Marvel heroes are some of the most beloved in the realm of comics. So, now that we’ve seen the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe all the way through the end of Phase 3 (being Spider-Man: Far From Home), we’re going to take a break from the movies (for the most part) here and look at some of the comic book characters in the Marvel universe. While there are hundreds and hundreds of Marvel heroes in the massive catalog of Marvel comics, there’s also quite a few of them that seem like they would actually be villains if they were brought into the real world. I mean, you really can’t deny that some of these heroes blur the line between right and wrong, taking the law into their own hands to justify their oftentimes incredibly cruel means to an end. While I’m certainly not saying that they deserve to be villainized or anything like that, there’s definitely something to be said about some heroes’ actions and decisions that should be questioned. So, what are 10 Marvel heroes that we actually think sometimes act more like villains than heroes?
10. Star-Lord
Okay, so I know that I said we were gonna take a step back from the movies for now, but Star-Lord in Avengers: Infinity War is the most stubborn, hard-headed, and plucky member of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the entire movie. After he discovers that Thanos let his daughter – Quill’s girlfriend – Gamora die in order to obtain the Soul Stone, he is unable to get a hold of his emotions and attacks Thanos before Spider-Man is able to pull off the Infinity Gauntlet off of Thanos’ hand, allowing him to escape their grasp and defeat each and every one of them. While I wouldn’t consider Star-Lord a villain because of this, it’s definitely some selfish thinking and the fact that he was unable to get a grip on his emotions might mean he’s not quite ready to be a true hero.
9. Peter Parker (from Spider-Man 3)
Again, going back into movies (I promise this is the last one) is Peter Parker from Spider-Man 3. Yes, that Spider-Man 3. The black suit Spider-Man is quite honestly the main villain of the entire movie. Had Peter never donned the symbiote-infected suit, many of the events that occurred throughout the movie more than likely would have never happened; and can we talk about emo Peter? Emo Peter is actually the worst part of this movie as he gets incredibly arrogant and egotistical (more like Ego Peter, ha!) and starts treating the people around him like the dirt in Eddie Brock’s eye. Definitely a villain if I’ve ever seen one.
8. Drax the Destroyer
Actually getting into the comics now, Drax the Destroyer is by far one of the most intimidating Marvel heroes ever. Drax’s entire purpose in life is to destroy Thanos through any means necessary. In the movies, he’s a bit more family-friendly, but in his comics, he’s legitimately terrifying; not only in his methods and purpose, but his character model is a massive and vicious looking beast of a being.
7. Moon Knight
While he isn’t the worst dude in the world, Moon Knight is certainly not without his fair share of villainous deeds. From killing Bushman by cutting off his face with his Crescent dart to carving a crescent into his victims’ foreheads, he’s definitely more of an vigilante than a hero. Unfortunately, the popular meme edits painting Moon Knight as a hilarious joke of a character are all fake, though I would have been a lot more excited for the Moon Knight series on Disney+ if they were real.
6. Black Widow
Black Widow is literally a deadly mercenary that can – and will – kill without hesitation. While she rarely is forced to use her Red Room training as a means to commit cold-blooded murder, that isn’t to say she hasn’t before. In the Ultimate comics, she actually shoots Jarvis in the head after a long-standing quarrel with the Stark butler. After murdering Jarvis in cold blood, she then revealed herself to be a traitor amongst the team and fled. Even though it wasn’t in a directly canon story-line, this was definitely a major villain move.
5. Hulk
The Incredible Hulk is another Marvel hero similar in character to Drax the Destroyer. While he doesn’t have the same intentions as Drax, once Bruce Banner turns into Hulk, there’s no telling what’s going to happen as he loses complete control when Hulk takes over. I get that he can’t really Bruce can’t really control his actions while he is in Hulk-form, but Hulk himself knows what he’s doing for the most part and can literally crush planets if he puts his strength to it. Hulk can easily be legitimately frightening.
4. Ghost Rider
Johnny Blaze, Robbie Reyes, Danny Ketch, Alejandra Jones, Frank Castle, Kenshiro Cochrane, Knuckles O’Shaugnessy, Nima, Shoba Mirza, Undead G-Man, Betty Brant, Bai Gu Jing, Baron Skullfire, Carol Danvers, Clint Barton, Jane Foster, Kaine Parker, Marinette Bwa Chech, Max Parrish, Molek, Naomi Kyle, Noble Kale, Sam Wilson, Spring-Heeled Jack, Stephen Strange, T’Challa, Thaddeus Ross, Chief Hellhawk, Yoshio Kannabe, Wileaydus Autolycus, Azaziah, Barbara Ketch, Alphonso “Mack” Machekzie, Phil Coulson, Wade Wilson, and Jen Walters have all taken the mantle of Ghost Rider at some point in Marvel continuity. Ghost Rider has always been known to be a hot-headed (pun absolutely intended) jerk who has literal ties to Hell, so yeah, I’d say he’s a bit of a villain.
3. Wolverine
Wolverine definitely doesn’t always come across as the most likeable guy, but then there’s times where he shifts his attitude and becomes a straight up throat-ripping monster. Wolverine definitely walks an extremely thin line between good and evil on a consistent basis especially in the Old Man Logan comic run in 2009.
2. Deadpool
I’m not really sure if there’s a single list of Marvel heroes that can be created without putting the famous merc with a mouth, Deadpool himself, Wade Wilson. The 2016 release of the Deadpool movie widely popularized the idea of the anti-hero and now it seems like that’s a majority of video game, comic book, and movie protagonists nowadays. He’s definitely done some villainous things in his time, though he does have to live with them for the rest of time, since he can’t really die.
1. The Punisher
You probably knew that Frank Castle, The Punisher, would be #1 on this list. He’s by far the most ruthless Marvel hero of all time. Not only does The Punisher kill, but he actually enjoys it. While his intentions are mostly good, it still doesn’t change the fact that he brutally kills his victims and takes pleasure in doing so.
Follow Us
