Ranking The Avengers’ First 10 Villains By Power

The Avengers first debuted in Marvel Comics because they were tricked into rushing into a situation where they thought Hulk was out of control, and only a team of major heroes could stop him. This happened in Avengers #1 in September 1963, and the team consisted of Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp, and eventually the Hulk, who helped them after the confusion ended. Much like the Justice League in DC Comics, this team was meant to tackle Earth’s most dangerous villains, but many of their early villains are not memorable in any way, and it actually took 18 issues and almost two years to face 10 total villains, thanks to them facing the same supervillain team in five different issues over that time.

Looking at the Avengers’ first two years of existence, here is a breakdown of the first 10 villains they fought, based on power levels.

10) Kallusians

In Avengers #14, the team was in a panic. In the previous issue, Wasp almost died when the Avengers battled Count Nefaria, and the Avengers rushed her to the hospital for help. However, there was nothing that could be done there, so they set out to find Dr. Svenson because his experiments in lung restoration could help Janet. What they found was an alien pretending to be the doctor, and they realized there was an entire alien army hiding on Earth known as the Kallusians. The two sides fought, but the Kallusians ended up running away when a second alien race found them, and the two sides were in a war. They were just a roadblock to finding Svenson, and disappeared quickly so the doctor could save Wasp’s life.

9) Commissar

The 10th different villain that the Avengers ever fought didn’t show up until Avengers #18. By this time, every original Avengers member had quit the team, and Captain America now led the team with Hawkeye, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver as his teammates. In this issue, the Avengers head into a communist state called Sin-Cong and end up battling their leader, a cruel man known as Commissar. It made no sense how the Avengers could take action in a foreign country, but they learned that Commissar was a robot, beat him, and liberated the country.

8) Space Phantom

After the big battle in the first issue that brought the Avengers together, they ended up in a very disappointing battle in Avengers #2. The second-ever villain the team fought was a man known as the Space Phantom. He was a shape-shifter who pretended to be Hulk, Wasp, Giant-Man (Ant-Man changed to Giant-Man in this issue), and Iron Man at different times. He had some decent powers because he could take the form and powers of mortals, but he made a mistake when he tried it on Thor. Since Thor is a God, it backfired, and Space Phantom was blasted into limbo. He returned a few times after this, but was never a memorable villain.

7) Lava Men

Avengers #5 had the team battle the Lava Men, beings who had previously appeared in Journey Into Mystery, where they battled Thor. These creatures live in Subterranea and are made of living lava, so they are clearly very powerful beings, as they can generate heat from their bodies and increase it at will. The thing about these beings is that not all of them want to attack and don’t consider the humans evil, and it is mainly a tich doctor named Jinku, the Lava Man witch doctor. That said, the battle was short, although the Lava Men more than held their own, but it was all about saving both their world and the surface world, and Hank Pym found a way trick Hulk into causing the rock to implode and save both societies, ending their battle.

6) Mole Man

The Avengers also battled the Fantastic Four’s first enemy not once, but twice in their first two years. The team battled the Mole Man for the first time in Avengers #12, where he captures Giant-Man, and the Avengers have to take the battle to his underground base, where they also find the Red Ghost. Mole Man was then back in Avengers #17, and he proved how dangerous he was because he brought backup with him, including the Minotaur, a servant of the Mole Man and a monster who was too powerful for the new Avengers team under Captain America to beat without all working together as a unit.

5) Count Nefaria (13)

One of the Avengers’ deadliest villains over the years was B-list villain Count Nefaria, but he wasn’t so strong the first time he fought the team. His first appearance was in Avengers #13 when the team faced him and the Maggia, of which he was a member, along with the Nefaria Family. It was the Maggia that the Avengers were trying to stop when Nefaria decided to go on the offensive. His plan was to invite the Avengers to his castle, where he made copies of them and sent the copies to attack the United States, pitting the Avengers against the government. He was also the one who struck the hardest. As Wasp was shot in this battle and almost died. At the time, he had no superpowers.

4) Masters of Evil

The reason the Avengers didn’t face 10 different villains until their 18th issue was that they fought against the Masters of Evil in five different issues in the first two years. Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil showed up for the first time in Avengers #6 when this Zemo (Heinrich Zemo) attacked when he learned his old enemy, Captain America, was back. Zemo kept adding new members over the two years, including the former Black Knight, Melter, Radioactive Man, Enchantress, and the Executioner. They also gave Simon Williams his powers, where he became Wonder Man, but he died to help stop them.

3) Namor

Namor made his big debut in Marvel Comics (after originally appearing in Timely Comics) in the pages of the Fantastic Four. However, he also became a villain to the Avengers in the third and fourth issues of the series. In the third issue, he helped Hulk fight the Avengers, who wanted to force Hulk to remain with the team by force. In the next issue, he continued his attacks on the Avengers with his Atlantian army at his back. Neither side wins the battle, and Namor leaves after he believes the Avengers are consumed by an earthquake.

2) Kang the Conqueror/Lord Immortus

The Avengers faced Kang the Conqueror three times in their first 11 comic book issues. However, they fought the time-traveling villain in two different forms. They fought Kang the Conqueror (Earth-6311) in Avengers #8 in his first appearance as that specific character. He beat them, but they eventually destroyed his power source, so he fled back into his time. In Avengers #10, they then fought Immortus in his first appearance, not knowing this was a different incarnation of the same Earth-6311 Kang they fought once already, and he manipulated the Masters of Evil to fight for him. The very next issue, Kang was back again, and he has, over the years, proven to be one of the Avengers’ deadliest villains.

1) Loki

The very first villain the Avengers fought seemed like it was going to be the Hulk. However, Rick Jones helped the team figure out that Hulk was being tricked, and it was actually Thor’s adoptive brother, Loki, who was responsible. Just like in the first Avengers movie, Loki was the villain who caused the Avengers to join together and form their team. He had fought Thor before in the solo comics, but his actions here were dangerous enough to force Marvel’s strongest heroes to band together to stop him. Loki is an Asgardian God, and he is a powerful magic user, making him one of the most powerful Marvel villains in history, and the most powerful the Avengers battled when starting off as a team.

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