Superhero movies have taken the world by storm. This year looks to be one of the biggest years for comic book movies with several titles being released including highly anticipated films like Avengers: Endgame, Joker, and Spider-Man: Far From Home to name a few. While most superhero films fall under the Marvel or DC banner, there are some films like Glass and Hellboy that don’t belong to either of these powerhouses. With all of these superhero movies coming out, there is an obvious need for villains, after all, without supervillains, the heroes in the film couldn’t really be superheroes.
Over the last several decades, both Marvel and DC have created several supervillains to battle their iconic superheroes. Some of these characters have been adapted to the big screen, while others have been left in the pages of comic books. Some of the villains that Marvel and DC have created grew to become incredibly powerful beings, but others fell flat and ended up being completely underwhelming. This list not only takes into account supervillains from the Marvel and DC comic books, but also a few characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe. Here is Marvel Vs DC: The 15 Most Powerful (And 15 Weakest) Villains Officially Ranked.
Weak: Calendar Man (DC)
Batman is known for having an extensive rogue’s gallery, but one of his villains just doesn’t make the cut. Calendar Man is just as weak and silly as he sounds. Created in 1958, Calendar Man plans his crime sprees around specific dates and holidays.
He is known for being an inventor, but most of his skill comes from his intelligence. That being said, Calendar Man must not be all that smart since he always correlates his crimes with important dates, making it incredibly easy for Batman to foil his plans.
Powerful: Joker (DC)
The Joker is not only one of the most recognizable Batman villains, but one of the most recognizable comic book characters in general. First appearing alongside the Dark Knight in Batman #1 in 1940, the Joker has always proved to be a big threat to Batman.
While Batman usually beats the Clown Prince of Crimes, the Joker has defeated Batman both physically and mentally on multiple occasions. Both the comic book and film appearances of the Joker have proven his worth as a powerful villain time and time again.
Weak: Slipknot (DC)
One of the many villains present within the disappointing Suicide Squad in 2016 was Slipknot. The villain is a trained assassin with indestructible ropes, but he proved that he wasn’t very powerful in the film.
In Suicide Squad, Captain Boomerang convinces Slipknot that the nano-bombs in their necks aren’t real. Slipknot is gullible enough to believe this and tries to escape, which leads to Rick Flag immediately detonating the bomb and ending Slipknot’s life. In the comics, Slipknot wasn’t really that much stronger as he met the same fate with the movie version of his character, also with a similar skill set.
Powerful: Lex Luthor (DC)
Many supervillains on this list are basically immortal given their species, but Lex Luthor is among the most powerful villains despite him being human. Even though he is just a human, Lex Luthor is regarded as Superman’s arch-enemy.
Luthor is often considered one of the smartest people in the DC universe and is known for creating complex weapons and armor that allow him to go head-to-head with the Man Of Steel. Lex Luthor may just be a human, but inside his battlesuit, he presents a massive challenge for many superheroes.
Weak: The Mandarin (Marvel)
While the Mandarin in the comic books is often considered to be a powerful enemy, and even Iron Man’s arch enemy, the version that was presented in Iron Man 3 was a complete joke. The Mandarin was built up for the majority of the film to be a powerful opponent, but he ended up just being an actor that poses no real threat to anyone.
Not only did this irritate a lot of comic book fans who were looking forward to seeing the Mandarin on the big screen, but it makes him one of the weakest supervillains out there.
Powerful: Loki (Marvel)
Loki is one of Thor’s oldest foes, being introduced in October 1962 just two issues after Thor himself. Loki is Thor’s adopted brother who happens to be a Frost Giant. The Marvel Cinematic Universe adapted Loki for the big screen with Tom Hiddleston playing the character since Thor in 2011.
Since then, the villain has lived up to his title, the God Of Mischief, and has become a master manipulator in the films. He is incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but Loki’s greatest strength is his mind. Due to his incredible intellect, Loki has fooled pretty much all of the Avengers at least once and has proven himself as a powerful villain.
Weak: Hypno-Hustler (Marvel)
Never heard of the Hypno-Hustler? That’s ok, you haven’t missed much. The character first appeared in 1978 in an issue of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Hypno-Hustler uses his guitar and other musical equipment to hypnotize people so that he and his associates can rob them.
Spider-Man was easily able to defeat him by simply removing Hypno-Hustler’s headphones, which caused the villain to be hypnotized himself. The supervillain has made a few comic book appearances over the years, but is never shown as presenting a huge threat.
Powerful: Ego (Marvel)
Ego has proved himself to be a powerful character not only in the pages of comic books, but on the big screen as well. Played by Kurt Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ego the Living Planet was a Celestial that was millions of years old.
With his supernatural powers, Ego was able to manipulate matter and energy at will, and can even manipulate biological matter to create living avatars. Through his energy manipulation, Ego can create light tentacles and light beams, which have proven to be useful in combat.
Weak: The Cavalier (DC)
Unlike many DC villains, the Cavalier doesn’t have any superhuman powers. The Cavalier is simply an athlete who knows how to fight and handle a sword that emits electric bolts. First appearing in 1943, the Cavalier was a thief that wanted to acquire more exotic valuables, but turned to theft to add to his collection.
While the villain probably could have gotten away with his crimes for a while, he had a moral code that caused him to stop mid-fight to help women in need. In the comic books, the Cavalier, on one occasion, stopped mid-fight to help a woman cross the street, and needless to say, Batman and Robin were easily able to defeat him.
