If you’re a Marvel fan, you might have heard of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you’re lost, we’ll give you a little explanation. This is a shared universe that centers itself around a series of superhero films, all thanks to Marvel Studios. This year, it took on a more horror-centered approach than its fans were used to. With darker plots, it drew more and more people in, though it might have scared away some families. Still, some Marvel villains were too terrifying for the MCU. Hold on to your seat, because we’re about to take you on a horror ride with the photographs of these characters.
Villains Wiki
Dark Beast
Even though you’ve seen the Beast in the X-Men films, the Dark Beast has yet to make an appearance. This is a Marvel villain that’ll make you look the other way. He’s downright terrifying. The Dark Beast plays around with genetic material as if it’s all fun and games to him. How did the Beast turn from a loving character to one who’s cruel and horrifying? This is likely thanks to those changed events and the 616 Hank McCoy. That’s where this bone-chilling supervillain made an appearance. This mentally corrupt mutant is here to stay, even if we don’t want him to. He went from happy-go-lucky to twisted, satanic, and maniacal. As the Dark Bear himself puts it, “Cutting into the flesh, altering the genetic code, twisting and changing…it’s enough to make your mouth water, wouldn’t you agree? Doing it to another is…exquisite. But doing it to oneself, now, there lies something truly extraordinary.” And just look at that horrifying, twisted smile. If we saw that in real life, we’d run in the opposite direction and never look back (YouTube).
What Culture
Madcap
This is one wild supervillain, and it’s not because of his strength. If you look into his eyes, he has the power to drive you to insanity. Imagine that? In the Deadpool comics, he is reincarnated and bonded to the Agent of Hydra’s stomach. Because he’s a parasite living in the dude’s stomach, he controls him and makes him do all the dirty work. This guy has taken on many superheroes, like Ghost Rider, Captain America, and others. However, it didn’t start this way Madcap used to be a churchgoer before he became a villain. He has pain immunity and self-regeneration, all thanks to the chemical that disfigured him in the first place (What Culture).
Write Ups
Demogoblin
Let’s take a look at some of the very words uttered by the Demogoblin. He said, “And now. The one who shall once again assume the path of righteousness. I will see you… all of your kind… and any who seek to protect you burn for all eternity in the fiery pit!” There’s no way we’d want to end up burning in some fiery pit all thanks to the Demogoblin. But that’s just another reason he’s so terrifying. Jason Macendale Jr. used the Hobgoblin moniker because he felt he wasn’t strong enough, so he followed a group of demons and offered his soul to N’astirh, in exchange for strength and power. And even though he didn’t get what he wanted in the end, the demon did possess him and created the Demogoblin. Moreover, he’s now unnaturally fast, tough, and strong (Writeups).
League of Comic Geeks
Carrion
There are several Carrions out there, as the name is popular in Marvel comics. But that doesn’t make him any less scary. He’s the real-life walking plague. If he touches you, you’ll decay and crumble into dust. He’ll vaporize you right out of your body suit. It’s strange and terrifying to think that the MCU is ready for a universe where a villain touches you and you disappear. Imagine getting snapped out of existence. Luckily, this feature does not exist in our universe, otherwise, we’d have some issues. This illness-related character will be a hit or a miss for the MCU. Additionally, his inflammation features burned anything that came near him, he levitated, and he could read the minds of others. All the reasons to stay far away from this one (Comic Vine).
Screen Rant
The Brood
Get ready to meet the MCU’s most dangerous alien race. With The Brood, we see quite a bit of inspiration from H.R. Giger’s work on Alien. Hosts continue to spread their seeds, to ensure the Brood never stops growing. He’s a remorseless creature that closely resembles the comic’s version of the Xenomorphs, with many similarities. But you certainly don’t want these creatures in the MCU, considering how easily they crawl around and spread to superhero bodies. Their one goal in life is to constantly reproduce and consume any available resources they might find available. Basically, that sounds like an apocalypse waiting to happen (Screen Rant).
