The 2010s were an interesting decade for the Avengers, because they went from being a superhero team that fought as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to a team that fought to save every reality that ever existed. This decade saw the Avengers fight several villains who were on a higher level than almost anyone they had fought in the past. This decade, specifically for the Avengers, was dominated by Jonathan Hickman’s carefully plotted run in his Avengers and New Avengers stories that carefully set up and planned storylines like “Infinity,” “Time Runs Out,” and “Secret Wars.” The villains here ranged from ancient cosmic beings and the return of Thanos to cosmic gods and reality-bending outsiders.
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In a decade that blurred the line of what it meant to be a hero, here is a look at the most iconic Avengers villains of the 2010s, ranked by their level of importance for that decade in Marvel Comics.
10) The Builders
The Builders showed up in 2013’s Infinity six-issue event series by Jim Cheung, Jerome Opena, and Dustin Weaver. It tied into Avengers Vol. 5 #14-23 and New Avengers Vol. 3 #7-12. They are an ancient, near-omnipotent alien race that claims to have seeded and shaped the evolution of worlds across the universe, including Earth. The Builders spent this series racing across the galaxy, destroying countless planets, with the goal of reaching Earth and destroying it as well to stop the oncoming incursions. The Avengers left Earth to help battle the Builders in space, all while Thanos arrived to invade Earth during their absence.
9) Thanos (Infinity)
While the Avengers were off Earth, fighting to stop the Builders, Thanos showed up and invaded the planet while the Earth’s greatest heroes were absent. This was the series that introduced the Black Order for the first time, predating the team’s appearance in Avengers: Infinity War. This included Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Ebony Maw, Black Dwarf, and Supergiant. Thanos only had one goal, and that was to kill his Inhuman son, Thane. This was mostly an ancillary story for the Avengers, as it was their absence that led to Thanos’s attack, but it was also their victory over the Builders that helped tie into Thane finally defeating his father.
8) AIM and Andrew Forson
Andrew Forson debuted in FF #1 (2011) by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting. He was the Scientist Supreme of AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics), who rose to power after AIM went public and established a sovereign base on the island of Barbuda, overthrowing the Wizard with the consent of the organization. He was one of the main villains in Hickman’s Secret Avengers run, where AIM clashed with SHIELD and the team. He replicated the Iron Patriot armor and launched international attacks, framing the United States for the actions. He finally lost when billionaire Avengers member Sunspot bought AIM and repurposed it.
7) The Maker
The Maker is Reed Richards from the Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610). While initially a hero created by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and Adam Kubert, he ended up turning into the villain known as the Maker under writer Jonathan Hickman. He made his way to the Marvel Universe (Earth-616) in New Avengers Vol. 3 (2013-2015). He was a big part of the “Time Runs Out” storyline, manipulating the incursions and becoming a massive threat. He worked with Namor’s Cabal to destroy alternate Earths to save Earth-616 from the incursions, making him an enemy to the Illuminati and the New Avengers. As an evil genius who helped set the stage for Secret Wars, he showed what would happen if Reed Richards finally turned evil.
6) The Final Host (Dark Celestials)
The Final Host debuted in Avengers #1 (2018) by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness, and he was part of the Dark Celestials, corrupted, planet-sized cosmic gods who were members of the ancient Celestial race and were twisted into a parasitic plague called the Horde. “The Final Host” ran for six issues, and they awoke when Loki woke them as he planned his own schemes on Earth. The Avengers had to reform to fight them, and it wasn’t until they formed a Uni-Mind to combine every member’s power that they could defeat them and save the planet. This was a cosmic-level threat, but it was only across one story arc to relaunch the Avengers title with a major villain.
5) Cabal (Hickman’s Avengers)
The Cabal was a dark version of the Illuminati, and they served one purpose. While the Illuminati were to blame for Earth being unprepared for the incursions, Namor (who was part of both teams) decided to create a new group to start trying to save Earth. However, the Cabal, which formed in New Avengers Vol. 3 #23 (2014) by Jonathan Hickman and Kev Walker, did this by destroying other Earths to save Earth-616. He brought in villains to help him in this task, and that turned some of the Avengers’ own allies into mass murderers willing to kill anyone needed to save themselves.
4) The Beyonders
The Beyonders are god-like outsiders who exist beyond the Marvel multiverse and were revealed in Hickman’s Avengers/New Avengers run as the true cause of the multiverse’s destruction. It was the Beyonders who caused the incursions, with the overall plan to destroy the multiverse entirely. Their plan was to turn the Molecule Man into a bomb that would collapse all of existence. They then went on to kill the Living Tribunal, the Celestials, Eternity, Infinity, and the In-Betweener. This was built up throughout Hickman’s run on the Avengers titles, but it wasn’t the Avengers who stopped them. Instead, it was Doctor Doom and Molecule Man who killed the Beyonders and seized their power.
3) Captain America (Secret Empire)
Secret Empire is a 2017 Marvel miniseries by Nick Spencer that started with one of Marvel Comics’ most controversial moments. Captain America said, “Hail, Hydra,” and everything immediately changed. The sentient Cosmic Cube Kobik rewrote Steve Rogers’ history to show he had been a Hydra sleeper agent all along. He then initiated Hydra’s takeover of the United States, which fractured the entire country, including the Avengers. Of course, this wasn’t the Earth-616 Steve Rogers, but was instead an alternate Earth Captain America, and it took the original Steve Rogers to return to help beat this evil counterpart. However, having Captain America take over the country and turn it into a fascist regime was shocking, and it had repercussions, with many Americans happy to give up their freedom.
2) The Phoenix Five
The Phoenix Five were the villains in the Avengers vs. X-Men (2012) crossover series. With the Phoenix Force headed for Earth, everyone assumed it was coming for Hope Summers. The Avengers wanted to take her and lock her away for her protection, with Avengers member Wolverine wanting to kill her. However, the X-Men felt the Phoenix could help the world. When the Avengers failed to stop the Phoenix Force, it split among five mutants and created the Phoenix Five. These mutants began to save the world, stopping wars, providing food and water to the impoverished, and creating a new utopia. The Avengers wanted to stop them. In the end, the Phoenix Force corrupted all the members, and it ended with Namor devastating Wakanda and Cyclops killing Professor X.
1) God Emperor Doom
The Avengers’ most important villain of the 2010s was also the Marvel Universe’s most important villain. It all started with Doctor Doom working to help save Earth from the incursions, and he succeeded. However, once he saved the Earth, he used his new godlike powers to recreate it in his own form, with him as God Emperor Doom, Susan Storm, Franklin, and Valeria as his family, and the entire planet under his rule. Doom’s godhood directly opposed the Avengers and the surviving heroes, with Reed Richards and a small group breaking through to challenge his stolen omnipotence. No other villain achieved as much in the 2010s as Doctor Doom, and this almost crippled the Avengers.
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