Quick! Think of a Marvel villain! The first person to pop into your head might have been someone like Venom, Loki, Magneto, or Doctor Doom, and for good reason. They stand out above all the other villains and have risen to become iconic across the franchise. But how can some villains stand out and others are barely an afterthought?
Marvel has one of the most diverse and expansive character databases of any franchise. Standing out among all the mutants, aliens, superheroes, and cosmic entities can be hard. And yet, some villains stand out and rise above all the others, while others fall into irrelevance and are forgettable. Some have designs that make them stand out, while others have fantastic writing that makes them memorable for many years to come. Others have flashy names and costumes, fancy equipment, or amazing powers.
The question after all of this is: who are the best Marvel villains? The most memorable, the best written, the coolest names, the flashiest costumes, and the most amazing powers. Two stand out above all the rest: Magneto and Doctor Doom!
Magneto, also known as Erik Magnus Lehnsherr or Max Eisenhardt, is a mutant from the Marvel series X-Men. He is a member of the mutant race in Marvel, which is another name for humans born with mutations or powers. These powers typically manifest during adolescence / teenage years. His mutant powers are to control magnetic and electric fields. He is creative with these powers, and the abilities that he can use with these are almost limitless. He can control all metal, summon forcefields, create electromagnetic pulse (EMP) blasts, fly, become invisible, manipulate the iron in the blood, and manipulate matter on an atomic level, along with many other abilities.
His powers and abilities stand out even among celestial beings, mutants, gods, and superheroes. Even so, only a few villains with similar elemental control abilities get as much spotlight as he does. Why is this the case? One simple answer: he has better control and mastery over his powers. People like to see a villain who knows what they’re doing and how they will do it, and Magneto fits these categories. His powers make him a tough match for anyone who dares to challenge him, ensuring a long and entertaining battle that will keep peoples’ interest throughout its duration. People want to see a fight that isn’t too one-sided and will keep them on the edge of their seats.
Another important aspect of making an iconic villain is ensuring that they have a well-written story. A good story can make some people understand why the villain does what they do or think the way they do. Magneto’s story excels.
Magneto, born Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, was born in Germany to a German-Jewish family in the late 1920s. When the Nazis rose to power he and his family tried to flee, only to get captured. His family died in a mass burial, but he escaped, likely due to the activation of his mutant abilities. He was recaptured and sent to Auschwitz. He was then saved at a later date by Wolverine and Captain America.
He met Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, sometime in the late 1940s. He and Charles maintained the same goal but differing ways of achieving it. They both wanted peace for all mutants; however, Magneto believed his experience as a holocaust survivor meant that no human could change, and they would always oppress those who were different. Charles thought humans could change and learn to accept and celebrate those who were different. Magneto disagreed with him and left him shortly after helping found Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Sometime after the first X-Men team formed he formed his own team of mutants: The Brotherhood of Mutants, which was later renamed to The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Magneto’s story is one of tragedy, loss, suffering, and justice. His story even demands interest because of his unique powers and how he acts. It invokes more natural curiosity and interest than most standard villain stories, even leading to quite a few people understanding him and the way that he thinks. His story, which is also somewhat rooted in reality, also helps people understand and connect to him.
He has lived through and is one of the few survivors of a historic tragedy. No matter what he does or how he does it, it has always been for the better of all mutant-kind. He believes that humans won’t change and the only to be truly safe is to wipe them all out to ensure the safety of all mutants. He has seen the fleets of Sentinels, giant robots built by humans to kill all mutants, and refuses to have his people live in constant fear of death or persecution by the governments of the world. If that means that humans need to die to ensure the safety of his people, then they die by his hand. He has survived the Holocaust and views the way that mutants are treated as a second Holocaust, and he refuses to just stand by and watch idly again. He isn’t truly evil; he is just seeking justice in a way that isn’t heroic.
This leads many Marvel fans to understand what causes Magneto to be the way he is. It is quite rare when the audience can understand a villain, even rarer when they can understand the way he thinks and acts. Magneto is also rarely, if ever, painted as simply another villain. He isn’t truly good or pure evil, operating in shades of gray most of the time. This helps him be seen as a more neutral party, rather than just another evil bad guy to hate.
The other greatest villain in all of Marvel is Doctor Victor Von Doom. He, like Magneto, has both interesting powers and an amazing story.
Victor Von Doom was born on January 19, 1970, in Riga, Latvia. His mother and father both died while he was young, inspiring him to seek out studying both science and magic. When he went to college, he met Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. Sometime during his college years in America, he suffered a horrible accident that permanently scarred his face when an attempt to resurrect his mother went wrong. The accident also caused him to be expelled from his school. He blamed Richards for the accident and swore eternal vengeance upon him. After the accident, he traveled to Tibet and studied the mystical arts under monks at a temple.
