Marvel’s heroes run the gamut of squeaky clean inspirations to down and dirty brawlers. The only thing they have in common is who they fight. While some heroes take being good to the next level, others go in a different direction. Heroes like the Punisher and Beast are ruthless in their pursuits of justice. Other heroes have rules they follow, but these ruthless heroes don’t. They have one rule: stop evil.
These heroes have gone farther in their war against villainy than others. Not all of them are killers, but they’ve all shown a ruthless streak that would make even villains blush.
10/10 Iron Man Has A Pragmatic Streak
Iron Man isn’t always the best hero, but he always does what he thinks is right. Iron Man is an engineer. He uses everything he has to solve problems, knowing that sometimes it’s going to hurt people that he’s close to. Iron Man tries not to kill, but he’s no less ruthless. The best example of this was his solution to the Incursions.
Iron Man and the Illuminati created anti-matter warheads that they’d launch at the Earths breaking through. Some of them were inhabited. Some weren’t. This just proves how far he’s willing to go and what he’s willing to put on his conscious to save the Earth.
9/10 Deadpool Kills Everything In His Way
Deadpool is known for two things: his constant joking and the thousands of people he’s killed in all kinds of entertaining ways. Deadpool has been a mercenary for a long time. He’s been paid to kill all kinds of people, from monstrous folks who deserve it to people who definitely don’t. It takes a certain amount of ruthlessness to be a contract killer and Deadpool definitely has that.
Deadpool has confined his killing to bad guys in recent years, and he is completely ruthless in battle. He’s been known to spare people who aren’t complete monsters, but other than that Deadpool is killing everyone in his way.
8/10 Magneto Will Do Anything To Save Mutantkind
Magneto was long the X-Men’s greatest foe. He’s joined the team twice, with his second stint being the longest. He joined the team because of the dire straits mutants were in. There weren’t even two hundred mutants in the world and Magneto was taking no chances with his people’s survival. Since then, he’s been defending his people in his inimitably Magneto way.
Magneto is known for being extreme in his protection of the mutant race. He’s also incredibly powerful, so when Magneto says he’ll do anything to protect mutants, that’s the truth. Nothing will stand in Magneto’s way to keep his people alive and free.
7/10 Venom Got The Moniker Of The Lethal Protector
Venom has had some crazy adventures, both as a hero and a villain. Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote hated Spider-Man, but eventually decided that the best revenge was to become a hero. Since then, Eddie has been a hero and a villain, with the common thread between those extremes being his own ruthlessness.
The symbiote is known for eating enemies whole at times, something Eddie doesn’t have a problem with. Eddie has always been okay with being a lethal protector. He knows that sometimes evil has to be cut out at the root and the best way to do that is to be as ruthless as possible.
6/10 The Hulk Can Be Destructive And Very Ruthless
The Hulk has defeated Marvel’s most powerful people. His strength potential is infinite and his healing factor and invulnerability make Hulk nearly impossible to hurt. The Hulk is known for his rage and the many changes he’s been through. There’s one thing that links them all, though, and that’s ruthlessness. Every single Hulk variant has been ruthless, with some worse than others.
Joe Fixit, the savage Hulk, Green Scar, Worldbreaker, Devil Hulk, and the immortal Hulk are all extremely ruthless, destroying everything in front of them. The least ruthless is the childlike regular Hulk, but even he’s known for losing any civility when he’s angry. Professor Hulk is somewhere in between, as Bruce Banner has more control in that form.
5/10 Ghost Rider Is All About Vengeance
Ghost Rider is the Spirit of Vengeance. The former member of the Legion of Monsters has been ruthlessly punishing the wicked, whether the Spirit rides with Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch. Ghost Rider does one thing and that’s it. He chases down the wicked and makes them pay penance. There’s no quarter given and none taken.
Ghost Rider’s ruthlessness is well known. He can’t be stopped when he’s after someone. The Spirit of Vengeance keeps him powerful and tireless. No enemy has ever escaped him, no matter how hard they’ve tried.
4/10 Wolverine Doesn’t Stop Until Someone Is In The Ground
There are few X-Men more reliable than Wolverine. He’s there for his teammates and the people he cared about. He’ll tear through any enemy in front of him, anyone between him and his goals. Wolverine is a killer and that’s all there is to it. He’s a person who both cares very deeply and yet is completely and totally ruthless. Everyone who’s fought him has experienced it, and even his friends have gotten glimpses.
Wolverine is the one the X-Men depend on to take down their enemies. They don’t ask any questions about how he does it, they just live with the results. His own ruthlessness is a problem for him, as he knows just what kind of person he can be and what he’s done.
3/10 Professor X Has Done Everything To Ensure Mutant Survival
Professor X and Magneto were looked at as two sides of the same coin. Xavier was the heroic side, his dream of human/mutant co-existence a laudable thing. Xavier was okay with fighting, but he was all about peace in the end. However, Xavier was no starry-eyed idealist; he knew exactly how hard the thing he wanted was and knew how far he’d go.
Xavier might not personally kill anyone, but he usually doesn’t have to. His mental powers allow him to change the minds of the people around him. Xavier has gone to some unspeakable lengths to ensure mutants keep going, even lying to his students. There’s nothing he won’t do or sacrifice to make sure his people thrive.
2/10 The Beast’s Tenure As Head Of X-Force Shows Just How Ruthless He Is
Some Marvel heroes aren’t honorable. They get the job done, but the way they get them done are best not looked into. That’s what Beast is doing as head fo X-Force. The team is Krakoa’s CIA, working from the shadows to keep the mutant nation safe.
Since taking over the group, he’s almost overthrown a country, opened up a black site prison in space, and has done terrible things to Wolverine, making him more of a killer than ever. Beast is all about the ends justifying the means. He’s doing monstrous things in the name of mutant safety. No one asks questions because he gets results.
1/10 The Punisher Is A Mass Murderer
Some Marvel heroes are killers and then there’s the Punisher. He may not have the highest kill count of any hero, but he’s the most criminal of them. The Punisher has no problem planting a bomb in a gang headquarters. He’ll open fire with a machine gun and saw criminals in half, even if they’ve never killed anyone.
The Punisher kills criminals. That’s his only relationship with them. He has almost certainly shown some mercy over the years, as he’s not totally a monster, but his ruthlessness is extreme. He sees himself as the cure and crime is the disease. It’s his mission to eradicate crime in all of its guises.
