Marvel has given readers some of the coolest villains in the comic industry. The Marvel Universe was always more grounded than the DC Multiverse, and this has allowed them to create villains that are much different from their distinguished competition. Marvel has its share of gimmick villains, but they also have some of the deepest villains around, antagonists that have grabbed the imagination of decades of readers and are just as developed as the heroes. The most well-known Marvel villains are some of the popular villains in fiction, but there’s an entire under layer of villains that are just as cool as the big guys, even though no one ever talks about them.
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These villains used to appear more often, but once comics went from a single story a month model to longer arcs written for the trade, they’ve faded away to be replaced by the more well-known foes. However, that’s extremely unfair to them, as they have all the potential in the world. These ten Marvel villains are amazing, and it’s about time they made a comeback.
10) Lady Deathstrike
Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and has faced off against lots of great villains. Wolverine’s best villains all have grudges against him, wanting to kill him for numerous reasons. Lady Deathstrike decided to make herself into a cybernetic killer to take revenge on Wolverine after Weapon X stole her father’s adamantium-bonding technique and they’ve been fighting ever since. Lady Deathstrike has went back and forth on the morality spectrum over the years, and has been developed into a compelling character. As a cybernetic killing machine, she can always come back after every defeat, and has even battled heroes like Captain America. Lady Deathstrike is always on the cusp of greatness, and it’s about time she was pushed over that edge.
9) Bloodscream
Bloodscream was cursed with vampirism centuries ago, and has been trying to drink the blood of an immortal — in this case Wolverine’s — in order to end his life. Bloodscream is a mercenary, often working with the Asgardian rock troll Roughhouse, and mostly fights Wolverine. However, he’s a cool vampire villain who can fit in anywhere. Marvel has a lot of powerful mercenaries, and Bloodscream deserves to join that number. He can be pit against a variety of heroes, and is the kind of tragic villain that could pay dividends if he’s given the right amount of spotlight.
8) Vulture
Spider-Man faces some tough villains, but the Vulture never gets the credit he deserves. Adrian Toomes created a flight harness and, after his business was stolen by a corrupt partner, used it to start a life of crime to support himself and his family. The Vulture got some mainstream cred from Spider-Man: Homecoming, but in the comics he’s still not much of a player anymore. The Vulture is a founding member of the Sinister Six, though, and has a great look. He’s sympathetic, and exactly the kind of villain that can appear anywhere against anyone and fit. He’s most recently fought Nightcrawler while he was pretending to be Spider-Man, so Vulture still makes appearances, but it’s about time that he gets a major storyline. If Tombstone can be made into a major villain of an entire Spider-Man run, there’s no reason that the Vulture can’t.
7) Harry Osborn as Green Goblin
Norman Osborn is integral to the Spider-Man mythos, but Harry Osborn is kind of forgotten in the 616 Marvel Universe, despite appearing as Green Goblin in the new Ultimate Universe. Harry and Peter were best friends, and after the “death” of Norman, Harry kind of lost it for a time eventually marrying Liz Allen. He eventually found out that Peter was Spider-Man and went mad, finding his father’s Green Goblin kit and deciding to take revenge. Spider-Man and Harry clashed, but without superpowers, Harry couldn’t hang. All of that changed when he found the Goblin formula, a newer formulation meant to make Green Goblin even stronger. This made him even crazier and he and Spider-Man had a final showdown where he died. He’s been resurrected, but that was retconned.
Harry Osborn’s time as Green Goblin is amazing, and not enough readers remember it since it happened over 30 years ago. That’s a shame, because he’s actually the best Green Goblin of them all, his relationship with Peter and his family making this a very compelling plot line (go check out The Spectacular Spider-Man #175-200 to see the best parts of it, as it was developed over those 25 issues perfectly by J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema).
6) Nitro
Nitro can seem like a lame villain, but there’s something undeniably cool about him. Nitro’s powers allow him to explode, with a maximum yield of 250 lbs of dynamite. After he explodes, he exists in a gaseous form as his body reconstitutes itself. Nitro can explode his entire body or just certain parts of it, allowing him to regenerate faster. He battled the original Captain Marvel, his powers part of the reason Mar-Vell died of cancer, and has appeared across the Marvel Universe, but was mostly unimportant until Civil War, where him exploding destroyed Stamford, Connecticut. Nitro isn’t particularly deep, he just likes exploding and getting what he wants. He’s a cool villain that will never be a major villain but that doesn’t stop him from being awesome.
5) Moonstone
Dr. Karla Soren found a special stone that gave her powers and become Moonstone, with super strength, density control, energy manipulation, and flight powers. She was the definition of a C-lister, eventually joining the Masters of Evil, a team that is one of the Avengers’ enemies, and helping defeat the Avengers in “Under Siege”. This started her working relationship with Baron Zemo, which would lead her to becoming a member of the Thunderbolts. She’d end up leading the team, but eventually went back to villainy, joining the government-sponsored incarnation of the team before becoming a Dark Avenger as Ms. Marvel. Moonstone is tough and smart, and is the perfect foe for any hero out there. She’s fierce and fiery, an excellent villain all and all.
4) Graviton
Graviton is a bit of a cliche; he’s a scientist who was doing an experiment that backfired and he gained superpowers. He gained control over gravity in a three-mile radius around him and decided to use his powers for evil. That’s the long and the short of Graviton. He’s basically a simple, powerful villain that can smack around even the most powerful teams of heroes. Graviton is another character with near-infinite potential. He’s simple, but that’s the charm of the villain, allowing him to be taken in any direction. Graviton is a villain that can work in a variety of stories, and should be around much more. All he needs is the right push.
3) Count Nefaria
Marvel used to have a group called the Maggia, basically a superpowered mafia. The most powerful Maggia boss was Count Nefaria. Count Nefaria has battled the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Thunderbolts, using his ionic energy powers to run through basically everyone in front of him. Count Nefaria is a powerhouse who has been been able to slug it out with Thor, which is definitely saying something. The Maggia hasn’t been around in any serious way in ages, and Count Nefaria is the perfect villain to bring it back. This is a villain who whupped one of the most powerful rosters of Avengers of all time; he’s as awesome as they come.
2) Mojo
The X-Men have an amazing rogues gallery. Some of them are evil mutants, some of them are racist humans, and then there’s Mojo. Mojo is the leader of the Spineless Ones, and has his own dimension known as the Mojoverse. The Spineless Ones want to be entertained, and Mojo keeps power by giving them the bloodiest bread and circuses that he can, creating powerful soldiers, kidnapping the X-Men, and basically being scuzzy. Mojo is basically every slimeball producer taken to the max. He doesn’t show up often, but when he does, it’s always fire. Mojo hasn’t really fit the vibe of the X-Men books lately, but it’s about time he branched out and tried to find new heroes to bedevil for ratings.
1) Cyber
Cyber is a Wolverine villain, having been after the ol’Canucklehead since World War I. Cyber is a low-level psychic villain, and has a healing factor, super strength, and adamantium-bonded skin. He’s a bruiser, with retractable claws that inject hallucinogens into his foes, which allows him to use his psychic power to mess with them. He can also body jump, meaning death is just momentary stumbling block for him. Cyber is more than a match for just about any hero out there, and could be an A-lister pretty easily.
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