MarvelComics has an expansive catalog of heroes and villains that are brought together to create an endless trove of amazing stories. However, that’s not always the case. Throughout Marvel’s long career of crafting dubious villains for heroes to halt, some have come out the other end far more disappointing than anybody hoped for. But which of Marvel’s villains comes on top as the worst?
There could be a lot of reasons why a villain would fall flat on their face. Sometimes the writing is plain horrible, leaving the characters to feel static and inconsistent. Other times, their powers, abilities, and costumes make absolutely no sense. The best of the worst are the villains who everyone loves to hate, simply because they are that lame. Regardless, it’s worth shedding some light on these cruddy criminals and their ridiculous schemes. While not every menace and mastermind can be perfect, most can be betterthan these most laughable and ridiculous Marvel villains.
1Asbestos Lady
Debuted In:Human Torch #27 (1947)by Mike Sekowsky
Victoria Murdock, for absolutely no known reason, hatedthe original Human Torch. To defeat her apparent mortal enemy, Murdock fashioned a costume for herself coated entirely of asbestos. Now completely resistant to fire, the Asbestos Lady could successfully fend off the hero’s fiery attacks. However, her obsession with asbestos-based science sent her on an even darker path.
Setting up train crashes, drowning her enemies, and overzealous murdering soon became staples for the carcinogenic criminal. However, her dastardly reign would end in tragedy. After her brother was arrested and subsequently executed, Asbestos Lady was later brought to justice. Sadly, yet entirely expected,she died due to idiopathic mesothelioma cancerat a young age.
2Doctor Bong
Debuted In:Howard the Duck #15 (1977)by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan
Admittedly, there was initially something to be excited about with a character named “Doctor Bong,” but Marvel might not be quite ready for that. Instead, nobody really knows why Lester Verde became the bell-clad villain Doctor Bong. Lester lived a relatively average life, growing up to be a journalist and later a rock star. Lester was later struck by tragedy when, during one of his band’s performances,his hand was severed by a prop guillotine.
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An undisclosed amount of time later, he’s now Doctor Bong for some reason! Now a super genius who specializes in genetics and sonic sounds, Doctor Bong has the scientific ability tomanipulate human and animal genetics.Additionally, by striking his bell-shaped headwear with his ball-shaped hand, Doctor Bong can release a terrible vibration that can bend steel and paralyze enemies. No one is sure how he resists his own attacks.
3Paste-Pot Pete
Debuted In:Strange Tales #104 (1962)by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, & Jack Kirby
While Pete Petruski has tried to rebrand himself as the “Trapster,” we can’t forget when he went by the extraordinarily better name, “Paste-Pot Pete.” Because the thing is Pete, no matter how often you change your name, you’re still a weird villain. While little is known about the sticky scoundrel’s personal life,Pete once developed a powerful adhesive, raking in millions worth of profits.
Equipped with a bucket of glue and the most pointlessly nonsensical costume possible, Paste-Pot Pete has established quite a lengthy criminal care
However, Pete became greedy and used his genius mind to create the “paste-gun.” Equipped with a bucket of glue and the most pointlessly nonsensical costume possible, Paste-Pot Pete has established quite a lengthy criminal career. Pete has re-launched his old-school favorite look inUnbelievable Gwenpool,donning the oldsplotchy green bodysuit and oversized purple beret.
4Big Wheel
Debuted In:Amazing Spider-Man #182 (1978)by Marv Wolfman and Ross Andru
Honestly, the Tinkerer should get an honorary spot on this list for how many stinkers he’s helped become villains, including Big Wheel. Before his supervillainous debut, Jackson Weele was nothing but a corrupt white-collar criminal who hadembezzled thousands of dollars from his company.Out of fear of being caught, Wheel hired the Rocket Racer, another of the Tinkerer’s clients, to confiscate the evidence. Wheel paid Rocket Racer what he owed, but the thug extorted Wheel for more.
On the verge of taking his own life, Wheel requested that the Tinkerer make him a dastardly tool to commit crimes with. Now driving in the center of awheel-shaped vehicle, equipped with an arsenal of weapons, the Big Wheel became a wholly unsuccessful criminal. Frankly, he’s kind of sad. His villain career didn’t pay off well, so he tried to follow Vil-Anon, but failed in his recovery process too.
5Lady Stilt-Man
Debuted In:Amazing Spider-Man #611 (2009)by Joe Kelly and Eric Canete
So, she’s like the villain Stilt-Man. But she’s a lady. She’s Lady Stilt-Man. In somewhat seriousness, Lady Stilt-Man is an absolute mystery withno real connection to the actual villain, Stilt-Man.After stealing the former villain’s battlesuit, Callie Ryan became a street-level villain, most often becoming a problem for Spider-Man and Deadpool.
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Even Lady Stilt-Man realized that everybody hated her name and instead rebranded herself as just “Stilt-Man.” She, surprisingly, had a successful stint as a villain and was frequently hired as a mercenary. Also, whatever finesse the first Stilt-Man had, is not something Lady Stilt-Man possesses. As she flailed her uncontrollable legs around,even Spidey felt badfor the villain.
