Both the DC and Marvel Universes have an expansive repertoire of long-standing, beloved superheroes and stories, ranging from Superman and Batman to Spider-Man and Iron Man.
Of course, no heroes would be complete without competent and interesting villains, which both universes thankfully have no shortage of.
However, which comic book company has the best villains of all? If we were to combine the two universes into one and create a list of the most powerful adversaries from both worlds, who would come out on top?
In this list, we attempted to do exactly that. Taking the strongest evil-doers from both DC and Marvel, we’ve mashed them together in a super-list and ranked them by the sheer might they all wield.
There are no losers on this list: it’s a celebration of the most triumphant evils in all of comics, but there is a pecking order that needs to be addressed. This isn’t to incite fan wars or rage, but rather an attempt at quantifying the often unquantifiable.
We’ve considered everything from raw power, special abilities, theoretical possibilities, and the level of evil the entrants exhibit to craft our ranking, and have stuck mostly to the comic portrayals of the characters, rather than the animated or cinematic appearances (for the few that this applies to).
Again, this isn’t a battle between DC and Marvel, but rather a ranking of just how mighty both universe’s super-villains truly are.
With that said, let’s jump right into Marvel Vs Dc: The 30 Most Powerful Villains, Officially Ranked.
Magneto
Magneto is one of the most famous entrants on our list, known to comic, film, television, and even video game fans the world over.
Eternal rival to the X-Men’s Professor X, Magneto’s powerful vision for mutantkind is backed by immense power, specifically the ability to manipulate magnetic fields.
Despite being at the tail end of our rankings, Magneto is far from a loser.
In fact, he could end all life on this planet by simply shifting the polarity (and axis) of the globe.
Thankfully, he’s generally a reasonable guy-- usually.
Abomination
While Hulk isn’t necessarily known for his collection of villains, Abomination is one of the few stand-outs.
Created using gamma rays in a similar fashion to how Bruce Banner was warped into being the Hulk, Emil Blonsky went through a terrifying transformation into this lizard-like being.
Although quite low on our list, Abomination has a few strong points, such as being able to retain his intelligence while transformed (back before Emil’s transformation was permanent) and being far stronger than Hulk in his base, less-enraged form.
Sadly, unlike the Hulk, Abomination’s power doesn’t increase with rage, so he’s easily pummeled by the not-so-jolly green giant.
Eclipso
Eclipso is a being whose very essence is contained in something called the Heart of Darkness, a crystal-like artifact.
Each of the shards that comprise of this evil gem also contain Eclipso’s soul, and are capable of infecting those that come in contact with them.
Once infected, the victims are infested with Eclipso’s malevolence, but that’s not his only weapon.
Eclipso is a powerful physical force, can increase or decrease his size, fire forth bursts of energy, fly, and much more, creating a multi-level threat that should never be underestimated.
Juggernaut
We all know the memes associated with the Juggernaut, and he had a hilarious presence in Deadpool 2 (including a vulgar, tongue-in-cheek choir song describing his power).
The Juggernaut is no joke, though, and he’s easily one of the most powerful earthbound villains on Marvel’s Earth.
Already a bruiser, he was exponentially pumped up by a mystical gem, causing him to have superior strength and, much like the goofy choir song says, he’s more-or-less unstoppable.
Coupled with the ability to resist most injuries, Juggernaut’s only true weakness are mystical in nature, much like the source of his power, or psionic.
Modok
Modok may be a giant head that’s often spoofed (even within Marvel’s own media), but his might isn't funny.
The result of a mutagenic process transformed George Tarleton into the strange-looking villain, but aside from the physical alteration, it was the mental ascension that really mattered.
Incredibly intelligent, Modok is seemingly capable of pre-cognition since he can predict the mathematical outcomes of any event instantaneously.
Even more impressive are his psionic powers, which give him a wide array of offensive and defensive capabilities. These abilities put him safely above the otherwise-impervious Juggernaut, among many others.
Nekron
Nekron, a hated foe of the Green Lantern Corps., is the embodiment of demise.
