Heroes are only as great as their villains and the Avengers have a collection of some of the greatest villains out there. And we are gonna take a look at those villains now with all their dark, deeply rooted. deeply insane and vile ways of how they are by far among the most evil of them all. Warning: This is mostly personal opinion. Feel free to comment.
TOP 10 GREATEST AVENGERS VILLAINS
by Frankie Rodriguez
10 - PROCTOR & THE GATHERERS
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Never heard of them. I know. During the times when the team consisted of Black Widow, Hercules, Black Knight , Sersi and Crystal; The team faced some of its hardest challenges. Not because of the threat they represent a lone. Oh no. But for far more personal and sinister. Proctor's Gatherers proved themselves a match for the Avengers when they took down the team with an Alternate Reality version of the Swordsman, infiltrated the Avengers by switch out minds from their Vision with our own, and started to make Sersi crazy enough that she was killing people more often than not.
This time proved a highlight in the career of Dane Witman, the Black Knight as he fought the Gatherers and was also starting to go nuts cause Sersi decided to do some weird mind meld thing with him which pissed off Proctor. And Proctor ... why he's the Alternate Reality version of Black Knight ... completely possessed and driven mad by being Sersi's former lover and the mystical Ebony Blade. This group was able to take down Hercules and Thor on more than one occasion and the evil Vision proved to be even creeper than the last time Vision was evil. You know ... with the right writer ... this team can once again to prove to be an even bigger.
9 - HANK PYM
I know. I know. You say I am cheating. You say he's one of the founders and greatest Avengers ever. That isn't debatable but let me take a minute to point out something. Hank Pym is responsible for the follow deeds that are deemed evil:
- being so insecure of himself that he becomes a wife beater and goes a little nuts.
- being the father of Ultron, who has one of the highest body counts on Marvel 616 Earth.
- Alongside Tony Stark and Reed Richards, was responsible for making the Thor Clone Ragnarok that killed longtime friend Bill Foster aka the current Goliath.
I am sorry. Hank was not mystically made into creating Ultron or making a clone of Thor. He wasn't coerced. He did it of his own free will. And still, to this day, has issues with his insecurity. I am sorry. For all the Scarlet Witch haters ... as revealed in Avengers: Children's Crusade: She was being manipulated by Doom. And while she did kill 4 Avengers ... 3 of which she did resurrect, she was not in control of herself cause of someone else. Hank Pym, on the other hand, did this all of his free will. Scarlet Witch and Tony's evils were easily swept under the rug by being controlled by others ...while Hank is still Hank. So, he's a toast to Hank Pym . . . hope you are happy!
8 - NORMAN OSBORN
Say what you will but Norman has definitely advanced in the world. He went from being Spiderman's Greatest Nemesis to one of the Avengers greatest villains within the course of the last six years. Norman's rise to power can be thanked since Tony decided to give Norman a chance to redeem himself by making him in charge of the Thunderbolts during the days of the Initiative. After Norman gives himself one of the greatest heel to face turns (for all those not into wrestling: a heel is a bad guy while face is a good guy) by shooting a Skrull Queen in the face. And once he took over as top cop, he deputized villains into cops, turned the New Avengers into outlaws and then does something much worse: Have some of his Thunderbolts and some new members dress up as Avengers with him leading the team in Iron Man armor he modified to look patriotic.
Bullseye became Hawkeye. Moonstone was Ms. Marvel. Daken became Wolverine. Just to mess with the Avengers. He threatened Luke Cage and his family multiple times. Norman later fell because he thought he could control the Sentry . . . and he was wrong. And while Norman was finally put in jail, he eventually escaped because of a new version of his organization called H.A.M.M.E.R. And what does he do when he retreats?
He insights riots and protest against the Avengers, proclaiming that he was held without due process. He teams up with Viper's sect of Hydra, members of the Hand and the remainder of H.A.M.M.E.R., he gets a genetist to give his soldiers powers of the Hulk and he reforms the Dark Avengers with a brand new line up to take down the New Avengers while his soldiers and Viper take down the Avengers team. Yeah. Norman Osborn has became quite a threat. A very personal threat. Not just to Spiderman but to Luke Cage, Jessica Jones-Cage, Ms Marvel, Spiderwoman, Hawkeye and more.
