TOP TEN MARVEL COSMIC VILLAINS
I don't know if you all know this but, I'm kind of a fan of Marvel Comics. There, you've learned something new today. It's a little known secret of mine but, yeah. I admit to being a Marvel fan.
The Marvel Universe, like the DC Universe, is vast with many realms and corners to it. There's the Street Level world of Marvel in which the likes of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Punisher, and others reside and take care of business. There's the World Level where you have teams of heroes saving the planet on a regular basis such as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men. Truth be told the X-Men are so vast that they're really their own corner of the Marvel Universe. There's the Supernatural Level with heroes like Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Blade, and others.
And there's the Cosmic Level, the outer space heroes such as Silver Surfer, Nova, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Among all of Marvel's different levels or corners of their universe I prefer the Supernatural and Cosmic corners the best.
When I first started reading comic books there were three characters I strongly attached to more than the others: The Hulk, Ghost Rider, and Silver Surfer. Through these characters, specifically Ghost Rider and Silver Surfer, I learned more about the supernatural and cosmic worlds of Marvel and discovered how wonderful they could be. This isn't to say that the Avengers or X-Men aren't as good but rather they haven't drawn me in personally like the aforementioned.
One of the reasons why I like the Cosmic corner of Marvel are the villains. Here you have heroes who, by themselves, can save entire planets and galaxies in a day. Truly these heroes are among Marvel's most powerful. So, how powerful must their enemies be in order to challenge them? We're talking extremely powerful badguys who do some epic and insane things to imperil the universe. The villains making up the cosmic universe are some of the most intriguing characters to me personally and here are the cosmic villains I favor the most:
NOTE: Ronan The Accuser and Kl'Rt The Super Skrull are not on this list. While part of their careers were as villains, in the last decade they have been powerful forces for good in the cosmic universe. Even though they began as villains I consider them heroes now.
Be sure to check out my
TOP TEN MARVEL COSMIC WOMEN
On with the list already!
As always there are a few bonuses!
#15
DOCTOR MINERVA
First Appearance: Captain Marvel #50 (May 1977)
Who She Is: Dr. Minn-Erva is one of the Kree Empire's elite scientists in charge of the solving the Kree "Problem." The Kree are an incredibly advanced race that have reached their evolutionary peak. Their evolution has stalled meaning they're destined to be surpassed by other alien races. Minn-Erva or "Minerva" is the Kree's top geneticist. The leader of the Kree, the Supreme Intelligence, has commanded Dr. Minvera use her skills to reignite the Kree's evolution. Believing that Captain Mar-Vell was the key to unlocking the Kree's genetic potential, Minerva traveled to Earth to capture and study Captain Mar-Vell.
Why I Like Her: There are very few female cosmic villains in Marvel's encyclopedia, fewer with any actual development. I'll admit to adding her to the list for this reason, but she is a character I like very much. She started off her quest from a scientific perspective, not necessarily villainous, but after repeated failures her undaunted determination grew rather ruthless. She first sought Mar-Vell, then her efforts turned to Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel). She has powers identical to Carol Danvers and will stop at nothing to obtain what she needs to restart the Kree's evolution. She has battled the Silver Surfer, Quasar, the Avengers, the Shi'Ar, and has experimented on innocent humans turning them into monsters.
In short, a super intelligent alien geneticist is rife with story potential. Marvel just hasn't used her as much as they should. Maybe with her now a character in the upcoming Captain Marvel movie it will spark the comics to feature her more.
#14
THE BLACK ORDER ~ CULL OBSIDIAN
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| From left to right, top to bottom: Corvus Glaive, Black Dwarf, Black Swan, Ebony Maw, Super Giant, and Proxima Midnight. |
First Appearance: New Avengers #8 (September 2013)
Who They Are: Vanguard to the mad Titan himself, the Cull Obsidian or Black Order are some of the most ruthless and strongest warriors in the universe. Hand picked by Thanos himself, they are Corvus Glaive, Black Dwarf, Ebony Maw, Super Giant, and Proxima Midnight. Recently the ultra powerful woman, Black Swan, has been added to their ranks making them an even deadlier force in the cosmos.
