18 Marvel Villains Who Are Just Insanely Overpowered

When measured against some of the other villains on this list, Carnage may not seem all that impressive but if we consider where he fits in within the Marvel Universe, his powerset is arguably pretty ridiculous. First introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #344, Carnage a.k.a. Cletus Kasady, is basically Venom on steroids, as his physical strength is greater than that of Spider-Man and Venom combined. While this makes sense when you consider that the alien symbiote that turns Kasady into Carnage also carries some of both Spider-Man and Venom’s abilities with it, in practice this makes Carnage a frustrating villain for Spider-Man to have to fight because it’s way too off-balance. At least with Venom, you always felt that Spider-Man had a chance in a one-on-one fight but with Carnage, it usually takes the help of Venom and some contrived solution to put a stop to him.

Marvel Comics

Michael Korvac was never supposed to become a villain capable of conquering the cosmos. In fact his creator, Stever Gerber, originally planned him to be a throwaway character used in one story, stating that his awful name “sounds more like a vacuum cleaner than a villain.” However, other Marvel writers saw potential in Korvac and the character eventually became the key antagonist in a story arc fittingly titled The Korvac Saga. First introduced as a computer technician in the alternate universe Earth-691, Korvac betrays the human race after the Sol System is conquered by the Brotherhood of Badoon, who graft Korvac’s upper body to a machine, turning him into a cyborg.

Eventually, Korvac is able to escape his captors, flees across time and space to Earth-616 (the regular Marvel universe) and manages to imbue himself with the Power Cosmic after downloading knowledge from a space station belonging to Galactus. It eventually takes the combined efforts of the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Uatu and Odin to put him down, but not before Korvac kills a whole bunch of them (don’t worry though, they all come back to life because comics).

Marvel Comics

A former boxer and criminal, Carl “Crusher” Creel became the Absorbing Man after drinking a magic potion given to him by Loki which, as his villainous moniker would suggest, gave him the ability to absorb anything he touched into his body. And Carl really has absorbed a plethora of materials over the years, from simple metal to power up his punches to cocaine and even Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. This absorption ability isn’t limited to elemental materials either, as Absorbing Man actually consumed Ultron in the Earth X universe, giving him the ability to absorb knowledge.

In practice, this turned Absorbing Man into a godlike being, as he could recall any power he’d previously possessed and reached the point where he was able to kill most of the Avengers (that seems to a running theme with a lot of these guys, isn’t it?) as well as absorbing the entirety of Manhattan for good measure. Why Loki would give some lowlife thug powers well beyond his own is anyone’s guess, but perhaps we shouldn’t have expected anything less from the trickster god.

Marvel Comics

Unlike every other villain on this list, Kang the Conqueror’s overpowered status has nothing to do with his actual superhuman abilities — in fact, he has none — but more to do with the fact that his mastery of time travel gives him a ridiculous edge over his foes. A time traveler from the 30th century, Kang uses his extensive knowledge of past events to wage war against the Avengers and the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Of course, knowing how the future plays out will only get you so far against beings like Thor and the Hulk, who would be able to make quick work of someone without superpowers, so it’s to Kang’s benefit that he’s also armed with the best technology the 30th century has to offer. His highly advanced battle armor not only enhances his physical strength, but also grants him energy, hologram, and force-field projection, so it’s not as if he’s helpless. Without his incredible intellect and time travel abilities, Kang wouldn’t be much of a threat, but with them, he is one of the great villains of the Marvel Universe.

http://theshortbox.thefwoosh.com/2011/01/earths-mightiest-heroes-screen-capture-opportunity Source: thefwoosh.com

“En Sabah Nur,” the world’s first mutant, may not be as overpowered as some of the beings near the top of this list, but in terms of earthbound threats, it’s hard to think of many that rival Apocalypse. Gifted with more powers than any other mutant, Apocalypse is not only immortal, but can also alter his form, meaning he can transform his limbs into weapons or even wings, regenerate from injuries, and survive in any environment.

