Marvel Comics has its fair share of old-school villains who make life hard on heroes, but there are also some legacy villains who took the place of the originals who lived up to, or even surpassed the original bad guys. In the beginning of Marvel Comics superhero titles in the 1960s, there were some iconic heroes who are still around today, but some of the villains that they faced in the past are either dead, retired, or in prison, and there are some new villains who have stepped up to replace them. In other cases, there are villains who have followed the originals, and both are still in action to this day, often clashing with each other regularly.
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Here is a look at the 10 best legacy villains in Marvel Comics, ranked by how great they really are.
10) The Rose (Richard Fisk)
Richard Fisk is the son of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, and his story was always one of tragedy. As a young man, he had no idea his father was a criminal mafia lord and just assumed he was a successful businessperson. However, when he learned the truth, he disappeared, with many believing he had died. However, he returned as The Rose and was intent on destroying his father’s criminal empire from within. He debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #2543 and his identity was a mystery for many years. His mother, Vanessa, killed him, but years later, he father brought him back from the dead, continuing his tragic life story.
9) Sin (Sinthea Shmidt)
Sinthea Schmidt is the Red Skull’s daughter, and she was aged into adulthood using experimental technology that gave her enhanced strength, durability, agility, and more. While her father was one of the most hated villains in Marvel Comics history, Sin went on to pave her own path and even led her own team, calling the Sister of Sin, following her father’s twisted ideologies. She played a major role in Fear Itself and is horrifyingly even more loyal to Red Skull’s beliefs, even more so than her father actually was in the end.
8) Hobgoblin (Phil Urich)
There have been several Hobgoblins in Marvel Comics, but the first few all either worked for Roderick Kingsley to confuse his identity as the real Red Skull, or they were tricked into believing they were Hobgoblin (Ned Leeds). However, when it comes to legacy characters, Phil Urich followed Roderick Kingsley and stole the identity from the original before becoming almost deadlier than the first Hobgoblin. He actually brought a new iconic weapon to the villain, with the Goblin Sword, and his main difference is that he has no problem killing people without hesitation, making him deadlier than Kingsley ever was.
7) Blackheart
Blackheart is the son of Mephisto, making his debut in Daredevil #270 in 1989. He was created from the evil that lived in the town of Christ’s Crown, which had built up over centuries. As Mephisto’s son, and someone born of pure evil, he has several supernatural powers, including the ability to consume souls. He also has powers that approach godhood when he is in the Darkforce Dimension. However, while he has worked for his father many times, he lacks any power to stand up to his dad and was even turned into a human where he was banished to Earth and ended up joining the Avengers Academy.
6) Beetle (Janice Lincoln)
The latest Beetle is an incredibly fun character, and while she replaced the original Beetle in the role, she has nothing to do with him Instead, she is Janice Lincoln, the daughter of Tombstone. Before she became a supervillain, she was a defense attorney, and she turned the character into something very different from the first Beetles, who were mostly mercenaries. Instead, Janice was a smart and tactical villain who actually started her own version of the Sinister Six. She is also very dangerous since she uses her skills as an attorney to help ensure that what she does as a criminal, is often rooted in legalities to protect herself.
5) Carnage
Carnage is an interesting legacy villain because he is the son of the Venom symbiote, but he is deadlier and more psychotic than Venom ever could be. When Venom helped break Eddie Brock out of prison, the symbiote left his offspring in the prison where it bonded to Cletus Kasady, who was imprisoned for his role as a serial killer. This made this legacy Marvel villain more lethal and nihilistic than even Venom. He even rose up the ranks quickly and became an avatar of Knull, which resulted the King in Black storyline. Add in storylines like Maximum Carnage, and the symbiote killing machine remains one of Marvel’s most iconic legacy villains.
4) Daken (Akihiro)
Daken is Wolverine’s son, and for many year, he wanted nothing more than to kill his father, who he believed abandoned him. The truth is that Wolverine never knew Daken existed until the young mutant came gunning for him. His name (Daken) means “mongrel” in Japanese, and he was raised with cruelty, causing his hatred of his father to grow even more intense. He has his father’s healing factor and claws, but he also secretes pheromones that manipulates the emotions of those around him. Possibly, his most notable action was when he murdered the Punisher as part of the Dark Avengers.
3) Venom (Mac Gargan)
There have been a few people who possessed the Venom symbiote over the years, and the deadliest has to be Mac Gargan, the man once know as the Scorpion. Even as the Scorpion, Mac was one of Spider-Man’s most dangerous enemies, but when he got the symbiote, Venom started to exhibit more cannibalistic behaviors than ever before and wanted to eat heroes, villains, and innocents alike. During this time, Venom became almost impossible to control thanks to it being abandoned by Peter Parker and Eddie Brock. While Mac was one of the strongest legacy heroes, Venom abandoned him with Eddie returned.
2) Baron Zemo (Helmut Zemo)
The original Baron Zemo was Heinrich Zemo, a Nazi Hydra agent from World War II who was one of Captain America’s most dangerous villains. However, when Helmet Zemo took his dad’s place, he brought some flair and a little bit of self-interest to the otherwise Nazi villain his father portrayed. Helmet is a master strategist and he has led everyone from the Masters of Evil to the Thunderbolts. As the leader of the Masters of Evil, he actually led them on one of the Avengers biggest defeats when they attacked Avengers Mansion. With the Thunderbolts, he tricked the world into thinking they were heroes. He is much more iconic than his father ever ended up being.
1) Green Goblin (Harry Osborn)
Norman Osborn was one of Spider-Man’s main archenemies for years as the Green Goblin. However, after Norman killed Gwen Stacy and then seemed to have died himself, Harry Osborn believed Spider-Man killed his father, and then when he learned it was his best friend, Peter Parker, Harry lost control and took on the role of the Green Goblin himself. Unlike many legacy Marvel villains who just followed up a previous version, Harry took on his dad’s role out of grief and trauma, and it makes him one of the most tragic Spider-Man villains in Marvel Comics’ history.
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