The 6 Biggest Marvel Villains Right Now

With some of the greatest villains in pop culture, Marvel is never short on ways to keep its heroes on their toes. However, in a living, breathing world like the Marvel Universe, the hierarchy of power and importance is always shifting.

While some major villains remain in play, others are dead, retired or even pursuing redemption. Meanwhile, new faces are ascendant and classic foes are taking new forms to pursue their grand plans.

Here are the six most important villains to Marvel lore right now - those who are more powerful than ever before or whose plans are directing the course of multiple series. Beware spoilers from this point on!

The Enchantress (Amora)

Currently Appearing in: The Mortal Thor

Al Ewing and Juann Cabal's The Mortal Thor is Marvel's best ongoing comic, and it has the villains to prove it. With Thor dead and his place taken on Earth by the amnesiac mortal Sigurd Jarlson, his powers as All-Father are up for grabs.

While Thor's son Magni has taken the throne, the recent Mortal Thor #13 saw him brutally killed off by his alt-universe mother the Enchantress, who subjects him to literal infinity in order to steal his cosmic power, sending him off to the halls of Valhalla and claiming his throne by right of bloodline.

It's a haunting issue that's a dead cert as one of the best of the year, and ends with Enchantress claiming the nigh-omnipotent powers of Odin and crowning herself the All-Mother of Asgard.

Mephisto

Currently Appearing in: Captain America and Queen in Black: Hela

One of Marvel's main recurring villains, Mephisto always has a plan or ten on the boil, and he's currently locked in a war against Doctor Doom. Consigned to Hell, Doom has summoned Steve Rogers' Captain America to his side, with the two leading a demonic revolution to kick Mephisto off his throne in Chip Zdarsky and Ton Lima's recent Captain America #14.

Mephisto's plans have involved enslaving the Red Skull as his enforcer, while also empowering Valeria von Frazen as demonic bounty hunter 'Frenzah' (Valeria is Doctor Doom's former love, who he doomed to Hell in exchange for mystic power.)

Meanwhile, Queen in Black: Hela (Ewing, Carlos Magno) saw Mephisto claim the soul of classic hero Roger "Red" Norvell, threatening to transform him into "the Thor of Hell." Mephisto isn't just making significant plays, he's creating multiple new villains in the process.

Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom)

Currently Appearing in: Captain America, DoomQuest, Black Panther/Namor: Doomed, Challenges of Doom

Following his death in One World Under Doom, fans could have been forgiven for thinking Marvel would let the Fantastic Four's nemesis rest for a while, but they'd have been very, very wrong. With Robert Downey Jr. portraying the villain in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, Doom is playing a major role in several series, both as villain and protagonist.

True to his nature, Doctor Doom is taking on heroes like Reed Richards, Captain America and Black Panther, while also antagonizing fellow villains Mephisto, Galactus and Magneto, as well as fighting to safeguard time itself by inhabiting the bodies of various historical figures (in Ryan North and Francesco Mobili's gonzo DoomQuest.)

The Infernal Hulk (aka The Eldest)

Currently Appearing in: The Infernal Hulk

In 2025, Bruce Banner was defeated by the demonic Eldest, who promptly stole his name and powers to become the Infernal Hulk. Now starring in a self-titled series from Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Adam Gorham, the Infernal Hulk has taken out the Avengers and X-Men with disturbing ease.

It's all heading towards the early-2027 event Hulk War, however before then the Infernal Hulk will star in a series of one-shots against prominent heroes, beginning with Infernal Hulk vs. Wolverine. The flashforward events of Amazing Spider-Man 1000/Queen in Black CGD 2026 #1 revealed that not only will the Infernal Hulk win - he'll turn most of Marvel's greatest heroes into soldiers in his monstrous army.

As well as the Hulk's immense strength, the Infernal Hulk can possess his victims with the souls of ancient monsters, declaring his intent to bring about a new Age of Monsters. Infernal Hulk is so dangerous, even the One-Above-All tried to defeat him, but failed spectacularly.

So far, Infernal Hulk has been depicted as a cruel and merciless villain, but they may not be beyond redemption. New revelations in Hulk lore have revealed that monsters have been oppressed since the beginning of time, and Infernal Hulk may not be totally in the wrong for trying to bring them out of the shadows.

David Colton (Formerly Captain America)

Currently Appearing in: Avengers: Armageddon

Introduced in 2025, David Colton was retconned into Marvel lore as the Captain America of the early 2000s. Sadly, the responsibility broke him, leading Colton to commit a massacre in an early mission with Captain America.

In more recent comics, he's been granted Sentry-level powers, becoming one of the most powerful beings in Marvel lore. While he's worked alongside the Avengers in Chip Zdarsky and Delio Diaz's Avengers: Armageddon, their battle against the Red Hulk has convinced him that Earth's heroes aren't going far enough to protect against serious threats.

Marvel has made it clear that Colton is the true antagonist of Armageddon, with teases that he will turn global opinion against superhumans and potentially even kill iconic Avengers including Captain America, Iron Man and Scarlet Witch.

Marvel has framed Armageddon as an epochal moment that will redefine the Avengers franchise for years to come, and Colton is the dynamite that just started fizzing.

Honorable Mentions:

• Red Hulk - General Ross has founded the nation of New America and set about conquering other nations in Avengers: Armageddon. However, following his recent defeat, focus is shifting inexorably to David Colton as the series' true villain.
• The Serpent - The primary antagonist of The Mortal Thor, this mix of the mythical Jormungand and Thor's former civilian identity Donald Blake has been a major threat, but so far he's mostly worked through proxies.
• The Chairman (aka Beast) - A former founding member of the X-Men, Hank McCoy has since turned to evil, taking Magneto's place as the world's chief mutant supremacist. He's the main villain of the upcoming DNX event, but has been quiet in the lead-up to the X-Men/Fantastic Four crossover.

Hela and Knull

Currently Appearing in: The Queen in Black, QiB: Defenders of Light and Dark, QiB: Hela, QiB: Thor, QiB: Venom Unchained

The biggest hitters in Marvel lore right now are Hela - the former Asgardian goddess of death - and Knull - the former god of symbiotes. Both have new powers after Hela stole the abilities of the King in Black, and Knull sought out the primordial light of creation to fight back, creating a new species of anti-symbiote 'Seraphim' to serve as his army.

Both consider Earth a strategically essential resource, with Al Ewing and Iban Coello's Queen in Black following the planet's heroes as they fend off the armies of these two beyond-godlike entities (Hela commanding an alliance of symbiote-empowered aliens from across Marvel lore.)

The scale of this conflict is truly immense, to the point that Knull killed Thanos himself (twice) as part of the journey to this moment. Queen in Black is going to have some major consequences for Marvel lore, and it's not clear who's going to end up walking away from this one.