Syfy
Nightmare
You can thank the Marvel villain Nightmare for all of your nightmares. Basically, he rules terror and fear, and there are no limitations to how scary he can be. This fear he instills helps him gain power over all of reality. He’s able to bend the laws of reality, and those creepy visits in your dream world, where you thought you were safe, are tunnels for him to crawl and slither down to attack. As Nightmare himself puts it, “Mortal fools! I am the Master of the Subconscious, the Midnight Leviathan — proof positive that the most precious of dreams too often fall prey to…Nightmare!” Get ready for a state of horror all thanks to Nightmare, who won’t hesitate to scare you out of your pants. You might never want to sleep again (Quora).
YouTube
The Thousand
Imagine if a spider could crawl into your body and take over every part of your being. Well, that’s exactly what The Thousand does. This Spider-Man villain fuels every part of your arachnophobia nightmare. When Carl King found out Peter Parker turned into Spiderman thanks to a radioactive spider, he tried to achieve the same by eating one. As The Thousand puts it, “I wanted what you had for myself, Parker. The things I could do with it… with power like that… But what I got was different. Something better, Parker. Something worse, and something that can live inside, that could liquefy the innards of a man and walk the earth within his hollow shell… It’s something that could watch. And wait. And fester. See?” But the opposite happened, and he turned into a cluster of spiders. Basically, instead of being a hero, he tries to get into the bodies of other people and use their bodies, much like puppets. Next time you see a spider, you might even think it’s part of the MCU and magically appeared in our universe. It’s time to gently coax the spider outside, or get rid of it completely (Villains).
Comic Vine
Mad Jim Jaspers
This villain lives a little bit under the radar. His monstrous power can twist reality and shift things as we know it. Even though this intensity seems admirable, let’s pause for a second. He’s a villain. He also has the word “Mad” in his name. This villain wants the world as a hellscape that’s straight from any nightmare. Furthermore, if the MCU saw this villain coming into play, all the other mad villains would probably be no match for his monstrosity (Quora).
Villains Wiki
Annihilus
Welcome to the Negative Zone, where Annihilius is the master and ruler of all things horrible. Just by entering this zone, you’ll feel an immense amount of terror. This is where this evil entity stands and hunger to conquer not just the MCU, but other universes as well, as many as he can get his hand on. Imagine if this evil being made his way down to earth. The world would be a different place. This marvel calls himself the living death that walks and will happily destroy any being that gets in his way of existence. He has agility, reflexes, and stamina like a superhuman (Comic Vine).
Comic Vine
Arcade
We’re not talking about the games you played as a kid. We’re talking about Arcade, Marvel’s version of the Riddler. Don’t be fooled by his inconspicuous looks. Even though he looks non-threatening, he’s quite evil under that facade. He’s able to set traps for our favorite heroes and make sure they disappear for good. That’s not someone we want to see on the MCU. And with all of his aggression, his life mainly revolves around blood and getting as much of it as he can, with his calculated plans. He tricks people into thinking he’s a good guy by saying things like, “I promise… I’ve given up games of murder. I’m done with death traps. Okay… maybe a tiny little death trap.” Don’t fall into his death trap! (Marvel).
Comic Vine
Mr. Smile
We’ve learned that villains with smiles are not ones to mess with. Their maniacal laugh and sinister smiles make us want to run very far away. This is all thanks to the Joker. But he’s not the only villain with a creepy smile. Marvel’s Mr. Smile is also a scoundrel who likes his creepy grin to try and lure people into believing he’s a good guy. He’s a demon in a skin suit. His teeth alone will instill terror in anyone who crosses his path. Besides, just look at those long, skinny, sharp teeth! We’re pretty sure everyone who saw this photo will have nightmares for the next week (Comic Vine).
Inverse
Shuma-Gorath
This is one of those strange Marvel characters that no one has heard of, but he instills terror in anyone he crosses paths with. At first glance, you might think he’s just a regular guy who can’t instill that much harm in anyone. But this cosmic entity should not be reckoned with. He was one of the first rulers of Earth before anyone else came to claim his territory. According to the demon himself, “Before all was, I was. Before the time was, I waited. I fed on the screaming souls of the universes. I drank the spoiled milk of dead stars, I am the emptiness outside all understanding. And I am Shuma-Gorath.” Emptiness outside all understanding sounds downright horrifying. This man feasted on the ape-men until he was banished from the Earth realm. Even the MCU cannot handle his terror (Marvel).