He essentially gets stronger over time as the combination of all of his mutant abilities allows them to be further enhanced. Of course, he’s also a super-genius and can harness Celestial technology to alter other mutants and humans. In other words, he’s the X-Men’s worst nightmare, which is why he’s considered their most formidable foe to date.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/08/11/apocalypse-will-return-in-marvel-comics-axis-event Source: IGN

One of the most popular villains in all of the Marvel Universe, the Mad Titan Thanos also happens to be one of its most powerful. It’s unclear just how powerful Thanos will be when the Avengers face off against him in the upcoming film Avengers: Infinity War but if he’s anything like his comic book counterpart, Earth’s mightiest heroes are in for a fight that is all but hopeless.

Born on Saturn’s moon Titan to the Eternals Mentor and Sui-San, Thanos was shunned because he carried the Deviants gene (a no-no among Eternals). He would get his revenge, however, murdering his family to try and appease the mistress Death. Actually, pretty much everything Thanos does is an attempt to curry Death’s favor, which is what leads to him seek out the Infinity Gauntlet, augmenting his already incredible powers to absurd heights. As for what Thanos is capable of, his powers include, but aren’t limited to: telekinesis, super strength, telepathy, matter manipulation, and he’s also a super-genius for good measure.

http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters4/thanos.html Source: fightersgeneration.com

The future, corrupted form of hero Adam Warlock, Magus is a being of pure evil with a mastery of “Quantum Magic.” His abilities include the usual assortment: superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and stamina, but he’s also capable of energy manipulation, teleportation, faster than light travel, and a host of other powers granted by Quantum Magic. Magus used his abilities to rule over an oppressive regime spanning thousands of enslaves worlds for millennia and it was only after Adam Warlock harnessed the power of the Soul Gem (with a little help from Thanos of all people) that Magus was able to be taken down.

Photo: Marvel Comics

Gabriel Summers may be the brother of Scott and Alex, a.k.a. Cyclops and Havok, but his mutant powers put him on a whole other level of ability when compared to his kin (alsi, he’s kind of a bad guy). Whereas Scott can launch energy beams from his eyes and Alex releases energy waves from his chest and arms, Gabriel, a.k.a. Vulcan has the ability to control energy in pretty much any form. He not only can wave off attackes from either of his brothers (although he is not 100% invulnerable to Alex’s waves), but can also absorb the abilities of other mutants around him.

According to Ed Brubaker, who created the character, Vulcan has a “hidden potential” which when unlocked allows him to generate and control seven different elements: fire, earth, electricity, wind, water, darkness, and light. Fortunately for his brothers, Vulcan operates mostly in space.

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/vulcan/4005-21233/ Source: Comic Vine

Once one of Marvel’s more obscure villains, Dormammu’s popularity has risen in recent years thanks to appearances in various media, most recently in the film Doctor Strange. That being said, it’s a shame that the God tyrant of the Dark Dimension isn’t more of a household name because he’s easily one of the coolest looking villains in the Marvel universe. Fortunately, Dormammu also has the abilities to backup his badass appearance, as he’s easily one of the biggest threats in the Marvel Universe, to the point where he outclasses even Thanos.

Dubbed his “most terrible foe” by Doctor Strange, Dormamu can manipulate mystical energy in order to achieve nearly any effect he desires. His abilities include energy projection, matter manipulation, possession, necromancy, teleportation, and creating demon lords, which could very well be the coolest-sounding power on this entire list. He’s even more of a threat in the Dark Dimension, but as you might expect, he is vulnerable in environments that cannot fuel his flames effectively. We’d say that’s a small price to pay for being a literal fire demon.

