Every Original Avenger, Ranked By Their Rogues Galleries

There’s no doubt that the Avengers broke the mold when they first assembled decades ago. The team’s founding members came together to become something greater than any of them alone. But at the end of the day, each of them is their own hero, and they all have one thing that is pretty much uniquely theirs: their rogues’ galleries. Marvel has some of the best antagonists in comics, but the question must be asked. Who has the best coterie of supervillains from the original Avengers lineup?

They say a hero is only as good as their villains, and, truth be told, not every rogues’ gallery is created equal. No offense to any of the Avengers, of course, but let’s be real. Can the threats that Ant-Man faces really compare to the ones that Captain America or Thor has fought? Each of the Avengers might be an amazing hero, but their rogues’ galleries vastly differ in quality. Read on to see the original line-up of the Avengers and how their collections of villains compare.

5. Ant-Man/Wasp

I don’t know if it’s fair to put Hank and Janet together in one entry, but married couples tend to share most things, so why not bad guys? And I’m sorry, but out of all of the original Avengers, these two have some of the worst ones. Now, I’ll give them Ultron, who is a pretty great villain. But come on, Whirlwind, Porcupine, Black Knight, Egghead? This group of villains is kind of a joke. Good thing they’re on the Avengers, where they have a chance at going up against antagonists who are actually interesting.

4. Iron Man

As one of the leading minds of the Marvel Universe, Iron Man has a lot of villains coming after him. The Mandarin, Madame Masque, Justin Hammer, and that’s not even getting into the numerous villains that have cobbled together their own armor to fight Iron Man like the Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, or Ezekiel Stane. Tony Stark has a lot of fun villains, but none of them ever feel like true threats. Enough to briefly challenge him, sure, but collectively, they’re all kind of weak (but not as weak as other heroes’ rogues’ galleries)

3. Thor

I’m not even really a fantasy fan, but I have to admit that Thor has a lot of badass villains. I mean, Loki alone is an S-tier villain. And when you factor in ones like Hela, Malekith, the Enchantress, or Gorr (especially Gorr), it’s safe to say that Thor has one of the most respectable collections of foes among the original Avengers. And while the star villains he has are great, I feel like Thor is missing just one or two that really puts his foes over the top. But again, it’s a respectable line-up.

2. Captain America

I know Cap technically wasn’t part of the original line-up, but he was found a few issues into Avengers early enough to count. Besides, I have to talk about his foes. Red Skull, Arnim Zola, Baron Strucker, Baron Zemo, Crossbones. Any of these people are big enough threats to the entire Marvel Universe, able to mobilize armies and cause devastation on a scale many of these other rogues can only fathom. While Cap’s villains aren’t the strongest, many of them are brilliant and able to cook up plans that endanger the entire world.

1. Hulk

Maybe it’s my inner Hulk fan coming out, but I can’t think of an OG Avenger with a better rogues gallery than Hulk. The Leader, Abomination, General Ross, Maestro. Hulk’s got villains who are either incredibly smart or incredibly strong (or worse, both). As much as people fear the Hulk going wild and destroying everything, his villains are a collection of some of the biggest dangers alive. Every time one of Hulk’s foes shows up, you never know what they’ve got planned or what will be left standing when all’s said and done.

Which of the Avengers’ rogues’ galleries is your favorite? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!

Every Original Avenger Ranked By Power