" as most tropes show, the actors who have portrayed him tend to have deep and authoritative voices. Corey Burton makes him sound like Megatron/Brainiac and Richard Newman makes him sound like a monotone Rhinox. Jonathan Frakes makes him amoral in The Super Squad Show.
- Evolutionary Levels: What he specializes in, turning things from okay to their maximum potential. Note that maximum potential does not necessarily mean maximum good potential.
- The Extremist Was Right: On a purely technical level, this is implied by a What If for Evolutionary War, where if he'd succeeded, humanity would have evolved past all conflict, and mutantkind would evolved still further to replace both Galactus and Eternity.
- Fatal Flaw: This self-made god does not seem to understand free will. He has either created or further mutated numerous heroes and villains (including the Scarlet Witch and the original Spider-Woman). Many of his plans have been thwarted because his creations do not offer him the blind obedience which he expects, and they have their own agendas and life goals. So did some of his former partners and employees, who uses his technology for their own goals.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: He was a British scientist interested in evolution, who used his own machines on himself to make him one of the most powerful psychics on the planet. He's introduced in an issue of Thor, and like the other entries show, it usually requires a team of heroes to deal with him if he is antagonistic in a story.
- A God Am I: Called his Uplifted Animal creations his New Men and they in return, treat him as a god - which he comes to accept. That he also is a Physical God,
and made Counter-Earth, created life on it, and sent Warlock down to protect it doesn't help matters. - Heel–Face Revolving Door: This pretty much describes his characterization over the years. While he tends to be an Anti-Villain, however, most stories he's in have him as an antagonist the heroes are trying to stop the plans of. He's fairly affable when he runs into any heroes or if they come seeking his help. He also isn't above aligning himself with the likes of Magneto or Apocalypse.
- Powered Armor: His cybernetic exoskeleton is highly technologically advanced. The armor provides him with immense durability from attack, force fields, size alteration, levitation and flight. The armor gives him great strength and powerful blasts can be emitted from the hands of the armor. The exoskeleton provides Wyndham life support in all pressures and temperatures and even includes back up data of Wyndham's genome and brain patterns.
- Powers Do the Fighting: A given, since he is a scientist first, he's either using telekinesis, energy beams, and/or forcefields in most appearances. His Powered Armor does allow him the ability to grapple with the likes of Hercules.
- Professor Guinea Pig: Not even he is exempt from his experiments, and he has done so to the point that either his brain or entire self is evolved to a stage far above even Mutants, Inhumans, Eternals, or other human-derived species on Earth. He has also been devolved into an ape-like creature on at least one occasion, though he was restored to his hyper-evolved self not long after.
- Psychic Powers: After evolving his brain, he not only increased his intelligence further but unlocked some of the brain's extrasensory functions as well such as telepathy, telekinesis, and a limited form of cosmic awareness. He also possesses extra senses such as a danger sense and minimal clairvoyance/precognition.
- Rage Against the Mentor: Mister Sinister was his mentor, and it was his work that had led to his experiments in evolving animals into sapience. However, the two are now on bad terms.
- Real Men Wear Pink: His Powered Armor is actually pink. As his creation took place in the Silver Age, this actually may have given readers an idea that he was a little different from the usual array of supervillains.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Again, he's more of an Anti-Villain but given his powerset and his far-reaching goals, he's run afoul of most of the Marvel Universe. In short, he has had encounters with Thor, the Hulk, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and even the Guardians at one point.
- And he once encountered
a friendly Melmacian named Gordon Shumway...better known as ALF.
- And he once encountered
- Sanity Slippage: Often prone to this: One time after hitting the Despair Event Horizon he goaded the Hulk into destroying his armor, which not only sustains his life, but maintains his humanoid form - effectively Suicide by Cop. It worked... for a while. Also, the entire Evolutionary War affair was his experiments taking their toll on him, and him becoming increasingly fanatical as a result.
- Sizeshifter: Can willingly enlarge himself to at least 20 feet tall, and perhaps greater.
