"Ho, brave warriors of Asgard! I've come to pay respects to Odin! (...) And of course, I brought presents. Behold! My tribute to the All-Father! The day of reckoning has arrived! Long have I been denied my rightful place. But now, I have the power to take it!"
— Loki, Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Considering the source material, it's no surprise that video games (and related comics) based on the Marvel Universe have some brilliant planners and masterminds.
Entries are by release date.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
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General
Examples
- Daredevil (2003 game): Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin instigates the plot by putting a bounty on Daredevil. Brainwashing Elektra to fight Daredevil and making various criminal gangs to try to kill him numerous times, the Kingpin then claims that Daredevil works for him, when Daredevil defeated the gangs, leading to supervillains and criminal organizations trying to hunt down Daredevil, believing that the Kingpin sent him after them. Later fighting off Daredevil, the Kingpin reveals that he used him to eliminate his competition in the criminal underworld, and then let Daredevil go, due to Daredevil not having any evidence of Fisk's crimes, nevertheless "breaking off their deal" publicly, due to not seeing any point in continuing the lie.
- Lego Marvel Superheroes: Magneto is an extremely powerful mutant with mastery over magnetism, and the longtime archenemy of the X-Men. Leading a cabal of supervillains seeking to take over the world by weaponizing Cosmic Bricks alongside Doctor Doom and Loki, Magneto proves instrumental to the group's plans thanks to the manpower provided by his Brotherhood of Mutants as well as his obscene strength and guile. Whether it's leading successful attacks on the Raft and the X-Mansion, using the Statue of Liberty as a weapon and transportation device to great effect, or employing Mystique's convincing shapeshifting skills to distract the heroes while he lifts the cabal's base into space, Magneto constantly beguiles the heroes and snatches victory after victory from them, all the while oozing with charisma and charm. He's also the only villain suspicious of Loki, and when Loki confirms his suspicions by betraying the group, he's quick to check his pride at the door and mobilize the villains to help the heroes save the planet from a Loki-controlled Galactus.
- Marvel Heroes: Doctor Doom is the ruler of Latveria, and the first Big Bad of the story. Hacking into Tony Stark's archives, Doom discovers the existence of the Cosmic Cube, and seeks to harness its reality-warping powers for himself. Doom employs various supervillains to keep the heroes occupied while he continues with his plans behind the scenes, using both sides to gather various powerful artifacts for him. Once he has gathered all the artifacts, Doom promptly destroys them to ensure that they would not be used against him. He also employs Mister Sinister to clone the mutant Bishop, utilising the mutant's energy absorption powers as a conduit to safely harness the Cube's energy. With the Cube's powers, Doom intends to reshape the world in his own image. Returning from his defeat, Doom exposes the Skrull's secret invasion of Earth and forms an Enemy Mine with the heroes to stop them. A cold and taciturn schemer, Doom always stayed one step ahead of the heroes, and came close to attaining the power he had long sought.
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance:
- Doctor Doom is the charismatic leader of the Masters of Evil. Before the events of the game, Doom stole top secret information from S.H.I.E.L.D. on how to deal with Asgard should it ever become a threat. Doom then refined the plan as a way to steal the All-Father Odin's godly powers for himself. Through a series of clever diversionary tactics, Doom constantly stays one step ahead of the heroes as he gathers all the necessary tools he needs to defeat Odin. Colluding with the God of Mischief Loki, Doom successfully conquers Asgard and defeats Odin in battle. Not wanting to share Odin's power with his lieutenants, Doom implements a series of Uriah Gambits to have the heroes take out his lieutenants for him. He quickly consolidates his control over the entire world, using his newfound powers to crush any form of resistance, and brainwashing the remainder of Earth's heroes into his loyal servants. A brilliant mastermind who managed to ascend to godhood, Doom establishes himself as a truly diabolical genius.
- Loki is a member of Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil, seizing an opportunity in the Masters to fulfil his dream of conquering Asgard. Despite being its newest member, Loki manages to quickly ingratiate himself into Doom's inner circle as his Number Two. Disguising himself as the traitorous Mandarin, Loki frames him for the chaos the Masters had caused in Atlantis. The deception worked, giving the Masters the necessary distraction to carry on with their plans undeterred. Loki then leads an invasion on Asgard with an army of super-soldiers and overthrows Odin as King of Asgard. Even as the heroes turn the tide, Loki has one final trump card—the Destroyer Armor. Supposedly defeated, Loki disguises himself as Nick Fury, tricking the heroes into freeing the armor from its prison for him. Upon revealing his deception he proceeds to hijack control over the Destroyer Armor and attempts to crush the heroes once and for all. A master of deception, Loki proves himself to be Doctor Doom's most invaluable ally.
