5 of The Most Self-Centered Marvel Superheroes

credit: Marvel Comics

Heroes aren’t always the nicest guys, no matter that they strive to do the most good they can for everyone. Some of them are quite arrogant and believe themselves to be the better of those around them and even go so far as to build themselves up in ways that add to their conceit and give them a reputation for being among the most selfish individuals in the world. Villains get away with this quite often since people tend to expect this from them, but when this type of behavior is displayed by heroes, it’s considered to be against type more often than not since a lot of people don’t believe that heroes should act like this. The paragons of virtue that people want to idolize and look up to aren’t supposed to be capable of alienating others in such a convincing fashion. But it does happen a little more often than people think, and when it does, some people kind of gloss over the fact and make allowances for it. 

With that in mind, here are five of the most self-centered heroes in the Marvel Universe. 

5. Doctor Strange

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A few of these heroes were arrogant and even vain before they gained their powers, and Stephen Strange is no different since he was a know it all surgeon that believed that he had the world figured out. When he went to study with the Ancient One after his accident, however, he became quite aware that he didn’t know all there was to know. But while his attitude and his arrogance have been tempered over the years, they’re still right there at the surface, waiting to be used again when the time is right. While he’s not the same arrogant pain in the neck he used to be, he’s a very powerful pain in the neck now, sometimes. 

4. Human Torch

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Long before he said ‘flame on’ for the first time, Johnny Storm was a hothead unlike any other since he strove to be famous and has always been the type to speak more from arrogance than from good sense. A lot of times, it’s been seen that his teammates have to wrangle him in and make certain that he’s not going to cause any undue trouble. His love of the glamorous life and his need to be given all sorts of attention now and then doesn’t always make him the most likable person, especially since he doesn’t always have the required intelligence or emotional intelligence to back up his rather cavalier attitude. 

3. Iron Man

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Even after the accident that nearly took his life and left him with the need to create and sustain a power core that has helped to define his character Tony has still been an arrogant man. Whether it’s his drinking problem or his classic case of narcissism, one of the only ways this has changed is how he’s been portrayed in the MCU, as a man that’s finally grown and seen what it takes to care about another human being. His time as a hero was supposed to have changed him, but during his time in the comics, he’s gone up and down the emotional ladder like a yo-yo, and it’s tough to say that he’s anything, but an insufferable know it all at times. 

2. Namor

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It’s rare that Namor has been anything but arrogant in the comics, especially since his desire to make sure everyone knows that he’s powerful and important is one of his defining traits. Throughout his time in the comics, Namor has been insufferable as both an ally and an enemy since he’s so incredibly vain that he can barely ever accept when he’s wrong, and he almost always has to prove that he’s better than someone else in order to justify his existence. His supposed dalliance with Susan Richards has been an ongoing storyline that he’s apparently been quite pleased to push since he does happen to have an attraction toward her. 

1. Mister Fantastic

credit: Marvel Comics

On the outside, it does appear that Reed is a very nice person since he doesn’t look to cause problems with anyone. But his intellect is at a level where he can’t always lower himself to think as the average individual does, which is a common theme among many characters in the Marvel Universe that share this level of intellect. One would think that a person this intelligent would understand what it means when people can’t stand to be around them or listen to them for more than a few minutes at a time. Not only does this make Reed a little unlikable at times, but it prompts him to keep building and inventing things that might be useful or, in the wrong hands, might bring about a catastrophe the likes of which only someone like him can contain or stop. 

Arrogance and heroism don’t really mix.