Marvel characters have become known as bright, colorful and kid-friendly since the introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film universe has introduced several characters in movies that are filled with innocent humor, and oftentimes, low stakes in battles with villains. But, in the Marvel Comics universe, there is a plethora of spooky and scary characters.
These Marvel characters may represent monsters associated with Halloween, or those who have an evil or sadistic nature beyond that of a normal villain. While some of these characters have made the jump to the MCU, there are still plenty of spooky characters to introduce.
10 Werewolf By Night
The first Marvel character to get its own special presentation for Halloween 2022, Werewolf by Night is a monster hunter who gains superhuman abilities thanks to a curse put on him. Jack Russell gains super strength, agility and speed every full moon, turning him into an apex predator.
Werewolf By Night also enjoys a healing ability similar to that of Wolverine. The spooky character has had some bloody battles with other spooky Marvel characters and still comes out on top.
9 Man-Thing
Man-Thing joined Jack Russell and Emma Bloodstone in the Werewolf By Night special presentation, but the MCU has barely shown how powerful he can be. Ted Sallis became a living plant creature. He has super strength and stamina, and can morph into any plant substance.
On top of his connection to plants, Man-Thing is also connected to the Nexus of All Realities. He serves as the guard to the interdimensional gateway. Man-Thing is one of the few characters to have access to the entire multiverse thanks to this Nexus.
8 Morbius the Living Vampire
While the Sony movie featuring Morbius may not have gone over very well with audiences, the Marvel Comics character can certainly be spooky given its clear inspiration from classic vampire films. Morbius was first introduced after the Comics Code was loosened for horror characters, allowing Marvel to make him a bit scarier.
Morbius is usually associated with Spider-Man, but has also been featured as part of the Midnight Sons. He became a vampire through scientific experiments, but achieved immortality when he consumed human blood and mixed it with his natural healing abilities.
7 Blade
From one vampire to another, Blade is unique in that he is a human-vampire hybrid. The monster hunter has several vampiric abilities like flight and immortality; meanwhile, he is immune to some of the major weaknesses of vampires, like sunlight.
Blade is also a talented swordsman, showing skills with not only swords but knives and other weapons as well. Blade received his own trilogy of films before the MCU, but his voice has been heard at the end of Eternals. Mahershala Ali is set to play Blade in his own MCU film.
6 Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider has appeared in two films of his own and as part of a story arc on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the comics, films, and television series, Ghost Rider is a man who made a deal with the devil. This gave him a connection to Zarathos the demon. He would ride a motorcycle while his skull was on fire and hunt down bad guys.
In the films, Nicolas Cage plays the Johnny Blaze version of the character. Meanwhile, in the television series, Gabriel Luna portrayed the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider. Officially, Ghost Rider has not appeared in the MCU, but Marvel could introduce one of the four other Ghost Riders from the comics.
5 Mr. Sinister
Mr. Sinister is one of the most horrifying villains the X-Men ever had to face. He's basically the Marvel Comics version of the Boogeyman. While he appears terrifying physically, his scientific accomplishments and their disregard for human life are what really earn him a spot on the spooky and scary characters list.
Mr. Sinister is a fan of genetic modification, which leads into a type of body horror. He looks like the Boogeyman, and his behavior calls to mind Dr. Frankenstein and other mad scientists.
4 Skinless Man
The Skinless Man is an example of one of the many failures of the government program called Weapon Plus. While the program may have produced Captain America, Wolverine, and Deadpool, it also made Harry Pizer into this elastic man with extra-sensory skin.
He was used for espionage during the Cold War, but was skinned as a punishment. This led to him developing control of his muscles on a molecular level. He became incredibly dangerous to any Marvel hero he was facing, as well as terrifying visually.
3 Nightmare
Marvel has its own Lord of Fear in Nightmare. That name alone makes him spooky, but he is basically the Marvel Comics version of Freddy Krueger. The villain enters people's dreams and twists them into nightmares. This allows him to feed his own thirst for power.
Nightmare rules his own Dream Dimension, which gives him access to a lot of young, defenseless minds. Dr. Strange often has to step up to stop Nightmare from becoming the spookiest character in the Marvel universe.
2 Mephisto
Has anyone wrought such havoc on MCU fans without actually showing up as Mephisto? Marvel fans were that convinced the ruler of his own Hell dimension was the one pulling the strings in WandaVision, but he never arrived. The most Marvel fans seem to have gotten is a potential passing mention in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law when Madisynn mentioned a deal with a goat demon.
Still, Mephisto is one of the most powerful Marvel supernatural characters. He seeks to confuse and deceive people to control their souls. He can shape-shift, and has even manipulated time and space.
1 Dr. Strange
At his best, Dr. Strange is a wonderful character who fans can look up to. But when he goes evil, Dr. Strange can be the scariest Marvel character ever created. Dr. Strange is a master of the mystical arts which allows him to explore nightmarish realms and threats. He's also powerful enough to fight Nightmare, Mephisto and Dormammu.
Both What If...? and Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have demonstrated what can happen if Dr. Strange goes too far. He becomes a nightmarish version of himself that is willing to take lives for what he sees as the greater good. He will try to change any future he doesn't like, and becomes such a threat the Illuminati decide to kill him even though he is one of them.