Powerful: Parallax (DC)
Parallax was one of the villains that was adapted for the 2011 film Green Lantern. Parallax was despised by people who saw the movie, but the character is incredibly powerful in the comic books. The elements that make Parallax so strong is that he uses mind-control and fear to defeat his opponents.
He was even able to project fear into Hal Jordan at one point, and often changes his physical form to something that will cause his enemies distress. People who only saw Green Lantern may not see Parallax as a powerful villain, but comic book readers known how strong he truly is.
Weak: Tweedledee And Tweedledum (DC)
Based off of the two characters from Alice in Wonderland, the characters Tweedledee and Tweedledum are cousins that are often mistaken for identical twins. The cousins always commit crimes together, but usually, they just have their henchmen do their dirty work. They have always posed little threat to Batman and Robin, and given their circular nature, the comics literally have them bounce around at times.
The characters first appeared in Detective Comics Vol. 1 #74 and have made appearances in a handful of comics since then, but their skill sets never really increase that much.
Powerful: Nekron (DC)
While Nekron hasn’t been the focus of any live-action movie just yet, Nekron is an incredibly powerful being in the DC Universe. The character is the Lord Of The Unliving, which means he lives in the Land of the Unliving and requires a link in order to interact in the living universe.
Even in the Land of the Unliving, Nekron is incredibly powerful as he can bring the unliving back to life and turn them into zombie followers, can shoot dark lightning from his hands, and actually gains power with all those that he takes life from.
Weak: The Slug (Marvel)
The Slug is another Marvel villain that is incredibly weak, and just downright lame. Ulysses X. Lugman, a.k.a. Slug, is nothing more than crime kingpin who is incredibly overweight. He is simply a human being with no superpowers except for his plump appearance.
The Slug has smothered people in the folds of his skin before, but other than that, he poses no real threat to the superheroes he battles. The Slug isn’t even able to move because of his size, which has forced him to create special machines to help with mobility. He’s gone up against heroes like Captain America and Spider-Man and always loses.
Powerful: Surtur (Marvel)
Surtur is one villain that is incredibly powerful in the comic books, but was also incredibly powerful in the movies. Surtur was introduced in Thor: Ragnarok and is responsible for the total destruction of the planet. He uses his Twilight Sword to bring fiery energy to his enemies and even gave Thor a challenge in Thor: Ragnarok.
Given his size and massive strength as a Fire Demon, Surtur was able to effortlessly dismantle Asgard, even though it caused his own downfall. That being said, without the Eternal Flame, it doesn’t pose a real threat.
Weak: Eye-Scream (Marvel)
Eye-Scream was one Marvel character that had an appearance in one comic book, and then was never heard from again. Appearing in the comic Obnoxio the Clown #1, Eye-Scream was a villain that wanted to destroy the X-Men simply because they made his powers look lame. Well, as it turns out, his powers were lame and incredibly weak.
Eye-Scream had the ability to turn into any flavor of ice cream at will, which honestly, didn’t help him at all in a fight. Obnoxio the Clown was easily able to permanently freeze Eye-Scream and turned him into a sundae for Kitty Pryde’s birthday.
Powerful: Tyrant (Marvel)
Tyrant was a powerful machine that was created by Galactus who wanted to conquest galaxies, which he attempted to do so using his massive cosmic power. Several heroes tried to stop him, including Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel, and Beta Ray Bill, which Tyrant was able to defeat effortlessly.
Tyrant was so powerful that he was even a challenge for Galactus, given his genius intellect and the powerful bursts of energy that he could fire from his hands and eyes. Galactus was eventually able to overpower him, but it was in no way an easy defeat.
Weak: Blue Snowman (DC)
Blue Snowman is yet another intelligent scientist that doesn’t have any superpowers, but unlike other villains, she is rather weak. Byrna Brilyant dresses up in a blue snowman suit to commit crimes using her gun that can create blizzards and freeze people.
While she is an intelligent inventor, she doesn’t quite stack up when compared to other villains. Blue Snowman was always seen as a weak villain, but she met her end when an alien called IX Negaspike devoured her after she confessed her love for another character named Vartox.
Powerful: Ares (DC)
While characters like Blue Snowman pose little threat to Wonder Woman, Ares certainly does. Many people didn’t like the look of Ares in the 2017 film Wonder Woman, but his powers were still incredibly powerful just like in the comic books. Ares is literally an Olympian God, the God of War, so he is obviously a skilled fighter.
He is a master strategist, but can also wield magic, fire, energy, and also has the power to shape-shift into different forms. Fans got a taste of what Ares is capable of in Wonder Woman, but his powers are even stronger in some of his comic book appearances.
Weak: The Ten-Eyed Man (DC)
Batman has several memorable supervillains he has fought since the 1930s, but the Ten-Eyed Man isn’t one of them. As his name suggests, the Ten-Eyed Man has ten eyes, one on each of his fingers. This means that he has enhanced vision, despite him appearing to be blind.
This apparently makes him a better fighter, but it seems like having eyes on your fingertips would be more of a hassle than a benefit. In the TV show Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the Ten-Eyed Man made an appearance, but was taken out by The Caped Crusader after he caught a cactus that Batman threw at him.
Powerful: Doomsday (DC)
Even though the version of Doomsday that was present in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was despised by fans, the character is still incredibly powerful in the movie and in the comic books. Doomsday is always shown to have limitless strength and stamina, but also has unique abilities such as self-evolution.
If something does happen to end Doomsday’s life, he won’t be able to be severely hurt by it again in a future fight. Doomsday has always been seen as a powerful villain in the DC universe, mainly because he even took Superman’s life at one point.