Marvel’s Dark Avengers team hasn’t been around for long, but its various iterations have included some of the most powerful villains and antiheroes in the Marvel Universe. First formed by Norman Osborn during his Dark Reign leadership of H.A.M.M.E.R, the Dark Avengers were intended as an insult to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, with major villains dressed in their iconic costumes. Osborn got the public on his side by manufacturing his own versions of heroes like Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man, often by recruiting those who hated the original heroes.
While the Dark Avengers may have been fake heroes, they were always intended as an effective strike force against the biggest threats the world had to offer, helping Norman Osborn to retain his power. From Doctor Doom and Morgan Le Fay to the Molecule Man and the Gods of Asgard, the Dark Avengers took on towering threats, rising to the occasion with earth-shaking powers. Here are the ten most powerful Dark Avengers – villains so powerful, they make the original Avengers look like the weaker team.
10 Gorgon
Joining the Dark Avengers in Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato’s New Avengers #18, Gorgon (aka Tomi Shishido) took on the identity of his hated rival, Wolverine. A mutant, Gorgon has the power to turn people into stone simply by making eye contact, however he rarely uses it. This is because Gorgon is a master combatant, granted enhanced speed, agility, and healing as a former servant of the Hand. After his villain era left him defeated and disgraced, Gorgon was eventually recruited by the X-Men and made a Great Captain of Krakoa, recognizing his deadly abilities by making him one of the four chief protectors of all mutants.
9 Iron Patriot
The director of the Dark Avengers, Norman Osborn used stolen Iron Man armor to become the Iron Patriot in Bendis and Deodato’s Dark Avengers #1. An already gifted and intelligent man before his transformation, Norman Osborn combined the suit with the enhanced strength and intelligence granted by the Goblin Serum which previously turned him into the Green Goblin. While his armor wasn’t among the best of Stark’s creation, it still packed a punch, and Osborn used his cunning to control his Dark Avengers teammates – especially the Sentry, who acted as his personal bodyguard. Using his arsenal of powers and his smarts, Norman Osborn as the Iron Patriot went against many of Marvel’s mightiest villains, even defeating Morgan Le Fay and neutralizing the threat of the Molecule Man.
8 Toxie Doxie
The Dark Avengers’ version of the Scarlet Witch, Toxie Doxie, also known as Doctor June Covington, was a radical biology who repeatedly altered her own biology. This gave her a huge range of abilities from heat blasts and pheromone control to being invisible to machinery. Posing as the Scarlet Witch starting in Bendis and Deodato’s New Avengers #18, Toxie Doxie has other powers that focus on lethal force and controlling others. Her breath is poisonous, while her blood contains a neurotoxin that kills in seconds. Amazingly, Toxie Doxie even defeated Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange in battle. The deadliest thing about June Covington is that she’s constantly adapting her body, making it impossible to guess what she’s capable of.
7 Ai Apaec
A literal god masquerading as Spider-Man, Ai Apaec also joined the Dark Avengers in New Avengers #18. WIth an appearance as scary as he is dangerous, Ai Apaec has the lower body of a spider, snakes for hair, and sharp teeth. In order to impersonate Spider-Man, Norman Osborn gave him a genetic modification drug. Ai Apaec has the immortality and durability of a god, and can draw on a range of spider powers, including organic webbing, a venomous bite, and wall-crawling. Ai Apaec came close to killing Peter Parker when the two Spider-Men clashed, but thankfully Captain America was able to save his heroic ally from a ghastly demise.
6 Superia
A misandrist who sought total female domination over the Earth, Superia took control of H.A.M.M.E.R and the Dark Avengers after Norman Osborn was defeated. Creating her own powers with her mad scientist genius, Superia took the lead of the Dark Avengers in Bendis and Deodato’s New Avengers #23. Superia’s intellect is almost without parallel, and she has made breakthroughs in time travel, power-dampening tech, and even the Super-Soldier serum. In addition to her intelligence, she is able to fly and project energy blasts. Superia was able to go toe-to-toe with Captain Marvel and Skaar, the son of the Hulk, thanks to her exceptional abilities and attributes.
