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10 Villains Who Turned Into Avengers, Ranked by Arc
The Avengers are Marvel’s greatest team, made up of the most powerful and skilled heroes. However, they’re also one of the first superteams to do something special — allow villains to join the team. This all started with Avengers (Vol. 1) #16, when Cap recruited three former villains to replace Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, and the Wasp. Since then, the Avengers have allowed multiple villains into their ranks. Sometimes, it’s a great thing, and these characters become trusted heroes. Other times, it doesn’t go nearly as well, with the villains being even more troublesome as Avengers. It’s one of the best aspects of Avengers history, bringing in interesting new characters that change the dynamics of the team.
Some of the greatest Avengers of all time started out as villains, and the Avengers gave them a chance to show what they were really made of; there’s even been an entire Avengers team made up of villains. The Avengers are more open-minded about their membership than basically every other team out there, and these ten villains who became Avengers prove that.
10) The Vision
The Vision is such a storied Avenger that most people forget that he started out as a villain. The Vision was created by Ultron to destroy the Avengers, but instead, he decided to stay with the team and try to be one of them. Since then, the Vision has fallen back into villainy, usually because of his nature as a machine controlled by logic, but he’s always come back to the team. He’s one of the most formidable Avengers, as well. His superstrength, flight, density control, and solar energy blasts (MCU Vision had the Mind Stone; comic Vision just has a gem that can fire blasts as hot as the sun) have helped the Avengers multiple times over the decades. The Vision is an Avengers stalwart, and the team doesn’t feel the same without him.
9) Daken
After WWII, Wolverine was married to a woman named Itsu. She got pregnant but was killed by the Winter Soldier, and Wolverine-hating villain Romulus cut the baby out of her corpse, nursing him to health and then leaving him with a Japanese family, who called young Akihiro “Daken,” which meant “mongrel.” He was taught to hate Wolverine and was recruited by Norman Osborn to act as the Wolverine of the Dark Avengers, while helping Romulus go after his father. Daken did a pretty good job on the team; he wasn’t as brutal as Bullseye and didn’t cause nearly as many problems as other members, relishing his status as a famous hero. The most important thing he did as an Avenger was to kill the Punisher. Daken was probably one of the best members of the Dark Avengers, and now that he’s a hero in general, he should get another chance to join the team, since the Avengers haven’t had a Wolverine in a while.
8) Iron Patriot
Norman Osborn is best known as the Spider-Man villain Green Goblin, but there was a time when he worked for Iron Man and SHIELD. Osborn was recruited to fight against the Atlanteans on the sly, so Iron Man could deny all of the monstrous things he did. He was made the leader of the Thunderbolts when it was transformed into a team of villains working for SHIELD, and was personally responsible for the death of the Skrull Empress Veranke in Secret Invasion. He was given control of SHIELD, which he transformed into HAMMER, and started the Superhero Initiative. He created the Dark Avengers, a team of villains posing as heroes for the public, and used an older, modified suit of Iron Man armor to become the Iron Patriot. Iron Patriot was an amazing villain, and he was able to use his Dark Avengers to not only save the world several times but also to keep his enemies guessing. Norman’s insanity broke the whole situation, but the “Iron Patriot” will always be a great Avenger.
7) Namor
Namor is the original bipolar character; he started out as something of an anti-hero/villain, wanting to destroy the surface world while protecting the ocean and fighting the original Human Torch, then helped fight the Nazis, then disappeared. He reappeared in the modern day and would sometimes team up with Doctor Doom and fight the heroes, often to protect his undersea kingdom, but he’d also join the Avengers and help them protect the entire world. Namor has gone back and forth many times; he’s fought the Avengers and then joined the team. He’s also been a member of the X-Men (a team that he’s had a much better relationship with), the Illuminati, and the Cabal. As an Avenger, Namor has been able to help save the world and the team numerous times.
