As most fans of comic books know, being a hero is no easy task. Hard choices and great sacrifices are as normal as eating and sleeping are for normal people. Marvel has done an excellent job of exploring the uglier sides of being a hero through its wide array of comics, movies, and other forms of media.
In fact, stories that involve heroes getting their hands dirty often become quite popular. Seeing beloved characters who are known for saving lives doing, for example, the exact opposite of that is an effective way of tugging at the heartstrings of fans. It might be because of this, that Marvel keeps adding to the list of heroes’ misdeeds.
10 The Hulk Is An Angry Beast
Bruce Banner gained the ability to transform into a giant, green beast after he was accidentally exposed to massive amounts of gamma radiation. This persona of his is known as The Hulk. The Hulk has quite the history of acting out in ways that would definitely make the world a worse place to live in. He has gone toe to toe with many of Marvel’s heroes, including the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four. His motivations in these cases were, of course, due to his famous and uncontrollable rage. This rage has also been the cause of death for many innocent bystanders who were unlucky enough to be wherever the Hulk was.
9 The Sentry Is Extremely Unreliable
Robert Reynolds also has a long history of leaving pain and destruction in his wake. Robert became the extremely powerful hero known as the Sentry after consuming some mysterious chemicals he found in a lab. However, with the coming of the Sentry, also came the arrival of the Void. The Void lives inside of Robert’s mind at all times, sometimes causing him to commit horrible acts that have rocked the Marvel Universe. One of these acts was destroying Asgard at the behest of Norman Osborn. He has also fled in the middle of battle multiple times, leaving the other heroes to fight against their enemies without him.
8 Gamora’s Troubled Past Haunts Her
Fans of both Marvel comics and the movies inspired by them know that Gamora has not always been the heroic type. When one’s adopted father is Thanos, the Mad Titan, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Thanos trained her very thoroughly in the art of assassination. She used his training to earn herself the reputation of being one of the most dangerous women in the universe. In the Infinity Wars story, by Gerry Duggan, Gamora went on a killing spree in order to collect the Infinity Stones, so that she could retrieve the part of her soul stuck in the Soul Gem. She also folded the main Marvel Universe in on itself to prevent the heroes from stopping her.
7 Venom Hasn’t Always Been a Hero
Fans who haven’t read anything about Venom in a long time might think that he’s still just a villain who only knows how to make the world a worse place. Yet, in recent years, Eddie Brock, and the Venom symbiote, have fought alongside the heroes of Earth against cosmic threats, such as Malekith and Knull. Eddie even became Captain Universe while fighting the latter. None of his heroics change the fact that he terrorized Spider-Man and his allies for years, ate multiple people, and brought Carnage into the world. The pain and suffering he used to cause will always be remembered.
6 Scarlet Witch Is Dangerously Powerful
Wanda Maximoff is one of the most powerful magic users in the Marvel universe. As the Scarlett Witch, she has performed many courageous and honorable acts as an Avenger and by herself. She helped fight against the Phoenix Force and subdued Chthon. Many comic book fans, though, know her more for her destructive and chaotic acts, not the noble ones.
She has fought against the X-Men many times alongside Magneto’s Brotherhood. She also warped reality in the House of M story, making mutants the majority of the world’s population and erasing virtually everyone’s memory of how the world should be. At the end of this story, she cast a spell that depowered millions of mutants, some of which were heroes who actively made the world a better place.
5 Captain America Was A Victim Of Reality Warping
Captain America is widely regarded by fans as one of the best greatest heroes in all of comics history. He is truly a virtuous and respectable man with a long history of doing the right thing and standing up to evil. During the Secret Empire event, however, the Captain’s history was changed by the Red Skull, who made him an agent of Hydra. Because of this change, he orchestrated a complete takeover of the United States by Hydra, leading to an incalculable amount of death and tragedy. In fact, the entire city of Las Vegas was destroyed because of Cap, with much of the population still in it.
4 Namor Only Cares About Atlantis
As the mutant ruler of Atlantis, Namor is an individual with an immense amount of power under his control. He is fiercely loyal to his people, as seen through some of his questionable acts over the years. After returning home to find Atlantis in ruins after a Wakandan attack, Namor informs Proxima Midnight, an agent of Thanos, that an Infinity Stone resides in Wakanda. Being that this is a lie, it is obvious that he only said this in order to get Thanos’ forces to invade Wakanda as revenge for their previous attack on Atlantis. He has also fought against the heroes of the surface world multiple times in the name of his kingdom and joined forces with other villains, such as Norman Osborn and Doctor Doom.
3 Magneto Doesn’t Necessarily Like Humanity
Similar to the situation with Venom, some fans might not know about Magneto’s relatively new status as a hero in the Marvel Universe. As a leader of the mutant nation of Krakoa, he is now pledged to the defense of not only all mutant lives but the lives of all others on Earth.
Obviously, this has not always been the case. Magneto has been a brutal mutant supremacist for most of his life, having made war on human establishments multiple times. He has fought against mutant heroes as well, nearly killing Wolverine after ripping out the adamantium from his body.
2 Jean Grey Is Uncontrollable
Jean Grey is one of the bravest heroines in the world of Marvel, and most of her actions surely reflect that. She has used her telepathy and telekinesis to fight against evil mutants and even greater threats, such as Knull, whom she momentarily incapacitated. She too has a dark history, however, having been bonded to the Phoenix Force for quite some time. She famously wiped out the D’Bari race after the Pheonix Force fed on their planet’s star. The Phoenix also forced her to fight against her old allies in the X-Men.
1 Doctor Strange Has Made Some Big Mistakes
The Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe, Doctor Stephen Strange, has what is probably the most difficult job in the world. He is tasked with protecting the Earth from any otherworldly threats on a daily basis. When one has this much pressure on them at all times, they are bound to make some mistakes. After the annihilation of Las Vegas in Secret Empire, the Doctor decided to use his magic to rebuild the city and resurrect the dead. Unfortunately, Mephisto was able to literally raise Hell at the same time, resulting in people losing their souls for even the most trivial sins. Many people suffered the devilish entity’s torment, including the Doctor, Black Panther, Falcon, and more.