Marvel’s 10 Most Powerful Villains Who Are Completely Forgotten

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From the start, this universe has been filled with iconic heroes. While characters like Captain America and Spider-Man have bravely battled villains for years, even those villains – like the Red Skull and Green Goblin – have become famously known for their own actions.

While Marvel Comics has many famous villains, a huge number have faded into near total obscurity. Some were simply forgotten, while others, as you’ll see below, might be biding their time, waiting for a chance to return.

I remember reading this cool story way back in 1983! It was in Marvel Fanfare #12, and it introduced this awesome armored mercenary named Sheoke Sanada, who goes by Snapdragon. He was hired to take down the Black Widow! They’ve clashed a few times over the years, and honestly, it was enough for Snapdragon to decide Black Widow was someone to avoid. It’s a fun little piece of Marvel history!

Honestly, I remember Snapdragon being part of that villain team that really went after the hero – it was a mess! But she was smart enough to see things were going south pretty quickly. She was one of the first to bail and disappear back into the shadows once the hero started fighting back, which, you know, good for her. It was a bad plan from the start, and she seemed to realize that faster than the others.

When I first saw him back in 2000’s Captain America #8, this guy was a complete mystery. Basically, some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stumbled across his body in an old warehouse – and get this, there was a mole working for A.I.M. among them! Turns out, he’d been preserved incredibly well because years ago, he’d been given the Super Soldier Serum. It was a really weird setup, honestly.

He started as an Army private who killed his commanding officer. Then, a top-secret program tried to turn him into a super soldier, but it went wrong and he died. The criminal organization A.I.M. brought him back to life, and he became the villain Protocide, known for his shield. Though everyone thought he was dead, he actually went into hiding and lived a quiet life.

Brady Briedel debuted in the 2011 comic Heroes for Hire #9, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning with art by Kyle Hotz, as a minor drug dealer. His main skill was creating specialized chemical mixtures for villains like Arthur Nagan, also known as Mister Fear. However, an accident later turned Brady into the monstrous creature called Monster.

Brady, now able to transform into anyone’s worst fear and gain their powers, had the potential to be one of Marvel’s most dangerous villains. However, his team, the Villains for Hire, never really succeeded. He was last seen in 2012, defeated by a trap set by Moon Knight, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since, leaving his current whereabouts unknown.

The identity of the ‘Scourge of the Underworld’ has been taken on by many different people – at least a dozen, and possibly far more – throughout the years. Though the first person to use the name, Delazny, appeared in a 1985 issue of Iron Man (#194), it wasn’t until about ten years later that fans learned what he was really about.

The Scourge of the Underworld isn’t a single person, but a large, connected group of assassins. It started with Thomas Holloway, a World War II veteran who felt betrayed by the legal system and decided to take matters into his own hands. However, details about this organization, like much about the Scourge, are scarce and often incomplete.

The second Death-Stalker was a remarkably powerful member of the Villains for Hire team. She remained a complete mystery – her name, face, and even whether she was undead like the first Death-Stalker were never revealed. This ruthless killer had the ability to teleport instantly and generate intense microwave radiation, capable of boiling a person alive in seconds.

In the first four issues of the 2011 Villains for Hire series, Death-Stalker quickly established herself as the team’s most dangerous and skilled member. She even survived a devastating boat explosion that cost her an arm, and managed to evade capture when the rest of the team was arrested. This made her a popular character with fans, so it was disappointing when she vanished from the story afterward.

Anzhela Federova was a promising ballet dancer in Russia until she developed dangerous, ice-based mutant abilities. This destroyed her dreams of a dance career and left her heartbroken. Filled with anger, she began seeking revenge on those she felt had wronged Russia, focusing her fury on fellow dancers.

Bora first appeared in the 1983 comic Moon Knight #35, in a story called “Second Wind,” and quickly proved to be incredibly strong. Though she only appeared in four comics, her story took a dramatic turn when she was trapped inside a painting. She was eventually freed, but later lost her powers during the M-Day event, and eventually disappeared from view.

In 1975, the comic Marvel Premiere #23 introduced Michael Tanner, a Vietnam War veteran. He received an experimental Super Soldier Serum from Noah Burstein – the same scientist who later worked on Luke Cage while he was wrongly imprisoned. This serum gave Tanner incredibly durable, steel-like skin, ultimately transforming him into the dangerous C.I.A. assassin known as Warhawk.

Despite appearing in over a dozen comic books, Warhawk never truly resonated with readers or posed a significant threat to the heroes he fought. His last appearance showed him briefly obstructing Gambit and Storm, but he didn’t leave a lasting impression.

Egghead, whose real name is Doctor Elihas Starr, first appeared in 1962 in Tales to Astonish #38, in a story called “Betrayed by Ants!” created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. He’s a brilliant scientist who became a classic villain after attempting to sell government secrets. Egghead embodies the typical image of an evil mastermind.

Many villains from that same period have become iconic parts of the larger Marvel Comics universe. However, Egghead has only appeared in fewer than three dozen comics over nearly seven decades and doesn’t seem likely to return to prominence.

Okay, so when Adam Warlock had the Infinity Gauntlet, it was too much for him, even subconsciously. He basically split himself in two! One part, the Magus, was just pure badness, totally evil. But the other part, the Goddess, was all about good – like, bringing more light and positivity to the universe, and she wasn’t afraid to do whatever it took to get there. It’s a really interesting dynamic, seeing these two sides of him manifest as separate beings.

So, the Goddess was a total do-gooder, but honestly, her idea of ‘helping’ was kinda terrifying. She basically wanted to fix the whole universe without actually getting how it worked, and it almost led to a disaster. Luckily, we managed to lock her away in the Soul Gem with the Magus. That was over thirty years ago, though. The Magus got out a long time ago, but the Goddess? Still no sign of her. It’s like she just vanished inside that gem.

Though he’s been missing for years, William Allen remains the most frightening of the Carrions. Like those before him, he carries the Carrion Virus and can cause things to rot quickly with just a touch. What makes him truly dangerous is his intellect – becoming infected granted him the memories and knowledge of all previous Carrions, making him a brilliant and terrifying enemy.

Since his debut in the 1997 comic Spider-Man: Dead Man’s Hand #1, created by Roger Stern, Joe Edkin, Darick Robertson, and Dan Lawlis, the villain Carrion has only appeared in about a dozen comics. Although characters connected to him, like the Jackal, have shown up in various stories over the last thirty years, Carrion himself has remained largely absent.

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2026-01-26 02:15