As such, he was able to create the black rings, which brought forth an army of reanimated corpses and enslave the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, and more.
With the hopes of eliminating the Guardians of the Universe, he summoned forth “The Entity,” who is more or less a “God figure” of the DC Universe and is therefore responsible for giving life to everything in the cosmos.
Hoping to eliminate this deity and end life everywhere, Nekron is an immensely powerful and awfully evil being.
Despero
Debuting in JLA #1, Despero was once nothing but a wimpy alien with exceptional mind control powers.
Due to his frailty, he made excellent use of said powers, hypnotizing and controlling the Justice League to do his bidding.
While that’s impressive in its own right, his story (and place on this list) only gets started after his defeat, where he would eventually get fully powered-up by the flames of Py’tar.
No longer a puny wimp, Despero was now a ridiculously powerful warrior and, coupled with his adept psychic abilities, a far greater threat.
He also manages to survive the total destruction of his body, finding new hosts to infest, including Lex Luthor.
Doomsday
Doomsday is infamous for two things. One is his botched portrayal in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the other, arguably more important source of infamy, is that he eliminated the one and only Man of Steel.
To be fair, he did that in the movie, too, but he had an entire comic dedicated to the act first.
Created by aliens, cloned, and then repeatedly modified to resist whatever had ended his previous forms, Doomsday finds himself near the top of many food chains in terms of raw survivability.
Aside from defeating Superman, he has also put countless others in the grave, including the populations of entire planets.
Apocalypse
As a feared adversary of the X-Men, Apocalypse is a force to be reckoned with.
Likely one of the world’s first mutants, Apocalypse hails from ancient Egypt with a supreme mutation that allows for him to fully rearrange his cellular structure.
While that’s dangerous enough on its own, Apocalypse also combined with alien technology known as Celestial armor, which allowed him to enhance his abilities, granting the fiend the possibility of limitless strength and powers depending on what energy sources his absorbs into his being.
He has defeated countless mutants, and even the Hulk.
Hela
Hela, who is currently enjoying a surge in popularity due to her central role in the excellent Thor: Ragnarok, is the Asgardian Goddess of Death.
In the movie, she even destroyed Mjolnir, Thor’s beloved hammer, with nothing but her raw power.
Speaking of Thor, one of Marvel’s mightiest heroes, he’s been bested by the villainess on multiple occasions in the comics, proving that she’s not some flash-in-the-pan nemesis.
She even has a pact with Death, which grants her the ability to take the souls of anyone who worships the Asgardians, which is beyond chilling.
Parallax
The all-powerful Guardians of the Universe are afraid of few things, and Parallax is one of them.
In fact, it is so feared that they sealed it away within the Power Battery and attempted to erase all knowledge of it from the cosmos.
Parallax is a parasitic entity and the embodiment of fear. It travels throughout the universe infesting civilization after civilization, stirring up doubt, paranoia, and of course, fear until they destroy themselves.
Parallax’s presence in the Power Battery is what subtly influenced Sinestro to turn to evil, and its presence spread to others throughout the Corps.
Brainiac
Brainiac, one of Superman’s most beloved enemies (who we are still waiting to see on the big screen) is known for his “twelfth-level intellect,” which, in layman’s terms, means he’s intelligent seemingly beyond the realm of possibility, and a master of everything from physics to bio-engineering.
He sees himself as something of a collector, specifically a “Collector of Worlds,” due to his penchant for shrinking down planets and taking a hold of them in the name of preservation.
His level of genius isn’t his only strength, however, as he can also perfectly mimic the powers of Kryptonians, which makes him a truly dangerous foe.
Loki
Not unlike Hela, Loki has been riding high due to his high profile in multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, thanks in no small part to Tom Hiddleston’s performance.
All of the fawning from fan girls (and boys) is well-founded, though-- Loki is one of Marvel’s finest (and strongest) villains.
Aside from Loki’s charm and good looks, he’s got an arsenal of dangerous powers and techniques, such as shape-shifting and the general might that comes with being an actual god.
