Marvel Comics is home to some of the most iconic characters ever created, but for every great hero like Spider-Man or Wolverine, there’s an equally iconic villain. Names like Doctor Doom, the Green Goblin, and Thanos are synonymous with villainy in the Marvel Universe. Still, not every bad guy can live up to those examples.
Many Marvel villains have made the wrong impression on fans. These kinds of characters are more likely to get laughed at, unintentionally or otherwise, than respected. Still, these ridiculous characters still add to the fun surrounding the unpredictable world of Marvel Comics.
10/10 Arnim Zola’s Iconic Android Look Is Pretty Bizarre
While Arnim Zola’s a popular recurring Avengers villain, his traditional depiction is pretty bizarre. Originally a chemist who allied himself with the Red Skull in World War II, Zola created a robotic body that he managed to transfer his consciousness into. He’s since continued to cause all sorts of villainy for Marvel’s heroes well into the modern era.
Zola’s new body projects his face onto a screen in his chest, with absurd results. In spite of his look, though, Armin Zola is a cunning and threatening antagonist and a top-tier threat.
9/10 The Spot Certainly Sticks Out
The Spot was a scientist named Jonathan Ohnn who managed to create a large circular black portal. Stepping through it, he found himself surrounded by dozens of interdimensional portals. After managing to return to his lab, Ohnn found that these portals had attached themselves to his body and figured that he could use them for personal gain as a criminal. Upon dubbing himself the Spot amidst a skirmish between Spider-Man, Black Cat, and the Kingpin, the Spot’s name memorably caused the Webslinger to crack up laughing.
While the Spot actually managed to defeat Spider-Man in that instance, the villain has been bested by the webhead on more than a few occasions afterward. Still, the Spot still remains a fan-favorite, as his unique look and his power over portals have resulted in some memorably fun and ridiculous appearances.
8/10 Mr. Fish Is An Aquatic Oddity
Mr. Fish was originally a petty crook who was exposed to radiation in the midst of a job and then fell into the East River. He emerged as a fish/man hybrid with superhuman strength. He soon managed to create his own branch of the Maggia and created a decent criminal following before Luke Cage stopped him.
Characters being changed by radiation is nothing new in comics but Mr. Fish’s situation is a little too strange even for Marvel. Despite his strength, his name doesn’t exactly inspire fear and he feels too silly to face even the ’70s version of Cage.
7/10 Asbestos Lady Is Tragic But Ridiculous
The Asbestos Lady was originally a scientist named Victoria Murdock who discovered the benefits and criminal possibilities of fireproof asbestos. Donning a mask and a costume made of asbestos, Murdock became a recurring foe for the Golden Age Human Torch, Jim Hammond.
At the time of Asbestos Lady’s creation, the dangers of using asbestos were often ignored but today it’s pretty well known that it’s a deadly carcinogen. Using asbestos as armor obviously hasn’t aged well and it feels tragic but ridiculous that the Asbestos Lady died from idiopathic mesothelioma, killed by her costumed persona.
6/10 The Kangaroo Is Hopping Mad
The original Kangaroo in Marvel Comics was an Australian criminal named Frank Oliver, a former boxer who could jump unusually well who made a habit of losing fights against Spider-Man. When Oliver died, a fan names Brian Hibbs took up his mantle and took his hero worship to a new level.
Hibbs bought a suit of kangaroo-shaped armor, equipped with a cannon in its pouch and a prehensile tail. While a similarly costumed villain like the Rhino is pretty threatening because of his size and raw power, the Kangaroo’s whole look and persona comes off as ridiculous, even if it has its advantages
5/10 Each Of The Headmen Are Laughable In The Best Way
The Headmen are unified by their shared desire to rule the world because of their great intelligence. Each member is unique because they’ve augmented their bodies, usually their heads, in eccentric ways.
For instance, Dr. Arthur Nagan/Gorilla-Man was a former surgeon who somehow transplanted his head onto a gorilla’s body. Thursday Rubinstein/Ruby Thursday replaced her own head with a plastic supercomputing orb and wanted to ‘help’ the world by forcing everyone else to do the same. They’ve gone up against the likes of the Defenders and She-Hulk, with each appearance being somehow weirder and more delightfully bonkers than the last.
4/10 Doctor Bong Is A Competent Yet Ludicrous Villain
Howard the Duck is best known for his surreal stories, so it’s only fair that he have an odd rogues’ gallery to match. As a result, Lester Verde, better known as Doctor Bong, is Howard’s perfect archnemesis.
Bong is a scientific genius who carries himself with the same arrogant superiority as Doctor Doom. However, where Doom is imposing, Bong’s gimmick involved a bell-shaped helmet. He’s a master of super science and sound, able to apparently alter reality by ringing bells, but he’s mostly devoted himself to petty pursuits like stealing Howard’s girlfriend. He’s not the most imposing bad guy out there but he’s entertaining every time he appears.
3/10 Eye-Scream Is A Villain Best Served Cold
Not every mutant is born with an exciting power but Eye-Scream, The Man Of 32 Flavors, could change himself into ice cream. Not as bad as blowing himself up, but very low on the list of desirable abilities. Jealous over the fact that the X-Men had better powers than he did, Eye-Scream managed to seize control of the Danger Room at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Eventually, Profesor Xavier figured out Eye-Scream was in the Danger Room’s control booth and lowered the temperature inside, freezing the villain in place. Eye-Scream hasn’t been seen since but it’s hard to argue that he’d be effective as a villain in the Krakoa era.
2/10 Mojo Is On An Entirely Bonkers Other World
Mojo is an alien being who rules the Mojoverse, a dimension where his gladiatorial reality TV programs rule the airwaves. The X-Men themselves have often found themselves as unwitting participants in these competitions, relying on both their powers and wits to escape and beat Mojo at his own game.
What makes Mojo such a risible threat isn’t just the way he forces his enemies into his shows but also his overall demeanor. He’s gigantic but not imposing, with an outsized personality and ego that makes him a nightmarish parody of a TV network executive. It’s hard to take him seriously but he’s such an outrageous and entertaining villain that it doesn’t even matter.
1/10 M.O.D.O.K. Represents Marvel At Its Wackiest
MODOK might be the one Marvel villain who defies explanation in every shape and form. Originally an A.I.M. employee named George Tarleton, he was subjected to an experiment that drastically increased his intelligence but left him with an oversized head and tiny body. This forced him to use his iconic hover chair. Rechristening himself as the Mental Organism Designed Only For Killing (M.O.D.O.K.), he took over as A.I.M.’s leader and ruled with a tiny iron fist.
As effective as MODOK is against a majority of Marvel’s heroes, the sheer ridiculousness of his appearance and his outlandish attitude have made him the butt of many jokes, both among fans and even in-universe. M.O.D.O.K. immediately commands everyone’s attention all the same, for better and for worse, showing the laughable characters have earned their places in the Marvel Universe.