- Superpower Lottery: Has a vast array of psionic powers either as a result of his suit, or the experiments on himself evolving himself into the ultimate human stage. This on his best days allows him to rival a Cosmic Entity in power - He notably fought Galactus to defend Counter-Earth from his hunger, and put up a good showing. On his bad days, he can at least fight Apocalypse to a standstill.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Despite his vast psychic powers and his powered armor, he has no combat skills at all, or doesn't bother to learn any since he is a scientist first. That doesn't stop him from throwing down with Thor, Hulk, a full roster of Avengers, or even Galactus himself.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: When he is an antagonist. He has no goals for world conquest or defeating the heroes. He usually wants to hyper evolve the human race to reach their full potential. Unfortunately, some people will not survive the process and he tends to be stubborn and will not stop once his plans are in motion. He notably rarely holds grudges and as noted above, he's pretty affable when not creating a problem the heroes need to stop.
The Hood
The Hood
Alter Ego: Parker Robbins
Notable Aliases: Demon Boy, Smokey McChimney
First Appearance: The Hood #1 (July, 2002)
"The reality is I'm not the hero of my own story and I'm totally okay with that. Sometime back I was offered a way out but I decided to stop lying to myself and... if I'm going to be a villain, I'm going to be the best."
Originally a petty street thug, Parker Robbins happened upon a cloak and boots enchanted by the demon Dormammu, which granted him dark magical abilities. He used these powers to build a powerful criminal base in New York, making him a persistent adversary for the numerous street level heroes operating within the city. See The Hood
Kang the Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror
Alter Ego: Nathaniel Richards
Notable Aliases: Iron Lad, Rama-Tut, Victor Timely, Scarlet Centurion, Immortus
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #19 (October, 1963) note ; The Avengers #8 (September, 1964) note ; Young Avengers #1 (April, 2005) note
"History is not written, scholar— and neither is destiny! History is made! Made by the deeds of the strong! The brave! And destiny is forged! The historians, the students, the gray-beards— they come in the wake of the strong and write down what the brave have done! But it is the conquerors who change the world."
A time-traveling conqueror with vast powers and technological supremacy, Kang has amassed an empire with a citizenry of millions, and cut a swath of terror through the ages. A strong contender for the title of Arch-Enemy of the Avengers as a whole, with Ultron being the only real challenger to that claim. Korvac
Korvac
Alter Ego: Michael Korvac
Notable Aliases: The Enemy, Clockwork Lord, Machine God, Adam IV, The Other, Dr. Fuller Tielhard
First Appearance: Giant-Size Defenders #3 (January, 1975)
- " It's my nearly unlimited intellect that tells me this universe is a landfill that is conflict-laden and war-torn by the greedy. It tells me that this is a reality that, while filled with those proclaiming to be gods, is ultimately godless and lost. And ultimately it tells me that I am but mere steps away from becoming the god that it needs."
Michael Korvac was an evil cyborg of the 30th century, who wanted vengeance against the alien race the Badoon who were responsible for making him what he is. See The Korvac Saga.
- Affably Evil: Toward Geena Drake in Guardians 3000. He politely explains to her who he is, and what he's doing, even as he's turning reality into a pretzel.
- Apologetic Attacker: During the final battle, Korvac tells the Avengers that he respects them and wishes he could allow them to live, as he considers them Worthy Opponents.
- Arch-Enemy: Is the closest thing the 31st Century Guardians of the Galaxy have to one, being their most recurring foe. When they discover that Korvac has traveled to (our) present day, they initially assume that he was plotting to assassinate Major Victory (who spent his childhood in modern-day New York) before he could grow up to become their leader.
- Author Appeal: Like Thanos, Korvac is a Jim Starlin creation, and was created during a time when Starlin was attempting to create a Marvel equivalent to Metron. In addition to a similar purple jumpsuit, the mechanical lower half of Korvac's original cyborg body was a subtle nod to Metron's Mobius Chair.
- Bad Boss: Struggles with this in Iron Man: He can be abusive toward his followers when things don't go his way, but he is also aware that as a god, he needs to have loyal disciples that follow him on faith rather than fear.
