Superheroes and superpowered people have dominated pop culture for what seems like forever. First, it was comic books, then animation television shows, which evolved into cinematic adventures on the big screen. Somewhere in that transition to the theater, studios began developing video games based on these iconic Marvel characters.
Of the countless video games that are either based on Marvel storylines or other games that feature Marvel characters in cameos, there are a handful of instances where the villain outshone everyone. These Marvel villains, already known to be bad to the bone, transitioned flawlessly in their desire to conquer the virtual world they resided in. Whether driven by personal glory or by a false attempt to save the world, these are the cream of the supervillain crop.
10 The Tinkerer - Spider-Man: Miles Morales
With most Marvel stories, there’s typically a wide range of villains for the given hero to battle. That remains the case with Miles Morales, as he encounters the Rhino, the Prowler, and the Tinkerer. While some of the villains are just bad guys in funky costumes, the Tinkerer turned out to be an adversary that hit closer to home: his childhood friend, Phin.
Phin and Miles were close growing up, along with her older brother, Rick. Rick worked for Simon Krieger at Roxxon, and when he discovered the devastating side effects of Roxxon’s new energy source Nuform, Rick died trying to stop the project. Krieger covered up the incident, which set Phin down a path for revenge and eventually become The Tinkerer.
9 Prowler - Spider-Man: Miles Morales
As Miles Morales takes over as New York’s only Spider-Man while Peter Parker goes on vacation, he encounters a formidable opponent in Prowler. Donning an incredible purple suit with all sorts of gadgets that include temporary invisibility, Prowler is more than a handful, even for someone with spidey sense. But the real scare for Miles is finding out that Prowler is actually his uncle, Aaron Davis.
Ever since Miles and Peter took down Rhino, Uncle Aaron recognized Miles fighting style and knew the new Spider-Man was his nephew. It’s later revealed that Prowler is in cahoots with Roxxon and manipulated Miles into discovering Phin’s location to eliminate The Tinkerer. Thankfully, Uncle Aaron realized the fault in his actions and betrayed Simon Krieger, and after New York was saved from the unstable Nuform, he turned himself in to the police and was sent to jail.
8 Thanos - Fortnite
In what’s quickly turning into the greatest mashup of pop culture icons in history, Fortnite continues to surprise its fanbase. Many key points in Fortnite’s history can be credited with its popularity, but one that stands out is the Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time event in 2018. This event mirrored the overarching storyline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Thanos and his armies collecting the Infinity Stones.
During the event, if players found the Infinity Gauntlet hidden somewhere on the map they would turn into the Mad Titan himself. Although Thanos held all the Infinity Stones, he was only able to use the Power Stone. A year later, Epic Games had another limited-time event for Endgame, which saw the return of a more powerful Thanos. This time around, Thanos would harness the power of all the Infinity Stones with massive increases in health, shield, damage, and speed.
7 Galactus - Fortnite
Thanos isn’t the only big baddie in the Marvel universe, as Fortnite featured a supervillain who’s literally bigger than the Mad Titan. Galactus, The Devourer of Worlds, was thrust front and center as the main antagonist of the fourth season in Fortnite’s Chapter 2. After the events of The End, Galactus is drawn to the island to absorb the power of Zero Point.
To fight the cosmic being, Fortnite players were aided by none other than Iron Man himself. The Avenger constructed an upgraded Battle Bus that would retrofit you with the necessary equipment to take down Galactus. Eventually, Galactus was sent back through a rift and the island was saved from annihilation.
6 M.O.D.O.K. - Marvel’s Avengers
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics received mixed reception for their superhero team-up, Marvel’s Avengers. Fans weren’t pleased by the news of the game being live-service and there were complaints of the heroes not feeling quite as powerful as you’d imagine. But still, Marvel’s Avengers succeeded in delivering a compelling main campaign that featured the deranged M.O.D.O.K. as its central villain.
Previously known as George Tarleton, the scientist discovered a new energy source called Terrigan. Tarleton and his colleague Monica Rappaccini founded the company Advanced Idea Mechanics, and alongside the Avengers, began experimenting with Terrigan to provide humanity a new power source. The material proved unstable, erupting and affecting countless humans in San Francisco. The infected populace became known as Inhumans and demonstrated powers and abilities, including Tarleton, as he transformed into the villainous M.O.D.O.K.
