The Avengers are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and have been protecting the universe from the greatest threats for years. They are the premiere team when the planet is in jeopardy; sure, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four save the world, but when the biggest threats approach the planet, it’s them who get the call. They’ve proven to be as tough as nails, defeating every comer, which makes a lot of sense. Only the best heroes get the call up to the big team, and they’ve become the most potent superhuman fighting force ever. However, that doesn’t always mean that they win every fight. In fact, the team has been handed some grievous losses.
They face off against the deadliest villains out there and no victory is guaranteed, even with the greatest heroes on the roster. The team has lost a lot of fights, but some bad guys have been able to pulverize them. These seven Marvel villains destroyed the Avengers, handing them losses readers will never forget.
7) Masters of Evil
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The Masters of Evil is one of Marvel’s greatest supervillain teams, setting themselves up as the opposite number of the Avengers. The Masters are almost as well-known for their changing roster as they are for getting stomped by their heroic foes, but they do own one of the biggest wins over Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. In “Under Siege”, Helmut Zemo brought together the largest, most powerful roster of the Masters ever and attacked Avengers Mansion. They pulverized the Avengers, taking their home and fighting off every attack from the heroes. While they eventually lost, the Masters’ triumph over the heroes has become legend.
6) Absorbing Man
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Absorbing Man is known as one of many scrub Avengers villains. Crusher Creel gained the power to transform into anything he can touch. He’s big, strong, and dumb; he has the power to beat the heroes, but he’s not smart enough to figure out how to win. However, he has been able to kill the Avengers in some alternate universes, including the one created in the fantastic Earth X. Absorbing Man ended up absorbing Ultron, finally becoming intelligent. He was able to kill most of the Avengers in battle, ending the team when they were needed the most.
5) Red Skull
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Red Skull is mostly known as a Captain America villain, but he’s fought the Avengers many times. Usually, his attacks against the group are more like schemes than out and out confrontations between himself and the team, but there was a time when he was able to physically destroy them. This came in AXIS, after he became the Red Onslaught (he put the telepathic portion of Charles Xavier’s brain into his, giving him the mutant’s powers). The heroes massed against him and constantly got smacked down, with even the villains getting involved. He was eventually defeated thanks to magical shenanigans, because otherwise he would have killed everyone fighting against him.
4) Thanos
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Thanos is Marvel’s greatest villain and as such as faced off against the Avengers numerous times. Now, obviously, since half the universe (at least) are alive, he’s never triumphed over them, but he has beat them pretty soundly just about every time he fights them. One of the best examples of this comes in Infinity Gauntlet. He snaps away most of the team, with those left joining the battle against the Mad Titan. The only survivor of the team who fought him was Thor; everyone else that battled against him died. There are plenty of examples of him beating Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but most of them come from alternate universes; this was a canon defeat and holds more weight than those.
3) Korvac
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Michael Korvac was a slave of the Badoon in the 30th century. He was able to gain godlike power and eventually went back to the past to a better time for the Earth and ran afoul of both the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, who had chased him from the future (back then, the Guardians were from the future and nothing like the MCU team). Korvac used his nigh omnipotent power to kill both teams, and then ended up resurrecting them. He’s one of the few villains from Earth-616 that has actually killed the group; there were no tricks and the only reason they’re still around is because he decided to resurrect them.
2) Kang
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Kang the Conqueror is one of the Avengers’ greatest villains, a powerful warrior who has traveled up and down the time stream testing himself against the greatest fighters in history. He’s assembled the most powerful arsenal in history and has traveled to other universes to practice his skills, killing various versions of the Avengers from alternate timelines. He’s been able to cream the Avengers many times, but the one that sticks out the most is “The Kang Dynasty”. He was able to conquer the world and kept his foes at bay, defeating them in combat several times before they were able to end his conquest. He’s more than earned his place as time’s greatest conqueror.
1) Ultron
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Ultron is the considered by many to be the greatest Avengers villain. He was created by team co-founder Hank Pym, and they have stood between him and the destruction of all biological life many times. The mad android has an indestructible adamantium body, and this has allowed him to run through the Avengers many times. However, the one time that sticks out the most is Age of Ultron. This comic saw him destroy the forces of humanity in months, with only a few Avengers left to defeat him. He had beaten them so soundly that their only plan was to try and go back in time to stop him. The story showed that when the robot was locked in, no one had a chance against him.
What Avengers defeat is your most memorable? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!