The Fantastic Four's 12 Best Villains, Ranked

The very first issue of “Fantastic Four” came out in 1961 from the minds of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and from then on the super family became fundamentally integral to establishing Marvel Comics as a tour de force. Marvel’s first family predated many other superhero teams, like the Avengers, and instead of being detectives or some other street-level organization, they were cosmic explorers. They could, of course, save New York from a looming threat or venture out into the cosmos to deal with otherworldly forces. Vital characters like Black Panther and Adam Warlock were first introduced on the pages of a “Fantastic Four” story. That’s nothing to say of the fact the team has some of the best villains in all of Marvel canon. 

A lot of superheroes have antagonists specific to them. They don’t necessarily branch out into other properties. But it’s truly amazing how many Fantastic Four foes wind up being global or even universal threats, occasionally requiring outside aid to help defeat them. 

Picking the Fantastic Four’s best villains is a bit different from picking their strongest. Some may not be as powerful as others, but they’re crucial to the team’s DNA, like being part of some important storylines in the family’s history. The Fantastic Four wouldn’t be who they are without these bad guys, and no matter how strong they each are, we couldn’t imagine the team without them. 

Harvey Elder, aka Mole Man, is as old as the Fantastic Four themselves. He was there in their first issue ever as the leader of a subterranean world, overseeing an army of Moloids and an assortment of monsters, including Giganto. He’s an outcast of regular society and sought refuge underground, sacrificing his vision while heightening his other senses. He may not be the most powerful adversary, but he exemplifies the type of outlandish supervillains common throughout the Silver Age of comic books. 

Mole Man can be one of those villains with storylines that are either completely stupid or downright creepy. Sure, he’ll threaten to sink the world’s greatest monuments unless Squirrel Girl goes on a date with him but he’s also perfectly of convincing Ben Grimm to join his side and disfiguring Johnny Storm’s face, all of which occurs in “Fantastic Four” #296.

Paul Walter Hauser finally brings Mole Man to the big screen in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” An early 2015 “Fantastic Four” script experimented with Tim Blake Nelson playing Harvey Elder, but in the end, he’d just play a regular scientist named Harvey Allen. It’s just good Mole Man finally made it into a live-action movie because the Fantastic Four just wouldn’t be the same without him. 

Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, is often considered one of the smartest individuals in the Marvel Universe. As such, it makes sense for the Fantastic Four to have similarly intelligent foes they can go toe to toe with, and that’s where Wizard comes into play. Wizard considers himself to be the smartest man on the world, with his own egomaniacal nature typically leading to his downfall. This makes him an intriguing counterpoint to Reed, as it shows how intelligence isn’t everything if you overlook one key detail. 

Even though Wizard has anti-gravity discs that give him flight, his greatest contribution to foiling the Fantastic Four rests in his downright devious nature. He creates the Frightful Four, a counterpart to the Fantastic Four made up of villains, as they go around New York City saving the day from terrors they themselves created (not that anyone knew that at first). In the “Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes” cartoon, the Frightful Four even set Johnny up by making it look like he burned a building down as the Human Torch. 

The Frightful Four are fun, but Wizard on his own is more than a formidable opponent. He shows how intelligence isn’t always an asset to humanity if the person with the brain decides to actively dismantle society. 

Namor is a fascinating addition to the Fantastic Four’s rogues gallery as he predates the team by several decades. Namor was first introduced in Marvel Comics in the late 1930s as the ruler of Atlantis; however, he got a makeover early in the Fantastic Four’s run when Johnny Storm discovers him as a derelict. He regains his memories and vows vengeance against the surface world after discovering how cruelly they’ve treated the ocean. 

Over the years, Namor has sometimes acted as a villain, going to great lengths to protect his people, but whenever there’s been a global threat, he’s been known to act alongside the heroes because if there’s no Earth, then there’s no Atlantis. Another intriguing wrinkle in Namor’s history with the Fantastic Four is his attraction to Sue Storm. There have been various storylines where Sue reciprocates at least some of those feelings, much to Reed’s dismay. 

Namor is a great villain because his motivations are understandable. He’s loyal to his people, and while he may look like a villain to surface-dwellers, he’s just trying to do what’s right by Atlantis. Plus, we know from Marvel’s big chair-centric casting announcement that Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Sue (Vanessa Kirby) will appear in “Avengers: Doomsday.” Will they stay separate or have a scene together that pays tribute to this hilariously thorny relationship?

We all know Galactus. Don’t worry, he’ll make an appearance later in this list. But one of the worst things Galactus ever did was become addicted to consuming planets, forcing the Silver Surfer’s hand in establishing a brigade to finally kill him for good. Little did they know Galactus’s existence kept an even more devastating being at bay — Abraxas. The presence of a Galactus in each reality keeps Abraxas from roaming free. However, upon Galactus’s demise, Abraxas emerges as the embodiment of destruction, who wants to annihilate the multiverse, viewing perfection in oblivion. 