Why I Like Them: Created by Jonathan Hickman for the 2013 Marvel Comics event, INFINITY, I was instantly blown away with these characters designs. Each one of these characters has the power to take on scores of Avengers by themselves. Thanos has always had subordinates but never a set group of individuals. Honestly Thanos doesn't need them, but these characters are just plain cool on their own. They haven't been featured too much in the comics, but that's because they are the most recent characters created on this list.
Recently these characters have severed their ties with Thanos, freeing up their story potential to greater possibilities. I'm excited to see what the future holds for these characters and what devastation they will bring to the galaxy.
#13
THE MANY ANGLED ONES
First Appearance: Realm of Kings #1 (January 2010)
Who They Are: From a place where Death has been defeated and Life continues on without end, the Many Angled Ones are life unbound. The Many Angled Ones are among the oldest entities in existence, existing across multiple realities consuming everything in their path. Considered dark elder gods by ancient man, the Many Angled Ones reside in realities parallel to our own in a "Cancerverse" and have attempted many times to invade and devour our reality.
Why I Like Them: When horror meets cosmic. I see these guys as Marvel's analogs to the elder malevolent gods of H.P. Lovecraft. These characters originally tied into the Dr. Strange and Conan the Barbarian
mythologies through the most powerful entity among them (and the only one of them to have a somewhat recognizable name),
SHUMA GORATH. They didn't go cosmic until about 2005 when Beta Ray Bill battles a single tiny piece of them. This tiny piece takes form, calling itself Asteroth, and proceeds to tool both Beta Ray Bill and a Herald of Galactus called Stardust.
The Many Angled Ones end up being the climactic threat at the end of one of my absolute favorite eras of Marvel's cosmic saga. They're extremely powerful and they're a twist on the usual threat. They represent the threat of Life without Death. Life is the enemy and Death becomes the savior.
#12
GARTHAN SAAL
First Appearance: Avengers #301 (March 1989)
Who He Is: During an attack by the super villain Nebula and the Skrulls, the Nova Corps is decimated and Xandar left in ruins. Only one Nova Corpsman survived, Garthan Saal. The Xandarian Worldmind deposited the sum total of the Nova Force inside Garthan Saal for its own survival. The vast amounts of power transformed Saal into one of the most powerful beings in the universe: the Super Nova! Barely able to keep his mind stable, Saal searched for Nebula to exact revenge. Following her into the timestream, Saal was driven insane. The Nova Force then reignited within Richard Rider and others in an attempt to rebuild the Nova Corps and save Saal's mind. Saal directed his rage towards these others who he deemed unworthy of the power of the Nova Force.
Why I Like Him: Garthan Saal is an interesting character in that he represents the dark side of the Nova Force. Saal was a good person and hero once, eventually corrupted by too much power and revenge. Saal's experience eventually happens to Rich Rider too where the full Nova Force has no choice but to be housed completely within him. Having seen what happened to Saal, what could happen to the hero Rich Rider if he too were to lose control, is a constant fear for Rider. It's like if Wolverine were to succumb to his rage and become essentially Sabretooth or Hulk becoming the Maestro. Saal is Rich Rider's antithesis.
Saal played a big role in the saga of the Nova Corp, just as important as Rich Rider to their survival. A showdown between Garthan Saal and a super powered Rich Rider was teased in my favorite volume of Nova but sadly the book was ended before the battle could happen. Maybe later.
#11
KORVAC
First Appearance: Giant-Size Defenders #3 (January 1975)
Who He Is: A man from the 31st century, Korvac was transformed into a half-man half-machine by the Brotherhood of the Badoon. The trauma warped his mind and twisted his emotions where he eventually came into conflict with the Guardians of the Galaxy (the Guardians 3000). Soon he secretly entered Galactus' worldship where he accessed mysteries cosmic powers. Korvac's powers became nigh unlimited. He traveled back in time to the 20th century where his powers grew infinitely more powerful endangering all reality and existence. Not even the combined might of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, and the Avengers was enough to stop him. At the behest of his lover Carina he seemingly wiped himself from existence.
Why I Like Him: Korvac is one of the greatest threats ever to grace the Marvel universe. He began as a typical alien villain but evolved both in power and mind. Literally nothing is impossible for him once his power goes infinite. Seeing the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy team up against him (and LOSE!) solidifies his place among villain history. The heroes never defeated him. It was Korvac himself who removed Korvac from the playing field. But even his incredible power couldn't be wiped from existence. The Guardians of the Galaxy chased him across time to prevent him from being born again.
