Marvel Comics has made some of the most legendary villains ever created. Some villains were huge deals from the beginning, bad guys who had the aura of a world-beater from the word go. Others were able to build up to a greater level than their creators ever expected, becoming some of the most well-known bad guys ever. The Marvel supervillain community is a rather complicated place; the best way to describe them is they are like a herd of cats. They are all going to do what they want and sometimes, they’ll work together. Other times they ignore each other’s plight or decide to try to fight each other. This dysfunction is one of the main reasons the heroes have been able to survive; if the bad guys ever got organized, it would be all over.
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However, even in a crowd as iconoclastic and caustic as the Marvel villain community, there are going to be some who rise to the top. These villains are able to gain the respect of their fellow bad guys and can even marshal into powerful teams. Sure, these teams almost always fall apart completely, but the fact that any one villain can bring the bad guys together at all shows just how much respect they’ve earned. These five Marvel villains are respected by their fellow scoundrels, role models for the bad guys.
5) Apocalypse
The X-Men have amazing villains, but the most respected of the bunch is easily Apocalypse. En Sabah Nur has been a force in the shadows for millennia, surviving anything thrown at him and thriving. He’s everything that a villain would want to be, a powerful, feared antagonist who everyone listens to. He’s rather wise for someone obsessed with genocide and it’s better to be someone that he looks kindly upon than otherwise. He’s amped so many villains over the years, spreading his power throughout the community of mutant villains. He doesn’t betray anyone very often – and when he does, it’s not really a surprise; it’s usually because you’ve lost too many times and he thinks you’re weak – and once he respects you, he never stops. Sure, he’ll kill you if he has to, but he’ll give you a fighting chance, which is more than someone like Mister Sinister or Sebastian Shaw will give you.
4) Green Goblin
Green Goblin is Spider-Man’s most storied villain, hurting the Wall-Crawler in ways that no other bad guy has. Norman Osborn is genuinely psychopathic and that can make it very hard for anyone to trust him. While he’s not at Joker levels of abusing the people around him, there’s always the chance he’ll snap. However, everyone knows that Osborn is an intelligent, resourceful man will do anything to win. His plans are often well put together, and he knows how to manipulate people. He’s been able to corral teams of villains successfully, alternately soothing them and striking them to keep them in line, and has come up with long-term plans that have been successful. Even though he’s dangerous, his successes over the years have earned him the respect of Spidey’s other villains, to the extent that they’ll take their chance and team up with him. He does what he says, he makes good plans, and he gets results.
3) Kingpin
Wilson Fisk is one of the most dangerous villains on the planet. He’s built himself up from the bottom, becoming the greatest mobster on the planet. The Kingpin might not seem like it, but he has a code – he has jobs that need to do and he will pay you for them. He pays what he owes and takes care of loyalty. Getting a job with the Kingpin means that you have security. He has a cunning tactical mind and the plans he makes have a good chance of succeeding. He’s the kind of villain that everyone wants to be – a man who sits back in the shadows and lets everyone else do the work while he steers the ship into unimaginable wealth. They want to work with him because they want to be him and they all hope to reach his level one day.
2) Thanos
Thanos is the thing that gives even the most powerful villains nightmares. There’s a simple reason for that – if he decides to destroy everything, he’s going to do it. He’s superlatively powerful, fiendishly intelligent, and one of the most well-informed beings out there. He knows secrets that no one else does, mostly because he killed everyone else who knew. The Mad Titan is the ultimate force of destruction in the universe and that has to respected. He’s defeated gods and even the most powerful cosmic beings fear him. He can ruin any plans you have just by showing up and deciding to destroy everything in front of him. He’s been able to beat nearly powerful hero out there at least once. He’s one of the closest things that bad guys have to a role model. However, there’s one villain who is definitely a role model…
1) Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom is Marvel’s most storied villain, the platonic ideal for what a supervillain should be. He’s had that aura right from the beginning and there’s no way that other villains don’t respect. He’s intelligent, powerful, and rich; he has diplomatic immunity, so he can get away with anything. He’s a threat to every hero out there and you know that if he has a plan, there’s a good chance that it could be successful. He’s an honorable man and if he gives respect to those who earn it. He’s the ultimate villainous role model, a bad guy who all of them can aspire to be.
Who do you think are Marvel’s most respected villains? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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