- Bald of Evil: His original cyborg body, and his Adam-IV body after sustaining some damage in an explosion.
- Big Bad: Of The Korvac Saga and Iron Man (2020, Ongoing).
- Bishōnen Line: Disfigured cyborg Korvac's first act upon gaining the power of Galactus is to become a handsome, perfectly physiqued blond man.
- Body Surf: One of the Guardians' stories had them chasing various characters throughout history who'd been implanted with Korvac's power, allowing him to gradually take control of them. Including his own father.
- Came Back Wrong: His apparent resurrection by the Enclave does a serious nerf on his powers. A man who could kill entire teams of Avengers with a wave of his hands is barely able to give Hellcat a hard time (though he's determined to regain his cosmic power).Iron Man: You might remember some of his greatest hits, like "Killing every Avenger" and "Having the ability to eradicate all of existence". But that was when he was a full-on cosmic entity. Right now, he's just an android. Well, he's an android that has supercharged himself with about 48 petawatts of energy. For reference, the Earth absorbs around 120 petawatts from the Sun at any given moment.
Misty Knight: Nice, some good news. He's not as powerful as the Sun. - The Chessmaster: After being resurrected by the Enclave, Korvac reinvents himself as Dr. Fuller Tielhard, a Nikola Tesla expy with a grand plan to collect lightning strikes and store them as energy, similar to solar collection technology. Using funding from Stark Enterprises, he sets up 58 "lightning farms" across the globe, then uses the harvested energy to give himself an upgrade.Korvac: Apologies, Tony. You're a good man. But my disciples and I have a higher purpose. I'm sure you recognize them. They seemed the most adept at dealing with my small Iron Man problem. With the power I'll pull from this planet, I'll become a demigod. But being a demigod is just a means to an end. I plan to be God. Your money was useful, but as Iron Man, you also found me once before. That just can't happen again.
- Cyborg: Caught asleep at a machine while working, the Badoon grafted Korvac's upper body to a machine, effectively making him a cyborg.
- Death Is Cheap: Killed at the end of The Korvac Saga, he was briefly revived during Avengers Academy, then killed again. Then, in 2019, the Enclave resurrected him for their own purposes.
- The Dreaded: The Collector saw him as one of two individuals who posed such a threat that preemptive action had to be taken against him. The other one was Thanos.
- Driven to Suicide: Walks off of the edge of a building without his powers at the conclusion of "The Books of Korvac".
- Evil All Along: When The Korvac Saga received its first TPB release in 1991, it was with a new four-page scene in which the Avengers meet at Korvac's grave and muse about how he was really evil despite his good intentions. While there's merit to such a discussion, many readers have since interpreted it as a parting shot at the departing Jim Shooter, who had assumed the Editor-in-Chief position at Marvel subsequent to writing the story and upset many creators with his iron-handed control of the company.Iron Man: I've been playing it as a given that I should stop him. No matter how convinced Korvac is that he should "perfect" the universe, he has to be out of his mind. He has to be wrong... doesn't he?
- Evil Is Petty: His first step for becoming a god? Blow up the entire solar system to use as fuel, because he just hates mankind that much.
- Freudian Excuse: Thanks to time-travel, Michael's mother Myra, an insane woman, blamed the Guardians of the Galaxy for the death of her husband, and raised Michael to be their enemy.
- Genius Bruiser: He's a brilliant computer scientist; a master strategist and formidable hand-to-hand combatant.
- A God Am I: He found the ship of the legendary Galactus and began to take power from it, becoming a god and restoring his human body, and then abandoned his vengeance. With his new power, he made an even greater plan: conceal himself from the cosmic powers and make subtle changes to reality, to end the control of Eternity.Korvac: It's my nearly unlimited intellect that tells me this universe is a landfill that is conflict-laden and war-torn by the greedy. It tells me that this is a reality that, while filled with those proclaiming to be gods, is ultimately godless and lost. And ultimately it tells me that I am but mere steps away from becoming the god that it needs.