6) Moonstone/Ms. Marvel III
Moonstone was a Ms. Marvel villain and joined the Masters of Evil, with her power to control her density, fly, and fire energy bolts, combining well with her superhuman physical attributes. She would join Zemo’s original Thunderbolts as Meteorite, becoming a leader of the team (she would end up sharing the position with Hawkeye for a time). She’d later join SHIELD’s Thunderbolts as Moonstone and would be given the mantle of Ms. Marvel in the Dark Avengers. Moonstone’s morality has yo-yo’ed over the years; she was once pure evil, then became more heroic as Meteorite, then more villainous in her Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers days, but she was an excellent Avenger, making the team much more formidable.
5) Ex Nihilo
Ex Nihilo first appeared in Avengers (Vol. 5) #1, the beginning of the Hickman run. Ex Nihilo was created by the Builders, an ancient race that seeded the universe with life. Ex Nihilo and his partner Abyss, as well as a robot called Aleph, attacked the Earth from a base on Mars, trying to evolve the planet in order to prepare it for the coming calamities. The Avengers tried to stop him, but were trounced, with only Captain America escaping. Cap recruited the largest, most powerful Avengers team ever and was able to defeat Ex Nihilo and Abyss. The two of them were allowed to stay on Mars and eventually got recruited by the Avengers, helping the team defeat the Builders in their war against all life in Infinity. Ex Nihilo made a pretty good Avenger, and helped save the universe, a universe that he loved and helped people with life.
4) Black Widow
Black Widow became mega-popular because of the MCU, all of which stems from her long tenure with the Avengers. Black Widow was a Soviet super-spy, trained in the Red Room and working at times with the Winter Soldier. She stayed young because of the Infinity Formula and was an enemy of Iron Man, trying to steal his technology for Mother Russia, and recruiting Hawkeye as her cat’s paw. However, she’d eventually end up leaving the Russian intelligence community and joining the Avengers. Since then, Black Widow has been one of the best Avengers, with her years of experience and spy skills making her a trusted member of the team.
3) Quicksilver
Quicksilver was first found by Magneto, who recruited the young man for the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants alongside his twin sister, Scarlet Witch (see below). The two of them would battle the X-Men, but the Brotherhood wasn’t the best place for them, as the other members kept thirsting after Scarlet Witch, and Magneto treated everyone like trash. Captain America came to Quicksilver and his sister, and they ended up joining the Avengers. Since then, Quicksilver has had his ups and downs with the team, but he became one of the defining members through the late ’60s through to the early ’80s. Quicksilver’s super speed makes him a formidable hero, while also making the world very hard to deal with for him, and he has since joined X-Factor and the Avengers Unity Squad.
2) Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch has become one of the most popular, powerful Avengers of all time. Joining the team alongside her brother Quicksilver, she’s been a key Avenger for decades. Scarlet Witch has probably had the most problems in her years as an Avenger, her fluctuating power level playing with her mind, which is basically defined by trauma. Scarlet Witch has turned evil and attacked the Avengers numerous times, but she’s always come back to the team. Her magic and reality-altering powers have made her into an indispensable Avenger (although she’s something of a glass cannon — she can do a lot of damage, but can’t take a lot of punishment in return), and she’s forged important relationships with characters like Wonder Man and the Vision. She’s an Avenger to her core and has become a legend in the process.
1) Hawkeye
Hawkeye is one of the most underrated Avengers. Clint Barton grew up in the circus and mastered the bow and arrow, as well as other weapons, being trained by Swordsman and Trickshot. He was recruited by Black Widow to fight Iron Man, starting a life of fighting against way more powerful enemies than him with just a bow and arrow. He joined Cap’s Kooky Quartet with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, and since then has become one of the Avengers’ most valued members. Hawkeye has battled against everything the Avengers have faced — gods, monsters, intergalactic conquerors, and all-powerful villains — with just a bow and some trick arrows. Hawkeye wasn’t a villain for very long, but he’s been an excellent Avenger the entire time he’s been with the team.
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