The beginning of the 21st century saw a new age of success for Marvel Comics, both in its storylines and in numerous adaptations. The 2000s saw the creation of many iconic and influential tales, including Civil War and Secret Invasion, as well as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while this period is predominantly known for heroes fighting each other, there were still plenty of captivating and menacing villains to emerge as well. Many of these new evildoers showed they were the real deal right off the bat by committing some of the most heinous crimes in Marvel Comics history, leaving lasting impacts on the world and the superhero community.
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From alien tyrants to superpowered crime lords, the 2000s saw a new breed of evil arise to contend with Marvel’s greatest heroes.
7) Queen Veranke
Secret Invasion was one of the most iconic Marvel stories of the 21st century, as the shapeshifting alien race infiltrated the highest seats of power in the superhero community and the world government. The mastermind behind this covert takeover was the Skrulls’ leader, Queen Veranke. Making her debut in 2005, Veranke was a religious fanatic who believed that the Skrull homeworld would be destroyed. Although initially treated as an outcast despite her royal status, Veranke’s prophecy came true when Galactus destroyed her world. Without a planet and desperate for hope, the remaining Skrulls made Veranke their new queen, and she led her people to Earth to make it their new home. Leading the Skrull’s invasion, Veranke replaced Spider-Woman and worked to undermine the Avengers from within their ranks. Queen Veranke was a ruthless and calculating villain who effortlessly manipulated the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and came closer than most to conquering the Earth.
6) Mister Negative
Despite only making his first appearance in 2007, the nefarious crime lord Mister Negative has already become one of Spider-Man’s most notorious enemies. Originally a human smuggler, the man took the name Martin Li to evade the cops. However, Li was soon captured by a rival gang who subjected him to inhuman experiments that connected to two extradimensional energies called the Light Force and Dark Force. With these contradictory energy sources in his body, his mind split into two identities: the kindhearted philanthropist Martin Li, and the feared crime boss Mister Negative. While Li has a healing touch, Mister Negative can brainwash and corrupt people so that they turn evil. Mister Negative can also charge his weapons with Light and Dark Force energy to make them stronger and deadlier. With his distinctive photo-negative appearance, unique powers, engaging split personality dynamic, and his never-ending drive to take over New York’s criminal underworld, Mister Negative is a welcome addition to Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery.
5) Void
In 2000, the world was introduced to the most powerful superhero, Bob Reynolds, aka the Sentry. Originally a drug addict, Bob gained the power of a million exploding suns after drinking a Super Soldier Serum. While the Sentry at first seemed to be another basic Superman copycat with an additional molecularkinesis power, the true nature of this hero was revealed with the introduction of the Void. Existing as a split personality within Bob’s psyche, the Void is evil personified. For every good deed the Sentry performs, the Void inflicts an act of unbelievable cruelty. The Void possesses the Sentry’s near infinite strength, speed, energy projection, and reality-warping powers, but is unrestrained by morality. Although Sentry does his best to suppress this dark half, the Void always manages to claw back to the surface so that he can enact his plan to kill everything in the universe. The Void is one of the most terrifying and Lovecraftian representations of mental illness in comic book history.
4) Morlun
From the moment of his introduction in 2001, Morlun established himself as one of Spider-Man’s most powerful and vicious adversaries. Hailing from Earth-001, Morlun is a member of the Inheritors, a race of energy vampires that feed on the life force of others. Morlun’s favorite meals are spider-totems, beings with spider-based powers that are connected to the multiversal Web of Life and Destiny. To satiate his eternal hunger and desire for more power, Morlun has killed and feasted on the energy of countless versions of Spider-Man from across the multiverse. The main universe Spider-Man nearly met a similar fate when Morlun effortlessly beat the Web-Head half to death. Even when Spider-Man recovered and seemingly killed Morlun, the sadistic vampire has returned several times. Morlun and the rest of his Inheritors family have acted as the primary antagonists of every Spider-Verse storyline, making them some of the most iconic multiversal villains in Marvel Comics.
3) Daken
Akihiro, aka Daken, may be the son of Wolverine, but he’s definitely not a hero. Debuting in 2007, Akihiro was ripped from his mother’s womb by the mutant villain Romulus and raised to believe that Wolverine had abandoned him. In reality, Wolverine had no idea that his son even existed. Romulus trained Daken for years for the sole purpose of torturing and killing Wolverine. Daken inherited his father’s claws, healing factor, heightened senses, and immeasurable savagery. Daken also can secrete pheromones that dampen the senses of those around him, making them unable to sense his approach. Daken was a cruel villain who killed the Punisher and impersonated Wolverine as a member of the Dark Avengers. Daken underwent a redemption arc during the Krakoa era and reunited with his family, but he was then unceremoniously killed by Sabretooth. However, Daken has since returned as the powerful new Spirit of Vengeance called Hellverine. While he’s more heroic now, Daken is the definition of a bad seed.
2) Cassandra Nova
From the moment of her conception, Professor X’s twin, Cassandra Nova, was pure evil. When Cassandra tried to murder her brother in the womb, Professor X seemingly killed her with his psychic powers in self-defense. However, Cassandra survived as a psychic entity and grew a new body. On top of having telepathic abilities that rival those of Professor X, Cassandra can also manipulate her own DNA to grant herself telekinesis, phasing, and regenerative abilities. Cassandra would make her terrifying debut in 2001 in the storyline “E is for Extinction,” where she would orchestrate several Wild Sentinels into committing the Genoshan Genocide that saw 16 million innocent mutants killed. She would also infect the X-Men with deadly nano-Sentinels, swap minds with Professor X, stoke anti-mutant hate crimes, and cause multiple genocides across several planets. Unlike other X-Men villains, Cassandra Nova’s only motivation is to spread misery and death to spite her brother’s dreams of a peaceful future for humans and mutants.
1) Hood
In 2002, a small-time crook transformed into one of the greatest crime lords in the Marvel Universe. For his entire life, Paul Robbins wanted to be a supervillain. One night while performing a heist, Robbins snatched a cloak and boots from a demon. Naturally, these articles of clothing granted Robbins unnatural superpowers, namely invisibility, teleportation, and levitation. However, the clothing also had a connection to the ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu, who made Robbins his new host. As the Hood, Robbins rose through the criminal ranks until he became the Godfather of supervillains and commanded the largest criminal organization on Earth. The Hood and his supervillain army proved so powerful that they defeated the Avengers and killed Doctor Strange. Always trying to acquire more power, the Hood has managed to get his hands on the mystical Norn Stones, the Spirit of Vengeance, and even two of the Infinity Stones. The Hood is the ultimate example of a nobody gaining immense power and becoming an absolute nightmare.
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