The 10 Most Dangerous Marvel Villains (Who Don’t Have Any Super Powers)

The Marvel Comics universe is filled to the brim with super-villains, all of them with varying degrees of power and threat levels. While most have superhuman abilities or technological enhancements – like Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus – there are others who have no superpowers at all. However, that shouldn’t indicate that they are any less dangerous.

Super-villains aren’t limited to just bad guys with superpowers, as a super-villain can be anyone who adequately challenges a superhero or antihero. One of the most widely recognized super-villains of all-time is DC’s Lex Luthor, who has no superhuman abilities, though is still the greatest challenger to one of the strongest heroes in the DC Universe, Superman – and the Marvel Universe has plenty of its own examples as well. Here are the 10 most dangerous Marvel villains who don’t have any superpowers!

10 The Kingpin Brought Every Superhero on Earth to Their Knees

Devil’s Reign by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto

The ultimate climax of the ‘Mayor Fisk’ era in Marvel Comics, Devil’s Reign, did not disappoint when it came to the true threat level of the Kingpin. Wilson Fisk used his political and criminal influences to make being a superhero in New York City illegal, and he deputized his own Thunderbolts team to start making arrests.

The Kingpin took down the likes of the Fantastic Four, Moon Knight, and Iron Fist, just to name a few, and forced all other heroes to hide underground – and that’s just in this single storyline alone.

9 Henry Gyrich Succeeded in Doing the Impossible: Killing the Hulk

The Immortal Hulk #44 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett

Henry Gyrich is usually featured in the X-Men side of the Marvel Universe, as he’s a vocally anti-mutant government official (who would, indeed, die trying to orchestrate an anti-mutant attack after aligning himself with Orchis). However, he’s not limited to X-Men comics in the slightest, and has – at one point or another – gone after practically every major superhero in the Marvel Universe. And in this issue, Henry Gyrich succeeds in doing what few villains have before him: killing the Hulk.

Gyrich, using his reach as a government official, makes himself the leader of Gamma Flight, which is a strike force dedicated to taking down the Hulk. However, that proves to only be a cover for the real team he’s in charge of: the U-Foes. Under his command, the U-Foes obliterate the Hulk, all while Gyrich sits back and claims the victory from the shadows.

8 Jigsaw is the One Villain Even the Punisher Just Can’t Seem to Kill

Punisher: In The Blood by Rick Remender and Roland Boschi

Jigsaw aka Billy Russo is perhaps the Punisher’s most iconic villain, partly because of his bizarre appearance, and partly because Frank just can’t seem to kill him. It’s rare that a Punisher villain (unless they’re a shared villain like Norman Osborn or Kingpin) lives past a single storyline, but Jigsaw has survived a great number of encounters with the Punisher, including during the ‘In The Blood’ arc. It’s in this five-issue comic that two explanations are given as to why Jigsaw has survived this long: he keeps getting away, and he’s a living billboard for Punisher’s brutality.

Both answers are true in their own way, not to mention the fact that Jigsaw is both a mob boss and an expert hand-to-hand combatant who has beaten the Punisher one-on-one more than once. Overall, Jigsaw is simply a dangerous villain who’s proven to be too much for the Punisher on a number of occasions – and all without super-powers.

7 Ma Gnucci is Perhaps the Punisher’s Cruelest Villain

Punisher Vol. 5 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

Ma Gnucci is a crime lord whose cruelty truly knows no bounds. She once ordered one of her soldiers to kill his colleague for almost no reason at all, and that’s only a fraction of the cruelty she’s exhibited during her short stint in Marvel canon. Ma Gnucci has unlimited access to some of the deadliest assassins in the world, she’s comfortable killing anyone who gets in her way (or who she finds even slightly annoying), and she’s almost supernaturally fueled by hatred and spite.

The most spectacular thing about Ma Gnucci, thankfully, was her end. Ma Gnucci had her arms and legs eaten by polar bears before the Punisher punted her into a burning building. Rough way to go, but not undeserved in the slightest.

6 William Stryker Tried to Use Professor X to Wipe Out ALL Mutants

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson

God Loves, Man Kills is probably the greatest X-Men story ever written. It perfectly encapsulates everything the series stands for in one cohesive story, with the main villain acting as the living embodiment of prejudice: Rev. William Stryker. Not only are the ideals of the Reverend abhorrent and dangerous, but his methods are insidiously ingenious, and his past is riddled with horrors. Stryker murdered his infant son when it was obvious he was a mutant, and then Stryker proceeded to launch an anti-mutant campaign, using religion as a way to sway people to his side.