Making him even more interesting is his connection to his lover Carina (the daughter of the Collector). She too possesses vast cosmic power and can sway his actions and decisions. All this makes Korvac one powerful and unpredictable character.
THE TOP TEN
#10
EGO ~ THE LIVING PLANET
First Appearance: The Mighty Thor #132 (September 1966)
Who He Is: Long ago in the farthest reaches of the cosmos a space-fairing sentient bacteria landed on a lonely planet. The bacteria spread through the planet with complete saturation. Eventually the planet itself gained sentience, thus EGO was born. Able to move his own orbit and control the climate and environment of his surface, Ego continues his growth by absorbing other planets, lifeforms, and energy sources into itself. When a planet in the Rigellian system came under threat of Ego, the Rigellians reached out to Thor for aid. After an epic battle Thor prevailed. But Ego made note of the Asgardian as well as the Thunder God's surrogate home planet: Earth.
Why I Like Him: If a talking tree and raccoon weren't enough for you, how about a talking planet with a giant face on its surface? Seriously, Ego is one of the craziest characters in all comicdom (thank you, Jack Kirby, for creating him). And it's this insanity of an idea that makes Ego so special. As one might guess, Ego returns many times to plague the Marvel universe. His second adventure sees him allied with Thor against Galactus. And later it is Thor, Firelord, and Galactus battling Ego. Like Galactus, with Ego the story is always epic (or at least it should be). He represents a huge threat that not many heroes can match and there are so few characters like him in existence.
#9
NEBULA
First Appearance: Avengers #257 (July 1985)
Who She Is: The dreaded space pirate Nebula made a name for herself when she and her mercs razed Xandar and slaughtered nearly all of the Xandarians. Following her raid on Xandar she gave the same treatment to the Skrulls, terrorizing the Skrull Empire. To further her fearsome reputation she claimed to be the granddaughter of the most terrifying man in all the universe: the mad Titan, Thanos. As a result of her killing spree across space she came into conflict multiple times with the Avengers, the Silver Surfer, and eventually Thanos himself (who did not take kindly to her claim of ancestry. An agent of Death does not create life ((progeny)) or so Thanos boasted). Nearly dying at Thanos hands, and having many powerful enemies gunning for her, Nebula disappeared for many years only to eventually resurface and terrorize the universe once more.
Why I Like Her: Like I said earlier, there are so few female cosmic villains written about in length, Nebula being the exception. Her opening salvo has her arriving on the scene in a big way by attacking Xandar (that poor planet always gets laid to waste!). Her attack on Xandar has far reaching effects resulting in the creation of Super Nova (Garthan Saal). She's a woman who has made some big waves in the Marvel universe. And her role in the Infinity Gauntlet event was surprising and since become legendary (in my mind anyway). The Guardians of the Galaxy movies have helped her character tremendously thanks in no small part to Karen Gillen's wonderful acting.
The world needs more of Nebula and more of cosmic villainesses in general.
#8
BLASTAAR
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #62 (May 1967)
Who He Is: The Negative Zone, a parallel universe to ours, is home to many dangers. One of the gravest threats is none other than Blastaar. A powerful alien despot bent on universal domination, when the Fantastic Four accidentally opened a portal to the Negative Zone Blastaar saw another universe waiting to be conquered. In his bid to conquer Earth he's gone up against the FF, the X-Men, the Avengers, Captain Marvel, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. His greatest adversary however comes from his own universe in the form of the ruthless, ANNIHILUS. Whomever Blastaar goes up against they're in for the fight of their lives.
Why I Like Him: First off, I love Blastaar's design. The cover of X-Men #53 (Feb 1969) was my first sight of Blastaar and remains one of my favorite covers and favorite comic books. When I was a kid I had a Blastaar action figure that I thought was awesome and I've been a fan of the character ever since. He's one of those characters who, when he invades some hero's book, gives them a run for their money. My favorite part of Blastaar's story comes during the DnA era (Abnett and Lanning). Blastaar allied himself with the heroes against Ultron and Phalanx, at the end of which he becomes absolute ruler of the Negative Zone. Blastaar and Starlord form an uneasy friendship which leads to some exciting stories.
I loved Blastaar as a kid and the more I read of him the more my appreciation grows.
