7 Marvel Comics Heroes Who Turned Into Villains

Marvel Comics loves redemption stories, but there are just as many stories about heroes who turn into villains. For every moment where Norman Osborn turns into a genuine hero and Sandman turns over a new leaf, there is a former hero, Avenger, or mutant who decides they prefer the dark side. In some cases, they decide that their life is easier breaking the law, and in other cases, they are turned into villains thanks to something the other heroes did to them, and they just want revenge. The stories are always different, but in the end, these Marvel villains decided that playing the role of a hero was not what they wanted to do.

From Avengers who just became slimy villains to mutants who became a threat to the entire world, here are some of the most notable Marvel heroes who turned into villains.

7) Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady)

There have been several characters who took on the role of Ant-Man in Marvel Comics. Hank Pym was the original Ant-Man, and he even had a time where he switched sides, although it was more of a mental breakdown than a fully-formed heel turn. Scott Lang actually became Ant-Man after committing a burglary to steal the costume to save his daughter. Then, there is Eric O’Grady.

Eric was never meant to be a hero. He began working as Ant-Man when he stole the suit from his dead friend and served in the role for SHIELD. His real personality was shown when he used his powers to stalk women and become a peeping Tom. His best storylines were always as a villain, especially when he was teaming with Taskmaster.

6) Madelyne Pryor

Madelyne Pryor never had a chance in life. She was a clone created by Mister Sinister to replace a deceased Jean Grey in Scott Summers’ life. Not knowing she was a clone, she and Scott fell in love and got married after Cyclops resigned from the X-Men. They ended up having a baby, and life was going well until Jean Grey returned from the dead. When Scott went to Jean, Sinister sent his Murauders to kill her and to kidnap the baby.

Things got worse for Madelyne, as she realized her true nature and then turned evil, becoming the Goblin Queen and trying to bring Hell to Earth in the Inferno X-Men storyline. Tragically, every time Madelyne tried to rehabilitate, no one would trust her again, and every time she returned, she became more and more deranged.

5) Alex Wilder

Alex Wilder’s heel turn doesn’t have the same impact as other Marvel heroes turned villains. That is because he was created as one of the new characters in Runaways and then turned bad as part of that original comic book run. Marvel always intended him to be the mole in the group who was there to turn on his friends and aid his villainous parents and The Pride. The one thing that made it impactful was how it affected Nico Minoru, whom he did care about, and who rejected him when she learned the truth.

4) Beast

The transformation Beast went through in Marvel Comics was astonishing. When he first appeared in X-Men #1, he was an oversized mutant with great strength, agility, and endurance. However, he tried to heal himself and turned into a blue furry mutant. He still kept his humor, especially when he was part of the Aventers, and was often the kind, generous jokester. Things got dark after Cyclops killed Professor X.

Beast suddenly began scientific experiments that pushed the boundaries of morality, and he soon found even his mutant friends worrying about it. Finally, on Krakoa, he lost it. Xavier put him in charge of X-Froce, and Beast went rogue, humiliating his teammates and killing without remorse. He almost destroyed everything for the mutants until his old friend Simon Williams showed up and stopped him. That Beast is dead now, and a clone of Beast returned, with his former jovial personality.

3) Hulk (Maestro)

There are some powerful versions of Hulk, but none are quite as terrifying as Maestro. This is Hulk from another Earth, where a nuclear apocalypse wiped out most of humanity, and Hulk just went into a cave to hibernate and sleep it off. When he came out, he saw humanity was still crap and decided he wanted to take over and rule things himself.

He did some very evil things at this time, killing his enemies, trying to take out his old friend Rick Jones, and he even had Hercules murdered when the Prince of Power showed up to challenge his rule. It took the Hulk from Earth-616 to show up and find a way to kill him to stop the evil ruler, and it still wasn’t enough to keep this Marvel hero turned villain down.

2) Red Hulk

It might be argumentative to call General Ross a “hero,” but the truth is that he was a military general whose duty it was to protect the country from threats. There wasn’t a bigger threat in his eyes than Hulk, especially when the big green guy would accidentally destroy towns as he bounded through them. In reality, Ross was a hero, but one who was a little too obsessed with Hulk.

However, when Ross turned into Red Hulk, he went full evil for a time. He has become somewhat of an anti-hero along the way, but he is someone who only cares about his own wants and needs, and he is no longer someone who really cares about protecting the nation. He is something a lot darker now.

1) Ultimate Reed Richards (Maker)

This is Reed Richards from the Ultimate Universe. It is also a look at what Reed Richards from Earth-616 could have become if he had given in to some of his darker impulses. This Reed wanted to be a hero, but he was also someone who believed he was always in the right and was even more arrogant than his 616 counterpart. That was a problem.

When Susan Storm rejected Reed’s marriage proposal and the Fantastic Four broke up, Reed decided he needed to do something to become a hero by faking his own death, while also killing his parents. He then became the Maker, knowing his Earth was going to end (in the incursion), and created the Children of Tomorrow, attacking the Earth and becoming the most dangerous villain on the planet.

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