Stryker preached that mutants were an abomination in the eyes of God, and those who followed him took it into their own hands to kill mutants – including two children. But the worst part about Stryker is his villainous plot to wipe out all mutantkind, as he kidnapped Charles Xavier and sought to use his powers through Cerebro to find and kill every mutant in the world with his powerful telekinesis. No powers, just hatred – that’s what makes William Stryker so dangerous.

5 Bolivar Trask Originally Created the Sentinels, & Is Responsible for Multiple Armageddons

X-Men #14 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Bolivar Trask is the scientist responsible for creating the Sentinels, and while he’s not a ‘super-villain’ in the classic sense, he’s probably the most dangerous person in the history of Marvel Comics. Sentinels – as shown explicitly in Days of Future Past and House of X/Powers of X – are responsible for a number of armageddons across numerous timelines.

In fact, it was a Sentinel-led attack on the latest Hellfire Gala that pushed mutantkind to its most recent extinction-level crisis, and it’s all thanks to one powerless man, Bolivar Trask.

4 Baron Zemo is a Perpetual Thorn in Captain America’s Side

Captain America #168 by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella, and Sal Buscema

Aside from a de-aging serum, Baron Zemo doesn’t have any superpowers. His genius-level intelligence might make him seem superhuman, but in reality, he is simply an evil mastermind who can bend the wills of other villains (ones that have superpowers) to his own. Throughout Captain America’s history, Baron Zemo has been right by his side – specifically as a proverbial thorn.

Not only did Zemo make his first appearance as a Captain America villain, but he also went on to become the arch nemesis of the entire Avengers during the team’s earliest adventures, especially as the leader of the Masters of Evil super-villain team.

3 The Butler Tormented and Tortured Deadpool for Years

Deadpool #14-19 by Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn, and Scott Koblish

This five-issue Deadpool story arc introduced the Butler, a man who used to work for Weapon Plus and still had access to the fallen organization’s advanced technology. The Butler is a complicated villain, in that he’s incredibly sympathetic. All he wants is to save the life of his daughter, who’s dying of cancer, and he periodically needs samples of Deadpool’s DNA to do it. For years, the Butler systematically abducted Deadpool, stole pieces of his body that he knew would grow back, and then released him to the world, with Wade being none the wiser.

Eventually, Deadpool learned what the Butler was up to, and while the man seemed to have only the best intentions, Deadpool quickly learned that the Butler was a bit more sinister than he initially let on, and Deadpool killed him for it. But before he died, the Butler effectively defeated Deadpool countless times for years, which is something almost no other villain can say – and he did it without any superpowers.

2 The Russian Nearly Did What No Other Villain Could Do: Kill the Punisher

Punisher Vol. 5 #9-11 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

The Russian is a world-class hitman who commits wartime atrocities for fun, and sells himself to the highest bidder anytime someone who is ‘unkillable’ needs to die. The Russian was hired by Ma Gnucci (which further proves her own threat-level) to kill the Punisher – and he nearly does it. For two straight issues, the Russian beats the Punisher to a bloody pulp while taking almost no damage throughout the entire fight. Eventually, Frank gets the better of him (with the help of a very good friend), but the Punisher suffered greatly to earn that victory.

While it’s true that the Russian was later revived and transformed into a cyborg, this Punisher storyline proves he is dangerous enough without any superhuman powers/enhancements.

1 Justin Hammer Used Iron Man’s Technology to Put the Whole World in Danger

Armor Wars by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, and Mark Bright

Justin Hammer is a weapons dealer akin to Tony Stark, though infinitely less brilliant. However, what Hammer lacks in brilliance, he makes up for in cunning. It was Hammer who stole Stark’s Iron Man designs and sold them to criminals all over the world, thereby starting the Armor Wars and putting the entire planet in danger. Iron Man suits are some of the most advanced technology in the Marvel Universe, and in the wrong hands, they could quite literally be weapons of mass destruction – and Hammer put them in the hands of evil-doers for nothing more than a profit.

For his actions in this storyline alone, Justin Hammer can easily be considered one of the 10 most dangerous super-villains in Marvel Comics (who don’t have superpowers).