- Hijacked by Ganon: His return in Iron Man is more or less this: The Unicorn had mentioned a mysterious master known as "the Other" in several earlier storylines, but the Unicorn's Sanity Slippage made it unclear as to whether this mysterious figure was a genuine threat or just a hallucination. Once the enigmatic Professor Tielhard enters Tony's life, it's pretty easy to figure out he's the Other. The real reveal is that the Professor is Korvac in disguise.
- Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act: At the end of The Korvac Quest, the Guardians of the Galaxy are faced with the option of letting baby Korvac live, knowing what he might become. They refuse to kill him, and hand him back to Myra Korvac. Who is an utter lunatic who raises Michael to be their enemy.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Starhawk found Korvac immediately, and fought him alone. Korvac killed him, and to secure his secrecy he recreated him, exactly as he was, but with no memory of their fight, and making him unable to see him again despite his senses. The Avengers found Korvac's house anyway, but failed to find anything out of the ordinary in it. They were about to return home empty-handed, but then the all-seeing Starhawk started to protest: what the hell are they doing, talking and expecting answers in an empty house? As he said that right in front of Korvac, it became obvious: if he could not see him, it's because he has blinded him somehow, which means that he is "the enemy".
- Humans Are Special: Defied. See below.
- Insignificant Blue Planet: Korvac sharply rebukes the Enclave for their "Earth Is the Center of the Universe" mindset.Zota: The Enclave seeks to create a better Earth...Korvac: How selfish that sounds. What makes humans so arrogant as to believe their world is more important than any other?
- Les Collaborateurs: He sided with the Badoon against mankind because he just hated humanity that much. He reconsidered when the Badoon cut off his legs.
- Meaningful Rename: His post-resurrection human cover identity, Fuller Tielhard, is derived from Buckminster Fuller and Pierre Tielhard.
- Messianic Archetype: Korvac considers himself the savior of the universe. The What If? sequel to The Korvac Saga reveals him to be a Dark Messiah however.
- Mundane Utility: Korvac uses his nigh-omnipotent powers, capable of reshaping the universe, to... summon a cup of tea.
- No-Sell: He could write a book on the subject:
- Counters Dr. Strange's spells in a battle that burns the atmosphere and rocks an entire planet to its core.
- Catches the Silver Surfer in mid-flight, melting his external coating and nearly crushing him like a grape.
- Repulsor blasts from Iron Man, Vision, and Jocasta do little more than annoy him.
- Turns Spider-Man's own webs against him.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He can talk a good game, but Korvac's motives include petty minded spite. In their first encounter, Thor even tells him no amount of good could ever justify his actions.
- Orcus on His Throne: Korvac does not take an active role The Korvac Saga; he mostly stays at his luxury house and uses his omnipotent powers to avoid detection.
- Reality Warper:
- Just an example. During his story, Korvac destroyed Starhawk and then recreated him, exactly as he was, but without memories of their fight.
- In Guardians 3000, he's trying to create a perfect reality. The Final Incursion buggers that plan up.
- Secretly Selfish: Despite his statements that he's doing everything for the good of the universe, it's implied that, like the MCU Thanos, he is motivated more out of a selfish need for validation. Iron Man calls him out on this when he gets a glimpse of Korvac's "utopia".Iron Man: This is it? This is worth death and murder? So we all get to be... crystals eating crystals?
Korvac: How dare you critique me? Yours is an opinion of a...a...prokaryote! A bacterium! You suffer because you grasp only for survival. You can't see beyond that, which is why I have to do it for you. You're welcome. You're lucky you have me to care for you.
Iron Man: Big K, I don't mean to shit in your wizard hat, but the aggregate, the glass creatures? This is all about you. It's obviously—cringingly—about you. It's a vanity project, and if you worked for me, I'd fire your ass. - Superpower Lottery: After downloading information from Galactus' ship and acquiring the Power Cosmic, Korvac was capable of many feats on par with other cosmic entities, such as matter alteration; energy projection; teleportation and manipulation of time and space. In his perfect human form, Korvac retained all his cosmic abilities and could use these to achieve virtually any effect, even having the potential to wipe the universe from existence.
