The Avengers are one of the greatest teams in the history of comics, and there are many fans out there who would make the argument that it’s the greatest team in comics. Now, I’m not one of those people, but I’ve always has a soft spot for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The Avengers is an old school superteam; it’s a combination of the best heroes in the Marvel Universe, battling against the most dangerous villains imaginable. Comic fans have been treated to some of the best fights ever in Avengers stories, and have been introduced to villains powerful enough to defeat a team that includes gods, sorcerers, super soldiers, peak humans, and more. These villains have pushed the team to levels that no others could.
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There are some amazing Avengers villains out there, and they are some of Marvel’s best. Villains like Doctor Doom, Loki, Kang, and Ultron get all of the attention, but they are just the beginning. The Avengers have battled some great villains in their over sixty year history, and many of them don’t get as much credit as they deserve. These seven Avengers villains are great, but aren’t talked about enough.
7) The Apocalypse Twins
The 2010s were a great time for the Avengers, and readers got introduced to two of the coolest Avengers villains ever — the Apocalypse Twins. The origins of the Apocalypse twins come from Uncanny X-Force, when Archangel became Apocalypse and got the new Pestilence pregnant. Her twin children were taken from her and raised in the Red Skull’s mutant concentration camp of the future to toughen them by Kang. As adults, Kang would unleash them on the world, but they had their own plans. The Avengers Unity Squad battled them in Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 1) #7-23. They were able to use the Celestial killing ax Jarnbjorn to kill a Celestial and bring it to Earth, the alien titans destroying the Earth, and then create Planet X for the world’s mutants, who they saved. Havok, the Wasp, and Beast are able to send word back in time, and the Avengers Unity Squad is able to defeat them. The story ends with them being carried off by their Horsemen of Death, but they haven’t been seen since.
6) Scarlet Centurion
So, on the one hand, Scarlet Centurion is yet another version of Kang, and Kang is one of those Avengers villains who get talked about a lot. Kang took up the mantle after his years as Rama-Tut. However, the Kang version of the character isn’t the only one. There was a Scarlet Centurion on the Squadron Supreme’s Earth that battled the Squadron. However, in the Avengers classic “The Kang Dynasty” we were introduced to a new version — Marcus Kang, the son of the Conqueror. This Scarlet Centurion fought alongside his father, battling the Avengers, and when his timeline was destroyed, he also disappeared. However, seeing as how Kangs across the multiverse get to hang out and show up at weird times, there’s no reason a new Scarlet Centurion can’t show up to fight the Avengers.
5) Michael Korvac
Michael Korvac killed the Avengers, so you think we’d talk about him more. Korvac was a human slave of the Badoon from the 30th century, and eventually was able to tap into limitless cosmic power. The 30th century Guardians of the Galaxy asked the Avengers for help against him and failed miserably. Korvac resurrected the teams, and they were able to beat him. Since then, he’s appeared several times (there’s an Avengers/Avengers West Coast crossover in a annual where they fight their most powerful villains), and has most recently been a villain in Christopher Cantwell and CAFU’s Iron Man a few years ago. However, only hardcore Avengers historians love Korvac, and that’s unfair to such a great character.
4) Enchantress
The Enchantress is often thought of as a Thor villain, which makes sense since she’s an Asgardian, and has been appearing in the fantastic Immortal Thor for the last year. However, she came to fame as an Avengers villain, joining the original Masters of Evil. Enchantress and the Executioner gave the team magic and muscle, and battled the Avengers many times. She was never at the level of Loki when it comes to Avengers villains or even Marvel villains, but she’s a very cool enemy, her magical powers and scheming abilities making her more dangerous than she appears. She’s not battled the Avengers in a while, and it would be great to see her again battling Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
3) Whirlwind
Whirlwind was never a major Avengers villain. He was usually just cannon fodder for teams like the Masters of Evil, (Avengers (Vol. 3) #4 saw him actually beat a massive team of Avengers because there were too many of them to go after him; it’s an excellent Busiek/Perez comic), but he always had cool costume. Whirlwind is a mutant, with the power to create and control tornadoes, and it always made him a great visual. Whirlwind has fallen from prominence — even during the Krakoa Era where mutants where ascendant, even villains — but there’s always time to bring back the king of Avengers cannon fodder.
2) Count Nefaria
Once upon a time, Marvel had a group of villains called the Maggia. The Maggia were basically a superpowered mafia, and battled characters like Spider-Man and the Avengers. One of the most important leaders of the Maggia is Count Nefaria. Nefaria started out as a regular human villain, but was given the power of the Living Laser, Power Man, and Whirlwind, enhanced a hundredfold. Nefaria thrashed the Avengers in Avengers (Vol. 1) #156, and has battled the team many times over the years. He’s even responsible for the death of Thunderbird in X-Men (Vol. 1) #94. However, Count Nefaria has fallen from prominence since the late ’70s. He’s a villain who can take on the Avengers all by himself, which makes him perfect for a comeback.
1) The Masters of Evil
The Masters of Evil were the villainous opposites of the Avengers. The original Baron Zemo brought the first team of the Masters of Evil together to fight the Avengers, and since then the team has been through many permutations. The Masters of Evil have recently appeared in One World Under Doom, but that’s the first time they’ve been important in years and they were only in about two issues anyway, having since faded away. The Masters are one of those classic villain teams that Marvel has basically left behind (alongside the Brotherhood of Mutants), and that’s unfair to a team with their history. They beat the Avengers and almost took over the world as the Thunderbolts. They are a force to be reckoned with that should never be as forgotten as they right now.
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