Who is the baddest Marvel villain?

As Newton said, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. 

The world requires balance. For every bit of sunshine, there’s a rainstorm. For every fast there is a slow. And for every good, there is evil.

Comic books are no different. For them to work, there must be forces opposing one another…and there are. Comic books have done a phenomenal job of creating characters, landscapes, dimensions, and realities in opposition to one another. For example…

• Dr. Strange and Dormammu
• Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom
• Avengers and Thanos
• Thor and Loki
• Green Goblin and Spider-Man 

A little while back, I counted down the top 10 most powerful Marvel superheroes. The list included heroes like Odin, Adam Warlock, Franklin Richards, and Black Bolt. At its conclusion, I felt unfinished. To alleviate this feeling, I began constructing a list of the most powerful Marvel supervillains.

Now, in an effort to achieve balance, I’d like to bring it to you.  

Officially Ranked: The Top 10 Most Powerful Marvel Supervillains

10. Apocalypse

Apocalypse is considered the first mutant in existence. As the first mutant, Apocalypse is multiple millennia years old. As a character who’s multiple millennia years old, Apocalypse has amassed a database of knowledge only privy to a few. And if the saying “knowledge is power” is true, Apocalypse has no shortage of power.

If for whatever reason, his knowledge fails him, Apocalypse is a mutant who won the gene pool won when powers were being handed out. Due to his mutation, Apocalypse can alter his size, connect with any technology, and possesses regeneration, shapeshifting, super strength, and near invulnerability. 

And that’s not all.

Apocalypse also has the ability to grant power to others. Once given power, these unlucky ones become known as his Four Horseman. The Four Horseman are then forced to spend their existence doing his every bidding. If you haven’t read it, you should read his most famous story, Age of Apocalypse.

9. Kang the Conqueror

Different from a few others of the most powerful Marvel supervillains on this list, Kang has time working in his favor. That is, he has time travel working in his favor.

Kang is actually Nathaniel Richards and Nathaniel Richards hails from the future. As a man from the future, Kang was fascinated with the past. This led him to discover some time-traveling technology. With technology, Richards traveled forward and backward through time. By traveling forward, he discovered highly advanced technology that he could use to defeat his enemies of the past. 

Kang is A) one of the most intelligent supervillains alive, B) a superior combatant, and C) one of Earth’s greatest tacticians. He wears a battle suit that grants him increased strength, the ability to project energy, forcefields, and holograms. The suit also allows him to survive for extended periods of time without food or water. In addition to the already mentioned, Kang can control most forms of technology and is resistant to radiation.

8. Magneto

First appearing in X-Men #1 back in 1963, Magneto has been both a supervillain and a superhero. No matter which side of the battle he’s on, he’s always one of the most powerful characters on the battlefield. 

Magneto is an Omega-Level mutant who can control the Earth’s metal. This means that he can bend it, shape it, throw it, mold it, use it as a weapon, fly with it, and more. Magneto is such a force to be reckoned with that he has single handily stopped the Avengers in their tracks and caused the X-Men to retreat on more than one occasion. 

Magneto is the opposite of what the X-Men have stood for since the beginning of time. While they promote peace and harmony, he wants mutant supremacy. This in conjunction with his hatred of humans easily lands him on this most powerful Marvel supervillains list. 

7. Dr. Doom

As the ruler of Latveria, Dr. Doom is a villain that everyone in Marvel is afraid of. He’s a practitioner of magic, a brilliant scientist, has an incredible knowledge of all weapons, and can build anything that he thinks of. When he first appeared, he was considered the mortal enemy of the Fantastic Four. Over time, however, his villainy has spilled over to just about every hero alive. 

Unfortunately, none of the above is what makes him one of the most powerful Marvel supervillains. What makes him this is that he will do whatever it takes to succeed. He has killed, maimed, enslaved, tortured, and held others hostage to achieve whatever definition he gives victory.

6. Thanos

On his own, Thanos is one of the most feared beings in Marvel. Not only does he possess superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes, and agility, but he’s also one of the most intelligent characters in Marvel Comics. Once he’s collected and put the Infinity Gems, now Stones to use, he’s nearly unstoppable. 

