The Masters of Evil have achieved one thing that almost no other regular villain team has accomplished. This is the team that actually beat the Avengers and almost brought them to their knees. The villain team debuted in 1964 when Nazi scientist Baron Heinrich Zemo conceived them as a dark mirror to the Avengers. The team has gone through several members over the years, including Zemo’s son, Baron Helmut Zemo, who made the team more dangerous than ever before. The moment when the Masters of Evil brought down the Avengers was “Under Siege,” running from The Avengers #273 to #277 (1986-1987) by Roger Stern and John Buscema.
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From the original Masters of Evil to the “Under Siege” lineup and the team that eventually morphed into the Thunderbolts, here are the Masters of Evil members from the comics who could destroy the current iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Avengers
7) Tiger Shark
Tiger Shark made his debut in Sub-Mariner #5 (1968) by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. His real name is Todd Arliss, and he was an Olympic-class swimmer whose spine was damaged. He underwent an experiment to cure himself with a villain named Dr. Dorcas, who fused his DNA with that of Namor and a tiger shark. However, it had horrific side effects when it turned him into an actual tiger shark, giving him gills, razor teeth, and a savage, predatory personality
This gave Tiger Shark superhuman strength, able to lift roughly 75 tons while wet (dropping to about 50 tons when dry), enhanced durability, rapid Atlantean-style regeneration, and superhuman swimming/movement speed in or near water. The only thing that holds him down is that he is water-dependent, and the longer he is out of the water, the more his powers dwindle. He is a tank for the Masters of Evil and was part of the “Under Siege” storyline attack
6) The Wrecker
The Wrecker has been a member of several supervillain teams. The most famous for him was the Wrecking Crew, but he was also a member of the Masters of Evil. The Wrecker debuted in The Mighty Thor #148 (1968) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He was a former demolitions laborer fired for violent tendencies who turned to crime with a crowbar. However, he got a huge upgrade when the sorceress Karnilla the Norn Queen granted him an Asgardian enchantment because she saw him from behind wearing Loki’s helmet and mistook him for Loki. It was an accident that made him a supervillain.
The Wrecker has superhuman strength, stamina, and durability, and his enchanted crowbar mirrors Mjolnir. The crowbar is indestructible, returns to the Wrecker’s hand when thrown, and can project energy, generate force fields, and trigger minor earthquakes. He was later trained by Ulik the Rock Troll to use these powers to their full potential. The Wrecking Crew was part of the “Under Siege” campaign, and he was part of the group that put Hercules in a coma
5) Baron Zemo
Forget about Baron Zemo from the movies. The Baron Zemo from the comic books is a villain strong enough to beat most of the members of the new MCU Avengers team. Unlike the movie version, who was mostly a manipulator, the Zemo from the comics was the son of the original Masters of Evil founder, Baron Heinrich Zemo. Helmut Zemo first appeared in Captain America #168 (1973) by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella, and Sal Buscema. He then did more than his father ever did with the team
Helmut Zemo assembled and led the legendary “Under Siege” incarnation, and his deliberate strategy was to field a roster twice the size of the active Avengers, stacked with powerhouses who could each match Thor, and destroy the team’s lower members. If Baron Zemo in the MCU was anything like the comics, he would have been a lot more dangerous when he planned out his attacks than he was, and that version would be a huge threat for the modern-day Avengers lineup
4) Atlas
Atlas was known as Goliath when he was part of the Masters of Evil, and he was a member of the team that eventually morphed into the Thunderbolts when they pretended to be heroes after the Onslaught event. His real name is Erik Josten, and he debuted in The Avengers #21 (1965) as Power Man, created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. After this, he changed his name to Smuggler, Goliath, and later Atlas. He fought everyone from the Avengers to the Hulk and Iron Man
Erik was actually employed by Heinrich Zemo, starting as an AWOL mercenary as head of his South American security force. After Zemo died, the Enchantress convinced him to undergo the same ionic-ray treatment that created Wonder Man. This means he has similar ionic-powered super strength and durability as Wonder Man, which makes him more powerful than almost any member of the MCU’s current Avengers team
3) Absorbing Man
Absorbing Man is one of the most famous members of the Masters of Evil, and he has been a villain to the Hulk and Thor, which says a lot about his power levels. Carl “Crusher” Creel debuted in Journey into Mystery#114 (1965) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He was originally a boxer and career criminal, transformed when Loki tricked him into drinking a mystically enhanced potion. This gave him his impressive powers. He can duplicate the physical properties of anything he touches, including solid, liquid, gas, or even energy.
This means he can become as powerful as the story needs him to be. He has absorbed the properties of Asgard itself at one time, and in another story, he absorbed the powers of Mjolnir. He was one of the heavy hitters of the “Under Siege” team, and he could overpower almost every member of Sam Wilson’s new Avengers team in the MCU, especially if he had access to the materials he needed. There is almost no ceiling to his powers
2) Moonstone
Moonstone is Karla Sofen, and she was an evil person before she ever became a supervillain. She debuted in Captain America #192 (1975) by Marv Wolfman and Frank Robbins, as a gun moll of the villain Doctor Faustus. She was a trained psychologist, and she became villain Moonstone’s therapist and psychologically manipulated him into rejecting his powerecame one of the most powerful members of the Masters of Evil in history
She has the power of gravity manipulation, including flight, intangibility, and laser-like gravitational force blasts. At her peak, she was substantially more powerful, which made her deadly since she was the most competent villain on the “Under Siege” roster. She has almost beaten the Avengers more than once and is a tactical threat. She was also the field leader of the Thunderbolts, and her top-tier gravity powers with genuine intelligence make her almost unstoppable
1) Ultron
Ultron was the mystery leader of the Masters of Evil when he debuted in The Avengers #54 (1968) disguised as the Crimson Cowl, then fully revealed in The Avengers #55 (1968) as Ultron-5, the Living Automaton, created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. In his debut arc, Ultron secretly led a new incarnation of the Masters of Evil from behind the Crimson Cowl mask, giving them orders. This means the team was literally commanded by a world-ending AI, the single strongest reason he is the most powerful member.
Of course, Ultron has already appeared in the MCU when he almost destroyed an entire country in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and his actions were one of the events directly responsible for the Sokonot be dead, and this is a villain that the Avengers need to keep an eye on because he is powerful enough to bring down the entire team as a world-ending threat
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