Marvel
Shadow King
The Shadow King is pretty much the Exorcist. It’s not something you want to casually cross paths with in the MCU. This malevolent entity is evil in every way possible. It travels from host to host and uses telepathy to gain its power through evil. This one belongs in a supernatural part of the world, where ghosts rule the night. This one believes that happiness doesn’t exist and that the true part of existence is to feel misery and be miserable. As Shadow King himself puts it, “Happiness is a lie. Life is horror. The light is always dying, all across the universe. The last star will flicker out someday. When it does, all that remains… shadow. And I will be its king.” (Comic Vine).
Reddit
Carnage
Get ready MCU fans. Carnage is on its way and is horrifying. This sinister villain is no laughing matter. This demon looks like he’s straight out of Shadow King’s nightmares. In his own words, Carnage said, “Maybe if my host had a little more filial sentiment… a little more human love for his daddy… some of it would have crossed over to me. As it is, I feel nothing but cold empty contempt. I hate you, daddy.” Let’s take a look at some of his superpowers. He has superhuman strength, a regenerative healing power, genetic memory, and razor-sharp fangs and claws. To top it all off, he has spidery 360-degree senses, where every cell in his body is capable of acting as an eye, ear, nose, tastebud, or mouth (Reddit).
Marvel
Mr. Sinister
This immortal geneticist plays with the lives of others. He manipulates to get what he wants. He destroys and causes terror, all for the sole sake of science. Mr. Sinister was inspired by the work of Charles Darwin, and his sole purpose on earth seems to be engineering humanity to create the perfect race of superhumans. He’s an immortal geneticist who plays with lives, and all because of him, demons tried to consume reality during the Inferno event. He views the world in a stone-cold way and doesn’t see the beauty, love, or light that many of us see. He’s emotionless and apathetic and prefers to ruin the lives of others than help them in any way, shape, or form (CBR).
Comic Book Realm
Skinless Man
There’s a reason they say you need to feel comfortable in your skin. Skinless Man is one MCU Marvel character who needs to learn how to do just that. He likes to wear other people’s skin on his face. He used to have elastic skin, but after he had his skin peeled off his entire body as punishment, it was no use for him. He’s a skinless version of Mr. Fantastic. His elastic skin gave him the ability to stretch several meters away from his own body. Moreover, he could read text just by feeling dents on a page, and he could use his durable skin as a weapon. Furthermore, after his skin was removed, he taught his new skin how to expand and contract on a molecular level (Marvel).
Comic Vine
Freak
The Armadillo Man, or Freak, is not a cute animal. On Earth, armadillos are considered adorable animals, but in the MCU, they’re the complete opposite. Freak is a drug addict who was chased down by Spider-Man. After Freak injects himself with animal stem cell fluids from Dr. Curt Connors’s lab, he develops a flesh cocoon chrysalis. He did this because he thought it was an illegal substance, though he got a wake-up call when he learned it wasn’t. He was then shot down by the police, where he formed another chrysalis. Not only did the substance make him skinless, he was horrifying to look at. He can bring himself back to life, making him capable of surviving any danger. Ultimately, in the MCU, he fits right in, but that doesn’t mean he’s nice to look at. For a Marvel villain, he’s comparable to all the other terrifying ones (Ultimate Marvel).
Marvel Database
Reginald Fortean’s Abomination
This MCU villain might be too terrifying to show on screen. The story behind this guy includes Fortean, who took Gamma-Activated Tissue from the corpse of the original Abomination. Then, when he made contact with it, he was encased in an Abomination-like shell. He has an eight-fingered hand crown that sits on top of his head. Now, he has superhuman strength, enough to match the strength of the Hulk. Additionally, he can regenerate from grievous injuries like lost organs, has a claw on every single one of his fingers, and can generate a corrosive acid that can dissolve the flesh of the Hulk (Screen Rant).
Marvel
Styk
As one of David Haller’s many personalities, Styx takes hold of the consciousness of anything and anyone he touches. Don’t get too close to this one. They become vulnerable and malleable in his hands. But that’s not what makes Styx so terrifying. The most horrifying thing about this one is that he can split himself from Haller and find a home in a corpse. Then, it turns its back on Haller and uses that corpse to try and control Haller to take over the world. He can rot and decay anything he touches, elongate his fingers long distances, and is immune to cancer (CMRO).