7 - MASTERS OF EVIL
The Masters of Evil have been a thorn in the Avengers side again and again and again. But none where they more a problem as when the Masters of Evil, lead by Baron Zemo, entered the Avengers Mansion and began their seige. They tortured Jarvis and they began to pick off Avengers one by one. They put Hercules in a coma. They crippled then chairman Wasp to the point where she stepped down. The Masters had the Avengers near dead to rights till Thor and Captain America turned the tied . .. barely.
Since that day, the Avengers problems with the Masters were more personal. Facing off with them over and over again till Zemo's Masters became the original Thunderbolts. When some of the Thunderbolts proved themselves worthy of rehabilitation, the Avengers begrudingly gave them a chance. Hawkeye even left the Avengers and became the Leader of the Thunderbolts for a team. The new Masters of Evil, lead by Crimson Cowl, became the Thunderbolts problem, giving way to why the Masters ranked lower.
6 - KREE/SKRULL
No other 2 species has had such a profound affect on the Avengers in there many forms than these two. The Kree have faced the Avengers time and again but also are the keys to such members as Captain Mar-vell, Ms. Marvel and Crystal. The Skrulls have fought the Avengers over and over again, always wanting to use them to help them eliminate the Kree. And while the Skulls have been more active with the Fantastic Four, their constant war with the Kree has brought them in the Avengers doorstep over ... and over ... and over again.
- The Kree/Skrull War was the first galactic war that the Avengers dealt with.
- Captain Mar-vell (a Kree) & a Skrull Princess gave birth to Young Avenger Hulking.
-The Kree were responsible for forcing the Kree to go to war with the Shi'ar, which brought forth the Nega Bomb.
- And the Skrulls were responsible for Secret Invasion, replacing everyone including Mockingbird and long time Avengers butler, Jarvis. Only to be hunted by the Inhuman ruled Kree after the event.
So yeah, the Kree and the Skrull have long be intertwined in the Avengers for a looooooooong time.
5 - LOKI
The God of Mischief has been a thorn in the side of the Avengers over and over again. He was responsible for putting Hulk under the spell to attack which caused the formation of the Avengers. He causes the Avengers to form in the movies. He causes the Avengers/Defenders War. He helps Norman Osborn's Dark Reign get established. He gives powers to Parker Robbins aka The Hood so that he could still be the Kingpin of Super Criminals. Loki's actions with helping Norman ended up bringing about the fall of Asgard.
With all that, the reason why Loki isn't # 1 is quite simple; he's got a very sad back story that makes you feel for him and he has since turned to the side of the angels. Before his death during Siege, Loki felt bad for what he did and helped the Avengers fight the Void, only to die. When reborn as a child, Loki has since wanted to make up for his past deeds.
4 - THE SERPENT (ASGARDIAN GOD OF FEAR) & THE WORTHY
Before I get the "are you kidding me"s, take a moment to reflect. When Sin aka Red Skull II found the first Hammer of the Worthy, she made her way to find the Serpent. When the Serpent was freed, 7 more mystical Hammers came to Earth and that's when the real fun begins. We had Avengers not only fighting mystically charged villains like Absorbing Man, Titania and Grey Gargoyle; we had them fight friends as well as the Hulk and The Thing were both possessed by these hammers and fought against our heroes.
They invaded New York. They invade Washington DC. And over and over again, every attack, with one of the Worthy and other soldiers gave way to more and more devastation. People were dying. Avengers Academy members were forced to kill attacking Neo-Nazis. Thor was forced to "kill" the Thing by putting his hammer through the Thing's chest. Red Skull II had "nearly" killed Bucky Barnes; who was seemingly dead at the time.
There were vast casualties. And that is what made this all the more frightening. That the Worthy's trail of destruction was just giving more and more dead bodies, forcing the Avengers to go beyond to stop them. If not for the Avengers, the world would have been destroyed twice in a row: once my the Serpent and his Worthy and a second time by Asgard and Odin himself.
Thor "died", slaying the Serpent but it certainly left lasting marks on the Avengers. Because this was the only time the Avengers went up against the Worthy, that explains its low racking. Because of what happened during the course of Fear Itself, they absolutely were given a spot. High stakes. High reward. And lots of carnage in between. The Avengers over came. The event made Captain America cuss. He NEVER cusses. But this was believable enough to understand why Steve Rodgers would mouth an obscenity.
