TOP TEN MARVEL SUPER VILLAINS

THE TOP TEN MARVEL SUPER VILLAINS

DISCLAIMER:

A hero is only a good as his villain. Marvel has a lot of great heroes, so by the logic of the first sentence there must also be oppositely vile villains. Blood Work has compiled a list of the Marvel Universe's top ten most despicable villains, respectively.

This list is NOT about the most powerful or even the most diabolical. It is a list of the most RECOGNIZABLE villains in Marvel's comic book history. Giving the badguys respect where respect is due.

#11 

MEPHISTO

The prince of darkness and ruler of the underworld, Mephisto is Marvel's equivalent to the Judaeo-Christian devil, Lucifer or Satan or the Morning Star or whatever your preferred demonic nomenclature. Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1968, Mephisto has been plaguing Marvel's heroes for decades. Silver Surfer has felt the fiery sting of Mephisto's wrath perhaps the most of any Marvel hero followed closely by the Ghost Rider. Doctor Strange is one of the few heroes who has seen and fought the full power of this arch demon.

The greatest lie the Devil ever told was when he convinced the world that he did not exist. Mephisto prefers a degree of anonymity thus earning him the honorable mention eleventh spot on our list. He may be far more powerful and eviler than everyone on this list but not a whole lot of people, comic book readers or otherwise, know about him. If this were a power level ranking he'd almost if not be on the top of the list.

#10 

THE KINGPIN

Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin of Crime is perhaps the most prominent figure in organized crime across the entire United States and several countries in Asia. The Mafia, the Triads, the Yakuza, they all bow to him and his ruthlessness. Not only is Fisk well organized, well funded, and extremely motivated, he is also a powerful physical force. He may look tubby but what his fancy suit actually hides is a mountain of muscle. Kingpin is a formidable hand to hand fighter trained in the martial arts.

Created in 1967 by Stan Lee and John Romita, Kingpin has been running organized crime since the silver age of Marvel Comics. He has crossed many heroes from Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Punisher, Captain America, and Wolverine and he's beaten them a time or two as well. Anyone experiencing the world of Marvel either by reading or watching knows who the Kingpin is.

#9 

THE MANDARIN

Descendant of the warlord Genghis Khan, carrying on the will of his ancestors for total domination, the Mandarin is one of the most powerful and deadly enemies in all of Marvel. He is a scientific genius, martial arts master, and the wielder of the ten rings. Each of the ten rings gives him absolute control over specific properties such as the mind, thermals, atmosphere, concussive blasts, and many more. With his intelligence and determination, the Mandarin has proven himself a world level threat.

Created in 1964 by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the Mandarin is the nemesis of Marvel hero Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man. He has fought many of Marvel's greatest heroes including the Hulk, the Avengers, Thor, and others, always requiring the most powerful of Earth's heroes to stop him. He has even manipulated the kaiju size dragon Fin Fang Foom into doing his evil bidding. The Mandarin is one of Marvel's top tier villains.

#8 

KANG THE CONQUERER

Scourge of the past, present, and future, Kang has imperiled the entire space/time continuum countless times. Hailing from the future, Kang is the distant descendant of Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. Possessed with remarkable scientific genius, technologically superior in every way, and a mad ambition of domination, whether it's ancient Egypt, modern day New York City, or the far flung future, Kang has threatened it all.

Created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Kang has battled nearly every hero in the Marvel universe from the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Avengers, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy. He has even fought himself in his alternate personas of Rama-Tut and Immortus. Threats rarely come more powerful or as far reaching as Kang the Conquerer.

#7 

ULTRON

Born from the genius of Hank Pym a.k.a. Ant-Man, Ultron was supposed to be the Avengers' greatest ally, programmed with the daunting task of saving the world. Through a twist of fate Ultron became self-aware and decided that the only way to save the Earth was to stop the creatures threatening the planet: Humans. Possessing a vast network of technology and weaponry, constantly upgrading chassis, and an unstoppable drive to complete the mission, instead of creating their greatest ally, Hank Pym created perhaps their greatest enemy.

Created in 1968 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, Ultron is one of the worst threats the Avengers have ever faced. Capable of thinking on countless different levels, able to escape easily along an electric current, Ultron has been one of the Avengers most tenacious foes ever. Through a merger with the techno-organic virus known as the Phalanx, Ultron nearly conquered the entire universe had it not been for the Guardians of the Galaxy. How can one hope to ever be rid of an enemy as resourceful and hellbent on a mission as Ultron?

#6 

APOCALYPSE

En Sabah Nur was born thousands of years ago in the Biblical era of Egypt. Claiming to be the first mutant and thusly to be the last, En Sabah Nur believes in two things. 1: Survival of the fittest. And 2: It is his destiny to bring about the Apocalypse (the Biblical event). He was there at the beginning and so too shall he be there at its end. He's not here to conquer. He's here to end it all.

Created in 1986 by Walt and Louise Simonson, Apocalypse is primarily an enemy of the X-Men and all the teams and characters under the X-umbrella of Marvel's universe. Even so, he is a force beyond most others. Possessing nigh limitless power and a seemingly unkillable lifeforce, this villain at one time ruled the whole Marvel universe. That era was called THE AGE OF APOCALYPSE.

Nuff said.

