There is a difference between a tyrant and a ruler. A tyrant takes control of his realm and rules it with an iron hand, giving no quarter to anyone or anything that might interfere with his authority. A ruler and a king, on the other hand, makes sure that his people get what’s best for them. A true king is the sword of the nation and its steadfast shield. They are the first warrior on the battlefield to charge and the last one to retreat. Here are 15 such magnificent Kings from the DC and Marvel comicverse.
King Thor
We all know Thor, the jolly God of Thunder has been the topic of discussion for quite a while now. Even before his marvel cinematic universe debut, Thor was somewhat of a fan favourite in comics. His blonde hair, muscular body and worthy powers make the fandom quiver with excitement. But what if I tell you there is a stronger version of the God of Thunder. What if I tell you there is an old Thor who now rules Asgard as it’s rightful king and who is blessed with the Thorforce ( much like Odin-Force) to govern his realm. What if I tell you Gods only get more powerful the older they get?
Namor
The king of Atlantis, Namor was first introduced as a wildcard for the Avengers. His limited skillset and his cunning attitude soon made him a delight to read. Just like you, traditional underwater superhero Namor possesses all the basic powers. He can communicate with sea life, he can control the water and he can command the armies of Atlantis to follow his godly might. The man is a worthy ruler if Marvel comics ever wrote one.
Odin
This is one of the obvious ones. Odin is the father of Thor and is known as the All-Father. Odin is the king of Gods and his power is absolute and unchallenged throughout the nine realms. Even in the Norse mythology, the All-Father is the one who is above all living beings. He houses no innate sense of superiority, just a general distaste for inferior life forms. But maybe that is due to his overwhelming power. The king of Gods makes it to the third position on our list with all his godly might and Odin-Force.
Black Panther
T’challa was born into the Panther clan of Wakanda. The country of Wakanda is small but they have a very healthy economy from the trade of a precious metal that is only available in their country, the Vibranium. This metal is the base of power in Wakanda and the panther clan is the protector of the secrets of their country. Their leader, the Black Panther is their king and currently, this role is being fulfilled by none other than T’challa.
Black Adam
Blessed with the power of six Gods Shazam is one of the most powerful individuals in the justice league. So it goes without saying that the villain of such a hero must be equally as strong and must be able to give the hero a run for his money. In this case, the writers came up with one of the most badass anti-heroes ever imaginable. An immortal magician king by the name of Black Adam who is just as proficient at magic as our protagonist and who beats our hero more than once when it comes down to a fight. Black Adam is also the king of Kahndaq and he was the one blessed with powers by a high priest, giving the prince Teth-Adam the powers of 6 Egyptian Gods.
Aquaman
Much like all the others on our list, this particular individual is in a class of his own. He has exceptional powers and even more exceptional governing skills. Aquaman or Arthur Curry is the rightful king of Atlantis and the owner of Neptune’s trident. He controls the ocean and all of its creatures with his mind and he can take apart almost any threat with mere swipes of his mighty weapon.
Black Bolt
Inhuman was a less known and even less successful TV series that Marvel came out with as a loose tie into its original cinematic universe. The series focused on superheroes and entities that descend from the supernatural realm. One of these entities was Black Bolt, the man had intense and immense power to the point that one whisper from his mouth could level entire mountains. Naturally, Black Bolt has crowned the king of the Inhumans.
Doctor Doom
Other than being one of the most intelligent beings in the Marvel universe, Victor von Doom is also a terrifying villain. Given his knack for technology and energy manipulation, Dr Doom is blessed with immense power and he can take down any time with relative ease. Along with all of this the man is also the ruler of Latveria, satiating his superiority complex, I suppose. The entire characterization of Victor von Doom gets substantiated quite well here with the introduction of his role as the supreme leader of a nation.
Kro
We’ve heard about the celestials before and we’ve heard how they created two separate races out of humans, the eternals and the deviants. The deviants are a distorted version of humans and they often seek to cause chaos more than anything else. They are also the source of most of our urban myths in the Marvel comicverse. The leader of the deviants is a deviant named Kro who has fooled his people by pretending to be a long line of father and sons. Kro is a shapeshifter so this task sounds easier than it is. Kro has also fooled the humans before disguising himself as the devil.
Prince Gavyn
“There’s a starman in the sky, and he wants to meet us but he fears he’ll blow our minds”
Known more commonly as Starman, Gavyn first appeared as a prince in the DC comics multiverse. He hailed from an alien race and mostly did tasks that assisted the protagonists of our stories. Eventually, the ‘Starman’ was raised to the rank of the emperor due to his natural Ascension to the throne and his birthright.
D’ken
The ruler of the Shi’ar race and the evil brother of Death bird. D’ken is probably one of the gory details of it’s past that Marvel would like to forget sooner rather than later. The man ascended the throne when his sister was exiled for murdering their mother. Although the sister found refuge on Earth with the X-Men, D’ken, on the other hand, became drunk with power. It is on his homework planet that he tortured and killed Katherine summers (mother to Vulcan, Cyclops and Havoc) in front of her husband Corsair. Needless to say, this is one of the more evil incarnations of a king in the Marvel comic multiverse.
Vulcan
Since we’ve already talked about the tragic death of the summers family mother, let’s now talk about their redemption. After the plane crash and the abduction of Corsair and Katherine, the children (Scott and Havoc) were left on Earth where they became part of the X-Men. On the other hand, the yet unborn child of the summers that was ripped from the womb of Katherine was raised to be a slave to D’ken. It is only when Vulcan escaped the clutches of his master did he challenge the might of Shi’ar empire and later that he conquered all of it, freeing up his father and taking his place as the rightful ruler.
He-Man
Prince Adam of Eternia or his most common name ‘He-man’ is one of DC Comics’ most well-recognized faces. Although this is not the origin of the character he still qualifies for the list. Blessed with the powers of the castle Grayskull, Prince Adam defends the Eternian throne with all of his might in his He-man phase. The man is considered to be the most powerful in all of the universe and is the heir to the planetary throne in the Eternian universe.
Ming, the Merciless
The ruler of Mongo, this character seems more of a social commentary on the Chinese monarchy more than anything else. Considering the name of the character is Ming and his origins are a bit murky, being the extension of the classic evil for evil’s sake storyline. The entire premise of mind is shoddy but he is an emperor in the comics and that makes him a contender for our list.
Acroyear
In the earth-616 universe of the Marvel comic multiverse, there resides a micro-universe which is an essential part of the 616 Canon. In this micro-verse there reside beings whose powers and abilities and intentions are all a mystery to the normal terrain. The leader of these beings is a small robot called Acroyear and he is the final installment in our list of superheroes who are also kings.