#7
THE SPHINX
First Appearance: The Man Called Nova #6 (February 1977)
Who He Is: Anath-Na Mut was a sorcerer during ancient Egypt at the time of Moses and Pharaoh Ramsesses II. Exiled from Egypt for his failure to defeat the magic of Moses' God, Anath-Na discovered the Ka Stone. The Ka Stone granted Anath-Na immortality and vast cosmic powers. Fast-forward to the present day, Anath-Na (now calling himself the Sphinx) engaged the hero NOVA (Richard Rider) and stole the knowledge from the Xandarian Worldmind. The information allowed Sphinx to unlock the full power of the Ka Stone. Sphinx returned to Earth threatening the entire planet. Reed Richards asked Galactus for help and the cosmic devourer faced off against the Sphinx. Their powers prove equally matched until the Ka Stone was destroyed and Sphinx lost his power. The Sphinx was defeated but he was far from finished.
Why I Like Him: The Sphinx is one of Nova's greatest enemies (Nova as in Richard Rider). He was the main antagonist of the first volume of Nova and was the focus of two massive story arcs for the first volume of the New Warriors (once again plaguing Nova). He has abilities to effect time and space with the Ka Stone which make him unpredictable and always impressive. Until the last few years he appeared in every volume of Richard Rider's Nova books, always changing the game when he appears. Design wise I think he looks great and all bets are off when he's involved. Everything is more interesting when the Sphinx is involved.
He battles Nova primarily but has also fought the Fantastic Four, the New Warriors, and the Inhumans often proving far more powerful than the heroes.
#6
THE SUPREME INTELLIGENCE
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| The giant green head, not the blue dude. |
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #65 (August 1967)
What It Is: The ruler of the Kree Empire, the Supreme Intelligence is a bio-organic sentient super computer. Literally possessing the greatest minds of the Kree from centuries on past, the Supreme Intelligence or more simply the "Supremor" has led the Kree Empire for countless centuries, shaping the course of galactic history. It is the mastermind behind every great war and conquest of the empire. It's sole purpose is to shepherd the Kree through a grand cosmic destiny. In the last era the Kree have come to an evolutionary dead end. The Supremor's ultimate goal has been to restart Kree evolution, further advancing the Kree beyond all other races.
Why I Like It: The Supreme Intelligence is the ultimate "behind the scenes" mastermind. Composed of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of minds, the Supremor's thought process is staggering, always a hundred moves ahead of the opposition. Even when it appears like the heroes have won, we discover everything has played out exactly as the Supremor planned. Even though it's a computer, it has cosmic level power all its own and even a living body with which it can inhabit and do battle with. I am a big fan of the Kree and the Supreme Intelligence is one of the reasons why. I think the design and concept for the character is weird and completely awesome all the same.
I have a modest hope of seeing the Supreme Intelligence in the forthcoming Captain Marvel movie. I'm not holding my breath but, man, that would be cool!
#5
GALACTUS
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966)
Who He Is: A survivor from a previous universe, when our universe was born Galactus became a part of the of the natural order. He became the Devourer of Worlds. A giant cosmic being with unfathomable power. To sustain himself he must feed upon the life energies of whole planets. Empowering individuals with a portion of the power cosmic, these individuals are tasked with seeking out suitable planets for his consumption. They are his Heralds. Few have the power to challenge Galactus, fewer still with the power to defeat him. If his Herald appears in the skies above it is as a harbinger of doom for Galactus has come.
Why I Like Him: Galactus is perhaps the most important cosmic character in the Marvel universe. His comic debut, the Coming of Galactus, blew the doors to the Marvel universe wide open. With Galactus comes the Silver Surfer (and vise versa) as well as the Heralds of Galactus and the power cosmic. With cosmic characters the stakes are almost always high, but with the Devourer they're higher still. That's a simple way of saying he's your gateway character to the Cosmic Abstracts and the highest powers of the Marvel universe. If you thought things were far out now, you have no idea.
I hesitated to put Galactus on this list because he isn't technically a badguy. Nor is he a goodguy. He serves a purpose in the cycle of life, ultimate cosmic consonance. He's like a force of nature, not good or evil. But more often than not he's being viewed as a threat that needs to be stopped, thus I've decided to include him.