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Dormammu_(Earth-616) Source: Marvel Wikia

Turns out fusion isn’t a concept you’ll only see in Dragonball Z! First introduced during the mid-90s in Scott Lobdell and Mark Waid’s X-Men vol. 2, #53, Onslaught is a sentient psionic entity created from the consciousness of Professor X and Magneto. Essentially, Onslaught is comprised of the darkest parts of both characters, as the worst aspects of Magneto’s mind escaped into Xavier’s subconscious following a psychic attack from Xavier that rendered Magneto catatonic. Thus, Onslaught was produced – a garish-looking, muscular beast that, at the height of its power, possessed the abilities of not only Professor X and Magneto, but Franklin Richards and Nate Grey as well.

In terms of classification, Onslaught is well beyond an Omega Level mutant, able to have full mental control over anyone, go toe-to-toe with the Hulk in a physical fight even after the Hulk was “maxed out” by Jean Grey shutting down Bruce Banner’s subconscious influence, and just generally being impervious to any attack thrown his way.  It took the combined efforts of the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four to defeat Onslaught but looked at in a more jaded light, the character was really just used as an excuse for Marvel to launch its “Heroes Reborn” line in 1996.

Marvel Comics

When your signature move is eating entire planets, you know you’re a villain not to be trifled with. Originally introduced in the Fantastic Four comics, Galactus is, in a sense, both alien and god. Galactus has actually been around since the Big Bang; in fact, he was pretty much created by it. When the event occurred, an alien fled the death of the universe that came before and fused with its essence before the new one — the Marvel universe — could take shape. Galactus is what emerged, a being of near limitless power that has to feed on planets to survive.

Better known for his connections to the Silver Surfer — in fact, Galactus is the one who imbues him with the Power Cosmic to begin with and makes him his herald — Marvel’s world-eater is one of the universe’s most powerful beings because he can pretty much do anything, such as teleport, manipulate matter, create life, revive the dead … even recreating dead worlds and their populations (well, convincing illusions of them at least). The only reason Galactus isn’t higher on this list is because his powers do begin to wane if he goes without consuming planets for a certain amount of time, which means that he can technically be defeated, even if it’s incredibly difficult to do so.

Photo: Marvel Comics

Although he comes from somewhat humble origins, Annihlus is anything but (the name is a pretty good indication of what he’s capable of). Hailing from a barren world in Marvel’s Negative Zone seeded with alien spores, Annihlus is actually one of those spores all grown up. Harnessing the technology of his creators, Annihlus is able to become a powerful being who eventually sets out to destroy any and all life he views as a threat. As you may have guessed, this brings him into conflict with the Avengers and pretty much every other Marvel superhero team.

The worst thing about Annihlus is that even if you overcome his Cosmic Control Rod, a weapon that allows him to manipulate the molecular structure of matter or his elite personal guard, the 200-strong superpowered alien group called the Centurions, there’s the pesky fact that Annihlus can’t die. Instead, he resurrects each and every time and returns even more pissed off.

http://marvelanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Annihilus_(Marvel_Universe) Source: Marvel Animated Universe Wiki

The key to Molecule Man’s absurdly overpowered abilities is right there in his name. As you probably guessed, Molecule Man’s abilities revolve around molecules (crazy, right?). Specifically, he has mastery over all molecules and since everything contains molecules … well, you can see where this is going. While MM (also known as Owen Reece) originally could only mentally manipulate molecules and assemble them into force fields and energy beams, he eventually gained the power to warp reality itself.

He’s so powerful that he was the only one capable of stopping the Beyonder and as if that wasn’t enough, the previous incarnation of the Marvel Multiverse had it so that the death of Owen Reece in any universe would result with in the death of that universe. So not only can Molecule Man disassemble literally any Marvel hero and villain on a molecular level just by thinking about it, but he’s the only thing holding the universe together too. But hey, he’s not perfect: lots of other Marvel characters have much cooler names, after all!