- 2: Phineas Mason, the Tinkerer, is the true brains behind the Fold's nanite takeover. Starting off as the scientific designer for Latveria's weapons systems, the Tinkerer manipulates his way into SHIELD's labs as an ally, while harboring his own plans. Helping to create the nanite technology used to force supervillains into compliance, the Tinkerer secretly upgrades the nanites until they gain sentience and become a Hive Mind that calls itself the Fold. The Tinkerer continues to covertly aid the Fold as it mind controls vast swathes of the population, and when a team of heroes show up to stop the Fold's control signals, the Tinkerer personally fights and nearly kills them with his tech. Even when he's beaten, the Tinkerer thwarts the team's first attempt at shutting down the tower, and unleashes his greatest creation onto them in the form of a Nanite-upgraded Nick Fury.
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite: Jedah Dohma, the "Dark Messiah," masterminded the entire convergence of the Marvel and Capcom universes by convincing Lady Death herself to unite them for the sake of "equilibrium." Unfettered in his noble intentions of offering salvation, Jedah became worthy of wielding the Soul Stone and uses it to create a symbiote. Also convincing the likes of Dormmamu and Firebrand to his side, such an alliance pays dividends when Morrigan and Ghost Rider lead a charge in taking his Infinity Stone and destroying his symbiote, allowing him to escape unscathed. Although defeated, the worlds remain merged in addition to his biggest obstacle, Ultron-Sigma, being removed from the playing field, leaving the ever-ambitious Demon Lord none the worst for wear.
- X-Men Legends: Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, Magneto, prides himself on being the ultimate protector of all mutantkind, regardless of the extreme methods he takes. Scheming his escape from captivity alongside his Brotherhood, Magneto steals a variety of military technologies while exposing the heinous hate crimes committed by General Kincaid. Magneto plans to use Asteroid M to blot out the sun, threatening to keep Earth in darkness until humanity grants mutants their own sovereign nation. Though beaten by the X-Men, Magneto returns in the sequel, where he teams up with the X-Men to stop the greater threat of Apocalypse, using his powers and intelligence to help the heroes gain victory. Upon Apocalypse's defeat, Magneto parts ways with the X-Men peacefully, but promises to never end his ruthless quest to bring mutant acceptance by force.
Spider-Man video games, by release date
Examples
- 2000 game: Dr. Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus serves as the secret mastermind of the game's plot. Faking redemption so as to divert suspicions from himself, Ock leads a breakout of New York's most dangerous supervillains and harvests the power of alien symbiotes for his plans. Using the villains to distract Spider-Man while personally pulling off heists to further his research, Ock also kidnaps Black Cat to prevent her from aiding Spider-Man and keeps the psychotic Carnage under his control. Ock successfully unleashes hundreds of symbiotes across New York City before revealing his plans to further humankind's progression as a species by forming symbiosis with the alien lifeforms, proudly bragging that those who do not share his vision will be crushed by it in his "new world."
- The Movie: Kraven the Hunter is hired by Norman Osborn to kill Spider-Man, a task he takes on for free, citing the "thrill of the hunt" is enough payment for him. Taking over the zoo, he lures Spidey over and has him trapped in a deadly obstacle course, infecting him with a virus to keep him from escaping and promising to give him the cure if he beats him. As Spider-Man navigates the traps, Kraven uses a sniper to hunt the hero himself. When Spider-Man beats the course, Kraven personally fights him, using the boobytrapped environment and his rifle to gain the upper hand, while also being willing to fight physically when found, utilizing his strength, throwing knives, and a strength potion to battle him. Praising Spider-Man's skills throughout all of this, he willingly submits when beaten, giving Spider-Man the cure as he promised.
- Spider-Man 2 (PC Version)'s "Mysterio's Calamity": Mysterio, Quentin Beck, is a master illusionist hired by Doctor Octopus to stop Spider-Man from foiling his plan. Trapping Spider-Man in a deadly illusion, Mysterio places several traps inside to catch Spider-Man off guard. Luring him to his secret giant turret when he looks to be losing, upon his defeat, Mysterio admits to being a mere distraction to Spider-Man before he disappears from the scene.
- Friend or Foe: Mysterio is the true mastermind behind the PHANTOM threat. Abducting several supervillains and brainwashing them all, Mysterio uses them and his developed PHANTOM soldiers to collect the symbiote shards scattered across Earth and duel Spider-Man. After Spider-Man manages to collect the shards himself, Mysterio lures him to Nepal and swipes the collected shards, revealing his plans to create an army of unstoppable PHANTOM troops with them. When Spider-Man is forced to don the black suit and confronts Mysterio, the villain fights Spidey to a near standstill, and faces defeat at the wall-crawler's hands by simply sneering the hypocrisy that Spider-Man had to weaponize the symbiotes to beat him.
