Since the Avengers team's creation in 1963, the Avengers have faced dozens and dozens of villains. Here are 15 of the most iconic, powerful, or deadly. And, no, Thanos isn't first!
#15 The Apocalypse Twins
Appearing in Uncanny Avengers (2013), the Apocalypse Twins are perhaps the least known villains on the list, which explains their last position in the ranking. Still, Uriel and Eimin are the children of Archangel and Pestilence (yes, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse). Kidnapped and raised by Kang in the distant future, they manage to return to Earth-616 and orchestrate its destruction by combining the worst schemes. Thus, they kill one of the Celestials to stir up their anger and manipulate the Scarlet Witch. Their plan causes the death of more than seven billion people, forcing the Avengers to travel back in time to prevent the catastrophe. #14 Mephisto: The demonic lord of the Marvel Universe, Mephisto embodies evil and temptation. Although he often clashes with heroes like Doctor Strange, he is also a crucial enemy for the Avengers. From the shadows, he manipulates and corrupts the souls of villains, superheroes, and the X-Men during major events. We're thinking in particular of Avengers: Dissassembled (2004), when he manipulated the Scarlet Witch, pushing her to kill several Avengers—including Hawkeye. This led to the pure and simple dissolution of the Avengers. More recently—starting with Avengers #31 (2020) by Jason Aaron—Mephisto seeks to get rid of all the Avengers in the multiverse, forcing them to form a multiversal team.
#13 The Void
What if one of Marvel's most powerful heroes possessed a dark, destructive, and nearly unstoppable side? Welcome to the tortured mind of Sentry, a superhero with powers reminiscent of Superman. Suffering from schizophrenia and acute paranoia, Sentry unconsciously created The Void as a representation of his fears. Introduced into the Marvel Universe in 2000 by Paul Jenkins, Sentry poses an apocalyptic threat to the entire Earth when The Void takes over. During the Dark Avengers (2009) and Siege (2010) story arcs, he destroys entire cities, including Asgard, the city of Odin and Thor. Powerless against him, the Avengers join forces with the Young Avengers, the Thunderbolts, and even Loki to stop him. His debut in the MCU is imminent, as Sentry/The Void will be the main antagonist of Thunderbolts*.
#12 Baron Zemo
Heinrich Zemo is much less powerful than the three villains mentioned above, but he is a historical enemy of the Avengers. His first appearance dates back to 1964 (Avengers #4), when Captain America was discovered in the ice. A scientific genius and military strategist, he created and then led the Masters of Evil, a group of supervillains, to fight the Avengers. His son, Helmut Zemo, then took over and assembled the greatest version of the Masters of Evil in 1986's Under Siege arc, inflicting one of the Avengers' most humiliating defeats.
#11 Red Skull
Captain America's sworn enemy, Johann Schmidt, aka Red Skull, is one of Marvel's oldest antagonists. He first appeared in Captain America Comics #7 in 1941. A fanatical Nazi officer, he, like Captain, ingested the Super-Soldier Serum and thus acquired increased longevity and strength. In the Marvel Universe, he embodies absolute ideological evil. Given his plans for world domination, he becomes an enemy of the Avengers. In 2017, he achieved his greatest feat by influencing Kobik, the little girl incarnation of the Cosmic Reality Cube, to rewrite Captain America's past to transform him into Captain Hydra.
#10 Norman Osborn
Known in pop culture as the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn is originally Spider-Man's nemesis. First appearing in 1964 (Amazing Spider-Man #14), he became a threat to the Avengers after the events of Secret Invasion (2008). He actively participated in the victory against the Skrulls and took the opportunity to manipulate public opinion. He then took control of S.H.I.E.L.D. and formed his own team, the Dark Avengers. Made up of supervillains disguised as heroes, they persecute the real Avengers and join forces with other villains including Loki and Doctor Doom. This arc is known as Dark Reign (2009-2010).
#9 Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff is one of the oldest Avengers, having joined the team in May 1965 (Avengers #16). The Scarlet Witch is also very popular in the MCU. However, our beloved Scarlet Witch has also stood up—willingly or by force—to Earth's greatest heroes. An overpowered but unstable character, she is manipulated or corrupted by Chaos magic and supervillains like Mephisto or Doctor Doom. The Avengers disbanded after the terrible events of Avengers: Dissembled (2004), and then nearly drove humanity to extinction in the House of M arc. While trying to trap Thor, Loki unwittingly causes the formation of the Avengers (1963), becoming their first adversary, as in the MCU. Over the years, he becomes an antihero, but Loki remains a major threat to the Avengers due to his cunning and his propensity to betray just about anyone.
