Highlights
- Anti-hero roles in Marvel Comics allow popular female characters to evolve beyond their villainous origins into complex and morally grey figures.
- Characters like Emma Frost, Nebula, and Elektra have shifted from their evil beginnings to become leaders, warriors, and heroes while maintaining their shady pasts.
- Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Mystique exemplify female characters with dark pasts and dangerous powers, who constantly blur the lines between heroism and villainy in Marvel Comics.
The history of Marvel Comics is littered with amazing female characters who have torn apart stereotypes and made many readers believe in the power of female characters taking the lead in comic books, which has led to many of the female characters, even ones that started out in villainous roles, being much more morally complex today than they once were.
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The anti-hero role, one that involves characters changing allegiances regularly or having a complex moral code that isn’t purely black or white, often comes about for long-running characters who are too popular to only receive the irregular appearances which villains manage in most Marvel Comics. These amazing female characters have transcended a purely villainous role and become something else entirely.
8 Emma Frost
Hellfire’s White Queen
- Debut Comic:The Uncanny X-Men #129
- Creator/s: Chris Claremont & John Byrne
Though she started life as a villain, Emma Frost has gone from opposing the X-Men to being one of the more significant members of the various mutant teams appearing in Marvel Comics. In her early days, Frost crossed many of the X-Men and New Mutants as part of her evil deeds with the Hellfire Club, but her role changed drastically when her Hellions died tragically.
Frost decided to move on from her past life, becoming a teacher and co-leader of Xavier’s School for Mutants. Despite this role, Emma remained ready to cross what many deemed the moral code for the X-Men to uphold, proving she still resented humanity to a degree. Most recently, Emma Frost has become one of the leaders of the new mutant society on Krakoa, transforming the Hellfire Trading Company.
7 Silver Sable
Shady Mercenary
- Debut Comic:The Amazing Spider-Man #265
- Creator/s: Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz
From the beginning, Silver Sable has always been shown to be more good than evil. She grew up with a father who hunted Nazis, and she eventually joined him and carried on his legacy after his death. Following this, she set up Silver Sable International, a private military organization which took on many different kinds of jobs.
She met Spider-Man for the first time while hunting a thief, who Spidey apprehended before she could. She has had a wary alliance with the wall-crawler over the years and has stood against him at other times. She was also married to a criminal at one point and has always trodden a careful line between hero and villain. While her morals generally seem to be good, mercenaries are willing to work for anyone for the right price.
6 Nebula
Deadly Guardian
- Debut Comic:The Avengers #257
- Creator/s: Roger Stern & John Buscema
Having gained an even larger role in Marvel Comics due to the popularity of her MCU appearances, Nebula is inherently a sympathetic character who cannot be entirely hated by readers. This is because she grew up hated by her adoptive father, Thanos, constantly forced to compete with her sister, Gamora.
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She started out as a Space Pirate, gained control of the Infinity Gauntlet just to spite Thanos and nearly destroyed the Universe as a result, and later joined a variety of groups, from the Asgardians of the Galaxy to an all-female group of warriors led by Gamora. Her role in the MCU has continued to show that Nebula has a brutal, hard, but not evil nature. Her complicated morals and hatred of Thanos have consumed much of her life, and she has always struggled to find her own path, though she surprisingly didn't appear in the recent Guardians of the Galaxy game.
5 Mystique
Changes Shape & Allegiance Frequently
- Debut Comic:Ms. Marvel #18 (Technically, appeared briefly in Ms. Marvel #16)
- Creator/s: Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum
Another character from the X-Men side of Marvel Comics, Mystique, has had a complicated history both on-screen and on-page. She began as a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, eventually rising to lead that organization, which even worked for the government at one point.
She has turned back and forth from good to evil, from mutant terrorist to wary ally. She has joined the X-Men, legitimately working for the betterment of mutant-kind, and has attempted to destroy them. She is currently sitting on the Quiet Council of the mutant nation Krakoa but is secretly working against Xavier’s schemes because she has secret information about how the island nation came to be which isn’t publicly known.
4 Scarlet Witch
Simply Dangerous
- Debut Comic:The X-Men #4
- Creator/s: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Another character who started her life in Marvel Comics as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, this daughter of Magneto, has proven her power and desire to be too dangerous and out of control to stay on one side of history for long.
Scarlet Witch, both in Marvel Comics and in the MCU, has gone from a heroic member of the Avengers to a dangerous criminal. In the comics, she was responsible for ridding the world of almost every mutant, while in the MCU, she went on a multiversal killing spree when taken over by the power of the Darkhold. In both cases, she has oscillated back and forth frequently enough and done so with consistently shady morals to be counted as a true anti-hero.
3 Elektra
Assassin For Hire
- Debut Comic:Daredevil #168
- Creator/s: Frank Miller
Like many other characters in the world of Marvel Comics, Elektra Natchios is usually found trying to turn a profit by any means necessary. While she has a close relationship with Daredevil, he has never really been able to trust her due to her clouded morals and life as a gun for hire.
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Her dangerous affiliations with The Hand organization led to her dangerous criminal activities and later her resurrection after Bullseye killed her. She has joined many teams, like Heroes for Hire and The Thunderbolts, proving that she is willing to engage in heroic work as long as she isn’t restricted by the moral codes that teams like The Avengers stick with. Elektra hasn't been confirmed for the new Daredevil: Born Again show set in the MCU, but she easily could still appear.
2 Black Cat
Cat Burgling Trickster
- Debut Comic:The Amazing Spider-Man #194
- Creator/s: Mark Wolfman, Keith Pollard, & Dave Cockrum
Felicia Hardy grew up with a cat burglar for a father, and she followed in his footsteps, becoming known as “Marvel’s Catwoman” and having a similar set of gray morals. She was a thief and adversary of Spider-Man, but after falling in love with Peter Parker, she found herself becoming more of a hero, almost against her will.
Although Peter Parker is usually with Mary Jane in the comics, Black Cat is a frequent tease and love interest for him and is currently dating him once more in the comics. Her role has shifted over the years back-and-forth, but she can’t be described as a purely heroic character due to her penchant for thievery. Her popularity has risen of late, especially with her appearances in the latest Spider-Man games.
1 Black Widow
The Ultimate Shady Spy
- Debut Comic:Tales of Suspense #52
- Creator/s: Don Rico, Stan Lee, & Don Heck
One female character has broken through every glass ceiling in both comics and the MCU to become as famous as any male character, though she is unlikely to return to the MCU. Black Widow began life as a Soviet Spy, trained as a deadly assassin in the Red Room, and sent to combat heroes like Iron Man, but she would later defect to join SHIELD and even become an Avenger.
Despite being a co-leader of the Avengers at various times throughout Marvel Comics history, Natasha Romanova has always been a little shadier and more willing to get dirty than most of her teammates. She has showcased on many occasions her origins as a spy and assassin, doing what it takes to get the job done when her friends would baulk at taking such drastic measures.
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