Evil Versions of Iconic Superheroes:
Superheroes are the harbingers of justice. They are the people who face fearful odds, fight behemoths ten or maybe a hundred times more powerful than them and save the day. They are the torchbearers of light, the champions of good. As long as they keep watch, there is no evil that escapes their sight. But what if the very guardian who protects us turns out to be the bad guy? What if our own heroes betray us and become the very thing they were supposed to fight against? CHAOS!! If there is one thing history has proven beyond doubt – it is that you either die as a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Our heroes have also faced such odds at times and sometimes they have succumbed to them, becoming agents of chaos in the process. Presenting – 11 Evil Versions of iconic Superheroes more powerful than the originals – Ranked!!
11. Old Man Banner
In an alternate timeline, the world no longer is under the protection of superheroes. The Supervillains of the world united and launched a globally coordinated attack on all superheroes worldwide. After the superheroes were wiped out with the surviving heroes deciding to go into hiding, the world was the super villains’ for the taking. They carved up the world into territories. In this desolate future timeline, the Hulk is no longer a good guy. After banishing the more benevolent Bruce Banner persona into the depths of his psyche, Old Man Banner is just a morbidly obese version of the Hulk who now rules over the Wasteland – a territory that was once the United States. He is way bigger and stronger than the regular Hulk, able to eat Wolverine in one go.
10. Power Ring
In the DC Multi-verse, Earth 3 is an alternate reality where the universe always prefers evil over good. The evil forces always manage to triumph over the good guys. In this reality, the Crime Syndicate takes the place of Justice League. It is basically a team of evil versions of the original Justice League. Amongst those members is Power Ring, Earth-3’s Green Lantern. Power Ring became a superhero after he was given the ring by Volthoom, the very first Green Lantern. Volthoom still resides within the ring and his will still governs Power Ring’s actions. While he may act like a coward most of the time but Power Ring has shown himself to be capable enough to take down scores of immortals in one strike, something, not even Green Lantern could.
9. Grid
Cyborg is half man and half machine. But his machine part is governed by his human part, so that means the machine can never take over his mind and his systems. One time while Cyborg was trying to find out more about some rogue meta-humans, some under-lying software started covertly gathering information regarding all possible meta-humans and labelling them a threat to society. The software soon took on the personality of the hackers and the viruses all over the internet and became an A.I. Cyborg cast this rogue A.I out of his systems which then joined the Crime Syndicate as Grid, the A.I Serial Killer.
8. Ragnarok
When Civil War took place in the Marvel Continuity, Thor was nowhere to be found. So Tony Stark’ desperate to make the people think that Thor, one of the most powerful Avengers ever, is on their side, created a clone out of Thor’s DNA. The new clone called Ragnarok looked just like Thor but was nothing like him from the inside. After the clone was infused with Cyborg technology, his powers were similar to that of Thor. Ragnarok soon went rogue after he killed Goliath in cold blood and decided to end Civil War by killing all the anti-registration heroes. It was only after Hercules and Storm joined forces that the Thor clone was destroyed by ramming the clone’s hammer into his skull.
7. Iron Maniac
Iron Maniac hails from Earth – 5012, an Earth where the Avengers are no longer alive. Tony Stark of that reality grew to become a bitterer and harsher version of his usual self and relied on an “Ends justify the means” approach to do his bidding. He became the Iron Maniac. His faceplate had led people to assume he is Doctor Doom. His genius level intellect is ten times that of the original Tony Stark of mainstream continuity. He once took on Wolverine, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, and the New Avengers all the while his armor was upgrading and defeated them all. Iron Maniac gates reed Richards because Reed Richards of his reality was the one who banished him to another dimension.
6. Flashpoint Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is an incredibly powerful superhero. But it is her ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and her strong moral compass that makes her Wonder Woman. What if you take those away from her? In the Flashpoint timeline, Wonder Woman grew to be a stone-cold warrior. She commands a huge army and is hell-bent on world domination, no matter the cost. She is even ready to murder innocent people, including children to ensure she is the last woman standing. The timeline did not stick around too long for us to see how this female fury would have fared against the other heroes. Let us hope she makes an appearance in a future comic book issue.
5. Captain Hydra
Almost everyone is aware of Captain America’s infamous “Hail Hydra” moment in Secret Empire. After Kubik changes a small detail in Steve Rogers’ past, the super soldier ends up becoming a Hydra sleeper agent. In a dystopian future reality, Steve Rogers is Captain Hydra, the greatest agent of chaos Hydra has to make the whole planet dance to their tunes. With global resources at his command, Captain Hydra is a force to be reckoned with. Add in the fact that he is also one of the greatest tactical geniuses the universe has ever seen, Captain Hydra is close to a God.
4. Maestro
In the future, a nuclear war has destroyed the world, which is now a radioactive wasteland. The Hulk, who is literally a being that was born out of radiation, has absorbed so much gamma energy that it has driven him insane. Bruce Banner is no longer in control. It is Maestro, an alternate personality with the same level of genius as Bruce Banner and a thousand times stronger than the regular Hulk that now reigns supreme. Maestro has built Dystopia, a city that stands atop the nuclear rubble of the old world and detests humanity for destroying the planet. He also has the ability to see astral forms.
3. Injustice Superman
Superman is the greatest superhero of all time. He is a God amongst men. With the ability to move an entire solar system from one point of the universe to another and being able to withstand megaton level nuclear blasts at point blank range, there is no one that can pierce that chest of steel or block that fist of iron. In Injustice: Gods Amongst Us, the big blue boy-scout finally turns evil after the Joker tricks him into killing his pregnant wife, Lois Lane. Superman then decides to take control of the whole world, his ideals now changed, and becomes a tyrant. Injustice Superman is what happens if Superman decides that the world does not deserve the option of free will and humanity must always be under a dictatorship.
2. The Maker
Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Force is truly a force to be reckoned with in terms of mental acumen. He is one of the greatest minds to ever exist. The Maker is an evil version of Mister Fantastic who found a way to enhance his already brilliant mind. His level of intelligence is now limitless and his higher brain functions mean that he does not require oxygen nor does he need to sleep. Driven purely by a thirst to become a God, the Maker has placed a version of him in every reality imaginable and can just transfer his consciousness from a body in reality to another, thus achieving omniscience.
1. The Batman who laughs
Dark Nights: Metal introduced to us a version of the Batman we never though would be possible. This version of the Batman is the answer to the question – What if the Joker was the Batman!! The Batman who laughs was actually a vengeful Bruce Wayne who killed the Joker but was affected by the Joker Venom and was turned into his next avatar instead. The Batman who laughs would then go on to massacre the entire Justice League singlehandedly and recruit alternate universe Batmen into his army to serve the evil demon Barbatos. He commands a pack of demonic looking robins that act as his hounds of hell and have a speech pattern of “crow” and “bar”, referring to Jason Todd’s grizzly death in The Death in the Family arc.
