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The 10 Most Iconic Avengers Villains of the 2000s, Ranked by Importance
The Avengers had a rough time in the 2000s, since this was the decade that saw the team destroyed completely, only to have them reform and end up going to war with each other. Since the 1960s, Avengers comics have shown the most powerful heroes in comics defending the world from threats too big for any single hero to face alone. After a decade in the 1990s that was up-and-down in quality, the 2000s looked to bring the Avengers back in style. However, this might have been the toughest decade the team has ever had to endure, as they fought more than just Marvel villains.
From fighting invaders from another world and mobsters controlling the city to battling their own and fighting amongst themselves, here are the 10 most important villains the Avengers fought in the 2000s.
10) The Hood (New Avengers)
The Hood debuted in his own MAX limited series Hood #1 (2002) by Brian K. Vaughan, Kyle Hotz, and Eric Powell, as a petty crook who robbed a Nisanti demon of a hooded cloak and boots, granting invisibility and levitation. It turned out later that his powers flowed to him from Dormammu, making him even more powerful and unhinged. He then became one of the most persistent villains to the New Avengers team that formed after the main Avengers broke up. This team was more of a street-level Avengers lineup, which made Parker Robbins such a great nemesis for them. During the Civil War, Hood ended up becoming the biggest mob boss in the underworld, leading to a massive battle in New Avengers Annual #2 (2008).
9) Krona (JLA/Avengers)
Krona is an important Avengers villain because of what he caused to happen when he made his debut. Krona is an exiled Oan, a renegade Guardian of the Universe from DC Comics. He was so obsessed with witnessing the creation of the universe that he started destroying entire universes to see it happen. That is when he set his sights on the Marvel and DC Universes, and the anticipated team-up between the Avengers and Justice League took place. Kurt Busiek and George Pérez created the JLA/Avengers, a prestige-format intercompany crossover limited series in 2003, with Krona betting on the Avengers and Grandmaster betting on the JLA to win a game where they are gathering powerful artifacts from each Earth. The best part is that Marvel and DC say this event was canon.
8) The Kree (Maximum Security)
The Kree were the main villains in the Marvel crossover event, Maximum Security (2000-2001) by Kurt Busiek and Jerry Ordway. This was a three-issue miniseries where a coalition of alien civilizations, tired of Earth’s meddling in galactic affairs, designates the planet a penal colony and dumps the universe’s criminals onto it. The villain here was the Kree Supreme Intelligence, who sought revenge against the Avengers, who tried to kill him in the 1990s. With the Shi’ar imprisoning the Avengers cosmic Infinity team, and Ronan the Accuser showing up on Earth to enforce order, it forced the remaining Avengers on Earth to figure out a way to stop the Kree’s plans. The Kree remain one of the oldest Marvel cosmic villains, and this was proof of their vindictive nature.
7) Ultron (Mighty Avengers)
Ultron has been one of the Avengers deadliest villains almost every single decade of their existence. In the 2000s, it was part of Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Cho’s post-Civil War title, The Mighty Avengers #1-6 (2007). The Avengers villain returns as Lady Ultron, and Iron Man rebuilds his new Avengers with Ms. Marvel, Ares, Black Widow, Sentry, Wasp, and Wonder Man in the lineup. This storyline reasserted Ultron as a top-tier Avengers threat, and while it was a marquee return, it was only a small self-contained storyline to launch the new era of Avengers comics.
6) Loki (Earth’s Mightiest)
Loki was a constant villain throughout the 2000s, but it wasn’t until he showed back up after “Secret Invasion” and during the “Dark Reign” storyline that he began to develop into a dangerous threat again. In the three-part storyline “Earth’s Mightiest” in Mighty Avengers #21-23 (2009), he posed as the Scarlet Witch and sent the Avengers on a mission to fight the Elder God Chthon. His goal here was multifaceted, as he was part of Norman Osborn’s Cabal, but he also wanted to put some cracks in Osborn’s armor using the Avengers. It was the start of a battle that would stretch into the 2010s when he took part in the “Siege” event that destroyed Asgard and led to Loki’s sacrifice and eventual rebirth as a hero.
5) Themselves (Civil War)
It never seems to fail that the Avengers’ biggest enemies would be themselves. This was never more true than in the Civil War storyline. After the New Warriors caused an accident that killed several people, including children at a school, the U.S. government passed the Superhuman Registration Act, requiring costumed heroes to register and unmask before the government. Iron Man agreed with this, and Captain America disagreed, which led the two sides to go to war with each other. Goliath was killed, and many genuine heroes were imprisoned in the Negative Zone as the superheroes in Marvel tore each other apart.
4) The Skrulls (Secret Invasion)
“Secret Invasion” is a Marvel Comics crossover by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu, and it was both an eight-issue miniseries that also tied in to most of the comics in Marvel at the time. This was caused by the Illuminati, who went to the Skrull throneworld years before and threatened them, causing them to plan this invasion. The Skrulls had infiltrated Earth and had even taken over the roles of several heroes they had abducted over the years. Queen Veranke had replaced Spider-Woman in the Avengers. This story led to a war that changed the Marvel Universe for a very long time, leading to “Dark Reign” when Norman Osborn ended up as the unlikely savior.
3) Norman Osborn (Dark Reign)
Norman Osborn went from being Spider-Man’s biggest villain to a nemesis of the entire Marvel Universe and, especially, Iron Man and the Avengers. After Norman killed the Skrull Queen and became a national hero, he replaced Tony Stark in charge of SHIELD, rebranded it as HAMMER, and then replaced the Avengers with his own Dark Avengers. This all started in 2008 and ran through 2010, which is where the “Siege” event ended things. Norman Osborn did more than almost any villain in the Marvel Universe in the 2000s by infiltrating the United States government and turning the public against the real Avengers.
2) Scarlet Witch (Avengers Disassembled)
The Scarlet Witch did more to hurt the Avengers in the 2000s than any villain, and this all started when she was still a member of the team. When a comment by Wasp caused the memories of the twin children the Scarlet Witch created to resurface, Wanda had a severe breakdown and launched a devastating attack on her friends and teammates. She started by murdering Agatha Harkness, the woman who erased her memory of the children. She then orchestrated attacks that led to the deaths of Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Hawkeye, Jack-of-Hearts, and the Vision. Doctor Strange had to shut her down, and then the Avengers decided it was time to end the team after this massive defeat.
1) Kang (The Kang Dynasty)
While Scarlet Witch destroyed the team, and Norman Osborn became a worldwide threat, it was Kang who was the best villain of the 2000s for one reason. That was because the 2000s were when “The Kang Dynasty” was released. This was a 16-part storyline that ran from Avengers (vol. 3) #41-55 by Kurt Busiek, Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer, Ivan Reis, and Manuel Garcia. In the story, he arrives in the early 21st century with his son Marcus (the Scarlet Centurion), intent on conquering the entire planet. Kang became the first Marvel villain to physically conquer the world by force rather than mind control, placing the whole Earth under siege, and even destroying Washington, D.C. It was the Avengers’ most ambitious comic book story of the 2000s.
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