He’s also intelligent and tactical, finding ways to weaponize his charm into legitimate power.
Larfleeze
As yet another enemy of the Green Lantern Corps., Larfleeze is surprisingly powerful. Instead of yellow or green, Larfleeze wields an orange light.
At first, you may be tempted to ask what’s so spectacular about an orange variant of the power ring gang.
It's a worthy question, so we’ll answer: Larfleeze, who is apparently over a billion years old, can obliterate Guardians of the Universe, which are supremely powerful immortals.
Yes, ultra-powerful immortal entities are legitimately scared of Larfleeze and his Orange Light of Avarice.
Others have also attempted to quash Larfleeze and his Orange Lanterns, but few gain any ground. He’s that powerful.
Superboy-Prime
DC is infamous for its multiverse, which was created to explain the glut of characters that filled the ranks. Periodically, DC likes to clean house by having “Crisis” events that usually lead to the demises of multiple heroes.
Superboy-Prime is the result of one of these “Crisis” events, and even the catalyst for his own, titled “Infinite Crisis.”
Superboy-Prime lived in a “paradise dimension” after his original dimension was destroyed, and he slowly lost his mind.
Eventually taking matters into his own hands, he replaced another Earth’s Superboy by eliminating him, and then went on a ruthless campaign of “justice.”
It took multiple Green Lanterns, two Supermen, and much more to defeat this lunatic.
Thanos
Thanos is currently enjoying some major exposure from Infinity War after having anticipation of his appearance built up for years.
As seen in the movie, Thanos has a wish to halve the population of the universe and, wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, he does just that.
Armed with the Gauntlet and the Stones, there is almost no limit to Thanos’ power.
Without the Gauntlet, Thanos is significantly weaker, but still incredibly strong thanks to being a mutant Eternal.
The most terrifying aspect of Thanos is that he has never truly taken advantage of the limitless power in his Gauntlet, which would send a chill down any hero’s spine.
Ultron
Ultron got the big screen treatment with Age of Ultron, but it was a poor showing for the character and his true might.
Aside from the standard arsenal of incredible strength, intellect, durability (thanks to Adamantium armor), flight, and so on, Ultron has unique weapons and skills that make him a true threat.
His “encephalo-ray” not only puts victims into comas, but it can also allow for mind control.
In addition, he can also control machines and create an army of endless doubles due to his technical supremacy.
James Spader did Ultron’s voice well, but the character in the movie was nothing compared to the tactical and mechanical expertise of the comic version.
Kang
Our list has quite a few super-geniuses on it, and Kang is one of them.
Unlike fellow-genius Brainiac, Kang himself has no natural powers or mind-control abilities. Instead, he relies on 40th century technology, particularly a devastating power suit and array of weapons.
However, the main factor of why Kang is on our list is because of that intellect. He’s an expert of all time periods and an exquisite engineer.
He put his knowledge to task by creating a time machine that allows him to seamlessly enter any era he wishes to, which could have extreme consequences, such as when he allowed himself to be worshipped as a god in ancient Egypt.
Tyrant
Galactus, the impossibly gigantic world eater (who we will be getting to soon enough) decided he wanted some company, so he created Tyrant, a machine of equal stature and power.
Where Galactus would feast on planets for sustenance and nothing else, Tyrant destroyed and conquered for pleasure and power.
Galactus even tried weakening his creation, but Tyrant still remained incredibly strong despite this.
In fact, the only thing that was able to generally subdue this violent beast was one of Marvel’s most powerful relics, the Ultimate Nullifier, which is a testament to his power.
Krona
Krona is one of the most intriguing entrants on our list, and not just because he’s fought both the DC and Marvel universes.
As a scientist in the distant past, Krona was obsessed with witnessing the origins of the universe, and decided that he’d create a machine to let him do exactly that.
An accident during his foolish visit allowed for the existence of evil to course through the cosmos, and Krona was punished by being turned into energy (which was a terrible idea).
Krona routinely destroys universes during his continued search for the origin of everything, and it took Superman wielding Thor’s hammer to put him away, if only temporarily.