Most view henchmen in Marvel as disposable entities that are fodder for the heroes to defeat with ease. In some cases, that’s true as the nameless grunts in Hydra, A.I.M, and other organizations are there for that sole purpose. However, henchmen come in many forms— not all of them are talentless redshirts.
Some of them are every bit as powerful as their masters; think the ever-present power struggle of Sith in Star Wars. Others manage to get lucky now and then, gaining surprise victories over their foes.
10 Skurge Was Always A Pawn Of Enchantress’s Battles With Thor
Most of his comic life was built around his partnership with Enchantress, the two always battling Thor and other defenders of Asgard. As a hybrid of an Asgardian and frost giant, he could more than hold his own against his fellow warriors.
He has power that makes him one of the strongest entities in Asgard, only behind Odin, Thor, and Hela. He even got a heroic death when he realized that Enchantress had been manipulating him to her whims.
9 Kurse Battered Thor & Nearly Killed Beta Ray Bill
Kurse was an entity of destruction that wasn’t much different than the Destroyer armor. He started as a powerful dark elf warrior in the employ of Malekith, but after proving too weak to kill Thor, was discarded by the heartless king.
That’s when the Beyonder found him in Secret Wars 2, granting him amazing powers that made him more than a match for Thor. He battered the God of Thunder and nearly killed Beta Ray Bill before realizing that Malekith was his true enemy.
8 Crossbones Was More Skilled Than Most Henchman & Was A Force On His Own
Henchmen come in many forms, and in the case of Crossbones, he was more of a Darth Vader to Red Skull’s Palpatine than a random foot soldier who got lucky taking down the heroes. He beat Daredevil when he was first introduced as The Skull and even laid a licking on Bullseye as well.
His most notable act is easily when he shot Captain America, killing Steve Rogers for some time following Civil War. While nothing ever sticks in comics for long, it’s a crowning achievement few villains get.
7 Whirlwind Was A Frequent Member Of The Master Of Evil & Foe Of Hank Pym
Whirlwind auspiciously started his criminal career as the Human Top, leading him to conflict with Hank Pym. After the defeat at Hank’s hands, a rivalry was born between the two, even as Whirlwind became more of a henchman to Zemo in the Masters Of Evil.
Everything Whirlwind did was to get back at both Pym and The Wasp. He managed to shrink the two and tossed them both into Hank’s anthill so they could be devoured.
6 Masque Has One Of The Best Track Records Of Success Among The Morlocks
The Morlocks were always one of the least successful groups in X-Men lore. They rarely ever did anything besides losing and showing that not all mutations could be easily hidden. Masque is one of the few exceptions to that when he concocted a scheme to capture former leader Caliban and a few of the X-Men.
He even almost tortured Warpath to death and only stopped because Bliss begged him not to. He’s one of the few henchmen who had a mind of their own, stepping into leadership when necessary and not always being a yes man.
5 The Blob Was A Constant Thorn In The Side Of The X-Men
For a character whose ability is essentially being a blob of mass, The Blob has managed to be a thorn in the X-Men’s collective side several times. When he first showed up, he and his circus allies beat the X-Men into submission, requiring Xavier’s intervention to turn the tide.
His success goes beyond the main timeline as some of his multiverse versions have been equally as powerful, namely his Earth-1610 character who ate Wasp.
4 Taskmaster Is The Ultimate Henchman Of Marvel
While Taskmaster has been given new life as a bigger villain, he’s always been a henchman at heart. He’s been hired by just about every evil organization in Marvel at one point or another and battled almost every hero the universe has to offer.
How well he fares depends on the writer. Sometimes Taskmaster can hold his own against Captain America and Iron Man, and other times he can get humiliated by Deadpool. It’s always made it difficult to pin down how strong he is.
3 Super-Apatoid Stood Toe-To-Toe With The Avengers & Has Defeated The X-Men
While Ultron is easily the most powerful and well-known robot villain in the Marvel universe, he isn’t the only one. Super-Apatoid was created by A.I.M with a piece of the cosmic cube, giving it more than enough juice to battle the organization’s foes.
It gives it the ability to copy the powers of its opponents, allowing it to stand up to the Avengers and defeat the X-Men. Its appearances have been sporadic lately, but it’s a powerful henchman.
2 Fixer Has Helped Engineer The Capture & Defeat Of A Number Of Heroes
Fixer’s been a part of several criminal organizations, from Hydra to Baron Zemo’s Masters Of Evil. In all of them, he’s been more of a henchman than a primary villain. It’s a role that suits him as his story isn’t compelling enough to carry a narrative, but his technology makes him a fun villain fight.
There have been times he’s proven to be more than heroes can handle, helping capture The Thing and Captain America on two separate occasions.
1 Typhoid Mary Has Battled Daredevil On A Number Of Occasions, Gaining The Upper Hand More Than Once
Typhoid Mary is a difficult character to write for, given her multiple personalities. She has three distinct personalities: Mary, Typhoid, and Bloody Mary. And each of them is distinctly different from the rest.
These different personalities allow her to defeat heroes in ways many other henchmen or hired guns couldn’t. She’s managed to get the upper hand on Daredevil more than once because her Mary personality loves him while her other personas despise him.
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