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5 Powerful Marvel Heroes Who Are Truly Terrible Leaders
Marvel Comics has its fair share of superteams, from the Fantastic Four and Avengers to the X-Men and many more. These teams have had several notable leaders, but a few of the heroes who led these teams have not been the best leaders for various reasons. These leaders may have done a good job of leading their allies to victory on many occasions, and some are great tacticians in battle; however, they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to the safety and well-being of their charges. Many of these heroes also have morally complex personalities and make decisions that ultimately hurt their teams.
Here is a look at some of the worst leaders in Marvel Comics, from the heroes who lead their teams into disastrous situations to the characters who prioritize their own selfish interests, regardless of what is best for their teammates.
5) Reed Richards
Reed Richards was one of the first superheroes introduced when Marvel Comics began publishing its superhero stories. He was the de facto leader of the Fantastic Four for one reason. He was the smartest member of the team, while Human Torch was immature, Ben Grimm was the team’s grunt, and Sue Storm wasn’t going to be the leader, as Marvel, at that time, didn’t respect female heroes like it would in later years.
The problem with Reed is that his intelligence also adds to his arrogance. He believes that his opinion is always the right one, which has put him at odds with his team and family over the years. Most Reed Richard-variants in the multiverse have turned evil, and the Earth-616 version remains a hero, but he has done enough in his life to show he is the last person most people would want to put their trust in.
4) Cyclops
Cyclops is easily one of the best tactical leaders in Marvel Comics history. When it comes to a battle, there might not be someone that the X-Men want leading them other than Scott Summers. However, when it comes to people the X-Men need to lead them, Scott is one of the worst possible leaders for the team. Like Reed Richards, Scott is someone who has an almost bullheaded insistence on doing things his way, which has led to several conflicts with other members of the team, including Storm and Wolverine, where Scott was usually in the wrong.
Cyclops’ actions as a leader led to the X-Men: Schism event, one of the darkest storylines in X-Men history. When he led many mutants to follow him as a martyr after he killed Professor X, he showed his worst traits. Even now, as the mutants are in danger once again, Cyclops is still only thinking about himself.
3) Beast
Beast was one of the most beloved characters in Marvel Comics for many years. However, in recent years, Beast has been the actual worst, showing evil traits that led his Age of Apocalypse counterpart to become the Dark Beast. On Earth-616, he turned many mutants against him when he brought the original X-Men to the present day and stranded them there. He later became the leader of X-Force on Krakoa, the mutant team designed as the counter-terrorist faction.
However, what Beast did was unthinkable as he turned them into actual terrorists in the name of mutant rights. He made his own teammates villains, and they had to follow his orders or face his wrath, as Colossus learned at one time. Beast is back to normal now after being resurrected with an older version of the character’s brainwaves, but when he becomes a leader, he is as immoral as they come.
2) Iron Man
There are several Avengers leaders who have not been the best at their jobs. People like Wasp have shown how to be the best of the best, and Captain America is mostly always on target. Iron Man is one of the longest-reigning leaders for the team, but he has never been the best at his job. There are two instances where Iron Man failed his team.
In Crossing, it turned out that he had been evil all along and was working for Kang. In Civil War, Iron Man went full fascist and caused an all-out war, where he turned most of the superhero community against him. Iron Man is worse than Reed Richards and Scott Summers when it comes to putting his own self-interests above even his own teammates.
1) Professor X
Professor X is easily the worst leader in Marvel Comics history. Charles Xavier had a dream of using his X-Men to show the public that mutants could be a force for good, helping humanity and living in peace alongside them. To achieve this, initially, he sent teenagers and young adults to fight wars for him, putting these young mutants’ lives in danger to fulfill a dream that never came to fruition. He then did the unthinkable.
He sent an entire team to their death and then erased the knowledge of their existence from the world. He used his psychic powers to force Wolverine to work with him and the X-Men. Xavier claims to be a good person with the best interests of mutants in mind, but when he created Krakoa, he created a council that ruled over the mutants and threatened those who didn’t follow him to be banished. Professor X is a manipulator and one of the worst leaders in Marvel Comics.
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