The comic book industry may have created some of the most amazing and iconic superheroes around, but it’s also responsible for creating hundreds of villains. Some of the most nefarious villains are those who manage to hide in plain sight. This includes corporations. Companies and businesses are a part of life, so of course, they made their way into superhero stories. More concerning, several corporations have found ways to become incredibly corrupt, insidiously taking control from the shadows. In a few instances, they even gave up the premise of discretion, knowing there was little that could be done to stop them.
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In a way, corporations are like people. They may begin with a more neutral appearance, but they have limitless potential. They can choose to be good, bad, or anything else they can think of. Corrupt corruption in media is hardly new, as they’ve been portrayed in movies, games, books, and more. However, there is something special in seeing superheroes come up against corrupt corporations, as often these companies provide unique challenges for the heroes we love the most.
(Dis)Honorable mentions to Omni Consumer Products (OCP) of Robocop, Umbrella Corporation of Resident Evil, and Weyland-Yutani of Alien. While these corporations made their way into the comic book universe, readers all know where their stories started. Their villainy is still worth checking out!
7) Hammer Industries
Anybody who’s spent any time reading an Iron Man comic (or watching the movies) will recognize the name Hammer Industries. It’s a British conglomerate desperate to keep up with Stark Industries. Led by the billionaire Justin Hammer, Hammer Industries specializes in weapons designs and supplies. To put it another way, they filled the void left by Stark International when Tony forced the company to move away from that side of production.
Over the years, Hammer Industries has earned a reputation for itself, and not all of it is good. Like Stark, Hammer strives to push the boundaries of technology, from aerial crafts to defense and weaponry. Both the comics and movies portrayed how, sometimes, those attempts had fatal consequences. Likewise, Hammer Industries doesn’t care as much about ethics, diving headfirst into the world of corporate espionage, attempting to steal/copy Iron Man tech, or failing that, destroying it.
6) Power Broker Inc.
While Hammer Industries is pretty well-known, even to casual Marvel fans, Power Broker Inc. does a better job of avoiding drawing attention to itself. Most of the time. Founded by Curtiss Jackson, aka the infamous Power Broker. At least that explains how the name came about. Power Broker Inc. trades augmenting technology and super soldier serums for money and favors, fueling the race for superpowers. Naturally, there’s a catch to using Power Broker Inc. tech, as not every procedure goes according to plan.
As if selling magical super soldier cures wasn’t evil enough, Power Broker Inc. has successfully kept the risks of using their serum quiet. Those who rely on it will find themselves at risk of becoming dangerously violent. They’ll also become quite dependent on it, but that may be a feature, not a bug. Power Broker Inc. is directly responsible for putting power into the hands of various criminal organizations and famous individuals, including Bantam, the Grapplers, and the Power Tools.
5) Oscorp Industries
In case the name didn’t give it away, Oscorp Industries was founded by billionaire industrialist Norman Osborn. Based in Manhattan, Oscorp Industries has come to the attention of Spider-Man on more than one occasion, as readers well know. Osborn used Oscorp Industries as a means to produce both technology and money, which he would then turn into tools to achieve his goals.
Oscorp Industries mostly does a solid job of flying under the radar, but those who know what to look for can easily spot the signs. Oscorp has infamously supplied supervillains with weapons. Likewise, the company isn’t afraid to delve into unethical experiments, such as genetic manipulation or technology development. It goes without saying that with Osborn at the helm, Oscorp Industries isn’t afraid to practice a little bit of corporate espionage, cover up their wrongdoings, and bribe officials to keep everything looking squeaky clean.
4) LexCorp
LexCorp is easily the most infamous corporation in DC Comics. Also known as LuthorCorp or L-Corp, the company is run by Lex Luthor. Hopefully, that bit was obvious. Based in Metropolis, LexCorp was originally an aerospace engineering firm. However, with time, LexCorp became highly diversified, eventually becoming one of the most profitable companies in the DC Universe. With the brilliant mind of Lex Luthor working behind the scenes, none of that is surprising.