Abraxas makes quite an entrance in his first appearance, emerging upon a pile of dead Galactuses. It perfectly demonstrates just how powerful the cosmic entity is because even the Fantastic Four have trouble against just one Galactus. But it’s like shooting fish in a barrel for Abraxas. 

In fact, the only way the family are able to defeat Abraxas is by Franklin Richards, with his reality warping abilities, to bring back Galactus. Along with the ultimate nullifier, the Fantastic Four manage to create a reality in which Abraxas never existed. The reason readers probably haven’t seen much of Abraxas is simply the fact he’s too powerful to enter the cosmic fray too often. More than anything, Abraxas makes Galactus even more terrifying because while he consumes worlds, he’s a necessary evil in preventing something much worse from getting out. 

The Skrulls have existed as one of the Fantastic Four’s oldest foes, causing global headaches within the “Secret Invasion” storyline where the shape-shifting aliens disguise themselves as world leaders and heroes to infiltrate the most powerful organizations. And even if you only have a passing familiarity with the Skrulls’ comic history, then you’re familiar with the idea of Super-Skrulls. 

Skrulls can transform themselves to look like anyone else. However, through genetic experimentation, they created Super-Skrulls, the first of which was named Kl’rt who arrived in “Fantastic Four” #18 from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. What sets Kl’rt apart from other Skrulls is that he has all of the powers of the Fantastic Four, meaning he can stretch, turn invisible, light himself ablaze, and possesses super strength. He’d fail in that issue’s mission to conquer Earth, but the Skrulls weren’t about to let a concept as good as this go to waste.

Various other Super-Skrulls have materialized with various heroes’ powersets, but we’ll always have a soft spot for Kl’rt. He’s a perfect counterpoint to the Fantastic Four’s abilities, literally capable of anything they can do. “Secret Invasion” on Disney+ somewhat introduced the idea of Super-Skrulls with G’iah (Emilia Clarke) amassing practically every heroes’ powers. She’s on the side of goodness, though, so it would still be fun to get Kl’rt to enter the MCU at some point. 

The Fantastic Four are undeniably powerful together, but what makes them such a great team is when they must rely on ingenuity to save the day. That’s often the case when they’re confronting Terminus, a villain introduced in “Fantastic Four” #269 from John Byrne, Glynis Wein, and Diana Albers.

Terminus begins his life cycle as a single-celled organism, but there are five stages to his existence. And when he reaches the pinnacle of his form, he towers over everyone else at 150-feet in height. He also possesses an energy lance that can absorb and project powerful beams, writing his initial message onto Earth’s surface: “I claim this world — TERMINUS.” His goal is simple: Ravage every planet he encounters of its resources and subjugate the population. Given his sheer strength and size, the Fantastic Four can’t do much damage attacking him head on, which is why they often have to get creative to subdue him. 

For example, in his first comic book arc, Reed Richards attaches a device to him that sends him spiraling toward the Earth’s core to keep him in check. It doesn’t last forever, and it’s a testament to how much of a force of nature he is. There’s no reasoning with Terminus; he simply exists to conquer. 

Kang the Conqueror is a frequent multiversal threat across Marvel Comics. The best Kang comics see him battle against every superhero you can think of, from the Avengers to the Guardians of the Galaxy to even other variants of Kang himself. But it all started with the Fantastic Four, albeit retroactively. A Kang variant known as Rama-Tut appears in 1963’s “Fantastic Four” #19 with the legendary duo Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Later, Kang fought the Avengers, which established that Rama-Tut, as well as Immortus who had also previously been introduced, were also different versions of Kang. 

Kang is an extremely powerful villain; it makes sense the MCU wanted him to be the next Thanos with an “Avengers” movie subtitled “The Kang Dynasty” before it was altered to “Doomsday.” And he has a personal connection to Marvel’s first family. His true identity is Nathaniel Richards from the 31st century, a descendant of Reed Richards’ father, also named Nathaniel. 

Kang travels through time and across the multiverse, bringing mayhem wherever he goes. And just when you think Kang is done for good, there’s always another one lurking in another timeline. 

The Fantastic Four have done some pretty awful things all on their own. That’s especially true in the Ultimates universe within Marvel Comics where that reality’s version of Reed Richards pursues evil after personal tragedies. He dons the moniker of The Maker, and while he’s a relatively recent addition to Marvel’s villain roster, he’s one to keep an eye on. 

