Highlights
- Some Marvel villains, like Mysterio, don't kill because their focus is on their nemesis, not murdering innocent people.
- White Rabbit is disinterested in killing and prefers money and chaos in her criminal endeavors.
- Villains like Hypno Hustler and Doctor Bong either lack the evilness or are primarily used for comedic purposes, resulting in their reluctance to kill.
There are many heroic figures across Marvel Comics that don’t generally kill their enemies. Much of the same can be said in other comics as well. However, the same isn’t often as true for villainous characters, who generally are willing to do whatever is required in order to get what they desire, including the killing of innocents.
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In spite of this, there are certainly a few villains in the Marvel Comics mythos who don’t kill, or almost always aim to avoid it, despite their criminal ways. Such characters can be intriguing, and sometimes even redeem themselves, showing that they aren’t completely devoid of morals, due to the constant new stories being produced within the pages of Marvel Comics.
7 Mysterio
Doesn’t Kill Because His Focus Is Spider-Man
- First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #13
While many supervillains go after innocent civilians in their attempts to get to superheroes or constantly use plans that involve the deaths of many, Mysterio has never been such a villain. At least, the Quentin Beck version of the character hasn’t been.
He is often depicted as wanting revenge on Spider-Man for previous encounters, but this generally comes in the form of framing or messing with him, not often in actual murder attempts. With his abilities and all the machinery he has created, Mysterio could have caused a lot more deaths if he wanted to, so he seemingly doesn’t care about murder. Even in his biggest live-action appearance in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio never focused on murdering others, not even in his recent Marvel's Spider-Man 2 appearance.
6 White Rabbit
Doesn’t Kill Because She’s Disinterested
- First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up #131
White Rabbit is one of several comic book villains inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and she has always had a very particular style in whatever her endeavor is at the time. Over the years, she’s been a typical supervillain, a drug dealer, and a bank robber, but she generally doesn’t do or attempt a lot of killing, not since her origin.
As a child, White Rabbit was rich and sheltered, but after her parents forced her into marriage with a man in his 80s, she killed him. White Rabbit isn’t hesitant to kill, as much as she just isn’t interested in it, she prefers money and random chaos, living in her wonderland. So she may not like killing, or it may just not be a crime that's on her radar.
5 Hypno Hustler
Doesn’t Kill Because He’s Not That Evil
- First Appearance: Spectacular Spider-Man Vol.1 #24
Some villains don’t kill because they’re not interested in doing so or they’re afraid of the heat it’ll bring on them, but others just don’t seem to be evil enough for murder. Hypno Hustler has always been a minor Spider-Man villain, a criminal who robs people after putting them under hypnosis with his guitar.
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However, despite being a small-scale villain that fans wouldn't expect to see on the big screen, Hypno Hustler is getting his own live-action film from Sony, set within their Spider-Man Universe, with Donald Glover set to star in the leading role. As such, fans will probably see more reasoning soon behind the character’s reluctance to kill.
4 Doctor Bong
Doesn’t Kill Because He’s Mostly For Comedy
- First Appearance: Howard The Duck Vol.1 #15
Then again, some villains don’t generally kill because they’re primarily used for comedy, as is the case with Doctor Bong, who was primarily used throughout Marvel Comics history to fight against Howard the Duck and Deadpool, though he didn't make it into the major film appearance of the former, characters who weren’t that serious and therefore didn’t require particularly serious enemies.
An accomplished man, Doctor Bong has been a musician, a scientist, a psychiatrist, and even a journalist. Bong has been around a lot and has taken on different heroes. He battled She-Hulk in a fourth-wall-breaking affair and tricked Deadpool into joining a team of superhero clones he’d created, but is seldom shown to be violent enough to put lives in real danger.
3 Stilt-Man
Doesn’t Kill Because He’s Bad At It
- First Appearance: Daredevil Vol.1 #8
Stilt-Man is one of the stranger ideas for a villain in Marvel Comics, but he can actually put up a fair fight, and he is frequently hired by various sources to enact a murder. However, he seems to fail, at least every time that is seen within the comics in which he appears. Stilt-Man is simply one of the villains who doesn’t seem to have the heart for killing.
Originally, the large suit of armor he wears, which features telescopic legs that are responsible for his name, was for use during robberies. Another villain who was interested in getting rich but moved on to attempting worse crimes, and just failed constantly. He tried to kill Foggy Nelson and Falcon, failing both times. Then, after Spider-Man saves his life, he doesn’t take the opportunity to try and kill him as a way of thanks, proving once and for all that Stilt-Man isn’t a real killer, though this could change if he appears in the MCU's Daredevil: Born Again.
2 The Spot
Doesn’t Kill Because It’s Unnecessary
- First Appearance: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #97
The Spot’s recent appearances aside (both in the Brand New Day comic story and Across The Spider-Verse) this is one villain with a fascinating power who never seems that interested in killing. The Spot can create interdimensional portals, meaning that he can move his enemies into a different dimension, making killing them pretty redundant.
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The Spot has rarely appeared to be that competent in a fight. He’s able to get the upper hand on heroes who aren’t aware of how his powers work, but generally fails after they figure out how to combat this ability. Spot was always good at breaking into and out of banks without being seen, but killing was usually outside his wheelhouse. This hasn't kept him from being a memorable Spider-Man villain though.
1 Sandman
Doesn’t Kill Because He’s Not That Evil
- First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #4
Another great example of a villain, again a member of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, who just doesn’t seem that evil, Sandman originally was a small-time criminal who fell into that life due to a series of unfortunate events, but even as his losses to Spider-Man and other heroes embittered him to join teams like the Sinister Six to keep fighting them, he never seemed to kill anyone.
Sandman, in more recent years, has been showcased as a sympathetic figure. His live-action film appearances have helped this image, while he was a reserve member of the Avengers at one point due to him becoming a real hero. Flint Marko has issues and is no white knight, but it is ridiculous to think of him as a real killer.