Naturally, LexCorp has evolved to have many branches within the parent corporation. These branches include Luthor Technologies (weapons, pharmaceuticals, robotics, etc.), Luthor Communications (phone, television, and, for a time, even owning Daily Planet), Luthor Financial (banks, brokerage, investment), and LexMart. On the surface, it looks like one of those mega conglomerations that has its hands and everything, and that’s because it does. There’s a lot to be said about that, but that’s not the worst of LexCorp’s crimes. Luthor has personally wielded LexCorp like a weapon, using different divisions to achieve his goals. For example, he’s successfully found ways to depower some heroes (by understanding their mutations) and genetically engineered his own forces.
3) Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.)
While some comic corporations do a great job of looking like their real-life counterparts (if pushed to the logical extreme), others look more like a company with a supervillain mask on. For example, Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) may be an organization led by scientists, but people most often just consider it to be a criminal organization. They gave up on the idea of running under the radar years ago and have embraced their evil side.
A.I.M. is a privately funded think tank, effectively run by scientists who want to overthrow the government and/or the world, depending on who’s in charge on any given day. Originally, A.I.M. was a branch of Hydra, but they’ve since split off, not that this has made them any less evil. They’ve done everything from getting their hands on the Cosmic Cube to allying with M.O.D.O.K., and they’re far from done. When M.O.D.O.K. was in charge, he created an android copy of Bucky Barnes, which created plenty of problems for the heroes. Later, A.I.M. agents invaded Wakanda to try and steal some Vibranium. They’ve made trouble for many heroes in Marvel, ranging from trying to take out the Hulk to out-inventing Iron Man. They’ve also tried to steal Carol Danvers’ powers, gotten on the wrong side of the X-Men, the list goes on. They’ve broken up and reformed more times than a boy band, and they’re always up for new ideas to take over the world.
2) Vought International
Vought International, aka Vought or Vought-American, is a superhero entertainment conglomerate hailing from the world of The Boys. It’s led by Homeland and Sister Sage, which is probably the only explanation necessary to showcase why it belongs on this list. They’re directly responsible for The Seven and for a large proportion of licensed superheroes, but that’s not the only thing they manage. Like any corrupt corporation, they have their fingers in everything, determined to control the world’s wealth.
Outside of those obvious details, Vought International is responsible for manufacturing Compound V. This is the chemical famous for transforming humans into superpowered beings, or as Vought International likes to call them, “superheroes.” By carefully curating their image and creating new superheroes, Vought International has established a funnel for both wealth and power. The corporation is ruthless and corrupt, and a single look at any employee will make that abundantly clear.
1) Roxxon Energy Corporation
Roxxon Energy Corporation has gone by many names since its introduction in Marvel Comics, though it’s usually all a variation of the same theme: Roxxon Oil, Roxxon International Research, Brand Corporation, or even just Roxxon. At a glance, Roxxon Energy Corporation probably looks no different than any other corporation on this list–powerful, corrupt, and filthy rich. What makes Roxxon stand above the rest (in the worst ways possible) is that this company has not been content to leave its greed focused on Earth. Roxxon has gone after other worlds and was infamously involved with Marvel’s War of the Realms.
When Roxxon Energy Corporation first formed, it did a solid job of camouflaging. It helped fund the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D., though admittedly it did so to make superheroes look the other way. Since then, Roxxon has been working its roots into many things, not all of them good. While funding S.H.I.E.L.D., they were simultaneously smuggling weapons to Hydra. They’ve done a little bit of everything in terms of what is considered evil. From illegally dumping toxic waste to conducting experiments on humans. They’ve allied with the Serpent Society and even Malekith the Accursed. The latter brought them directly into the War of the Realms. During this war, Roxxon took their evil plot a step further, invading Vanaheim and buying Antarctica from Malekith, all with Dario Agger at the helm.
One might think the conclusion to War of the Realms would have put a stop to Roxxon, but they’d be wrong. More recently, Roxxon has acquired the rights to Marvel Comics of Earth-616, which sounds super meta but is quite dangerous. They’re trying to warp the public’s perception of heroes, and it’s working. Their first target? Thor. Or perhaps we should say, Roxxon Presents: Thor™. It’s easy to see how this test could become a template for future Roxxon shenanigans.
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