The Time, Space, Soul, Mind, Power, and Reality Stones give Thanos the power to do practically anything he wants. With them, Thanos becomes all-powerful. He can bend reality, travel through time, control others, warp space, give and take away life, and more.  This sort of power wouldn’t normally be a problem. For a character bent on ruling the entire galaxy, it’s a big problem. As such, including Thanos on this list of the most powerful Marvel supervillains is as easy as going to bed when you’re overtired.

5. Mephisto

Mephisto is the Devil of the Marvel Universe. He resides in the underworld and spends his time concocting plans of pure evil and chaos. As the Devil of the Marvel Universe, Mephisto controls an army of demons that could obliterate the Earth at a moment’s notice. This, more than his power, is what makes him so powerful.

What is his power?

Mephisto is immortal, has both superhuman strength and speed, can shapeshift, is able to alter time and memory, and can, through negotiation, take the souls of his opponents. Worse yet, once he takes the souls of others, he becomes even more powerful. 

4. Dormammu 

Not only is Dormammu one of the most fun names to say in comics, but he is also more powerful than most on this list. 

Dormammu was created by the legendary team of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. He first appeared inside the pages of Strange Tales #126 and has been wreaking havoc on the Marvel Universe since. Dormammu is one of the most powerful beings around. Through the Dark Dimension he’s capable of energy projection, matter manipulation, teleportation, necromancy, size altering, he can give his power to others, and can create Demon Lords.

And that’s not the most remarkable part of Dormammu and the Dark Dimension. 

The most remarkable part about Dormammu and the Dark Dimension is twofold. First, Dormammu rules all. Second, time and space cease to exist. Because of this, any spells that Dormammu casts inside it are truly forever and unbreakable…

3. Galactus

Galactus is an incredible force that goes around looking for worlds to consume. His reasons for this aren’t entirely villainous, however. He does this because the worlds provide him sustenance. That is, without consuming worlds, he would die. 

Rather than find the worlds himself, Galactus gives other beings great power in exchange for their servitude. Once under the employment of Galactus, these beings (Heralds) travel throughout the galaxy looking for uninhabited worlds for their master. Because they’ve been given power by Galactus, should they encounter any trouble when selecting worlds, they are more than equipped in dealing with it. 

What I’m saying is that when a character is known as the “Eater of Worlds”, it’s no surprise that they are one of the most powerful Marvel supervillains. 

2. Beyonder

Created by Mike Zeck and Jim Shooter, the Beyonder is a cosmic entity that is near-omnipotent, near-omniscient, and near-omnipresent. He first appeared during the famed Secret Wars of 1984 and has reappeared countless times since. In his first appearance, he was the character responsible for gathering Marvel’s greatest heroes and villains and forcing them to fight in a battle royale. He did this because he wanted to witness the never-ending battle of good vs evil. 

Since then, his powers have diminished, albeit in an almost inconsequential way. No matter his power level, he’s still himself proven capable of sending Galactus away on a whim, destroying and creating galaxies just because, and destroying and recreating the entity called Death. 

1. Phoenix Force

Like the mythological bird that we all know, the Phoenix brings death and rises anew from the ashes it leaves behind. The Phoenix Force is the ultimate power within the Marvel Universe. It’s both without change and immortal and is born of the void between states of beings. It’s also the center point of all Psionic Energy that has existed, does exist, and will ever exist. 

Even though over the years it has made Jean Grey a priority, it has possessed many other characters.

• Cyclops
• Colossus
• Magik
• Namor
• Emma Frost

The Phoenix Force grants its host galaxy-altering abilities. For example, when it took control of Jean Grey, she was able to cause planet-wide genocide…and she did. The Phoenix Force is as powerful or more powerful than any other on this list of most powerful Marvel supervillains. While you may disagree with me labeling it a supervillain, remember, it lives to kill.

And that’s it. The top 10 most powerful Marvel supervillains. What do you think? Who would make your most powerful Marvel supervillains list?

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