After learning everything he could about magic and the mystical arts, he forged a suit of armor that he infused with magic. The suit increased the focus and range of his already potent magical powers and greatly increased his strength and durability. With his new suit and powers, he returned to his home country of Latvia, gathered his people, and overthrew the King, slaying him and taking the throne. He renamed the country Latveria. He ensures all his people are happy, have food and shelter, and live comfortable lives. Now armor-clad and powered, Doom sits on his throne and plots his eternal vengeance on Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four.
Doom’s backstory invokes interest, especially because he has a history with one of the most iconic Marvel heroes. The scars on his face also double as a representation of the scars on his mind due to the sudden demise of both of his parents when he was young. He grew up orphaned and alone and had to claw his way to the top. And when he was finally at the top, one accident ruined everything and sent him into a downward spiral. He needed a scapegoat to blame for everything that went wrong, and he chose someone who simply wanted to help. Many people can relate to lashing out at people who care about them when upset, which helps some understand Doom.
He also isn’t a bad leader for his country. He truly cares about his people and will do anything to improve their quality of living, so that none of them have to experience the pain and tragedy he had to as a child. He also typically doesn’t mess with other heroes if they don’t mess with him first. His vast range of magical powers ensures that he can back up almost any threat he makes. His calm and collected nature combined with his interesting powers have led to him being a fan-favorite villain.
Now while Doom and Magneto are the greatest Marvel villains, there are still the forgettable, boring, and uninteresting villains. What makes a villain forgettable?
It’s simple: a boring story, forgettable costume, bad or no powers, and a design that could go to a cartoon background character. Sadly, many villains can fall into this category if they are not mentioned often. This is because they just aren’t interesting enough to be on their own and often rely on a team to keep them relevant. Two stand out as the most uninteresting of all: The Vulture and M.O.D.O.K.
The Vulture, also known as Adrian Toomes, was born on an unknown date sometime in 1946. He led a pretty normal life as an electrical engineer until he discovered his partner in the business had been embezzling funds from the company. Unfortunately, his partner was the CEO, so he was fired with no legal consequences. Later, using wings that utilized electromagnetic waves to fly, he broke into the company and wrecked it. He was eventually stopped by Spiderman, and this led to him joining the Sinister Six.
Most people know of The Vulture but few know his secret identity. This is one of the most important aspects of a villain and most ignore or forget him because there are more interesting people on his team. Most would rather hear about Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, or Scorpion. His backstory also feels very generic compared to many other villains. Although his name may stand out his design doesn’t, making him yet another face in the crowd.
With his bland backstory, he also has some standard and uninteresting powers. Due to the use of his electromagnetic wingsuit, he has gained superhuman strength and flight. The wings on his suit grant him some superhuman speed, but not to a very noticeable extent.
His powers are just some of the standard comic villain variety of powers. Even worse than them being generic is his costume. It’s all green with wings added on either his back or attached to his arms, depending on the continuity. He could pass as just another random person in the comic world, and the fact that he is an old man doesn’t help. Among all the other fantastic, amazing, and otherworldly villains in Marvel, he is just some random old man who tried his best to be unique and failed.
Another easily forgettable villain is M.O.D.O.K. M.O.D.O.K, or George Tarleton, a scientist for A.I.M, a criminal organization founded by his father. Only a little is known about how or when he grew up because his birthday is unknown. While researching a way to create the Cosmic Cube, A.I.M mutated George into a living supercomputer and processor for the Cosmic Cube. He turned on the people who mutated him and killed them to take over A.I.M. He later rebranded himself as M.O.D.O.K. He has bounced around a lot in his runtime, but he unfortunately doesn’t appear in a lot of major Marvel media.
His backstory is unique and does stand out. However, he isn’t seen in a lot of media, which can sadly make him forgettable. His design is also pretty standout. He looks like a giant head with baby limbs. His comedic appearance leads to some focusing on that rather than his story, which is part of what makes him so forgettable.
His powers are kind of basic as well. He has telekinetic and telepathic powers along with limited teleportation abilities. His powers are, like Vulture’s, basic and unnoticeable. His basic powers are easily forgettable and can fade him into the background even further than he already is. Most of the time, Marvel will substitute other villains with the same type of powers because they just don’t see M.O.D.O.K as the main villain material. He, like Vulture, fades into just another guy in the massive crowd of Marvel villains.
Marvel’s massive character database makes it easy to forget some villains while raising others to the top of their roster. Villains need a memorable story, unique powers, and a good design to keep themselves in their memorable positions. If they are missing even one of these, they fade into the background and are forgotten by the masses. Magneto and Doctor Doom stand out above all the others, while Vulture and M.O.D.O.K are easily forgotten if they aren’t mentioned often.