- Tom the Dark Lord: "Michael" is not exactly a name that inspires terror.
- We Can Rule Together: He attempts this on the original Human Torch. It doesn't work.Korvac: My brother Adam... can you see it now? From my mind to yours, my plan to save this universe. To give it all it deserves...
Torch: I see... Oh my God!
Korvac: Yes. Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it perfect?
Torch: I see what you did. You killed the Avengers. You killed them all.
Korvac: No. It was a moment of anger! I restored them! I took my own life instead! To build a better plan that would... Dammit Jim, I cannot be obstructed in this work! I won't allow it!
Torch: You're selfish. You've always been selfish. That imprint of your mind you gave me... it's so obvious now that you're just a coward with delusions of grandeur! - Well-Intentioned Extremist: What he believes himself to be, as he tries to use the ability to help others but it backfires.
- You Are Number 6: When the Enclave resurrects him, they give him the codename Adam-IV. He doesn't like it, but it comes in handy when he attempts to recruit Adam-I, who he sees as a brother.
Loki
Loki
Alter Ego: Loki Laufeyson
Notable Aliases: Loki Odinson, God of Mischief, God of Stories, Scarlet Witch, Lady Loki, Serrure, Ikol, Loren Olson, William Lawson
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery #85 (October, 1962)
"Mischief is a small thing, a toy I've well used and discarded. This isn't mischief. This is mayhem. Just watch."
Loki is the Jötunn/Asgardian God of Mischief and Prince of Lies, the adopted son of Odin and typically the archenemy of his brother, Thor. Loki has schemed against him and Asgard for ages and his cosmic meddling led to the formation of the Avengers. See Loki
Magneto
Magneto
Alter Ego: Max Eisenhardt
Notable Aliases: Erik Lehnsherr, Magnus, The White King, Erik the Red
First Appearance: The X-Men #1 (Sept. 1963)
"The thing none of you will ever understand is that there are no sides. There's no heroes or villains. There's just what I want and how I'll get it."
A mutant with the ability to manipulate metal and control magnetic fields. A militant activist for the advancement of mutantkind, Magneto is determined to protect his kind from a world that fears and persecutes them...by any means necessary. He is the father of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who frequently oppose him as Avengers. See Magneto
M.O.D.O.K.
M.O.D.O.K.
Alter Ego: George Tarleton
Notable Aliases: Damocles Rivas
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #93 (September, 1967)
A former technician for Advanced Idea Mechanics who ultimately became a guinea pig for their experiments. M.O.D.O.K. is an acronym for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. He has a plethora of psychic powers, which he used to take control of A.I.M.
See A.I.M.
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay
Alter Ego: Morgan le Fay
Notable Aliases: Morgana Le Fae, Morgaine Le Fae, Morgana Le Fey, Vivian Morgan, Sea Priestess
First Appearance: Black Knight #1 (May, 1955)
"Your time on Earth has run out. Now Morgan le Fay rules supreme!"
Morgan Le Fay is among the most powerful sorceresses in the history of the Earth. She is a frequent adversary of Spider-Woman, the Avengers, Ian McNee, and Dr. Doom.
- Bad Boss: During Avengers, she explodes a man's head for failing her. Mordred's lucky to just get away with being told to shut up over and over again... until she finally gets fed up and kills him too.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to King Arthur's Abel.
- Death Is Cheap: No matter how the Dark Avengers killed her, she simply came back a few minutes later.
- Evil Sorcerer: Morgana possesses a gifted intellect, and as a former pupil of Merlin, she knows a great deal of magical lore, considered one of the greatest sorceresses in Earth's history.
- Gonk: When drawn by George Perez in Avengers, she's got the looks of a woman whose looks are fading, but hasn't quite got the hint.