Marvel Comics

Sir James Jaspers, better known as Mad Jim Jaspers may not look like much, but he’s actually one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. How could a former member of British Parliament achieve this status, you might ask? Well, thanks to his mutated brain, ol’ Mad Jim is able to warp reality to his whim, but with the unfortunate side effect of driving him insane. However, his madness actually works to his benefit, as it at one point allowed him to lead a world-wide anti-superhuman campaign without interference.

Mad Jim’s powers are beyond ridiculous when you get down to it, as he’s able to bend the very law of physics in order to make entire universes unsuitable for life. He can also take the form of both living and inanimate objects, reanimate his entire body and even create sentient lifeforms. It’s little wonder that the timeline featuring the Earth-238 version of the character had to be wiped out because Jasper had warped his universe so badly, it would have spread to all other universes if left unchecked.

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/battles-7/franklin-richards-vs-mad-jim-jaspers-399035/ Source: Comic Vine

Also known as the Chaos King, Amatsu-Mikaboshi is an adversary of both Hercules and Thor, and is a true force to be reckoned with. A descendent of the Shinto gods Izanagi and Izanami, Mikaboshi was banished to Yomi, netherworld of the Japanese, for centuries following a failed uprising. Possessing a vast array of powers that include immortality, shape-shifting, super strength, and possession, Mikaboshi is so powerful that he not only once conqured Zeus, but actually managed to take down Galactus through the God of Thunder himself. Like other overwhelmingly powerful beings in the Marvel universe, Mikaboshi is more akin to a force of nature than an actual physical being and his true form isn’t actually known.

http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Amatsu-Mikaboshi Source: Villains Wiki

First introduced in Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck’s original Secret Wars arc in the mid-80s, the Beyonder is a cosmic entity who, when introduced, was the most powerful Marvel character ever created. How powerful? Well, his power level is “millions of times greater than the entire multiverse combined,” and some of his exploits include kidnapping every hero and villain the Marvel universe and forcing them to do battle on another planet; creating a universe out of his own being, and even beating the tar out of Galactus.

After Shooter left Marvel, writer-editor Tom DeFalco decided that Beyonder was perhaps too powerful and reconfigured the character by diminishing his abilities by making him no longer omnipotent. However, even with the power reduction, Beyonder was still basically god-like which, if we’re being honest, is still preferable to what happened later with all that business about there being multiple Beyonders and something about a toy model. Yeah, it got weird.

Marvel Comics

Quite possibily the strongest magical being that exists in the Marvel Universe, Cytorrak is perhaps best known as the source of the mutant Juggernaut’s power. A mystical deity, Cyttorak’s powers are believed to be limitless. In fact, Cyttorak is so overpowered that even Galactus looks useless in comparison, as the great being was rendered helpless at one point after being held by Cyttorak’s power. More of a presence in the Marvel Universe than a physical force, characters like Doctor Strange and even Dormammu actually evoke Cyttorak’s name in order to pull off some of their spells. In other words, he’s basically a god and is even capable of creating life, creating an entire race of eleves whose sole purpose was to worship and adore him. That’s when you know you’re not to trifled with!

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Cyttorak_(Earth-616) Source: Marvel Wiki

While it’s unclear whether Mephisto is literally Satan or just a really powerful demon who looks and acts like Satan, he’s easily one of the Marvel’s most powerful villains and definitely one of the coolest looking. Mephisto has come into conflict with other Marvel villains over the years, most notably Thanos in “The Infinity Gauntlet” storyline, but he may best be known as a Deus Ex Machina who steps into various storylines to solve create problems, such as “Spider-Man: One More Day.”

Mephisto not only has a ridiculous traditional power set enjoyed by many other overpowered Marvel villains like mastery of magic, shape-shifting, and superhuman strength, but also has an array of abilities that enable him to change the very fabric of reality, such as illusion projection, memory manipulation, and the power to alter time. He also likes to collect souls in his spare time. Everyone needs a hobby, right?

http://comicbook.com/marvel/2016/09/20/mephisto-marvel-cinematic-universe/ Source: ComicBook.com