#4
THE MAGUS
First Appearance: Strange Tales #178 (February 1975)
Who He Is: Adam Warlock is the Avatar of Life in the galaxy and one of the universe's greatest protectors. The Magus is Adam Warlock's future self, completely corrupted and pure evil. During his time period the Magus conquered all the universe. Those living under him worshiped him as god, his followers called themselves the Universal Church of Truth, their faith in him converted into pure power. And their faith was unshakable. To expand his dominion further the Magus traveled back in time to our era where he encountered his younger self, Adam Warlock. The Magus was even more powerful than Warlock, so powerful even the mad Titan, Thanos, feared him. Ultimately Adam Warlock killed himself to prevent the Magus from ever coming into being. But the Magus would not be stopped so easily and when Warlock eventually returned from the dead so too came the Magus.
Why I Like Him: What's scarier than setting up one of the greatest forces for good and then turning it evil? What the Magus lacks in design he makes up for in ambition. One of the best Marvel stories I've ever read was the original Warlock/Magus showdown. As stated above, Thanos was so afraid of the Magus that he joined forces with Warlock to help defeat him. The story also introduced us to Gamora and Pip the Troll. It's a seminal chapter in Marvel's cosmic saga. When the Magus returns he imperils all known reality and more by wielding the Infinity Gauntlet. Needless to say, the Magus is one serious cosmic threat.
In addition to the stories mentioned above, writer Peter David wrote a terrifying Magus story in the pages of Captain Marvel. And the Magus was masterfully utilized in DnA's Guardians of the Galaxy and Annihilators runs.
#3
MAELSTROM
First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One #71 (January 1981)
Who He Is: Half Inhuman and half Deviant, Maelstrom first sought revenge against the Inhumans and the Eternals for wrongs against his parents. After a battle with the Avengers Maelstrom's body is discorporated by the Vision, atoms spreading farther and farther apart over time gradually floating through the cosmos. Drifting through space Maelstrom gains vast cosmic powers and becomes a servant to one of the greatest dark entities in existence: Oblivion. With even greater power now, Maelstrom acquires the Quantum Bands and starts about returning all reality to nothingness. The cosmically appointed Protector of the Universe, Quasar battles Maelstrom for the fate of the universe.
Why I Like Him: Maelstrom doesn't have many stories to his credit, but the story I outlined above is one of my top favorite Marvel cosmic stories. The first 25 issues of the 1989 Quasar series all build to Maelstrom's grand plan. In this saga we see how great a hero Quasar is and scary a villain Maelstrom is. Maelstrom acquires so much power at this time that he matches Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet! Needless to say, I was blown away by this story and impressed with how villainous Maelstrom was. Both Quasar and Maelstrom became solidified as two of my favorite characters.
A later story has Quasar traveling through alternate realities, one of which is a reality where Maelstrom is triumphant. As Quasar passes through he sees the full power of Maelstrom in a deadlock with an Infinity Gauntlet empowered Thanos, both equally matched. That's just plain cool.
#2
ANNIHILUS
First Appearance: Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November 1968)
Who He Is: An insectoid alien despot from the Negative Zone, Annihilus seeks to spread his dominance over all the Negative Zone and our own universe. A rival to Blastaar, Annihilus possesses the Cosmic Control Rod, a device of vast power, rendering him one of the greatest threats in the galaxy. First discovered by the Fantastic Four, Annihilus has fought against such cosmic heroes as Captain Marvel, Nova, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Once Annihilus partnered with Thanos, captured Galactus, acquired the Quantum Bands, and nearly conquered the universe. It took the combined forces of the Kree Empire, the Skrull Empire, Nova, Gamora, Quasar, Captain Marvel and more to stop Annihilus from conquering all outer space.
Why I Like Him: I've had a soft spot for Annihilus ever since I was a kid. Like Blastaar, one of the early Marvel action figures I ever acquired was an Annihilus figure from 1992. I had no idea who he was, I just thought he was cool looking. As you can guess I'm a fan of his design. This led to me seeking out his comic book appearances and there I came to know him. The story referenced above is none other than ANNIHILATION, the opening salvo to the last great era of Marvel's cosmic universe. Annihilus is the central antagonist (as one would assume) and it is perhaps the best showcase the villain has ever received. And of course it's my favorite story involving him.
It's funny, I think the Fantastic Four are great, but I love their villains WAY more than the FF themselves.
#1