- Green and Mean: Her outfits tend to be green and she has tried to take over the world more than once.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take a lot to make her angry. Not a good mix with the magical ability to turn people into smoldering scorch marks on the carpet.
- Hot Witch: The woman is quite tall and tends to dress very provocatively.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Forced Betsy Braddock to fight her brother Brian in a Trial by Combat against Apocalypse for control of Camelot.
- Mom Looks Like a Sister: Thanks to her magical powers, she looks younger than her daughter Caroline.
- Navel-Deep Neckline: Her dresses sometimes are cut past her navel.
- Off with His Head!: The Sentry once ripped her head off. It didn't took long for her to come back.
- Really 700 Years Old: She's thousands of years old but appears to be in her twenties.
- The Rival: Of Opal Saturnyne for dominion of Otherworld. Also of Dr. Doom when they're not working together.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: She has faced not only Spider-Woman and the Avengers, she has battled Excalibur as well.
- Secondary Color Nemesis: Her outfits are almost always green, and her hair was once purple, and sometimes her magic is as well.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's 6'2"/188cm tall and quite attractive.
- Stupid Evil: During Heroes Return, Morgan Le Fay manages to re-write reality so she's in charge, but every time her nephew Mordred points out the flaws in her plans, or that things are going wrong, she tells him to shut up. Mordred gets the last laugh when he turns out to be completely right. Morgan's plan of turning the Avengers into her brainwashed goons means that, when the brainwashing inevitably wears off, she's got an army of very angry superheroes facing her.
- Unholy Matrimony: For a time she was the lover of Victor Von Doom. That relationship gave birth to a daughter, Caroline le Fay.
- Woman Scorned: After Victor failed to make a rendezvous in time, thanks to being beaten up by the Mighty Avengers, Morgana took it as a deliberate slight, and tried to murder him, rather than take the time to check and see why.
Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn
Alter Ego: Norman Virgil Osborn
Notable Aliases: Green Goblin, Iron Patriot, Gobby, Overload, Super-Adaptoid, Mason Banks, Goblin King, Hobgoblin, Red Goblin
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July, 1964) note ; The Amazing Spider-Man #37 (June, 1966) note ; Dark Avengers #1 (March, 2009) note ; Superior Spider-Man #17 (November, 2013) note ; The Amazing Spider-Man #798 (April, 2018) note
"We never know what chain of events we've set in motion as we perform our daily tasks. Wings of a butterfly and all of that. We suit up, show up, screw up. The results of those screwups don't surface for months...maybe years. Breathe in some asbestos on a job site. Twenty years later — lung cancer. Send a man to jail. A few years later he becomes ruler of the Earth...he uses your best friend to kill you."
As the amoral CEO of Oscorp, Osborn was exposed to an experimental formula which enhanced his physical abilities and intellect, but also drove him to insanity. Beginning his criminal career as the Green Goblin, Arch-Enemy to Spider-Man, his ambition eventually led him to become a threat to the greater superhero community, occasionally adopting other supervillain personas in the process. See Norman Osborn
Onslaught
Onslaught
Notable Aliases: The Entity, That Which Shall Survive, Dark Xavier
First Appearance: X-Man #15 (May, 1996)
- "At last... FREEDOM! Now behold my mighty hand!"
Onslaught was born from the minds of Professor X and Magneto, and is a nigh-omnipotent villain, and can absorb powers from various other characters. Onslaught is mostly remembered for his part in the apparent deaths of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Doctor Doom that led to the Heroes Reborn reboot (where they are revealed to have actually survived and been shunted into a newly created alternate universe).
- Generic Doomsday Villain: He had defined goals, but they were blurred due to several writers working on his storyline.
- Energy Beings: After the Hulk destroyed his armor, he became a being of pure energy.
- He's Back!: A villainous example. Red Skull finds out the hard way that Evil Is Not a Toy while tinkering with Xavier's brain.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Or rather shared as part of the Rogues Galleries of the "big three" Marvel teams (Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men)
- Superpowered Evil Side: To Charles Xavier
Proctor
Proctor
Alter Ego: Dane Whitman
Notable Aliases: Gann Josin, The Gatherer, Black Knight
First Appearance: Avengers #344 (February, 1992)
Proctor was an alternate villainous counterpart to the Black Knight, and leader of the Gatherers, a gathering of alternate Avengers taken from universes he destroyed.