5 Thane - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
A surprising fact that most people may not know is Thanos is a father. Yes, it’s certainly strange that Thanos would want to erase half of existence at random, even though he has a son but maybe that’s just another reason why he’s called the Mad Titan.
Thane first appeared as a supporting ally in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, as he warned the Avengers of Thanos searching for the Infinity Stones. But as the game progressed, it became more and more aware that Thane’s true motives were more sinister, until finally, the Titan stole the completed Infinity Gauntlet from his father. Consumed by the stones, Thane planned to murder his father and rule the universe, but with the unexpected help of Thanos, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were able to defeat the would-be tyrant.
4 Doctor Doom - Lego Marvel Super Heroes
In most superhero clashes, there’s always a slew of supervillains causing a ruckus for the heroes, while a hidden figure pulls the strings in the shadows. Even though Lego Marvel Super Heroes is an adorable adventure, there’s still evil afoot. At the beginning of the game, the nefarious Doctor Doom shoots down the Silver Surfer, dropping Cosmic Bricks around the world. The Silver Surfer warns Doom of the impending threat of Galactus, but Doom’s hellbent on collecting the Cosmic Bricks to power his Doom Ray of Doom to defeat The Devourer of Worlds and the Avengers.
Although Doom tends to work alone, he’s open to supervillain team-up. While he’s searching for the Cosmic Bricks with Loki, various villains like Green Goblin, M.O.D.O.K., Magneto, and Abomination are thrown into the Avengers way to halt their pursuit of Doom. Ultimately, Doom is defeated by the heroes and it’s revealed Loki summoned Galactus to Earth to exact revenge. In a surprise turn of events, Doom and many other villains work with Nick Fury and the Avengers to defeat Galactus and save the day.
3 Simon Krieger - Spider-Man: Miles Morales
While The Tinkerer and Prowler were certainly viewed as dangerous obstacles for Miles Morales, the true villain of the game is Simon Krieger. The head of research and development at Roxxon, Krieger is solely responsible for Phin Mason’s brother’s death, which set her on the path to becoming The Tinkerer. Krieger also manipulated Aaron Davis in targeting Spider-Man, even though Davis knew the new Spider-Man was his nephew.
Krieger tried to cover up the extremely dangerous side effects of Nuform, the energy source Rick and his team were experimenting with. Despite the mounting data that Nuform was unstable, he pushed for the energy source to be distributed publicly, which nearly resulted in New York being wiped from the map.
2 Monica Rappaccin - Marvel’s Avengers
While M.O.D.O.K. was the central villain of the Reassemble campaign in Marvel’s Avengers, fellow A.I.M. scientist Monica Rappaccini is the true evil. Of course, it’s terrible that M.O.D.O.K. wishes to eliminate the Avengers, and subsequently the Inhumans, because he believes no one should have such power (himself included), but what Rappaccini does is inhumane.
After the immense destruction that resulted in A-Day, George Tarleton is left in a coma. Rappaccini begins developing a cure to restore Tarleton when he awakens. Rappaccini and Tarleton abduct Inhumans under the premise they will be cured, but Rappaccini actually uses them as test subjects for her cures. But the line doesn’t stop with human test subjects. Unknowing to Tarleton, Rappaccini imprisoned Steve Rogers in their orbital lab and used his blood in her treatments for Tarleton, which had actually been increasing the potency of his powers. Knowing how much Tarleton despised superheroes, let’s just say he wasn’t pleased to discover that crucial bit of information.
1 Doctor Octopus - Spider-Man
The story of Otto Octavius is a rather sad tale. Growing up, Octavius was a brilliant mind and he worked with Norman Osborne in researching and developing many different energy sources and ways to advance humanity. In one fateful experiment with Devil’s Breath, Osborn killed Martin Li’s parents and unknowingly gave the young boy powers. Because Osborn went behind his back with the experimental treatment and continued performing unethical medical procedures, Octavius left Oscorp.
Throughout Spider-Man, Peter Parker works closely with Octavius in developing advanced prosthetics to replace limbs that would become inoperable because of a decaying nervous system. While this endeavor would benefit countless people, Octavius’s end goal was personal. Octavius is suffering from his own neurological disease that’s diminishing his motor functions. After Parker and Octavius succeed in building his infamous mechanical arms, Parker warns Octavius of the high risks of the neural interface affecting his personality. Eventually, Octavius’s already corrupted mind succumbs to the arms and he fully completes his transformation into one of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes: Doctor Octopus.