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2:
- Wilson Fisk is once again portrayed as a criminal mastermind and expert opportunist. Pretending to have reformed from his criminal ways, he partners up with Oscorp to create a more effective police force, secretly planning to use them to wipe out his rivals and take over the city. In the meantime, he allows Cletus Kasady to kill other criminals so that the civilians are intimidated enough to trust him, later having him captured and experimented on by Oscorp, led by the Chameleon disguised as the head doctor. He also hires Kraven to befriend Spider-Man and trick him into eliminating his rivals as well. After Spider-Man arrests Kasady, he launches a city-wide crime spree under the alias "the Kingpin" and attempts to take over the city alongside his gang and some corrupt cops. Fighting Spider-Man himself when confronted, proving to be a match for the hero despite lacking powers, he takes advantage of the sudden rampages of several supervillains to claim Oscorp as its new CEO and winning over the city's trust, effectively winning in the end.
- Kraven the Hunter is a vigilante who seeks to turn Spider-Man into the "Ultimate Prey", teaming up with Wilson Fisk to do so. Befriending Spider-Man and offering to help him track down the "Carnage Killer", he teaches Spider-Man how to track criminals and follow them to their hideout, a technique that the hero would adopt for himself later on. Upon uncovering a map of Carnage's targets and mapping out where he'll strike next, the two arrive and capture Cletus Kasady, though not after Spider-Man goes against his instructions to wait a bit longer to strike. When Peter figures out his deceptions, Kraven, anticipating that he'd find out eventually, catches him in a trap and takes him to city park, where he faces him in a one-on-one fight, utilizing his skills to combat him. Eventually being bested, he willingly gives Peter information on the Kingpin's whereabouts, claiming that "he earned It".
- Spider-Man (Insomniac):
- Mister Negative was once a young sickly boy named Martin Li who was experimented on by Norman Osborn, which gave Li negative emotion powers at the cost of Li killing his parents. Swearing revenge upon the defeat of Wilson Fisk, Li built a criminal empire for himself upon the defeat of Wilson Fisk in preparation for ruining Osborn. Li expertly orchestrates a bombing campaign against Osborn and later avoids detection by Spider-Man (Peter Parker) by transforming a group of people to keep him busy. Li is also an expert at playing with people's emotions, which he uses to corrupt them into being his pawns. Li also intelligently rediscovers a way to create the biological agent Devil's Breath and later forces Dr. Morgan Michaels into creating a variant to help Doc Ock release it on the city as part of his revenge. Returning in the sequel after his imprisonment, Li proves that he is still a brilliant foe by nearly breaking Miles Morales psychologically through his illusions. Upon his defeat, Li is filled with remorse at what's he's done and later sacrifices his powers to help the heroes stop Venom from assimilating the planet. Affable, brilliant and conniving, Li proved to be one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies and allies.
- Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of crime, was Peter Parker's Arch-Enemy before finally being brought to justice at great effort and even in prison his grip on the city remains tight. Able to remain in contact with his empire through bribes, Kingpin continues his criminal activities to fund his legal fees, almost succeeding in gaining a foothold in Harlem during Spider-Man: Miles Morales. He maintains a good relationship with his goons by rewarding them for loyalty so much they don't even fear prison and making a deal with Spider-Man to save them from Martin Li's Inner Demons. Even when foiled, Fisk considers it an inconvenience at most, promising retribution.
- Felicia Hardy, the current Black Cat, is a brilliant master thief that steals for the thrill of it – but only choosing to rob those who can afford it or that "deserve" it. In the main game proper, Cat leads Spidey on a hunt for her Cat Dolls challenging him to stop her from stealing $50 million dollars worth of loot. This was all a ruse, with the loot being a lure to distract Spidey while her Dolls shut down the police department's security systems, allowing Cat to recover her confiscated equipment. In The Heist DLC, Black Cat is working to steal Maggia drives that contain financial information for Hammerhead, telling Spidey that he has her son hostage and letting Spidey believe he might be the father; a lie so that she could recruit Spidey's help in stealing the drives for herself, promptly faking her own death and only resurfacing to save Spidey from Hammerhead and give him information on how to take down the Mob boss for good. Returning in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Felicia evades capture from Kraven's Hunters while at the same time breaking into the Sanctum Sanctorum to steal the Wand of Watoomb, hoping to use it to open a portal to Paris and save her girlfriend. A thief at heart, Felicia nonetheless has a strong conscience while still caring for Spider-Man, while fully using this to her ruthless advantage.