The Ultimate line of comics presented different takes on long-running heroes and villains, providing new, more modern perspectives. However, this universe died, and the primary Earth-616 timeline was restored. It was basically a way to restore the status quo while bringing over anything from the Ultimates line that worked well, like Miles Morales staying on as another Spider-Man. But the alternate Reed Richards was always lurking around, and he even succeeded in recreating a new Ultimate world where he’s already changing various heroes’ origins, like killing the radioactive spider before it can bite Peter Parker, preventing him from becoming Spider-Man. 

The Maker may still be stretchy, but the thing that makes him dangerous is his renowned intellect combined with a newfound malice. There have been many villainous foils to Reed Richards, showing what could’ve happened had he went down a different path. But none are as chilling as the Maker, and even though he’s pretty new, there’s a lot of potential for him to shape the multiverse to his liking. 

Annihilus was almost the villain in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” and as it stands, he’s still ripe for the picking for a major motion picture. He’s a ruler of the Negative Zone and a frequent pain for the Fantastic Four, traversing into their reality to destroy everything in his path. He’s the ultimate nihilist and is more than happy to annihilate everything in his path to ensure his own existence is secure. 

Nihilism is a common component in many Fantastic Four villains. Maybe that’s due to the fact that the team truly represents the opposite of nihilism — existentialism. They received immense cosmic powers and have had to find meaning in this new existence, both by becoming superheroes and, in the case of Reed and Sue, becoming parents. They find their own meaning in life, so Annihilus is a great villain to put in opposition to them. 

Annihilus has been an antagonistic force since the ’60s, starting off as something of a generic cosmic menace to becoming a truly terrifying visage. His strength more than makes him a match for the Fantastic Four, and he’s even held his own against much stronger heroes, like Nova. 

Molecule Man has been a Fantastic Four foe from the team’s early days. A lab accident granted him extraordinary powers to control inorganic matter on a molecular level via a magic wand. All the team had to do back then was take the wand from him, and he was no longer a threat. However, his backstory would get retconned to where his a multiversal force of nature to the point where his death would result in the universe’s demise. In the first “Secret Wars” storyline from Jim Shooter, Mick Zeck, and Bob Layton, he gains the power to affect organic matter, too, turning him into one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

His power levels have varied over the years, usually depending on what’s needed for a given story, but given his prevalence in that first “Secret Wars” story and those that followed, he’s had a big impact on the Marvel universe as a whole. And since he’s basically a god if he wants to be, his allegiances can vary. He doesn’t always fit cleanly into villain archetypes, even helping to destroy Battleworld in the 2015 version of “Secret Wars.” It’s fun to see Molecule Man pop up in any story because he was created back in the days of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but plenty of other writers have realized his full potential, utilizing him in fascinating ways. 

Galactus is one of the best Fantastic Four villains because he’s not even really a villain, at least not in the traditional sense. He’s not driven by malevolent motivations most of the time; he just needs to feed. He travels the cosmos looking for planets to consume with the Silver Surfer at his side, so when he comes to Earth to turn the world into a snack, the Fantastic Four can’t merely rely on brute strength to get rid of him. 

One might think a force of nature wouldn’t be that scary, but there’s something intrinsically horrific about the fact that Galactus simply needs to exist. As mentioned previously, his existence keeps Abraxas locked away. And his presence makes the Fantastic Four question just how far they’re willing to go to stop him. In his first appearance in the “Coming of Galactus” arc from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four threaten to wipe out the universe using the Ultimate Nullifier, meaning Galactus would have nothing to eat. It’s a bold move, but it’s one that works. 

Galactus may have been a cloud in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” but he finally gets done right in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Galactus isn’t the kind of villain a movie should feel ashamed of including. He’s a giant guy in a blue and purple suit that eats planets. Kirby specialized in these types of mythical, god-like figures, and Galactus demands respect.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Doctor Doom is the top of the list of greatest Fantastic Four villains. It may be expected, but anyone else in this spot would’ve just felt wrong. He’s the ultimate hater, despising Reed Richards and causing the Fantastic Four unrest for decades, first appearing in the fifth ever issue of the team’s comics. 

Over the years, Doom has done some truly heinous things. Every villain has done something evil, but the things Doom is capable of would make some of the other antagonists on this list gag a little. He’s skinned people alive, trapped Franklin Richards in Hell, and destroyed an alternate universe because the version of Doom there was a good guy. Yet, there’s a piece of Doom that, in a sick, twisted way, wants what’s best for humanity. The 2015 “Secret Wars” arc, from Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribić, and Ive Svorcina, in which he traps heroes on Battleworld, was all done with the purpose of salvaging what was left of the multiverse. 

Doctor Doom isn’t just a threat to the Fantastic Four; many Marvel heroes have traded blows with him. After the MCU canned Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) and “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” the only way forward was Doom. He’s the pinnacle of what a great comic book villain should be, and it’s high time he was done justice on the big screen.