#5
LOKI

God of mischief, frost giant, adopted son of Odin with a chip on his shoulder, and a destiny to start Ragnarok (the Norse equivalent of the Apocalypse). Loki is one of the most cunning and complex villains in the Marvel Universe. At once time he was clearly evil. Then he died and was reborn with a clean slate conflicted by love for his brother Thor and a dark destiny of deceit. At one time he was a blonde man, then a dark haired woman, then a child, and then a man again with black hair. As the years go on the more curious and complex Loki becomes.

Created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Norse God of mischief is one Marvel's earliest and premiere villains. The primary enemy of the god of thunder, Thor, translates to Loki being one of the most potent sources of villainy in the entire Marvel Universe. Loki was the first enemy of the Avengers and has gone on to cause great calamities for Earth's heroes. Loki has allied himself with many of Earth's vilest villains as well, shepherding yet more chaos throughout the nine realms.

#4 
THE RED SKULL

Nazi. Hydra Agent. Master of Evil. Villains don't come much darker than the Red Skull. If there is one constant in the Marvel Universe it's that the Red Skull is always up to no good. Evil to the core, the Skull has oceans of hate inside of him, cunning and intelligence, and no reservations whatsoever about killing. His constant pursuit of power and intentions to remold the world in his image has led him to become one of the evilest villains in all Marvel.

Created in 1941 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the ruthless Red Skull is among Marvel's first actual super villains. The complete antithesis of Captain America, Red Skull has battled nearly every Marvel hero in pursuit of his mad dream. Whether through physical force of arms, armies and weapons, guile and cunning by infiltrating the political landscape, or raw cosmic power through the Cosmic Cube, the Red Skull is one of Marvel's gravest threats and ultimate villains.

#3 
THE GREEN GOBLIN

 Many have donned the mantle of the Green Goblin, but only one has earned the right to be considered one of Marvel's greatest villains of all time. Norman Osborn is intelligent, conniving, and completely insane. At times donning the mask of a well adjusted reformed individual, Norman has not only directly come into conflict with Marvel's heroes but also found himself in seats of power within the government posing as a hero himself and presenting the actual heroes as villains.

Created in 1964 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita, Norman Osborn was practically exclusive to Spider-Man, causing the web-slinger untold numbers of problems. The Death of Spider-Man's first love, Gwen Stacy, remains his most legendary triumph but perhaps his greatest success was as leader of the Thunderbolts, killing the Skrull Queen in the Secret Invasion, and ushering in THE DARK REIGN. During this time period Marvel's villains reigned supreme and the heroes had to retreat to the shadows. Needless to say, Norman Osborn a.k.a. the Green Goblin has earned a place at the top, or near the top, of Marvel's list of super villains.

#2 
MAGNETO

Nothing is scarier than a villain who sees himself as the hero. Magneto's sole purpose is to save his people and ensure the survival of mutantkind. This has placed him at odds with humanity. He believes in the same goals as his longtime friend Professor Charles Xavier, but chooses to pursue these goals by different means: that of the extincting or subjugation of homo sapiens. With a mutant mastery of magnetism, Magneto possesses the power to literally change the world.

Created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Magneto is one of the most recognizable faces of Marvel's villains. Almost exclusively an X-Men enemy, Magneto's mutant machinations have plunged the entire planet into peril, shifting the Earth's magnetic poles or heading the capture and extermination of humankind in the alternate reality HOUSE OF M. With that much power it is no wonder on occasion that the Avengers and even the Defenders have been called in to thwart the magnetic mutant mastermind.

#1 
DOCTOR DOOM

Tyrannical iron fisted monarch. Maniacal scientific genius. Twisted master of sorcery. Dr. Victor Von Doom's story is one of tragedy and darkness. Losing his parents at a young age, his mother's soul imprisoned by the lord of darkness, Mephisto, and a horribly disfigured face, Dr. Doom's soul is a gruesome as his countenance. A Scholarly rivalry at Empire State with Reed Richards was transformed into the greatest of conflicts often with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. 

Created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Dr. Doom has crossed nearly every Marvel hero imaginable in his relentless pursuit of power and dominion. Even with his own world and life at stake, he has always chosen to forego both if it meant the possible acquisition of power. He may not be the most powerful villain in the Marvel Universe but his scheming is like no other. Reed Richards a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic earns the title of the most intelligent man on planet Earth, not merely for his inventions, but for thwarting Dr. Doom's plans time and time again. Through the sheer number of attempts and near successes, Doctor Doom is easily Marvel's most maniacal and recognizable faces of evil.

And there you have it! The Top Ten (eleven) most recognizable Marvel Super Villains, respectively. Marvel obviously has many wonderful super villains, too many to fit in a mere eleven spots. These characters do not necessarily compose my personal top ten Marvel super villains but I like them all. And as a longtime reader and Marvel aficionado, one cannot ignore the significance of these characters and the incredible stories they've been a part of.

The Marvel Universe would not be as great as it is without these dastardly devils. These Masters of Evil. Whether you like them or not, they are all some of Marvel's greatest characters.

Hope you enjoyed the list!

Please list your own top ten Marvel villains in the comments below. My personal favorite top ten Marvel super villains list looks quite different than the list above. But we'll save that for another time.

And for more Top Ten Lists check out the lists below!

TOP TEN MARVEL SUPER HEROES

TOP TEN FIGHTING GAME GUYS

TOP TEN FIGHTING GAME GALS