- Yuri Watanabe starts off as a police captain ally to Spider-Man who uses her considerable resources and wit to help the hero fight crime. After witnessing the brutal deaths of her squadmates at the hands of Hammerhead, however, Yuri takes the law into her own hands and swears vengeance on all villains who think they are untouchable. Becoming the vigilante "Wraith", she slaughters her way through Hammerhead's forces and nearly executes the gang lord until Spider-Man interferes. Later leading Spider-Man on a wild goose chase to find a missing Hammerhead enforcer who Wraith has already killed, Wraith begins disrupting the operations of the Flame's cult. Wraith dismantles several of the cult's lairs with Spider-Man's help, and though she duels her former ally when he refuses to let her murder the Flame, Wraith ultimately puts aside their moral differences and helps Spider-Man save many innocents from the Flame, even pulling the hero himself out of a narrow brush with death.
- PS4 game:
- Taskmaster has been hired by a mysterious organization to evaluate Spider-Man, choosing if he's worthy of being recruited. He does this by setting up challenges all over Manhattan to be completed, even in places where he didn't start a conflict. After Spider-Man completes some of these challenges, Taskmaster ambushes him for a surprise fight, attempting to kill him with the techniques he's memorized. Upon realizing his opponent still has some tricks left, he quits early to gain more data for a second fight. After being defeated again, he tells Spider-Man that his client pays six figures, taking his refusal to join in stride. In the end, Taskmaster departs with a smoke bomb, escaping without facing justice.
- Lonnie Lincoln, known to all as "Tombstone", is a soft-spoken, ruthless chop shop operator and mobster. Tombstone has plagued New York for years as one of Spider-Man's most persistent foes, and despite their long history as enemies, Tombstone holds a mutual respect for the wallcrawler no matter how many times the hero foils him. Tricking out vehicles and tech to better serve the Inner Demons gang in exchange for profit, Tombstone brutally kills one of his minions as punishment for a sloppy job, taking too much pride in the work of his gang to allow laziness. On the side, Tombstone concocts a temporary inhalant that grants the users his power of invulnerability, using bribery and thefts to create the concoction while planning to become the city's sole supplier. Even when his powers are stripped, his arm busted and his plan ruined by Spider-Man, Tombstone cheerfully reiterates that he'll be back for more "thrills" against the hero in no time.
- "The Heist" DLC chapter: Walter Hardy, the former Black Cat, is just as devious as his daughter. Faking his death years ago to protect himself and his daughter from the Maggia, Hardy manages to get a hold of Spider-Man’s phone number and disguises himself as a cop right on top of a police station. Calling himself Detective Mackey, Hardy tricks Spider-Man into uncovering loot he hid years ago. When Spider-Man finishes up, Hardy leaves with his loot, knowing Spider-Man won't tell his daughter the truth because Spider-Man is a "decent guy." He also asks Spider-Man to look after Felicia. While only featured in a simple side-mission, Hardy more than lives up to his anecdotes as a brilliant criminal.
- Miles Morales: Aaron Davis, Miles' affable uncle, is the retired mercenary, Prowler. Quickly finding out that Miles is the new Spider-Man, Aaron begins to worry about his nephew's well-being, and returns to his criminal activities for the sake of trying to protect Miles. When Miles reveals that his friend Phin is the leader of the Underground, Aaron convinces Miles to infiltrate the group by lying to Phin that he wants to help her cause. Afterwards, when Miles tells Aaron that Phin's found out Miles' identity, Aaron suggests that Miles meets up and has an open talk with Phin after she finds out Miles' identity, truthfully using this as an opportunity to inform Krieger where he can capture Tinkerer on the condition that they don't harm Spider-Man. Later, Aaron tranquilizes and imprisons Miles as he's heading to Roxxon Plaza, making sure he stays out of danger even at the cost of other innocent lives. Despite his selfish nature, Aaron did everything in his power to protect his family until Miles made him see the error of his ways, and publicly reveals all of Krieger's crimes at the cost of turning himself in.
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2: Sergei Kravinoff, better known as Kraven the Hunter, is determined to have a "worthy" death rather than succumbing to cancer. Reaching New York to find more dangerous game, Kraven has numerous Super Villains kidnapped by his Hunter Army so he can hunt them, constantly disappointed that none can kill him. Finally encountering Spider-Man in the Symbiote Costume, Kraven quickly figures out the alien's weakness and later kidnaps Miles to coerce Peter Parker into a fight. Almost succeeding in goading Spider-Man into killing him, when the Symbiote bonds with Harry Osborn to become Venom, Kraven finally gets his Last Hunt, calmly thanking Venom before finally having his worthy death.