Red Skull
Red Skull
Alter Ego: Johann Schmidt
Notable Aliases: Der Rote Schädel (German name, translation: "The Red Skull"), Senator Dell Rusk, Bettman P. Lyles, the Agent of a Thousand Faces (impersonated in Europe during World War II), the Man (head of the People's Militia), Cyrus Fenton, John Smith (the English version of his natural German name), Teacher, Tod March (president and founder of Galactic Pictures), Aleksander Lukin, the White Skull
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #7 (October, 1941)
"Freedom is only for the one who rules! All others must be slaves!"
The original Evil Counterpart for Captain America and his Arch-Enemy during the Golden Age. The Red Skull managed to follow Cap to the modern era, becoming a feared terrorist leader who has consistently opposed the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the free world in general. See Red Skull
Super-Adaptoid
Super-Adaptoid
Notable Aliases: Adaptoid, Supreme Adaptoid, Cyborg-Sinister, Alessandro Brannex
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #82 (October, 1966)
An artificial being created by the terrorist group A.I.M. for their evil plans to assassinate Captain America, it holds a fragment of the Cosmic Cube that serves as its limitless power source and can copy the powers of any being it wants.
See A.I.M.
Super-Skrull
Super-Skrull
Alter Ego: Kl'rt
Notable Aliases: Invincible Man, Dr. Franklin Storm, Thing, Captain Hero, Bobby Wright
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #18 (September, 1963)
Once a decorated soldier for the Skrull army, General Kl'rt was exiled and stripped of his noble status after one defeat too many. Seeking to regain the favor of his Emperor, Kl'rt underwent an experiment that endowed him with all the combined powers of the Fantastic Four.
See Skrulls
Taskmaster
Taskmaster
Alter Ego: Anthony "Tony" Masters
Notable Aliases: Captain America, Contingency T, Minister of Defense, Laughing Skull
First Appearance: The Avengers #195 (May, 1980)
A former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Anthony Masters has the unique ability to copy the movements, and, therefore, skills of those he witnesses, which he calls "photographic reflexes". Though he occasionally uses his abilities as a mercenary and assassin, he prefers to operate behind the scenes, operating as a consultant and training instructor for anyone who can afford to pay for his services.
See Taskmaster
Thanos
Thanos
Alter Ego: Thanos
Notable Aliases: The Mad Titan
First Appearance: The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February, 1973)
"Death is with me every second of the day! My every moment is spent in either dealing out death or worshiping it! So tell me, who under the stars is better suited than I to be Death's consort?"
A renegade Eternal with a psychotic obsession with Death, Thanos seeks to earn the affections of his "mistress" by decimating half of the galaxy's sentient population - a quest that has made him one of the most powerful threats in existence. Seen by most Avengers as an insane megalomaniac, Thanos has a unique code of honor and moral compass that is understandable only to him. See Thanos
Ultron
Ultron
Alter Ego: Ultron
Notable Aliases: Crimson Cowl, Ultron-5, Ultron-6, Ultron-7, Ultron-8, Ultron-9, Ultron-10, Ultron-11, Ultron-12, Ultron-13, Ultron-14, Ultron-15, Ultron-16, Ultron-17, Ultron-18, Ultimate Ultron, Ultron Pym, Ultron Prime, Hank Pym
First Appearance: The Avengers #55 (August, 1968)
"Though you ultimately failed as a species, you should not be ashamed of what you've accomplished. You've done much with your limited capacity, but ultimately you were too greedy and too frail to ever last in the environment you've created."
An artificial intelligence created by Hank Pym, Ultron came to see humanity as an abomination that needed to be destroyed. One of the Avengers' oldest, persistent foes, Ultron has upgraded itself numerous times, with each configuration more powerful than the last. See Ultron
