Marvel Comics has been the home of many of the best heroes and villains for decades. Their battles have formed the nucleus of every amazing story, these fights giving readers some of the greatest grudges of all time. It makes sense; comics never end and popular characters never actually die, so numerous superheroes and supervillains have developed blood feuds that help define the Marvel Universe. The animosity caused by these grudges has led to some of the greatest stories in comic history, and gave readers tales with the kind of personal stakes that makes the fights that much more resonant.
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Some of these grudges are more popular than others, often following the characters into other forms of media. When you think of the House of Ideas’ grudges, there are some that jump to the top. These seven Marvel grudges are the biggest, their rancor creating something special.
7) Thor/Loki
Thor and Loki are two of the most powerful Asgardians in the Marvel Universe, and their grudge has defined both of them. They’ve had a volatile relationship over the years; they’ve been enemies and allies, their differences alternately weakening and strengthening their bond. Their millennia-spanning battle is part of what led to the formation of the Avengers, and has seen both of them tested to their utmost limits. They’re family, but family fights each other harder than anyone else. Thor never knows what to expect from Loki, and the God of Stories, no longer the God of Mischief, is always ready to use his brother in ways that the God of Thunder may not always want to be.
6) Hulk/Thunderbolt Ross
The Hulk is the strongest one there is, which has made challenging him rather difficult. However, that has never stopped General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. Ross hated Bruce Banner when the physicist started dating his daughter, and when Banner became the Hulk, he made it his mission to capture him. The two tangoed for years, and Ross eventually decided that if you can’t beat the gamma-powered giant, you should join him. He became the Red Hulk, and the two’s war went into overdrive. They’ll never stop hating each other, constantly doing everything they can to defeat the other.
5) Hank Pym/Ultron
Hank Pym is a founding Avenger and one of the most intelligent scientists in the Marvel Universe. He created an AI to help him in his research, but Ultron wasn’t what he wanted. The android rubbed Pym the wrong way, so he tried to turn him off. However, Ultron was able to escape and this moment made him hate his human “father”. Since then, the mad robot has become one of the greatest Avengers villains of them all. While he hates the entire team, the amoral automaton hates Hank especially. The two’s rancor will never end, each of them obsessed with ending the other.
4) Wolverine/Sabretooth
Wolverine and Sabretooth’s enmity has led to amazing battles, cementing their grudge as the biggest in X-Men history. The two of them traveled in similar circles over the decades, and they have been both partners and bitter foes. Victor Creed hates Logan because the diminutive mutant is everything that he isn’t – a good person who has been able to find love and belonging in a way that Creed could only wish for. ‘Tooth has been tormenting Wolvie for ages now, and even though the ol’Canucklehead has been able to kill Victor several times, he always come back, his hate for the hero reaching beyond the grave to pull him back into the fight.
3) Spider-Man/Green Goblin
Spider-Man and Green Goblin have been trapped in a death spiral for years, each of them fighting bitterly against the other. Norman Osborn met Peter Parker because he was the best friend of his son Harry. The wealthy genius wasn’t mentally well, though, and moonlighted as the Green Goblin, with Spider-Man battling against him. Once they learned each other’s identities, things got more personal and dangerous. Osborn killed Gwen Stacy, was thought dead himself, but kept manipulating Spidey’s life from afar. His return saw him take back his spot as the Wall-Crawler’s greatest foe. While the two have (and currently are) worked together, their hatred always brings them back to the battle against each other.
2) Captain America/Red Skull
Captain America was created because of the Red Skull. The Nazi psychopath was causing massive damage to the Allies in World War II, so the US created their own super soldier. Steve Rogers jumped into battle with Johann Schmidt and the two of them began a bitter feud that would last for decades. They are diametrically opposed to each other, one representing freedom and the other fascism, keeping alive a war that most long thought ended. As long as they are around, they’ll never stop clashing, each of them fighting to make sure their ideology is the dominant one.
1) Mister Fantastic/Doctor Doom
Reed Richards met Victor Von Doom in college and earned an enemy for life. Reed did his best to connect with the damaged Latverian, but Victor would have none of it. They hung out in the most antagonistic way imaginable, but Doom would blame Reed for the accident that destroyed his machine to free his mother’s soul from Hell (which would have worked if he had listened to Richards). Since then, the lord of Latveria has hated Mister Fantastic with a passion. While Richards doesn’t have the same depths of hatred for the doctor, his own animosity towards the villain has made their clashes so much more memorable. They are Marvel’s defining grudge, showing everyone what hating is really all about.
What’s your favorite Marvel Comics grudge? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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