3 - KORVAC
Okay. How do I put this? The man killed the Avengers. Seriously. He killed the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. There were multiple show downs between the Avengers and him till he kills most of them, save for Thor. Each of these showdowns, the battles with Korvac became more and more personal.
Korvac was a man who ended up becoming a cyborg with godlike powers. And boy, did he ever abuse them. Wanting death to the Badoon, he came from the 30th Century to our century to kill them and the Avengers stood in his way. And while he kills them . .. the team does eventually get resurrected by him before he commits suicide.
Love and personal loss were a focal point in this storyline and while the Avengers did not survive their first bout with Korvac, they did survive their next couple of battles with him when he returned. Hence why he ranked # 3 and not # 1 or 2.
2 - ULTRON
Having one of the highest body counts in Marvel history, Ultron is the evil bastard son of Hank Pym. He is cold, metal and seeks a universe where only metallic beings rule and organic begins are destroyed. And why that goal has had modifications depending on the incarnation of Ultron, his ultimate goal stayed. Ultron became obsessed with Hank Pym and wanting a family of his own, creating 2 different brides: Jocasta, who later became an Avenger and War Toy, who still is a problem in her own right.
Ultron had decimated countries, taken over Iron Man's body, caused weather problems worldwide and even took over as leader of the remaining Phalanx species out in space. Ultron had become a problem unlike any other but has gone toe to toe again with the Avengers, the Avengers West Coast and even the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Ultron has killed so many people that his presence is gonna end up citing a war in the future. A war that the Avengers want to stop. But watch out ... cause if the war that is coming is any indication, what he did to the country of Slorenia (killing every last organic thing on it) will be nothing to what will happen next. The ONLY reason why Ultron is not # 1 is because his strange need for family and cause he's responsible for creating the long time Avenger, the Vision.
1 - KANG
Kang is from the future. Kang is relentless. He is always learning. Always getting himself prepared for what is next. Kang is a Conqueror and while the Avengers had defeated him and repelled his invasions over and over and over again; eventually, they failed.
That is right. KANG WON.
KANG CONQUERED EARTH AND DEFEATED THE AVENGERS.
Kang's Dynasty became the opus of Kurt Busiek's run on the Avengers. Kang cleanly invaded the planet, took down the UN and his armies took over the world. Kang had won. The Avengers spent MONTHS dealing with Kang and freeing the world. Captured Avengers were in camps. Other Avengers were working as freedom fighters. Kang had made Wasp, representing the world and the Avengers, sign over control to the planet to him on world wide television. Yet, it took Ms Marvel to kill the Master of the World and the efforts of nearly every Avenger they had in order to finally take down Kang.
And Kang still ended up escaping and started a hard war in the future. A war he has now began to orchestrate after manipulating the Avengers recently. A war ... with Ultron. Kang's prove his superiority and while defeated, no other villain has so completely pushed the Avengers as much. Kang's younger self was even a founding member of the Young Avengers, Iron Lad. And the Avengers and his own actions led to the creation of Kang the Conqueror. No other villain had so completely defeated the Avengers. This is why Kang is the Greatest Avengers Villain.
I hope you enjoy Avengers Month. Next week ... News and more from Wizard World Philly.
Take Care Clashers.
Frankie Rodriguez.
Before I get the "are you kidding me"s, take a moment to reflect. When Sin aka Red Skull II found the first Hammer of the Worthy, she made her way to find the Serpent. When the Serpent was freed, 7 more mystical Hammers came to Earth and that's when the real fun begins. We had Avengers not only fighting mystically charged villains like Absorbing Man, Titania and Grey Gargoyle; we had them fight friends as well as the Hulk and The Thing were both possessed by these hammers and fought against our heroes.
Having one of the highest body counts in Marvel history, Ultron is the evil bastard son of Hank Pym. He is cold, metal and seeks a universe where only metallic beings rule and organic begins are destroyed. And why that goal has had modifications depending on the incarnation of Ultron, his ultimate goal stayed. Ultron became obsessed with Hank Pym and wanting a family of his own, creating 2 different brides: Jocasta, who later became an Avenger and War Toy, who still is a problem in her own right.
The score, done by Patrick Doyle was amazing. The tone and ominous flows wonderfully with the movie's fantasy element and with the contemporary earth setting. Even listening to it solely is an experience of its own.
CBC's Darryll "YTC" Carter
Starring: 