Highlights
- Marvel showcases a variety of supervillain teams, each with their own unique goals and abilities, all driven to defeat the heroes they face.
- Some notable supervillain alliances include the Serpent Society, the Frightful Four, the Cabal, the Sinister Six, and Squadron Sinister.
- These teams not only pose a significant threat to the heroes but also highlight the complex dynamics and power struggles within the Marvel universe.
Marvel has unveiled dozens of teams in its comic books. While many are superheroes banding together to fight evil, some feature supervillains banding together to fight the forces of good. The villains recognized the threat the heroes posed to their way of life and found a common goal to work together.
Some of these Marvel teams are more villainous than others, and some are definitely stronger than others, but all of these teams are driven to beat the heroes. It doesn't matter if it's a singular hero or a superhero team, these supervillain alliances were born to be bad.
10 Serpent Society
The Serpent Society is a team of villainous snakes that has included King Cobra, Black Mamba, Bushmaster, Puff Adder, and Anaconda in its various incarnations. This is a team that almost always works together as they've found it easier to use their numbers to overwhelm their enemies.
The Serpent Society is primarily known for being foes of Captain America, but they have shown up to battle the Avengers, Spider-Man, and Daredevil in the comics. Splinter groups like the Serpent Squad and the Serpent Syndicate have also splintered from the main villainous team.
9 The Frightful Four
These may not be the most recognizable opponents for The Fantastic Four, but The Frightful Four continues to prove Newton's third law about equal and opposite reactions true. This team is made up of four villains who have abilities that mirror those of the Fantastic Four.
The Frightful Four tends to rely on the elements of strength, intelligence, body manipulation, and energy control to use their powers for evil. The team has had several different members over the years, but the most famous incarnation featured Wizard, Sandman, Medusa, and Trapster.
8 The Cabal
After the introduction of the Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, questions are being raised about a possible introduction for their villainous counterparts in the MCU, especially since Secret Invasion just wrapped. The Cabal features several high-profile villains including some that have already been introduced in the MCU like Loki, Namor, and Norman Osborn
Dr. Doom, Emma Frost, the Leader, M.O.D.O.K., and the Hood have also been members of the Cabal. There are rumors of Dr. Doom appearing soon and with Marvel once again owning the rights to the X-Men, Emma Frost could easily be brought in to fill out the team.
7 The Sinister Six
Spider-Man has some of the greatest villains in the history of superheroes, so it makes sense some of his foes would join together to try to beat him. There have been several incarnations, but the most famous include Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Sandman, Vulture, and Doc Ock.
These six are tough enough to create a challenge for superhero teams like the Avengers or the X-Men. This group has provided Spider-Man with his toughest challenges as a hero. And each variation of the roster is just as intimidating as the last.
6 Squadron Sinister
This supervillain group is made up of some of the most powerful foes the Avengers have had the misfortune to face. Created by the Grandmaster, Squadron Sinister is a team of duplicates of Squadron Supreme designed to be evil.
While the Squadron Supreme members tend to have similar powers to DC's Justice League, meaning the duplicates have these same similar abilities. Every member is a formidable foe on their own, but put them together, and they make one of the deadliest teams Marvel has ever created.
5 Dark Avengers
Following the Skrull invasion, Norman Osborne took over the Thunderbolts, who had transitioned from villains to anti-heroes, and re-created them as the villainous Dark Avengers. This team mimicked the Avengers by having iconic villains pretend to be heroes.
Bringing together villains like Venom, Bullseye, and Daken to imitate Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Wolverine is a stroke of genius for the man who was originally Green Goblin.
4 Thunderbolts
The Thunderbolts started as the Masters of Evil, and much like the Dark Avengers, pretended to be superheroes to gain the trust of the public. The team has featured several others, but it almost always has some true villains on board despite a shift to anti-hero status in later incarnations.
The Thunderbolts movie is set to feature the Winter Soldier and the new version of Black Widow, who are both already antiheroes, but it also features Zemo and US Agent, who have been villainous already in the MCU.
3 The Black Order
This team was handpicked by Thanos himself, so there are very few supervillain teams that are this powerful. The Black Order features several members from across the galaxy with one goal in mind: to help Thanos complete his mission.
The Black Order appeared in the MCU as the Children of Thanos. However, the film iteration wasn't as impressive as the comic iteration. In the comics, the team is more powerful and much harder for the Avengers to defeat.
2 The Hellfire Club
Similar to the Court of Owls from DC, the Hellfire Club is a group of wealthy elites making up a secret society. But the Hellfire Club differs because its members are known, and they include powerful mutants. These include Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and Mastermind.
In terms of pure superpowers, this group became the most powerful group Marvel ever created when Mastermind was able to take over Jean Grey when she was Phoenix. But, on their own, the Hellfire Club is a tough assignment for any group of heroes to face.
1 The Brotherhood Of Mutants
Magneto formed his team of super-powered individuals who believed his way was the way to handle the divide between mutants and humans called the Brotherhood of Mutants. It was a direct antithesis to Charles Xavier's X-Men. These mutants don't want to co-exist with people after all they've seen.
Including such powerful members as Juggernaut, Sabertooth, and Pyro, this team features several mutants who have seen the worst of man and many have powers that either mimic or counteract the powers of the X-Men.