6Turner D. Century
Debuted In:Spider-Woman #33 (1980)by J.M. DeMatteis, Steve Leialoha, & Bruce D. Patterson
Turner D. Century. “Turn of the century.” Yep, that’s the joke. But, as with every addition on this list, it only gets worse from there. Turner D. Century’s actual name is Clifford F. Michaels. Clifford was the son of a chauffeur working for one of Forever Man’s reincarnations, Morgan Hardy. After Clifford’s father died, Hardy adopted him and raised him with nothing but themorals and esthetics of the early 20th century.Raised segregated from the outside world, Clifford hated all forms of social change and modeled his attire after that of the early 1900s.
As Turner D. Century, he has no actual powers and just attacks people who don’t follow his strict and out-of-date moral values. Comically, Turner has been killed on numerous occasions, only to be brought back by demonic beings and killed again. He was last revived by Dormammu to kill hipsters until he was swifly stopped bythe Superior Spider-Man. Serves him right honestly, the guy’s nothing more than a racist and a sexist with a fun mustache and a horrible pun for a name.
7Armless Tiger Man
Debuted In:Marvel Mystery Comics #26 (1941)by Paul Gustavson
Before a tragic accident that would violently rip off his legs, Gustav Hertz worked a standard 1940s job at the machine laboratory. Following his accident, he vowed that he woulddedicate his life to destroying all machines.No longer able to work, Hertz spent all of his time training his mouth and feet, transforming himself into the super-powerful Armless Tiger Man. At first, Armless Tiger Man went to work destroying Nazi factories in his hometown of Munich, Germany.
Once the Nazis discovered the true source of Armless Tiger Man’s hatred, he was sent to the United States to disrupt their war efforts instead.
However, once the Nazis discovered the true source of Armless Tiger Man’s hatred, he was sent to the United States to disrupt their war efforts instead. Now a true believer in the Nazi cause, the exhaustingly named villain decided to use his powerful jaws to eat people. He quickly fell into the likes of the Red Skull and helped Hydra push an offensive into Wakanda. Not so sadly, Hertz was later killed by King T’Chaka, and his soul ended up in Hades,the Olympian Realm of the Dead.
8Swarm
Debuted In:Champions #14 (1977)by Bill Mantlo and John Byrne
Yet another irredeemable beast masquerading as a silly villain, Fritz von Meyer is a Nazi scientist and a world expert on toxic poisons and bees, specificallyresearching the breeding patterns of killer bees.After discovering a hive of unusually relaxed but seemingly intelligent bees, von Meyer attempted to use his super science to make the bees killer again. How devious! However, he lost control and the swarm of now-maddened bees killed him.
In his writhing suffering, the intelligent mutant bees consumed his mind, assimilating it into their hive. Now a living swarm of bees, von Meyer embraced his new life as the Swarm. Admittedly, Swarm isn’t the worst villain on this list. Instead of using bee-themed puns and honey traps, Swarm utilizes the mutated intelligence of the bees to augment his own scientific mind. However, without the hive’s queen or in the presence of too much insecticide, Swarm quickly becomes just another easily defeatable sentient hive of Nazi bees.
9Eye-Scream
Debuted In:Obnoxio the Clown #1 (1983)by Alan Kupperberg
Oh boy, what a character. With no other name than Eye-Scream, this Marvel mutant has the incredible power to turn himself into ice cream. But not just any ice cream, but also any flavor of ice cream. Oh, and get this. He can turn into banana splits as well. Compared to thetrue magnificence of the X-Men, Eye-Scream felt ridiculously lame. His jealousy overtook him and Eye-Scream set out on a plot to destroy the X-Men.
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While the X-Men were putting together a birthday party for Kitty Pryde, Eye-Scream snuck into the facility but not before alerting Xavier. The villain believed that the Danger Room would have all the weapons needed to defeat the X-Men, but was quickly subdued by Xavier and the party’s clown. Eye-Scream has since recovered from his villainy and was last seen on Krakoa, spreading the joys of his ice-cream-generating powers. Oddly enough, Eye-Screamisn’t the only mutant with the ability to create ice creamfrom his body.
10The Living Eraser
Debuted In:Tales to Astonish #49 (1963)by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Not just some bozo dressed up like an eraser, the Living Eraser is a secret agent for the Supremacy, the ruler of Dimension Z. Little is known about his home dimensions except that it is inhabited by other technology-seeking aliens such as the Living Eraser. The Living Eraser wastasked by his leader to abduct nuclear scientistsand force them to make weapons of mass destruction.
Unfortunately for the extraterrestrial henchman, two of those scientists happened to beHank Pym and the Wasp. After the heroes defeated the Living Eraser, the alien attempted a coup against the Supremacy, successfully taking over his home world. Using his “dimensionizer,” the Living Eraser can teleport objects and living creatures between Earth and Dimension Z. However, from one side, it simply looks like he’s erased something from existence.
While not every villain can be as magnificent and dastardly as Doctor Doom or as cosmically horrifying as Galactus, some certainly try their best. Some villains aspire to greatness, but ultimately fall flat on their face. Outdated technology, weak powers, and hokey themes can all lead to a villain’s fast downfall well before being beaten by the heroes. To be fair, not every hero is cut out to wear a cape either. Regardless, while these paltry excuses for villains don’t quite compare toMarvel’s heavy hitters, they do make for a genuine good laugh, which honestly is better than nothing.
