10 Marvel Villains Who Should Switch Heroes

The MCU has turned Iron Man and Black Panther from nerd culture into household names. But no matter how incredible a Marvel hero is, they can’t survive the pop culture zeitgeist alone. They need other characters: friends, lovers, and, of course, enemies. As such, supervillains have risen to prominence alongside their more morally righteous counterparts. Most Marvel villains are paired with a specific hero, someone they challenge to achieve greater heights. While these relationships are often well crafted, some pairings just don’t make sense.

Heroes and villains need some kind of common ground for their conflict to work. Sometimes, this takes the form of a personal connection. For example, Green Goblin is Spider-Man’s best friend’s father. They have a thematic connection at other times, like Iron Man and Crimson Dynamo using power armor. The most iconic comic rivalries are built on this. Of course, not every rivalry is iconic. Some villains don’t have a particular reason to fight their usual hero and desperately need a switch-up. Giving villains new heroes to fight gives both characters an interesting chance to grow.

10 Apocalypse Could be an Avengers-Level Threat

Apocalypse is one of the X-Men’s most notable foes, having literally shaped the planet’s history. Although he has been on the side of angels before (even recently), there is no question that he is a famous antagonist. Alongside his deadly horsemen, Apocalypse wants to conquer the entire planet, and he is definitely capable of it. Maybe it’s time he changed his plan of attack.

Apocalypse has tangled with the X-Men a few times and rarely comes out on top. Maybe he should go for Marvel’s other premiere team, the Avengers. Letting the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes face Apocalypse could give them a hitherto unseen challenge. It could let the ancient mutant flex his might against heroes who don’t know all his tricks.

9 Spymaster and Black Widow Are Evenly Matched

Spymaster is a lesser-known Iron Man villain from some of the hero’s earliest days. As the name suggests, he’s a master of spy-craft and mostly uses his skills for corporate espionage. However, he has some potential to turn the bigger picture outside of the corporate world.

Black Widow makes an obvious choice to face off with Spymaster. She’s one of the world’s best cover operatives. A story that pits these two against each other would be a great opportunity for a spy-thriller with superhero packaging. Plus, it would allow them both to break out even more of their spying skills in attempts to one-up each other.

8 The Hobgoblin Could Be the New Spider-Man’s Rival

Hobgoblin is a bit of an odd Marvel villain. He’s part of Spider-Man’s rogue gallery but is overshadowed by most of the other villains. Hobgoblin especially pales in comparison to the Green Goblin, Peter Parker’s greatest foe. However, with two Spider-Men swinging around New York, this could be a perfect chance for a new Hobgoblin to shine.

Miles Morales needs more villains that are specific to him. While making Hobgoblin a foe for Miles is still co-opting one of Peter’s foes, he could be made unique. Make him someone connected to Miles, and suddenly, he becomes a more interesting villain. Legacy characters can be tricky, as they must continue the previous hero’s role while forging a new path. Updating an old foe could be a great way to further the rivalry between Spider-Man and Hobgoblin in a fun new way.

7 Rhino and Daredevil Should Cross Paths

Rhino is one of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains. But he hasn’t had much luck against the web-slinger. Mostly, he chares in with some ill-conceived scheme, gets the run around from Spidey, and gets shipped off to jail. He’s a dumb-muscle villain, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, he deserves to spread his wings.

Rhino should tangle with some other New York City heroes, and top of that list should be Daredevil. The Man Without Fear is no stranger to fighting villains twice his size and is even quite efficient. While Daredevil does fight similarly to Spider-Man, he’s different enough to be a challenge for Rhino.

6 The Leader Deserves a More Cerebral Challenge

The Leader is one of the Hulk’s most famous foes. Whereas Gamma radiation turned Bruce Banner into a physical powerhouse, it made Samuel Sterns hyper-intelligent. The two irradiated men have clashed a few times, but the duo are mismatched. Giving the Leader a smarter hero could really challenge him.

There are plenty of super-geniuses in the Marvel Universe. Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Reed Richards, or even Hank McCoy could all prove an intellectual challenge for the super-smart scientist. Perhaps he could battle one of them purely cerebrally, with no need for physical confrontation. Although how that plays out in a comic would be interesting to see.

5 Kang The Conqueror Needs an Unending Foe

Kang the Conqueror is a huge threat and often tangles with the Avengers. However, due to his time-traveling abilities, he could simply pop over to a time before or after the Avengers existed. Therefore, the best counter would be a hero who would always be around and ready for Kang. While many immortal heroes like Wolverine and Deadpool, one underrated Avenger could be a great option.

Mr. Immortal’s only power is that he’s, well, immortal. He can’t die. He’s something of a joke character as well. But that’s why a rivalry with Kang could be so great. It could either make Mr. Immortal a more capable hero or give Kang a chance to star in a less dire story. Either way, these two would definitely benefit from a story where they clash.

4 Taskmaster Could Mimic New Abilities Against the X-Men

Taskmaster is easily one of Marvel’s coolest (and most popular) villains. He can copy the fighting style of anyone he watches, meaning he’s essentially a one-man army. He carries a transforming tool kit that lets him mimic heroes like Hawkeye, Captain America, and more on the fly. While he’s tangled with most of the Marvel universe, he doesn’t often meet the X-Men.

While Taskmaster’s abilities don’t let him mimic mutant abilities, he still could learn plenty. Perhaps he could use gadgets to copy the mutations and let his powers do the rest. Wolverine’s claws, Cyclops’s optic blasts, and even Kitty Pride’s intangibility could all be copied with technology. It would be cool to see Taskmaster expand his bag of tricks to operate even more efficiently.

3 Sabretooth Hunting Hulk Could be Quite the Challenge

Hulk is one of Marvel’s best and most powerful heroic characters. A mild-mannered scientist turning into an unstoppable beast when angry has always been a great idea for a superhero. Hulk villains have come and gone, but one has become an even more popular hero. Famous mutant Wolverine got his start as an antagonist for the Hulk.

Sabretooth is, of course, the anti-Wolverine, so a conflict between him and Hulk would be a cool callback. Plus, Sabretooth has the durability to go a few rounds with the Jade Giant and still come back swinging. While Sabretooth shouldn’t make a permanent move to the pages of The Incredible Hulk, he should definitely stop by for an arc or two.

2 Norman Osborn Should Threaten the Planet (Again)

The early to mid-2000s were an interesting time for Marvel. It felt like there was one event after another, each changing the universe’s status quo. In the wake of Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn rose to prominence as a bastion of law and order. He then founded a new group of Avengers, who were actually supervillains in disguise.

This simple change flipped the script on Marvel’s heroes. They went from beloved protectors to scorned fugitives. While this was certainly an interesting era, simply repeating it would be lazy. Norman, however, should return to a similar role. Maybe he could still lead a more violent, controversial group of heroes in his new Golden Goblin persona.

1 Fin Fang Foom and Iron Man Don’t Make Sense Together

While Iron Man is an iconic Marvel hero, his villains are… less popular. Sure, he’s got some cool ones like Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash. However, he’s also got the weirdest Marvel foe, Fin Fang Foom. While the idea of a giant immortal dragon in boxers is cool, why is he fighting the playboy in high-tech body armor? Foom deserves a foe more his speed.

Plenty of Marvel heroes come to mind as dragon slayers. Black Knight could be a great fit, given the classic iconography. Betsy Braddock’s Captain Britain could also fill the role nicely, given her propensity for swords and connection to mythology. There’s also always the immortal Iron Fist, who has been connected to dragons for years. Any of them would be a better fit than Iron Man.