5 Moonstone
Portraying Ms. Marvel after she became a part of the Dark Avengers in Dark Avengers #1, Moonstone has a huge range of powers that make her a match for Carol Danvers. Moonstone got her powers by fusing with a Kree gravity stone. This gave her superhuman strength, durability, agility, reflexes, and flight along with molecular control, intangibility, photokinesis, and gravity manipulation. Other gravity stones exist, and when she controls more than one, Moonstone effectively becomes a god.
However, Moonstone is so dangerous because she’s also a genius, amoral psychologist, manipulating everyone around her to do her bidding. As part of her training, Moonstone became a world-class hypnotist, able to wield this ability against major threats including the Hulk.
4 Skaar, Son of Hulk
Gaining a double helping of powers from his father the Hulk and his mother Caiera the Oldstrong, Skaar joined the Dark Avengers in New Avengers #18. In addition to his inherited gamma powers, Skaar also possesses the Old Power, which allows him to interface with the planet itself. This pseudo-mystic ability can manipulate lava and rock, but can also be used to ‘speak’ to the Earth in surprising ways, such as communicating across long distances or intuiting past events.
Skaar joined the Dark Avengers as a double agent for Steve Rogers, and was able to take down the team on Captain America’s request, later returning to watch over them once the former members fell under Luke Cage’s purview. In addition to his Hulk-level strength and Old Power, Skaar also grew up on the desolate planet Sakaar, becoming a master of armed combat.
3 Ragnarok
Best known from Civil War, Ragnarok is a cyborg clone of the mighty Thor, created by Tony Stark, Reed Richards, and Criti Noll (a Skrull impersonating Hank Pym.) Joining the team in New Avengers #18, Ragnarok lacks Thor’s morality, but can summon lightning and has godly durability and strength. He is a deeply evil being who murdered the hero Goliath, possessing godly arrogance without the balance of Thor’s love of humanity. Thankfully, Ragnarok is not worthy of Mjolnior, and so wields a less powerful alternate version of the iconic hammer.
2 Ares
Ares, the literal God of War, started as a supervillain who went toe to toe with Thor, Hercules, and the Avengers. Later, his character became an antihero who joined any battle for the sake of being able to fight, and he even served on Tony Stark’s Mighty Avengers, taking down Ultron. Sadly, Ares cares nothing for human morals, and so when Norman Osborn took over, he simply remained an Avenger, joining Osborn’s team in Dark Avengers #1.
Ares has the showstopping abilities of other powerful Marvel Olympian gods, and is physically a match for Thor. However, Ares is also a powerhouse in all things warfare, and can be considered perhaps the greatest tactician to ever live, as well as a master of all weapons. He even has the ability to manipulate combat between others, and even to spread war and chaos by exerting his godly will on mortals.
1 The Sentry
Torn between his heroic Sentry side and his villainous Void persona, the Sentry has demonstrated his power time and again. Gaining his powers from a dark version of the Super Soldier Serum, the Sentry was granted powers that were equal to “a million exploding suns.” It was even hinted that Sentry has a connection to divine power, and can manipulate the world on a molecular level – often subconsciously forcing his greatest nightmares and desires to come true.
First joining the team in Dark Avengers #1, Sentry was manipulated into acting as Norman Osborn’s ultimate weapon, and was finally unleashed in Bendis and Coipel’s Siege. There, Sentry destroyed Asgard and tore Ares (who had rebelled against Osborn) in two. Sentry has remained an unpredictable force ever since, helping to push a Celestial off Earth and fighting the Hulk to a standstill in the conclusion of World War Hulk. While the Dark Avengers roster has hosted mutants, super-scientists, and even gods, Sentry remains Marvel’s most powerful mortal, and the obvious powerhouse of the villainous team.
