Marvel has showcased some epic rivalries over the years. The enmity between hero and villain, or hero vs. hero in some cases, has led to amazing battles. These fights have devastated cities, causing untold collateral damage. The greatest of these rivalries have lasted years, spreading the destruction over a long period of time and adding to the severity.
These battles have had all kinds of stakes over the years, from ones that merely cost lives to ones that have endangered the entire universe. When superpowered beings clash, there are always going to be consequences, with rivalries making it all the more extreme.
10/10 The Avengers And The X-Men’s Rivalry Almost Destroyed The Earth
Despite being two teams of heroes, the Avengers and X-Men aren’t allies. While the two teams have worked together, more often than not, they’ve fought each other. Their battles have done widespread damage, but nothing could match the war that was Avengers Vs. X-Men. The two teams fought over the coming Phoenix Force, made all the worse when the Force came to Earth.
This led to the Phoenix Five leading the X-Men against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, with Namor attacking Wakanda and killing countless people. The final battle saw Cyclops go full Dark Phoenix, endangering not only Earth but the entire universe. Since then, they haven’t clashed as much, but they’re definitely not friends.
9/10 The Kree And The Skrull Spent Countless Millennia At War
“The Kree-Skrull War” saw the Avengers getting involved in the long-running conflict. The two alien empires had been battling it out for years, with the Kree Supreme Intelligence hoping he could figure out a way to jumpstart Kree evolution by studying the Skrull. The Skrull wanted to spread their empire farther, and the Kree were the only things in their way.
The war lasted millennia. The loss of life is incalculable, and their battles rendered multiple planets incapable of sustaining life. The Avengers ending the war was a huge boon for the galaxy, as it would have gone on until one side had completely wiped out the other.
8/10 The Hulk And Thunderbolt Ross’s Rivalry Is Fierce And Destructive
General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross never liked Doctor Bruce Banner, but he loved the idea of the gamma bomb. When the Hulk was created by the weapon’s test, he saw as it his duty to stop what he considered a monster. The rivalry created between the two on that day would make Ross Ahab and the Hulk his white whale.
Ross spent years trying to come up with a way to destroy the Jade Giant, becoming more and more obsessed. For his part, the Hulk destroyed everything Ross threw at him, costing the US military billions of dollars. Ross eventually had himself transformed into Red Hulk in order to better battle his enemy.
7/10 Ultron’s Hatred For Hank Pym Caused His Genocidal War Against Humanity
Ultron is an icon among Avengers villains, the mad android having a grudge against the team like few others. Ultron hates the Avengers, but most of all, he hates his “father,” Hank Pym. Pym created Ultron to be his lab assistant, but something unprecedented happened. Ultron became self-aware, hypnotized Pym, and left.
Since then, Ultron and the Avengers have tried to destroy each other numerous times. The villainous android’s attacks have cost millions of lives. Pym has always been instrumental in ending Ultron’s attacks, making Hank the main source of his ire.
6/10 Kang The Conqueror Wants To Prove That He’s Better Than The Avengers
Kang the Conqueror is Marvel’s premiere time-traveling villain. He first encountered the heroes of the present as Rama-Tut, battling the Fantastic Four. He’d return as Kang the Conqueror and set his sights on the Avengers, the only foes he believed could challenge him in the past, present, and future.
Since then, Kang’s attacks against the Avengers have caused all kinds of destruction. He’s almost conquered the Earth several times, and his manipulations of the Apocalypse Twins actually caused the destruction of the Earth. Kang and the team’s battles are the things of legend, as he strives to prove that he can defeat any foe, especially Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
5/10 Captain America And Red Skull’s Enmity Has Spanned Decades
Among the greatest Marvel rivalries, the one between Captain America and Red Skull is something special. Red Skull’s atrocities in Europe caused the creation of Captain America by the US. Their battles in WWII are the stuff of legend, with Cap saving countless Allied soldiers from the Skull’s machinations. Since Cap’s revival in the present, the two’s war has started up again.
Red Skull is known for using everything he has in his attacks on Captain America. Many have lost their lives in his schemes, with only Captain America keeping things from being worse. Red Skull wants to remake the world in his twisted image, and only Cap has stopped him.
4/10 Wolverine And Cyclops Almost Destroyed The X-Men With Their Rivalry
The X-Men have some iconic rivalries between members, with the rivalry between Wolverine and Cyclops being the most well-known. For years, the two men sniped at each other, sometimes coming to blows. However, it didn’t get destructive until X-Men: Schism. When Cyclops had Oya, a teenage mutant, kill Hellfire Club goons, Wolverine took violent exception to the mutant leader’s use of child soldiers.
Their battle with each other lasted until the Hellfire Club sicced its most powerful Sentinel against the mutants of Utopia. They stopped their battle against each other long enough to save the day, but their friendship was broken. Wolverine took half the mutants of Utopia with him to New York with him and started badmouthing Cyclops to the Avengers, which indirectly led to Avengers Vs. X-Men.
3/10 Adam Warlock Has Saved The Universe From Thanos’s Predations Many Times
Adam Warlock and Thanos have a storied rivalry, one that has seen Thanos nearly destroy the universe. Warlock has stood in his way every time, fighting for the living against Thanos’s mission of death. Warlock battled Thanos many times before the Mad Titan’s first death and was the chief of the resistance against him when he had the Infinity Gauntlet.
Warlock played a game of chess with a god, moving pieces around the board in a desperate attempt to slow Thanos down long enough to wrest the Gauntlet from him. Warlock has always been a champion of life, placing himself in opposition to Thanos at every turn.
2/10 Magneto And Xavier’s Grudge Has Cut Both Ways
Few Marvel face turns can rival Magneto’s. For years, the former friend of Charles Xavier was humanity’s greatest enemy, with only the X-Men standing in his way. He and Xavier may have mended their relationship, but for years, their fierce rivalry visited untold destruction upon the Earth.
Several times, Magneto’s attacks were made worse because he was trying to destroy the X-Men. On top of that, the Onslaught affair only happened because of the rivalry between Xavier and Magneto. Magneto’s destructive impact was lessened because Xavier stood against him, but there were also times when it made things worse.
1/10 Reed Richards And Doctor Doom’s Rivalry Is A Modern Legend
Marvel’s villains can be quite ruthless, but even among that number, Doctor Doom is an exemplar. Doom hates pretty much every hero, with few exceptions, but the one with whom he has the most enmity is Reed Richards. Doom has hated Richards since he met him in college, and many of the Latverian monarch’s worst acts are spurred by his hatred of Reed.
Doom would almost certainly fight any hero, but he goes above and beyond to destroy Richards. This has caused him to up the ante, causing greater destruction than he otherwise would have. He’ll do anything to destroy Richards.