#7 The Builders
The Builders are considered the oldest race in the Universe. True genetic and technological engineers, they have traveled the galaxies for eons to sow life on planets, or destroy entire civilizations. Appearing in 2013 in Jonathan Hickman's Infinity arc, they notice that the multiverse is threatened by incursions and decide to start a galactic war in which the Avengers will take part. During their history, the Builders have ended billions and billions of lives, easily surpassing Thanos. To stop them, the Avengers will form a grand galactic alliance including the Krees, Skrulls, Shi'ars, Nova Corps, and even supervillains like Annihilus and Ronan the Accuser. More powerful than the gods, The Beyonder reshapes reality according to his desires. He is not inherently evil, but his misunderstanding of humanity causes massive devastation. Later, other members of his race will attempt to destroy the entire Multiverse, thus setting in motion the immense Secret Wars arc of 2015. An event that will be adapted into the MCU in 2027.
#5 Michael Korvac
Coming from a distant future in which humanity is controlled by an alien race, Michael Korvac is an ultra-intelligent cyborg. He manages to escape them by traveling through time, then gains access to cosmic technology that grants him near-godlike powers. In The Korvac Saga (1978), he seeks to create a perfect universe, but the Avengers, along with the Guardians of the Galaxy, oppose him. During an apocalyptic battle, Korvac manages to kill almost all of the Avengers, including Iron Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, and Black Panther. Eaten up by remorse, he resurrects some of them and ends up committing suicide.
#4 Doctor Doom
The next major antagonist of the Avengers in the MCU, Doctor Doom is first and foremost an antagonist of the Fantastic Four. First appearing in 1962 inFantastic Four #5, he is the ruler of Latveria, a kingdom in Central Europe, but also an outstanding scientist and a powerful sorcerer. Morally complex, he sometimes allies himself with superheroes when it suits his interests. He definitively became one of the most powerful supervillains of the Avengers in 2015 in the Secret Wars arc, when he became the god-emperor Doom by obtaining the powers of the Beyonder. Invincible, immortal, he then created the Battleworld, and imprisoned the greatest superheroes of the multiverse there.
#3 Thanos
Do we really need to introduce Thanos, aka the Mad Titan? Appearing for the first time in Iron Man #55 (1973), he has a slightly different arc in the comics compared to that of the MCU. Indeed, Thanos seeks to please Death personified, one of the most powerful cosmic entities with whom he is in love. To achieve this, he arms himself with the Infinity Gauntlet to erase half of the Universe. He fails, but, unlike in the MCU, the Avengers will oppose him several times, without ever defeating him forever.
#2 Ultron
Contrary to his origin story in Avengers: Age of Ultron in the MCU, the famous artificial intelligence was not created by Tony Stark in the comics, but by Hank Pym. His first appearance was in the 1968 comic book Avengers #54. As in the film, he quickly overpowers his creator and seeks to eradicate humanity, viewing us as inferior beings. In several story arcs, he poses a significant threat to the Avengers. In Ultron Unlimited (1999), he wipes out an entire country, Slorenia. It is one of the worst civilian casualties in Marvel history. In Age of Ultron (2013), screenwriter Brian Michael Bendis takes us to an alternate reality where the Avengers lost to Ultron, causing the extermination of billions of human beings.
#1 Kang
Ridiculous in the MCU — he was defeated by Scott Lang and his ants in Ant-Man 3: Quantumania, Kang is nevertheless one of Marvel's best villains in comics. Real name Nathaniel Richards, Kang is a time traveler from the 31st century who seeks to conquer all eras to impose his order. First appearing in Avengers #8 (1964), he has taken on many different identities. He calls himself Rama-Tut in ancient Egypt, Immortus in an older version, and Kang the Conqueror when he seeks to tame time. For the Avengers, Kang represents a constant and elusive threat, impossible to destroy permanently. And for good reason: to attack Kang is to fight against the very concept of time. In The Kang Dynasty (2001, Avengers vol. 3 #41 to 55), he completely conquers Earth and crushes the Avengers. In other, more recent arcs, he is at the center of many events related to the Multiverse.
And you, who is your favorite supervillain? We're waiting for your answers in the comments!
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